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Well? Guys? Did you watch The Newsroom last night? It wasn’t so bad! Obviously, my expectations had been laid very very low by all of the negative chit chat prior to the actual premiere, so it’s hard to say whether or not I would have felt the same way if I’d just gotten to watch it cold. But Jeff Daniels did a pretty good Bill O’Reilly impersonation. And Emily Mortimer is pretty. (The Time magazine review pointed out that “In Sorkinworld, the men are men and the women are sorry,” which is actually a pretty scathing critique. Also it really seems like all the bad reviews are the specific result of the first four episodes in the cumulative and that everyone roundly agrees that the pilot is mostly fine. So: UH OH!)
There was maybe one too many impassioned speeches about the democratic power of knowledge, or whatever, and the music would swell up sometimes as if we all agree that this is what it’s all about when the truth is that no one gives a shit. When Aaron Sorkin created the West Wing it was a pretty clear wistful alternate reality in direct response to the Bush Administration. “Oh if only it were like this!” And The Newsroom does that to an even more absurd degree. Because at the end of the day, the impassioned news broadcaster filled with integrity who changes the hearts and minds of all Americans and thereby sets our country back on the right track straight up doesn’t exist and no one cares about the news. Sorry! The closest we have is Brian Williams, and I feel like he’s mostly known for being mildly funny “for a news anchor” on Saturday Night Live and fathering that one girl from Girls. We almost had Anderson Cooper for awhile, but now he’s basically a one-man Kathie Lee and Hoda show filling up the afternoons with giggling conversations about leg cream. When Jeff Daniels’s character is telling Emily Mortimer’s character that her fantasy of an opinionated news broadcast that still manages to bring people from vastly different worldviews together for the beloved institution of informing themselves and he says “what you’re talking about is simply not possible” he’s absolutely right. But hey! Fantasy is fun! Game of Thrones!
It did feel a little bit like watching a theatrical play rather than a TV show. And is everyone really that much of a jerk? Like, sure, Jeff Daniels is supposed to be a jerk, but that other guy, Don? He was such a jerk, too. Dump the chump, nice blonde girl! Meanwhile, I am not entirely convinced that people openly drink that much whiskey around the office, Sam Waterston’s character, but it’s what makes people love Mad Men so I guess we’ll try it here, too. Something something Olivia Munn? Get on Twitter, Olivia Munn, and tweet about Dev Patel’s blog.
BUT SO GUYS? WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT HBO’S THE NEWSROOM?
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“The men are men and the women are sorry” applies to so many shows and so many things I don’t even know where to start.
More like “the men are men and the women are scientists.”
Wait — I HAVE A BLOG?
The best thing Jeff Daniels ever did was Something Wild. But, that scene comes close.
100% correct comment.
“Internet Girl” indeed.
I’m just glad there’s finally a show that posits that everything used to be better than it is now.
At first I was like, “Is this show good?” And then I was like,
I never liked west wing. Reading that gawker thing today about this show validated my position.
I liked the part where they walk and talked.
You didn’t watch it, did you?
why isn’t anyone talking about how THE SHOW IS SET IN 2010? they’re going to be in shock when they find out what happens in Egypt, NEWS!
Aaron Sorkin, there is no reason to subject us to the fanfiction from your locked livejournal. No one cares what you would have done if you were in charge of news when Gabby Giffords was shot. Literally no person cares about that! Especially not with Cold Play involved.
The Newsroom reminded me of all the other things i could be doing instead of watching this show.
I haven’t watched it yet but (in an interview) Sorkin apparently said he’s sick of girls who don’t know how to high-five. Ugh. This guy. The worst.
He’s a dick, but she did say there should be a show about Gawker so any vitrol directed at her is probably pretty valid.
Whenever Jack McCoy was in disbelief about a case on Law and Order, Sam Waterston reminded me of this Muppet…
http://muppet.wikia.com/wiki/Sam_the_Eagle
Law and Order alums are all over HBO this season. I didn’t watch Newsroom – even though I really like Waterston.
It’s really hard to see Chris Meloni as anyone other than Stabler from SVU. It’s even harder when he is playing the part of Vampire Congressman or whatever the hell is even going on in True Blood.
I liked last night’s episode. Pam is the best. Though Alcide was wearing way too much clothing for me to pay attention.
Haven’t seen last night’s episode yet. Pam is definitely the highlight of the season so far. Oh and the werewolf puppy was hilarious.
don’t worry they introduced even more characters for me to not care about.
It’s even harder knowing he owns a bottle of dick cream and likes to fondle his sweaters.
I’m ok if Sam Waterston becomes more and more of a loveable drunk.
I think it was ok. The music was getting annoying, every time it swelled I was like oh i guess he is coming around
I liked it though I wasn’t blown away by it.
Jeff Daniels – good, solid and other adjectives of that nature
Emily Mortimer – good (and not too hard on the eyes fellas *elbow nudge*elbow nudge*)
Sam Waterston – I love grumpy Sam Waterston! More please!
the Don guy – I don’t know why but I really liked how they switched him up on us at the end of the episode. He admitted he was wrong, apologized, went down to say hi to Bubbley McSmiley’s parents, etc.
I guess I can see why people wouldn’t like the very Sorkin-ness of it but it’s my cup of tea and I’ll have another one thank you very much. Its future success largely depends where it goes from here. If every episode is filled with “impassioned speeches about the democratic power of knowledge” then that’ll get old real fast. If that’s just in the pilot to set the scene then I’m excited.
I liked it overall, but I saw two big flaws. The show became campy every time its idealism poked through, as in the second half of the campus tirade or Mackenzie’s big rousing speech. This is because the idealism was confused and mostly misdirected, setting its sights on making America great again (thus miming Tea Party slogans and undermining its own stab at unorthodoxy) rather than just doing great journalism. The show flirted with this idea in indirect ways but was mostly commandeered by nostalgia.
The other flaw was Daniels, or his character. I get that we’ll have to wait to find out why he’s such a prick, but honestly I couldn’t begin to piece together his motivations, or what kind of guy he was supposed to be.
I also hated the reveal at the end. Major hack move. But I liked the supporting characters a lot and there was some good writing in the seams.
There were large chunks of this, the speeches mainly, where only Emily Mortimer’s bone structure kept me watching. I’m still puzzling over the bit at the start where JD says America used to be just perfect and fought the right wars — I guess he means the 1960s? Mm-hm. Riiiight.
As it goes, the pilot of ‘The West Wing’ wasn’t great — the swelling music was an even bigger problem there. (It’s not quite right that ‘it was a pretty clear wistful alternate reality in direct response to the Bush Administration’ — it became that, but the show started in 1999.)
So this was better than the pilot for ‘Studio 60′. It’s probably not classy to say so, but maybe Aaron Sorkin should go back on crack? I’m just saying.
Shrooms, not crack. And yes, he should.
I liked it. It was obviously fictionalized and stupidly dramatic, but I liked it.
Honestly? It’s the summer, there is not that much on, so I’ll keep watching. If it gets to be a hassle I’ll stop, but for now, it seems like it will be something that will fill time nicely.