…Sorkin, that is. Looks like everyone’s after him these days, and not in a good way.
And a short while ago he was such a golden boy. Screenwriting Oscar winner! Beloved creator of THE WEST WING! Toast of what we used to call “the Intelligensia” with his cult fave SPORTS NIGHT.
We swear!
How HBO Made It Look Like Critics Liked ‘The Newsroom’, by Jeff Bercovici
Critical reception of “The Newsroom,” Aaron Sorkin’s new HBO series set in the TV news business, has been generally cool. On Metacritic.com, which averages out reviews from all over, its score is a distinctly mediocre 57. Even those critics who’ve embraced it have generally done so with considerable caveats.
NETWORK’s Howard Beale, the spokesman character for writer Paddy Chayefsky, famously said, “I’m mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take it anymore.” I’m not mad, or even angry, but I am frustrated by some recent viewing experiences, so I’m not taking it anymore either.
In particular, three TV series that I thought would serve me well have committed the cardinal sin of irking me to the point of no return:
HBO renewed two of its popular hour-long dramas Monday.
The cable net announced that it would bring back The Newsroom for a second season after airing only two episodes of the first season.
Once upon a time there was a new series called THE NEWSROOM. Its reviews were so terrible that even I had trouble making myself watch it.
All the BigMedia critics panned it.