Navigating The Newsroom: A Podcast on HBO's The Newsroom Film Geek Radio

Andrew has an update on what's going on at Film Geek Radio this summer.

Season 2 of The Newsroom may have finished, but Navigating The Newsroom still has one more episode to go! In this jam-packed finale, an all-star ensemble of guests are back to give their thoughts on how the season ultimately turned out. Andrew and Andrew call up Inkoo Kang, Sam Fragoso, and to discuss what went right and what wrong. Was it a good decision to focus on Operation Genoa? Is Jerry Dantana a problematic character? Was the ending satisfying? And was the Maggie in Africa subplot really so awful? Plus, a lot more.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Inkoo Kang is the TV columnist for Film School Rejects and a film critic for the Village Voice. Follow her on Twitter @thinkovision.

Sam Fragoso is the founder of Movie Mezzanine. This is his first time appearing on Navigating The Newsroom. Follow him on Twitter @SamFragoso.

Corey Atad is a film blogger. Follow him on Twitter @CoreyAtad.

Joanna Robinson is the Features Editor at Pajiba and a contributor to Vulture. She also co-hosts the podcasts The Station Agents and The Ones Who Knock. Follow her on Twitter @quityourjrob.

Devindra Hardawar is the National Editor for VentureBeat. He also writes about movies at /Film and can be heard every week on the /Filmcast. As if that wasn't enough, he also podcasts about tech on The Drill Down and discusses The Legend of Korra on Republic City Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @Devindra.

Allison Loring is a writer for Film School Rejects. She's also a contributor for Fanhattan, which is preparing to launch a new device called Fan TV that will consolidate access to thousands of movies and television series. Follow her on Twitter @AllisonLoring.

SHOW NOTES:

00:20 - Intro
6:03 – Inkoo Kang: the lack of stakes in the final two episodes
11:24 - Sam Fragoso: Jim's relationship with Hallie
16:27 - Corey Atad: Will/Mac, Don/Sloan, and where was Patton Oswalt?!
22:27 - Devindra Hardawar: Jerry Dantana problems and Chris Messina's awesomeness
29:50 - Joanna Robinson: Focusing more on characters we like rather than news
36:35 - Allison Loring: Getting out of the newsroom, a need for more fictionalized stories
40:33 - Was Maggie in Africa really that bad?
46:18 - Final thoughts on Season 2
55:14 - Show close

DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing navigatingnewsroom@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

It’s the end of Season 2 of The Newsroom! Andrew Robinson still isn’t back--don’t worry, he’ll return for our season wrap-up episode--but Brian Roan from The Film Stage is once again able to fill in. He and Andrew debate just how messy of an ending this turned out to be. Is rejecting the Petraeus story a good choice? How is the Will/Mac relationship indicative of a larger problem regarding Sorkin’s expectations and the audience’s reality? Is Maggie the new Jim? And just how great was The Kiss?! Plus, Lisa is back, Neal is wasted, new media gets a few shout-outs, and more!

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Joanna Robinson is the Features Editor at Pajiba and a contributor to Vulture. She also co-hosts the podcasts The Station Agents and The Ones Who Knock. Follow her on Twitter @quityourjrob.

SHOW NOTES:

00:20 - Intro
7:45 - General thoughts on the finale
10:08 - Rejecting the Petraeus story
17:42 - Lisa is back!
21:23 - Developing Maggie
23:53 - Wrapping everything up, absolving everyone
30:08 - The end of Will/Mac relationship drama? Expectations vs. reality
43:22 - The West Wing and the importance of apologies
46:56 - Taylor attacks Will; her relationship prospects
51:08 - Jim’s bad call
52:07 - The Kiss, Mac’s Wikipedia page
55:22 - Where’s Patton Oswalt?
56:53 - Why HBO?
59:15 - Ending with music and Maggie becoming like Jim
1:03:02 - Hatred for DC, Neal
1:05:26 - Closing thoughts

DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing navigatingnewsroom@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

Andrew Robinson is away in Toronto this week, but don't worry! Special guest Joanna Robinson from Pajiba and The Ones Who Knock is here to discuss the first part of this season's finale. Is the Will/Mac relationship handled well? Why do these characters keep screwing up? How come Leona won't let them resign? And does the ending imply "Preachy Will" is going to return? Tune in to find out. Also, there's a brief tangent about people falling down, which is always fun.

ABOUT OUR GUEST:

Joanna Robinson is the Features Editor at Pajiba and a contributor to Vulture. She also co-hosts the podcasts The Station Agents and The Ones Who Knock. Follow her on Twitter @quityourjrob.

SHOW NOTES:

00:20 - Intro
4:09 - Joanna Robinson's overall thoughts on The Newsroom
9:41 - General thoughts on this episode
12:47 - The Will/Mac relationship; is Emily Mortimer leaving the show?
18:14 - Preachy Will vs. Balanced Will
22:39 - Comparisons with The West Wing
28:25 - Female characters and sexism
35:39 - Leona wants to be "honorable"
37:37 - Everybody is screwing up
43:26 - Don's scoop
47:56 - Show close

DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing navigatingnewsroom@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

Special guest Inkoo Kang from Film School Rejects and Village Voice joins Andrew and Andrew on this episode to discuss "Red Team III." The Operation Genoa fallout is finally commencing, but is it satisfying? Was Jerry's tape-editing scandal really necessary? What's up with all the Benghazi stuff? And what's up with Leona's change of heart? Tune in to find out.

SHOW NOTES:

00:20 - Intro
4:34 - General thoughts
19:06 - Jerry's fault, or institutional failure?
27:13 - Charlie's source and nepotism in the industry
33:48 - Sorkin's style, finding the right tone
41:50 - Reporting vs. gut feeling
47:30 - Holes in the story
50:56 - Leona's change of heart, ratings
57:00 - Would you watch News Night?
59:39 - Show close

DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing navigatingnewsroom@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!

In this episode, William Bibbiani from Crave Online returns to discuss "One Step Too Many" and how this season of The Newsroom is an improvement over the first one. Are the relationships and sexual tension becoming easier to tolerate? What staple of Sorkin writing does he screw up this time? And how does everyone feel about Jerry being "evil" now? Tune in to find out. Plus, a random tangent on John Carter and why sports are cool.

SHOW NOTES:

00:20 - Intro
2:30 - William Bibbiani's thoughts on Season 2
6:30 - Jim and Hallie go out to dinner
12:20 - The Romney campaign as backdrop for character development
15:07 - Maggie's drinking problem
17:58 - Sloan and the ol' humorous-aside-during-serious-conversations trick
25:40 - Will's relationship with Nina and the audience
32:08 - Operation Genoa developments
42:44 - John Carter and sports
52:30 - Show close

DON'T FORGET: You can contact the show by emailing navigatingnewsroom@filmgeekradio.com. Thanks for listening!