As for Newsroom itself....

I like Mack, although I think her name is one of those ridiculous Sorkin constructs that he tries to pass as a character quirk sometimes. Plus I really like Emily Mortimer as an actor.

I like Will Macavoy... or rather, I don't particularly like Will, but I like not liking him, or rather, I think Jeff Daniels does really great job of selling Will Macavoy. Plus, I adore Jeff Daniels, and he's a Michigan homeboy, so he almost always does right by me.

I like the individual characters of Jim, Don and Maggie, but I have not particularly cared for the Sorkin love-triangle they've been trapped in. And, I don't particularly like Maggie, per se, as she's really SUCH a stock Sorkin character, but I'm growing to like Alison Pill in the role, and think she does a pretty good job trying to overcome the material that's been handed her. (I think Maggie's story is one of the weaker parts of the show, but not for any fault on the actor's part).

I *did* find the Don/Sloan twist on that interesting, and I keep hoping more interesting stuff will come from that, and/or wished they'd done better with the storyline or something.

Sloan Sabbath is probably my favorite character on the show, just because Sloan comes across as... kind of borderline psychotic, almost, I guess? But in a way that's really entertaining to me. (There may be some small part of me that hope it all ultimately ends with Sloan snapping and spree-killing everybody).

I also really like Charlie, but I'll stop and listen to a TDAmeritrade commercial for a second, just because Sam Waterston is their spokesperson.

And I like Neal too, because Dev Patel.

Also, Sorkin's take on issues and events is often where I find myself rolling my eyes, and/or tearing my hair out, and/or wanting to punch him, but that was true of West Wing, too.

And any show without a Dolores Landingham and/or Debbie Fitterer is somehow lacking, but only one show could ever claim either of them, so it's hard to hold that too much over any one show.

I find everything about The Newsroom unwatchable, and yet when DH turns it on I can't look away. There is literally nothing about that show I don't hate, but it's so fucking addictive. It's like if Smash were on HBO and really boring. But it's boring in such an infuriating way! That's not how news works, Sorkin! For someone who has worked in TV as long as you have and made three shows that take place on TV sets, HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW TV PRODUCTION HAPPENS??? AAAAAAARGH!

(And if his shows do in any way reflect his experiences working in TV production, how is he still employed and not in buried in sexual harassment lawsuits?)

Ha! I'm not quite at active hatred of every moment (while still being entertained) but I very much get where that's coming from.

For myself, I can't decide if Sloan comes across as borderline psychotic because Olivia Munn isn't a very good actor (I've never seen her in anything else, so I can't compare), or if it was her choice, based on the material she's been presented. I think it could go either way. Even if it's just bad acting, I still kind of love crazy-ass Sloan. Even bad acting can create great characters -- witness, James Tiberius Kirk (The Shatner's version).

I've only nibbled at the edges of West Wing because to me it's the show that is NOT Sports Night. I've watched the first episode a few times and seen maybe ten other episodes here and there and it's waiting for me in my Netflix queue. But Sloan (or rather, Olivia Munn) is the reason I started watching The Newsroom. I saw her on The Daily Show (and to be honest, finding out Aaron Sorkin's new show was about TV production [and I know little enough about how it actually works to manage to not be annoyed by that aspect] that would have been enough) but she's wonderful! And even though Alison Pill is Kim Pine, Sloan is still the greatest thing I love about the show.

A *LOT* of stuff on Newsroom is recycled out of West Wing, so if you haven't really watched WW, most of the stuff on Newsroom is going to play a lot fresher than it does to me.

Did anyone watch Parade's End? I'm slowly working my way through it and having trouble working up any sympathy for the wife.

Really? The greatest fault I had with it is that RH blew everyone else out of the water with her acting. BC could hold his own, but the other love interest was meh.

Oh, she's doing a lovely job with the part. I'm fairly certain it's a character issue, not an actor one. And, possibly, a me issue. I tend to fail to connect with that sort of character. But I am open to arguments for why I should feel for her.

She becomes more sympathetic in the later episodes.