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This critic's review of The Newsroom reminded me why I'm glad I don't have a critic's eye and sensibilities. It seems critics expect characters, dialogue, evolving relationships, storylines, etc. to be smart and flawless, and time never wasted, instead of being realistic. When taking on a critic's view, my own mind is blown just contemplating what my life would have been if I'd have had talented people perfectly scripting all my conversations, selecting my friends and lovers, making sure all my life decisions were smart, chosing only correct responses to life's challenges, and scoring my life's background music, not to mention hairstyle, makeup and clothing selections.

Fortunately, I'm effortlessly able to gloss right over the storyline flaws and weaknesses of most TV shows and movies, since they're NOT REAL to begin with. (Bad acting is different story.) Otherwise, I'd be mad as hell to find out that the guy in Lincoln Lawyer isn't an attorney after all, but instead a strip club owner in Texas. I'd also have been annoyed watching Hope Springs, wondering the entire time why a modern-day couple was portrayed like June and Ward Cleaver from my parents' generation. Instead, I thoroughly enjoyed that movie.

I'm pretty sure in real life "a tough, war reporting veteran" and "a finger-counting, ankle-spraining, shriek-filled wet blanket" can reside quite comfortably within the same body. After all, as we all know by now, there's not necessarily a correlation between the ability to master one's career and emotional life with the same level of ability and finesse, especially when the career takes priority.

I really like The Newsroom not only because the writing is smart, but also because the characters are flawed, aka human. I also liked a couple of critic's phrases I had not heard or thought of before: "hindsight is a lazy cheat" (love that one) and "a love square - or even pentagon" (funny). I gave the The Newsroom Season 1 an "A"!