I’m Sick of Your Shit: Aaron Sorkin

Posted by Maggie October 6th, 2006 at 03:00pm In I'm Sick of Your Shit Studio 60

Aaron, I know you think I'm just an ugly person sitting at my computer talking to no one, but I just want you to know that I get it. I really do. You are much, much smarter than me. You are much, much smarter than pretty much everyone, including (but not limited to): people who watch TV, other TV writers, people who work in non-creative fields, midwesterners, bloggers, people who read blogs, people who drink at parties, and people who don't know what commedia dell'arte is. That would be all well and good, because every genius has his quirks, but on top of that, you really don't know a damn thing about sketch comedy, and your show-within-a-show is painfully unfunny, making all the characters who work on that show (not to mention the show-within-a-show's fictional viewers) look like total boobs for taking it so seriously.

Suffice to say, I'm sick of your shit. I'm rooting for you to pull out of it, but I'm not holding my breath.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is officially troubled. The pilot was lovely. I like the Big Three dynamic, I love Matthew Perry, and behind-the-scenes stuff is inherently fun (hello, Noises Off). The second episode, I had concerns. There was the ripping on the internet and the deadly Gilbert and Sullivan thing. But the third episode, aired this past Monday, is where we really get to see the kind of mess this show really is.

Science Shmience? Really?

The problem is, you seem to want to elevate television, to write for an intelligent, thoughtful audience. But when you continually insult your audience by expecting them to believe that Science Shmience is a hilarious laff riot, and call your biggest supporters — those on the internet that care enough to write about your work — lonely, sad, talentless nobodies, you're creating a show for one. You. Only you.    

I know I'm not the only one saying this. All of us plebes on the internet are expressing pretty much the same thing. Which will only serve to fuel your rage, I'm sure. 

The only bright side to all this is that when 30 Rock, Tina Fey's version of your show, finally airs, I predict people will embrace it as a cynical, angst-free, actually funny alternative, and it will end up the surprise winner.