The Newsroom

SPOILER ALERT: There will be spoilers for The Newsroom in this post.

I was going to wait until after the season finale to discuss the latest show from Aaron Sorkin. However, I changed my mind after watching the penultimate episode of the first season tonight, and reading Scott Tobias' latest review of the show. Frankly, I felt like I couldn't wait, and the last episode of the season is quite unlikely to change my opinion.

The West Wing is one of my favorite shows of all time, and Sports Night isn't too far behind. I've enjoyed all of the movies Sorkin has written that I've watched, and I still think the pilot of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was one of the best pilots I've ever seen. In short, I'm most certainly a fan of the guys work.

I enjoyed The Social Network and Moneyball, so it was natural I'd be excited for The Newsroom. It being on HBO added to the excitement, as after all "It's not TV, it's HBO". On top of that, it was about a news show trying to stand up and restore the integrity and power of the fourth estate, a cause that I believe in strongly. In short, I was looking very much forward to its debut after Game of Thrones wrapped up for another season. Obviously, expectations were running very high.

So I watched the first episode and it was...OK. Unlike many critics throughout the internet world, I wasn't instantly hateful of the show, but I could clearly see it was not living up to its potential. I dearly hoped it would get better. And it did...eventually.

By the later half of the season, I was liking a lot of what they were doing. Sure, the relationship triangle quadrangle between Don, Maggie, Jim, and Lisa was still insufferable, as was the whole Will/MacKenzie troubled past crap. And the shows tendency to play second guessing on real stories* made me so glad The West Wing and Sportsnight existed in mostly fictional timelines. But the whole plot between Charlie and Corporate has been well executed, and when they actually do, y'know, news the show works well. Episode eight had been a fine episode, further fleshing out the TMI/Lansing/Newsnight storyline and setting up a typical Sorkin abandonment of ideals, then regrouping scenario. Sure, the idea that Newsnight 2.0 would lose 50% of its voters to an awful howler monkey screeching about Casey Anthony**, and Neal came off as a bit awful in his quest to be a master troll. But it was fine, even given the "miracle blackout".

As expected as it was, I still love Sorkin's "stumble and redeem" arcs. I loved "Let Bartlet be Bartlet" and "Mary Pat Shelby". I knew this would be one of those types of episodes, and in fact I kind of guessed how he'd do it. The big important debate format would be rejected by the hot-headed GOP official, making their wallow in the filth of Casey Anthony and Anthony Wiener's...um...picture worth very little. Having lost that battle, they decide to recommit, and do real news again. Obviously, this would lose viewers, and give Jane Fonda a reason to fire Will.

For a few glorious moments in the episode, it appeared that I would be wrong, and Sorkin had come up with a brilliant way to redeem the team. They would use the blackout to their advantage, doing a seat of their pants broadcast outside. As MacKenzie and the team got fired up for this, I was really looking forward to a taught, tense hour of TV as they tried to put on a news show outside. Of course, until the buildup clearly showed they were going for a joke on this. A fucking joke.

Granted, I did laugh, but I'm not sure if I felt it was truly funny, or I was just trying to find it funny. I tried to find it entertaining, through the obvious debate format setup (right down to the sensible, older moderate Republican and hard-headed vengeance seeking young radical conservative, the latter of which had the power of refusal)***. I tried to rationalize the romantic entanglements that made up far too much of this episode, which should have focused again on the news and not fluffy shit. I even tried to enjoy Neal's trolling attempt, hoping it was going to lead to him trying to get through into Anonymous (and thus segue into season two with OWS and the likes). Instead, I don't know what the hell he is doing, going deeper into the hole and trying to involve a bodyguard and death threats in his trolling. Both Jim and Will try to play Josh Lyman/Dan Rydell in the episode, and it really doesn't fit well. And the less said about Lisa's digression into a soapbox speech on abortion in the middle of her Casey Anthony related interview the better.

Frankly, I've gotten more down on this episode as I think more about it, especially after the AVClub review brought up the "could have been" of the blackout show. I truly feel there are parts I've enjoyed, but far too much has been stuff I almost feel like I am trying to enjoy it. I do so because I want so badly to like it.

I want so badly to the like the show because I enjoy TV shows, movies, music, and books that make real points about life and our society's institutions, provided they are also entertaining. It's why Parks and Recreation is my favorite show currently running. It's why I love Deep Space Nine (and Star Trek in general). It's why I loved The West Wing and Moral Orel. Sure, I enjoy shows that are entertaining without great meaning, but that meaning is a nice salty, savory, or even bitter counterbalance to the sweet entertainment.

Most of all, I want so badly to like this show, because I want to justify my continuing to watch it. Right now there are far too many great shows on. I only have so much entertainment time in a day, and only a fraction of that is devoted to TV (and current shows at that). I'm sure I'll watch next season, but if it continues to disappoint like this night's episode, I might not be around for long. Basically what keeps me here is the bigger picture part of the show and Sam Waterston's performance as Charlie. Oh, and the hope, however forlorn, that Sorkin can do this again:



* Hey look, Maggie knows an attendant to the prime minister of Austria! Now we can get the scoop on the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand! Oh, and Jim knows Clemenceau's great nephew? BULLY! We'll stop this war yet!

** Seriously, the kind of people who would love Newsnight 2.0 are the same kind of people who would HATE shows like Nancy Grace. I could see them moving to Anderson Cooper, or some other not Fox News show talking about Casey Anthony, but not Nancy Grace. Also, the debt ceiling was not being ignored, just badly reported upon.

*** I totally believe the debates should be more about making candidates defend their positions and answer the damn questions, and not use them as pivots to their talking points. After all it is a debate, and not a freaking joint press conference. Still, the "Newsnight Fantastic Super Revolutionary Debate Format", which was merely Will interrupting the candidates and yelling at them, probably is not the optimal format.

Cautiously Optimistic: The 2012 Chicago Bears

On the eve of the Bears first preseason game against Peyton Manning and the Colts Broncos*, I'm not quite sure how to feel. For the first time in my Bears fandom they actually have a Quarterback worth caring about, as well as real wide receiver. Forte got his contract, and should be happy and ready to go. The defense, though its core is still rather old, looks like it will be solid again. By god, they might actually be contenders.

Nonetheless, I am trying to remain rather cautious in my optimism. I can't help but think back to that San Diego game last year. For the first time in a long time, the Bears looked like a real contender, a team that could actually do something. Cutler was tearing apart the Chargers, and a second straight playoff berth looked almost like a sure thing. Then Johnny Knox slipped, the Chargers intercepted Cutler's pass, and he made a touchdown saving tackle. Cutler broke his thumb on the tackle, and the season changed irrevocably. From there, the Bears went from one of their best games in at least five years, to two of their most embarrassing losses ever**.

Hopefully things will be better this year. Mike Martz is gone, and Cutler has his receiver in Brandon Marshall and his QB coach in Jeremy Bates. Mike Tice's offense should hopefully be tailored to his talents, and minimize the mistakes of the offensive line. With luck the Bears offense won't take half a season to get in gear. If not, the early season schedule might leave them in a hole.

At first glance the first eight games look easier than the last eight. They start with Colts, and play the Rams and Jaguars as well. The Packers and Lions are by far the two toughest opponents in the first half. They have four home games and four away games, so that shouldn't affect them much.

However, the thing that worries me are all the night games. After experiencing so many dreadful Bears performances on Sunday, Monday, and Thursday nights, I tend to dread these games. Sure, some of the greatest Bears moments have happened under the lights. So have far too many drubbings, including several by the hated Packers. Guess who there first prime-time opponent is? To add to the miserable mess, it's a Thursday night NFL Network game, my least favorite type of NFL game.

Sure, they begin the back half of the season with an NBC/ESPN prime-time back to back against the Texans and 49ers. But once those are done, they finish the season with six day games, with only one at this time scheduled for late afternoon.*** The back half does appear to be against tougher opponents, so not starting in a hole makes it that much more important.

In the end, this is the most excited for a Bears season I've been since at least 2006. Still, I am trying to tamp down my enthusiasm and remain cautiously optimistic. After all, the Packers are still a terrible matchup for the Bears, and the Lions don't look any less tough than they were last year. I'm sure even the Vikings have found a few ways to improve. Here's to another great season of football.

Oh yeah, my prediction? The Bears go 5-3 to start the season, and 5-3 in the back half. While it leaves them behind the Packers, they beat the Lions out of the playoffs, winning the Wild Card round and losing in the Divisional round. The Packers and Texans will win their conferences, and the Packers will beat the Texans, who are just happy to have made it that far.****

*Have to say it feels weird to type that. Seriously, I almost typed Colts based on muscle memory, even though I spent the previous thirty seconds telling myself to type Broncos.

**I think that 10-3 loss to the Chiefs was the worst game I had the misfortune to ever watch. Yes, it was worse than the dreadful Wannstedt years, worse than the 2003 season opener against the 49ers, even worse than anything involving Chad Hutchinson, Henry Burris, Johnathan Quinn, or Caleb Hanie's other games. And although most of the game the defense performed admirably, that Denver game wasn't much better. I think Marion Barber just fumbled again. Or did he go out of bounds?

***Unlike prime time games, I actually like the late afternoon game. Especially late in the season, it means the Bears are having a season worth watching. Or they are playing a meaningless game in Seattle or Oakland. Either way it is still better than those NFL Network games. In addition, the most amazing two week span of the last 23 years for the Bears (2001 against the 49ers and Browns) took place during the late afternoon games.

****Pre-emptive apologies to the Texans fans for your upcoming 5-11 season. No apologies for you Packers fan, you get what you deserve.