I thought it was great, and it emphasizes what I consider the most dangerous problem in America today: a poorly- or under-informed electorate.
I’ll take good writing anytime I can get it. I think a large reason for the “mean girls” negative press is because he is attacking their turf - news organizations. A lot of the criticism is really petty - “did you see the guy editing the story with a dub machine? Everyone knows you do that with a plynth meter! What an idiot!”
Was it said that McAvoy spent two weeks in St. Croix with Erin Andrews? That part really threw me. I don’t think the early-to-mid 30’s Erin Andrews is really that interested in late 50’s news anchors. She dates movie and sports stars. Did I hear that part right?
Good, with about fifteen minutes of awesome.
The Will/Mackenzie ‘Omigod, you can’t hire her, what about our vaguely disastrous past’ bit - anyone else reminded of Josh and Mandy on ‘West Wing’?
Thanks,
thwartme
Rule #1 for peddling addictive substances: The first bag’s free: http://www.seattlepi.com/ae/tv/tvguide/article/HBO-Puts-The-Newsroom-Pilot-Online-for-Free-3661281.php
I enjoyed it and find it amusing that the blogosphere and the media are generally panning it. In the interest of full disclosure, I’m an unapologetic fan of Sorkin’s writing: A Few Good Men, American President, Sports Night, West Wing, Social Network, etc. Critics like to complain that people don’t talk like that in real life. Well, isn’t that the point? If I wanted to watch real life I’d go stand on a street corner. I like that his works feel like they’re produced for the stage.
I loved it despite a few cringe-inducing moments like, “Seriously? I have a blog?!” which seemed a little too theatrical.
I thought all of Sam Waterston’s scenes made it more than worth the price of admission, but he was especially hilarious in the restaurant with Daniels. Although that scene, too, ended with a bit of a clunk.
I can only hope the Jeff Daniels character can eventually come to terms with how great he is.
Well, yeah, they have to be able to walk while they talk!
I thought it was top-to-bottom awesome. I was riveted. I admit to being a Sorkin junkie and rate West Wing as one of the most enjoyable shows ever, but I think this show brought more to the table than just his dialogue and pacing. Plus it didn’t hurt that the overall conceit of the show is one that I emphatically agree with. My biggest complaint was with the all-to cliched love stories they beat us over the head with out of the gate. It felt like a big concession to the focus groups and is out of character for Sorkin, especially a show that’s got this much real meat to chew on without taking those obvious paths. The star crossed lovers/office romance angles could have been allowed to evolve slowly over time, in this it instead was set up on a predictable tee.
Still, I’ll be in next week and probably through the rest of the season. I don’t fully understand where all the criticism (I haven’t read it personally) comes from, it’s a really well made show and was well acted, but I suppose a inside baseball type show is naturally going to catch heat from people who know it all. Like a sports movie gets picked apart by athletes I suppose. Plus the subject matter was really familiar in that it was clearly snatched, quite literally, from the headlines so perhaps it could seem to lack originality.
I enjoyed it thoroughly, although it was maybe 5% too preachy. Will definitely be watching.
One question: does anyone know if the various pieces of information they gathered together about the deepwater horizon on the very day it exploded could possibly have all actually been known that quickly, even assuming a perfect storm of journalistic luck? Were people at BP having meetings that very same day to discuss how to plug the leak?
I damn well hope they were; what was the alternative: “Let’s see if it heals itself”? Even if they were devious and corrupt and incompetent, you have to think that a massive explosion and oil leak is going to cause immediate alarm bells and all-hands-on-deck status at HQ.
ETA: I’m a Sorkin junkie (except for Studio 60), and I loved the show. He’s baaack.
I thought it was great.
My cousins, visiting from Illinois, watched it with me - now they are going home to subscribe to HBO to continue to watch this series - so at least at our house, the show was a hit.
But my question is whether in fact people at BP (and remember, there were lots of different corporations involved… the well itself, as I recall, was run by another smaller company contracted by BP, etc.) already knew for certain something like 3 hours after the explosion that there WAS a leak, etc. etc. I felt like things were being compressed for purposes of artistic license…
That’s certainly true. It felt like Jim’s sources were texting him the meeting minutes while the meetings were in progress.
I’ll watch the second episode, to be sure, but I have misgivings about this sort of thing. Through contrivances and hindsight, the characters can jump all over a story that we know was one of the biggest of 2010. That doesn’t signal journalistic skill to me - any more than a movie character who can draw a Royal Flush at the critical moment indicates poker skill.
Oh for sure. Lots of things in this episode, and in TV and movies in general, were depicted as happening unrealistically quickly. It’s a necessary evil.
Did anyone else get the feeling that this episode owed a debt to the movie “Broadcast News”?
I didn’t care for it much. Watching a bunch of stressed out, self-important people is not that much fun. And the inter-office romance angle is sooooo cliche. I’m a guy, and not much of a feminist, but I thought they love-sick way they portrayed the new female EP was kind of pathetic. Most of the characters seemed cartoonish. Even Sam Waterston, who I generally like, grated on my nerves with his Mad Men like drinking and oh-so-wise presence.
Actually, it now seems like a copy of SportsNight, but with hard news instead of sports. We even have scenes inside the control room – a SportsNight staple.
Sam Waterston = Robert Guillaume
Will & Mackenzie = Casey & Dana
Jim & Maggie = Natalie & Jeremy
Sorkin sure knows that if something works Keep using it.
I like that they used a recent-past timeframe. That guarantees that there will be an infinite supply of material if the series continues for years.
Thank you for sharing that it’s available on the web, because now I am hooked. Worth it for Waterston alone!