West-Coast Wing

I found just what I've been looking for to fill the West Wing-shaped hole in my heart.

Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip

Yes, despite its long, awkward title, and characters based so obviously on its creators - I have decided, after only one episode, to marry myself to this show for life.

Its life, not mine.

Already, one of the chief complaints about the show is that it's too good to be true, and destined for cancellation. Either a key player is going to leave, or the network will crumble under the weight of a dozen most assuredly high salaries. Not to mention the fact that Aaron Sorkin - the genius writer that makes this show so tasty - isn't exactly known for turning scripts in on time.

I wouldn't be a supernerd if I hadn't already watched it again on the DVR, and looked at all the online feedback I could find, now would I? Stay tuned for the funniest thing I've heard about this show so far.

The drama in the show stems from Judd Hirsch's character, the director of an SNL-type show, who has had it with television in general, and interrupts the live broadcast of the show to go on a tirade about how lame, debased, and neutered television has become. The obvious similarities to the film Network are acknowleged, and even riffed on a little bit. Long story short - Hirsch's character is mad as hell, and he's not gonna take it anymore. He says to the camera that your remote control is like a crack pipe, and demands that everyone watching change the channel, or just plain turn their television off.

It's in dealing with the fallout from this that the show gets going. Network executives freak out, fire Judd Hirsch, and start talking about the aftermath. Lawsuits, sponsors, standards and practices, etc. They are worried about all the people that will be upset with what Hirsch's character said. Finally, Amanda Peet's character laughs at them all, and suggests that what they should really be concerned about is how true his words actually were. That's what the real story would be.

What I think is hilarious is that it is now 12:00 a.m. Central time - only 2 hours since the end of the actual show - and already Christians are complaining that the show is anti-them. They are complaining that one character's remarks about Pat Robertson and The 700 Club were offensive, and that Sarah Paulson's character (a Christian, incidentally) is misrepresentative of Joe Disciple. Typical, they say, of Hollywood.

Could life imitate art any more clearly? As Christians, what we ought to be worried about is not that Hollywood is saying negative things about us. What we ought to be most worried about is the fact that what they are saying is so sadly true.