‘The Newsroom’ season 2 premiere review: Let’s give Aaron Sorkin a break

The first thing that we will say here about “The Newsroom” is that we actually much preferred the original theme to the new one. If you are going to be bombastic and occasionally idealistic in tone, why not go for it all the way? This new epsiode almost feels like “The Newsroom: Dubstep Edition,” and it just doesn’t get us psyched up in the same exact way.

As for the entire middle of this episode, we actually found that to be, just as we did for most of the show’s first season, very entertaining. We’ve tried to not get too caught up in political beliefs or trying to hyper-analyze the show, even if there are issues like Mackenzie continuing to be absent-minded during some her pitch meetings. We’ve always felt like critics have been far too hard on this show through and through, almost like they automatically anticipate that everything Aaron Sorkin touches to be equal to “The West Wing,” arguably one of the ten greatest dramas every created.

When you look at HBO’s drama slate right now, it actually is one of their top performers in terms of quality, even if “Game of Thrones” is still ahead by a wide margin; plus, it’s still better than almost everything that airs on broadcast TV, and apparently we live in a world that this is not good enough. We find ourselves rooting still for most of these people, even if you know full well already that Neil is going to get over his head doing his Occupy Wall Street coverage, and that Jim and Maggie are not going to be able to completely let go of each other. The acting is strong, the writing sharp, and this show brings you into a completely different world than anything else on TV. Even if you’re not a cable news viewer, you can still appreciate the storytelling.

The only major part of the story that we are still unsure about? The framing devise of having a Genoa hearing play out at the very beginning and end that takes place many months after the rest of the events in the story. It’s an interesting concept to know already that the network has failed in many ways when it comes to an enormous story, but we don’t know yet if that is going to have the emotional impact they desire given that there’s no element of surprise to it.

All in all, we still appreciate “The Newsroom” as a show in spite of its flaws, and we really think that most of the haters online are the byproduct of a culture that has become increasingly cynical. Would earnest dramas of yesteryear hold up in the present, where we worship sarcasm and “heroes” that are not exactly good guys? While you sit around and wait for next week’s episode, think about that for a little while.

What did you think about “The Newsroom’s” season premiere, and do you feel like it was an improvement at all over the show’s first go-around? If you want to read some more news about the future about some of the show’s characters, you can do so over at the link here.

Photo: HBO