Letters to the Editor
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They lost me early on
The first season was magnificent; in particular I loved the way that these idealists had to give away *some* of what they wanted in order to achieve the rest. That FELT real.
After that first season, I think the writers read their own press clippings: the amount of "walk & talk" increased exponentially and the characters seemed to win every ideological battle. I hung in there for a number of years, but it didn't feel real any more.
Did I read somewhere that West Wing was "Clinton without the sex scandal"? I agree with that assessment: the show had something to prove in the real world. I loved them for that ambition, but I think it corrupted the show's ability to appear true.
I loved the show when it presented a gray world. After they went to black-and-white, they lost me. I stopped watching regularly the season that Bartlett ran for re-election.