Sadly, this has not improved at all. I'm no longer bothering with it. It's actually quite painful to watch. I always wonder how, when one takes into account the expense, the man-hours, the aggregated experience of all involved, in projects like this that they can somehow get it all so badly wrong. It really is a mystery. The second episode merely served to confirm my worst fears - plot holes so big you could safely drive a bus through them, acting so wooden I seriously thought about getting out the sandpaper...it's a laughable train-wreck of a series. I might check back from time to time. We'll see.
The Newsroom
This one I'm sticking with - but not because it's getting any better. It's a strangely irritating watch; Sorkin's nippy scripts are far too smug (and clever) for their own good but even if they were actually interesting they'd still be let-down by some woeful miscasting and a depressingly formulaic approach by the actors ham-fistedly delivering the lines. The only decent thing in the series to date (two episodes in, third one tonight on Sky Atlantic HD, 10pm) remains Jeff Daniels in the lead role. He is not served well by his script or his supporting cast. A pity - he is perfect casting and could really have done something with this.
The main thing to undermine the series, imo, is that I simply don't buy into the 'reality' of this US TV network newsroom. It's more like a pantomime than a serious journalistic workplace. The plot is a dreary mixture of left-wing proselytizing (oil spills and Mexican immigration) and equally tiresome 'relationships' between assorted members of the cast. I was hoping we'd be getting a sideways look at the workings of a busy prime-time US TV newsroom. Sadly, no. This could even be a comedy (without the laughs) and I just haven't realised it.
Still, I'll watch the next one tonight. You never know.
Sorry, I'm still absolutely baffled as to how you thought Sinbad could be any better than dire, based on the adverts (which are meant to show the best bits)?
I know you like gooseberry fool things but that is just taking it too far.
