The Blackout, Part 2: Mock Debate (19 Aug. 2012)

The pitch to the RNC requires one last push to drive ratings up: Lisa knew Casey Anthony in high school, so Jim and Maggie visit her at work to beg her to appear on the show. The day of the... See full summary »

Director:

Alan Poul

Writers:

Aaron Sorkin (creator), Paul Redford (head writer),

Stars:

Jeff Daniels, Emily Mortimer, John Gallagher Jr.

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Daniels	...	Will McAvoy
Emily Mortimer	...	MacKenzie McHale
John Gallagher Jr.	...	Jim Harper
Alison Pill	...	Maggie Jordan
Thomas Sadoski	...	Don Keefer
Dev Patel	...	Neal Sampat
Olivia Munn	...	Sloan Sabbith
Sam Waterston	...	Charlie Skinner
Adam Arkin	...	Adam Roth
David Krumholtz	...	Dr. Jack Habib
Terry Crews	...	Lonny Church
Paul Schneider	...	Brian Brenner
Kelen Coleman	...	Lisa Lambert
Jake McDorman	...	Tate Brady
Adina Porter	...	Kendra James

Storyline

The pitch to the RNC requires one last push to drive ratings up: Lisa knew Casey Anthony in high school, so Jim and Maggie visit her at work to beg her to appear on the show. The day of the pitch arrives: Will takes the team of Republican presidential hopefuls through a mock debate. Will asks his psychiatrist why he can't forgive Mackenzie; she hits some emotional high notes about both the Anthony coverage and Brian's presence in the newsroom. Flowers are in Will's office; how they got there prompts Mackenzie to tell Jim to gather his rosebuds. Neal, with Sloan's help, hatches a new plan to get his troll license. There's danger in both Jim and Neal's actions.

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Plot Keywords:

psychiatrist | economy | reference to facebook | ex boyfriend | reference to playboy | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 August 2012 (USA)

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Quotes

Sloan Sabbith: Balancing your checkbook is to balancing the budget as driving to the supermarket is to landing on the moon.

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Connections

References Cast Away (2000)

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Soundtracks

"Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?"
Written by Carole King
Performed by Amy Winehouse

User Reviews

Don't Block Out this Blackout ***1/2

Mac shows how creative she is when the lights go out at the studio. She is ready to do the news show on the street. She rallies the troops only for the lights to obviously go on. Doing the show on the street would have been very interesting.

Adam Arkin guest-starred as a GOP honcho, a friend of Will's who comes to the station with a slick partner ready to set up a debate format and schedule. This refers to the Republican candidates who sought the GOP 2012 presidential nomination.

The guy he is with is in for a rude awakening when Will shows him how the debate should be handled. In far too many of these debates, whether Democrat or Republican, the debaters are in charge. Not so, with the way Will wanted to do things. Shame that Arkin needs his job to support his son who was just accepted into Stanford. Reality trumps everything.

How quickly the summer has gone. Next week is the last show. This is an intelligently written and thought provoking show. I hope it's renewed for further programming.