She was a political consultant; I can’t remember if she was actually White House staff or an outsider. There was supposed to be sexual tension between her and Josh, I think.
We finished S1 tonight and I think I’m all-in. Bring on the romance! More Olivia Munn! Quixotic producers, breaking news, jumps from bridges, teary kisses, and more Olivia Munn! (who became hotter to me when she spoke Japanese for some reason)
Sorkin fired all his writers at the end of the season. It’ll be interesting to see where this goes.
All-RIGHT!! Good move.
Got my tentacle twitching.
Nope.
Sorkin took a moment to tell the critics that (a) the writing staff on the show had not been fired; and (b) he had not kept on staff an ex-girlfriend — two elements of a story that had been reported somewhere and picked up everywhere, maybe even by some of those in the room.
“Seeing that in print is scaring the hell out of the writing staff,” Sorkin said. “They’re acting very strange. They’re coming to work early, being polite to me, and I want the old gang back. I love the writing staff.”
Amazing how widely that was reported. I’m sure there’s any irony here somewhere.
Rats.
I had a big honking rant typed up and it was lost. The gist of it went:
a) the show has many redeeming features and people should watch it and like it more than they are
b) sorkin isn’t as clever as he wants to be, and it shows in the writing
c) sorkin knows it, so that makes it more bearable.
reasons?
a) like others have said, this is a smart drama that finally doesn’t take place in a courtroom or drama. it’s refreshing even in its heavyhanded preachiness and 1-hr runtime.
the dialogue is classic sorkin and that is not a bad thing.
the casting is phenomenal imo.
b) the references aren’t particularly clever or highbrow. i’d even argue they’re not out of touch. i might not make brigadoon or annie references but as a mid-20’s ex-frat guy who didn’t take HS drama, i at least got them.
the characters are lazily constructed and they act out of convenience to the plot rather than being true to their character.
the way the underlying arc of being a better news program that reports news in a fair and balanced manner degenerates from talking heads that shout each other down to jeff daniels shouting everybody down. plus the way he thinks news and politics interact is ridiculously naive and oversimplified. even my HS Junior sister recognizes this.
c) the serious crowning moments of awesome in this show come after moments of immense hubris. the speech in the pilot in response to the talking heads and know-nothing 19 year olds, 2 different reactions to olivia munn’s self-righteous pursuit of off-the-record truth, jeff daniel’s smackdown at the hands of huntsman’s staffer, and the confrontation in the season finale are all moments where someone gets knocked down a few pegs. Sorkin understands that his idealized view of the world where truth, beauty, and knowledge are built through integrity is impossible and acting as such will have consequences, but he still wants to make his shows that way that speaks to me as a form of awareness.
oh, and the romance pentagon (don, maggie, james, lisa, and don’s hussies) would be a much better storyline if james and maggie were just platonic office friends like normal people in an office would be.
Well, I finally got around to watching the season finale, and I can’t add much that hasn’t already been said. The episode featured a lot of what is *great *about this show, and a lot of what is absolutely *awful *about it. That’s what makes it so frustrating.
Still, it remains a worthwhile hour of TV watching in my opinion, so I’ll be back next year. Perhaps Sorkin can adjust for the better. Mac can be fixed. Maggie needs to fall into a wood chipper. Let the new intern take her place and try from scratch.
I thought Will’s belief that Mac must have rejected his declaration of love (as she’d never replied to his erased answerphone message) was supposed to factor into his depression at the magazine article too.
The problem with how women are depicted on this show, I think, springs from the fact that Sorkin has styled it after those old screwball comedies like My Girl Friday. The wit and charm this delivers pays dividends in the scripts, but those films’ portrayal of women as adorable ditzes sneaks through into the mix as well. That’s my theory anyway.
As many people have said before, Will’s programme isn’t really a news bulletin at all - it’s a news commentary show. He’s a (much) more grown-up Keith Oberman in a Sorkin-friendly universe where MSNBC has somehow managed to ditch the histrionics and take the high moral ground. If only…
For all that, I’ve found the show’s strengths far outweigh its weaknesses, and I’ll definitely be back for more next season.
That’s the thing… I’d love to live in Aaron Sorkin’s idealized world. Even for just a little bit.