massraider
Footballguy
Great episode.
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The Newsroom - new HBO series from Aaron Sorkin (2 Viewers)
- Thread starter Wingnut
- Start date
This show is just starting to get really good. Too bad it's about over.
Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
I've only caught like the last 4 or 5 episodes but I've enjoyed it. The finale was decent last night even though I haven't watched these characters for 4 years I was still entertained. Might have to go back and catch the whole thing.
packersfan
Footballguy
I loved this show but I thought the finale was underwhelming. I was concerned they'd have nowhere to go in the finale after basically wrapping up all the key storylines last week and that's what I felt happened. The flashbacks were nice to see Charlie again but they didn't tell us anything we didn't already know for the most part. Will and Jim singing and playing guitar together again was the highlight of the episode for me. Which kinda sums up how listless the episode was. Oh well. I still thought it was a really good show and the first season was sensational.
IC FBGCav
Footballguy
I loved the first season too. I was good with the flashbacks and how they wrapped it up. They only had 6 episodes so there was not much else they could do if they wanted to wrap it up tight, which they did. I will miss it, I really enjoyed watching it, the premise of the show and characters.
Apple Jack
Footballguy
Were you hoping to see Charlie's ashes shot out of a bazooka or something? It was a good finale and one of the better episodes of the series.
packersfan
Footballguy
That would've been an interesting way to go. I don't know what I wanted or expected. I just didn't think what Sorkin came up with was all that interesting. And I think by resolving most of the major storylines last week that was kind of the corner he backed himself into. I didn't think the episode stunk or was awful but I think this show at its best was pretty damn good so I was hoping for more is all.
Apple Jack
Footballguy
I think he killed Charlie in order to give the origin stories, which is quite the opposite of leaving him nowhere to go this week. Much like he shot Josh to give those origin stories.
packersfan
Footballguy
Other than Mac meeting Sorority Girl before the Northwestern deal what did the flashbacks tell us that we really didn't know or really needed to know?
Apple Jack
Footballguy
It was about the how, not so much the what.
Was there a What Kind of Day Has it Been on Studio 60? Before looking, I'm guessing no.
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packersfan
Footballguy
Fair enough. The how didn't mean a whole lot to me since I already knew most of it and also knew how it all ended. We'd known since the first episode that Charlie orchestrated the events which brought Mac and Will back together again. So none of the flashbacks told me anything that I was interested in learning. About the only new thing was the Don-Sloan stuff but even that didn't really push their story forward in any way. We'd known since the first season finale that Sloan had a thing for Don and Don had no clue.
The episode just kind of felt listless to me. It felt like Sorkin had already told his story but had one more episode to do so he put together a bunch of filler, had Will and Jim sing again and then he'd call it a day.
Apple Jack
Footballguy
I liked it. I like knowing that Mac goes to the bowling alley and gets drunk on Guinness Extra Stout in the morning when feeling sorry for herself. Seeing Will push the weather (loved Don's "it's raining in Providence" line and have thought pretty much the same many times watching the news) over the Moscow story was funny, and drives home the absurdity of that being the case in news at the moment. But most importantly, imo, was the sending McKenzie Don Quixote. Sorkin is obsessed with it and it was a fundamental piece of Charlie's, and by extension, the show's make-up.
ETA: I'd come to enjoy reading that chick at the AV Club's reviews, as they seem to be based solely on her hunches about Sorkin's position on women in the workplace and/or her reads on why he is having them respond the way they do to certain situations. She has been a train wreck and it's been fun to read.
ETA: I'd come to enjoy reading that chick at the AV Club's reviews, as they seem to be based solely on her hunches about Sorkin's position on women in the workplace and/or her reads on why he is having them respond the way they do to certain situations. She has been a train wreck and it's been fun to read.
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packersfan
Footballguy
I'm glad you enjoyed the episode. I mean that. Not being a Richard. 
For me, it didn't do a whole lot but overall I really did love this show and ultimately that's what I'll take away from it. I thought it was really well written with great characters. Nothing happened in the finale that would lead me to think less of the show itself by any stretch.
For me, it didn't do a whole lot but overall I really did love this show and ultimately that's what I'll take away from it. I thought it was really well written with great characters. Nothing happened in the finale that would lead me to think less of the show itself by any stretch.
Apple Jack
Footballguy
I don't think you're being a #### in the slightest.
Curious the rape thing was shot prior to the UVA RS piece. Also interesting how timely the Pruit story was framed by the recent TNR/Hughes events. Sure, obvious, but that was a nice bit of serendipity, even if he couldn't bring himself to close this book on a negative along the lines of the walkout.
Big Bobby Bare fan, btw. Very cool to see How I Got to Memphis pop up like that.
Curious the rape thing was shot prior to the UVA RS piece. Also interesting how timely the Pruit story was framed by the recent TNR/Hughes events. Sure, obvious, but that was a nice bit of serendipity, even if he couldn't bring himself to close this book on a negative along the lines of the walkout.
Big Bobby Bare fan, btw. Very cool to see How I Got to Memphis pop up like that.
packersfan
Footballguy
I still think the first season was the best. Other than the mock debate storyline I thought nearly every episode was outstanding. I loved the smart, rapid fire dialogue and the characters were great. I've long been a Jeff Daniels and I thought he did great work right from the start. I recently re-watched Season 1 and I still loved it. Think it was so well done.
Gr00vus
Footballguy
Jane Fonda did a good job in that episode. The resolution of Pruitt's problems along with Neal's return were probably the only "new" things in this one, and I enjoyed how they handled both. Even if they weren't perfect throughout, losing this show and Boardwalk Empire leave me less t.v. to look forward to on Sunday nights.
General Malaise
Footballguy
Yeah, I am going to miss this show as it was one my wife and I really enjoyed together. My MIL likes it too, so that gave us something to talk about. It wasn't The Wire or Six Feet Under, but I liked it a lot.
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
For those of you who missed last night's episode, here was Sloan's dialogue in a nutshell:
"
"
Only much, much faster.
"
"Only much, much faster.
Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
Starting watching from the beginning and caught the first few episodes.
They are going to stop with Will saying he's a republican right? At some point? It's rather useless to the story. The anti-Tea Party stuff was fun enough without that getting mentioned every other minute.
They are going to stop with Will saying he's a republican right? At some point? It's rather useless to the story. The anti-Tea Party stuff was fun enough without that getting mentioned every other minute.
joffer
Footballguy
yep, the season finale. Sorkin is Sorkin.
I vote republican. I should get that out of the way to say I enjoyed season one, and the finale, with pretty much nothing in between. I liked sorkin's dialogue and wished he didn't write his hate for the internet age into almost every episode. However, Neil (Patel) nailed it in every issue, Daniels did a hell of a job and Waterson was amazing.
32 Counter Pass
Footballguy
I wish they would get back to the backstory of reporting the news. What I mean by that is stories like like the Gifford attempted assassination story and confirming the info was fascinating to me. Season 3 startsd out strong with the Boston bombing but faded with the side stories, which I can get with most other dramas.
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With their history and the airplane scene the Maggie/Jim confusion in the last episode was annoying.
I still don't understand the bowtie significance?
The whole season was a mess. The main NSA storyline just fizzled. The source committed suicide then end of story. Ok?
Great two seasons. No reason to watch the third.
I still don't understand the bowtie significance?
The whole season was a mess. The main NSA storyline just fizzled. The source committed suicide then end of story. Ok?
Great two seasons. No reason to watch the third.
32 Counter Pass
Footballguy
Somewhat agree, but the snappy dialog is still worth a watch.
Raider Nation
Devil's Advocate
Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
I've watched up to and through Blackout part 2 from season 1.
Sam Waterston is simply amazing in this show. He steals every scene and the chemistry with him and Daniels is excellent. I'm already tired of the who is sleeping with who stuff and why except for the Will and McKenzie story line because that is obviously the very heart of the show's underlying soul. But you must deal with that soap opera stuff in drama these days for the most part so I'm not sour on it.
The Bin Laden episode was great. I have to admit that when Don was in the plane and realized that he was being an ### to the pilots and told them it was a really moving scene. They did that very well. I enjoyed the debate story line as well. I knew they weren't getting it as the are trying to work within real news but I still enjoyed it. The Anthony Weiner stuff was perfect as was Don's colliquy on Nancy Grace. Alot of this show is mimicing my hatred of a lot of what the news is these days. Of course, with the usual Sorkin message but I'm thick skinned.
And I know it's been mentioned a bunch in this thread but I lust Sloan. Everything about her is sexy.
Sam Waterston is simply amazing in this show. He steals every scene and the chemistry with him and Daniels is excellent. I'm already tired of the who is sleeping with who stuff and why except for the Will and McKenzie story line because that is obviously the very heart of the show's underlying soul. But you must deal with that soap opera stuff in drama these days for the most part so I'm not sour on it.
The Bin Laden episode was great. I have to admit that when Don was in the plane and realized that he was being an ### to the pilots and told them it was a really moving scene. They did that very well. I enjoyed the debate story line as well. I knew they weren't getting it as the are trying to work within real news but I still enjoyed it. The Anthony Weiner stuff was perfect as was Don's colliquy on Nancy Grace. Alot of this show is mimicing my hatred of a lot of what the news is these days. Of course, with the usual Sorkin message but I'm thick skinned.
And I know it's been mentioned a bunch in this thread but I lust Sloan. Everything about her is sexy.
Fennis
Footballguy
That says a lot more about you than it does about people who wear bowties.Raider Nation said:
Specifically, it says that you're a pretty astute appraiser of how fashion choices can signal a person's temperament.
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Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
Have now watched the entire show. Solid A rating. Sam Waterston stole the show. Too bad it ended.
packersfan
Footballguy
And much much hotter.For those of you who missed last night's episode, here was Sloan's dialogue in a nutshell:
"
Only much, much faster.
packersfan
Footballguy
The debate storyline was the only part of the first season I didn't enjoy. Just fell flat for me. The Nancy Grace scene was outstanding and totally spot on.
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Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
I guess - yes the Nancy Grace scene was almost perfect television.
I'm addicted to this show. Bummed there aren't any more episodes. Actually put on the pilot again last night. So much great stuff there. Didn't notice the first time that Sloan is barely in it at all. Bummer there.
"Hey Punjab!" was one of the greatest lines of the entire show. You knew it was coming given his attitude to that point and the way that Jim didn't want to say anything but Daniels just nailed it perfectly. And that episode itself save for the beginning at the college was really really good. If I had to name one criticism of the show its that it should have been much more of what that first episode was - finding a story, not debating politics like the audience is stupid, no love triangle stuff beyond the underlying stuff that makes the characters what they are - and the drama that they all felt trying to get the story, get it right, and get it on TV. When the show did that (the Bin Laden part was also along these lines) the show was as close to brilliant as a show can get.
packersfan
Footballguy
I thought the Northwestern scene was terrific. It laid the groundwork for the first season. I also loved how they brought back Sorority Girl in the season finale.
"She's the kid at the end of Camelot."
I did think the strength of the first season was how they took actual events and wove them into the storyline. Yes there was plenty of hindsight "Look how perfect we are doing it now" with that approach but it really worked for me. The last two seasons went away from that type of approach and that's one of the reasons why I thought those seasons while still good weren't as strong as the first.
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Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
I think I can agree with that. The Northwestern scene was simply unbelievable in its totality. The tirade was fine. The personal insults to the girl would have probably gotten any anchor fired and the company he worked for sued. But yes, bringing her back and the scene with her in the interview was really very well done.
I watched another episode last night after the game. I am amazed how addicted I am to this show. Some other comments...
- I think I figured out Aaron Sorkin's dialogue and why I hate it and love it. I hate it because it's not realistic at all. There isn't a single person that talks like that constantly, let alone a group of people that can do it to each other constantly. The rapid fire back and forth might work in very small doses with people that know each other well but hell, I argue for a living and consider myself pretty decent at it but I couldn't do anything close to that for any great length of time, let alone as a form of communication. Yet, I think why we love it is that the characters say everything we would want to say and in a manner we would want to say it when we rethink a conversation. We all do that. Wish I would have said this, or this would have been funny or smart etc. I think he hits that nerve in all of us that retrace our conversations like that. And in that, the rapid fire is massively entertaining and pulls you in. We all wish we were that witty on a consistent basis and could stand toe to toe with anyone when we are in an argument.
- I have been thinking one of the failures of the show is not concluding story lines, or sometimes even starting them from a beginning. Will's death threats just vanished. Stuff like that. But then you think about the timeline of the show and how at least in the first season it jumped months at a time in order to weave real live events into the story and I find myself really enjoying that some story lines just died and are left to the imagination. I think too many dramas and even sitcoms stick with a story line far too long because the audience wants closure - and always a happy ending. And this show didn't give you that. The episodes were snapshots over a few years of time and because of that real life goes on when the show wasn't on. I think looking back on that that it worked very very well.
- The change in Reese and Lansing wasn't defined enough, though. They didn't have a come to Jesus moment at all. They went from fighting tooth and nail against the change to accepting it and even enabling it. Lansing I can grasp. She wasn't going to be told what to do by anyone. And as an aside, Jane Fonda was brilliant in this too. The Moses and Jesus playing golf joke/scene was Emmy worthy. But Reese wasn't believable. HE should have been the constant foil throughout. Him changing his mind and supporting it without so much as a reason was only to move Sorkin' story along whether it fit or not.
- Watched the Bin Laden scene on the plane again. Probably close to one of the best 6 minute stretches or so in TV history to me. The guy playing Don, the stewardess, everyone played their parts perfectly. You felt Don realize the moment with such a power that we only give to the truly great drama's in TV history.
- Sloan is just awesome in every sense of the word. She gets better and better and better in every episode. They could do a spinoff with her and I'd watch. Without complaint.
- I've said it before, Sam Waterston was amazing. Perfect grading. Not a single flaw. Because of the short run his character will never get the due it deserves but it just might be one of the top 10 or so characters in drama history. He flamed out because of the show too quick like Al Swerengin in Deadwood, but it's the same kind of character. He took 25 episodes to capture TV history.
- I've thought about this show far too much which in the end to me is the result of a great show. Still bummed there won't be any more.
I watched another episode last night after the game. I am amazed how addicted I am to this show. Some other comments...
- I think I figured out Aaron Sorkin's dialogue and why I hate it and love it. I hate it because it's not realistic at all. There isn't a single person that talks like that constantly, let alone a group of people that can do it to each other constantly. The rapid fire back and forth might work in very small doses with people that know each other well but hell, I argue for a living and consider myself pretty decent at it but I couldn't do anything close to that for any great length of time, let alone as a form of communication. Yet, I think why we love it is that the characters say everything we would want to say and in a manner we would want to say it when we rethink a conversation. We all do that. Wish I would have said this, or this would have been funny or smart etc. I think he hits that nerve in all of us that retrace our conversations like that. And in that, the rapid fire is massively entertaining and pulls you in. We all wish we were that witty on a consistent basis and could stand toe to toe with anyone when we are in an argument.
- I have been thinking one of the failures of the show is not concluding story lines, or sometimes even starting them from a beginning. Will's death threats just vanished. Stuff like that. But then you think about the timeline of the show and how at least in the first season it jumped months at a time in order to weave real live events into the story and I find myself really enjoying that some story lines just died and are left to the imagination. I think too many dramas and even sitcoms stick with a story line far too long because the audience wants closure - and always a happy ending. And this show didn't give you that. The episodes were snapshots over a few years of time and because of that real life goes on when the show wasn't on. I think looking back on that that it worked very very well.
- The change in Reese and Lansing wasn't defined enough, though. They didn't have a come to Jesus moment at all. They went from fighting tooth and nail against the change to accepting it and even enabling it. Lansing I can grasp. She wasn't going to be told what to do by anyone. And as an aside, Jane Fonda was brilliant in this too. The Moses and Jesus playing golf joke/scene was Emmy worthy. But Reese wasn't believable. HE should have been the constant foil throughout. Him changing his mind and supporting it without so much as a reason was only to move Sorkin' story along whether it fit or not.
- Watched the Bin Laden scene on the plane again. Probably close to one of the best 6 minute stretches or so in TV history to me. The guy playing Don, the stewardess, everyone played their parts perfectly. You felt Don realize the moment with such a power that we only give to the truly great drama's in TV history.
- Sloan is just awesome in every sense of the word. She gets better and better and better in every episode. They could do a spinoff with her and I'd watch. Without complaint.
- I've said it before, Sam Waterston was amazing. Perfect grading. Not a single flaw. Because of the short run his character will never get the due it deserves but it just might be one of the top 10 or so characters in drama history. He flamed out because of the show too quick like Al Swerengin in Deadwood, but it's the same kind of character. He took 25 episodes to capture TV history.
- I've thought about this show far too much which in the end to me is the result of a great show. Still bummed there won't be any more.
I think they should do a spin-off with Sloan and Neal.
Mac, too. And Will and Don, and with some flashbacks of Charlie.
Basically everybody but Jim andPam Maggie.
Mac, too. And Will and Don, and with some flashbacks of Charlie.
Basically everybody but Jim and
Yankee23Fan
Fair Tax!
I like Jim. Jim and Maggie was tired but as I've said all the live triangle stuff bores me for the most part. Will they or won't they and on and on and on. Boring.
packersfan
Footballguy
One of the things I loved most about the dialogue on this show (notably in the first season) was that nobody talks like that. I loved how smart it was and how clever it was and how completely unrealistic most of it was. That's where the entertainment value resided for me. I didn't want to watch a documentary about news reporting and news gathering. I wanted to be entertained. Listening to these characters fire back and forth (Daniels was absolutely brilliant in that regard) was what I loved most.
Olivia Munn totally blew me away with her performance. I watched her on G4 so I knew she was smoking hot but I never thought she could show any acting chops. I was very impressed by her performance. Her showdown scene with Charlie after her Japanese interview was one of the best scenes on the series in my opinion. She more than held her own with a great veteran actor.
Olivia Munn totally blew me away with her performance. I watched her on G4 so I knew she was smoking hot but I never thought she could show any acting chops. I was very impressed by her performance. Her showdown scene with Charlie after her Japanese interview was one of the best scenes on the series in my opinion. She more than held her own with a great veteran actor.
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General Malaise
Footballguy
Yeah, Maggie/Jim was my least favorite story line in the show. Horrendous. Somebody in here had a line about her gnawing through her desk and I never could shake that visual when she would appear on screen. 
I never saw anything with Sam Waterston in it before, so his character was an awesome one for me. Makes me want to watch reruns CSI or NCS or QJRJRK or whatever it was he was on.
I never saw anything with Sam Waterston in it before, so his character was an awesome one for me. Makes me want to watch reruns CSI or NCS or QJRJRK or whatever it was he was on.
Fennis
Footballguy
The NewsroomYeah, Maggie/Jim was my least favorite story line in the show. Horrendous. Somebody in here had a line about her gnawing through her desk and I never could shake that visual when she would appear on screen.
I never saw anything with Sam Waterston in it before, so his character was an awesome one for me. Makes me want to watch reruns CSI or NCS or QJRJRK or whatever it was he was on.
General Malaise
Footballguy
/RoarinThe NewsroomYeah, Maggie/Jim was my least favorite story line in the show. Horrendous. Somebody in here had a line about her gnawing through her desk and I never could shake that visual when she would appear on screen.
I never saw anything with Sam Waterston in it before, so his character was an awesome one for me. Makes me want to watch reruns CSI or NCS or QJRJRK or whatever it was he was on.