Tuesday, June 26, 2012

The Newsroom


Last Sunday night, Aaron Sorkin's newest series premiered on the HBO network.

I'm a big fan of Sorkin.. From The West Wing, and Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip.

The professional reviews didn't really seem to like the show. It got very mixed reviews, which is strange for a Sorkin production. Having seen the pilot episode, I feel that some of the criticism is about having the focus of The Newsroom being on the quality of the modern, right-wing, corporate controlled, for profit, United States media, and not the value or entertainment of the show itself.

The Newsroom is very addictive from the opening scene to the ending credits. It's a fast paced look behind the scenes of a news program and the lives of the people who run it. Each character is flawed in some way, but despite their own personal issues they come together for an hour to create the best news show possible.

From the buzz on Facebook, Twitter, and HBO.com, it's fairly safe to say HBO has its next major blockbuster hit in The Newsroom. This show joins other classic and hit shows on HBO, like The Sopranos, Big Love, Little Briton - Little America, Real Time with Bill Maher, and True Blood.

Jeff Daniels gives an amazing and believable performance. He has come a long way since Dumb & Dumber movies. Jeff plays the anchor of a cable news program that is popular, but doesn't rock the boat too much. While doing a panel discussion at a university in which he opens up and has what many feel is a major gaffe. It turns out not to be so much a gaffe, as an awaking. After a 3 week "vacation", Jeff's character comes back to a whole new show!

Sam Waterston returns to TV as the director of the news department. He is the boss, but also a guiding mentor like figure for Jeff's character.

This show has it all.... A provocative topic, a superb cast, and the genus writing of Aaron Sorkin. I see, The Newsroom, having a long run.

If I didn't already have HBO, I would order it just to see this show. It would be worth it. Plus, with HBO, you get HBO on demand, and HBOGo as part of the package.

1 comment:

  1. I had heard talk about The Newsroom, but I hadn’t watched an episode. Until a coworker at Dish told me my attitude would fit the show. I didn’t know what to make of the comment so Saturday I went to HBO’s page on Dish Online to at least watch a couple episodes, but I wound watching them all. I like the show a lot; Jeff Daniels is great in this role, and the supporting cast is outstanding as well. Even with it being more political than I would like, it was offset with good humor and background stories to keep your mind busy. I think they left themselves with a great base for season 2 to build off of and I am looking forward to seeing it.

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