Letters to the Editor
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What else am I going to watch?
Andrew O'Hehir talked about how the scene with John Goodman replacing Bartlet felt off. However, this was a Sorkin episode. It was the last episode of season 4; the last episode that Sorkin made. I don't disagree with him on the overall point that John Wells is no Aaron Sorkin, but that was still Sorkin there. Maybe he thinks Sorkin was really just losing it at that point. I dunnno. Listen to the commentary on "25" and hear Sorkin talk about how he had things for season 5 planned very differently than what Wells came up with. It's almost sad hearing it, just knowing that Sorkin's season 5 would've undoubtedly been superior to what Wells gave us.
It has been better with Misiano and Graves being Exec Producers this year, but it's still not as great as it once was. I still watch it b/c eventhough it's not as great, it's still better than most of the other dramas out there. (I should stop watching TWW for Cold Case? Please.) Above all the else the show was just so incredibly well made. I'm not awed by it so much anymore, but I'm still going to miss it. At least I'll have the first 4 seasons on DVD to give me a fix.
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I didn't like these people in real life...
So many positive comments about this show run along the lines of "if only our real government could be this serious, idealistic, and effective." I would have to append "...and self-important." Having lived in DC during the 90's (without working for the government), I vividly remember the arrogance, the condescencion, and the closemindedness of those who believed that "I'm from the government, and I'm here to help you" was a statement that every American longed to hear.
"Wonks" never debated about principles or ideas; Wonkishness was always worship of those who had the most exacting knowledge about the "plumbing" of our government. Because, for wonks, there is a "correct" answer that could be gotten to if one is simply smart enough and thorough enough to get to it.
In the real world, smart people disagree all the time without being communists, facists, or bigots. In the West Wing, the smart people in Bartlett's office always had a smug and chipper answer for everything, as if it was a government run by Bill Maher.
I will admit that the post 9-11 episode (in the cafeteria) was thought-provoking, interesting and fair-handed...maybe because, as an episode out of the normal plot progression, it spent so much less time worshipping the brilliance of its characters and admitted that, maybe, just maybe, there are tough issues where good people can disagree.
Could have been a much better show...there were indeed glimpses of brilliance. I won't miss it...nor will I miss people wishing Bartlett and his team were leading our country.
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Hanging by my thumbs.
While The West Wing was my favorite show for 4 consecutive years, a show that inspired slavish devotion in me, as well as trekkie-like nerdiness regarding all things WW related, I am relieved to see it go. It has not been the same for me since Sorkin left. Sadly, it has not been the same for me since Lowe left.
While the show was probably the snobbiest show on TV for a while, equipped with latin references and all, there was a fraternity-like cameraderie between Josh, Sam, and Toby that was ireparably damaged when Sam left. Like most Sorkin fans I enjoy Joshua Malina, but he didn't fit into the story the same way.
I also miss all the interesting women who became nonexistenet when Sorkin left - Ainsley Hayes, Amy Gardner, Nancy McNally, Joey Lucas, Zoe Bartlett, and so many others kind of got lost in the shuffle.
Personalities and consequences changed after Sorkin left too. All of a sudden Leo was not just curmudgeonly - he was abrasive in the way you would imagine someone with that job would be. Josh had once been cocky but also a master of politics. Suddenly he was the one who nearly single-handedly destroyed a party. And the ever occasional glimmer of hope that had once been part of Toby was gone, and he was all ensconced in cynicism and dread.
The stories became melodramatic, and the dialogue was never so crisp again. The characters did not gel any longer like they once had. The magic was lost. At one time we only hoped that our real West Wing could be as principled and earnest and hardworking as these folks, while also being witty and funny, caring and capable, and geuninely enthralled with their role in our government. But now I don't find these folks any more interesting than our own government, and often just about as unprincipled.
I still have never missed an episode. I hung on even through the abysmal season 5. So now I'm glad it's being put out of its misery so I can pretend the last three seasons never happened. So John Spencer can forever live on in my head as the crusty, but lovable Leo McGarry, White House Chief of Staff.
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DVD is a Beautiful Thing...
I will miss the West Wing, but my grieving began after season 4. There was an undeniable magic and innocence that carried over from Aaron Sorkin's writing of The American President to his creation that many of us fell in love with in his West Wing.
I never felt more proud to be an American then when living vicariously through the principled, passionate, and poetic characters Sorkin so brilliantly put on screen, it was no less than a modern camelot.
I am a conservative republican, and Jedd Bartlet is someone you would dream of having in office. But more than idealized characters, Aaron Sorkin's writing had something that gave the show life, it had heart. We cared about their lives because they cared about each other. It also had both perfect comedic and dramatic timing. He could go from witty banter to heart pumping drama in two seconds flat. I still remember things like, GW, BLUE BLUE! Or, Lock it down, we're crashed.
The whole episode where they found Zoe was so anti-climatic compared to when she was taken. It was an ominous sign of what was to come when Aaron Sorkin left after season 4.
My only solace is I can watch the first 4 seasons on DVD, and have many many times.