“So this is what it feels like to be in a train wreck as opposed to watching one.”

I’m trying so hard guys, but the opening credits almost put me to sleep. Where is WG “Snuffy” Walden when you need him?

This week we’re introduced to Sloan, an econ specialist with a PhD from Duke and is an adjunct professor at Columbia. And she looks like Olivia Munn, so Mac wants to give her 5 minutes a day to talk about the state of the economy. So far she seems to be the only woman in the newsroom who isn’t comically clumsy or an endearing fuck-up.

The show wants us to know that Will is super cool because he has 3 guitars in his apartment. Will wants us to be impressed that he knows all of his coworker’s names. He stayed up super-late learning them because he is suddenly surrounded by a very young, inexperienced, newsroom. Clearly he’s still going for the gruff-but-lovable vibe. Oh, and we’re supposed to be intrigued as to why Will and Mac broke up. But neither of them want us, the audience, nor their colleagues to know the reasoning behind it.

I’d like to see one competent female worker. That’s it, just one. Sloan hasn’t had enough screen-time yet to fill the void. Mac is flailing around trying to get Sloan to stop telling the office that Will cheated. Meanwhile Maggie is being very belligerent towards Jim, even going so far as to saying she’s being mean and doesn’t know why. She’s supposed to do a pre-interview with an aid from the Arizona Governor’s office, but it turns out they dated in college and she hid under his bed as he got back together with an old flame. And she stayed hidden under the bed! Girl, just… no. Also I would like to burn her outfit.

Did you guys know that Aaron Sorkin is really good at technology and the internet? Obviously there were tech failures that resulted in Mac being incompetent and sending an email to the entire office regarding her break-up with Will, even after they had explicitly agreed to not tell anyone in the office as to the reason. That happened in spite of the fact that Neal (who, even though he’s not the IT guy still operates as the newsroom’s tech-support) explained how the new email system is set up. Because no one in the office knows how to act professionally, Mac flipped a shit and broke two of her coworkers phones. (Sidebar: I would really like for Mac to be competent and she’s not and it’s sad.) So, the break-up: Somebody cheated but surprise! it wasn’t Will. He was in love with her, but she wasn’t in love with him. So she hooked up with an ex and that’s when she fell in love with Will. So it wasn’t cheating, she was falling in love!

Maggie’s a hot mess. After her disasterous phone call, the Governor decided not to appear on Will’s show at all. Her failure means they have to fill screen time about the Arizona immigration bill with an air-head beauty contestant, a gun-toting citizen border patroller, and a hack-job immigration “official.” This results in Maggie drowning her sorrows. Not in a Sookie Stackhouse getting happily sloshed by her lonesome way, rather the self-pitying, alone at a bar way. She pushes Don to the point that he breaks up with her, but I feel like that’s not going to stick. It probably won’t because Jim has a female coworker take Maggie’s drunk ass to Don’s to apologize.

At this point I have two favorite characters: 1) Neal because he’s competent and human and the only one that doesn’t seem to be broadcasting personal issues across the office. Also, cardigans. Oh, and the genius of sending an intern to order Happy Hour specials at 8:55 for the entire crew. And, 2) Charlie because he’s a badass that cares about doing a good job and promoting good news rather than earning money. Well, both ideally, but he’s realistic about it at least.

My favorite moment of the episode might have been the absurd amount of time that Jim and Maggie kept the finger-phones to their ears during their pseudo-interview. What about yours?

Sorkinese

• Mohammed al Mohammed al Mohammed bin Bizir is referenced by Josh Lyman in the season 4 episode of West Wing “20 Hours in America”
• Just like Jordan McDeere on Studio 60, Mac doesn’t have any friends and isn’t afraid to admit it.
• The guy that played Herb, the voice-over guy on Studio 60 works in the control room on Newsroom. He is also named Herb. Different last names, though.

So, what did y’all think? Better or worse than last week? Willing to stick with it for another few episodes? What news events would you like to see them cover? And remember, we’re stuck in 2010 so we get gems such as Colbie Caillat’s “Bubbly” and Radiohead’s “High and Dry”.