The Newsroom 3.0
I've been meaning to make this post for three weeks now.
RL issues you know?
So let me start by saying how absolutely gutted I am that this is the final season. I seriously feel like I'm being short changed. But I guess if it goes out now it's still good, so I can live with that.
I am that person who re watched the season opener at least three times and made notes so I could come back and post. (I have watched all three episodes, but I need to rewatch the third before I comment. Although Run, currently my favorite episode this season.)
So let's start at the beginning shall we? I love that this show covers actual news events. Perhaps it's the crossover between RL and fiction that ticks my boxes, or the three years I spent studying journalism. Who knows? Either way, either way this episode is aptly titled Boston, and the news event interrupts Mac's wedding plans. (Nice to know that didn't happen off screen.)
Drama unfolds as other news corps go live with the story and the producers/reporters break their necks to get a confirmation from a credible source. Cue Hallie. The point of Hallie's character aside from the Jim/Maggie love triangle they are trying to create is still lost upon me. She's all new and 'lets confirm a story because the tweets say it's true', no Hallie. Just no. We don't do that here. As Neal tells her; "Welcome to ACN." I kind of dislike her and it's nothing she did.
Speaking of Neal, he once again shines for me in all his tech-covered glory. Proving once again that "The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth". The interaction with Charlie, is for me both characters at their best.
Charlie: If I have to learn what's happened by watching the news, I'm going to lose my FUCKING mind!
The consistent characterisation of Charlie is a beautiful thing. In fact so many of the characters in this show, after watching characters flip-flop on other shows for years. This is a thing of wonder for me.
I should really talk about Charlie and Will here, and how there double act is a necessity. How no matter what Will is trying to acheieve Charlie gets it. In fact he got there before Will and decided to make him do it. But I have a quote that will cover this later. (I told you I'd made notes.)
Don in jury duty. Yes. This. His obnoxiousness knows no bounds. It's thing that I love to hate about him. In fact, I feel very much this way about Don in general. I think he's kind of a douche, but I kind of love him for that. Clearly he only learnt a little something from being stuck on that plane in season 2. At least this time he waited until he had approached the bench before shirking his civil duty.
I run a news broadcast five nights a week with a staff of sixty, and I bend them to my will.
That. Right there. That's how I feel at work sometimes.
Sloan! I can't believe I could get this far into a post and not mention her. I don't know why I love socially awkward geeks but I do.
They finally got me one. A Bloomberg terminal. This is a $24000 system that gives me instantaneous access to all the financial information in the world.
Watch this scene back and remember Olivia Munn is the only person Aaron Sorkin has asked to slow down. I feel for her I do. I also talk at a thousand words a minute.
I feel now is an opportune time to discuss Don & Sloan. As much as I'd rather see Neal & Sloan, I'm enjoying the fact that their relationship has not made either one of them soft. Sloan is still able to tell Don he's dumb, and he's still able to intimate her social skills are lacking. Although they've missed a trick with Sloan and Reece. There's an entire au fic universe out there with them as a ship. That it also garnered one of my favourite lines from this episode is not the point.
Our difference of opinion is not political. It's religious. I'm an economist, and in my church it's your customers who are the job creators.
Yes. Just yes.
So then we get the Will and Charlie double act. The way they overlap each other in their little speech to the newsroom is incredible. I don't know who needs the pat on the back for that the script writers or the actors. Bravo sirs. Bravo. But what I love most about it is the ending.
Charlie: Dodged a fucking bullet there.
Will: No Kidding.
*high five*
I just love them together. Not in any kind of ship way, but in a bro's before ho's way. There is no other partnership I can think of that is as good. Your recommendations are welcome.
Enter the recurring storyline this season, and Newsnight's redemption from Genoa. The return of Equatorial Kundu. This is well played on Sorkin's part. For anyone that doesn't know Equatorial Kundu, is a fictitious place featured in The West Wing. I don't think it was ever on Studio 60, but I could be wrong. It has only helped my over active imagination jump to conclusions about the possibility that both shows could be set in the same universe. There are just enough years between them. I'm going to let that thought sink in with you for a moment.
I was going to talk about the faceless mob scene, and how it felt disjointed. I understand why it was needed but it's possible that the editing of this episode let me skip a step. Anyway, that's all I really want to say about it as I don't think it really has any relevance to any of the storylines about to happen in the show. Except to bash citizen journalism and the incredibly bad use of social media by individuals who should know better. And maybe it's a precursor to Hallie's actual storyline and the reason she needed a job in the newsroom. Other than to be the third wheel.
So now it's Maggie's turn under my microscope. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Maggie. I waver over liking the character. I'm pleased that her character is being developed though. Although a little blatantly in this episode. Long may it continue. And that brother-sister hug between Maggie and Eliot is pretty cute.
The fact that this show uses recurring themes throughout all its seasons again ticks boxes for me. Will and his ratings whore habits throughout every single season is a lovely thing to watch. Consistent characters people. Consistent characters.
Reece also seems to be going through some character development. He is no longer 2D, with his stint in Sloan's office, followed by no longer choking the producers of his news show with his opinions and demands.
This all leads to them tying up the episode with a nice monologue from Will. I love how Mac just stands there and never says a word when he announces he quit. Or when he starts ranting.
I've said 'I love' a lot in this post. Mainly because I do. I do have so much love for this show. I cannot wait for the next few Sunday's.
Questions, Comments, Thoughts, Concerns?
RL issues you know?
So let me start by saying how absolutely gutted I am that this is the final season. I seriously feel like I'm being short changed. But I guess if it goes out now it's still good, so I can live with that.
I am that person who re watched the season opener at least three times and made notes so I could come back and post. (I have watched all three episodes, but I need to rewatch the third before I comment. Although Run, currently my favorite episode this season.)
So let's start at the beginning shall we? I love that this show covers actual news events. Perhaps it's the crossover between RL and fiction that ticks my boxes, or the three years I spent studying journalism. Who knows? Either way, either way this episode is aptly titled Boston, and the news event interrupts Mac's wedding plans. (Nice to know that didn't happen off screen.)
Drama unfolds as other news corps go live with the story and the producers/reporters break their necks to get a confirmation from a credible source. Cue Hallie. The point of Hallie's character aside from the Jim/Maggie love triangle they are trying to create is still lost upon me. She's all new and 'lets confirm a story because the tweets say it's true', no Hallie. Just no. We don't do that here. As Neal tells her; "Welcome to ACN." I kind of dislike her and it's nothing she did.
Speaking of Neal, he once again shines for me in all his tech-covered glory. Proving once again that "The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth". The interaction with Charlie, is for me both characters at their best.
Charlie: If I have to learn what's happened by watching the news, I'm going to lose my FUCKING mind!
The consistent characterisation of Charlie is a beautiful thing. In fact so many of the characters in this show, after watching characters flip-flop on other shows for years. This is a thing of wonder for me.
I should really talk about Charlie and Will here, and how there double act is a necessity. How no matter what Will is trying to acheieve Charlie gets it. In fact he got there before Will and decided to make him do it. But I have a quote that will cover this later. (I told you I'd made notes.)
Don in jury duty. Yes. This. His obnoxiousness knows no bounds. It's thing that I love to hate about him. In fact, I feel very much this way about Don in general. I think he's kind of a douche, but I kind of love him for that. Clearly he only learnt a little something from being stuck on that plane in season 2. At least this time he waited until he had approached the bench before shirking his civil duty.
I run a news broadcast five nights a week with a staff of sixty, and I bend them to my will.
That. Right there. That's how I feel at work sometimes.
Sloan! I can't believe I could get this far into a post and not mention her. I don't know why I love socially awkward geeks but I do.
They finally got me one. A Bloomberg terminal. This is a $24000 system that gives me instantaneous access to all the financial information in the world.
Watch this scene back and remember Olivia Munn is the only person Aaron Sorkin has asked to slow down. I feel for her I do. I also talk at a thousand words a minute.
I feel now is an opportune time to discuss Don & Sloan. As much as I'd rather see Neal & Sloan, I'm enjoying the fact that their relationship has not made either one of them soft. Sloan is still able to tell Don he's dumb, and he's still able to intimate her social skills are lacking. Although they've missed a trick with Sloan and Reece. There's an entire au fic universe out there with them as a ship. That it also garnered one of my favourite lines from this episode is not the point.
Our difference of opinion is not political. It's religious. I'm an economist, and in my church it's your customers who are the job creators.
Yes. Just yes.
So then we get the Will and Charlie double act. The way they overlap each other in their little speech to the newsroom is incredible. I don't know who needs the pat on the back for that the script writers or the actors. Bravo sirs. Bravo. But what I love most about it is the ending.
Charlie: Dodged a fucking bullet there.
Will: No Kidding.
*high five*
I just love them together. Not in any kind of ship way, but in a bro's before ho's way. There is no other partnership I can think of that is as good. Your recommendations are welcome.
Enter the recurring storyline this season, and Newsnight's redemption from Genoa. The return of Equatorial Kundu. This is well played on Sorkin's part. For anyone that doesn't know Equatorial Kundu, is a fictitious place featured in The West Wing. I don't think it was ever on Studio 60, but I could be wrong. It has only helped my over active imagination jump to conclusions about the possibility that both shows could be set in the same universe. There are just enough years between them. I'm going to let that thought sink in with you for a moment.
I was going to talk about the faceless mob scene, and how it felt disjointed. I understand why it was needed but it's possible that the editing of this episode let me skip a step. Anyway, that's all I really want to say about it as I don't think it really has any relevance to any of the storylines about to happen in the show. Except to bash citizen journalism and the incredibly bad use of social media by individuals who should know better. And maybe it's a precursor to Hallie's actual storyline and the reason she needed a job in the newsroom. Other than to be the third wheel.
So now it's Maggie's turn under my microscope. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about Maggie. I waver over liking the character. I'm pleased that her character is being developed though. Although a little blatantly in this episode. Long may it continue. And that brother-sister hug between Maggie and Eliot is pretty cute.
The fact that this show uses recurring themes throughout all its seasons again ticks boxes for me. Will and his ratings whore habits throughout every single season is a lovely thing to watch. Consistent characters people. Consistent characters.
Reece also seems to be going through some character development. He is no longer 2D, with his stint in Sloan's office, followed by no longer choking the producers of his news show with his opinions and demands.
This all leads to them tying up the episode with a nice monologue from Will. I love how Mac just stands there and never says a word when he announces he quit. Or when he starts ranting.
I've said 'I love' a lot in this post. Mainly because I do. I do have so much love for this show. I cannot wait for the next few Sunday's.
Questions, Comments, Thoughts, Concerns?