HBO's "The Newsroom" #13 "Willie Pete"

Hope Davis as Nina Howard

by Catherine Giordano

The Big Dramatic Gesture

Was HBO’s "The Newsroom" just a little better in episode 803, “Willy Pete”? Well, Mackenzie didn’t hit anyone during the episode.

But MacKenzie is still vying for “The-Most-Annoying-Ex-Girlfriend-Ever” title. During this episode she asks Will at least a dozen times about the phone message he left for her last season after covering the “Osama-is-dead” telecast. It was “Don’t think I’m only saying this because I am high, but …”  Mackenzie is pestering him to say what came after the “but. She pestered him about most of last season too, but now she has reached new heights on the “Pest-O-Meter.

She knows about the phone message because it was hacked and the part about being high was revealed by Nina, a gossip columnist.  Now Nina has some fresh “scandal” on Will, and he undertakes the big-dramatic-gesture to persuade her not to tell the world. It’s a wonderfully romantic scene—the empty executive dining room, mimosas served by a waiter clad all in black, and a piano player off in the corner playing “What the World Needs Now is Love.” He appeals to her better nature not to print the story, and he wins her over despite the fact that scandal is her bread-and-butter. Sometimes the people in Newsroom world are such paragons of virtue that we mere mortals have to question everything we know about the way the world works.

After she agrees, Will leaves the table, but then returns to ask her on a date. She refuses saying she knows he is still in love with MacKenzie. You see, she knows that the end of the message is “but I never stopped loving you.”  Later Mackenzie calls late at night to beg Nina to tell her what the message was. Nina lies and says Will said she was a great producer. The shot widens and we see Nina, who has obviously just emerged from the shower, standing in Will’s apartment. So they went on that date (and more) after all. And Nina doesn’t want any ex-girlfriends mucking up her new romance.

There’s another big dramatic gesture and another character mastering the art of pestering. Jim is on the Romney campaign bus, asking a bunch of questions embarrassing to the candidate, pointing out the inconsistencies in his positions. The “tour bus leader,” a spokesperson from the Romney campaign, keeps evading, denying, bobbing, and weaving.  Finally Jim decides to have an “I’m-mad as-hell-and –I’m- not-gonna-take-it anymore” moment and yells “Who’s with me” to the other reporters on the bus. He only gets two takers, and in the next scene we see the three of them standing by the side of the road as the bus drives off.

The next big dramatic moment is a turn of the plot. The newsroom get evidence that the “genoa” operation may have really happened.  It comes in the form of tweets made by a Pakistani who was on the scene at the time. The tweeter talks about “Willie Pete,” the term for white phosphorous. (Only it wasn’t white phosphorous, it was racin gas.)

Rom the big dramatic moment we can now segue into the big-idiotic moment. Margaret is still as big an idiot as ever. She takes some malaria medication because her big dramatic gesture to run off to Africa to cover some story (but really just to get away from everyone in the newsroom). Nina tells her she should have taken the other medication for malaria because the one she took just moments ago has really bad side effects. Margaret immediately begins experiencing all the side effects. Nina tells her the side effects don’t kick in for a week. Margaret is undeterred and continues throughout the rest of the show with her side effects.

I have a suggestion for the people in the news room for a big dramatic gesture—grow up.

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The Newsroom Episode 5 "Amen"

“The Newsroom” continues to be excellent when it focuses on covering the news, and fairly dismal when it focuses on anything else.

Sometimes a show will “jump the shark’ after years on the air. “The Newsroom” jumped the shark on Episode 1 and has jumped the shark on every episode since.  (I just love saying “jumped the shark.”  Thank you, “The Newsroom”, for giving me the opportunity to say it over and over.)

So what implausible off-the-wall stuff happened this week?

There was an epidemic of injuries.  Elliott, the ACN 10 pm anchor, (Will anchors at 9pm) gets his wounds honorably, going out into the streets of Egypt to report on the uprising.  All the others were injured because they are morons. Jim needs a few stitches to his head because he walks into a glass door. Twice. Neal gets very upset about the news he is seeing on a monitor, so he punches the monitor, breaking a few bones. Don tries to break a down a door by ramming it with his shoulder.  (he fails, but ow, that hurts.) And these are all supposed to be really smart people, smart enough to work for the second-highest top-rated news show. I’d hate to see what happens to the ones who work on the fifth-rated show. Do they broadcast directly from the hospital?

McKensey is the best executive producer in the business, but she knows absolutely nothing about economics. Nonetheless, she agreed to appear on a panel discussion about economics.  (Smart move, Mckensey.)  Dr. Sloan has to tutor her.  And us. The whole point of these scenes provide an opportunity for the show to lecture America about the Glass-Speigal Act.  (Actually, I learned something, so thanks, but isn’t this supposed to be an entertainment show.)

And what would “The Newsroom“ be without the antics of the lovelorn and love -addicted. It’s Valentines Day, and so there will be lots of raving on the subject of love on the floor of the newsroom. The “raver-in-chief “ is Margaret, of course, who delivers an extended speech about the importance of Valentine’s Day.  This is followed up, in case we missed the point, by another hysterical lecture on the importance of Valentine' Day. This time it comes from Margaret’s roommate, Lisa, who doesn’t even work in the newsroom, but is dating (or maybe just sleeping with) Jim.

 And while we are on the theme of love, McKensey has to dump her new beau, Wade, because apparently Wade was only dating her so he could get guest appearances on the show in support of his upcoming run for Congress. Poor McKensey, the really, really smart MacKensey, was duped; she knew nothing about his plans to be a candidate for Congress. But there is a happy eneding---Mckensey is so broken-hearted that she falls into Will’s arms.  Will embraces her, suggesting that the rift between them may be mending.

One more overwrought plot point.  At the beginning of the show, everyone is talking about the movie “Rudy.”  This movie is about a college football player who sits on the bench for four years, and never once gets to play. It’s the last game of the last season, and he is not on the roster. Every player on the team, one by one, goes into the coach’s office and volunteers to have this luckless bench-warmer take his place in the game.  (All together now, Awww!)   

At the end of the show, we learn why the writers put the “Rudy” story into the show.  An Egyptian stringer, Amen, (pronounced Ah-min, but still sufficient for some amen puns) who was talked into providing on-the-ground reports on the Egyptian uprising for the show, has been kidnapped.  Will secretly pays the ransom, $250,000, but the staff discovers his act of good-guy-ness. Everyone in the newsroom lines up, and one by one, they walk into Will’s office and place a check on his desk to help defray the expense of the ransom.  (All together now:  Awww!  Okay, I admit it—it brought a little lump to my throat.)

That’s five sharks and I left a few out.

What “The Newsroom” does best, and the main reason, I watch the show, is cover the news, and in the process give us the fly-on-the wall view of what happens when there is “breaking news”. In the first episode, it was the BP oil spill. In Episode Two, it was the Arizona immigration bill; in Episode Three, it was the Times Square bomber, the Tea Party and Election night 2010; in Episode Four it was the Gabby Giffords’ shooting. In this episode it is the revolution in Egypt and the protests over union- busting by Scott Walker in Wisconsin.
 

My advice to “The Newsroom”:  Focus on the news.  And get some new writers for everything else.

Newsroom on HBO Episode 4 "I'll Try to Fix You"

A woman throws a drink in Will McAvoy’s face at a party.  Later on in the show, another women throws a drink in Will’s face in a restaurant. I always thought it would be so cool to throw a drink in a man’s face.  I don’t think I ever have.  (I once threw a bowl of fruit salad on a man’s head, but that’s a story for another time and place.)

All this drink-throwing is a bit overblown.  No once, but twice.  And in between, the staff of the newsroom throws drinks in MacAvoy’s face, but it is just a joke.  Good thing Will has a sense of humor.

Will is continuing his serial dating.  A new woman every day, but he can’t seem to connect.  Will is smooth and in command on air or in business dealings, but put him next to a woman in a social situation and he goes to pieces.  I know some men are like this, even highly successful news anchors, but the show is pushing it too far.

Will McAvoy reminds me of the real-life Keith Olbermann.  Strong, intelligent, capable, and given to rants, but not so much off camera.  I have never met Mr. Olbermann, but when I saw him unscripted on talk shows, he seemed awkward. (I once had a dream that I was on a date with Keith Olberman, but that is a story for another time and place.)

The rants! Alan Sorkin uses McAvoy as his alter ego.  McAvoy has a lot of petty peeves.  He doesn’t like gossip columnists who “takedown” celebrities, he doesn’t like silly reality shows about “housewives” and, of course, he doesn’t like political fools (i.e. tea party pols) the least little bit.  Sorkin can get away with these rants with me because I agree with him and I love to see McAvoy reflect my opinions.  However, some viewers may start to tire of these preachy moments; they are like badly done “product placements.”  It pulls you out of the show as you think “Here it comes again.”

And, now moving on to some of the other characters.  Does anyone else think cute and perky Maggie is starting to get really really annoying?  And McKenzie is an executive producer, but most teenage girls can handle their emotions better than she can. Her behavior is rapidly getting old.  In fact pretty much, every character on the show is grating on my nerves except for Leona (Jane Fonda’s character) who owns a media conglomerate that includes the news station.  Leona is the only character that rings true.

Despite all my complaints, the show redeemed itself in the last few minutes.  SPOILER ALERT: Stop reading here if you have not seen this episode yet.

I was wondering why there was no follow-up to Leona’s threat to fire Will, and then, BAM—I never saw it coming.  It seems like Will’s mishaps with women was getting him some bad press because his dates were accusing him of sexual harassment, drug use, and pointing guns at them.  It turns out Leona was behind it all of this bad press..  She was setting Will up to be fired on a “morals clause.”  This lady is tough.

I heard that the show is renewed for a second season.  Someone is going to have to "try to fix this show" or it won’t make it through the first season.

Newsroom on HBO--Episode 3 "The 112th Congress"

Breaking News: My opinion of “Newsroom” just went way up.  Again it was the story about how the news was covered that captured me, and not the silly storylines about the various romantic entanglements and personal relationships of the characters.

Again I have to compare “Newsroom” to “The West Wing.”  “The West Wing” gave us President Josiah Bartlett, a president that never was and never will be, but who nonetheless exemplifies everything we wish a president would be.  (Even Barack Obama, a president who I believe is the best president of my lifetime, is not as good as President Bartlett.)  The “Newsroom” gives us Will McAvoy, a news anchor who never was and never will be, but who nonetheless exemplifies everything we wish a news anchor would be.

The show opens with Will McAvoy on-air, giving an impassioned speech about how news organizations have failed this country and the dire consequences of that failure.  He apologizes and promises to do better.  And then he starts to do just that.  It is wonderful to watch as goes after the tea party, showing how “the big-money interests” in this country co-opted the tea party. 

The show covers the six months leading up to the 2010 midterm elections. He exposes ignorance, stupidity, and shamelessness, and bemoans the fate of “solid conservatives” who lose their seats to the demagogues and “crazies.”  He refuses to sensationalize the news or give time to trivial fluff pieces. It is obvious now why it was a smart move for the shows writers to have McAvoy be a Republican.  It gives his exposes credence; if the character was a Democrat, his truth-telling about Republican tea-partiers would be dismissed as partisan politics.  

 None of the exposes on the show come as a surprise to me.  I saw it all on MSNBC in real time. McAvoy has become an anchor who would be right at home at MCNBC.  In fact, in this episode, one of McAvoy’s co-workers actually says this—only it is an accusation, not a compliment.

Of course, McAvoy is not going to be allowed to tell the truth. The owner of the Atlantic News Media, the company that employs Will McAvoy, is Leona Lansing (played by Jane Fonda).  The imperial Leona is furious—she is losing her friends in high places because of McAvoy, and worse, she is losing money and not just because ratings for the show are down. She angrily shouts, “I have business interests before this Congress!”  Jane Fonda is wonderful in this role.

She warns the shows genial, but equally fierce president of the news division, Charlie Skinner (played by Sam Waterson), that if McAvoy doesn’t return the show to its former blandness she will fire him.  McAvoy has a three-year non-compete clause and his career will be ruined.

How will the show resolve this?  If McAvoy caves, there is no show.  If McAvoy is fired, there is no show.  The field has been set for an epic battle.  I guess I’ll have to watch next Sunday.

The Newsroom

"The Newsroom" on HBO was created by Aaron Sorkin, the creator of "The West Wing."  I loved The West Wing:, so I should love this new show too.  Thing is, after two episodes, I'm not so sure I do.  It has a lot going for it, but I just don't feel like it is engaging me.

Jeff Daniels plays Will McAvoy, a cable news anchor.  I find Will to be an attractive character.  I like his looks, and I like that he is very smart and in command.  I like that no one messes with Will--he'll cut you to ribbons if you do.  And I like that every once in a while we get a glimpse of his softer side.  Perhaps that is the attraction.  If I knew him in person, I'd feel challenged to get past the crunchy exterior to the marshmallow interior.  I 'd want to test my wit against his.

The rest of the cast is young and peppy and attractive--too young and peppy and attractive.  None of the characters feels real to me.  I feel like they all (except for Will) came straight out of a wax museum and somebody wound them up and set them loose in the newsroom like a bunch of berserker Roombas.. (I know wax figures can't get wound up, so if my metaphor is going to work, you will have to imagine that maybe they have an animatranic robot under the wax skin.)

The character I like best in Margaret Jordan played by Allison Pill.  At the beginning of Episode One, she is the plucky intern, and all that pluck gets her promoted to associate producer in the first few minutes of the episode.  Even though I'm closer to Jeff Daniels in age than to Allison Pill, I idenify with this young woman. I guess she reminds me, just a little, of my younger self becasuse she is a young woman trying to get ahead in the business world, making mistakes, and having a rather confused love life.

The show has its moments.  I loved it when Will McAvoy went on a rant when asked why the U.S. is the best country in the world.  In quick succession, he rattled off the ranking of the United States on a whole host of issues where the U.S. ranks well behind many other nations. I liked that he said it because someone needs to say it, but it was a little out of character because he is supposed to be a Republican.

I like the "behind the scenes" look at a newsroom especialy in the first episode.  The newsroom was reacting to the first reports about the BP spill in the gulf, and I felt that I was getting to see how a cable news show handles a breaking news story.  However, in the second episode, the "behind the scenes" stuff just felt less realistic.  It felt contrived.  A prominent guest cancels at the last minute and is replaced by three "weidos".  Perhaps that happens once in a while, even on a top-rated show, but it was too over the top to feel real.

The relationships don't feel real either. Or even interesting.  McKenzie McHale (played by Emily Mortimer) is the producer of the news show.  And, don't you just know it, she and Will were romantically involved in the past and it ended badly.  McKenzie is still in love with Will, but he can't forgive her for cheating on him.  This storyline will probably be batted about like a hot potato for the rest of the season.  However, here is where the smart repartee trips up the story--it doesn't feel real, and hence I don't care about the relationship.

The show has already been renewed for a second season.  I'll probably continue to watch for a while.  However, it will most likely to be the first to go when new shows or returning shows (like Breaking Bad) start airing and compete for my time.