# The Newsroom is coming back (for more punishment?) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 10, 2013, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171 "2013-07-10T20:13:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![voltaire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voltaire/32/313_2.png) [@voltaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voltaire)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/241 "2013-09-05T21:16:05Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > I would say the \*Dexter \*intro is also pretty iconic. Pssst…Showtime. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/242 "2013-09-09T03:56:20Z")
What the hell did Charlie yell out at the end? I have no idea what just happened there. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/243 "2013-09-09T04:27:54Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > What the hell did Charlie yell out at the end? I have no idea what just happened there. I couldn’t hear what he actually said, but he yelled because they just got such a huge story with huge consequences (whether they’re right or wrong). ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/244 "2013-09-09T04:35:07Z")
> [@voltaire](#): > > Pssst…Showtime. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/245 "2013-09-09T08:39:01Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > What the hell did Charlie yell out at the end? I have no idea what just happened there. Sounded like “What the FUCK!” to me. Pretty good episode, though I had to stop halfway through and clean up a gallon of vomit that spontaneously erupted out of me during the scene where we learn how much the rest of the world loves our elections. I’m on pins and needles wondering if Mac is really fired. Also, I’m assuming Kristin Chenoweith cheated on Aaron Sorkin with her ex-boyfriend, and that Aaron was a good boyfriend. A good one. As a boyfriend, he was good. He was a good boyfriend. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/246 "2013-09-09T11:48:26Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Sounded like “What the FUCK!” to me. > > Pretty good episode, though I had to stop halfway through and clean up a gallon of vomit that spontaneously erupted out of me during the scene where we learn how much the rest of the world loves our elections. > > I’m on pins and needles wondering if Mac is really fired. Also, I’m assuming Kristin Chenoweith cheated on Aaron Sorkin with her ex-boyfriend, and that Aaron was a good boyfriend. A good one. As a boyfriend, he was good. He was a good boyfriend. Ok, I had to look up the Kristen Chenoweth thing. I know next to nothing about Aaron Sorkin. As for Mac, there’s a clause in her contract that says Will’s the only person that’s allowed to fire her, it wasn’t outright mentioned, but it was hinted at twice in this episode. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/247 "2013-09-09T12:59:44Z")
Was there something in the first episode of season one where Will took a pay cut in exchange for having the option to fire Mack? ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/248 "2013-09-09T13:48:33Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > Was there something in the first episode of season one where Will took a pay cut in exchange for having the option to fire Mack? Yes. That plot point was developed a little further than just his ability to fire Mac. If I remember right, he gave up his “can’t be fired” clause or something in exchange for the ability to fire Mac at his sole discretion. This promptly bit him in the ass when Jane Fonda decided she wanted to fire him. I don’t remember the actual details, but that was the gist. Will ended up jeopardizing his career just so he could spite his ex. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/249 "2013-09-09T15:12:03Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > I couldn’t hear what he actually said, but he yelled because they just got such a huge story with huge consequences (whether they’re right or wrong). Plus he had just said something along the lines “As long it isn’t a potentially libelous defense department story, I’m good”. And it ended up being a potentially libelous defense department story… but such a good one! ---
**Author:** ![FlightlessBird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cdc98d/32.png) [@FlightlessBird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FlightlessBird)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/250 "2013-09-09T16:12:25Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Yes. > > That plot point was developed a little further than just his ability to fire Mac. If I remember right, he gave up his “can’t be fired” clause or something in exchange for the ability to fire Mac at his sole discretion. This promptly bit him in the ass when Jane Fonda decided she wanted to fire him. > > I don’t remember the actual details, but that was the gist. Will ended up jeopardizing his career just so he could spite his ex. He signed a no-compete clause. If he left ACN or got fired, he couldn’t go back on the air for 6 month (i think), which according to Mac is a ‘death-sentence’ to an anchor. And yes I heard “Arrgh What the FUCK”, it’s the arrgh that throws off the cadence and made me have to watch it twice. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/251 "2013-09-09T17:18:58Z")
I have mentioned I don’t like the fact that they are covering “old news” instead of creating new news stories (as they did in West Wing) that are, well, based off current events. That said, it is interesting to see their coverage of the last election - knowing how it will turn out, but still interesting to see another angle of the story as it unfolds. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/252 "2013-09-09T17:55:05Z")
I rather liked last night’s episode. For the first time in a long while with this (or any, really) show, I yelled, “NOOO!” at the TV. Alright, maybe not quite that dramatically, but I definitely didn’t want the show to end. I think what got me hooked was will telling what’s her face to rip him apart. Is he trying to commit the news anchor version of suicide by cop? What’s going on? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/253 "2013-09-09T18:38:36Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > what’s her face Why is she even there? ACN couldn’t line up somebody more prominent? Is Sorkin admitting that Will being a Republican is nominal lip service at best, and figured he needed an actual Republican character in the scenes so someone could vigorously promote Romney just to get articulately shot down each time? ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/254 "2013-09-09T20:42:19Z")
Agreed, because within the story line, it doesn’t really make sense she’d be there. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/255 "2013-09-10T00:45:34Z")
Oh, I forgot to mention one of the lines I loved last night, just tickled me: “Now you’re just naming smart people. Did they teach you that at Oxford?” So good. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/256 "2013-09-10T04:35:37Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > I think what got me hooked was will telling what’s her face to rip him apart. Is he trying to commit the news anchor version of suicide by cop? What’s going on? My instinct is that he wants an excuse to explode on national television and he needs a catalyst. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/257 "2013-09-10T04:52:42Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Oh, I forgot to mention one of the lines I loved last night, just tickled me: > > “Now you’re just naming smart people. Did they teach you that at Oxford?” > > So good. That reminds me, I feel bad for Neil, they (or at least Mac and Sloan) treat him like crap and his character as a whole is basically worthless. They could get rid of him, make someone else the ‘computer guy’ and cut out a few of the storylines that spend a lot of time on his character. I mean, I like him, I just wish he wasn’t the Newsroom punching bag. I think the problem is that Mac and Sloan treat him like the computer nerd in college. They find him when the need him and the rest of the time he’s just the unimportant guy in the background that they can talk over and around because he’s just the nerd and no one cares what he has to say (yeah, I was that guy)…but when you need him to help you with your homework… ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/258 "2013-09-10T05:53:57Z")
If only they would respect his Bigfoot theories… ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/259 "2013-09-10T16:33:27Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > If only they would respect his Bigfoot theories… Exactly. I think that’s the thing: Neil is clearly one of the smartest guys there, if nothing else because he appears to be the only one aware of how truly important social media is in relation to the news. But then he turns around and talks about Big Foot, which sort of hurts his credibility when it comes to things like the Occupy Movement. One thing I was thinking about: with regard to the Genoa thing, the way the story played out, it sure looks like it did actually happen— but the interviewee changed his mind at the last minute. I wonder if this is an intentional dig at the government, sort of like: yeah, ACN is eating this one, but the government really did do this evil shit and then lied about it. Or maybe I’m reading too much into it. ---
**Author:** ![Snickers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@Snickers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snickers)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171/260 "2013-09-10T16:42:46Z")
I so wanted Will to give it to Mac with both barrels, but he didn’t. He shoulda said something like “I’m not going to fire you just so that you can feel better about yourself. Get it together.” Because man oh man, she deserves all the stewing her little heart can handle. Ish. Maybe that’s what they’re setting up with part 2. Agreed that Neil’s just being used, and that sucks - I really like his character. And doesn’t Jim have a job to do, during (arguably) the biggest night in a cable news network’s four years? Seriously? Or are we just going to let Dan do his job now? The hell? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-is-coming-back-for-more-punishment/663171.md?page=14)