The Agency's Posts

U2, Taylor Swift have highest-grossing concert tours of 2011: U2 has highest-grossing concert tour of 2011. In North America, Taylor Swift is second, followed by....
Read More>

Why so many Hollywood relationship movies are box-office duds: In Hollywood, everyone is in the relationship business. Studios woo auteurs. Directors....
Read More>

Sandra Bullock lured back to acting, felt 'permanently broken': Sandra Bullock is opening up about the time following the implosion of her marriage to Jesse....
Read More>

Van Halen announces tour (and, yes, David Lee Roth's singing): There are some universal truths that most rock fans can’t deny, be they punkers,....
Read More>

Television review: 'Appropriate Adult': The serial killer is the great human monster of the popular imagination. The odds of your....
Read More>

Box Office: 'Mission: Impossible' sequel is No. 1 Christmas pick: Moviegoers chose to accept Tom Cruise's "Mission" at the box office this weekend.....
Read More>

Fitness DVDs that cover all the bases: Whether you're looking for a holiday gift or a one-stop workout routine, DVDs featuring Kristi....
Read More>

Duchess Kate preps for first royal Christmas with William, queen: It's a very Duchess Catherine Christmas! Or it will be, as the former Kate Middleton gets....
Read More>

Celebrity breakups of 2011: How many can you name?: Lots of celebrity couples broke up in 2011 ... how many can you remember? We shouldn't kick....
Read More>
HBO's 'The Newsroom' delivers lots of opinion
Posted on: 06/25/12
Share/Save/Bookmark

West Wing's' Aaron Sorkin pens the new series about a TV newsman (Jeff Daniels) trying to tell it like it is while boosting ratings for his cable news show. The drama is weighted too heavily toward sermonizing diatribes.

 

If you ask a smart, talented, prolific, highly opinionated and possibly overextended writer to create a series for you whenever he gets the chance, you might get a terrific television show. Or you might get "The Newsroom,"which is what HBO got when they approached Aaron Sorkin with just such a request.

Sorkin, of course, is the man behind "Sports Night" and "The West Wing," two of the truly great workplace shows of our time, as well as the short-lived "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" which was not. He has also written a fistful of admirable screenplays, including last year's Oscar-winning "The Social Network."

"The Newsroom" fits neatly into his TV oeuvre, revolving around "News Night," a fictional cable news show helmed by Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels), an anchor who once dreamed of being a real journalist like Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite before the nattering nabobs of numbers-crunching, the gossipification of news and his own fear of rejection apparently turned him into a media milquetoast.

But behind that placid exterior lurks a true Sorkinian hero, another Great White Hope rising to talk, Talk, TALK some sense into the American public. It begins almost instantly when McAvoy, trapped onstage at a journalism school panel between two nitwits of each party, suddenly goes ballistic, answering the question "What makes America the greatest country in the world?" with the scathing announcement that it's not, and here's why.

And we're off, into a statistic-studded, fury-fueled and occasionally amusing diatribe that could just as easily have come from the mouth of Martin Sheen or Bradley Whitfordon "The West Wing."

Indeed, "The Newsroom" is, essentially,"The West Wing"by way of "Broadcast News." It's not necessarily a bad idea, although clearing one extremely high bar is difficult enough, never mind two. For the first hour, the show seems promising, especially for Sorkin fans. After that, things go into a baffling free-fall in which plot exists almost solely to support the political and cultural points Sorkin wants to make, often in non sequitur monologues.

After his meltdown sends him into corporate-imposed hiatus, McAvoy returns to discover that news division head Charlie Skinner (Sam Waterston, delivering the show's most interesting performance, as usual) has brought in a new producer for "News Night," the indomitable MacKenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer), who just happens to be Will's ex. Aside from the inevitable tension (he's angry and wounded, she's wary and apologetic), Mackenzie is there to remind Will that there once was a fleeting wisp of glory known as … well, she uses "Don Quixote," rather than Camelot as a reference point — the couple's quixotic journey is to produce a news program that delivers sobering truths and big ratings.

Now, it's hard to argue against the observation that, in the face of obstacles both economic and cultural, media outlets have squandered opportunities to disperse vital information in favor of pandering. Nor would many take issue with "The Newsroom's" second great insight — that the political and social divisions between left and right have been exploited by certain forces, many of them television personalities, to create an endless cycle of predictable arguments that are both absurd and extremely dangerous.

Folks like Jon Stewart and 
COMMENTS
Be the first to post a comment!


Post A Comment:




  • It's 2020! Start booking roles in commercials, fashion, films, theater and more with The Agency Online!

  • NEW WORKSHOP with Barbara Barna & Sean De Simone!

    Hi Everyone and Happy Summer! Sean at Sean De Simone casting and Barbara Barna are teaming up for a super informative and fun Hosting for Home Shopping workshop. A great opportunity for established or experienced TV Hosts and Experts interested in learning how to get noticed and how to get in....
  • MASTERCLASS W. Robin Carus & David John Madore

    A Special Offer for the Agency Community, from one of our favorite NYC Casting Directors! EMAIL FacetheMusicWithUs@gmail.com Or Eventbrite To Sign Up! Class Size is Limited.
  • Don't Fall Into The Comparison Trap

    Hi Everyone! As the second installment in an ongoing series of features by the Agency's amazing community, here's some sage advice from our own Regina Rockensies; a humble (& awesome)veteran we've had the pleasure of working with for a long time. Have an excellent week! : ) - The Agency....
  • One Model's Agreement

    Hi Everyone! As the first piece in an ongoing series of original articles by the Agency community, here's a short reflection on some of the values of professional acting & modeling that we can all keep in mind for our next casting. Good luck on your castings &shoots this week! : ) -....




 
home       castings&news       privacy policy       terms and conditions      contact us      browser tips
Official PayPal Seal