"The Newsroom"

-created by aaron sorkin
2012-2014
Sorkin's fourth series, and his first failure. Not in the popular consciousness or ratings presumably, as it garnered a fair amount of respect and lasted three seasons. But NEWSROOM deserved the early axe that befell STUDIO 60 (which is all the more saddening, as STUDIO 60 itself deserved WEST WING acclaim). TV is a fickle mistress, indeed. Why does this show not work? All the elements were there - sorkin's writing, beautiful production values and directing, and a cast that was capable of brilliance. But amazingly, it's the writing that falls short. Despite occasional flashes of greatness, the show never gels. It was forever unbalanced, in search of a formula which would have made things click. You find yourself longing for more attention paid to the personal relationships, yet also more time showing series star jeff daniels in his news anchor chair, exposing the idiocy and hypocrisy of our troubled times. Without those, all that remains is a lot of behind-the scenes newsroom strife. Daniels was primed to give a career performance, as a cranky anchor who starts out more worried about being liked (think leno) than doing his job well. Up shows emily mortimer as a producer with whom he has a rocky past, but is ready to make him live up to his potential.You want desperately to care for all these characters, but the spacing gaps are too wide. It's a shame too, as daniels could have offered the first sorkin conservative to win the hearts (and perhaps some minds) of the audience. The yearning, fumbling relationship between jim gallagher jr. and allison pill was pure potential - criminally shortchanged. The reunited romance between daniels and mortimer was teased well, but once consummated we never see the intimacy that would have made us understand their bond. Sam waterston and dev patel are rocks, playing the only two characters handled appropriately. Olivia munn's nerdy, sexy, ball-busting brilliance was just begging to be shaped into an iconic character. Riley voelkel was quietly, sorely missed in season 3. Jane fonda and marcia gay harden offered all the juice you might want from recurring characters. Part of the problem was the HBO format - with seasons less than half as long as previous sorkin fare, you want to feel that they could have found the right balance, given more time (throw in an abbreviated final season, and you're left with barely more than the time it took WEST WING to get rid of mandy). The show starts out amazingly, with a series teaser that stands with sorkin's (or any television, period) best, as daniels has a meltdown on national TV after being asked in an interview why America is the greatest country in the world. Absolutely classic. But then, into the murk it descends. Sorkin diehards will need to see it all, but otherwise content yourselves to the pilot plus maybe the last two episodes.