I'm a huge fan of The Newsroom. I tend to not always agree with Aaron Sorkin's political views, and the show definitely has some problems, but I grew up hero worshiping Cronkite, Buckley, and Murrow, and as such the show, much like The West Wing, harkens back to a better time in Journalism, a more pure idea of the mandate of cable news. For me, I can almost always be moved to joy by Season One, Episode Seven, the episode about the announcement of the death of Bin Laden. As I've traveled and met people, I've learned that not everyone, even in this country, was affected by 9/11 on the same level as I was, so I'll explain something. I'm a Maryland boy. The biggest industry in our state is government. My good friend's father was meant to be in the Pentagon, in that wing, on 9/11. I have family that work at potential targets for the third plane. Many of my classmates went to Afghanistan. Nearly everyone I know back home is in similar circumstances. When those planes hit, all the coverage was of New York, but Maryland and Virginia were hit by an emotional bodyblow when those planes hit. 9/11 is the defining moment of my life. I remember exactly where I was. I remember the confusion as a student aide stormed into our biology classroom and, pushing past the very confused teacher, switched on the TV. I remember spending the entire day watching CNN, waiting for calls from friends and family saying that they were alright.

I also remember that I was working the late shift at the gas station on May 2, 2011. It was a surreal night, almost a television moment in real life. A regular customer came in to buy cigarettes, and said that he had heard a rumor that Bin Laden had been killed. We were talking, and another regular, a guy I know who works in DC came in, and planted a radio on the counter. The news was playing President Obama's press release. As we were celebrating, a state trooper came in, and he was nearly in tears. He had a friend in DCPD. I was about to ditch the coffee, so I gave everyone a fill on the house, but the owner of the local liquor store, who happens to be Muslim, did me one better and brought down a bottle of Scotch. We were out there in front of our gas station two hours after closing, getting drunk in public with a cop, and as people came by, we told them all the news. I have never seen such an outpouring of relief, spontaneous hugging, love, just... joy in my entire life. Politics didn't matter, race didn't matter, religion didn't matter. It was finally over. One of the worst decades in American history was over.

So, that episode of The Newsroom deals with that night, as it might have happened in a real Newsroom. It captured the atmosphere of that night perfectly, the joy, the relief, the periods of brotherhood between all Americans, at least those on the East Coast. It was brilliant. Yeah, the subplots are a little goofy, and it has a few cloying moments, but I think that's perfect for the subject. The feel of the episode was like if someone was watching our little party and adapted it for television. I can watch it over, and over, and over, and it always transports me back to that night. I think it's one of the best episodes of television I've ever seen.