The Newsroom

NOTHING LEAPED OUT of my screen when I watched The Newsroom, an HBO series about broadcast journalists who want to change the prime time TV news landscape. Halfway through the pilot episode I was bored. Apart from the witty, fast-paced conversations that I doubt would ever happen in real life, nothing else stood out. But I got so hooked that I would repeat watching the episodes over and over again.

The show is a comedy. Emily Mortimer as the executive producer Mackenzie McHale comes off as a smart but clumsy woman—and a beautiful one, too, with a British accent. Who can resist her charms? Well, the anchor Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) pretends he's over her. They were in love years before, until Mackenzie had cheated on him. The arrangement, where Mackenzie orders what Will is supposed to do on screen, is not easy for both of them. There's too much baggage. But together they make Atlantis Cable News (ACN) a cut above the rest. Resolved to only report the news that matters, they earn the ire of the higher ups who are in the news business for the money. The world is against them, but they stand by their principles. Quixotic, but not impossible. I found myself cheering for them.

I have to say this: Jeff Daniels reminds me of my missionary friend Dave Griffiths. The incisors, the sharp wit—the resemblance is striking.

The love story between Jim Harper (John Gallagher, Jr) and Maggie Jordan (Alison Pill) adds color to the show. They're clearly madly in love with each other, but they pretend to be in love with other people—out of politeness and courtesy. I want to bump their heads against each other.

The Newsroom is a commentary on the progressively degrading quality of news programs. TV stations are run by capitalists, who are driven by profit. So what happens if the news exposes their wrongdoings? Must the news be reported anyway, to the detriment of the people whose money is the reason why the show is up and running in the first place?