THE NEWSROOM: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
(2012, Blu-ray released June 11, 2013 – MSRP $79.98)
THE SERIES:
- “HBO presents the new one-hour drama series from the fertile mind of Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) and executive produced by Sorkin, Scott Rudin and Alan Poul. Smart, topical, humorous and highly entertaining, The Newsroom takes a behind-the-scenes look at a high-rated cable-news program at the fictional ACN Network, focusing on the on- and off-camera lives of its acerbic anchor (Jeff Daniels), new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), their newsroom staff (John Gallagher, Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Olivia Munn, Dev Patel and others) and their news-division boss (Sam Waterston). Overcoming a tumultuous first day together – climaxing in a newsflash that a BP oil rig has just exploded in the Gulf of Mexico – the team sets out on a patriotic if quixotic mission to “do the news well” in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles, and their own personal entanglements.“
WHO SHOULD BUY:
All right, I admit it, The Newsroom is one of the best shows on television. Are you happy? Yes, I was one of those guys who shit-talked the series in the early days. Not because of its pedigree but on the basis of the series’ first couple of episodes. And I stand by what I said in those early days, if we’re just talking about those couple of hours of TV. What I didn’t know then – but what I was secretly hoping at the time – was that The Newsroom is one of those shows that takes a little while to ramp up and find its footing. Surprising, given the brains behind the operation. I don’t recall needing any more than a few minutes to be sold on Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing back in the day. But there you have it, every show is different. Who’d a thunk it?
So, while this is a great season of TV to watch, I would caution that the first couple of episodes of The Newsroom require a little more patience than normal. In fact, it occurs to me that, for the most part, they act as nothing but setup for the real narrative of the series, which begins around episode 3. If The Newsroom had a do-over, I’d try to convince them to just start there. When things really begin to happen.
When all is said and done, though, this is a stellar effort, with cracking good scripts and amazing performances all around. I can’t wait to dig into Season 2!
THE BLU-RAY DISC:
What do you want me to say here? Flawless, flawless, flawless. It’s effing HBO, guys! They simply don’t release crap Blu-ray transfers. The Newsroom looks like a million bucks here – as perfect as perfect can be – displaying a marked improvement over broadcast. Likewise, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 is fantastic, with music sounding more full and robust in this lossless presentation than you will have heard over the compressed cable feed.
The collection of bonus goodies on the discs isn’t the most mind blowing but is all around solid, with “The Rundown” a nearly half-hour long roundtable discussion between cast and crew being the most immediate, informative and entertaining draw. If you’re looking for more raw info, however, you’ll want to tune into the five exceptional audio commentaries which feature many of the same folk speaking in greater detail about the episodes. The five deleted scenes don’t amount to much but it’s nice that they’re included on the discs. There’s around a half-hour worth of “behind the scenes” content, exclusive to each episode that’s also worth a look.
Highly recommended.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
- The Rundown: Sorkin, Daniels, Mortimer, Waterson, executive producer Alan Poul and co-executive producer Greg Mottola detail their experiences shooting the first season in this exclusive conversation
- Five Audio Commentaries with Sorkin, Poul, Daniels, Waterston, Mortimer and others
- Mission Control: Behind-the-scenes look at the state-of-the-art sets with the cast and crew
- Inside the Episodes: Inside perspectives with revealing interviews from Sorkin
- Deleted Scenes
- Episodic Previews & Recaps
- DVD Copy of Season One
- Digital Copy of Season One
