Any new piece of writing from Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, “The West Wing”) is worth getting excited about. The guy is smart and, from where I stand, has a clear-eyed view of the world, which he brings with him to HBO’s “The Newsroom,” tackling the 24 hour news cycle from within. Inside the first four episodes of this premiere season, Sorkin brings his signature style of fast-talking characters, cynical wit and pointed political discourse to the table, but it’s also frequently clumsy, repetitive and preachy.
Built in is a sense of “this is the right way to do things” but in these first four episodes a lot of it comes across as a talking down rather than the beginnings of presenting a case. That said, I’m pretty sure I see where Sorkin is going with this, but it really needs to be tightened up, and reigned in with far more focus on what’s important to the story rather than so much rambling and repetitive nonsense. The show needs an injection of humanity as it often finds itself caught up in its own game.
When the trailer (watch to the right) first debuted I was very excited. In it you see Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels), a trusted news anchor that walks the company line. Ratings are king to him, he never lets his opinion be known and simply sticks to reporting the “news” — or at least what passes for news these days where the sexiest stories sell, being first is more important than being right and reporting an agenda as fact is perfectly acceptable. Until now.
As the trailer shows, Will breaks free from his shackles, speaking his mind at a college campus panel discussion, a moment that would forever change his career. Following the incident his “News Night” hour-long program shifted gears under the direction of Charlie Skinner (Sam Waterston), president of the news division at ACN. With Will on vacation, Charlie gives Will’s previous executive producer Don (Thomas Sadoski) his own program and Don takes most of the “News Night” staff with him leaving Will’s newsroom empty… but not for long.
Hired on to take Don’s place is Mackenzie McHale (Emily Mortimer), a respected journalist and fan of the facts, not sensationalism. Her goal is to present a nightly news program that sticks to said facts and doesn’t jump the gun when it comes to reporting.
Before I push along too quickly, I’m skipping over the little nuances that start off as small character details expected to bring doses of humanity to the “News Night” employees, but unfortunately begin to weigh the show down.
First off, there’s a history between Will and Mackenzie. Upon her arrival at “News Night” we learn they once had a relationship three years earlier and haven’t spoken since. The reason is kept from us for a while but is soon revealed and toyed with throughout the season’s first four episodes and when each begin dating it causes an obvious and annoying tension.
This, however, isn’t the only such relationship mumbo-jumbo. Associate producer Maggie (Alison Pill) is dating Don, but when Mackenzie brings in her own senior producer (John Gallagher, Jr.) she pushes him to strike up a relationship with Maggie based largely on internal politics. This ultimately creates a love triangle that is already growing incredibly tiresome.
Meanwhile, the show’s new format is causing problems upstairs where Leona Lansing (Jane Fonda), CEO of ACN’s parent company, is more interested in ratings and keeping her friends out of the spotlight. The “News Night” search for truth and facts isn’t what she had in mind… at least not if it comes at the expense of important business relationships.
Will claims to be a moderate Republican, yet he’s attacked for being a Liberal to which he says at one point, “I only seem Liberal because I believe Hurricanes are caused by high barometric pressure and not gay marriage.” His target in search of the truth in these first four episodes is largely focused on the Tea Party and such talking points as their claims they aren’t corporate funded and that Barrack Obama is trying keep them from owning guns. It’s an easy target, but it doesn’t end there.
In his personal time he meets a reporter from TMI, a gossip rag, who’s planning what she refers to as a “Takedown Piece” targeting one of the “Real Housewives of New Jersey”. Befuddled at the idea of attacking someone and being mean-spirited simply for “entertainment”, Will finds himself in a series of arguments, but the hypocrisy seems to start hitting home. He’s on what he refers to as a “mission to civilize”, but at what point do we all become just another set of ideals, claiming our beliefs are better than everyone else’s?
This is the point I felt Sorkin is trying to get at with “The Newsroom” but these first four episodes are so full of peripheral nonsense and relationship tedium it comes across as worthless filler. Sorkin treats his characters’ relationships like another form of politics, which is a fine metaphor, but all humanity is lost in the process. No one seems necessarily happy — it’s a very cynical, unnatural approach. It makes it hard to care about them on a personal level.
Two of these first four episodes are directed by Greg Mottola (Superbad, Adventureland) whose filming technique here almost mimics a Duplass brothers feature, the only difference being the glassy surroundings of the newsroom and noticeable score from Thomas Newman (Road to Perdition). Tight zooms and plenty of handheld camerawork give it almost a mumblecore, “third party in the room” approach to the storytelling. In the Alan Poul-directed fourth episode, “I’ll Try to Fix You”, it’s even more noticeable.
Another major issue is the editing. Scenes go on for way too long. If the intent is to come across as long-winded and preachy as your characters stand on their soapbox and pronounce their agenda then “The Newsroom” has accomplished its goals. But several times I was left watching and thinking to myself, Seriously, we’re still having this discussion? At times a scene will cut, appear to move on, only to come back to same discussion after wedging in a quick aside.
All of this said, Sorkin has planted the necessary seeds, but he needs to turn the corner and quickly. The show plays like a dramatized version of the lives of Keith Olbermann and/or Rachel Maddow, both intelligent reporters that I have always felt surrendered to their agendas while preying on the easiest of targets to the point both quickly became unbearable.
After only four episodes Will and “News Night” have done enough to prove the Tea Party is a bunch of radicals as we’re reliving the 2010 news cycle all over again. “The Newsroom” begins in April 2010, kicking off with a news report on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, moving to the January 2011 shooting of Gabrielle Giffords by the show’s fourth episode. The clear signal Sorkin is trying to send is “this is how the news can and should be reported, not with sensationalism but with honesty and integrity.”
I imagine the following episodes will take us deeper into 2011 until suddenly we’re working with a show operating nearly in real-time, reporting on today’s biggest news stories in an attempt to show all news doesn’t have to be about whoever is first, but instead an attempt to get it right and inform the electorate as opposed to bend their ear a certain way or sensationalizing the reporting for ratings.
I can respect this and I’m curious how Sorkin will continue to tackle the existence of “entertainment” news and gossip, something the show doesn’t seem ready to condemn entirely… at least not yet.
There are small hints of realized hypocrisy in what is going on in this show, but I still have to wonder if it will get continually preachy and dehumanized or turn itself around into something great. “The Newsroom” runs the risk of presenting itself as being “right” in all instances, which may lessen the impact should it ever truly follow a theoretical “right” path.
“The Newsroom” premieres on HBO on June 24 at 10 PM ET/PT. I have included a collection of 16 images from the first four episodes directly below. Images include looks at the entire cast including Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, Alison Pill, Dev Patel, Olivia Munn, Thomas Sadoski, Sam Waterston and John Gallagher, Jr. as well as series creator Aaron Sorkin.
