Cage Match: 'The Black Donnellys' vs. 'Studio 60'
Feb 27, 2007, 06:09 PM | by Erin DeJesus
Categories: Television, TV Ratings
Have you heard? NBC is pinning its hopes on this new lofty, ambitious show created by a Hollywood Golden Boy. They've been hyping it with millions of commercials and previews (to the point of irritating saturation), all of which promise that the show will bring intellectual, gritty topics back to television. To prove this is indeed a Serious Television Show, most of its scenes will be shot in deep shadow and sepia tones. And of course, NBC is hoping — praying — that this new show will pull the network out of the ratings doldrums.
Sound familiar? Whether you're hearing this story in the present tense or if it takes you back to warmer days in early September, the parallels between new show The Black Donnellys and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip seem uncanny. Both have big-name creators (Paul Haggis and Aaron Sorkin, respectively), both address serious topics (violence and religion), and both share a timeslot: Mondays at 10 p.m. (The Black Donnellys began squatting in Sorkin's timeslot last night, bumping Studio 60 into the bleak land of "indefinite hiatus.")
Since further comparisons between the two are inevitable, how do the pilots match up head-to-head? Let us compare and contrast:
The Dramatic Premise
A prominent TV producer has an on-air breakdown at Studio 60,
and executive Jordan (Amanda Peet) calls in former-employees-with-questionable-pasts Matt (Matthew Perry) and Danny (Bradley Whitford) to save the day. Can they assemble a dream team to rescue their sketch-comedy show? Meanwhile, on Donnellys, Tommy Donnelly (Jonathan Tucker) desperately tries to keep his crime-loving brothers
in check. By the end of the first episode, he's seen one brother
hospitalized, another arrested, and his dreams of a cleaner, better life go down the tube as he
walks into an Italian mob stronghold and shoots five of its members,
point-blank. Somehow saving SNL doesn't seem nearly as important —
nor does it involve gunplay.
Winner: The Black Donnellys
The Setting
The Donnelly boys were born and raised in NYC's Hell's Kitchen, where
pubs are abundant and territories are clearly marked and defended. Studio 60's
drama takes place inside a historic theater on a ritzy Hollywood street. Cheer up, gloomy comedy folk — it's (probably) sunny outside!
Winner: The Black Donnellys
Character Introduction
Studio 60 introduced stars Matt, Danny, and Jordan using handy
little title cards that stated who we were about to meet next. Though the
cards were convienent and probably should be considered cheating, after
five minutes of Donnellys, I was confused as to who was who and how
they were all related — blame it way-too-quick introductions and the
stereotypical Irish/Italian/New York way of having all names end in
"-y" (it seems like there's a Tommy, Jenny, Joey, Danny, Pauly, Petey,
Jimmy, Billy, Bobby, Scotty, Biscotty, and Sneezy in every
neighborhood.)
Winner: Studio 60
The Love Interest
On Studio 60,
Matt pines over his ex — good-girl, God-fearing sketch comic Harriet Hayes (Sarah
Paulson) — and the two banter like there's no tomorrow (indeed, watching them go at it really does feel like an eternity). Though
Tommy's childhood friend Jenny (Olivia Wilde) is married, she doesn't
know that her husband is dead — yet she proclaims her love for Tommy
anyway. Pretty badass. Plus, Wilde gets automatic career brownie points
for playing a bi-curious bartender in the most ridiculous of OC plots.
Winner: Wilde and The Black Donnellys
The Guy Love
Studio 60's Matt and Danny have stuck by each other through thick
and thin, including their firings and drug addiction, and the guy love
is palpable; Danny often hides information from Matt to avoid hurting him.
The Donnelly boys, though related, don't seem to interact much outside
fighting, beating on each other, and hiding information to avoid more
fighting and beating. And is it me, or is Tommy's nearly-blind loyalty
not "love" so much as some other emotion that borders on idiotic? They say blood is
thicker than water, but thanks to Perry and Whitford's acting
chemistry, Matt and Danny are the more touching team.
Winner: Studio 60
The Moral
Well, we're not really sure of Studio 60's
"moral of the story," as its pilot had about 15 of them mashed
together (showbiz career desperation + the decline of quality
television + past drug use + The 700 Club = huh?). But since we're
pretty sure the Donnelly boys don't have any morals at all, we'll give
Studio 60 a special dispensation.
Winner: Studio 60
Tally up the votes, folks, and it leads to... a frustrating tie.
Which is probably logical. Though I loved the Studio 60 pilot, I was frustrated (as many viewers were) by the end of its run — but I'm not quite sure The Black Donnellys is a particularly good replacement. At the very least, Studio 60's pilot was better paced and had more memorable characters, though Donnelly's plot leads to more drama, as long as the story is told correctly.
So what do you think, PopWatchers? Who wins in the battle of NBC's 10 p.m. Monday timeslot? Is it too early to tell with one measly Donnellys airing? (The first-night ratings aren't promising.) Do you already miss Matt and Danny's male bonding? And most importantly, who would win in a barfight, Jenny Reilly or Harriet Hayes?
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