Sorkin recycles characters and story lines from all his previous shows and repackages them in a network newsroom. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but when your audience obsessively catalogues your work, you have to demonstrate some originality to keep people like me from asking what twisted mashup I just watched.
The men are arrogant assholes or timid nerds with the exception of the guy who will become the Jeremy/Sam/Tom character of this show. He has a brain and some balls but is shit with women if we’re to believe his mentor. The women are smart, driven and potentially awesome, but Sorkin makes it seem like all they want to do is shop for nice clothes and occasionally get both laid and a good night’s sleep.
He recycles the “I’m too important to remember your name” storyline from Sports Night and the West Wing throughout the show. He also uses the “Do you want to come work at the White House?” bit in two rather entertaining ways that I enjoyed.
The entire cast is white and WASP-y looking except for Dev Patel…and they make a rather off-color joke about his ethnicity couched with “It’s okay - he’s used to it.”
Sam Waterston plays Sorkin’s token benevolent grandfather type who sees all, knows all, and pulls every string he possibly can. He also drinks scotch, which made me laugh. And he will inevitably play matchmaker between his host and producer.
There is a pretty young ingenue sleeping with her surly jackass producer (who is probably only a surly jackass in his treatment of his ingenue girlfriend, but you know, I will judge him for it) boss, as there always is.
The strength of the show will be that it completely revolves around major news stories of the last two years. Based on last night’s premier, which totally gave me ‘nam-flashbacks to my early days in DC when I interned for a media watch dog, I give it through the election before it peters out unless something changes.
I totally was Alison Pill’s character that first year. Okay except for the sleeping with my boss thing because ew. If you saw my boss, you’d understand. The beauty of Sorkin was clear in the moment he gave her a backbone, and I think I will end up liking her character a lot.
