My first foray into lose yourself completely, forget the world exists, holy smokes coming up for air makes me dizzy, was the television show Newsroom. Here's the back story: I finally took the plunge and traded my kids channels subscription for an HBO and crave subscription. It took me three years longer than it should have to do this. My kids have not sat down and watched a children's television show for an embarrassingly long time but I held on to those channels because they embodied memories. I also always wanted shows like this when I was a kid and I fulfilled that fantasy for a good long while.
So now entering the wonderful world of adult entertainment I began looking for shows I'd heard about but hadn't been able to watch. And along came a little gem from Aaron Sorkin. This man! This man has my utmost respect. He is a genius story teller who weaves current events and over the top dramatic personal experiences with humor, grace, wit, style and panache. I love everything he has done. I cannot understand his critics. He's brilliant.
The Newsroom is 3 seasons of brilliance.
Although I'm not sure you can call 6 episodes a season. I'm feeling my age when I have this discussion. 6 episodes used to be a mini series. A prolonged made for TV movie-esk type of show that was an event. A series was 26 episodes that ran all year from September to May. Now you can pinpoint my demographic.
The Newsroom had interesting characters who knew their stuff, they were cleverly acted and had magnetic personalities. There were fabulous parables and an underlying "Don Quixote" theme. The idea that news was not about making money but about making the general public aware of important events and political, economic, environmental and social shifts; the idea that news anchors held the moral high ground and looked after the country's values; banging up against the need for funding and the dilemmas that need created. And then you throw in personal drama - abracadabra it was MAGIC!
Educating and entertaining at the same time is one of Aaron Sorkin's very best gifts. My favorite bit in the whole series is when the financial reporter is educating the news director about the difference between a commercial bank and an investment bank, and Sorkin has woven this through the news' director's personal drama. I am running out of ways to say this was so damn clever!
So now entering the wonderful world of adult entertainment I began looking for shows I'd heard about but hadn't been able to watch. And along came a little gem from Aaron Sorkin. This man! This man has my utmost respect. He is a genius story teller who weaves current events and over the top dramatic personal experiences with humor, grace, wit, style and panache. I love everything he has done. I cannot understand his critics. He's brilliant.
The Newsroom is 3 seasons of brilliance.
Although I'm not sure you can call 6 episodes a season. I'm feeling my age when I have this discussion. 6 episodes used to be a mini series. A prolonged made for TV movie-esk type of show that was an event. A series was 26 episodes that ran all year from September to May. Now you can pinpoint my demographic.
The Newsroom had interesting characters who knew their stuff, they were cleverly acted and had magnetic personalities. There were fabulous parables and an underlying "Don Quixote" theme. The idea that news was not about making money but about making the general public aware of important events and political, economic, environmental and social shifts; the idea that news anchors held the moral high ground and looked after the country's values; banging up against the need for funding and the dilemmas that need created. And then you throw in personal drama - abracadabra it was MAGIC!
Educating and entertaining at the same time is one of Aaron Sorkin's very best gifts. My favorite bit in the whole series is when the financial reporter is educating the news director about the difference between a commercial bank and an investment bank, and Sorkin has woven this through the news' director's personal drama. I am running out of ways to say this was so damn clever!
I couldn't get enough. And then there was no more to have. But I am so grateful to have gotten the chance to watch. There is something very inspiring and motivating about watching really great work. And really great teamwork makes me want to climb - I was going to write Mount Everest but I hear that's kind of gross now - makes me want to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. And that feeling is why I go searching for more.
