Tuning Out Sorkin's 'Newsroom'

I’m constantly falling in and out of love with television. Set me down in front of an episode of the Daily Show and I’ll laugh until I cry. Then I’ll DVR the next ten episodes and never watch them. 

This DVR vortex applies to Mad Men, Boardwalk Empire, and another half-dozen shows I’d like watch—would truly enjoy watching—but never do. 

Breaking Bad? The Walking Dead? Steve Carrell’s years on The Office? Can’t say I’ve ever seen an entire episode.

And then, storming from the gates, come Aaron Sorkin’s the Newsroom. Now, full disclosure: I’m a total West Wing junkie—I’ve seen every episode at least twice, and a handful of seasons (yeah, seasons) too many times to mention. But even then, I didn’t hop aboard until halfway through the final season, and never watched any episode during its original airing. The obsession came to me via DVD, and hasn’t faded since the show ended back in 2005. 

As for the rest of his filmography? Sports Night? Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip?

Yeah, haven’t seen either of them.

His latest, the Newsroom, has been almost universally panned since its debut last month, and if it weren’t for HBO’s solid commitment to its lineup, I might worry that Sorkin’s newest television child won’t last the summer. 

Look at IMDB, though, and you’ll see something totally different. With more than 5,200 users already weighing in, the Newsroom is one of the highest rated programs on TV today. Sure, that 8.8 is bound to fluctuate as more viewers weigh in, but 5,200 people can’t be wrong, can they?

The media would like you to think so. The title of Maureen Ryan’s review for the Huffington Post says it all: “Aaron Sorkin’s New HBO Show Gets Almost Everything Wrong.” And what of the venerable New Yorker?

So says reviewer Emily Nussbaum: “Broken.”

Conservatives liked referring to the West Wing as “The Left Wing” because, apparently, they thought themselves clever. Puns about the Newsroom might be more difficult to come by, but the sentiment is the same—the media doesn’t like Sorkin skewering them for the same reason Republicans didn’t like their portrayal in Jed Bartlet’s universe. 

Is the Newsroom entertaining? Sure is.

And is that all that matters? Of course. 

So, will I keep watching? 

We’ll see.