The Newsroom

[Umlaut]

I feel like a big dumb dummy for not knowing the Santorum surrogate was based on a real guy, but Kent should feel even dumber for missing that the very same link was posted at the top of this very page (he probably got pagebreak'd, happens to the best of us)

However, I don't know exactly how the timeline works out, but I don't know if that Chris Mathews incident happened before this episode was written, though maybe it directly inspired it. In any case, it seems clear now that this character was based on this real guy. However, it's worth noting Robert Traynham was not a formal campaign adviser appointed by the Santorum campaign, just a former employee.

Good to know I can erase my one issue with this episode, though. Definitely the best on yet. Hopefully they can keep it up through the end of the season.

[isoS]

If I'm nitpicking: name-checking Good Will Hunting doesn't excuse you from ripping it off.

[Umlaut]

Can't wait for Slumdog Millionaire to bust that "Trolling On The Internet" story wide open, you guys!!

This show is not great. It is pretty watchable though.

Brandanowicz!!! And the reporter from the Pawnee Gazette! Between these two and Tom Haverford's ex, this show is becoming a pantheon of featured/former Parks & Rec characters. Waiting for Mo Collins' arc.

[smartbunny]

Yeah WTF with Trolling, and why wouldn't Mac know wtf that was? Is she technology-retarded?

OLIVIA!

[Finnias Jones]

http://mckaylaisnotimpressed.tumblr.com

[isoS]

Whelp, back to Shitville with this episode, after two good ones. The margin for error is so slim because it takes so much energy to suspend your disbelief enough to just enter the world of the show, let alone buy each thing that happens. But seriously, every time Mac has a hissy-fit, I scream at my television: "HOW DOES THIS WOMAN HAVE ANY JOB, NEVER MIND SUCH A HIGHLY-COVETED AND WELL-PAID ONE?!" You simply can't survive as an adult in an adult world if every little thing sends you into a moral outrage tizzy. We get it, she's principled -- but she's also a fucking moron if she needs it spelled out to her over and over again that THEY WILL ALL BE FIRED IF THEY DON'T COVER CASEY ANTHONY.

[Kentock]

That thing where Neal tells Sloan that he's going to troll her and then she's upset and you think it's because of the sexism, but no, it's because she is self-conscious about her ass?

I bet Sorkin's hand hurts from high-fiving himself.

[Don Luzman]

I am and always will be on board with this show, depite all its faults, but Emily Mortimer still remains the biggest weakness for me on this show. I still can't keep from imagining how the whole thing would have played out with Marisa Tomei in the role, who was initially considered or even cast (shaky info on that). It might have made some of the things the character does, and the effect she seems to have on charismatic men, easier to accept.

[smartbunny]

Yeah I find her to be a total dud.

[isoS]

I actually like Mortimer, I just think the way that character is written is insane. No actress could save some of the nonsense she's had to play.

[smartbunny]

Yeah I mean the character is a dud. Like Maggie, I'm not nuts about her either.

[jesterobobman]

If the 30 Seconds around/After "He struggles with things" isn't a GIF by tomorrow, the Internet has failed us.

[isoS]

Dis fuggin' show!

[smartbunny]

"Did she ever lose her temper?"
"Yes and when she did we all said OH MY GOD she's gonna kill her baby someday!"

I hate that they barged into Lisa's work and disrupted shit, acted like assholes, and demanded she go on TV. But then Lisa laid the smackdown.

[mezmorized]

Does anyone on this show not have an inside source to the biggest news events happening? Maybe this is just how news works and I'm just naive. Japan has a nuclear meltdown and you call your buddy who is the PR guy for that exact nuclear plant that is having a meltdown. It seemed a little ham-fisted to see that Lisa went to high school with Casey Anthony. And a little more ham-fisted that she's still working in fashion considering she was wearing her skirt on backwards 5 episodes ago.

[smartbunny]

But people love ham.

[Don Luzman]

I know, I know, there are so many things to complain about, but in the end, it's still a darn good show, isn't it? I genuinely enjoy it, and I'm already sorry the season is almost over, after one more episode that without looking it up I'm guessing is going to be called "What kind of day this has been".

I still stand by my opinion on Marisa Tomei being more tolerable in the part of Mac, without ever even playing it. After thinking too much about it, I came to the conclusion that they probably didn't want to have Marisa Tomei and Olivia Munn in the same show together, because they're a bit similar in type.

[Don Luzman]

I finally got around to check, and the season finale is called "The Greater Fool", which is exactly how I feel right now.

[Gluehead]

The Newsroom is nowhere near the same level of quality as the best dramas on TV right now but it does have one thing most of them don't, unabashed warmth and optimism. As much as I love shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men and Homeland, it can get exhausting spending so much time in these increasingly bleak and dour universes and it's enjoyable to have a show completely devoid of any irony or cynicism that simply wants to be a schmaltzy fable set in a unrealistically optimistic world where journalism is a superpower wielded only by a chosen few. I can genuinely say I'm going to miss it now that the season's done.

[Alex Mac]

Regardless of some of the show's flaws (some tepid and silly subplots, preachiness, a few character annoyances), I do enjoy watching it. If anything else, it's honest about what it wants to be.

I think Sorkin's done far better work but there's still some smart writing to be found and I think that Daniel's not only does a good job with the character of Will McAvoy but I think that the character himself is eminently likable and interesting to watch. He feels very human to me. Even if he's used often as a mouthpiece for Sorkin.