Saunders: Last gasp for 'Studio 60'

Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Which of the recently canceled network series will you miss?

As noted Monday, there's already a save-our-show movement by fans of Jericho, the CBS serial about a nuclear holocaust devastating our country.

According to my e-mail, The Class, a freshman CBS comedy that I never warmed to, has a loyal, disappointed following.

Also complaining are fans of Jill Hennessy, who starred as a Boston medical examiner in Crossing Jordan - a series that always has been way down on my "must see" list.

I agree with devotees of The Knights of Prosperity who believe ABC never provided the comedy a decent run.

This wacky half-hour featured a group of down-on-their-luck New Yorkers who banded together and came up with an outrageous scheme to rob Mick Jagger's luxurious apartment. (More burglaries were scheduled).

In addition to not allowing the series time to develop a fan base, the network came up with a terrible title.

What will I miss?

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, although I understand why many viewers didn't watch.

Studio 60, from the fertile, imaginative mind of Aaron Sorkin (The West Wing) was, for several reasons, too hip for network television's mass audience.

NBC and Sorkin misjudged the interest viewers would have in a weekly drama, with elements of subtle comedy, that offered a behind-the-scenes look at a Saturday Night Live-type production.

The phrase "inside baseball" comes to mind.

And some of Sorkin's pointed political and social rants certainly didn't appeal to conservative viewers.

Also, much of the humorous dialogue was difficult to hear much of the time. Even viewers with near perfect hearing complained.

But with all its liabilities Studio 60 had numerous assets, including an admirable panache and a sophisticated style far removed from the predictable, crime-laden series that dominate the schedules.

And as he did in The West Wing, Sorkin created a group of fascinating characters, portrayed by such pros as Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford, Amanda Peet, Steven Weber, Sarah Paulson, D.L. Hughley and Timothy Busfield.

It's partially incorrect to speak of Studio 60 in the past tense.

Viewers who share my admiration can enjoy a going-away viewing bonus.

The series, missing from the schedule since January, returns Thursday (9 p.m., 9News) with a six-week run of new episodes filmed but never aired.

Thursday's hour offers a familiar, welcome guest star - Allison Janney of The West Wing.

The channel swim

Jack McCoy, Law & Order's hard-working assistant district attorney, may be promoted to the top job next season.

The elevation of Sam Waterston's character would solve the potential "equal time" political problem if Fred Dalton Thompson, the current DA, decides to run for president.

Also, Thompson's departure would cut the series' expensive payroll.

ER will return for its 14th - and last - season in the fall. Can NBC and Denver-reared executive producer John Wells talk George Clooney, Julianna Margulies, Anthony Edwards, Eriq LaSalle and Noah Wyle to return to the Chicago hospital in the finale?

• Fox will air a special episode of House in the key time period following next February's Super Bowl.

Dusty's pick for tonight

Say goodbye to The CW's Veronica Mars (7 p.m. CW2), featuring the attractive, crime-solving teenager who has developed a cult following, particularly among young adults.

The series says farewell with two new episodes, one featuring the mystery of a sex tape featuring Veronica (Kristen Bell), which showed up on the Internet. How could that have happened?

Meanwhile, producers are hopeful that a spinoff series, featuring a more adult Veronica as an FBI agent, will appeal to one of the networks.

Today's nostalgia

On May 22, 1989, NBC premiered a two-part docudrama, I Know My First Name is Stephen, a fact-based story of a young boy abducted by a sex offender and held captive for seven years. The production was one of the highest-rated TV shows of the 1988-89 season.