Undeclared by Judd Aptow

Again it’s the funniest, smartest, most poingant shows that get canceled.  Judd Aptow’s second ill-fated television series follows the freshman year of Steven and his friends in the same style as Freaks and Geeks.  What would have happened to Aptow’s carreer if these series had gotten the full run they deserved?  Would there be The 40 Year Old Virgin or Knocked Up?  Eh, who can say.

Steven is your typical geek in high school looking to shed his old image for a much cooler persona at college.  He doesn’t quite succeed.  What he does though is to develop a series of friendships that are meaningful and taxing just like real life.  Steven is shacked  up with the hottest guy on campus which doesn’t make his quest for a girlfriend any easier.  As the show progresses so do the charectors.  This is an all around hysterical show!

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip by Aaron Sorkin

Studio 60 was the best TV show to come out in a long time. Having already been a huge fan of Sports Night I knew to expect intelligent and comedic writing, however, the show far exceeded my expectations. The show was canceled after one season and a number of reasons have been sited: ratings, the time slot, the cost, but I think Sorkin probably pissed off a lot of his “bosses”. From the first episode when the head of Studio 60 gets on camera and berates every exec, producer, and industry worker that promotes the dumbing down and voyeurism of television I knew this show was a platform for Sorkin. He managed to get on the soapbox without being preachy. As always Sorkin’s writing is spot on.

As great as Sorkin’s writing is, the cast is where Studio 60 shines. From the first episode you feel like Matt Albie (Matthew Perry) and Danny Tripp (Bradley Whitford) have been working together forever and you’re already a fan. As the series progresses Matt and Danny’s back story is fleshed out and you can’t help but get sucked in, they are underdogs that finally get a shot on top. The three main actors on Studio 60 give you that behind the scenes look at preparing for a show along with the problems of balancing real life with stage life. Steven Webber as Studio Executive, Jack Rudolph, gives a remarkable performance; first you hate him and by the end you love him.

This show is smart and witty, sad and enlightening, and totally entertaining. It is a real shame that it was only kept for one season, however, it was Aaron Sorkin and anything to good just can’t last on television.

Firefly by Joss Whedon

Quite possibly the saddest show on television. Not that the series was a sad, quite the opposite, the series was phenomenal. What is sad is what the FOX network did. First they butchered the show, refusing to air the pilot (which introduced all the characters and explained why they were all together, lack of this explination was an early criticism of the show). Then they aired the shows in the wrong order, assuming they understood the shows vision more than the director. Lastly, they killed the show after airing only 11 shows, Whedon has said that he planned for the series to go on for seven years. Firefly, you are sorely missed! Sorry for the lament, now, on to the review.

Firefly is THE best science fiction series EVER created. I dare you to watch and disagree. It is the story of a crew from a spaceship that is on the fringe; the fringe of the law, the fringe of society, the fringe of space. The captain is former ranking officer in “the war” (war between the alliance and the federation) and he was on the losing side. He names his ship after the last battle he fought in, Serenity, and decides to go into the illegal freighting business. His crew are people who have fought alongside him or have been acquired along the way, having no place else to go. The story follows the rich plots of the characters. Each episode seems to have the crew carrying a different illegal item, some times supplies, one time cows and even a sister; but what the viewer hooks onto is the back story of characters. Whedon has created a world that is easy to fall in love with but impossible to forget. The western quality to the show with the backdrop of space is the perfect juxtaposition for fanatics to find something to obsess over.