8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The one-hour HBO drama series created by Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) and executive produced by Sorkin, Scott Rudin, and Alan Poul is back for a second season. Smart, topical, thought-provoking, and highly entertaining, The Newsroom takes a behind-the-scenes look at a high-rated cable-news program at the fictional Atlantis Cable News (ACN) Network, focusing on the on- and off-camera lives of its acerbic anchor (Jeff Daniels), executive producer (Emily Mortimer), their newsroom staff (John Gallagher, Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Olivia Munn, Dev Patel, and others), news-division boss (Sam Waterston), and parent-company CEO (Jane Fonda). Season 2 takes place over a five-day period leading up to Election Day 2012, and encompasses numerous flashbacks to earlier events from 2011 and 2012. One of the season's major story arcs involves a wrongful-termination lawsuit made by a staff member alleged to have doctored a report about a suspicious U.S. drone strike. As details about the suit's origin and aftermath emerge, The Newsroom team continues its quixotic mission to "do the news well" in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles, and their personal entanglements.
Starring: Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas SadoskiDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (3 BDs)
UV digital copy
BD-Live
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The second season of Aaron Sorkin's firebrand HBO series mixes things up a bit -- less than critics claim but more than proponents might realize -- yet holds true to the mission The Newsroom set in stone on day one: taking the 24-hour American news cycle to task. Unfortunately, one too many viewers decided Sorkin and company were only interested in spouting sermons rather than exposing the dangers and consequences of a corporate-owned, ratings-driven, socially swayed media. Some accused the show of firing one too many shots across the ultra-conservative bow. Others complained about everything from its anti-right jabs to its parodies of left-weighted liberals. Still others groaned everytime Sorkin and his writers focused on relationships within the newsroom, romantic or otherwise. And then there was the camp who hated everything, whether it rubbed their tummy or kicked them in the pants. It's my show! Do what I want! Agree with me! Preach to my choir! Goodness. I'm beginning to think the internet has turned us into a bunch of simpering, over-entitled, hyper-sensitive isolationists who can't entertain an opposing or remotely challenging viewpoint for more than a minute without working ourselves into a sweat-drenched frenzy. Offended? Best steer clear of The Newsroom then. That's one message point that finds its way into just about every episode.
Sorkin has certainly made his point, and done so brilliantly, hilariously and, at times, with thought-provoking conviction and seriousness. But he's apparently made his point too well. Cancelled, with a truncated third and final season about to wrap next week, the series is sadly being put out to pasture. It's closing in on a proper, satisfying end, though, meaning there's absolutely no reason to avoid the second season. If, that is, you enjoyed the first and don't mind that a few changes have been made to the ACN offices...
The one thing we can all agree on is that The Newsroom: The Complete Second Season features a terrific 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation faithful to its showrunners' intentions. Colors and skintones are precisely saturated and quite lifelike, primaries are strong and vibrant, and black levels are deep and satisfying. Detail doesn't falter either. Edges are crisp and clean (with only the slightest hint of intermittent ringing) and fine textures are refined and well-resolved. Delineation is revealing and grain is intact too, without anything in the way of significant macroblocking, banding, errant noise or aliasing rearing its head. There are a handful of nighttime sequences that see a notable increase in noise and a small reduction in (perceived) clarity, but each instance is inherent to the source and not an issue at all. Ultimately, The Complete Second Season has a darker, less cheery appearance than its predecessor, but its encode is just as impressive.
Like the Blu-ray release of The Complete First Season, The Newsroom: The Complete Second Season offers a first-rate DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that delivers pinpoint prioritization, solid dynamics and an immersive soundfield. The rear speakers aren't as engaging as the center channel or forward soundscape, but only because this is a Sorkin series, and conversations, arguments and whiplash dialogue rule supreme. And yet the newsroom itself is bustling with activity, all realized with convincing directionality, smooth pans and a convincing realism. LFE output is restrained but reliable as well, lending just enough power, pulse and momentum to the series' score to help propel the drama along. Voices, meanwhile, are clean and clear, fully supported, and nicely grounded. Compared to, say, a True Blood lossless track, The Newsroom experience is uneventful. Judged on its own merit, though, the series' mix fares as well as any other, and manages everything in its reach with precision and class.
The Newsroom's second season is different than its first, but only insofar as it has evolved and matured as a series. Its recent cancellation has come as quite a disappointment, yes. Thankfully its third season is currently wrapping up nicely, and its second season still stands tall, tackling hard issues with an attention to detail, nuance, balance and integrity the 24-hour news networks could serve to learn a thing or two about. HBO's Blu-ray release is excellent too, with a striking video presentation and a no-frills, no-nonsense DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that delivers. Additional extras would have been appreciated, but what's here will suffice. The series comes highly recommended.
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Ruth & Alex
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