I'm a US Marine and I'll kick your ass no matter how many protein bars you eat!

That was my favorite line from the new HBO series The Newsroom starring Jeff Daniels and Emily Mortimer. But it didn't come from either of them, it rather unexpectedly came from Sam Waterston who plays elderly network exec Charlie Skinner.

You get exactly what you would expect from series creator Aaron Sorkin. Fast paced, detail infused dialog and razor sharp wit that's written for an intelligent audience. If you are in the lowest common denominator range, you might not understand everything that's going on. This show does not slow down for stragglers and that's the point of the show.

Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels) (off camera the most egotistical and arrogant man in the room) is the most respected news anchor in the country because he's milktoast and plays it safe. He's Jay Leno. One day he has a conscious moment in a college forum and finally speaks his mind with common sense that rocks the audience. He blames it on medication, but his boss Charlie Skinner (Waterston) seizes the moment, hires Will's old flame Mackenzie MacHale (Mortimer) a hard core war correspondent with an equally hard core staff.

This show has tons of potential. Based on HBO's hand's off approach and Sorkin's track record (The West Wing, The Social Network, Charlie Wilson's War, Moneyball) this series will be held to a high standard.

This may be the next epic HBO series and join the ranks of The Wire and The Sopranos. Only time will tell, but I expect many good things from The Newsroom. Unfortunately, I may be in the minority. Nearly all the reviews I've seen or heard are negative.




Speaking of Aaron Sorkin, what if he had written other stories... like Twilight


or Ghostbusters


or Star Wars