C’mon C’mon Review

Few writers have as many distinct hallmarks as Aaron Sorkin. If a scene involves lots of walking down corridors, passing of important pages, exchanging of twice as many words as people can typically say in a handful of seconds, intercutting between different characters in different periods of time all discussing the same thing – it’s a Sorkin job. It’s not a style that’s absent everywhere else, or even one that he pioneered, but it’s certainly one that he perfected. He’s known more so for his recent slew of fantastic films – The Social Network (2010), Steve Jobs (2015) and Molly’s Game (2017) to name my favourites. It’s increasingly important to me to remind people that, in between the equally golden eras of 1990s (A Few Good Men, The American President) and 2010s Sorkin-cinema, he had a love affair with the small screen. During which, he created two of the greatest television series of all time: The West Wing (1999-2006) and The Newsroom (2012-2014).

It’s impossible to deny the impact that The West Wing has had on all forms of entertainment since its debut in 1999. It sincerely isn’t an understatement to say that a massive portion of dramatic depictions of Washington politics, both on the big and small screen, have been following in Sorkin’s quickly paced footsteps. Airing in the same year as The Sopranos (truly a year to be treasured), The West Wing’s legacy is iron-cast as one of the last truly great cable-TV shows. As television began its seismic shift towards more cinematic formats, and the glorious reign of the mini-series dawned, The West Wing exhibited the dated format’s undeniable capacity for greatness.

Over seven sensational seasons, The West Wing balanced a star-studded and star-making cast with the superbly compelling writing of Sorkin. Criticisms over its over-idealism (and its shocking timidness in the wake of the Trump presidency) aside, Sorkin achieved the impossible: he made US politics not only accessible, but thrilling, to the average viewer - me. Drawing a career-best performance from Martin Sheen as the iconic incumbent President Josiah ‘Jed’ Bartlet, every single episode of the show handles a wide variety of timely issues and highlights the ways in which the political game benefits and – more often than not – fails society. Bradley Whitford, Allison Janney, Dulé Hill and the rest of the extensive and rotating ensemble cast simply ooze sincerity, humility and relatability, despite existing in an echo chamber so far removed from our daily lives. Succeeding at this while not only adhering to but excelling at the archaic and restrictive ‘5-act structure’ of the cable-TV one-hour slot is another feat entirely. It’s a masterclass in television-making that can’t and won’t ever be replicated. While it’s regrettable that Sorkin left the show acrimoniously after four seasons (the drop in quality is small, but notable), Sorkin’s trailblazing efforts set the stage for a template of quality entertainment that only poor writers could botch entirely.

Not content being a master of just the primetime cable drama, Sorkin returned to TV in 2012 with HBO’s The Newsroom. Tallying at a mere twenty-five episodes across three short seasons, you could certainly call The Newsroom the little brother to the 155-episode The West Wing – but it packs a punch. Sorkin expands on his penchant for interweaving recognisable international politics and worldissues with fictional characters, in a manner that became a source of criticism for the show. Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, Dev Patel and more make up the news team of the fictional Atlantis Cable News network. Across the show’s run, ACN covers real world events such as the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, the killing of Osama Bin Laden and the 2012 US presidential election.

It is Sorkin’s It is Sorkin’s commitment to this format that makes The Newsroom exceptional. Rather than dance around the issues and events that we’re familiar with and lose the interest of the audience amidst outwardly fictional parallel plotlines, Sorkin throws everything into the ‘real world news’ angle while upholding respect for those involved in the actual stories. Critics will lament the the overtly liberal leanings of Sorkin – and, as a result, this show – but they fail to appreciate the depth to which The Newsroom explores the media machine. By addressing real world issues, even through the lens of fictional characters, Sorkin crafts a fascinating and multi-dimensional analysis of all walks of journalism – and the political connotations therein. None of this to mention the fact that, as he does time and time again, Sorkin draws exceptionally memorable performances from his cast. It is always an achievement when a showrunner can make you care about even half of their show’s characters. Yet Sorkin again proves his capability at shoving ten main characters in your face, organically exploring their backstory and ambitions, and expertly pitting them with and against each other. The iconic opening scene – ‘America is not the greatest country in the world’ – serves as the epitome of Sorkin as a TV writer and Daniels as an actor. If I had one criticism of this show, it’s that it ends before its time – twenty-five episodes is mercilessly brief for a show this incredible. Yet that only serves to strengthen The Newsroom’s status as a time capsule of the early 2010s, and all of the tumultuousness and uncertainty that now serves as a forebearer for today’s social and political climate. Sorkin’s double bill of The West Wing and The Newsroom is an anomaly in its perfection: two wildly different shows that share the same core strengths. Sorkin knows how to write engaging characters as much as he knows how to address modern issues, but he never forgets the one fundamental goal of television: entertainment. This article fails to even address Sorkin’s comedy pitstops Sports Night (19982000) and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (2006-2007), neither of which I’ve seen but I fiercely look forward to loving one day. But if you’re looking for an epic odyssey into the machinations of the White House at the turn of the century, or a wildly compelling deep dive into the workings of modern-day news broadcasting, look no further than these two TV heavyweights.