The Newsroom

[WayAbvPar]

HBO picks up Sorkin series

I had no idea this was in development. I am a huge Sorkin fanboy, and HBO will give him at least a full season to knock out the kinks and deliver a good show (unlike the broadcast networks, which would pull the plug 3 eps in because America is too fucking stupid to understand good TV) . Plus Olivia Munn in an HBO series?  

God I can't wait.

[Hutch]

Americans loved the West Wing.

I think more Americans would have loved Sports Night, if it had been presented in a consistent time slot from week to week. I wouldn't have minded if that show had lasted a bit longer.

The difference between those two shows, and the Studio of Aaron Sorkin the Jilted Sand-filled Schoolgirl, is that he wasn't going out of his way to bash broad sections of the show's potential audience. Yeah, network executives tend to frown when they've put up a huge pile of money to hire high profile actors and writers, and then people quit watching after the first week.

Having read that link, it wouldn't shock me if this show turns out to be more of the same. Hopefully not, but he'd have had to reverse his downward slide. I don't have a subscription to the Follies and Tribulations of Aaron Sorkin, but I do hope that he's gotten some help in the past few years.

[WayAbvPar]

I recently rewatched Sports Night in its entirety. It holds up reasonably well as entertainment, but it does have a couple of flaws that stick out like a turd in a punchbowl- the laugh track (just soooooooo annoying) and the fact that every character speaks with the same voice. That got a lot better in TWW. Studio 60 suffered from being jerked around by the schedulers (how many breaks did it have??), and Sarah Paulson. I liked her on Deadwood, but she didn't pull her character off, and such a fundamentally unlikeable character needed a better performance to make it work. I liked the show anyway, but it was a mess. 

[Arthur_Parker]

I'll watch what happens, I really enjoyed the West Wing first two seasons especially.

[WayAbvPar]

I'll watch what happens, I really enjoyed the West Wing first two seasons especially.

9-11 kinda broke Sorkin, which totally changed the next 2 seasons. Then he fucked off/got forced out and John Wells ER-ed the shit out of it. I quit watching after the 4th season.

[Margalis]

I fucking hate the West Wing. It's such a stupid Hollywoodized version of politics. I love how every week all these people are tackling moral issues and have serious discussion about the right thing to do and all sorts of shit that has nothing at all to do with politics.

I think people like it because that's the political system they want to have, not the one we do have.

[Rendakor]

People enjoy fiction because it isn't an accurate depiction of reality!?

[Zetleft]

Since when did Sports night have a laugh track? 

[Margalis]

People enjoy fiction because it isn't an accurate depiction of reality!?

I object to the Sorkinzation of subject matter. Like the movie "21" that took a pretty interesting real life event and got turned into a dumber Hollywoodized version. (Not a Sorkin thing, just an example) That's kind of Sorkin's schtick, take compelling stories, strip them down and replace them with some invented narrative. As you can imagine I'm not looking forward to the movie Moneyball at all, because from everything I've read they've done a bunch of Sorkin-lead rewrites to make it more Sorkinized. (AKA a "compelling" character drama that has little to do with the source material except at a very high level)

The type of government portrayed in The West Wing is just so patently ridiculous.

[Tale]

I'm more interested in HBO's Luck, from Heat director Michael Mann and NYPD Blue and Deadwood creator David Milch, starring Dustin Hoffman and Nick Nolte. Starts January.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FD3ec9ADHbQ

[naum]

West Wing was an excellent TV program, at least up until the last season or two. The snappy, witty dialog style has been emulated and copied since.

But after seeing the Social Network and reading some his nonsensical remarks on net culture (he seems to bear great animosity to the open universal media platform), I find it hard to be excited about any of his future output.

*The Social Network* for example, which was stamped with that same style -- he took great pains to get the RL wardrobe correct, but invented a story and was brazen about it:

I don’t want my fidelity to be to the truth; I want it to be to storytelling. What is the big deal about accuracy purely for accuracy’s sake, and can we not have the true be the enemy of the good?

He sketched story in his mind and warped RL to conform to his reality:

I was writing about a very angry and deeply misogynistic group of people…

If it was a work of fiction, it would be a different story, but instead, a lot of people believe that to be the "true story" about Facebook.

Not that Zuckerberg & FB should be spared a critical gaze -- but *The Social Network* was just Sorkin prefabricating his alternate reality onto a real life story that's more interesting than his twisted neurosis and chagrin about web culture.

[Tannhauser]

I really enjoy Sorkin's work and hunt it out when I can.  He can certainly blow (heh) it though.  I remember a real groaner of a line from Studio 60 for instance.  But his body of work is outstanding.  I thought "The Social Network" was very low key and amazing.

[Tale]

But after seeing the Social Network and reading some his nonsensical remarks on net culture

When he wrote the screenplay, he had never used Facebook. It's a good screenplay, superimposed onto the Facebook saga. He's got NOTHING to say about net culture.

[Margalis]

When he wrote the screenplay, he had never used Facebook. It's a good screenplay, superimposed onto the Facebook saga. He's got NOTHING to say about net culture.

That's kind of Sorkin in a nutshell.

Really it just seems like a marketing ploy to me to write whatever the hell you feel like writing then tie it to some real-life thing people are familiar with. That's basically his entire body of work.

[WayAbvPar]

So, this premiered this week. Anyone watch? I am a Sorkin fanboy, so I dug it. It took about 30 minutes to get its feet under it, but then it was entertaining. People who don't like Sorkin are going to hate it though.

[Draegan]

Oh shit this just came out?  I love Sorkin.  Gotta check it out, the trailers were awesome.

[Slayerik]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM3nvATF-U8

'Why America isn't the greatest country in the world anymore' spiel by Jeff Daniels...

Makes me wanna check out the show, TBH.

[JWIV]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM3nvATF-U8

'Why America isn't the greatest country in the world anymore' spiel by Jeff Daniels...

Makes me wanna check out the show, TBH.

Well - here's the first episode - HBO put it up on youtube

http://youtu.be/1U4ZhFDFYvE

[HaemishM]

Ok, I wasn't interested in this show until I saw that ragequit.

[Tannhauser]

I enjoyed it, classic Sorkin.  Not sure if it has staying power for me though.

[Draegan]

Just watch the ep, it was pretty awesome, but I'm a Sorkin fanboy.  I seem they are starting right before the midterm elections just in time for all of the crazy.  Should be fun.

[LK]

If you liked that scene, here's Sorkin breaking it down.

Made me want to watch the show too.

[Lucas]

I haven't followed Sorkin's previous works, so I watched the first episode totally unbiased.

I really, really liked it, especially the second half (and the opening rant, of course); I'm not sure where it is headed, though: a continous "j'accuse" toward the state of journalism, but with a possibility of redemption? Will the overaching theme acquire an excessive, paternalistic tone? Will this sort of "Quixotian" crusade maintain some sort of credibility?

- Anyways, I really like the "all news" network concept (my favourite is Al Jazeera English), so I enjoyed the "behind the scenes"  moments, the chaotic atmosphere while you are gathering your sources, data and whatnot during a "breaking news" development.

[Arthur_Parker]

I really enjoyed it, but I have doubts that a TV show can keep covering past news stories with a central theme of news accuracy without screwing up a few times.

[Segoris]

I have to question how long this show can/will last, but the first episode was pretty awesome. Definitely worth the watch.
Edit: Also, Emily Mortimer 

[Khaldun]

Mary Sue all the fucking way.

[schild]

Now this is some motherfucking TV.

[Tebonas]

Just like West Wing gave you the politicians everybody would love to have this gives you the media everybody would love to have.

Loving it! It makes you sad when an episode is over and you think about the reality, though.

[Der Helm]

Loving it! It makes you sad when an episode is over and you think about the reality, though.

What the guy from Australia said. 

[Arthur_Parker]

I don't think some of it is that far fetched in some respects.  Warren Ellis commented on it that.

I’m reminded suddenly of a comment I made after I read the script, to the effect that the show was a televisual fantasy exploring the idea of whether or not Jeremy Paxman could get work in America.

It's amusing to me that Paxman was totally humiliating a government minister last night while I was watching the HBO show.

[Ironwood]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JM3nvATF-U8

'Why America isn't the greatest country in the world anymore' spiel by Jeff Daniels...

Makes me wanna check out the show, TBH.

Well - here's the first episode - HBO put it up on youtube

http://youtu.be/1U4ZhFDFYvE

Not for my country.

[Quinton]

I enjoyed the first episode a bunch.  Nice and snappy.  Will be interested to see if they can keep this up.

Having not seen his past work, I've now ended up watching some Studio 60 (free on Amazon Instant Video), which is proving entertaining as well.

[Rendakor]

Caught the first episode, liked it a lot. Didn't know Sorkin did A Few Good Men; the only other thing of his I've seen is Moneyball and I liked both of them to varying degrees.

[Stewie]

I thought the show was ...ok.
Too me it felt like it was trying to hard and the drama was a little heavy handed.

That being said, this is somewhat common for the first few episodes of most shows as the actors & crew settle in. Eventually they all find their stride and it feels more natural. So I will definitely watch more.

[Segoris]

How so? I'm honestly asking because I never really felt like the drama was heavy handed until they were reporting one of the worst disasters ever, which justified being dramatic.