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The Newsroom: The Complete Scripts
When it hit the airwaves in 1996, “The Newsroom” – created, written, directed by, and starring Ken Finkleman – was hailed by the Montreal Gazette as “the funniest comedy series in the history of Canadian television.” And by the time its all-too-short run had concluded, it had secured a huge and devoted following across the country.
“The Newsroom” won this legion of fans with its uniquely clever and provocative satire. Set inside Toronto’s CBC Broadcast Centre, the series blended fiction and reality in a brutally sardonic behind-the-scenes look at a fictitious TV news show and the selfish machinations of its ratings-obsessed director, George Findlay. Each episode left viewers gasping at the hilarious audacity of Ken Finkleman’s writing; in one front-page newspaper story, the series was described as “a Canadian comedy that is so irreverent it’s hard to imagine how it ever got on the air.” The Toronto Star called it “funny, nasty, unsettling…and the best thing Canadian series TV has offered. Ever.” And TV Guide pronounced it “wickedly funny satire…the hippest sitcom ever produced by the CBC.”
The The Complete Scripts is for all those viewers who mourn the passing of this brilliantly written, subversive, and funny series. All thirteen episodes are here in their entirety.
“The Newsroom” won this legion of fans with its uniquely clever and provocative satire. Set inside Toronto’s CBC Broadcast Centre, the series blended fiction and reality in a brutally sardonic behind-the-scenes look at a fictitious TV news show and the selfish machinations of its ratings-obsessed director, George Findlay. Each episode left viewers gasping at the hilarious audacity of Ken Finkleman’s writing; in one front-page newspaper story, the series was described as “a Canadian comedy that is so irreverent it’s hard to imagine how it ever got on the air.” The Toronto Star called it “funny, nasty, unsettling…and the best thing Canadian series TV has offered. Ever.” And TV Guide pronounced it “wickedly funny satire…the hippest sitcom ever produced by the CBC.”
The The Complete Scripts is for all those viewers who mourn the passing of this brilliantly written, subversive, and funny series. All thirteen episodes are here in their entirety.
360 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 29, 2018
If it weren’t for the three-part meltdown arc, this would be four or five stars.
October 23, 2022
This book contains the scripts of the first series of a ground breaking and successful TV show that aired on CBC television in 1996-97, 2003-4 and 2004-05. It was cynical, hip, filled with provocative political satire and wildly funny. Given it was clearly a thinly veiled critique of the public CBC broadcaster, one wonders how it ever got on the air given the nature of the “politically correct” tone pervasive at that recognizably staid organization.
The show combined fact and fiction as it looked at television newsrooms of the time, when image was becoming more and more important, accurate news took a back seat, and ratings became the driving force determining what appeared on the screen. The series was popular and developed an almost cult-like following among those who appreciated its humour. It was produced with a documentary style framework with three main characters, a host of others in supporting roles and some featured guests.
George Findlay was the self- absorbed executive producer of the show “City Hour”, a man obsessed with his sex life, his lunch orders and how he was perceived within the network bureaucracy. He suffered from constipation, tried to avoid his mother’s daily phone calls, and loved his BMW. Jim Walcott anchored the news. He was a shallow man of limited intelligence who lived alone with his cat and had been charged several times in the past with sexual harassment. Karen Mitchell was the segment producer, one of the few who was intelligent and professional and the only one concerned with the integrity of the news, constantly questioning the use of sensational content to boost their ratings.
These scripts from the first series they fail to deliver in book form. This type of irreverent humour needs more than the dialogue that appears on paper to accurately convey the deadpan satire and caustic humour of the characters. Facial expressions, long pauses, the quirky questioning looks and body language are all missing. That is what helps portray the neurotic tensions of the characters and so what appears on the page feels mindless, sad and lacks the zing of the visuals. The dialogue needs those complementing elements to accurately portray the ramblings of the characters which end up meaning little to those who were not loyal fans of the series.
It is difficult to transfer a success from one medium to another and many do not survive that transition successfully. Communication is a visual as well as dialogical process and so is not easily translatable to the written page. It challenges those reading the text to use strong imagination skills to attempt the leap and even then, they may not be successful. So for those who have not viewed the series, this volume will probably not hold their interest. I never watched the TV show, so I am in that group, which explains my low rating.
The show combined fact and fiction as it looked at television newsrooms of the time, when image was becoming more and more important, accurate news took a back seat, and ratings became the driving force determining what appeared on the screen. The series was popular and developed an almost cult-like following among those who appreciated its humour. It was produced with a documentary style framework with three main characters, a host of others in supporting roles and some featured guests.
George Findlay was the self- absorbed executive producer of the show “City Hour”, a man obsessed with his sex life, his lunch orders and how he was perceived within the network bureaucracy. He suffered from constipation, tried to avoid his mother’s daily phone calls, and loved his BMW. Jim Walcott anchored the news. He was a shallow man of limited intelligence who lived alone with his cat and had been charged several times in the past with sexual harassment. Karen Mitchell was the segment producer, one of the few who was intelligent and professional and the only one concerned with the integrity of the news, constantly questioning the use of sensational content to boost their ratings.
These scripts from the first series they fail to deliver in book form. This type of irreverent humour needs more than the dialogue that appears on paper to accurately convey the deadpan satire and caustic humour of the characters. Facial expressions, long pauses, the quirky questioning looks and body language are all missing. That is what helps portray the neurotic tensions of the characters and so what appears on the page feels mindless, sad and lacks the zing of the visuals. The dialogue needs those complementing elements to accurately portray the ramblings of the characters which end up meaning little to those who were not loyal fans of the series.
It is difficult to transfer a success from one medium to another and many do not survive that transition successfully. Communication is a visual as well as dialogical process and so is not easily translatable to the written page. It challenges those reading the text to use strong imagination skills to attempt the leap and even then, they may not be successful. So for those who have not viewed the series, this volume will probably not hold their interest. I never watched the TV show, so I am in that group, which explains my low rating.
July 7, 2022
The scripts of a satiric television situation comedy series loosely based on the newsroom of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. George, the news director (played by Ken Finkelman, who also wrote and directed the series) is petty and obsessed with ratings. Jim, the anchor, has a mind that, to use James’s phrase, “was never violated by a thought.” The series is a great analysis both of broadcast media and of office politics.
Acquired Dec 14, 2002
City Lights Book Shop, London, Ontario
Acquired Dec 14, 2002
City Lights Book Shop, London, Ontario
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews