"Ask Andrew!"

Welcome back to "Ask Andrew," where I publicize interesting email conversations with my friends. Brad from Seattle writes in:

I read on imdb.com that many right wing Christians hate Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. I don't have a TV. Can you inform of (a) why they would hate it and (b) your opinions.

Thanks,
Brad

Well, Brad,

One of the principal characters of Studio 60 is a left-wing comedy writer who delights in writing sketches that tweak the Evangelical right.

Hating the show because of Matt is the stupidest thing ever. First of all, the writing hardly glorifies his opinions; he is painted as pretty much the most intolerant person on the show. Secondly, his ex-girlfriend and the show's female lead, Harriet, is an Evangelical Christian, and she's the best-written and most multi-dimensional Christian character on TV in years, maybe ever. You want to know what Aaron Sorkin thinks of Christianity? Look at Harriet, not Matt. And look at Sorkin's long history of great respect for religion and people of faith (Jeremy and Isaac from Sports Night, Jed and Abbey Bartlett from The West Wing).

I think the show is just magnificent. It's taking a bit longer than his previous shows to get its feet under itself, and Sorkin foolishly made Matt's anti-Christian stance the main story of the first few episodes, but it's very good. Heck, with Heroes coming on right before it, NBC's Monday night alone is worth having a TV for.

Thanks for writing in, Brad. And everyone should feel free to email questions, both silly and serious. Just "Ask Andrew!"