212 replies to this topic

[TWoP Mars]

It begins.

[pairafids]

I have no clue what McLady and lanyard guy were saying to each other, from him tripping over the purse to the end of the scene. Something about the combo of Sorkinese and a slight accent, I guess. Maybe it makes more sense on paper.

I was hyper aware of the very Sorkin-ness of it all, but I got sucked in by the end.

ETA: Oops, I thought the show was over. Sorry for jumping the gun.

Edited by pairafids, Jun 24, 2012 @ 10:07 PM.

[nydude]

Ahhh, nothing like Aaron Sorkin, comfort food for my liberal soul.

[Paws]

Well, that was fun. The acting is superb which helps gloss over some of the clunkier exposition stuff. The boyfriend producer guy is such a dick.

[ThatGrrl]

Strong start. The on-camera tirade about America worked well. The middle? Oh, WOW. Usually, I give opening shows a pass due to necessary exposition. I basically would have begged for exposition over the nothing, horrible, awful whatever they served up in the center. Picked up again with the scramble to cover the BP leak. Completely unlikely and improbable sources, but at least it was entertaining. Points subtracted for MacKenzie actually being in the audience flashing the "We're not. But we could be." cards.

[Eegah]

So basically, the whole show is an excuse to feel smug about whoever we know is wrong. I'm in.

[Paws]

Points subtracted for MacKenzie actually being in the audience flashing the "We're not. But we could be." cards.

How would she even know that question would be asked?

[jimene79]

I thinks it's a very well written, well acted show. I read the reviews and was prepared to hate it. Instead, I feel like the reviews are based on the very first scene and not the rest.

[reneejocelyn]

Really liked it - nice uncredited cameo of Jesse Eisenberg as the trainee inspector. I was like "is that Mark Zuckerberg? Yep."

Ahhh after True Blood, well written TV, I've missed you.

[ThatGrrl]

How would she even know that question would be asked?

Even if she really was there and wrote the messages on the fly, it frankly worked better with his believing she was in the audience, but she wasn't there.

[indianhoop]

I usually like Sam Waterston but I thought he was poor tonight....overact much???

Really wanted to like this show, but I'm a bit concerned overall after tonight.

[Jenn L]

Posted Today, 10:26 PM #7

Quote
Points subtracted for MacKenzie actually being in the audience flashing the "We're not. But we could be." cards.


How would she even know that question would be asked?

I thought he was hallucinating this because of the way they kept cutting to the other woman with a brown sweater and the same haircut.

[iPad]

I loved it.

That Don guy is a dick. I hate him.

[ThatGrrl]

I thought he was hallucinating this because of the way they kept cutting to the other woman with a brown sweater and the same haircut.

Exactly. It supported the whole "He's lost his ever-loving mind" aspect of his supposed breakdown. He actually saw her? Sort of undercuts a good portion of the underpinnings of his spiral.

[Paws]

I forgot to say before, I'm glad they went to pedeconference quickly. I loves me some pedeconferencing.

[Stinger97]

I loved it, but as with anything written by Aaron Sorkin, I almost feel like everything everyone is saying is over my head. I understand a lot of it, but I feel like I might be fooling myself and don't really understand it. But either way, I'm enjoying it and I'm definitely along for the ride. Totally feels like it's going to be a hit. And I love, love, loved the opening theme. Felt epic.

Really liked it - nice uncredited cameo of Jesse Eisenberg as the trainee inspector. I was like "is that Mark Zuckerberg? Yep."

I turned to my boyfriend and asked him if he thought it really was "that guy from The Social Network."

Edited by Stinger97, Jun 24, 2012 @ 10:36 PM.

[ThatGrrl]

I loves me some pedeconferencing.

Ah yes. West Wing definitely perfected the walk-and-talk. I do appreciate seeing it back and done well.

[clack]

It really was kinda terrible, with people rattling off Thesis Statements and Editorial Comments in each other's faces -- but not unbearably so. Corny, but watchable.

Trouble signs: A new guy arrives in the office, and within hours of his 1st day one of the major stories of the year breaks. Within 5 minutes of the story breaking, he's getting messages from his ex-college roommate who just happens to be in on the inner workings of BP, and from his sister working at the other major corporate player in the disaster, Haliburton. That's 3 implausibilities adding up to one big That Didn't Happen.

[Eegah]

Really liked it - nice uncredited cameo of Jesse Eisenberg as the trainee inspector. I was like "is that Mark Zuckerberg? Yep."

I turned to my boyfriend and asked him if he thought it really was "that guy from The Social Network."

Heh, to me he'll always be the guy from Zombieland.

[Scrb]

So MacKenzie is suppose to be American (Will and her father went to an Orioles game). Yet Emily Mortimer doesn't even try to hide her British accent?

AVN sounds like a major broadcast network, yet Will is suppose to be based on Keith Olberman, who wasn't shy about wearing his political beliefs on his sleeves. Yet Will is worried about ratings?

[laprin]

Great first show, but I wonder if the preachiness will get old pretty fast. I hope not. Jeff Daniels killed it. The first 10 minutes had Emmy nomination written all over it. I know I'm supposed to dislike Don and adore Maggie, but I found her annoying.

Edited by laprin, Jun 24, 2012 @ 10:45 PM.

[pakelihe]

Loved the cold open. Middle was exposition blah blah blah pilot character introductions blah blah blah Sorkin, etc. Then the April 20th, 2010 text flashed up, and I was hooked. It will be smug and smugger, but it should be well-written, well-acted smug and smugger.

I didn't think Waterston was awful, but he wasn't as great as pretty much everybody else. JD was believable, and EM was really, really good, IMO.

[Jenn L]

So MacKenzie is suppose to be American (Will and her father went to an Orioles game). Yet Emily Mortimer doesn't even try to hide her British accent?

They explained this - her father was an ambassador or something.

[Paws]

So MacKenzie is suppose to be American (Will and her father went to an Orioles game). Yet Emily Mortimer doesn't even try to hide her British accent?

THat was explained at one point--she was born in America but her father was an ambassador to the UK or something like that.

[Stinger97]

Checking out the IMDB page for the show and just realized that Emily Mortimer was in Scream 3. And I was all, "OMG, I hated her in that movie!" but damn, I love her tonight.

Also loved Maggie. She's absolutely adorable. She and Jim will be cute together, once she dumps Don's douchey ass.

[ThatGrrl]

So MacKenzie is suppose to be American (Will and her father went to an Orioles game). Yet Emily Mortimer doesn't even try to hide her British accent?

She was born in America to British parents. They did establish that. Her father was a diplomat.
[Oops. Paws beat me to that one.]

Edited by ThatGrrl, Jun 24, 2012 @ 10:48 PM.

[URFloorMatt]

So MacKenzie is suppose to be American (Will and her father went to an Orioles game). Yet Emily Mortimer doesn't even try to hide her British accent?

Nope, because her father was an ambassador to England (if I heard that right).

I really liked it. I thought Daniels, Mortimer, and Waterston killed it.

[Jenn L]

I know I'm supposed to dislike Don and adore Maggie, but I found her annoying.

Ditto this.
I was also annoyed that Mackenzie promoted her because she was having boy trouble and then rewarded her for doing a good job by offering to take her shopping (in front of the male staff) as if this was her life's dream.

[MommaJ]

The ISRQ (Insufferable Self-Righteousness Quotient) may be a little high for me. I'll give it a couple of weeks, if only because John Gallagher is so adorable.

I checked out Jeff Daniels' and Emily Mortimer's bios, and figured out why MacKenzie's dad had such a good time at the Orioles game with Will--they're probably the same age. Getting really tired of the May-December TV romances when December is always the guy--in this case, a jowly guy who looks every day of his 58 years.

[SeanC]

So MacKenzie is suppose to be American (Will and her father went to an Orioles game). Yet Emily Mortimer doesn't even try to hide her British accent?

They explained that. Her father was the British ambassador, and she was born here, and apparently went native (he was also said to be Thatcher's ambassador, which means she's about ten years younger than Mortimer).

I thought there was a really weird duality between the characters talking realistically about the problems America has now and spouting ridiculously naive rhetoric about what America used to be like. I mean, I'm not a "America is the worst" person by any stretch (you could indeed make a pretty solid case for it being the best place to dwell for an average citizen for much of the last 200 years), but c'mon, "we went to war for moral reasons"?