New Sorkin Trailer

Haha. Good point.

 

I don't remember where I read it, but somebody wrote that with one of the characters in the triangle already named Jim, Sorkin should have just gone all the way with it and named the other two Pam and Roy.

 

Here's what I think is fascinating about the reaction to this show:

If it was written by someone we'd never heard of, would ANY of the criticism of it stand?

 

Not much.

 

If it was written by someone of which we'd never heard, it wouldn't have gotten the launch it got, or Jeff Daniels, or the coverage.

It would be a tree in a forest, and the characters would still be annoying and not likeable.

 

I think it would still stand. I think the criticism is legitimate, but I think our standards for Sorkin are extremely high. I feel the same way about Treme. I think it's criticized because we expect big things from David Simon, but I also think a lot of the criticism has validity.

Michael Schur said something once that I thought was interesting about TV criticism. He basically said that the hyper-analysis that's so popular (breaking down individual episodes the way Sepinwall made popular) is a super cool thing, but it also has viewers making definitive statements about an organic piece of art after only seeing 20 percent (and sometimes way less) of it. For example, no one would (or should, anyway) review a book without having read the whole thing. Because stuff that makes little sense in the first 50 pages might suddenly click in the final 50. But we make those kind of judgements all the time about television. I just did it on this thread. "I don't buy their relationship!"

TV is a little different in that it can, in theory, be tweaked based on how it's being received by the viewer. I think one issue that The Newsroom is going to run into this year is that the entire season is already in the can. HBO already knows how it's going to go. And even though HBO is very smart about the programs it greenlights, the audience is often a very good editor. (Not always, but often.) For most TV shows, the backhalf of the season isn't shot or written because writers like to be able to tweak things a bit based on how the audience (or critics) feel about what's not working. So whatever legitimate critical issues The Newsroom has, they likely won't be resolved until Season 2.

 

If this show was written by someone else, it would not have gotten picked up by HBO, or gotten a largely guaranteed second season.

 

Meh. She's about a 6

 

Girls was picked up and instantly given a second season and waves of gushing coverage -- until it aired, when it got waves of awful reviews, followed by backlash criticism of the criticism, ad nauseam.

The show certainly isn't my favorite, yet, and, now, I don't like the characters, yet, either. But I don't aggressively hate them, and I guess that's something.

I just think there's no way for Sorkin to win, right now. This show probably won't be The West Wing, but I could see it being good to very good.

We also know it could go down in flames like Studio 60.

I'd just remind that at this point in the West Wing -- which was sold as a Rob Lowe vehicle with Martin Sheen as a recurring guest star, FWIW -- I don't know that I liked any of the characters other than Sheen.

I think the point DD alludes to is important. We have to give something some time. Some time.

Or maybe Sorkin can't write without coke. I dunno.

 

I always wondered if The West Wing was really sold as a Rob Lowe vehicle or if he just thought it was. I do remember that Sheen's part was supposed to be much smaller.

I'm currently watching the series from the beginning. I'm in the middle of the third season right now and it is so far above The Newsroom it isn't even funny.

 

I enjoyed the "112th Congress" episode quite a bit. The relationship stuff still, to me, brings the show to a crawl, but the Tea Party stuff was well written I thought.

 

I also started rewatching TWW from start to finish about a month before the Newsroom started and I'm in total agreement. I was 100 percent hooked on TWW by the middle of the first season.