Product Description
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HBO presents the new one-hour drama series from the
fertile mind of Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) and executive
produced by Sorkin, Scott Rudin and Alan Poul. Smart, topical,
humorous and highly entertaining, The Newsroom takes a
behind-the-scenes look at a high-rated cable-news program at the
fictional ACN Network, focusing on the on- and off-camera lives
of its acerbic anchor (Jeff Daniels), new executive producer
(Emily Mortimer), their newsroom staff (John Gallagher, Jr.,
Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Olivia Munn, Dev Patel and others)
and their news-division boss (Sam Waterston). Overcoming a
tumultuous first day together – climaxing in a newsflash that a
BP oil rig has just exploded in the Gulf of Mexico – the team
sets out on a patriotic if quixotic mission to “do the news well”
in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles, and their own
personal entanglements.
.com
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The Newsroom has caused as much conversation about
creative and cultural tunnel vision as the HBO series' creator
sparks himself. Aaron Sorkin was the brains behind TV's The West
Wing, Sports Night, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip as well as
screenwriter of The Social Network, Moneyball (with Steven
Zaillian), and A Few Good Men (based on his play), among others.
Wielding a sort of totalitarian imprimatur that marks everything
he does, Sorkin is the subject of much adoration and derision,
both of which have been heaped on a show with a distinctive voice
that can be as long-winded, blustery, and full of idealistic
intellect as most of its characters. The Newsroom is set in a
sprawling simulacrum of the nerve center for a fictional 24-hour
cable news network, with only a few segues into the boardrooms,
bars, and apartments. The prime-time anchor is Will McAvoy, a
vaguely Republican veteran reporter whose crisis of faith in the
media and dedication to the fundamentals of journalism causes a
meltdown in the premiere episode. Before he knows it, he's
launched into a public diatribe about how America isn't number
one, an event that ultimately drives him to form a new path for
his show. Helping him craft a purer angle that's poised to cut
through the noise, mundanity, and ennui in TV news is a new
production team headed by producer MacKenzie McHale. She's an
ex-lover who jilted Will, but who also happens to be a firebrand
of passion, integrity, and battle-red honor. Jeff Daniels and
Emily Mortimer as Will and MacKenzie carry much of the weight
with their inherently personal skirmishes (hard feelings linger)
and the speechifying that makes up most of the dialogue, usually
dialed up to 10 in speed and volume. Will's arrogance is slightly
tempered by MacKenzie's uprightness, but both of them represent
clear archetypes in Sorkin's quest to carry his message through
the medium. MacKenzie says her imperative is "speaking truth to
stupid," which pretty well sums up Sorkin's attitude about the
show's mission as well as his intention for his audience. The
stridency flows from the top down, but the large cast includes
plenty of other mouthpieces for the editorializing. All the
politics and realistic newsiness is countered by the very public
personal lives of the newsroom staff. Thomas Sadoski and John
Gallagher Jr. play pit-bull producers with disdain for each other
and a mutual attraction to Maggie (Alison Pill), an associate
producer who plays ditzy and quick-witted at the same time. Dev
Patel is a quietly likable presence on the research desk and
Olivia Munn plays an on-air personality with multiple advanced
degrees in economics, but a remarkable deficit in social skills.
In the executive suite above them all is news director Charlie
Skinner, brought to crafty, curmudgeonly, and authoritative life
by Sam Waterston.
Sorkin told The New York Times he "thought it would be fun to
write about a hyper-competent group of people," which he has
certainly done. They're also just plain hyper; watching an
episode can be like an adrenaline of sermonizing,
sanctimony, sophistication, and jaw-dropping flights of
fast-talking astuteness. Researching the show, Sorkin spent time
embedded at MSNBC shadowing both Keith Olbermann and Chris
Matthews. He also dropped in on programs at Fox News and CNN that
were the model for McAvoy and his Atlantis Broadcasting Network's
show "News Night." The homework clearly informs The Newsroom's
sense of verisimilitude, which is made even more realistic by the
device of molding episodes about real news events of the recent
past. The season unfolds from April 2010 to August 2011, so the
action includes the newsroom's reporting on everything from the
Gulf oil spill and the killing of Osama bin Laden to the teacher
protest in Wisconsin and Arizona's controversial anti-illegal
immigration bill. Personal politics enter the fray when the
subject of the Koch brothers and the Citizens United decision
come up, and there's a "News Night" uproar when the Fukushima
nuclear crisis spills over into questions of ethics and personal
responsibility. But for such a bunch of brilliant, zealous
professionals there certainly is a lot of childish behavior,
especially when it comes to everyone's love life. Biting social
commentary dressed up as high-class entertainment sometimes dips
into the soap opera-ish--which doesn't necessarily have to be a
bad thing. A phone-hacking scandal that develops in the last
episode will probably carry into the second season. It's also
tantalizing to wonder what to expect when The Newsroom starts
delving into the 2012 presidential election as seen through the
lens of Aaron Sorkin's cutting pen and gift for putting lots of
smart words into other people's mouths. --Ted Fry