"The West Wing"
"The West Wing"
#1"The West Wing"
Posted: 5/15/15 at 11:16pm
I'm extremely late to the party on this one but now getting into it thanks to Netflix. Just started the first episode of Season 2. What was the general consensus of this show when it was on the air? Critically praised? Good ratings?
FishermanBob
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/9/12
#2"The West Wing"
Posted: 5/16/15 at 1:06am
Yes and yes. One of the finest shows to ever run on TV IMO. It won a Peabody award for Excellence in Broadcasting and was showered with Emmy noms and wins season after season. For the 2001-02 season NINE regular cast members received Emmy nominations. NINE. I bought all 7 seasons on DVD 5 or 6 years ago so I could watch it whenever I wanted. The writing and the acting were both superb. Some felt the writing declined a bit in later seasons after Sorkin departed but I don't share that view. I think it came into its own in Season 2 and if you are just starting that season, you will be watching the 2 parter "In The Shadow of Two Gunmen" which was simply outstanding. You're 15 years late to the party but the most important thing is, you finally got there. I saved some chips and a few beers for you.
#2"The West Wing"
Posted: 5/16/15 at 1:19am
"Two Cathedrals" is, in my opinion, the finest hour of broadcast television drama ever.
The show was consistently outstanding the first four years. They lost their way in season 5 (the season most West Wing fans don't speak of), but got back on track in the final two seasons.
There is a marked diffrence in tone and structure in the Sorkin years versus the non-Sorkin years. No one could write the witty, fast-paced dialogue the way Sorkin could, and the famous walk and talks all but disappeared after he left. The show also lost a lot of its humor after Sorkin departed (everyone became very bleak for some reason). Gone were the quirky little things like Big Block of Cheese Day.
Nevertheless, all seven seasons are inherently enjoyable and extremely well-acted. Talk about a great ensemble. Everyone was outstanding, though Allison Janney's work was never less than brilliant. There is a scene in a season four episode called The Women of Qumar where she is simply breathtaking.
#3TWW
Posted: 5/16/15 at 6:37am
It's the one show I can watch over and over and never tire of. My wife and I have watched the series, start to finish, three times in the last five years. It's probably my favorite show of all time.
Pretty pretty please don't you ever ever feel like you're less than f**ckin' perfect!
lotiloti
Broadway Star Joined: 1/23/06
Liza's Headband
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/28/13
#7TWW
Posted: 5/16/15 at 11:47am
I'm one of those who thought the final three seasons were disappointing, but probably only by comparison to the first four. It just wasn't remotely the same. I never warmed to Jimmy Smits character Santos, especially as he more and more edged out Bartlet for screen time.
I wish they had stuck with the Bartlet administation instead of focusing on the upcoming election of his successor, as good as Alan Alda was. I'm sure a lame-duck presidency has plot limitations, but that's where good writing comes in.
what was the reason of Sorkin leaving?
From a very interesting Hollywood Reporter article last year, featuring cast and crew looking back at the show (linked below):
SORKIN: Tommy and I had been discussing our exits from the show since the third season. It was an impossible decision because we'd built a home for ourselves and even felt like we kind of had kids — although by then we both actually had kids — but we also knew that it was time to do whatever we were going to do next and give the show to fresh legs. On a rainy day in late March, we asked our publicists to work with the publicists at Warners to draft a press release. We gathered the cast in the Roosevelt Room and told them that this was our last episode.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/west-wing-uncensored-aaron-sorkin-703010
Beyoncé is not an ally. Actions speak louder than words, Mrs. Carter. #Dubai #$$$
Updated On: 5/16/15 at 11:47 AM
#8TWW
Posted: 5/16/15 at 1:07pm
The last time we finished the series, I immediately wanted to start over at the beginning because the first four seasons were so wonderful.
SPOILERS:
I could never get over CJs new position. It really made little sense, considering her lack of foreign policy knowledge. I always spend the last two seasons saying, "This is just dumb. Josh was the obvious choice."
End spoilers.
I am still hoping for a reboot with Sam Seaborne as president, maybe Charlie as VP? and everyone else in important, but different roles. Of course, Bartlett would be a close adviser.
Pretty pretty please don't you ever ever feel like you're less than f**ckin' perfect!
#9TWW
Posted: 5/16/15 at 6:22pm
Hill Street Blues
NYPD Blue
Thirtysomething (personal fave--sorry)
Seinfeld
The West Wing
There was so much great television in the late 80's-90's and all of it led to The West Wing, sort of the apogee of the best that television could ever do. We ALL wanted to live in a world where the inspirational music would kick in 5 minutes before the end of every episode, and Bartlett would pop through an unexpected door and set everything to rights again. It remains in a class by itself.
#10TWW
Posted: 5/16/15 at 7:38pm
"It was a critics' darling, a ratings bonanza, and is still considered one of the finest intellectual dramas on television.
Unlike adamgreer, I thought all three final seasons were quite bland and disappointing. The first four, however, are absolutely fantastic. "
Don't get me wrong, seasons 6 and 7 pale in comparison to the first 4. I just don't hate them like I do season 5. There were a few really good episodes at the end (the one where the shuttle leak is revealed featured a brilliant scene with CJ and Toby), but nothing like those early years.
I mostly missed the quirky humor of the early years. There was far less intellectualism in the later years.
#11TWW
Posted: 5/16/15 at 9:34pm
Spoilers(?)
The whole Zoey kidnap thing wasn't resolved to my satisfaction - it was Qumari terrorists or something, right? Anyway, I always wondered how that would have played out if Sorkin had written the conclusion to that storyline, not just the beginning. I've actually only ever re-watched the first four seasons...but now I feel a tremendous need to dig out S501, and see if time has changed my perspective.
When I watch Mad Men now, even though Elizabeth Moss is a great actress, I still see Zoey.
Beyoncé is not an ally. Actions speak louder than words, Mrs. Carter. #Dubai #$$$
Updated On: 5/16/15 at 09:34 PM
#12TWW
Posted: 5/16/15 at 10:14pm
"Spoilers(?)
The whole Zoey kidnap thing wasn't resolved to my satisfaction - it was Qumari terrorists or something, right? "
I don't think they were ever very clear on who it was. They just said it was a very amateur job.
Pretty pretty please don't you ever ever feel like you're less than f**ckin' perfect!
#13TWW
Posted: 5/17/15 at 10:43am
Pretty pretty please don't you ever ever feel like you're less than f**ckin' perfect!
#14TWW
Posted: 5/17/15 at 9:57pm
I, too, was able to first watch the series because of Netflix. I think it was 1 or 2 years ago that I finally concluded the entire series. I immediately started over and watch the whole 7 seasons again. I just recently started reaching for a 4TH time.
THE WEST WING is compelling, relatable, and topical fiction television writing. In terms of values and consideration for grand improvement, Jed Bartlett is the future president that I hope for.
Yes, the series went downward in the final couple seasons, but even then, it was still above par.
I think THE WEST WING is a series that could easily come back with a new president and be just as good.
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle
--Aristotle
