Studio 60

For a few days, I've wanted to write a post about "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," Aaron Sorkin's new show. More specifically, I wanted to address what one of my few readers has pointed out. I intend to response to what he says about Sting and "Fields of Gold" in a later post.

So far, there have been six episodes aired, enough to make a decision about whether I like it and if it's worth keeping on my TiVo schedule. Early on in the season, it's become one of my favorite shows. Like I've said before, I'm an Aaron Sorkin fan. "The West Wing" was a great show. Some of the filming techniques that Sorkin developed and made famous in "The West Wing" can be distracting in this show because by now, it's becoming cliche, but I also find it strangely comforting, probably because after seven years of watching it every week, it's familiar. Wikipedia, in their excellent article on "The West Wing," says this:

The West Wing is noted for its Steadicam tracking shots, long sequences showing staff members walking down hallways. In a typical tracking shot, the camera follows two characters down the halls as they converse, often referred to as pedeconferencing. One of these characters generally breaks off and the remaining character is joined by another character who initiates another conversation as they continue walking. These long shots allow the show to make long eloquent statements through many characters, despite the scripts' fractured dialogue.

Another reason I wanted to wait several weeks to write my review on "Studio 60" is that I wanted enough time to get to know the characters. Specifically, I wanted enough time to analyze one character in particular, Harriet Hayes. Barbara Nicolosi calls Harriet, a overtly Christian character, "a token." To be fair, I wonder how Barb would characterize Harriet as a character after six episodes, for after the six that I've viewed, I disagree with her.

The episode with Sting and his lute, "The Long Lead Story" (#5), is the episode that solidified my thoughts about Harriet. In it, the network has invited a reporter played by Christine Lahti (who is always great, but she's really playing C.J. Cregg) to write a story about the show. She interviews Harriet, and we learn some about Harriet's youth and early career. It turns out that Harriet is the youngest of a very large family, but the only girl and like her mother, the only devout Christian. As the reporter points out, Harriet "became a comedian at the same moment she became a Christian" because the first laugh she got was at church, and the experience was so spiritually profound, she came to faith in Christ. I would think that Barb Nicolosi would appreciate that, since I'm sure she agrees that good art is often intertwined with faith.

This is also the first scene in which we see Sting. Harriet turns on the intercom in her dressing room and they listen to Sting doing some sound checks. Harriet invites the reporter to go watch, and the reporter replies, "Harriet, you're interesting, but get out of my way!" I love the following exchange as they watch Sting practice on his lute:

Reporter: What a beautiful instrument."
Harriet: "Sting, or the lute?"
(My sentiments exactly!)

Anyway, the reporter finds out some about Harriet's relationship with Matt, the head writer played by Matthew Perry (another actor I adore). The actress that plays Harriet, Sarah Paulson, has a nice chemistry with Perry. It turns out that both Matt and Harriet's careers took off after they met each other. As the reporter says, it shows that people with very disparate characters (and even political and religious views) can get along and even love each other. Love and art are also intertwined, and a great love can inspire one to make great art. Yes, Sorkin can be a bit heavy-handed at times.

I've recounted these scenes from this episode because I think it proves my ascertain that Harriet is far from being a "token Christian." I think that her experiences of Christian spirituality, although not perfect, have been handled with sensitivity and respect. She's not a stereotypical Christian, not the way that we're used to seeing Christians presented in the media. She drinks, she curses, she stands up for herself in creative and witty ways, she has premarital sex. (As she told the reporter, it's the only kind she'll probably ever have!)

In many ways, her Christian faith, on the surface, doesn't seem to make much difference in the ways she lives, at least not superficially. She isn't presented as "perfect," or even as judgmental or condemning or crazy. She's funny, witty, and smart. She prays, as shown in another episode in which she circles up with her co-workers and leads them in prayer. That scene could've been cloying, but it turns humorous when she prays that God drop something heavy on Matt. In that scene, she draws God into the workplace, and her friends into an encounter with God, but is honest about the difficulty she's having working for her ex-boyfriend.

As is often the case with Sorkin, something more is happening with Harriet and Matt's relationship. I mean, he broke up with her because she went on the "700 Club"? He knew about her Christian faith long before that. I've always believed that something more was going on with him, that the reason he broke up with her is more complicated. Perhaps things were getting a bit too serious for him, and he was afraid of a relationship with a believer.

As I stated above, Sorkin can be heavy-handed, but he can also be subtle, when he wants to be. In this episode, we learn that Harriet's father wasn't devout, just as the love of her own life isn't. Sorkin seems to understand a dynamic that's common in "cross-faith" marriages, that the same-sex child of the devout parent also becomes devout. That's not the writing of someone who doesn't understand faith and religious belief.

To end, I refer back to the scene I "YouTubed" (another new verb!) previously. In it, Harriet gets very close to Matt, almost kissing him, and tells him, "You knock my socks off." Their interaction confirms the reporter's words about their respective careers. They became brilliant to impress each other. In other words, their love for each other was what made them great comedians. I think that's beautiful. Plus, it inspired this interaction between me and my husband.

Jon: What was that you used to say about me when we were dating?
Christine: "You send me."
Jon: I never did know what that meant.
Christine: Yes, and I've always told you, "The song! The song!"