The WORST episodes of The Newsroom
Every episode of The Newsroom ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of The Newsroom!
George Findlay is the News Director of the local station in Toronto for "a major government controlled broadcast network". His life is complicated by three factors: he is completely self absorbed; most of the news stories don't happen they way or when he wants; and he functions in the Machiavellian bureaucracy of a government owned television network. Series II, after a brief hiatus the the Newsroom story continues.... George Findlay (Ken Finkleman) and his staff are back in the newsroom where pettiness and moral bankruptcy are taken to new depths. New faces, new phobias, new issues and Death haunt George as he maneuvers his way around the daily task of producing the news. Also this season, News Anchor Jim Walcott (Peter Keleghan) returns to brighten our day with moronic interviews with luminaries like Naomi Klein and Noam Chomsky .
#1 - Deeper, Deeper
Season 1 - Episode 3 - Aired 11/4/1996
Cutbacks are coming at the network—who will it be? George vows to "go to the wall" to save jobs but everyone knows someone has to go. Backstabbing, clandestine job hunts, prostitutes and religious conversations prevail.
#2 - America, America
Season 2 - Episode 1 - Aired 1/12/2004
Jim is hired by a morning show in New York.
#3 - Pushy, Money-Grubbing, Cosmopolitan Racist
Season 2 - Episode 3 - Aired 1/26/2004
Racism infiltrates the newsroom.
#4 - Dinner at Eight
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 10/28/1996
After yet another on-air faux pas by Jim, Lindsay Ward (Amanda Tapping) is hired as co-anchor for Toronto News. Solo anchor Jim, feeling threatened by Lindsay's aggressive personality, turns to George who supports him pharmaceutically. When the shifting of power starts to affect George, it's time to fight dirty.
#5 - Death 1, George 0
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 1/19/2004
George fails a Kafkaesque job evaluation in ways he never could have imagined. A valued veteran newsroom employee dies, George's empathy is qualified.
#6 - Meltdown (3)
Season 1 - Episode 12 - Aired 3/24/1997
Unable to deal with the potential of his own death, George goes into denial and can't cover the impending nuclear meltdown story.
#7 - The Kevorkian Joke
Season 1 - Episode 4 - Aired 11/11/1996
When failed screenwriter Shane (Jason Blicker) threatens suicide on tape, George turns his videotaped attempt into a five-part series to boost ratings. A killer virus in Zaire could have a connection with Toronto, maybe even the newsroom.
#8 - One Dumb Idea
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 2/21/2005
George and the news production staff decide to produce a sitcom.
#9 - Unity
Season 1 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/17/1997
George is annoyed when his name is left off the Globe and Mail list of government employees who make over $100,000 per year. Lise Léger (Guylaine St. Onge) appers on Toronto news with Linda McQuaig (as herself) to discuss the Canadian unity situation. Lise is inexplicably attracted to Jim.
#10 - Baghdad Bound
Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 2/14/2005
Jim is abducted in Baghdad while taping a segment on pets. George finds himself on the short list to receive the coveted Order of Canada.
#11 - Petty Tyranny
Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 11/25/1996
George's quest for bran muffins leads him to the cafeteria and into a fight. Cynthia Dale (as herself), while researching a role in a feature film, observes the newsroom. George offends one of Canada's top stars.
#12 - The Second Coming
Season 2 - Episode 13 - Aired 4/19/2004
Alex attempts suicide after being dumped by his girlfriend.
#13 - The Walking Shoe Incident
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/21/1996
News director George Findlay needs to hire an assistant to take care of such pressing matters as returning his walking shoes, getting him Fibre First, and dealing with his mother's persistent phone calls. He's faced with a dilemma: hire the qualified Afro-Canadian lesbian or the inexperienced yet attractive ski bunny.
#14 - An Enormous Waste of Time
Season 2 - Episode 4 - Aired 2/2/2004
A sniper kills again. A dog dies in the office. A power lunch goes wrong. And George regrets ever using the handicapped washroom.
#15 - The Fifty
Season 2 - Episode 8 - Aired 3/8/2004
An argument between George and Alex over finding a $50 bill results in Alex losing his job on principle and then buying it back from George for a considerable sum ... also on principle.
#16 - Lolita
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 3/7/2005
George is invited to give a guest lecture at a local university and, with the aid of a stolen thesis, manages to charm an attractive young student into visiting his office.
#17 - The British Accent
Season 2 - Episode 12 - Aired 4/12/2004
George secretly cancels his trip.
#18 - Reality Strikes
Season 2 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/22/2004
A film crew invades the newsroom, making George anxious.
#19 - Latent Homosexual Tendencies
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 3/21/2005
George's therapist falls into a coma shortly after suggesting that George has latent homosexual tendencies.
#20 - One of Us
Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 2/16/2004
George hires a temp from an old established WASP family thinking that connections will pay off. They don't. George pays.
#21 - Dial G for Gristle
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 2/28/2005
Everyone wonders why media mogul Conrad Scott is visiting the newsroom.
#22 - Learning to Fly
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 3/28/2005
It is the end of the world in all dimensions.
#23 - Never Read Symptoms
Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 3/1/2004
George dodges jury duty in an animal rights case and ends up entangled with virus infected monkeys. Allen suffers from a brain tumor.
#24 - Say Cheese
Season 2 - Episode 11 - Aired 4/5/2004
George tries to sell an idea for a cheese commercial; Jim develops a form of anorexia nervosa.
#25 - Campaign
Season 1 - Episode 13 - Aired 3/31/1997
After the collapse of public broadcasting, Jim runs for political office in a provincial election. George and some of the newsroom staff manage the campaign in this one-hour season finale.