Ah, out with the old, in with the new. The television season is dead, long live the next television season. And to prepare for it, I’m going to review new shows as the pilots become available.

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip; CBS, Monday, 10:00 PM

Sorkin’s back.

For those of us who loved Sports Night, and those of us who despised The West Wing’s last few seasons compared to the wonder years that came before, this show is the perfect combination. It combines the control-room sequences of Sports Night with the “walk-and-talk” dialogs of The (early) West Wing.

Matt and Danny (Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford) introduce themselves to the cast and crew.

Backstage at the comedy show Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip after a long establishing shot that shows off the amazing set that was built for this production (and that Saturday Night Live producers can only dream about), the show runner Wes Mendell (Judd Hersh, Numb3rs, Taxi, and for those of us of a certain age, Delvecchio) is ordered by Standards and Practices’ Jerry Jones (Michael Stuhlbarg) to drop the only really funny sketch in the show, one targeting fundamentalist Christians; the show is hardly heating up the Nielsons, so he has no choice but to comply. He’s in a foul mood, and even the beautiful host for this evening’s show, Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives, Sports Night) can’t cheer him up.

When he sees the opening sketch, he loses it; live on-air, he chases the actors off, and delivers a soliloquy that would make Paddy Chayefsky proud. He tells the audience to change the channel since the show has been lobotomized…the speech is an indictment of both the networks who pander to the lowest-common-denominator, constantly pushing that level lower and loser, and of the viewing audience who allows it and even demands it. Any paraphrase I might make will not do it justice - watch the show and revile in the beauty of the language, and the delivery. As Jerry demands show director Cal Shanley (Timothy Busfield, The West Wing, and yes, thirtysomething) cut him off and switch to tape, Wes notes that there’s always a tug-of-war between art and commerce, but lately art is getting it’s tail kicked. As Jerry screams, and Cal holds out longer than he should, he finally “goes to VTR” and…the show credits roll - I mean the real credits roll. Class act, that.

After commercial, we meet Jordan McDeere (Amanda Peet, Syriana and for those who were home that week, Jack and Jill) on her first day as the new President of Network Entertainment, attending a dinner party in her honor. She gets a note from her assistant, and immediately all of the cell phones, beepers, and blackberries in the room erupt.

The execs, including Jack Rudolph (Steven Weber, the ill-fated Cursed, Wings) head to the studio, where the following exchange takes place:

Jack Rudolph: Westly…
Wes Mendell: Yeah?
Jack Rudolph: You’re fired.
Wes Mendell: No kidding…

While the network goes into full damage-control mode, Jordan tells Jack he’s trying to fix the wrong problem - everyone is going to say Wes was right, and that’s what needs to be handled; she suggests hiring Matt Albie (Matthew Perry, Friends, The West Wing) and Danny Tripp (Bradley Whitford, The West Wing), who Jack fired years ago.

Matt and Danny, meanwhile, are at the Writers Guild Awards ceremony where Matt is having a little trouble handling his chair, what with all the Vicodin for his back surgery (yes, there’s an inside joke here) and his grief over breaking up with Harriet Hayse, who is a cast-member of Studio 60. Matt wins an award, as Danny is called outside by his business manager Blair (Donna Murphy in a way too-small role; she first got my attention in Murder One, and ever since any time I can watch her work I’m a happy man) about the Studio 60 fiasco.

As you can imagine, the Studio 60 after-show party is an interesting event, and it’s here we meet the “big three” cast members of the show; Simon Stiles (D.L. Hughley, The Hughleys), Harriet Hayes (Sarah Paulson, Deadwood), and Tom Jeter (Nathan Corddry, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart). We find that Harriet is a born-again Christian, who was only offended that she wasn’t in the sketch; they all think the sketch was funnier than anything they’ve performed in years. As they talk, though, they are called back to the studio.

Jordan meets Danny as he’s watching the tape, and offers him the job, letting him know she knows about his failing a drug test which prevents him from directing the feature they planned; Matt doesn’t know, so Danny wants to tell him before she does. When she says she had no intention of telling him,

Danny Tripp:That’s nice, but I have no reason to trust you and every reason not to.
Jordan McDeere: Why?
Danny Tripp: You work in television.

Danny tells Matt they want them to take over the show, and explains how his failed drug test will refuse him a completion bond; Matt figures they’re blackmailing Danny, and takes off to confront the network big-wigs. There is a really funny scene where Matt accuses all of the network execs of it, of course blurting it out to everyone at the same time. (”Sorry about that…that one was all me.”) Matt agrees to take the job after Danny walks out, and he runs into Harriet where the real reason for their breakup is revealed (watch the show) setting up a conflict for future shows.

Matt and Danny have a heart-to-heart in a half-cab on-stage, again a beautiful example of language and delivery, and the boys head out to let the cast know they will, in the words of a P.A., “save them.” The credits roll, the first for the executive producers, Thomas Schlamme and Aaron Sorkin.

Ok, ok, so we all know Danny and Matt are Thomas and Aaron; that whole thing has been done to death…if you haven’t heard it, do a search on Google News. But these guys not only have the chops to do this show, they have the inside knowledge, a healthy disdain for the industry, and most importantly of all, the ability to draft the most beautiful language since Shakespeare, and present it using stylistic yet accessible visuals. I’m pretty sure you’re not going to read another review this season as enthusiastic as this one - after watching this pilot, I am an unabashed fan.

Seriously, watch this show. Enjoy smart, sophisticated, and intelligent entertainment for a change. Wes would be thrilled.