The Newsroom

[Caged Great]

each episode seems to be getting better than the previous one.

[East Coast Flame]

That last ten minutes of the episode was some of the most manipulative, self-important television I have ever seen...but I freaking loved it. My goodness that was amazing.

[Kavvy]

Originally Posted by East Coast Flame

That last ten minutes of the episode was some of the most manipulative, self-important television I have ever seen...but I freaking loved it. My goodness that was amazing.

there is something about this show, every episode follows this trend for me: Start with a climax/interesting intro, just past start to middle gets boring and I think this might actually be the first bad episode, and ends with me just hoping it won't end!

[TopChed]

Apparently Sorkin has fired everyone on the writing staff except for his ex-girlfriend.

http://www.theatlanticwire.com/enter...ewsroom/54815/

You would think after getting picked up for a second season after the first two episodes, Aaron Sorkin and the rest of The Newsroom's writing staff would be on cloud nine. And yet, another two episodes later and almost all of the writing staff are getting their pink slips.

[Mr.Coffee]

ending of episode 4 was extremely cheesy.

[Hells Bells]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

ending of episode 4 was extremely cheesy.

Really?

I thought the ending of episode 4 was the best part of the series so far.

[MarchHare]

Ugh, I have such a love-hate relationship with this show. I enjoy the writing and acting in certain scenes (like the bit in the bar between Jeff Daniels and the gossip writer trying to extort him for $50k in the most recent episode), but then other moments are so poorly-written and manipulative. I agree with Sorkin's political views (for the most part), but I can't get over how terribly anvilicious the writing is. I'll ride this out until the end of the season, but it's about 50-50 if I'll bother watching season 2.

Also, all the female characters on this show are terrible and unrealistic, and I every time there's a lack of professionalism displayed by the ACN crew, I instantly lose my suspension of disbelief. Do we really need a public fight about some character's personal relationship in front of all of his or her co-workers every single episode?

[Hells Bells]

Originally Posted by MarchHare

Ugh, I have such a love-hate relationship with this show. I enjoy the writing and acting in certain scenes (like the bit in the bar between Jeff Daniels and the gossip writer trying to extort him for $50k in the most recent episode), but then other moments are so poorly-written and manipulative. I agree with Sorkin's political views (for the most part), but I can't get over how terribly anvilicious the writing is. I'll ride this out until the end of the season, but it's about 50-50 if I'll bother watching season 2.

Also, all the female characters on this show are terrible and unrealistic, and I every time there's a lack of professionalism displayed by the ACN crew, I instantly lose my suspension of disbelief. Do we really need a public fight about some character's personal relationship in front of all of his or her co-workers every single episode?

In all fairness, you can find many flaws in every TV show.

Breaking Bad, Game Of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire & The Walking Dead are all great shows IMO but you can find flaws in each of them.

I'm not sure I'd watch TV at all if I was bothered by what is or isn't realistic.

[Table 5]

Just blasted through the first 5 episodes of this. For the most part I'm really enjoying it. I think Harry Dunne and the old guy from Law and Order are pretty fantastic, and a lot of the political points they hammer on are bang on. If only someone in the real world had balls to do this type of news show.

My one big peeve is how everyone is always on. It's non stop witty banter all the time....which I don't mind at times, but it bothers me when it's all the freaking time. Especially between that one guy and the girl who's eyes are about an inch from each other. They annoy me, and the little love story there just seems to get in the way.

Emily Mortimer's character is a bit hard to figure out. I like her as an actress, but she's kind of all over the place in this role.

Oh and Sloan Sabbith in sexy glasses is worth the price of admission alone. My nuclear reactor goes to 7 every time she's on the air.

[TopChed]

Originally Posted by Table 5

My one big peeve is how everyone is always on. It's non stop witty banter all the time....which I don't mind at times, but it bothers me when it's all the freaking time. Especially between that one guy and the girl who's eyes are about an inch from each other. They annoy me, and the little love story there just seems to get in the way.

Those two really annoy me on the show. I enjoy almost everything else, but watching this budding romance between those two does nothing for me. I also seem to remember Alison Pill being a bumbling assistant in the first episode, who suddenly transforms into some amazing producer in the next episode. The instant transition seemed so out of place to me.

[Tinordi]

Most of the show is just incredibly forced and pedantic. No subtlety in the plot and tone. Inferior.

[puckluck2]

So because of this thread I went and paid the $20 for the HBO package and I must say I am not disappointed!

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

Most of the show is just incredibly forced and pedantic. No subtlety in the plot and tone. Inferior.

When I noticed this thread, the lack of subtlety was exactly what I was coming in to post about. I don't hate the show -- it does have some compelling moments in it -- but the fact that they feel they need to force feed me ideas is what is keeping this show from being in the same category as other top quality HBO serial television shows like Game of Thrones, the Sopranos, Six Feet Under or Boardwalk Empire.

I've seen a few comments about those shows not being perfect either or being boring at times, which can be true. But what separates all the great shows from NewsRoom is that they have a certain subtlety and depth that NewsRoom simply lacks. The characters are well developed enough so that I don't need them to overtly state their feelings directly at the camera; their actions alone are enough to infer the characters motivations. They act like real people and real human behavior is subtle. I like to put the pieces of the puzzle together myself not being spoon-fed the answer.

Some examples of what I'm talking about is the jealously that Mac shows when Will is bringing his dates to the office where she can barely function in the planning meeting and references the girls multiple times. Or the silly love triangle where Jim is constantly getting his feelings crushed and then coming up with a clever but dismissive one-liner to whomever he happens to be conversing with. This kind of stuff makes it feel like 90210 should appear somewhere in the title.

However, there are still some flashes of HBO brilliance in the show. The opening rant to start of the series was nothing short of brilliant. The scenes where Charlie is fighting to keep the show alive in the face of corporate interests is also great. And I love the realistic feel of the dynamic between the control room, the producers and the anchor when they're on air.

But overall besides, the occasional swear word, this to me feels like a network show that would appear on one of the big 3 American networks. And in that case, I'd probably love the show. In some ways, HBO is a victim of it's own success (and the recent success of other cable networks producing great quality like AMC) in that I simply expect top quality program from them. There's enough interesting points in the show to keep me watching, but I feel disappointed because the show isn't quite living up to the potential that I feel it has.

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by BlackEleven

When I noticed this thread, the lack of subtlety was exactly what I was coming in to post about. I don't hate the show -- it does have some compelling moments in it -- but the fact that they feel they need to force feed me ideas is what is keeping this show from being in the same category as other top quality HBO serial television shows like Game of Thrones, the Sopranos, Six Feet Under or Boardwalk Empire.

I've seen a few comments about those shows not being perfect either or being boring at times, which can be true. But what separates all the great shows from NewsRoom is that they have a certain subtlety and depth that NewsRoom simply lacks. The characters are well developed enough so that I don't need them to overtly state their feelings directly at the camera; their actions alone are enough to infer the characters motivations. They act like real people and real human behavior is subtle. I like to put the pieces of the puzzle together myself not being spoon-fed the answer.

Some examples of what I'm talking about is the jealously that Mac shows when Will is bringing his dates to the office where she can barely function in the planning meeting and references the girls multiple times. Or the silly love triangle where Jim is constantly getting his feelings crushed and then coming up with a clever but dismissive one-liner to whomever he happens to be conversing with. This kind of stuff makes it feel like 90210 should appear somewhere in the title.

However, there are still some flashes of HBO brilliance in the show. The opening rant to start of the series was nothing short of brilliant. The scenes where Charlie is fighting to keep the show alive in the face of corporate interests is also great. And I love the realistic feel of the dynamic between the control room, the producers and the anchor when they're on air.

But overall besides, the occasional swear word, this to me feels like a network show that would appear on one of the big 3 American networks. And in that case, I'd probably love the show. In some ways, HBO is a victim of it's own success (and the recent success of other cable networks producing great quality like AMC) in that I simply expect top quality program from them. There's enough interesting points in the show to keep me watching, but I feel disappointed because the show isn't quite living up to the potential that I feel it has.

remember that they're only 5 episodes in. The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire took longer than that to really get going, i think as the show progresses and the writers/actors get more comfortable with the characters, things will start to even out

[Bunk]

It's no West Wing - Aaron Sorkin's masterpiece, but it's watchable. It has good moments and also some cringe-worthy ones.

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by Tinordi

Most of the show is just incredibly forced and pedantic. No subtlety in the plot and tone. Inferior.

Interestingly enough - that's how I find the majority of your posts!

[BlackEleven]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

remember that they're only 5 episodes in. The Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire took longer than that to really get going, i think as the show progresses and the writers/actors get more comfortable with the characters, things will start to even out

I'm going to have to disagree with you on the Sopranos and Boardwalk Empire. I think where those shows suffer the most is mid-season when the plot can get stale. I think they both started off with a bang -- Boardwalk Empire in particular. I think the series premiere of BE is a masterpiece.

However, I am a patient man when I believe in the concept of a tv show, which I why I keep watching. I hope the post above about the writer's getting fired is true. I get the feeling that the inane, shallow relationships and everyone constantly airing their dirty laundry in front of the entire office are not the bits that Aaron Sorkin is writing.

This show still has raised some points, which I find interesting. The most interesting point they've raised is about the importance of fairness and balance in news. We're constantly bombarded with the idea that the news should present both sides of the argument equally, but they've made the point several times if one side of a argument is just plain stupid, it doesn't merit equal coverage. As someone who is rather left-leaning myself, it makes me wonder whether this is true, or I just find myself agreeing with it because it happens to fall on the side getting the better coverage. And I think that's an important question to ask yourself. Especially in today's world where the sources of information are seemingly endless and people are becoming increasingly polarized in their political views. So, I really must commend the show for tackling this important topic. I just hope as time goes on they can develop characters that have a depth and nuance equal to the messages they're trying to convey.

[Hemi-Cuda]

i have refrained from criticizing this show too much since i want to give it a full chance (even though i agree with a lot that's been posted here), but in the episode tonight every scene in the airplane is everything that is wrong with the writing in this series. the final bit with Don and the pilots was so cheesy it hurt

i'll still watch it though, but only because Jeff Daniels and Sam Waterston are so good

[Table 5]

Yeah, I'm starting to see why the writers were fired. It's gone from a really compelling first episode to cheesy melodrama. I thought this is what the news program itself was railing against.

And that blonde chick just needs to go away. The dialogue between her and that dude is just painful. That whole dynamic is ruining the show.

[Tinordi]

Comparing the first five episodes of this crap to the first five episodes of the Sopranos is stupefying. David Chase blows his nose with Sorkin's episode treatments.