Hello Warming Glow. Today, for the first time since the new team took over, we get to find out where you stand on Aaron Sorkin. Let me take a stab in the dark as to what the comments might hint at: He’s a condescending pr*ck, one of the best television writers of all time, and let me guess: Someone is going to insist on holding “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” against him, while someone else will probably defend “Studio 60,” arguing that it wasn’t that bad? People will praise “West Wing,” and one or two conservatives will bash it as idealistic liberal pablum, while most will agree that “Sports Night” is one of the greatest sitcoms ever, except for a smattering of people who couldn’t get past the laugh track in the first season. Then, someone will end the thread with “YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH,” and there will be six groaning replies.
Did I just capture the essence of the comment thread? Oh, wait: I forgot two other comments: Something about Olivia Munn’s but-her face, and BRING BACK MATT.
There.
Anyway, here’s the trailer for “Newsroom,” and it will undoubtedly create some divisiveness among those who feel that it’s exactly what the world needs right now — a modern-day Network television series — and those who believe it looks like everything else Aaron Sorkin has ever done, right down to the smug arrogance. Me? I love smug arrogance, but then again, I’m an asshat. ‘MURICA!
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First?
Really?
Fuck you.
Yeah, fuck you.
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking about! Yellowstone?!” is a pretty fucking good line, you gotta admit.
*I fall firmly in the “Aaron Sorkin is a national treasure” camp.
I would have liked it better if Sabrina Lloyd was playing the Emily Mortimer role if only so I can pretend Natalie was successful after Sports Night and went on to produce a Cable News show.
I was about to say that I wished Jeff Daniels role was played by Peter Krause and Sam Waterson’s character was played by Robert Guillaume, but then I realized that I just want a third season of Sports Night.
Wait, people think Olivia Munn has a butter face?
WUT?
Yeah, WUT?
Whenever Aaron Sorkin comes up, I always point out that the Sports Night five-set tennis match episode and the West Wing filibuster episode are exactly the same.
I’m an unapologetic Sorkin fan across the board, even Studio 60. I’ve read the script for the pilot and I think this is going to be his best effort since the West Wing. It seems to be more of a commentary on the news media than anything specifically political.
I honestly don’t think Sorkin is all that politically polarizing to begin with. I’m a republican and I would vote for Jed Bartlett in a heartbeat. I think Sorkin goes out of his way to not paint every conservative character with the same born-again / racist / homophobic / evil brush which is something I appreciate. The line about being a republican but not believing hurricanes are caused by gay marriage was great.
So yeah- long comment short I think this show is going to be awesome. If they pair it with the show with Elaine as the VP from the guys who did In The Loop… that will be a solid night of television.
I heard that the show’s timeline takes place a year in the past, so they can comment on real news stories as if they were breaking live. Basically, Sorkin can write what the Obama administration should have said/done about the BP oil spill. True?
LONG LIVE AINSLEY HAYES!
@ Albert – that’s right I think. In the script I read they open with a oil spill disaster similar to BP. That was nearly a year ago so I’m not sure how much has changed.
@Dustin She is the standard by which I judge all women.
Sorkin was infamous for his scripts being late, so writing about real news stories that already happened might being an actor on the show less Harmon-esque.
I think Sorkin said that sometime in the 70s, he takes an alternate universe. President Bartlett is supposed to be contemporary, but its like Reagan/Bush/Clinton/Bush never happened.
And while my love for West Wing is pretty impressive, this trailer looks exactly like the plot for the pilot for Studio 60. Sorkin *did* a Network homage/theft already.
Looks good to me. I’ll give it a shot. Of course, Daniels can never recapture the lightning in a bottle that was Harry Dunne.
Sorkin RULEZ!! Sports Night is among the best SHOWS “.” Wish they went a little more into the sports.
@Nussy: all I can say is, you couldn’t be more right…I love Natalie from Sports Night.
Yeah, I’ll probably watchthis… but I’m sure I liked it better when it was called Studio 60 and about SNL, not the news.
You definitely liked it better when it was called Sports Night and was about ESPN and not the news
@Nussy – Fact. The prosecution rests, your honors.
I thought the preview that came on right after–for Veep–looked pretty good
Can I go with an “all of the above” re: Sorkin comments? I’m going to watch this because there is a lot to love about Sorkin and his work, but I’m sure I’ll roll my eyes quite bit. Also, Olivia Munn is not a butterface.
OOH that was giving me a solid chubby until I saw Jane Fondas traitorous, lizard queen , soul crushing, American Soldier murdering face!
Fuck you Fonda and the Vietnamese servant you rode in on!
Oh come on, she can’t even wear pith helmets anymore, they mess up her hair.
Hey, how about that True Blood teaser?
/crickets
I wanted to like Studio 60, since the subject matter was right in my wheelhouse, but I haaaaaated it. Way too much preaching to the choir.
To be fair, though, this looks like the show that Sorkin probably wanted to make when he did Studio 60. A show about a news program lends itself to discussions about politics, religion, etc. much better than a show that’s supposed to be about a sketch comedy show.
It was a tv show about a sketch comedy show that wasn’t funny, even during the fake sketch comedy segments.
YES. I could never get over the fact that characters that were part of a sketch comedy troupe were paaaaaaaaainfully unfunny. Like the concept of humor was completely foreign to them. I like to think it was a problem that would eventually fix itself, given time….
Love him or hate him, Aaron Sorkin is the absolute best at making boring shit look interesting. GRRRR BLACKBERRY THROWING!!!
Seriously, he could make my job seem interesting.
When in doubt, add run on dialogue.
I don’t hate Sorkin but honestly, the bloom is off the rose for me. I just don’t get why he’s such a big deal. Sports Night was great but every other show he’s done has been variations on sports night with faster and faster jibber jabber.
For which Mr. T has NO TIME!
This. Although I loved West Wing too. But you’d think he’d want to stretch his writing chops a bit for television and try a different setup.
I will forever love him for his spot-on parody of himself on 30 Rock.
I was dismissively wanking so hard during this trailer that I’ve dislocated my shoulder, fuck you Aaron Sorkin
I love all the Sorkin stuff I’ve seen. Of course I haven’t seen The Social Network, Moneyball, and I bailed out of Sportsnight early on.
I look forward to the new series. I liked the trailer. It’s interesting that his series start with some kind of major turmoil for a lead character (Studio 60: on-air meltdown of the producer; West Wing: Josh slanders a right-wing biatch on air)
Smug, douchey and at times a bit formulaic in his TV writing, but talented as all hell.
I have on occasion suspected that the “smell your own farts/smug” South Park episode was slightly aimed at Sorkin as well.
I didn’t see this comment yet, so I’ll go with the “It’ll start off slow and build up until it gets really good, right before the network cancels it.”
That sound about right?
Oh, and since it’s HBO, they’ll replace it with an adaptation of whatever Science Fiction book series currently being written that has the most boobs.
I’m not ashamed to say that I’m really excited about this. The whole TV “news” issue really frustrates the hell out of me and I want to see it explored. Also, I loved the West Wing but being in seventh grade when it started it was mostly (completely) out of my depth. Within a few years I could grasp more of it but the show had turned to shit. Hopefully this time around I’ll have some idea on what’s going on in at least one non-romance based plot line…
Honestly, I thought this looked different and it will be because of one thing: Tommy Schlamme. Tommy is the director who made the walk-and-talks so prolific, and he’s not attached to this one. the camera is a little more focused, the colors sharper, than previous Sorkin series.
I’m another all of the above. As a mostly politically conservative professional political hack who loves shows that contain dialogue and jokes about things other than sex and bodily functions (but loves South Park), I appreciate his shows very much, even if I have occasionally given myself a migraine from the repetitive rolling of eyes during some of the more condescending or unrealistic rants during his shows. Still smarter and more interesting than 90% of the dreck out there. Only sorry it is on HBO, which means I have to wait for the end of Season 1 to catch it on Netflix…
I still want Ed O’Neill as the Dem nominee over Jimmy Smits.
And they should have killed Zoey Bartlett.
God I have been waiting for years for someone to make a show based on Keith Olbermann’s wet dreams! God really does exist. That said, the cast looks awesome. You’ve got a bevy of underseen actors and I seriously wondered if “The Killing Fields” and “Law & Order” would be all we’d ever get to see of Sam Waterston. That said, Jane Fonda needs to stop, just stop.
I’m definitely more interested in Veep, but this doesn’t look entirely uninteresting either. I’m sure I’ll agree with the show’s politics, even if I don’t find it entertaining or if I do find it smug/etc.