# The Newsroom - Season 1 thread \[edited title\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2012, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169 "2012-06-24T19:36:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/241 "2012-08-21T02:38:11Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I know that it’s just Sorkin preaching, but would any station looking to make money _seriously_ think that the RNC or DNC would agree to such a debate format? As in ever? Watching it now. Yeah, that was silly. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/242 "2012-08-21T03:02:45Z")
But it was fun to imagine how a serious, substantive debate might look and sound. \ ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/243 "2012-08-21T03:04:43Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > It must be hard to find actors who can smoke credibly onscreen these days–who know how to hold the ciggie and flick the ash with authenticity. That’s interesting, because I’ve been thinking this whole time what an incredibly fake-looking smoker Jeff Daniels is. He doesn’t look convincing to me at all. I thought last night’s episode was the worst one so far. The idea that the new debate format would ever happen was just ridiculous, and as much as I hate to do it, I was completely with the RNC guy on that matter. A debate where the moderator is free to cut the candidates off and interrupt them at any moment? I’m all for debate reform, but that’s just stupid. Sorkin does realize that the debate is not about the moderator, right? That scene in the dress shop? Pure agony. And it just . . . kept . . . going. I was so incredibly embarrassed for John Gallagher Jr. What does this troll storyline with Neal have to do with anything? And Will can’t put on his pants! Ho ho, how amusing. :rolleyes: I thought the show had been on something of an upswing for the last two or three episodes, but there were several giant steps backward with this episode. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2012, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/244 "2012-08-21T04:11:37Z")
> [@Rollo\_Tomasi](#): > > I thought last night’s episode was the worst one so far. The idea that the new debate format would ever happen was just ridiculous, and as much as I hate to do it, I was completely with the RNC guy on that matter. A debate where the moderator is free to cut the candidates off and interrupt them at any moment? I’m all for debate reform, but that’s just stupid. Sorkin does realize that the debate is not about the moderator, right? It’s about THE AMERICAN PEOPLE, DAMMIT! But, yeah, it’s hard to have sympathy for someone with an idealistic dream when they go about pursuing it in such a stupid way. But don’t forget - Will’s a Republican! And he’s pro-life! Therefore it’s fair! > [@](#): > > And Will can’t put on his pants! Ho ho, how amusing. :rolleyes: Hey, even the great ones put on their pants two legs at a time. And researching this “troll” thing is ridiculous. “There are jerks on the internet! Film at eleven! Also, water wet! Film at eleven!” ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 7:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/245 "2012-08-21T07:39:35Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > I’m loving Will’s bodyguard. He is waaay yummy, possibly the most attractive man on the show. Hey, that’s Chris Rock’s dad! I knew he had _two_ job, but I never suspected this! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2012, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/246 "2012-08-21T11:54:51Z")
Part of my criticism of this show is that it can’t seem to decide what it is. With both \*Sports Night \* (comedy with some dramatic undertones) and _West Wing_ (drama with a sense of humor), Sorkin managed to strike just the right tone for what they were, and the tone stayed fairly consistent throughout those series. _Studio 60_ never seemed to find any tone at all; it was just a mess. _The Newsroom_ isn’t as big a mess as _Studio 60_, but it alternately feels like both \*Sports Night \*and _West Wing_, and can’t seem to settle on any point on the spectrum in between. The resulting whiplash undermines both the comedic and dramatic elements. ---
**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:** [August 21, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/247 "2012-08-21T17:31:03Z")
Well, you know how Jon Stewart is a comedian who occasionally makes a serious point, and is very good at it? This is the opposite of that. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2012, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/248 "2012-08-22T02:40:58Z")
According to this GQ thread: > **[Is it possible not to be a citizen of any country?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=161726)** > > Is it possible to be born into the world in such a way that you are not a citizen of any country? Also, is it possible to lose an existing citizenship because yours gets revoked or your country somehow dissolves or is taken over? If this happens, how... progeny of ambassadors are not considered subject to US law and are thus not automatically awarded citizenship for being born on US soil. So that whole backstory for MacKenzie “being a US citizen because she was born on US soil” is dubious. Of course she could have applied for US citizenship and got it any time later, but she didn’t get it by, as several characters say, “being born on US soil”. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/249 "2012-08-26T17:41:28Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > Well, it’s happened so many times in the history of the agency. :rolleyes: Well, I have to retract this bit of snark in light of [the video](http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/23/opinion/the-national-security-agencys-domestic-spying-program.html?_r=1) I saw today. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/250 "2012-08-26T22:06:40Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > Well, in this case it didn’t do much, except that they can say they were the first. In reality, had Will actually not been high and checked his phone, he’d have seen the text from Biden and they would have been able to report it 20 minutes before the announcement, which obviously would have been a much bigger deal. [Marc Hirsh has some fun](http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2012/08/26/159994780/its-who-you-know-predicting-how-the-newsroom-will-get-its-next-scoop?ft=1&f=100) noting that the News Night crew isn’t so much about doing the hard work of journalism as simply possessing amazing inside connections. 😃 > [@](#): > > So as the show’s first season galumphs to a halt with Sunday’s upcoming finale, we wonder: What other unlikely relationships with folks embedded in the big stories of the past year will the characters on The Newsroom exploit in the episodes and seasons to come? Some predictions follow. > > 1. February 6, 2012: Queen Elizabeth II celebrates her Diamond Jubilee. Executive producer MacKenzie McHale once served as an apprentice to the Queen’s corgi wrangler. > > 2. Spring-Summer 2012: Charles G. and David H. Koch become ever more financially invested in the 2012 presidential election. During an all-staff meeting, ACN news president Charlie Skinner sheepishly reveals that he can get a News Night scoop on the elusive Koch brothers, being the secret fifth Koch brother himself. > > 3. May 9, 2012: President Obama announces his support for same-sex marriage. Booker Kendra James has an uncle in the Secret Service who has surreptitiously whispered “Come out in favor of marriage equality… come out in favor of marriage equality…” nightly into the President’s ear as he slept. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/251 "2012-08-27T03:08:46Z")
The season finale was great EXCEPT for two things: 1. the relationship b.s. 2. Mac AND Maggie both yelling-- geez, those two are hysterical maniacs. Loved Will’s full-out labeling of the Tea Party. Mainstream republicans (like Will) should be embarrassed and disgusted at them and the way they’ve taken over the party. I guess we’re in for more relationship crap next season while Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice sort themselves out. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/252 "2012-08-27T11:18:55Z")
No one watched it? ---
**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:** [August 27, 2012, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/253 "2012-08-27T11:31:31Z")
I actually liked the scene where Maggie ranted at the _Sex & The City_ tour bus. And then when Jim pops up (like we knew he would) it was a good “rom-com” moment. But, yeah, they’re stringing it out too much. I also liked the scene where they confront Leona and Reese about the phone hacking. ---
**Author:** ![MeanJoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanjoe/32/5693_2.png) [@MeanJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanJoe)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/254 "2012-08-27T17:23:45Z")
I watched and liked it although like others have mentioned the relationship triangle-of-sorts is really getting old. My bigger problem with it is the object of said relationship drama - I mean c’mon… the woman screams “future psychiatric ward patient” with nearly every breath. She is not particularly attractive, and has those big bulging eyes. She is horribly unstable. Did they say how many times she and Don have broken up and got back together again in the year of the show? Yet she constantly goes back to an unhealthy relationship - a huge warning sign that this is not an emotionally mature and healthy person. This is not exactly someone an outside observer would find as a good catch. My second gripe was Jane Fonda all of a sudden finding a moral compass. Sorry but that switch was just not believable in any way. Was she really opposed to the wire tapping and ignorant of it occuring? Maybe but the acting and writing didn’t really convey it. Was she in on it the whole time and realized her only option was to deny knowledge and save herself? Again, maybe but the acting and writing didn’t really convey it. I just found that whole change of heart to be very flat. MeanJoe ---
**Author:** ![Frylock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ce7236/32.png) [@Frylock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frylock)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/255 "2012-08-27T17:58:56Z")
I am such a sucker for things like that very last scene where the girl with the question became an intern. Yeah, I teared up. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/256 "2012-08-27T18:49:50Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > No one watched it? My wife stayed up; I did not (she liked this ep a lot). Hoping to see it in the next day or two… ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/257 "2012-08-27T21:47:31Z")
> [@Frylock](#): > > I am such a sucker for things like that very last scene where the girl with the question became an intern. Yeah, I teared up. That was a _West Wing_ sort of moment. ---
**Author:** ![Rollo\_Tomasi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/58956e/32.png) [@Rollo\_Tomasi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rollo_Tomasi)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/258 "2012-08-27T22:05:27Z")
I really don’t understand why Maggie told Lisa that she thought Jim came to the apartment to ask for her (Maggie). Seriously, why would someone do that, particularly when you have no proof and the other woman in this scenario is your best friend and roommate? Did she even think about how that would sound? “Lisa, Jim might be in love with me, because there’s a possibility that when he came to the apartment, he might have been planning to ask for me instead of you, his girlfriend.” Both Jim and Don should run as fast as they can. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2012, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/259 "2012-08-27T23:03:42Z")
> [@Rollo\_Tomasi](#): > > I really don’t understand why Maggie told Lisa that she thought Jim came to the apartment to ask for her (Maggie). Um… because Maggie is a bobble-headed idiot? ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [August 28, 2012, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169/260 "2012-08-28T01:42:58Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Um… because Maggie is a bobble-headed idiot? QFT. The relationships in this show are too unrealistic, and it’s ruining it for me. Mac: “Jim, go and have a romantic relationship with that girl, Maggie, I think her name is.” Jim: “Hmm, don’t mind if I do! Maggie I love you. And, I’m going to date your best friend.” And Sloan is still single because [strike]Gollum[/strike]Don never asked her out?? Paaaahlease. :smack: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-newsroom-season-1-thread-edited-title/626169.md?page=14)