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TV's Warm, Glowing Warming Glow (Back From the Dead!)

September 18, 2006 1:18 AM

new television season is starting up. Since I've recently acquired cable, I kind of care - for the first time since high school, really.

While some people are really excited about the new seasons of Nip/Tuck and The O.C. - Chris, I'm looking at you - I'm not really all that interested in those shows. That's because I hate coming in in the middle of things. I hate starting to watch a movie in the middle, even if it's a movie I've seen a million times, and I'm starting to feel that way about TV shows, too.

That leads me to an observation: It's interesting to me that it seems that shows have started to be less self-contained episodes and more overarching story. This is a trend that, in my opinion, started on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (look, I'm a dork - I know it, you know it, everybody knows it) and has since flourished. I think that's really cool, although it makes it really hard for people like me to get into new shows: I refuse to watch new episodes of Lost or Nip/Tuck because I have no idea what's come before and, therefore, will be lost. Also, knowing what happens will spoil the experience of watching the earlier episodes.

But I digress. The shows I'm most excited about are Heroes and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Heroes is apparently about ordinary people all over the world who suddenly find themselves with super powers, includig the powers of flight, mind reading, and invulnerability. The premise sounds cool, as the show's creators talk alot about how they intend to explore the sort of psychological and interpersonal consequences of a normal person finding out that they have extraordinary abilities. Throw in the mysterious origin of the people's powers, a government conpiracy, and a hot girl in the form of Ali Larter and I'm down.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is the latest show from producer Aaron Sorkin. For those of you who don't know, Aaron Sorkin is the man behind two of my all-time favorite TV shows: The West Wing and Sports Night. Sports Night was a comedy/drama about the behind-the-scenes antics of a group of producers for a SportCenter-like TV show. It was awesome. The West Wing, clearly, is one of the best shows ever. So, needless to say I'm expecting a lot from Mr. Sorkin, although the premise sounds kinda strange and I don't know how I feel about the casting. Studio 60 takes place behind the scenes of a Saturday Night Live-like sketch comedy show (sound familiar?) that is about to cancel, until Josh Lyman - I mean Bradley Whitford - shows up and helps Chandler Bing and Amanda Peet. Or something. In any event, I think it's going to kick ass.

Studio 60 premiers tonight at 9. So the question is, who wants to come over?


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