Matthew Perry as Matt Albie and Bradley Whitford as Danny Tripp in Studio 60. Photograph: Channel 4
We're finally getting to see what Aaron Sorkin did next - his West Wing follow-up Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is coming to More4 next Thursday. When it was first announced, it seemed like a great proposition: West Wing alumni Bradley Whitford, Timothy Busfield and Matthew Perry teaming up with Amanda Peet to banter through his patented walk'n'talk routine behind the scenes of a Saturday Night Live-style satire show.
The first episode, at least, more than lives up to the hype. Like The West Wing, it's another workplace you wish you were smart, witty (and hot) enough to work at; it's an intoxicating mix of big money, big decisions and big players railing against a system filled with commercially-minded suits that almost flatters you enjoying it.
But after a rocky run, plagued with mixed reviews, cancellation rumours and delayed episodes, the first season is now officially the last, with Sorkin coming out to shoulder the blame for the show's failure.
Maybe the cynical world of TV wasn't quite the natural fit for Sorkin's politicised writing that The West Wing proved to be. There's only so many times you can bite the hand that feeds with scenes like Judd Hirsch's bravura Network-style "I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!" rant before the hand slaps you back. Still fun to see though.
So is it there any point in watching now when we know it's already been axed? Who wants to put in the hours if it's not going to stick around? We've come to expect our US imports to rack up season after box set-ready season, so it feels like a bit of a non-starter when it's a finite experience. But, if you look at some of the recent series that have fallen to the ratings executioner, it's hard not to feel like some of the best are getting pulled before their time.
Firefly Buffy creator Joss Whedon followed up his teen vampire epic with this wild west sci-fi. Canned after the first season, the DVD did pretty well after the big screen sequel Serenity brought a new legion of Browncoats on board.
Freaks And Geeks It's hard not to wonder what might have happened if Judd Apatow had pulled his great rock'n'roll high school series out after the success of 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up. His crack at a college sitcom, Undeclared, didn't do too well either - even with Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell guest spots.
Action This sitcom, about ruthless Hollywood agent Peter Dragon, never quite hit the heights of Entourage but it mined pretty similar territory -- with real-life cameos from Keanu Reeves, Salma Hayek, David Hasselhoff, Tony Hawk etc.
Arrested Development One of the sharpest, most detailed sitcoms in years eventually racked up three seasons after being brought back from cancellation limbo when fans bombarded network bosses with bananas to complain. Still died in the end though.
We don't worry that British dramas usually arrive in batches of six - if shows like The Thick Of It, State Of Play or Spaced made it to US-style 20-odd runs, we'd all be pretty pleased. Maybe it's better to think of these already doomed shows like the mini-series that used to arrive in the 80s -- TV we can enjoy without having to sign up for years to find out what happens.
