Review: The West Wing

The West Wing
Seasons 1-7

First aired September 1999 - May 2006

Created by Aaron Sorkin

Starring: Rob Lowe, Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, Janel Moloney, Stockard Channing, Dule Hill, and in later seasons, Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda.

Back around Thanksgiving, we started watching The West Wing when there was nothing else on to watch.

We were quickly hooked. The characters were three dimensional, the plot fast pasted, and the enormity of an incoming administration with which we strongly disagree led us to feel all the feels of the show, as well as analyze it as a fictional lesson in writing about politics (for me, anyway).

The last two episodes last night were what they needed to be, as President Jed Bartlett left the White House and the staff disbursed and went their separate ways.

We binged on this show much like we did Downton Abbey. It was captivating. It was obviously fictional - there was no 9/11 event in this show, no war in Iraq. But it did cover issues in Gaza and Kaiktsian, and concerns about China and Taiwan.

Basically, the show covered the same topics people still argue over today: education, taxes, infrastructure, wars, life and death.

I developed a fan girl crush on C.J. Craig, who was initially the White House press secretary and then later Chief of Staff. I had no idea Allison Janney could act so well.

The first four seasons were the best. Season 5 in particular felt way off; I think Aaron Sorkin had left as a show writer by then. The show found better footing in seasons 6 and 7, although I missed the focus on what was going on in the White House as the show followed the candidates for the next upcoming presidential election.

I was impressed with the way the writers handled the president's revelation that he had multiple sclerosis, something he hid from the public in his first election. I also liked that Marlee Matlin, who is deaf, had occasional roles and played a powerful poll analyst. The show also tackled PTSD after a shooting in season 2. It is good to be reminded that people with disabilities and illnesses can play crucial and vital roles in society.

Here's a rundown of the seasons from Wikipedia:

• In the first season, the Bartlet administration is in its second year and is still having trouble settling in and making progress on legislative issues.
• The second season covers the aftermath of a shooting at Rosslyn, the 2000 midterm elections, and dealings with a new Congress and sees scandal when the White House is rocked by allegations of criminal conduct and the President must decide whether he will run for a second term.
• The third and fourth seasons take an in-depth look at the campaign trail and the specter of both foreign and domestic terrorism.
• In the fifth season, the President begins to encounter more issues on the foreign front, while at home he faces off with the newly elected Speaker of the House, battles controversy over Supreme Court appointments and oversees a daring plan to save Social Security.
• The sixth season chronicles the quest to replace President Bartlet in the next election, following the primary campaigns of several candidates from both parties, while the President himself attempts to build his legacy but finds his ability to govern compromised by his illness.
• In the seventh season, the President must face a leak of confidential information about a secret Department of Defense program from inside the White House, while the Democratic and Republican candidates battle to succeed him in the general election.

The second season was shocking when an attempted assassination and shooting of staff took place. Given the nature of the USA, it seemed an inevitable event that had to be included.

The one thing the show did that I did not like was when Leo, who was Chief of Staff and played by John Spencer, had a heart attack and he was left alone in the woods at Camp David. It seemed a serious breach of protocol to simply fly off in a helicopter without all staff accounted for. He was found sometime later, still alive, but I did not care for this part at all.

The show first aired on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. I don't know why we did not see it when it aired initially. Perhaps there was some other show we were watching at the same time, or maybe I had meetings on Wednesday nights and simply missed the first few episodes. If I miss the first episodes of a series, I tend not to jump in midstream and try to catch up.

We started watching the show on Max, which was celebrating The West Wing's 25th anniversary season. On January 1, the show disappeared from Max (it later returned and is on there now), and we were only through the first three seasons, so I ordered the DVDs to finish it up. There is commentary on the DVDs we did not watch but I want to go back sometime and pick that up.

The characters made the show, but it was also sobering to realize the types of real-life crises that the president and his staff must deal with. If it is not dealt with properly, then it costs real lives, maybe even yours or mine. The people who make up the leadership of a country should be the most intelligent and empathetic souls we can find.