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Short summary

Over several months leading up to the 2010 election, McAvoy takes on the Tea Party, leading the evening news with interviews and reports on their funding, knowledge, and tactics. Jim talks Maggie through a panic attack, and her relationship with Don is on again and off again. To Mackenzie's dismay, Will has his dates meet him at the studio after the newscast; Maggie speaks up. On the 44th floor, Charlie faces a litany of complaints from two suits in front of the company's owner, Leona Lansing. Is she going to stay with Charlie's vision of the show?

When discussing the Tea Party with Charlie Skinner, Will McAvoy says "Back in 1968, when Rennie Davis and Hayden and their guys organized the SDS, it was specifically to end the Vietnam War...". The Hayden he is referring to is Tom Hayden- ex-husband of Jane Fonda, who plays Leona Lansing.

First appearance of Leona Lansing, played by Jane Fonda.

First appearance of Terry Smith, played by Sarah Scott Davis.

Jane Fonda (Leona Lansing) & Sam Waterston (Charlie Skinner) also worked together on Grace and Frankie (2015) as Grace Hanson & Sol Bergstein respectively.

User reviews


  • comment
    • Author: Cktiell
    The Newsroom takes on the TRUTH about the Tea Party and how little they know about anything! They want to abolish the 14th Amendment, they want to change the rules, they don't want to spend a penny - all this without even knowing their REAL responsibilities as Congressmen! This episode is a MUST SEE for any Republican who has just Z"followed the crowd" in their hatred for the current President. We cannot put our government in their hands! The interview of the very conservative Congressman who voted to "compromise with a Democrat and lost his primary, the fact that Sen. Lee from Utah went to the right of Bob Bennet by asking for the repeal of the 14th Amendment - the facts are presented as FACTS. Yet, there is still the melodrama and love triangles of a typical TV show. Finally, the ironic depiction of Jane Fonda as the president of the news company her former husband (Ted Turner - CNN) founded is hilarious!
  • comment
    • Author: Rare
    You have to hand it to writer Aaron Sorkin. His top-notch writing which relates thoroughly to our current times by prime examples makes this a hit show.

    I loved the way Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) apologized to Americans for the news media. He then follows suit with engaging in a literally holy war against the Tea Party. Well known Tea Party advocates are placed on the defensive by the news team.

    Please expect Jane Fonda to win an Emmy next year for special guest star appearance. Looking as beautiful as ever, she was absolutely fabulous as Leona, the head, who puts ratings and making a profit ahead of what is ethical in news reporting. Fonda is back and she is better than ever. She must love being on the show with its liberal slant.
  • comment
    • Author: Bluecliff
    The Newsroom

    Sorkin's admirable attempt to dramatize the news section with a gut wrenching anatomy on behind the scenes of this show business, is one of the biggest upset ever to come across the screen. And not because of its failure on various aspects, it still falls under mediocrity but the expectations that it brought with such caliber of cast and makers, it is surely a swing and a miss. Sorkin's signature writing patterns is clearly visible as it is brimmed with competitive arguments and too many verbal sparring that moves with ferocious pace, he always keeps his audience on the edge of their seat trying to keep up with the narration.

    But as much political galore this vision is, the actual content, the core of the drama that it has to and does rely upon is the real culprit in here. The conversations are chalky and the connections of the plots to pass the storyline forward is poorly weaved out. It seems like the venue has changed but the usual love affairs and breaking and mending of equations, is still their, the seen-this-seen-that details are outdated and audience is much smarter than this. The execution too isn't appropriately handled along with the camera work that is more pretentious than it is productive.

    The only responsible man that makes your time worth is Daniels, in his morally complex and socially challenged coat that he is in, which too may seem like your usual anti-hero, but has much to offer as the character ages on screen. Supporting parallel-y is Mortimer whose quirkiness is easily absorbing, than her drama is, to be fair she isn't given the range to factor on a larger scale. Other supporting cast like Pill, Patel, Munn, Sadoski and Gallagher Jr. are the weak links to the series. The Newsroom could have been much more than just news, and this time even Sorkin couldn't convince us to watch the news.

    Season 01

    The euphoric energy that ignites its pilot, never wears off throughout the season, but with none whatsoever new concrete material to offer in terms of characters or the equations between them, this is probably the most disappointing writing to come from Sorkin's magic bag.

    The 112th Congress

    As much as comprehensively the profession is explored, the typical structure is a but familiar, whilst the Daniels and Mortimer comes off so light and breezy because of the heavy mechanical material it dives on, on the rest of the acts.
  • comment
    • Author: Dondallon
    Now that's more like it.

    'The 112th Congress' opens at full tilt: McAvoy's mission statement for the show's new direction. It's the kind of speech that's both earnest and informative (like the deal that Sarnoff and Paley made with Congress decades earlier, for instance).

    . . . and then Sam Waterston spends the remainder of the episode dealing with the fallout. (Spoiler alert): it appears the front office wins this round.

    I'm not sure about the relationship material in the workplace, but between Will's opening and the tense standoff between Waterston and Jane Fonda, it ain't bad.

    7/10
  • comment
    • Author: Boyn
    Highly energized 2010 election night broadcast for ACN and an electrified Will McAvoy who is inspired to expose the danger of the Tea Party in their influence on his Republican party light a charge throughout this impactful episode of The Newsroom. McAvoy opens the episode apologizing for his news broadcasting and promising to do a better job reporting the news to his cable audience. A busy plot includes Charlie having to defend McAvoy's mission (to show his viewers the flawed arguments and failed supposed principles of the Tea Party and how their influence can sway elections) to the ACN owner, Leora (Jane Fonda), with Leora's son, Brad (Matt Long) disapproving of the network's direction to avoid hot-button and human interest stories that keep eyes glued to their news shows. Ratings, ratings, ratings; it is like "Network", with Charlie trying, bless his heart, to persuade Leora that their new way of reporting/broadcasting the news is the right way to go. But accurate jabs at politicians and special interest groups (and very wealthy corporate figures that could threaten ACN), right as they might be, are taken its toll on the network, so how long will it be before McAvoy is forced to either tone it down or exit stage left? Charlie has orders to have McAvoy lessen the impact of his questions to guests or else. Meanwhile, McAvoy is parading hot young women waiting to date him after his broadcasts as jabs to MacKenzie for her affair with the ex-boyfriend. MacKenzie achingly looks on and even confronts some of them! It is too funny, seeing her squirm. When Maggie confronts him about it, McAvoy sees the error of his ways, but when attempting to apologize, he meets her new squeeze (dare I say, "Awkward."). Jim still pines for Maggie, even helping her overcome a panic attack, but seeing her and Don break up and get back together numerous times, he advises her to maybe save this relationship by staying as a couple. It is really exciting to watch an election night at work with all the news employees on alert, on the phones, and bustling about while the figures and polls come in. Probably one of the key scenes in the episode is a futile attempt to question a newly elected official about the debt ceiling...politics avoids such tricky questions, especially after politicians get elected.
  • comment
    • Author: Yannara
    Watching The Newsroom is like watching Sports Night 2.0, done from a newsroom. Sorkin knows how to build drama and the first episode was one of finest shows I've seen in years. Unfortunately, it was a red herring. Those with a liberal bent will absolutely love this show. It's witty, thought provoking and the "My Girl Friday" frenetic pace of the dialog is exceptionally well done. In the 112th Congress episode, Sorkin becomes a shill for the far left and attempts to trash the Tea Party. I've watched all the episodes twice and for that alone I give Sorkin and his crew kudos. It's compelling, even if it's outlook is right out of an Al Jazeera blog.

    The subsequent episodes have been entertaining as far as it's relationships within the newsroom getting fleshed out, but it's leftist bent portrayed as being the moral center ground limits its mass appeal. That's fine, but many will seeing it as merely a rallying cry for Obama's reelection, using well done fiction. It's the best thing I've seen Jeff Daniels do. Emily Mortimer and John Gallagher Jr are excellent and Allison Pill is a great wild card. Some don't like her, but she brings a dimension to the show that keeps it light and is someone we've all met in the workplace. I'll keep watching unless the preachy politics wears me down..
  • Episode cast overview, first billed only:
    Jeff Daniels Jeff Daniels - Will McAvoy
    Emily Mortimer Emily Mortimer - MacKenzie McHale
    John Gallagher Jr. John Gallagher Jr. - Jim Harper
    Alison Pill Alison Pill - Maggie Jordan
    Thomas Sadoski Thomas Sadoski - Don Keefer
    Dev Patel Dev Patel - Neal Sampat
    Olivia Munn Olivia Munn - Sloan Sabbith
    Sam Waterston Sam Waterston - Charlie Skinner
    David Harbour David Harbour - Elliot Hirsch
    Chris Messina Chris Messina - Reese Lansing
    Jon Tenney Jon Tenney - Wade Campbell
    Philip Baker Hall Philip Baker Hall - Bryce Delancy (as Phillip Baker Hall)
    Matt Long Matt Long - Brad
    JD Cullum JD Cullum - Frank Guidry
    John Walcutt John Walcutt - Greg Towne
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