In a break with a tradition that must be broken, I am not going to simply make sweeping statements about the quality of this show on the basis of just one episode. Look, I’m maturing before your very eyes.

Well, actually, I’ll make a *few* sweeping statements, I’m sure, and I’m probably only curbing this particular habit because this first episode of Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip (Thursdays, More4, 10pm) didn’t actually give us much to go on in any case. Yes, this was a show safe in the knowledge that they had plenty of time, and could afford to use a whole episode to introduce us to the characters and do little else. Of course, we know differently, but bless ‘em, they didn’t, so we’ll let them off.

So, in this new spirit of even-handedness, I shall simply relate to you what we learnt about the characters and situations. At first, at least.

The show began with one of those single-shot openings through the corridors of Studio 60 (Aaron Sorkin does love his corridors, doesn’t he?) that just screams ‘We know what we’re doing. We’ve done this sort of thing before. See how classy this looks!’ And it does look classy, and you *do* feel that you’re in the presence of programme-makers who know what they’re doing.

Unlike the fictional producers in their show, who are trying to keep Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip (a Saturday Night Live style sketch show) together, when it’s clearly a sinking ship. It’s the the classic art vs. commercialism fight: the head writer is trying to keep a possibly controversial sketch in the show, and the money-men are telling him that it’s going to be cut. Sensing his number’s up in any case, the writer interrupts the show, and delivers a tirade against the state of modern television – throwing the producers into a mild hysteria. The fact that “he’s telling people to change the channel!” seems to be the major concern. Eventually, they cut to VT, knowing that they probably won’t have jobs to come back to in the morning…

And that’s where the new guard come in: Jordan, the brand new network president (having the first day from hell), comedy writer Matt (Matthew Perry) and producer/director Danny (Bradley Whitford, the fabulous Josh in The West Wing). Jordan is the the type of person who Thinks Outside The Box and Gets Results, and decides that the show should publicly agree with what the writer had said on air, and start afresh with a radical ‘if it’s funny, it’s in’ agenda. Matt and Danny are the people who can deliver this. They used to work on the show but were fired – and guess what, it’s to do with that sketch that caused the furore that very night. Ah, it’s all falling into place.

Matthew Perry as Matt is, well, Matthew Perry. He’s basically Chandler if he’d got the job he always dreamed of. This isn’t a criticism – you hire Perry to be Perry and he does it very well, just like Bill Murray (to whom he’s very similar in most ways, of course). And those of us who’ve seen anything of the West Wing know that Whitford has easy charm to spare. While ex-girlfriends and partners have already been introduced, it seems that is their friendship that will provide the show with warmth and an emotional core.

So, is there promise? Of course. It looks great, has a leading cast to die for, and is set in a really interesting environment. Personally, I’d prefer it to be a comedy-drama rather than straight, knowing what a brilliant comedy performer we have in Perry, but I get a feeling that, come the end of the season, we’ll all be scratching our heads as to why this show hasn’t had the chance to continue. [annawaits]