The Blackout Part I: Tragedy Porn

Episode Report Card
Sara M: C+ | 6 USERS: A-
Even God Hates This Show

Charlie asks MacKenzie to sit down, but she will not be stopped. More screaming happens. Charlie screams too, and that gets MacKenzie to finally sit down. He says that having to show the Casey Anthony trial makes him sick, but it's unavoidable. MacKenzie still doesn't understand why. Will says they've never had a ratings dive like this and if they can't get the viewers back then they'll have no chance at landing the debates using the amazing new debate format he thinks will "fundamentally change the way we interview presidential candidates for the job." MacKenzie accuses them both of acting like women. Whoa, MacKenzie, chill! That is taking things just a little bit too far, insulting them like that. Charlie says the other reason why they can't let the ratings stay low is because Leona will use them to fire Will without having to explain why. That seems to win MacKenzie over.

Will and MacKenzie head back to work. MacKenzie apologizes for her outburst, but I'm sure Will is used to that sort of thing by now. Then again, I've been recapping this show for two months now and her voice is still like nails on a chalkboard for me. Will wonders if perhaps MacKenzie is upset about Brian. He says Brian won't be writing a "tell-all" about MacKenzie -- just one sentence about their prior relationship. He also says that since Murrow did puff pieces on celebrities at the same time as he was going after McCarthy, they should be okay reporting on Casey Anthony at the same time as they go after... uh... Michele Bachmann? Who is NewsNight's target this month? Also, that was Murrow Mention #50,002. That guy gets almost as much play on this show as Don Quixote.

Jim lies that it's good to see Brian again. Brian notices that Jim is looking at a Breitbart website. Jim explains that it's part of his preparation for a mock debate they're planning to show off to the Republican National Committee in the hopes that they'll land the debate with their radical new format that we all already know won't happen. Because the debates already have happened in real life and Will wasn't moderating them. Because he doesn't exist. But these debates do. So this is stupid. Jim will be playing Michele Bachmann for the mock debate. But that's all he'll tell Brian because he doesn't seem to understand what "off the record" means.

Dr. Dr. Sloan finds MacKenzie in the only bar in New York. She asks if she can have a few extra minutes in Tuesday's broadcast for some important economic news: the House of Representatives will be voting on whether or not to raise the debt ceiling. Dr. Dr. Sloan says the vote itself isn't as important as what it represents: the beginning of a whole lot of fighting in Washington that "could end in catastrophe." Or it could end in the stock market going way down, me selling my car because I was moving to New York City, and then me investing the car sale money into the stock market and making 17% in one year! Best catastrophe ever (for me)! I LOVE debt ceilings!






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