Initially proposed and broadcast as a 13-episode series for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Ken Finkleman's The Newsroom (1996-2005) earned a televised resurrection roughly six years later and went out with a bang. Those familiar with hit shows like The Office (both the US and UK programs) and older favorites like The Larry Sanders Show will find The Newsroom's documentary-style format refreshing but pleasantly familiar...not to mention its dry, scathing portrayal of an office environment and the neurotic folks that work there. Revolving around the exploits of George Findlay (Finkleman) and his unfortunate staff, The Newsroom aims its razor-sharp eye at television production---or the lack thereof---in the same vein as Sidney Lumet's Network, so unsuspecting audiences will be all the better for it.

2002's made-for-TV movie Escape from The Newsroom marked the official comeback of the series, while the second proper season (2003-2004) helped get The Newsroom back up to full speed. It established a slightly darker tone for the characters---yes, even darker than before---by stripping away some of the first season's playful satire in favor of more cynical overtones. Surprisingly, The Newsroom didn't crumble under its own weight; instead, it found a strong balance and introduced a few new faces to make things interesting. It wasn't quite as engaging as the first season, for obvious reasons, but the six-year absence didn't seem to slow things down too much.

Season 3 maintains the deliberate pace set by the previous year's crop of episodes: plenty of familiar elements are still on board, but a few new paths are taken to keep things relatively fresh. The most obvious are several new characters, including segment producer Jason (played by author Shaughnessy Bishop-Stall), George's new boss Susan (Sarah Strange) and new assistant Nora (Kristin Booth)---and at least one attempt at a visual overhaul, as evidenced by the screen capture above (more on that soon enough). Though this third and final season is roughly half the size of the other two, it's still a strong collection that fans will enjoy. This two-disc set includes the following episodes:

By the end of series finale "Learning to Fly" (seen at top), fans of The Newsroom will wonder if they've stumbled onto an entirely different show altogether---yet to the credit of Finkleman and company, the third season retains its darkly funny roots and off-center perspective. Presented in a variety of animation styles---not to mention utilizing a surreal, trippy stream of consciousness---"Learning to Fly" serves as an unexpected yet strangely appropriate closer for this unorthodox series. Of course, the five other episodes are also up to par, including "One Dumb Idea"---in which the segment producers need to drum up ideas for a sitcom---and "Baghdad Bound", which finds Jim the victim of a kidnapping in the Middle East. It's unfortunate that this final season trims the number of episodes by more than half (especially since the price is the same!), but at least The Newsroom didn't go out with a whimper. Less is more, as they say.

Presented on DVD by Goldhill Entertainment, this two-disc set follows suit with the first season in most regards: though smaller in scope, we still get plenty of scathing comedy, reprehensible characters and stomach-churning situations that remain largely faithful to the original 13 episodes. The technical presentation is relatively strong---with only a few minor irritations---while the included bonus features are very light but interesting. Let's take a closer look, shall we?

Presented in their original 1.78:1 aspect ratio, all 13 episodes look very good overall. Unfortunately, none of these episodes are anamorphically enhanced---and for a 2006 release, that's pretty darn unacceptable. Regardless of this, the natural color palette and documentary feel of the series translate reasonably well to DVD, while there aren't any major digital problems to speak of. The English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix is a bit leaner than most television productions, but it's certainly good enough to get the job done. No subtitles have been provided, but Closed Captioning is available.

Speaking of which, included on Disc 2 is a collection of Behind-the-Scenes Footage for the closing episode (18:14 total); this includes clips of the green-screen process, as well as location designs and animated transitions. Unfortunately, it's presented in fairly raw form, while the footage jumps awkwardly from a 1.33:1 format to 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen (unlike, say, the actual episodes!). Closing things out is a series of four Trailers for other CBC releases.

This may not be the meatiest collection of The Newsroom, but those who enjoy its particular brand of comedy should be pleased with what's on board here. It's unfortunate that this 2-disc set contains roughly half the material as the other two, yet still carries the same price tag...not to mention that it could've easily fit on one DVD. Additionally, the lack of anamorphic enhancement was an sloppy oversight by Goldhill Entertainment; some may also complain about the lack of extras, but at least we're given a few scraps. Overall, this is certainly an underwhelming collection when compared to previous releases, but it's still a decent package that fans should enjoy. Recommended.