The Newsroom

I saw this years ago, so I'm reviewing this based on my response in the 1990s.

This harsh satire of the news industry was pointed, dark and very, very funny. I don't remember too many details, but I remember that it was absolutely brilliant.

And then came the last episodes, in which the main character snaps. And they were awful. What had been a straight ahead comedy suddenly, inexplicably turned into an obvious tribute to/ripoff of Frederico Fellini. It was clear that series creator Finkleman, like so many humorists, felt humor wasn't enough and that he had to prove himself as an artist. And the result was tedious, pretentious and a complete misfit with the rest of the series.

But it's still worth watching all the episodes up until that point. It's just a shame Finkleman couldn't have been satisfied making a really funny satire of television news.

Let me be the first to say: The Newsroom is BACK, and darker than ever!

I've only seen the first episode, so I won't say much, but this premiere felt darker than all but the last few episodes of the original series. The original series was always black, but had a playfulness to it, and a certain charmingness about the characters; this new reinvention of the show carries most of the same issues and style, but is more unrelenting and comically depressing (and recasts all of the 'fun', 'quirky' characters). yes, I would even say they have taken it so far that it is no longer comedy, it's pure pain---but it in a good way! The Newsroom at its best achieved a kind of satire that made you fearful of seeing the characters as real people, and yet being forced into moments where we saw their saddest and honest humanity coming out (in the most crushing and embarassing and despicable ways); this entire first episode hit me with it again and again, at its most painful when Jim calls George Findlay practically in tears, and George could care less ...this is satire that dares you not to keep the safe comical distance (that even great satire usually makes use of), this is a *personal* satire that makes you bleed from the ears. I can't wait to see how far Finkleman takes this.

This said, I would be much more interested in seeing a totally new series from Finkleman, in a more open and more blatently surreal style.

Also, check out the insane and chaotic new series "This is Wonderland". I'm not sure if they can sustain it, but the pilot was ...different (and is one of the most de-centralized, self-destructive, frantic, infuriating narratives I've ever seen! almost every plot point collapsed in on itself and our heroine achieved essentially NOTHING!). It indeed manages to turn a court comedy/drama environment into a fairy tale world, and is about as unconventional and offbeat as it is possible for a court show to be these days. By way of comparison, the pilot would be best described as Ally McBeal on acid AND speed.

With this and an unexpectedly brilliant season of Da Vinci's Inquest (i was not such a fan in the past, but this season is something else), I'd say that CBC seems to have an almost violent level of energy this season!

(Schedule-- The Newsroom 8:30 Monday; Wonderland 9 Monday; Da Vinci 9 Sunday)

"The Newsroom" is honestly one of the best-made television shows I've ever seen. Brilliant writing; solid acting; dialogue that flowed more realistically than you'll ever see. And the stinging commentary on office politics and the cut-throat portrayal of the media was dead on. This wasn't a show about nothing. There was no audience. There was no laugh track. It didn't need any of these. It tackled real issues in the news, but gave you the insiders look. The show takes place in Toronto, Canada at a local news station. In one scene, the crew gets word of a train accident in the Congo river. Instead of going with the big local story, they go with the unrelatable, yet more interesting train wreck halfway across the world. In trying to somehow relate it to Canada, they check to see if any Canadians were on board.

Mark: We haven't even confirmed this Canadian. Jeremy: Well, we're hoping there's a Canadian dead. George: We're hoping he's dead.

Just an example of what goes on behind the scenes. Makes the network executives of Fox look like saints.

People have compared "The Newsroom" to Garry Shandling's "The Larry Sanders Show." Both similar; both excellent shows, "Sanders" coming before `the Newsroom.` But the Newsroom was done so much better in every way, that's there can be no comparison.

Like I said, one of my favorite shows of all time. Do yourself a favor and check your local PBS stations to see if they're playing "The Newsroom." Or, in Canada, beg the CBC to show some re-runs.

This show was excellent and had me until the completely unnecessary and bizarre 8 and a half homage (the three episodes called the meltdown). The entire purpose of which seemed to be to allow finkelman to pretend to be the main character from the movie. Which was hopelessly self-indulgent ("which was the point! get it?!") and devoid of anything interesting to say.

Before that though the show lays the blueprint for one camera office politics satire which both the British and American Office have utilized (if not totally ripped off). The show features some of the best writing I've ever seen on Television, incredibly sophisticated and never broad, it still manages to be hilarious.

8.5 out of 10 (get it?)

Judging The Newsroom after one episode is somewhat premature. I did not watch The Newsroom (1996) so cannot compare. Comparing the new actors is also quite premature. I hope Newshawk has watched more than the first episode. After a hiatus of 8 years, of course it is different from its predecessor. If viewers want easy laughter, there are enough asinine shows on television that would make him happy.

Kudos to CBC, Ken Finkleman and the "true-blue" actors as Newshawk describes them.

My 2cents worth.