The Newsroom

I am so ready for the DVD of this show.

Sooo....from your moderated and somewhat sedated reactions i can gather and extrapolate that the show is not bad?

Not bad? It's fucking perfect.

It's not bad. It's heavily flawed at times, but there's enough there that's consistently enjoyable and it paints a very comfortable and enjoyable universe that I enjoyed spending time in.

It's very idealistic, which is something it gets criticism for. But their ideals don't always work out. Actually, they usually don't work out perfectly. But they strongly push the notion that even if ideals are unrealistic, they're still worth having and fighting for. I wouldn't call that a flaw. I think it's the greatest strength of the series. Because sure, it's fiction, but damn if we don't all wish it were true. That's what used to make Star Trek great, you know? We don't have nearly enough of it on TV today.

If this thread is of any indication, this show is grossly overrated and suffers from various problems, from lack of research into journalism as a whole to the portrayal of the main character as a liberal version of Glenn Beck and is just as stupid. And Sorkin had that gall to call him a Republican just as an excuse to use him to criticize Republicans in the same sort of way that many radical Republicans criticize Democrats. And he honestly thinks he's right.

Take a look at this post to see if your criticisms of the show match up with his, and if he's right after all.

Just some guy who doesn't get it. The character has nothing to do with Glen Beck. Very little does.

Well, some Glen Beck jokes do, I guess. Anyway. The character is a pretty fairly made pre-polarization Republican back before they ran out of IQ points.

edited 27th Jul '13 7:44:53 PM by FastEddie

Is that suggesting that the show is good enough that anyone who says anything negative about the portrayal of politically-inclined individuals in this show simply "don't get it?" And sure, he has nothing directly to do with Glenn Beck, but does the whole thing of being "a ranting lunatic who spends every broadcast decrying the vile despicable evilness of anyone he disagrees with politically" true or not, regardless of whether or not you think Republicans are dumb as bricks?

The problem is equating Will to Glenn Beck. Will has no problem with republicans, his problem is with the Tea Party. Beck, on the other hand, is mentally ill. And I don't mean "he's stupid", I mean the man sees things that don't exist and reports facts that aren't true, based on statements that no one has made. That's mentally ill.

As noted in this post, someone said that Will should adore what the Tea Party stands for. Note that this guy has not seen the show, so take with a grain of salt (quite frankly, neither have I. I just hope it doesn't suffer from Hype Backlash and/or Hype Aversion once I actually get around to watching it.)

Outside of the political thing, I want to ask you about the other problems people may have with the series. Which one of these are valid, and how much does it factor in the quality of the show and living up to the standards set by the people here?

• "The writing is overall preachy and heavy-handed (or as we call it, Anvilicious), even more so than The West Wing, to the point of the quality of the writing being deteriorated. Furthermore, the writer is working with the assumption that his hindsight is always correct 100% of the time and that journalists even back then have all the facts of a case within a few minutes."
• "The characters are two-dimensional cardboard cutouts."
• "The female characters are absurdly shallow and, in the case of one young blonde, is reduced to little more than a walking set of hormones and romantic neediness. It's a wonder that this didn't set off the radars of the politically correct liberals at all."

edited 13th Aug '13 1:02:32 PM by Nettacki

Sure. Tea Party people think everyone should agree with them. There is a reason the Republicans have not changed their name to the Tea Party. They ain't the same thing.

Well, imo it tends to vary from Anvilicous toward Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped. But hey, Tropes Are Not Bad ;)

Bear in mind that given the incredible division in political terms on the other side of the pond (from my point of view) I figure a lot of criticism ends up being "I don't like what they say."

Also, hey. Even if the Newsroom may be politically biased, its a drop in the Water compared to that Right-wing-Entertainment Channel. By which i mean Fox News.

edited 28th Jul '13 10:10:57 AM by 3of4

Ok, so what about the other things I brought up?

I covered all of that with the "You'll most likely find partisan criticism"

Honestly...either go and watch the show, its so far 15 hour long eps, not that much of a timesink compared to, say, Doctor Who.

Make your own opinion, I'm not really a fan of arguing someone over someone else's arguments.

I think that the first one on your list is right (if I've got it right that you're talking about how the journalists are always 100% actuate with their reporting), I know it's something that was picked up on by actual journalists that watch the show. It's also something that it meant to be being fixed with the second season, so the team will not always be getting every story 100% perfect anymore. As for the other two points on your list, I can't say I noticed either of those, though as said, the best thing to do is watch it yourself and make your own judgement.

Edit: Looking over your post I think I misunderstood your first point, but I've left by bit there, since that was the one criticism of the show that I did see, that the journalists were portrayed as perfect and able to get every story 100% right.

edited 29th Jul '13 2:27:09 PM by Silasw

Harsh bit of Actor Allusion regarding the leaked Sloan nudes, given it really did happen to her. At about the same time, no less.

Anyone know when season 2 starts in the UK?

Last year it was roughly two weeks after the US debut.

Someone told me it starts the 2nd of September. I'd heard it was starting August. I wonder if it got pushed back.

My god, Maggie is a fucking horrible character. She's neurotic, incompetent and ineffectual, and completely unprofessional. Please tell me she gets better after the second episode (TWOP tells me no).

You mean great character, right? Perfect people are boring as hell in a drama.

edited 14th Aug '13 9:12:08 AM by FastEddie

No, a horrible character. Great characters are competent yet flawed. Maggie is simply flawed. Plus she seems to place as much if not even more importance on her personal relationships (namely the love triangle involving two men where I have no idea what they see in her) over her professional career... while she's in the workplace. That's not a lot of focus on the news in a show that is essentially Aaron Sorkin's Fix Fic for cable news.

For a relative newbie who essentially lucked into her position, instead of obtaining it through any actual skill of her own, you'd think that she would be more interested in establishing her professional credentials before worrying about whether which young white dude is more dateable.

Maggie and Jim are the worst part of the show. Don is the best part after about halfway through season 1 and he and Maggie are broken up by the start of season 2 so there is nothing dragging him down.

From what I've seen this show is pretty comprehensive evidence for why Aaron Sorkin should not have Protection from Editors. It's horrendously paternalistic and sexist, and about as unsubtle as a chainsaw. That said, I'll keep on watching, if only to see in how many ways it fails doing the job the Daily Show and Colbert Report have done for years.

And also because this show has actually gotten me to like Olivia Munn, who plays the only woman with her head screwed on remotely straight. Who'd have thought. And even she, when offered perhaps her dream job, can't take pride in her own accomplishments but instead immediately downplays them, referring Mackenzie to more knowledgeable (old, white) men. And Mac Kenzie tells her with a completely straight face that she's being hired for her looks. No snark from her, no "this is the game we have to play", no real commentary. Talk about a missed opportunity, but I guess that would have gotten in the way of all the relationship drama.

edited 14th Aug '13 10:19:01 AM by Mars444

Well no snark except for the bit about the stripper pole.

Mmmmm... Olivia Munn on a stripper pole...