S03.E01: Boston

[Lisin]

In the wake of the Genoa debacle, Will, Mac and the "News Night" team decide to err on the side of caution in reporting a major breaking story, which may enhance credibility, if not ratings. Neal faces a slippery slope when he's contacted by an anonymous source in possession of stolen government documents revealing how false press stories planted in newspapers spawned fatal riots in Kundu. Sloan looks to solve a takeover puzzle; Maggie is forced to pinch-hit for Elliot in the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings.

[Primetimer]

But who made him- or herself the biggest ACN asshole in the process? The answer may surprise you! (In the sense that there's so much competition for the title.)

Read the story

[Monty]

"Very often, they put the wrong number of boxes in to house the correct word" - they do! At some point, crossword puzzle creators decided it would be more fun if some boxes contained extra letters. You know, as a fun surprise for he solver.

(I did not watch the episode, but I'm always up for complaining about trends in crossword puzzles)

[WatchrTina]

I'm glad this slow is back. I like it. I love Sloan. I'm shocked to discover I love Don. I'm glad Maggie proved to be competent under pressure after having to be PTSD-girl all last season. But Neal's failure to get advice from his superior after receiving classified information and thus inadvertently conspiring to commit espionage was wholly unbelievable. The FIRST thing he would have done would have been to tell is boss about it. Neal isn't stupid. Hated that plot development. The only good part is that it gives us a reason to bring back the awesome lady lawyer from last season (Becca, I think.)

I'm not sure I'm going to like this hostile take-over plot thread but anything that puts Leona and Reese on the same side as the newsroom crew is a positive development in my book. Reese (like Don) has unexpectedly grown on me.

Edited November 10, 2014 by WatchrTina

[TVHappy9463]

Where do I start, everything I loved about this show is back and everything I hated about this show is back.  I am so happy.  Will gave one his "speeches",  Reese is still on the high road.  Sloan and Don are as great as ever.  Maggie's 180 was a bit unbelievable.  But, hey it's The Newsroom, which should become a catchphrase when you want to dismiss logic.  I blindly love Sorkin and this show, so bring it on I am ready for all the silliness.  

[Eolivet]

So, Sloan gets a new computer and said new computer helps predict a potential sale of the company, just like Jeremy's new computer program did in the "Sports Night" episode "Bells and a Siren." Perhaps like Sports Night, at least we can look forward to Quo Vadimus showing up to expand his empire and buy ACN in the series finale.

 

And...Watertown is pronounced Water. Town. TOWN. How do you get "Waterton" out of that? No major media outlet ever called it "Waterton," and yet it was pronounced that way in the ACN background news and by Jim.

 

Water. Town. It's not that difficult! No wonder you people are in fourth place!

Edited November 10, 2014 by Eolivet

[madam magpie]

Will basically sanctioned Neal going after the story when he told him to buy the computer, so I can see why Neal felt justified in pursuing it. Obviously that wasn't quite what Will meant, but I get it.

I love Will and Mac and love their dynamic and am glad they are together, but I have to say, the happiness that radiates from them now is a little jarring. I wish we'd gotten to see them settle into their relationship as a way of grounding that. Otherwise, another wonderful episode. Charlie was on fire. Reese was awesome. Don + Sloan 4eva.

[morgankobi]

I will watch this show to the end. I will like some of it and complain about much of it, but mostly, I will constantly miss Sports Night while watching it. 

[lucindabelle]

The nut allergy cracked me up but as someone who has one it's not actually a joke. He should have an Epipen and he'd be very sick not to mention that you'd TASTE it in chicken salad because it's not as if chicken salad is so strongly flavored the nut would be hidden. When you have an aller you feel an itchy burning thing going ON. But I did laugh. And laughed at the idea of a best man going back to fetch each bridesmaid.

[Readalot]

Yea my favorite show is back. Couldn't be more thrilled that there was no Will and Mac negative drama. And I could do without the Neal espionage arc but I guess they need something to tie this last season together. Yea for Sundays!

[thuganomics85]

I thought it was a pretty solid return.  I still thought the show bounced all over the place in season one, but I think it found it's groove now.  I liked how last season's Genoa events played a part in how ACN approached covering the Boston bombings, and how being too careful might have cost them ratings.  Also, the Elliot/Maggie team in Boston was actually kind of fun, and I even believed it when Maggie stepped up to the plate.  I did like how supportive Elliot was, and how the show avoids making him just a one dimensional antagonist, just because he isn't Will.  

 

Wasn't sure where they were going with Sloan at first, but I didn't see it being a hostile take-over, so that could be interesting.  Only thing I'm not sold on is the Neal/espionage plot.  Even though I like Dev Patel, this show has struck out on Neal-centric plots in my eyes (the trolling one in S1, the Occupied Wall Street movement in S2), so I'm not sure if it will be any different.  At least it sounds like they will be bringing back Rebecca/Marcia Gay Harden for this, which should be a blast.

 

Glad that both Will/Mackenzie and Don/Sloan are still going strong.  I actually think both pairings work, despite each couple's differences with the other half.  Loved all the wedding planning stuff, and, I, for one, would find it hilarious if Will's groomsmen, was just Charlie having to run back and forth with each bridesmaid.  That alone, would make it a wedding worth attending.  It sounds like Don and Sloan are keeping their relationship on the downlow, but I would think most would know about it since she kissed him right in the studio, so maybe I misinterpreted it.  Either way, I still think Don/Sloan is the best.  Thomas Sadoski and Olivia Munn just have that perfect chemistry and banter.

 

I still love it whenever I spot the supporting crew, like any of the Gary/Tess/Kendra trio or the student they hired last season.  It just helps make ACN feel like a real place, and not just a bunch of voiceless extras surrounding the big players.

 

Glad Reese is still around.  I didn't know if Chris Messina would be available since I knew he was doing The Mindy Project, so I'm glad it looks like it didn't effect things.  Can't wait for Leona to come back, and see those two together again.

Edited November 10, 2014 by thuganomics85

[Artsda]

Thought it was a great return, what I like the most about it is the pace and how fast it goes. 

 

I love Don and Sloan together.  

[MartinKSmith]

I zoned out last season, a few episodes in and thinking about it, I'm not entirely sure that I finished the first season (though I feel I must have before starting the second) - I loved the pilot for this show and it's a show that I feel I should like a lot more than I actually do - hence why I'm giving it a third chance. 

 

I enjoyed this episode. Seeing the Boston Marathon stuff play out felt a little weird. Like maybe it was a little too fresh, still. It wasn't handled in an insensitive way or anything though. 

 

I found something to like in each storyline this episode, which is nice. I'll keep watching for as long as it holds my interest.

[Diane]

Equatorial Kundu, Sorkin is reusing the country from Season 4 of the West Wing.

[madam magpie]

Equatorial Kundu, Sorkin is reusing the country from Season 4 of the West Wing.

I thought that was fun, a nice throwback for people who enjoy his shows.

[Diane]

I thought that was fun, a nice throwback for people who enjoy his shows.

I agree, I went back last night and watched the Inauguration part 1 and part 2.

[Boundary]

I liked it but could've done without Will's speech at the end. Reese just received news that he's facing a hostile takeover and should call an emergency board meeting but all he does is stand there waiting for Will to finish his histrionics. But the hour moved fast, so I enjoyed that.

[iMonrey]

I don't think I understand the hostile takeover story. Reese's half siblings are trying to take over the company that owns ACN? How is he related to them, same mother? If so why aren't they already involved in the company?

 

I thought last season was perhaps a tad too ambitious the way it was framed as one giant flashback while all the characters were being interviewed by the legal team. So I was glad to see this season start off in a more straight-forward way. 

[madam magpie]

I don't really understand how hostile takeovers work...it has something to do with a majority on the board of directors...or owning a majority of the stock...I think. But what I gathered from what Sloan and Reese were saying is that his twin siblings (same father, different mother) get a controlling interest in the board (or a bunch of stock) when they turn 25, which is imminent. With her fancy computer, Sloan could see that AWM's stock was tanking because they'd not met their profit goals, which should mean people were selling the stock off at a rapid rate. But what she saw was that the stock was actually being bought at a rapid rate instead, indicating that someone was trying to own a majority stake in the company...or something. So I think the implication is that the twins are in league with whatever group/company wants to take over AWM. Or maybe they just want to oust Reese and Leona themselves. I'm not sure.

Edited November 10, 2014 by madam magpie

[A Boston Gal]

WaterTOWN, showrunners, not WaterTON. Is there no one on the staff or in the cast either from the Boston area or who could remember where the suspect was hiding? And if there was any question about it, I'm sure it wouldn't have taken long to research.

It's not like this happened 10 years ago.

ETA: What Eolivet said. Ahem.

Edited November 10, 2014 by A Boston Gal

[KittenPokerCheater]

I'm shocked to discover I love Don.

 

Me too.  I never thought that I would.  

 

I'm glad Maggie proved to be competent under pressure after having to be PTSD-girl all last season

 

I'm glad she has moved past the PSTD.  And I'm glad the character is getting praise for her work.

 

I have friends who are only mildly allergic to some nuts- it's not life threatening per se, it just makes their tongue swell and get hives.  But obviously, serious nut allergies are nothing to laugh at.

 

I am so glad the show is back.

 

Oh, and while I totally agree it's WaterTOWN and feel like Sorkin's team needed to do more due diligence,  I can sometimes see how folks get it mixed up- I mean, this this is the commonwealth that pronounces Dorchester and Worcester two very different ways (having lived there, it still makes me scratch my head).

[fastiller]

Re: Sloan's 'fancy computer' - Bloomberg terminals would (a) tell her about the bombing in Boston (they have a news ticker running - if it might affect the market/s, it'll be on a Bloomberg terminal), and (b) have a place for phone numbers.  Oh, Sorkin and technology!

[SFoster21]

Me too. I never thought that I would.

I'm glad she has moved past the PSTD. And I'm glad the character is getting praise for her work.

I have friends who are only mildly allergic to some nuts- it's not life threatening per se, it just makes their tongue swell and get hives. But obviously, serious nut allergies are nothing to laugh at.

I am so glad the show is back.

Oh, and while I totally agree it's WaterTOWN and feel like Sorkin's team needed to do more due diligence, I can sometimes see how folks get it mixed up- I mean, this this is the commonwealth that pronounces Dorchester and Worcester two very different ways (having lived there, it still makes me scratch my head).

Not to mention "Billerica."

[scarynikki12]

I thought it was really interesting seeing how gun shy the team still is from Genoa.  So gun shy, in fact, that they refused to get on the air and report the basic facts of the early minutes: that there was an explosion at the finish line of the Marathon.  They didn't have to confirm bombing, gas leak, or whatever, but they certainly should have at least moved faster to just get something on the air.  I agree that Twitter is not the next stage of the news but countless people all tweeting the same thing: that something terrible happened, they're terrified, and it was at the finish of the Marathon is not a conspiracy to mess with the news.  I'm sure they'll get their confidence back by  series end and will get on the air in time to cover such a story. 

[Skyfall]

It's a shame this show is only going to have 25 episodes. I feel like HBO dropped the ball on this.

[txhorns79]

It's a shame this show is only going to have 25 episodes. I feel like HBO dropped the ball on this.

 

This is one case where I think HBO has been very patient.  At best, Newsroom is hit and miss.  At worst, it's just awful.    

 

And more seriously, on what planet are Mac and Diane Sawyer close enough to where Diane Sawyer would be Mac's bridesmaid?  It seemed like an odd name for Mac to be dropping.  

[madam magpie]

I don't think the show is ever hit, miss, or awful--it's one of TV's best--but I do have to say that Mac wanting a huge wedding surprised me, especially since she's always called Sloan her only female friend. I expected that Mac and Will would just want to be married and go to city hall or something. The mistake, I really think, was jumping so far ahead. It's certainly possible that a woman in Mac's position might end up wanting a big wedding when she finally gets the guy she loves. I can believe she knows Diane Sawyer and whoever else. I always got the impression that these characters were heavy hitters and part of New York's media elite. But we never got to see Mac get there. Same with Will and the happiness. I believe he'd be over the moon to have Mac back and that he'd be squishy from the joy of it, but we never got to see him get there.

I just watched this again and can't help but wonder...whose "go bag" did Mac give Maggie?

Also, I think Jim is the one who said "Waterton." I didn't hear anyone say it on the air. Maybe he just doesn't know how to say it? I read a lot of news, watch a ton of TV, have friends in Boston, and until it was all over the news because of the bombing would have had no idea it was Water-town. I can believe Jim read it on some news feed and had no idea it was pronounced differently than most people would think.

As for HBO, everything I've read said HBO was happy with the show and wanted more episodes/seasons, but Sorkin was done so we got what we got.

Edited November 11, 2014 by madam magpie

[loriro]

I just watched this again and can't help but wonder...whose "go bag" did Mac give Maggie?

 

I believe it was hers (Mac's). The Laboutins Maggie pulled out were Mac's (it was established in a prior season that Mac wore them...Neal made a snarky comment to Mac when she complained about having to wear them in the rain...)

[madam magpie]

See...I thought that at first, especially after she was telling Maggie how to get out a stain if she spilled something on the dress, but it looked like Mac pulled the bag out from under a random chair in the newsroom. Wouldn't she keep her bag in her office?? Maybe I'm wrong, though. Maybe she went into her office and I missed it.

ETA: Oh yeah, loriro. You're right. She does go into her office. Dang. You look away for one second...

Edited November 11, 2014 by madam magpie

[auntiemel]

Is this the first time we found out that the mythical "Terry" is a woman, or did we know that before?

[LotusFlower]

Also, Jim is the one who said "Waterton." I didn't hear anyone say it on the air. Maybe he just doesn't know how to say it. I read a lot of news, watch a ton of TV, have friends in Boston, and until it was all over the news because of the bombing would have had no idea it was Water-town. I can believe Jim read it on some news feed and had no idea it was pronounced differently than most people would think..

I noticed Will mispronuncing Watertown on air before Jim did, and getting it wrong on air is obviously a bigger no-no. For the average Joe to not know the correct pronunciation is understandable, but for a news organization? Esp. one as large and prominent as ACN is supposed to be? Ridiculous, and totally unrealistic. I mean it's Boston! I'm sure half the room went to school there.

And yes, it was Mac's "go bag."

[madam magpie]

No, absolutely. If Will said it on air, that's a goof...or ACN needs to hire some fact checkers.

Edited November 11, 2014 by madam magpie

[Critic]

W: "Let's do sports, Charlie. We love sports."

C: "You mean, like, try out for a team, or..."

W: "I do not mean try out for a team, no..."

I love this show but OK, WE GET IT. Will is 1 part Tom Brokaw, 3 parts Keith Olbermann. Oy.

[Pallas]

What I don't understand is why the default pronunciation for a city named Watertown would be Waterton.  If ACN were doing a story about class conflicts in Cambridge, would we hear Will report on the tensions between ton and gon?

[romantic idiot]

Re: Sloan's 'fancy computer' - Bloomberg terminals would (a) tell her about the bombing in Boston (they have a news ticker running - if it might affect the market/s, it'll be on a Bloomberg terminal), and (b) have a place for phone numbers.  Oh, Sorkin and technology!

 

I'll confess the most unbelievable part of the episode for me was that Sloan did not have a Bloomberg terminal. 

[questionfear]

I'll confess the most unbelievable part of the episode for me was that Sloan did not have a Bloomberg terminal. 

Maybe they couldn't secure the promotional consideration? Because that took me out of the episode too. 

[opus]

Re: Watertown, Waterton. Can't it just be Waterston?

[Superpole2000]

So often during modern TV shows, I feel compelled to multitask. I felt no such compulsion with this episode. It kept my full attention and left me wanting more. That is all I can ask from a program. I will miss it when the series ends.

Edited November 12, 2014 by Superpole2000

[dr pepper]

Not enough screen time for Sam Waterston's eyebrows!

[fastiller]

I'll confess the most unbelievable part of the episode for me was that Sloan did not have a Bloomberg terminal. 

Now that I think of it, you're so right.  At least they gave her the new(-ish) black keyboard and not that old putty colored dinosaur we used when I was in asset management.

 

Maybe they couldn't secure the promotional consideration? Because that took me out of the episode too. 

They didn't even need to call it by name, but perhaps that's the reason.  Though I can't imagine Bloomberg would have a problem withthe name-checking.

[A Boston Gal]

Not to mention "Billerica."

Or Haverhill. ;)

[polyhymnia]

I didn't like the wedding conversation at the beginning with Mac and Will (they annoy me together and possibly separately) but thought the rest of the episode was strong.  I love Sloan.  I loved that Reese was using her office as his safe place.

[Eolivet]

I noticed Will mispronuncing Watertown on air before Jim did, and getting it wrong on air is obviously a bigger no-no. For the average Joe to not know the correct pronunciation is understandable, but for a news organization? Esp. one as large and prominent as ACN is supposed to be? Ridiculous, and totally unrealistic. I mean it's Boston! I'm sure half the room went to school there.

 

Not to mention that major news happened there -- it was where the bomber hid out, it was locked down for the whole day while the manhunt was going on. Maybe they wouldn't have known it the previous day, but Watertown was in the news from the morning to the evening of April 19. There was no way they wouldn't have known how to pronounce it by the evening (when Jim was still saying "Waterton").

 

It'd be like a news outlet saying "Col-oom-bine High School." When news happens there, you learn how to pronounce it! Even tricky metropolitan areas made up of such difficult words as "Water" and "Town."

[Boundary]

They didn't even need to call it by name, but perhaps that's the reason.  Though I can't imagine Bloomberg would have a problem with the name-checking.

 

They didn't, Scarlet Fu and others from Bloomberg TV were quick to tweet/retweet the name check. I would too.

 

Maybe they couldn't secure the promotional consideration? Because that took me out of the episode too. 

 

They could've had someone simply say "I can't believe you're still allowed to have that $24 000 a year computer" to make it obvious she's always had it. It fulfils the commercial obligations while not making their main financial news expert look silly.

 

But I liked that they demonstrated Sloane's smarts rather than just telling us about them. I always appreciate when the "show, don't tell" rule is followed, the writing's tougher but the payoff is bigger too.

[madam magpie]

Being vague about a Bloomberg computer would have meant nothing to me. I had no idea what it was. So if they'd only alluded to it, I would have been confused. I suspect that's the case for most average viewers. Plus, so many companies these days are cheapskates. That Sloan would have to beg for a computer that costs $24,000 doesn't surprise me at all. Given AWM's financial and credibility issues, I'm a little surprised she got it. Wouldn't she be a contractor, rather than a staffer? They could certainly expect her to invest in her own expensive equipment. She's not even a main anchor, right? Her actual show is on during the day, she gets a couple of minutes on Will's show, and she fills in when someone is out or they're understaffed?

Edited November 12, 2014 by madam magpie

[Boundary]

Well, product placement is product placement, the writers would be restricted in that sense. But a big news org without a Bloomberg terminal, especially in their New York office, is like assuming they wouldn't have subscriptions to other news agents, which doesn't make sense. They won't have a roomful of Bloombergs around like a bank, but giving Sloane one makes sense, even under a tight financial squeeze.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Boundary

[loriro]

Is this the first time we found out that the mythical "Terry" is a woman, or did we know that before?

 

Isn't Terry the woman at the DC desk who argued with Mac last season about whether or not she would throw back to Will when the election was being called for Obama? (and made the snarky comment about taking Will's seat when everyone got fired over Genoa?).

 

And yes... I'll just add my annoyance to the chorus re: WaterTOWN.  They don't call the Charlestown area of Boston "Charleston"...why would Watertown be pronounced that way? (Gloucester and Worcester -- as someone upthread mentioned -- notwithstanding. Though frankly, now I really want them to try and pronounce them on air...!) 

[Wilson Cat]

lucindabelle wrote:  (Yay!  We're both cats, at least in our avatars....)

 

He should have an Epipen and he'd be very sick not to mention that you'd TASTE it in chicken salad because it's not as if chicken salad is so strongly flavored the nut would be hidden. When you have an aller you feel an itchy burning thing going ON.

 

My grandson has a deadly tree nut allergy and crikey, it is a medical emergency, not just some little swollen tongue that makes it hard to "pronounth your wordths."

But I love Sloane.  Olivia Munn is exactly the same in her real life role on Showtime's "Years of Living Dangerously"....funny, sharp, kind of irreverent as she is as Sloane.  And the whole Don/Sloane thing works well for me.  He was awful with Maggie.  And someone up thread mentioned how much they appreciate a show that hews to "Show, don't tell"....yes!  That doomed the should've-been-good SMASH (aka the Karen Is Awesome hour.)  In that regard I really liked Maggie nailing her first on-air appearance, and Jim's quiet happiness at her success.  Does anyone else wish Hallie would go back to Africa or wherever she was headed as Angelica Heuston's daughter in the fore-mentioned Smash...?  I can't stand her.  And didn't she (Hallie) describe herself as 'blonde' last season?  No.

[scrb]

I don't know, does CNN have Bloomberg terminals?

 

They used to be big into finance, even having a separate CNNFN channel.  But that bombed out.

 

Now they mostly report how much the stock market went up or down, report on the big business news that every other media outlet reports.

 

Since they're not doing any kind of sleuthing, why would they need them?

[madam magpie]

Isn't Terry the woman at the DC desk who argued with Mac last season about whether or not she would throw back to Will when the election was being called for Obama? (and made the snarky comment about taking Will's seat when everyone got fired over Genoa?)

Wasn't that Jane Barrow? I think Terry is the one who's always "coming up next with the Capitol Report."

Edited November 13, 2014 by madam magpie