Aaron Sorkin HBO show The Newsroom

[junior94]

btw for the rest of you big Sorkin fans, do you realize yet who Jim Harper is? In the s3 episode of TWW "20 Hours In America", he's the high school volunteer who's driving Toby, Josh & Donna around in his jeep to try and catch their train. It took me until after finishing the pilot to realize it was the same guy.

Otherwise there's so far very few Sorkin show vets being used in this. Only other one I've noticed is the old guy who played Hal the studio announcer in "Studio 60", he's the guy who runs the control room in this.

[junior94]

God I fucking love cable. This has already officially been renewed for season 2.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/news...d-renewed-hbo/


If this was on NBC, I guarantee you there'd already be nervous talk whether or not the show would come back next year.

[dre2142]

too early.

[gjdt2scf13]

Awesome to hear about season 2.

[DrewD55]

Originally Posted by junior94

God I fucking love cable. This has already officially been renewed for season 2.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/news...d-renewed-hbo/


If this was on NBC, I guarantee you there'd already be nervous talk whether or not the show would come back next year.

Originally Posted by dre2142

too early.

HBO initially renewed Luck for a second season after only a couple of episodes, too...

[coldengrey12]

Originally Posted by junior94

God I fucking love cable. This has already officially been renewed for season 2.

http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/news...d-renewed-hbo/


If this was on NBC, I guarantee you there'd already be nervous talk whether or not the show would come back next year.

<Conan the Grammarian>I hate that headline. It should read "HBO renews 'True Blood,' Aaron Sorkin's 'The Newsroom' " because the way it's written now, it sounds like Sorkin writes both of them.</Grammarian>

Interesting news. I'm not sure I'm sold on this show yet.

[Beebz]

HBO always renews big shows within an episode or two.

[junior94]

Well all's I know is that Sorkin gets a VERY long honeymoon period from me, he's got an extremely long leash for my tolerance, I unabashedly love the guy so much he'd have to really make this thing a spectacular train wreck for a significant length of time before I was ready to bail on him. I mean, while I even have to admit myself that over the second half of STUDIO 60's season he was getting a little too preachy for even my tastes (and I agree with him so much politically and socially), I was still very saddened to officially hear when that thing didn't get renewed for a 2nd season. Even when -- to the best of my recollection -- the network kinda screwed him on that, they had said at one point they definitely were renewing him for season 2, but then obviously that was rescinded.

[dre2142]

Originally Posted by DrewD55

HBO initially renewed Luck for a second season after only a couple of episodes, too...

exactly. doesnt really mean anything.

[Beebz]

Originally Posted by dre2142

exactly. doesnt really mean anything.

Luck really isnt a good example. That show had extenuating circumatances behind its cancellation (horse fatalities). With that pedigree Newsroom was a lock tonreturn for at least one more year. Shit, Treme got four seasons.

[~Crashintome89~]

Originally Posted by junior94

btw for the rest of you big Sorkin fans, do you realize yet who Jim Harper is? In the s3 episode of TWW "20 Hours In America", he's the high school volunteer who's driving Toby, Josh & Donna around in his jeep to try and catch their train. It took me until after finishing the pilot to realize it was the same guy.

The scene when he stops and talks to his girlfriend, and Toby and Josh just thrash around on the side of the road like five year olds had me in stitches.

[DrewD55]

Just finished the second episode, which earns points for using Radiohead's "High and Dry" at the end, but, damn, what a tonally dissonant mess. Sorkin seems to have put all his effort into his characters speechifying for minutes on end and left no room for any kind of consistent characterization from them. Emily Mortimer's character is supposed to be a hard-edged frontline journalist who's covered two wars. Why does she spend half of this episode waffling about like a needy idiot? Characters' motivations change at the drop of a hat, purely to fit any given scene, and that many 180-degree turns make me dizzy.

I will also give the episode points for not lecturing too much, which I've heard becomes more and more frequent as the episodes progress. Still, the biggest problem lies with the fact that the kind of balance between private and public lives Sorkin gave his characters on TWW, which once seemed kind of effortless because he was able to use them to flesh out his plotlines, now seems really belabored, as if he remembered after the fact that there is supposed to be some depth to these folks but didn't put much effort into it when he finally remembered. Those scenes are nothing more than placeholders before someone gets another opportunity to drop Sorkin's next big insight about how the world should be. I'll keep watching, because there's enough to make it watchable, but eesh, this is already sliding downhill, and the top of the hill set by the pilot wasn't that high in the first place.

[proppenator]

I liked last night's episode. It was pretty funny and I didn't find it any more preachy than your typical Sorkin show. That may become a problem down the line, but right now I think people are overly sensitive to it because of the early reviews.

[water_into_wine]

Originally Posted by junior94

btw for the rest of you big Sorkin fans, do you realize yet who Jim Harper is? In the s3 episode of TWW "20 Hours In America", he's the high school volunteer who's driving Toby, Josh & Donna around in his jeep to try and catch their train. It took me until after finishing the pilot to realize it was the same guy.

Wow, really?

[Beebz]

Originally Posted by proppenator

I liked last night's episode. It was pretty funny and I didn't find it any more preachy than your typical Sorkin show. That may become a problem down the line, but right now I think people are overly sensitive to it because of the early reviews.

It isnt. For some reason, critics seem to all suddenly agree that Sorkin's style is no longer acceptible. Uproxx had a great column today about this and posits that the reason newsroom is being singled out among Sorkin shows is because its about journalism.

http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2012/07/con...nding-critics/

[water_into_wine]

Yeah, I'm really liking the show, but I'm finding the younger characters to be pretty weak overall. Everything else is kind of forgiveable for me because it is surrounded by a really entertaining subject for me. I have faith it will get better eventually. Really have not found it too preachy.

[proppenator]

Originally Posted by Beebz

It isnt. For some reason, critics seem to all suddenly agree that Sorkin's style is no longer acceptible. Uproxx had a great column today about this and posits that the reason newsroom is being singled out among Sorkin shows is because its about journalism.

http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2012/07/con...nding-critics/

Whoo! I totally said that way back when. Go me.

Originally Posted by proppenator

Of course, we do need to keep in mind, most of these reviews work for news companies. So they're not necessarily going to be thrilled with a show that picks on the media. And they'll also be more attuned to any inaccuracies in the portrayal of a news company than they were to the inaccuracies of Sorkin's portrayal of, say, the white house.

[newscane]

Originally Posted by junior94

btw for the rest of you big Sorkin fans, do you realize yet who Jim Harper is? In the s3 episode of TWW "20 Hours In America", he's the high school volunteer who's driving Toby, Josh & Donna around in his jeep to try and catch their train. It took me until after finishing the pilot to realize it was the same guy.

Otherwise there's so far very few Sorkin show vets being used in this. Only other one I've noticed is the old guy who played Hal the studio announcer in "Studio 60", he's the guy who runs the control room in this.

I was poking around on IMDB after the premiere, saw he was on 20HIA, and realized who he was.

Some other thoughts after watching episode two:

-- I started to drift a little bit at one point. I don't remember quite where, but there was a point where I felt "he's starting to lose me."

-- Allison Pill sort of reminds me of a younger version of Mary-Louise Parker.

-- Get the 3/4" tapes out of the newsroom. Unless you're looking for file from the early 1980s, you're not handling 3/4" tape. And it looks like that wasn't file -- it was rubber-banded with a Beta tape, giving the impression it just came in from somewhere outside. Sorkin usually does such a good job with technical details like that, it bugs me that he missed on that one... especially after making a point of the fact they use iNews.

-- I agree with what Drew said about Emily Mortimer's character. If you think back to Dana on Sports Night (female lead that's an EP of a show), yes, she had a personal side, but it was different from this.

If this weren't a Sorkin show, and it weren't summer, I might have given up at this point. I'm hoping things stay strong.

[junior94]

I just finally now got around to being able to check out Sorkin's interview on Jimmy Fallon last week... damn it was short. I never really watch much of his show (though I'm a fan of the guy) is it typical that a guest with the cache level of an Aaron Sorkin barely gets a 5 minute interview? I mean I realize of course he's not exactly an A-list movie or TV star, but he's still a pretty damn big (& well known) deal in pop culture for "only" being a writer.

[gjdt2scf13]

That's how it is with most guests on any talk show. They get a 40 minute slot that is filled with a 5 minute intro, 5 minute band/comedy performance leaving roughly 30 minutes for a couple guests and other segments

[junior94]

Originally Posted by gjdt2scf13

That's how it is with most guests on any talk show. They get a 40 minute slot that is filled with a 5 minute intro, 5 minute band/comedy performance leaving roughly 30 minutes for a couple guests and other segments

Yea but I mean, I'm just saying I've seen PLENTY of talk show interviews where the guest is the stature at least of Aaron Sorkin, if not even lower, and they'll get a good 8, 10 or even 12 pure screen time minutes of chat.

[dre2142]

who else was guesting that night?

and fyi, his interview last year was 4 minutes.

[junior94]

Originally Posted by dre2142

who else was guesting that night?

At the very start as he's sitting on the couch, he jokes to Fallon about how it sucks to have had to follow Salma Hayek, so presumably she was the leadoff interview (though no clue how long she sat in for).


Don't know if any of you are familiar with The Graham Norton show in England, but they have all of their guests on this one big couch at the same time for the duration of the show (which is almost always at least 3, and some times 4 people). Though it's only on once a week. But if a particular episode has the right combo of guests, it can be an absolute laugh riot and so much fun.

[dre2142]

Originally Posted by junior94

At the very start as he's sitting on the couch, he jokes to Fallon about how it sucks to have had to follow Salma Hayek, so presumably she was the leadoff interview (though no clue how long she sat in for).


Don't know if any of you are familiar with The Graham Norton show in England, but they have all of their guests on this one big couch at the same time for the duration of the show (which is almost always at least 3, and some times 4 people). Though it's only on once a week. But if a particular episode has the right combo of guests, it can be an absolute laugh riot and so much fun.

Ive watched that show, and I do enjoy it, but its more of a roundtable discussion type of show than the late night shows like Fallon.

You ever see Tonight Show with Johnny Carson? That setup is really nothing new. The interactions between the guests were awesome on Carsons show.

No talk show will ever come close to Carson and what he did.

[cruscott35]

Originally Posted by Beebz

It isnt. For some reason, critics seem to all suddenly agree that Sorkin's style is no longer acceptible. Uproxx had a great column today about this and posits that the reason newsroom is being singled out among Sorkin shows is because its about journalism.

http://www.uproxx.com/tv/2012/07/con...nding-critics/

Totally agree with that. Watching a movie about the Navy is painful for me. Carrier on PBS was the best at documenting what goes on, McHale's Navy might be the best naval movie.

[dre2142]

Ive been watching Carrier. Good show

[cruscott35]

Originally Posted by dre2142

Ive been watching Carrier. Good show

It was the only honest, authorized doc I've ever seen about the Navy. I was amazed at how unfiltered it was. I should watch it again.

[junior94]

Originally Posted by dre2142

Ive watched that show, and I do enjoy it, but its more of a roundtable discussion type of show than the late night shows like Fallon.

You ever see Tonight Show with Johnny Carson? That setup is really nothing new. The interactions between the guests were awesome on Carsons show.

No talk show will ever come close to Carson and what he did.

well first of all, I wasn't necessarily trying to say that Graham Norton was "groundbreaking" exactly, and yea I really dug Carson, it was right around the middle of my HS years when he left, but to the best of my recollection, it was more that he had the previous guest simply stick around when the next one came in. with Norton, all the guests are on the couch from the start. I feel like it's a big enough difference to be worth noting, that's all.

[dre2142]

Originally Posted by junior94

well first of all, I wasn't necessarily trying to say that Graham Norton was "groundbreaking" exactly, and yea I really dug Carson, it was right around the middle of my HS years when he left, but to the best of my recollection, it was more that he had the previous guest simply stick around when the next one came in. with Norton, all the guests are on the couch from the start. I feel like it's a big enough difference to be worth noting, that's all.

Yeah, norton starts out with some on the couch and then brings in more throughout the show.

Best Carson documentary to date.....(released last month, after the producers pursued jonny for 20+ years about being involved in it. )
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmast...umentary/2093/

[daveshookme]

Originally Posted by newscane

-- Get the 3/4" tapes out of the newsroom. Unless you're looking for file from the early 1980s, you're not handling 3/4" tape. And it looks like that wasn't file -- it was rubber-banded with a Beta tape, giving the impression it just came in from somewhere outside. Sorkin usually does such a good job with technical details like that, it bugs me that he missed on that one... especially after making a point of the fact they use iNews.

Funny you should mention this, we were just scrambling around our tape stockroom yesterday am looking for a 3/4" tape from '86 about a murder in VT that had just been solved. And even then, I'm pretty sure it wasn't played from 3/4". I believe it was dubbed over to Beta first.