Now, I know that a few posts ago, I was writing about the great shows of the 80s. Yes, they were great, they mean a lot to me to be able to look back and watch them. However, I would be remissed if I didn't acknowledge the best of the best, and that was Aaron Sorkin era of Television.
One of my favorite movies is A Few Good Men, which was written by Mr. Sorkin. Later he went on to write and produce three of the best shows to ever air on television.
First in 1998 came the show Sports Night, which was a look at a Sports Center type show. This show was amazing and lasted two seasons due to ratings and a network that didn't know how to help promote it and make it last. The stories were real, the cast was excellent, and the characters appealing. I loved that the show made you care about people even if you didn't care about sports, you cared about what happened to these people. The tag line for the show was that it was a sports show that wasn't about sports at all. You became invested in them and wanted to see them succeed. For me, the show was highlighted around the great actor, Robert Guillaume. He was the managing editor for the show, and when there was an episode centered around him, you remembered it. You felt it. You cherished it. I also loved watching Casey McCall and Dan Rydell, portrayed by the amazing Peter Krause and Josh Charles who you might remember as Knox Overstreet from Dead Poets Society. These two guys may have had the best dialogue and stories that ever aired on TV... This is my opinion. I loved the chemistry of these two and loved watching their scenes play out. Every episode had something special to remember. Every character left an impression and every story left you wanting more. I felt so badly that these actors lost a job on a great show, and feel so good when I pop in the DVD and watch every episode again, hoping to see my friends again.
From there, Mr. Sorkin introduced us to the West Wing. Oh my gosh, where do I begin with this show? I am a republican, have been all my life. Will die a republican. The show centered around the the inner working of the white house of a democratic president. I will always vote republican, but, if Josiah Bartlet played wonderfully by Martin Sheen ever was a real candidate for President, I would vote for him. For 7 seasons, we saw pain, love, joy, and heartache as the best of the brightest gave of themselves for the good of the country. This is who you would want leading America. Definitely not what we have now. Bartlett made you believe in the impossible. He made you see the stars. In the shows' final season, the story centered around the election of a new president and that was Matt Santos played by Jimmy Smits. Smits picked up right were Bartlet left off; making you see the best in our leaders. He was the democratic candidate running against Arnold Vinick played beautifully by Alan Alda. Either of these characters as President would have made me smile. My mom and I would watch every episode and miss it dearly. Dule Hill from Psyche was introduced to us on this show, as the President's aide... if you want to see what a father-son type relationship is like, you need to see Bartlet and Hill's character, Charlie Young. Not many political shows can make you care like this one did. It was a real show, where did shows like this go?
After this show, came Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I am still mad at NBC for not supporting this show enough. I am furious that this great show lasted only 1 season. It deserved so much more than that. It was dramatic, real, funny, loving, everything you wanted from a nighttime drama. It centered around the inner workings of a late night sketch show. Sort of like SNL, but took place in L.A. Matthew Perry, coming off Friends, was the heart and soul of the show, and showed that he was a lot more, than Chandler Bing. He was serious, hurting, in love, funny. He made you care about being the best at whatever it is you want to do with your life. I miss his character and that of his production partner, Daniel Tripp, played masterfully by Bradley Whitford who made his name known playing Josh Lyman on the West Wing. This show also featured a female character played by Sarah Paulson, who was a devout Christian and was criticized for working in an industry where Christianity is made fun of. I admired the fact that God was focused on the show and the character never compromised her beliefs to become more famous. She believed in Jesus and that was enough for her. These were other stories where it was more about people than what it was they did. Working on a late night t.v. show is fun, but what about the people? This show told you about them, and made you want to be one of them, if only for a day.
These are the shows that are missing from Today. These are the shows kids and would be writers need to grow up on. Great writing, greater characters. I need this. I miss this. I want this. Thankfully these are all on dvd which I own, so I can watch them whenever I want to. If you haven't seen these. You really should. This is how television should be.
Thank you, Mr. Sorkin.... you made the 90s and early 2000s fun to watch. I appreciate your work.
Until next time
P
No comments:
Post a Comment