Sorkgasm, Sarkgasm, Sarcasm

I really wasn't planning on writing about Aaron Sorkin or "Newsroom" and all the hoopla that is surrounding it.  I could really care less - I don't watch it and actually don't subscribe to HBO.  It didn't pass the cost-benefit analysis in our house.  Plus, I have plenty of other shows that I'd rather watch (NCIS, Fringe, Warehouse 13, Sherlock, The Finder, White Collar, Burn Notice, etc. etc. - if you want to debate any, feel free to hit me up on our Twitter or email).

In the past, I've been a fan of Aaron Sorkin's work.  That is not to say that I'm a fan of Sorkin himself and in many cases I didn't even know or take the time to find out that Sorkin was involved.  So in this morning's drive around the internet, I made my regular stop at a Friend of the Gormogons' (FotG) site, Jonathan Last.  He had a brilliant seven-minute splice from various Sorkin shows illustrating that the well isn't too deep for Mr. Sorkin.  As Jonathan terms it: self-plagarism.  I've included the piece below:




I was a huge fan of Sports Night - even with its various criticisms: laugh track during first season, sometimes reliant on the repetitive banter ("Really?" "Really."  "Really!") and plenty of sarcasm (Sorkin's trademark) but it had interesting characters that were generally well-acted and the dialogue was above-par for most of what was on TV at that time.  It was a novel show - there was no other behind-the-scenes at a sportscast TV show.  The Social Network was entertaining and A Few Good Men brought us memorable quotes that have been integrated into common discussions.  I never got into The West Wing or Studio 60.

So, largely I was ignoring the whole tizzy about Newsroom until I came across Jonathan's post (which admittedly, nerdily, I thought read, "Sarkgasm!" in some odd reference to the antagonist in the original Tron movie) which, in his summary, summarized how I feel about Sorkin:

My enjoyment of Sorkin’s work may be aided by the fact that I’ve never paid much attention to his off-screen self.