The Greater Fool
- Episode aired Aug 26, 2012
- TV-MA
- 1h 2m
Will is in the hospital and is too discouraged to return to work as his colleagues get the final clue needed to thwart the execs wanting to fire him.Will is in the hospital and is too discouraged to return to work as his colleagues get the final clue needed to thwart the execs wanting to fire him.Will is in the hospital and is too discouraged to return to work as his colleagues get the final clue needed to thwart the execs wanting to fire him.
Photos
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe corner where Maggie gets splashed by the bus is in front of the Friends (1994) apartment.
- Quotes
Will McAvoy: Ideological purity. Compromise as weakness. A fundamentalist belief in scriptural literalism. Denying science. Unmoved by facts. Undeterred by new information. A hostile fear of progress. A demonization of education. A need to control women's bodies. Severe xenophobia. Tribal mentality. Intolerance of dissent. Pathological hatred of the U.S. government. They can call themselves the Tea Party. They can call themselves conservatives. And they can even call themselves Republicans, though Republicans certainly shouldn't. But we should call them what they are - The American Taliban.
- ConnectionsReferences Columbo (1971)
For a very basic overview, "The Newsroom" sees Will McAvoy (Daniels), the lead anchor of a popular cable nightly news station, "go rogue" in the sense that he wants to bring back facts, civility, and some manner of ethics to TV news. In order to accomplish this, ex-wife (and mega-producer) MacKenzie Hale (Emily Mortimer) is brought in my station maven Charlie Skinner (Sam Waterston). As those two butt heads in nearly every way possible, their newsroom team fights to put together a different kind of news broadcast.
Each episode this season is centered around an actual historic event, such as the Deep Horizon oil spill, the Tea Party midterms elections, the Arab Spring, and the capture of Osama bin Laden, to name a few. For the most part, the show is very adept at capturing the essence of those events and deconstructing how the current news media has failed (or is failing) the general public. This is largely accomplished through Daniels' character, who gets the bulk of the heavy, important material. These moments constituted my favorite part of the season.
At the same time, the show also cultivates a great ensemble cast. Actors such as John Gallagher Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Dev Patel, and Olivia Munn all vie for time. The fact that every one of those individuals went on to further projects speaks to how carefully crafted the cast was.
At the same time, "The Newsroom" (at least in this first season) is a show that has a penchant for high-handedness. There is little subtly to be found whatsoever. As such, the general viewpoint on issues is not softened for across-the-aisle connection, if you will. While it isn't out-of-control partisan by any means, when it takes a stand you will have no trouble knowing it while viewing. Some may find that liberating, while others (like myself) may find it pretentious.
Also, that knockout cast I spoke of? Their personal foibles and will-they-won't-they romantic tensions often feel more contrived than endearing. This may be due to wild changes in tone throughout each episode. For example, a deep emotional moment may quickly be followed by, say, Will McAvoy struggling to put on a pair of pants. While I can appreciate the need for thematic balance, the comical nature of swaths of dialogue or the general goofiness often contrasts sharply with the deep material.
Overall, "The Newsroom" is a show that has a lot to say, and it mostly does it in an entertaining fashion here. Despite the relatively middling ranking, it is one I will likely return to after giving myself a break from the material. It earned at least that much rope to see how the plots/characters develop going forward.
- zkonedog
- Jan 7, 2021
Details
- Runtime1 hour 2 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 16:9 HD