Gary McCurry reviews the first episode of The Newsroom season 3…
“I’ve loved every minute I’ve spent in television. And I’ve had much more failure, as traditionally measured, than success in television. I’ve done four shows, and only one of them was The West Wing.”
Words spoken by Aaron Sorkin during a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times as Season 3 of his latest (and seemingly, last) TV venture The Newsroom begins its final run of episodes. Are we glad to see him back for his farewell tour?
In true Sorkin style, we’ll jump right in. If you learn something you didn’t want to know, I refer you to this point when I told you to stop reading if you wanted a clean slate. No backsies.
Before anything can be seen visually, the machine gun esque dialogue, for which Aaron Sorkin is known has already begun. To my ear it’s smooth, concise and most importantly, new. In conversations with friends regarding what show you would choose to inhabit if given the choice, you can keep your wizards, werewolves and superheroes, I’m going with a world wherein the population is filled with so much wit it occasionally seems unnatural how quick each characters mind responds. This won’t be a review merely praising everything Aaron Sorkin has done, honest. It’s more for reference to show how high my anticipation for the third season was.
Focusing on real world events, such as the BP oil spill and the death of Osama Bin Laden, we meet this episode as the Boston marathon bombing unfolds. This plot device of including recent moments in history has been problematic since the series’ premiere, partly due to the show’s tendency to blueprint how a news broadcast should have conveyed the story to its audience rather than how networks actually dealt with these specific events. It often gets the significance of these moments correct however, and that culminates to incredibly captivating TV.
Activity hits the ACN (Atlantis Cable News to give it the full name treatment) floor as details via numerous Twitter accounts explain the situation in Boston. The fear of repeating Genoa prevents them from going live with the story until they get word from a credible source, much to the dismay of ACN hierarchy, Resse Lansing (Chris Messina) and to the joy of the other corporations already reporting from the scene. Being gun shy on the Boston bombings later has repercussions that’s sure to span the remaining episodes for the whole team at News Night.
Neal Sampat, played brilliantly by Dev Patel has his own sub plot here. Believing that someone is trying to leak him classified government documents he informs the others during a run down meeting only for the idea to be scoffed at then brushed aside due to his announcements of “leads” he’d like to follow in the past. This sets in motion another vital story line of the final season. The nature of his inclusion here felt a bit too forced for me, as if Sorkin wanted to up the ante for the premiere with Neal’s journey and later, Sloan Sabbath’s (Olivia Munn) own puzzle that she deciphers, thanks to a $14,000 computer.
This episode is chalk full of set ups, with some working to raise the stakes and others with more of a if we’re going out, then we’re going out in style vibe over proper story building. The performances are impeccable, the dialogue is as striking as always and if you haven’t caught any of this show then sit yourself down and introduce yourself to the team. If you’re like me and love the fact the show is back, even in small sample size then sit back and enjoy the ride.
Gary McCurry
Originally published November 19, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
