Well tonight is a bit bittersweet. My housemates and I just finished our whirlwind viewing of the entire series of NBC's most controversial prime-time television drama, Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip. I bought the series, consisting of only one season, with some Christmas money without ever having seen it in its entirety. My roommate and best friend, Jon, and I watched the first 5 or 6 episodes as they aired in the fall of 2006. We tried to spread the buzz about the show, but none of our friends really cared for it when we tried to watch the pilot episode with them. I guess, Studio 60 couldn't compete with the likes of House, M.D., The Office, or Grey's Anatomy, even though Jon and I regarded it as the best show on television last year (and we didn't even watch it all the way through). I'm not exactly sure as to why we lost interest in the show. I think we just started to get lazy. We were taping each episode and watching them later that same night. Then we stopped taping it all together. So I started watching the show again this past fall, from the beginning when my housemate Monica told me that she was borrowing it from the library. She was so eager to see what the show was about, she watched the first 8 or so episodes. But, she didn't mind going back to the beginning when I had requested to start them over again. We asked around and invited others with whom we live, if they wanted to watch--no takers at the time. Well, I was just as hooked as before, if not more. We watched the first 3, then called it a night. I asked if I could borrow the series to catch up to her. So, I didn't call it a night. I watched 3 more episodes that night. I never got a chance to watch any more before it had to be returned to the library... until, I bought the show on DVD just before Christmas. I decided to wait. I really showed some restraint. I have no clue why I didn't just throw the second disc in where I had left off and breezed through the series. Nevertheless, I waited until after Christmas break when I was back in Elgin. I watched 5 more episodes on my own, since Monica couldn't wait for me to return to watch the rest of the season. I got to episode 12, and felt like watching it out in our living room. Well, two of my housemates, Beth and Bekah expressed interest in watching it. We got a few minutes into that episode, and I decided I can't let them come into the season over halfway through. I popped in the first disc... thus began our one week viewing of Studio 60.
It ended tonight, as we watched the final four episodes. No, I'm not going to tell you what happened. Go buy the series! Or, if you are economically disadvantaged like me, try to borrow it from a public library, rent it at a video store, or borrow it from me sometime. The culmination of this week is bittersweet. The bitter aspect is because it's over. There are no more episodes. This is sad for me because I will no longer be able to experience something that I have loved. It is as if they discontinued your favorite ice cream flavor or flavor of soda. Yeah, sure there will always be more flavors from which you can choose, but none will ever quite be the same as your favorite which you will never taste again. The anticipated cancellation of Studio 60 is hitting me 8 months after it occurred.
But the sweet taste that lingers in my being has to do with the whole experience of watching the series. Some questions come to mind: WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE CANCELLED?, What was different this time when I asked people if they'd be interested in watching it? Would I have enjoyed it so much if I had just watched it by myself?
The first question is for NBC to answer. I can speculate, but only they truly have an answer to that question. I'm not sure why this time was different. Bekah, Beth, and I watched the first four episodes the first night we started watching. I was already hooked, but then I got the two of them in one swipe. Dana, another housemate of mine, also joined us on several occasions. She had already seen the series, as she watched them as they were aired the previous year. Even Sharon, another housemate, joined us for a few including the final episode. There's no way I would have enjoyed the series had I been content with watching the episodes by myself. I love doing certain things on my own: reading, playing the guitar/piano, sleeping, bike riding, blogging, etc. But so much of the allure in watching a few episodes nightly had to do with the company. It brought back memories of when Jon and I watched the early episodes together in our apartment on the campus of Juniata last year.
The whole experience, even though it lasted only a week, was quite invaluable. It will be difficult to emulate the connection and greater sense of community that was felt when we would all come together at the dinner table and have the same thing on our minds: "let's eat quickly, then watch Studio 60". This message of community speaks much louder to me than the content of any television program. It is yet another example, in my contemporary life, of why living in community with others is a great way to live. I understand that it is easier to live in community with others when I am actually sharing the same house as several other people, but I hope I don't lose sight of the significance of spending some quality time and sharing my life with other well-intentioned people.
Next item of business: find some other evening activity that will bring us together again, that we may continue to grow in this community of love.
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