'The Newsreader' Recap: Season 1 Premiere

HBO's new flick The Newsreader takes a dive into what happens behind the lens of famous news anchors. The show gives a fictionalized account of some of Australia’s biggest media moments.

On Friday, set on 24 January 1986 The TV newsroom is caught up in a very dramatic year.

The series premieres on a good note, Dale (sam Reid) corrects a technical error in a video clip interview of Paul Hogan winning the 1985 Australian of the Year award.
Just like Paul Hogan, he wants to be the face of TV, he is desperate to read the news. Everyone is always eager to read their own news.

Helen Norville (Anna Torv) and her co-reader Geoff Walters (Robert Taylor) work the morning news desk already and Geoff reads a story she was promised by the news director Lindsay (William McInnes).

She charges to Lindsey's office to confront him about the last-minute disappointment. He promised Helen during the Christmas party last year, she could read the Thatcher story only to get it taken away from her like that and given to a man. Linsey tells her as she walks out, she can easily be replaced, she's not as high and mighty as she claims.

Helen's not the only one who got promised screentime during the festive dinner.
a rehearsal tape Dale filmed last year pleased Lindsey so well that he promised Dale he might get a chance at the desk this year. Linsey likes to make promises he can't keep.

As a means to wiggle his way out, Linsey explains to Dale, that some people have star quality, they fit the camera, sound amazing, make people secure, but Dale is not just one of those people. Tell me another way to shatter a person's dreams if this isn't a career kill.

After the fine lineup of insults, he offers Dale a deal, if he becomes Helen's assistant, help her with her stories, shoots, and follows her around. Make sure to keep her away from stories about cross-eyed single mothers and AIDs...He will update him on a job offer the next week Tuesday.

Dale is over the moon and excitedly calls his mother Jenny to her he will be on desk for the first time,  she can tell everyone. Not so fast Dale, if there is anything Lindsey has shown us never trust the words that fall off his mouth.

The next day at work, Helen is already upset, she was under the impression she would be doing reports alone, but now she has to work with Dale as her producer. She pitches her first interview, of a woman Caroline Gibson, with two children and is HIV positive. Exactly the type of stories Lindsey wants her to stay clear off.

Dale pitches his own, he suggests something upbeat but still in her interest, a report about the first women in space. Helen storms out to argue with Lindsey, she threatens to quit and he says other networks won't take her, because she's a nightmare to look at and work with.

Out of anger, Lindsey tells Dale he will take over all over Helen's stories henceforth. Lindsey is narcissistic with the way he plays on the emotions of his staff. Always putting everyone down with his uncut words.

In a hurry to leave after getting fired, Helen forgets her bag in the office and Dale goes to her house to return it, he sees her passed out on the floor and calls an ambulance. when they arrive, she is already awake and refuses to go because she's a public figure. they will think she overdosed on purpose.

Dale has to take her to his place, as instructed by the medical practitioners, to take her somewhere far from the pills in the house. He wakes up late the next morning to rush to work while she made herself comfortable in his small apartment, half the size of hers.

Dale was no exception to the first-timer mishaps, he's a nervous wreck and of course ruined his first tv appearance by reading too fast. 

Right after the show, Dale calls home four times and Helen doesn't pick. He frantically runs to his home only to find her cooking dinner to show her appreciation for him saving her life. She decides to help him with his speech and his appearance for his next reading.

The watch ratings have gone done and the office is getting hundreds of calls from fans of Helen wondering when she will return.

In a twisted turn of events, the space shuttle carrying the woman Helen and Dale were to report about exploded. Dale begs to tell the story because he knows the story the most but Lindsey not trusting him since his last flop calls back Helen and she comes quickly.

Reports the tragedy, while Dale assists her and admires her behind the camera. Helen is extremely good at her job and has excellent news instincts.
Not everyone is a fan of this beautiful moment, a producer says she's only working up the emotions of people and the report was a little bit too explicit for the network.

Lindsey tries to persuade Helen to come back to work there but it wasn't going to ask easy as Lindsey anticipated, she accepts on the condition that Dale works with her. Lindsey has no option but to agree.

I don't see the Newsreader carrying much weight on TV, the storyline is quite bland if you ask me, however, we get the chance to imagine what CNN and FOX news anchors go through behind the scenes.