Article first published as THE NEWSROOM Review Season 3 Episode 1 Boston at Seat42F.
HBO’s
stellar series THE NEWSROOM begins a six-episode third and final season
this week with “Boston.” I know THE NEWSROOM polarizes people, and many
viewers either strongly love or hate it. You can probably tell from the
first sentence of this review that I am in the former category, seeing
it as a brilliant piece of television that has been killed too early and
will be sorely missed. But if you fall into the latter, stick with me
briefly, if you would, and I’ll tell you why “Boston” and this show are
fantastic.
As some may have already
guessed from the episode title, the premiere takes place in the days
immediately following the bombing at the Boston Marathon. Explosions go
off, killing and injuring many innocents, and the country goes into
panic mode. Our team struggles to balance expediency with rebuilding a
sterling reputation, refusing to jump the gun in reporting rumors and
tweets.
If you watched season two and
stay up on current events, you can probably put the pieces together
about where “Boston” is going. CNN gets out in front of a story,
reporting misinformation, and it causes waves. Remembering the Genoa
incident last year, in with ACN made a similar blunder, the staff takes
pride in not falling into the trap again. However, with everyone else
rushing to cover the latest Twitter and Reddit items, ACN begins losing
their ratings share.
This presents a
possible end-game for the series. The whole premise of News Night With
Will McAvoy is to return to TV journalism’s roots, only reporting
well-sourced, fact-based, non-biased information. This goes against the
current trend in cable news, and without the immediate feedback that
other networks practice, involving the public in the story, News Night
risks being a dinosaur. That could kill it.
The
depressing thing is, News Night is doing the right thing and everyone
else is doing the wrong thing. We need a show like News Night, which
currently only exists in this fictional world that Aaron Sorkin has
created. It’s commentary on our current system, and those watching it
should take note and demand better news. We deserve as much.
There’s
another threat looming, too, but I feel like I can’t go into it here
without spoiling one of the episode’s beautiful twists, several of which
come together at the end of this initial hour to set the stage for the
season and provide a driving force.
One
thing not hampering the show any more is Reese Lansing (Chris Messina).
He remains committed to his people with the newfound respect he
develops for them last season. “Boston” very much represents a coming
together of the cast with an us-against-the-world attitude. It may end
in their version of The Alamo, but it’s one that is inspiring,
nonetheless.
Besides Boston, THE
NEWSROOM begins an Edward Snowden-esque plot when Neal (Dev Patel)
receives thousands of leaked government documents, many of them
classified. Another important debate of our time is how much the public
has a right to know and if whistle-blowers should be protected. Since
the Snowden saga hasn’t finished up in real life yet, Sorkin will have
to bring us his version of how this story should end. I look forward to
his take on such a complicated issue.
There
are tons of moments and touches that make “Boston” a fine example of
THE NEWSROOM’s proud run. MacKenzie (Emily Mortimer) and Will (Jeff
Daniels) are planning their wedding and not understanding twitter, Sloan
(Olivia Munn) uses her considerable genius to solve a puzzle no one
even knows needs solving yet, and one of the primary players, who has
only worked from the sidelines, finds themselves unexpectedly in front
of a camera, with surprising results. And, of course, Will makes an
impassioned, blood-pumping speech. These and more get me super excited
about the coming season.
I’ve pounded
out this review in ten minutes flat mainly because I am so excited that
I cannot wait to get back to the other two episodes HBO was kind enough
to send with this one. I hope the above illustrates how THE NEWSROOM is
maintaining its gripping style, and gets you as anxious for this final
run as it has me. There really is no better show on television.
THE NEWSROOM airs Sundays at 9 p.m. ET on HBO.
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