TVSpunk | The Newsroom

Currently airing on Sky Atlantic every Tuesday

This episode is the best so far. Sure there are no rousing speeches attacking the establishment, no moments of triumph over other news broadcasters, or Coldplay songs swelling over moments of unity, but instead we get drama. I realise that the items listed above have given the show great drama over the previous four episodes, but I mean drama without commentary on or disdain for society, business or the way news is reported. This episode, while still obviously dealing with the news, does it’s best to separate the two and, even in moments when the drama stems from the ‘current affairs’ shown in the show, they are dealt with on a human level.

The news covered this week is predominantly the Egyptian uprising that led to the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak, with a protest in Wisconsin against the planned Governor’s budget being balanced at the expense of teachers being juggled alongside. While this feeds into the story, it is only really when Neal recruits Amen, a young Egyptian guy who has been reporting on the action independently, that the news has a profound effect on the drama within the episode. Instead, it is very balanced between the board meddling with both Will and Mac through their gossip columns, breakfast shows and wherever else they can get to them, it being Valentines Day and Maggie trying her best to make Jim take Lisa out so that she can enjoy a night with Don, and Mac dealing with her current relationship alongside her potential unfinished feelings for Will.

Dev Patel, after weeks of either being the idiot who believes in Bigfoot or the token Asian guy who is good with computers, gets his moment and it is probably the greatest character moment of the entire series. And this is what this show should be like, the news is there and bleeds into the show but it is primarily a drama with no blatant aspirations for telling the world how things should be done. Yes, the news industry is not always the most reliable or honest but, after four episodes of The Newsroom telling us that, it is nice that it has remembered that we are not looking to watch the news. And for that, we leave entertained.

DAN

TVMUMBLESpunk | Girls

Coming to Sky Atlantic in September

Spoilers included

Approaching the mid-point of the season, this episode amps up the drama as all four of our females have shit hit their respective fans. Of course, in keeping with Girls, the drama is not overly sensational instead revelling in a slightly unlikely but utterly plausible fashion. It was necessary for this to occur as, while the last episode was still entertaining, there was a lack of progression in the narrative.

Hannah gets a new job, gets massaged/touched up by her much older boss, dumps Adam over a cock-text that he sent her by mistake and then, when he seems responsive to her issues, ends up back in his arms. Jessa loses the two children she is babysitting in the park, while Shoshanna almost manages to lose her virginity until she frightens the guy off with her virginity. The biggest poop though is when Charlie and Ray are alone in the flat, find Hannah’s diary, then perform a show in front of the four girls where Charlie sings a song called ‘Hannah’s Diary’ quoting extracts about how unhappy Marnie is with him.

Aside from all of this drama, I found more interest in the episode elsewhere.

Firstly we get a bunch of side characters that we are unlikely to encounter too often that not only combat the lack of racial diversity that some people had with the show, but also add some freshness. Sometimes it works as in the case of the two colleagues that Hannah befriends who, while cartoony, add a few laughs and a different kind of voice to the pretty similar one that the leads share, but then the nannies that Jessa meets with in the park culminates in a hideously unrealistic scene where she tries to create a nannies union. Regardless, it is nice to see some new faces that you’re not expected to remember.

Secondly, we get to see more from male characters including the first occasion in the series where we get two guys interacting without a female present (correct me if I’m wrong in the comments). Ray and Charlie act exactly as blokes would do when alone in a girl’s apartment and their humour is definitely tailored to suit their gender. The same can be said of the advice given at the beginning of the episode, where you get to see the far simpler suggestion from Charlie and this again proves that the show is definitely capable of writing for guys. Hannah’s boss meanwhile adds a very interesting and real dilemma to the show where his version of sexual harassment seems innocent but isn’t quite. Finally the throwaway moment as Jessa walks away from Jeff, the father that she babysits for, and his brother and they remark on her looks. Sure it’s somewhat sexist but it is realistic and works well alongside the moment earlier in the show when Charlie remarks on Adam’s cock from the photo.

This might be my favourite episode so far, not because of the drama, comedy or anything at all like that, but more because it feels more rounded. This is the first episode that seems to be adapting to the idea of longevity and what is required to keep people entertained over the distance, and it certainly worked on me.

DAN

TVMUMBLESpunk | Girls

Coming to Sky Atlantic in September

It is here, as the credits started to roll on the third episode, that I realised Girls is exactly the show that I had hoped that it would be. The attitude, the honesty, the sexuality and the everyday are represented so perfectly here that it made me ask my girlfriend as to whether she agreed with my conclusion. The idea that this show feels unique just because it seems to not paint an idea of femininity but instead just shows us normal girls being normal is somewhat depressing, but I couldn’t be happier that it exists. I feel like my appreciation for the show comes from a line in the second episode where Jessa says, in response to a self-help book for women, ‘I don’t like women telling other women what to do or how to do it or when to do it.’

In this episode Hannah first learns that she has an STD and then, when trying to inform him of this, finds out that her ex-boyfriend is now gay. It is strange as we do not find out very much about Hannah in this episode that we didn’t already know. Instead this feels more like Marnie’s episode as she is first seen complaining about Charlie shaving his head despite stating in the last episode that she wanted him to just be a man and do whatever he wants without worrying about her response and then later finds herself pleasuring herself in the bathroom of a gallery after a potential sexual moment with an artist. Elsewhere, Jessa takes a job being a nanny and seems to strike up a relationship with the dad. 

As an episode it culminates with a wonderfully charming moment with Hannah pondering and redrafting a tweet to best sum up her journey over the episode and then dancing alone in her room before being joined by Marnie. This just seems such a natural way to react to the way their days have gone and once again my girlfriend sat and chuckled recognising herself in that moment. I really appreciate that. 

DAN

TVSpunk | The Newsroom

Currently airing on Sky Atlantic on Tuesday at 10pm

This is the episode that ended up changing my mind on The Newsroom. It is still an incredibly well-written and intelligently humorous show, but its complete disregard for the reality of working in news is becoming insulting. I have regularly defended this by stating that it is a drama and not a documentary and so it is Sorkin’s job to entertain, not enlighten, but when you add in the preachy, condescending, smug statements on what it is he believes news should be without taking into account the very real pressures of competing with those opposing news stations, it becomes increasingly impossible to remain on Sorkin’s team. By the end of this episode they make a decision that, while correct ethically, would be ratings suicide in the present and would be missed entirely by the general public in the longer term. It is fucking stupid despite being correct and, upon evidence of similar circumstances in previous episodes, unlikely to have any real ramifications on the show within the show. Again proving that this is not only not representing an idealised version of a newsroom, it is also a perfect newsroom in an idealised world where retrospect is available willy-nilly. I have very little interest in that.

Elsewhere however, this is one of the funnier, more dramatic on a character level episodes of the series so far. Will attempts to date again and yet, armed with his new/old set of morals, he finds it difficult finding someone with a similar stance on the hot topics as he does. This is one of the lighter, more sitcom elements of the show. Don sets Jim up with Maggie’s flatmate Lisa and we get to see Maggie dealing with her feelings for Jim whilst still having feelings for Don. Elsewhere there is a recurring joke regarding Neal and his attempts to convince people that Bigfoot exists.

It is not an episode that might standout at the end of the series, but it is is another step towards dialing down the drama for more comedy and that is essential for this show to last. Four episodes into this show and I’m starting to feel that we are no longer seeing Sorkin evolve as a television writer much anymore. Instead he appears to know exactly what he can do and is merely working out when to best utilise each literary or dramatic technique. This is not a bad thing as the writing continues to be excellent, I just hope that he starts showing some flaws in the professional lives of his characters even if it means that they move away from being his Carlsberg of news broadcasters.

DAN

TVMUMBLESpunk

Coming to Sky Atlantic in September

This episode seems to revolve around the issue of sex, focusing primarily on what females want from it and sexual health itself. Hannah shows an irrational fear of sexual diseases whilst being called out by Marnie for allowing Adam to cast her as a demeaning character in his sexual fantasies. Marnie herself is unhappy at the way Charlie only wants to make her happy and doesn’t understand that she wants him to be a more demanding, selfish version of himself. All of this is set to the backdrop of Jessa requiring an abortion. With this incredibly dark and depressing plot, it is quite incredible how funny and light this episode actually is.

For me, this is what Girls should be. It is definitely touching on the issues but they are covered with equal amounts of consideration and comedy, never allowing the show to become heavy but also not a farce. We also start to get to see the different sides to the characters. When Hannah goes for her job interview we get to see both her qualities and her flaws, while we get to see the unflappable and confident Jessa from the first episode show frailties with regard to her current situation. These moments are subtle and the performances are remarkably natural. What has become incredibly clear from just these first two episodes is that there will not be good or bad or wrong or right characters in Girls, there will just be people who happen to have positive and negative characteristics.

After the first episode left me less than enthused, this episode worked so well that it not only got me excited for the next one but also made me retroactively start to adjust my opinions on the first one. That is quite an achievement.

DAN