I tried so hard to enjoy “The Newsroom”, an HBO series about a cable newsroom written by Aaron Sorkin. I tried very hard to find enjoyment in it, but there isn’t enough there to make me keep it on my DVR recording list. I don’t understand how he is considered even an average writer, let alone a good writer.
After reading about Sorkin and seeing some of his work, I have came to the realization he’s a closeted homosexual or a really insecure heterosexual. Look at the women in any of his work and how they are portrayed. Usually in his work there is one total dunce that you wonder how isn’t this dummy knocked up by some creep that took advantage of her stupidity. Then there’s the “strong, tough chick”-type that is there to “put all the guys in line”, but this woman is the most insecure of all the case. They are the ones who’s cage gets rattled way too easily, mostly because they her emotions are not in check (another Sorkin trademark: women are psychos who have no controls of their emotions or actions that get the lead character into more trouble than they should be).
Another major problem is that in his work, apparently all jobs are just places where people meet and spend more time banging than they do working. Sorkin for some reason likes to emphasize sexual tension and according to him, everyone wants to bang each other. He likes to focus this by having a live triangle between one (or both) of the women and two of the male characters, usually polar opposites of each other. Really simplistic and not outstanding of ideas. First off, the crap that goes on in his works wouldn’t happen in real life, mostly because the general rule is you DON’T get into relationships on the job, it could jeopardize your own and other people’s careers.
The dialogue used by Sorkin uses is this quick, witty, back and forth, “can you top my last remark”-style that really doesn’t work. I find it annoying and I get a headache from hearing it. It’s more like a chick flick style of writing, which isn’t something you’d hear in real life. If you did hear it in real life, I'm sure you wouldn’t associate with the moron who spoke in that way.
The cast in it is a good mix, but none work with the garbage writing. Most of the actors are probably people who needed the gig, or drank the Kool-Aid that Sorkin was a competent writer. I think most people look past Sorkin’s hack writings because all his works are always very left leaning, anti-Republican agenda driven. Jeff Daniel’s character is supposed to be somewhat conservative (or at least Libertarian), but he is made to sound like an idiot in his views. Sorkin does make sure you know he has conservative views by making him sound out of touch and old (like he didn’t know he had a blog one of his lackeys updates, he hates bloggers and thinks they are ruining journalism, etc.). Note that Sorkin HATES technology, he even said that after he wrote “The Social Network”, and it showed with how he made anyone affiliated with technology look like assholes and the bad guys. Hence why all the shots at anything related to technology.
So yeah, I think this show is an abortion. This is a show that comes off the heels of another abortion that is protected due to the writer allegedly has credibility (“Girls”, the wanna be hipster ‘Sex and the City’, but is as sexy and funny as ovarian cancer). I don’t know what HBO is doing, but they really have dropped the ball on their original programming (started when they said “Nah, we’ll pass on ‘Mad Men’”...God how good would that show be on HBO).
One last thing: How desperate was Sam Waterson for work that he agreed to play a goofball on “the Newsroom”? He looks stupid and like a fool losing his mind. It’s sad to see him reduced to that.