Grimossfer Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

lukeshulver Another brilliant show by Aaron Sorkin. I can only assume the star laden cost drove production too high for additional series to be filmed as the show itself was a winner. We need more of this on TV.

Elizabeth Ware Studio 60 has some nice elements. There were some moments that were smart, some that were funny. But as a whole, the show never really gelled.We'll at the very end, it got pretty good. After they turned it into "The West Wing". At the very end, they started dealing with war, and the military, and the kinds of big issues The West Wing dealt with.No the reason the show was fascinating was psychological, not artistic. There was lots in the press at the time about the on-again, off-again relationship between Sorkin and Kristen Chenoweth. In the show, Sorkin wrote a TV producer and a really talented performer who were parallels of them. Week after week, Sorkin would show us the conflicts between these characters. Sorkin was still trying to explain himself, win the argument, or accept blame for the conflicts in his own life.It was fascinating and creepy to watch art imitate life.

John_Truby Studio 60 has not been the big hit everyone at NBC hoped it would be. And it's taken more than a few shots, mostly from insiders who say that it's not an authentic view of a sketch comedy show. Why? Because it's not funny. And they're right; it's not funny. That could be because creator and writer Aaron Sorkin can't write funny. Or more likely it's because the show's not a comedy. It's a drama about working in a corporation, a corporation that just happens to be in the business of making culture.Sometimes Sorkin gets too cute in his writing, typically from updating a classic story beat. He always does the beat well, but it's still a recognizable beat. And I get the feeling that he is writing so much so fast that for long stretches he just puts it on automatic and lets his considerable knowledge of story carry him along.To see one of the reasons why Studio 60 may be having trouble with audiences, let's look at a technique that is crucial to a TV drama: the episodic desire line. In other words, what is accomplished in each episode? In a classic cop show, it's solving the crime. In a courtroom drama, it's winning the case. In a doctor show, it's saving the patient. On Studio 60 it's … Well, we know what it isn't. It's not putting on a 90-minute comedy show. So what is it? The desire line in each episode is what gives the story its shape, and is one of the key elements of a show's DNA. You can create a show in which the desire line extends over many episodes, but you will have more difficulty holding a mass audience. So many shows provide at least one desire line that is accomplished by the end of the episode, and extend the others. Aaron Sorkin doesn't do that on Studio 60. It's not a bad thing. It's just not popular. Regardless of Studio 60's essential structure, there is a lot to like and learn from by watching it.For example, we see a great technique in the second part of a two-part episode in which Harriet gets an award. It's the technique I call the "dialogue of equals." Good conflict dialogue should be a heavyweight fight. Punch/counter-punch. One throws a hammer blow. The other comes right back with a hammer blow of his own. Not only does each line have dramatic power, the scene builds in the sequence of the blows (lines), ending in a knockout punch.To create a building punch/counter-punch, you have to have two equals, by which I mean two characters with an equal ability to verbally attack. If one is too strong, he or she will get in the most blows and the scene will not build. In the concluding episode of the two-parter, Matt and Harriet go at each other with ferocity. Matt is the obviously more aggressive and nastier of the two. But Harriet does not shrink back and ends up having the more powerful blows, including the lethal knockout punch.FOR MORE REVIEWS please visit www.truby.com

johnmatthewforan The best written show since the West Wing was taken off the air was the highlight of last years TV. Although Heroes is fantastic this show made me sit up and take notice.With some fantastic actors both new and familiar to us in the UK not sure about the US, and some great story lines this show could have gone from strength to strength. It took the West Wing 7 seasons to make me cry and even that was based around an actual death of a cast member but the Studio 60 finale is a thing of beauty. It is all you'd want in a programme heart felt, funny and good actors turning in great performances.This is the perfect starting point for anyone wanting to start looking at the works of Mr. Sorkin it's not as heavy as the West Wing but every bit as brilliant. I already have the DVDs and the finale again got the best of me.You'll laugh, you'll cheer and you should cry unless you're made out of stone or something.