Good chance she is sexually assaulted in Africa...wasn't there a CNN reporter sexually assaulted in Egypt around this time frame?
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The Newsroom - new HBO series from Aaron Sorkin (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Wingnut
- Start date
Brady Marino
Footballguy
The rare Poor Casting and Poor Writing exacta pays off for Sorkin and Co. Well done.
Brady Marino
Footballguy
I'm hoping for hostage situation that goes afoul and results in her taking a bullet in the head.
packersfan
Footballguy
I don't think the show has been anywhere near as good as it was last season so far. There's no zip to the writing, the humor is gone and the energy that was so rich in the first season seems gone as well. I know the first season had a lot of critics but I wish Sorkin would've ignored them and just kept on doing what he was doing. I loved the first season. This one so far has been adequate. I hope it picks up steam.
packersfan
Footballguy
Excellent call there. That seems very possible given her stark physical change and what Will said to the lawyer.
RUSF18
Footballguy
A big criticism of the show last season was how they were using all these real stories (so we knew how they would end), but applying 20/20 hindsight to show how it should have been covered by the news (or aided by many "convenient" connections to the story which allowed them to be ahead of the curve). So this season they introduce a completely fictional storyline that is going to cover the entire season...but instead tell you up front that they messed it up, and they're going to explain the how and why after the fact. Just seems weird to completely eliminate the drama when you've made it a point to finally show something fictional where you could play it out week to week.
Apple Jack
Footballguy
Better than last season on every front so far.
General Malaise
Footballguy
I was a little drunk last night so I don't really remember much about what happened in the two episodes I watched, but I thought Jane Fonda fired Jeff Daniels. And what happened to Tess? I liked her. 
The Occupy Wallstreet angle is pretty good, though I forgot how obnoxious those kids were.
The Occupy Wallstreet angle is pretty good, though I forgot how obnoxious those kids were.
Apple Jack
Footballguy
Tess has been in both episodes and had a speaking part in the most recent. But she and red could definitely use more screen time.
The Ref
Footballguy
packersfan
Footballguy
That's my feeling too. I think it's been a lot worse. But I admit I thought most of the criticism last season was way off base. I thought it was a very well done show. Just not the same so far this season.
packersfan
Footballguy
Apple Jack
Footballguy
He was way too heavy-handed last season, even for him. The pilot was practically a comedy. The Giffords episode nauseating. Really bad writing relative to what he is capable of, and the actors were still getting their footing with their characters. Everybody seems to have settled in, most importantly Sorkin. He's not writing nearly as "big" and nothing has stricken me as false yet. Still not great, but it's been better than I was expecting.
packersfan
Footballguy
I didn't mind the heavy-handed approach. I thought every episode except for the 2-parter was extremely well done. Most of all, I miss the zip and energy of the dialogue. Everything just feels morose so far. I think everything about the show has taken at least one and possibly several steps back so far. I'm not sure what Sorkin originally filmed for the season opener but I would like to see it. I'm wondering if I would've enjoyed it more than what he re-shot.
Apple Jack
Footballguy
The zip and energy of the dialogue last year seemed more about wanting zip and energy in the dialog than wanting good dialog. I think he recognized that and decided that he was putting the cart before the horse. This most recent episode was the best teleplay he's written since the Studio 60 pilot, imo.
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
The problem I've always had with Sorkin's "zippy dialogue" is that nobody has conversations like that in real life. It's forced and irritating and distracting. I find myself concentrating on the unnaturally clever, rapid delivery instead of actually listening to what they are saying.
General Malaise
Footballguy
Hold up....the board's premier expert on pornography has a problem with a show because it has 'unrealistic' conversations? As opposed to, say, "Wow, you're a really hot pizza delivery driver, wanna bang?".
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
There's a time and a place...
Apple Jack
Footballguy
And he's said since the early '90s that this is how he writes. He doesn't write real, he's a romantic writer. Always has been. If you're expecting something else, you're in the wrong place.
packersfan
Footballguy
I thought it was good dialogue. I enjoyed the hell out of the show last season. I agree with you that I think he listened to all the critics. I wish he hadn't. I loved the show last season. I'm basically just watching it now hoping it will get better. I don't enjoy it anywhere near as much as I did the first season. I watched nearly every episode last season several times. That's how much I enjoyed it. I haven't had the slightest desire to watch either of the first two episodes again after they aired.
Brady Marino
Footballguy
If he listened to the critics, Maggie would have died a horrible death between seasons.packersfan said:
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
I can't seem to "like this" post on mobile. I owe you one.
Brady Marino
Footballguy
packersfan
Footballguy
True but he's pretty much neutered Mac. She had so much energy (maybe too much at times but it worked for me) but she's been lifeless so far this season. She doesn't even feel like the same character and I think that can be directly traced to what critics said about her last season. I liked her character a lot last season, foibles and all.
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
As an aside, with everyone drooling over Munn's cans (and rightly so), Emily Mortimer's funbags are criminally underrated, especially given the fact that she is 41. I'd like to see them unleashed.
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
Holy crap. My research indicates that my instincts were correct. Click the eyeball next to "The Sleeping Dictionary" and "Lovely and Amazing."
NSFW if you do so! ... http://www.celebritymoviearchive.com/tour/name.php/1060
The Ref
Footballguy
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
The Sorkin Soapbox is off to a blazing start already.
packersfan
Footballguy
Best episode of the season so far by far. Opening was brilliant.
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
Right on cue, the pasty-white fivehead brings the show to a screeching halt. <_<
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
Yeah, I know.... 
But the snappy dialogue between Sloan and Don is so forced it's comical.
How about person #1 allowing person #2 to finish their sentence before firing off your witty comeback.
But the snappy dialogue between Sloan and Don is so forced it's comical.
How about person #1 allowing person #2 to finish their sentence before firing off your witty comeback.
Love the story of the Romney bus trip. Really does emphasize what we all believe in that news is basically the same talking points that are pushed by the politicians because they are trying to move up the reporter food chain.
I don't think people are getting the Maggie character. She is really supposed to be not liked or at the least pitied in the sense is that she is the anti Mary Tyler Moore. she is trying to be strong but she is such an emotional mess she can't get out of the way.
I don't think people are getting the Maggie character. She is really supposed to be not liked or at the least pitied in the sense is that she is the anti Mary Tyler Moore. she is trying to be strong but she is such an emotional mess she can't get out of the way.
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packersfan
Footballguy
Finally, a great episode. First time this season I felt like I was watching "The Newsroom."
Brady Marino
Footballguy
Is Maggie in a hostage situation in Africa yet? I didn't watch, so please say yes.
The Ref
Footballguy
You mean you like this stories story of how he is telling us what he thinks what the Romney "bus trip" may have been like.
You don't have to sell me on the fact that political news coverage is all garbage in real life... but lets not lose sight of the fact that this is just a TV show and it may not be 100% accurate here. It's only a show and it is slanted to the writers POV (as is his prerogative).
Tonight seemed more like last season.... oh and I want to touch Munn.
packersfan
Footballguy
I've seen plenty of women interested in much greater douches than Don. Then again, I like Don. He's one of my favorite characters on the show.
PIK95
Footballguy
Punch in Eva Green. The black glove one. Perfection right there homes.
sdp1226
Footballguy
Wouldn't go as far as to call the episode great, but definitely the most entertaining one this season. It felt a lot more like Season 1 than the previous episodes.
sdp1226
Footballguy
General Malaise
Footballguy
Joe McGee
Footballguy
Ugh. That bus stuff was unwatchable. I keep waiting for this show to get better, but it never does. Can't imagine there will be a Season 3.
packersfan
Footballguy
I also thought the bus stuff was terrific.
I believe the show has been renewed for a third season already.
I believe the show has been renewed for a third season already.
The Ref
Footballguy
Its critically acclaimed and has a lot of viewers. I'm sure we will see season 3 and beyond.
I just wish one of these days we can see a show like this with a slant to the right. How about an Obama bus?
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
It's not critically acclaimed. Just about every major outlet has a critic that admits to hate watching it. Its MetaCritic score is 57%.
It also loses half the viewers from True Blood. So while it gets significantly more viewers than Girls (which is, FWIW, "critically acclaimed") it gets a fraction of the viewers that True Blood or Game of Thrones get.
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The Ref
Footballguy
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say the average True Blood fan and average newsroom fan don't go out for drinks together on Fri night. I'd expect poor transition.Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
GOT gets big ratings. It's unfair to hold newsroom to that standard.
It may not be a critics darling, but it did score some Emmy nods.
All of that aside.... its liked enough it will see season 3.
Ramsay Hunt Experience
Footballguy
Count me among those who finds the Romney stuff almost unbearable. We're supposed to believe that a senior producer is so naive as to be shocked, SHOCKED at how campaign embeds do their job. And then we're supposed to believe that his only recourse is to keep being annoying and asking the questions in the hope that the other embeds will side with him.
It's not like Jim has a platform of his own to raise his questions. Oh wait, he does. He's a freaking television journalist. He could file a report at any time about the contradictions in Romney's position and close by saying "the Romney campaign refused to comment for this story."
What seems so frustrating about this show is that Sorkin has so many idea about television journalism should be doing while he has absolutely no idea about how journalists actually do their jobs. We never see anything to suggest that the ACN staff are good at what they do.
It's not like Jim has a platform of his own to raise his questions. Oh wait, he does. He's a freaking television journalist. He could file a report at any time about the contradictions in Romney's position and close by saying "the Romney campaign refused to comment for this story."
What seems so frustrating about this show is that Sorkin has so many idea about television journalism should be doing while he has absolutely no idea about how journalists actually do their jobs. We never see anything to suggest that the ACN staff are good at what they do.