I got a “special request” yesterday from C-Lo to watch the new Rachael Ray show. I missed her debut and her second day with Oprah coming on the set to give her blessings (and hopefully some of her audience share) to Rachael “Monster” Ray.
Okay, I missed the show, but I did check out her website and it had clips from her interviews, cooking segments, a blooper reel (God, I hate those. How many times can we laugh at people screwing up on camera? Well, the blooper reel for Cannonball Run was funny, but that’s because the film sucked so bad. But I digress…), and one of those behind the scenes clips that’s supposed to show that Rachael is just a regular gal (she cut her finger before they started recording and there was this whole thing with finding the right band aide).
Okay, so does that give me enough to render a verdict? Yep! And it’s this: she’s off the air in 3 months. Oprah is behind her, so maybe she’ll get her to calm down. But out of the gate, Rachael has too much energy an excitement over…well, not much. Well, I suppose she’s excited that she has a show on network TV, but the way she acts you would think she’s never been on TV before.
Note to Rachael: Time to put “Monster” Rachael in a box and go back and watch old 30 Minute Meals tapes to see why “Sweet” Rachael was so appealing.
A show that is appealing is the new drama on NBC, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.Â
 I taped this one on our VCR (no TiVo yet), and the show is quite good! I’m not sure if there’s more style than substance going on, but for a first episode, it was compelling TV. Aaron Sorkin (the creator of The West Wing) is the creator of this show, and like The West Wing, there’s a lot of walking and talking, and people are way more articulate than they are in real life, but there’s something about the show that feels like there’s going to be some great episodes. For those who don’t know, Studio 60 is about a Saturday Night Live-type show and all the behind the scenes politics that goes one. So, on the first show, the long-time executive producer decides to shut down a horrible skit on live TV and tell the audience to switch the channel because commerce has essentially taken over art. Said producer goes on and says Hollywood basically turns out bad porn, snuff films, and shows with poop jokes, and it’s just not worth watching anymore. So, turn off your TV. Just shut if off and forget watching shows that basically tell you it’s raining when they are pissing on your head. Â
Folks, that was in the first 10 minutes!Â
Matthew Perry, Bradley Whitford, Amanda Peet, Steven Weber, and  Sarah Paulson make up the principles and there a lot atypical tension between the them. And where there’s tension, there’s drama, and that’s what this show is about. And Studio 60 does drama very well. And that’s gotta hold me until Battlestar Galactica (the best drama on TV!)starts on October 6th.
 –PK
