Emily Mortimer and Jeff Daniels in The Newsroom (courtesy of HBO)

Since "The Newsroom" premiered on HBO last night, mainstream viewers have the chance to decide for themselves: does theprogram make the cut or is it time to stop the presses? 

Emily Mortimer, playing the role of road-weary producer Mackenzie MacHale on the series, hits the nail on the head by saying: “It’s not an original story.” But that doesn’t mean it’s bad TV.

In terms of style, subject and tempo the first episode of "Newsroom" is a hair’s breadth away from that of Aaron Sorkin’s previous televised venture, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Fast, hold-no-punches dialog has the same cadence as "The West Wing’s" backroom confrontations — personal and professional relationships are nestled togetherlike Chinese takeout boxes on a boardroom table. Other dramatizations of broadcast journalism are clearlyreferenced with zeal, including "Network."

The series kicked off by introducing news anchor Will McAvoy, played by Jeff Daniels with no shortage of shouting. Hazily responding to questions at a panel set in Northwestern University, he comes-to in the midst of delivering a vitriolic tirade against the current state of affairs in America. The crowd is enraptured, soaking the rant up via smartphone. The scene closes as McAvoy’s ushered out of the building in a flurry of media attention, haunted by a woman he spotted in the crowd.

Viewers then meet the staff of McAvoy’s office slowly and deliberately, like an intern on the first day of the job. Actress Alison Pill is introduced as Margret “Maggie” Jordan, initially a shaken, disparaged version of Pam from "The Office." She argues over a relationship issue with Don, the young-gunning industry upstart played in plaid by Thomas Sadoski. Left quite vague, their romantic entanglement will undoubtedly be wellspring of plot-points as the series develops. Dev Patel acts as Neal, another player offering dramatic possibilities in the ensemble cast of a workplace.

A walking allusion to journalism’s bygone days then enters the mix: Charlie Skinner, the aging network charmer with an overworked liver. Sam Waterston plays the part with plenty of eye-twinkle, informing McAvoy that his politically incorrect attitudes have led his staff to cut and run. After bouts of screaming throughout the building — between McAvoy and Skinner, as well as Don and McAvoy — it’s revealed that the anchor’s new crew has already been selected. MacHale is set to produce his show,news that sends The "Newsroom’s" curmudgeon of a protagonist storming out of his NYC office.

MacHale then arrives at the writer’s bullpen, looking like Holly Hunter in Broadcast News plus a zesting of Captain Janeway from Star Trek Voyager. First, she jumps at the chance to involve herself in the affairs of Jordan and Jim Harper, her chipper right-hand man. Acted by John Gallagher Jr., his relationship with MacHale is a mirror image of the mentor-mentee power structure between Jack Donaghy and Liz Lemon on "30 Rock."

Cornering McAvoy in his office, MacHale proceeds to wax poetic on the virtues of their chosen professional pursuit. She implores him for assistance in a quest to “reclaim the fourth estate.”

He fires back, saying he dropped a million dollars from his salary in exchange for the authority to terminate her position. In one of the episode’s brighter comedic moments, she asks: “How much money do you make?”

Egos in the office collide continually, as Harper stumbles across a piece of breaking news that may warrant coverage. The AP has issued a bulletin noting the death of a few workers on an oilrig off the shore of Louisiana. In an irrefutably sly bit of plot twisting, a caption reveals the date“April 20, 2010.” The crisis surrounding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has begun to play out.

From this point forward, the team heads straight forthe big finish. It’s all hands on deck as the story develops.Harper sticks his neck out to defend anonymous sources at BP and Halliburton. Culminating with uplifting enthusiasm straight out of "Anchorman," the report is broadcast to resounding applause. McAvoy’s superhuman ability to ad-lib carries the evening. Jordan even wrangles an off-the-cuff interview with a clueless inspector from the Minerals Management Service — voiced, in a cute cameo moment,by Jesse Eisneberg.

The pilot ends with a glimmer of optimism. In the balmy excitement following their show’s near-death success, all concerned parties around the office make amends by exchanging quippy niceties. Parting at the elevator bay, McAvoy and MacHale delve substantively into the details of their once-bright romantic relationship.As the doors slide shut, she nearly exclaims that it she who caught his eye in the episode’s opening scene, before thinking better of it. They are, no doubt, to be continued.

She gazes at two pieces of paper in her hands, penned as her response to this question: Why is America thegreatest country in the world?

“IT’S NOT,” reads the first. Then, “BUT IT COULD BE.”

This episode is no game-changing artifact concerning Sorkin’s significance as a storyteller. But if heartfeltsentiments behind "The Newsroom" manage to shine through his zingers, in time, it could be.

Reach reporter Graham Clark here.