Aaron Sorkin's new HBO series "The Newsroom"

I didn't like the ending at all - plotlines unresolved, completely unbelievable deus ex machina ending where the bad guy turns good and all's right with the world, endless flashbacks to things I didn't need to know happened which didn't illuminate anything I did know, and the worst of Sorkin's pretty-people soap opera writing. And the dumb song which took up about a year. Bah humbug.

 

I haven't watched it yet, but this is why I love this forum.

I think I will avoid "visual arts" till tomorrow.

 

Loved the show and series beginning to end. However, I did not get the "tie". Could someone PM me and explain? Thanks.

 

What was unresolved? If anything they resolved too much...

 

I thought the final episode was terrific and resolved everything. It was interesting to me that they had the b@lls to actually split up Maggie & Jim and not come up with a convoluted happy ending beyond a weekend relationship. And I thought the twist on the reason why Mackenzie was in the limo with Jane Fonda and the internet billionaire was very well-done and a big surprise. To me, the whole thing came together very well, and I get why they had to do the episode partially in flashback.

To me, the AV Club columnist going off on a tangent as to why the "Rape" episode (previous week) was offensive was ridiculous. I think they presented both sides of a complex issue very well, and to me, it was clear that the girl was telling the truth, even though she had no real proof. I don't see why this trivializes the issue or protects the accused. If nothing else, Sorkin shined a light on a very complex part of morality and justice, and it's rare you see a show that even remotely gets into areas this nuanced. The revelations about the motivations of Charlie's character were also very illuminating -- that maybe he wasn't always what he seemed to be.

 

a) Was the whistleblower material ever published?
b) What explanation was publicly given for the anchor spending two months in jail?
c) How was his release explained, and where were the other news outlets who should have been covering it?
d) Why would Pruitt listen to anything Leona had to say after he bought her out?
e) Why did Pruitt apparently change his whole direction for the news outlet he bought as a result of d)?
f) Did Maggie and her roommate settle their differences?
g) What happened with the Genoa producer's lawsuits against ACN and Don?
h) Why did Maggie and Jim have to pivot 180 degrees to look into the mirror to see Sloan monitoring their conversation, when she was in their direct view before they did so?

 

Very nice review of the final episode and a round-up of the whole series:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articl...s-it-began-noble-controversial-and-weird.html

 

This was definitely one of those finales that validated whatever preconceived opinions you had of the show-if you hated it, this gave you a lot more to hate, but if you loved it, so much more to love. I'm on the love side, and while it doesn't rank up with the all-time finales, I think it put a nice bow (like Charlie's tie) on the series. I think a rewatch of the series is in my near future.

 

Nice ending, though it's implausible to me that Pruitt would want to hear anything Leona had to say, much less carry out her suggestions. I didn't get the tie thing either. Thought I was missing some greater meaning there.

 

Wow I feel like I watched an entirely different series finale than most of you. I've been in love with this show all the way up to this last episode, which personally I found plummeted in quality and ended on really poor note. Cutting back to things in the past was a complete waste of time. I want to know what was happening now, not then. These flashbacks added nothing to the story or the relationships in my opinion.

I'm also not someone that needs loose ends tied up, but to not even mention anything about the public's reaction to Will being in jail seems nuts. I can only think that this plot idea would have been fleshed out a bit more had the series continued longer. As is, the government puts a journalist IN JAIL and there is absolutely no mention of a reaction to this, other than from his colleagues. Weird.

Also a really minor point but I found the direction of this episode really weird. For example, there was a scene where Will was having an after-show drink with Charlie and the whole time there were people walking back and forth across the camera. I found it really distracting, as though there was a point to this but nothing.

Anyway. RIP Newsroom. You were like some of my relationships in my 20s... Awesome and hilarious for two years than petered out and fell apart and now just a fond memory.

 

Sentiment seems to be love or hate. I felt both. I really liked this show more than I want to admit, and at the same time, just dreaded the sermonizing monologues at every turn. Its characters seemed to intellectualize everything. Despite that, watching the characters come to grips with ethical issues in their jobs, and in their daily lives, still made for compelling viewing. I wonder to what extent the difficulties portrayed in the show about speaking truth to power and not caterering to the lowest common denominator (news as pop culture entertainment) mirrored Sorkin's own travails in making it- he seemed to waver between delivering a story and using his characters as props for sermonizing, just as the Newsroom in the story couldn't seem to get out of its own way, despite the enormous talent and noble sentiments of its protagonists. If it left me feeling a little tortured while watching it, I'm not sure it is because I was troubled by the issues the show raised as much as by the heavy handedness of its delivery.

 

The comments on this show, this season and especially the finale run the gammit (as usual here). I thought the show was better the second year than the first, and this season was the best. I suppose the best praise I could give it was that when it ended I wanted more. This is in contrast with many other shows that I would compare.

Indeed

 

Last episode was hilarious!

 

I liked the Sloan/Don story line. The best line in the finale was Sloan talking to Will in the Limo.

"But there's another part of the story that Don's going to tell you about that stongly suggests it was him and not me that precipitated the death of our very close friend and leader. Do you want to hear Don tell you that part of the story?!?" Cut to Don, looking like he's got a serious case of gas.

 

And the informal eulogy that Will gave that included "we all know it was Sloan" was pretty cute as well.
However, the scene between Don and Charlie's wife was very touching.

 

Yeah, that "we all know it was Sloan" may be the 2nd best line. That or Leona telling Pruitt that Kwench is not how you spell that word.

 

In case you still need your Sorkin fix, here's a piece he wrote for the New York Times earlier this week on the recent Sony hacks.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/15/o...urnalists-shouldnt-help-the-sony-hackers.html

"If you close your eyes you can imagine the hackers sitting in a room, combing through the documents to find the ones that will draw the most blood. And in a room next door are American journalists doing the same thing. As demented and criminal as it is, at least the hackers are doing it for a cause. The press is doing it for a nickel."​

 

I loved the ending. If I have one disappointment it was the brevity of the final season, but that's just me being greedy. I don't care about wrapped up plot points. It was funny and touching and I haven't cried over a TV show like a 2 year old at nap time in a very long time.

 

As much as I liked the show, the "Sorkin-ized" dialogue did kind of stick out to me. Very pompous and pontificating... though I agree with 90% of their sentiments and politics.

I agree. I was half-expecting a 2-hour finale and was kind of disappointed this didn't happen.

 

there should be a line at olivia munn's front door offering her parts in movies and TV.

 

You should TradeMark that!.... Like "Sorkin-ized Rubber"!

 

I didn't either.

 

I don't think it even matters. It came from Charlie and the gift obviously touched Don and Sloan. I just assumed they recognied it.

 

They were tie-ing up the plot for the ending!

 

Ness it the Tie Jeff Daniels took off in the beginning or a case of glowing gold stuff to make us wonder.