TV: The West Wing

[GabeTravels]

The last thread on this is 7 years old, so forgive me for starting a new one.


My parents swear by this show and I always remembered them watching when I was younger.

Obviously, not a show that's meant towards that younger demographic, but I just started watching a month ago on Netflix, and boy is it excellent.


From what I hear the later seasons aren't as good, but I'm almost through Season 3 and I've got nothing but good things to say about it.

Click to read more...

 

[discostu]

The last thread on this is 7 years old, so forgive me for starting a new one.


My parents swear by this show and I always remembered them watching when I was younger.

Obviously, not a show that's meant towards that younger demographic, but I just started watching a month ago on Netflix, and boy is it excellent.


From what I hear the later seasons aren't as good, but I'm almost through Season 3 and I've got nothing but good things to say about it.

I love the show. I watched it during the original run, and did a rewatch last year. It mostly holds up really well.

If you are around season 3, then you're at the point where cracks start to show. It picks back up again in the last two seasons that focus on the next set of candidates, and it's amazing to watch those today, as, the plotlines there share so many parallels to the 2008 Presidential elections in a case of life imitating art.

 

[Jumptheshark]

for me---jump season 5 and go to season 6

Hate season 5

My favorite two episodes were the first two of season 2

 

[tony d]

Some great TV. Each actor played his or her role to a tee. Have watched most of the seasons on DVD and recently got the final season.

 

[GabeTravels]

Just finished The Debate.

Really, really cool episode and apparently it was a Live episode when it originally aired, which is amazing to me.

 

[HABsurde]

for me---jump season 5 and go to season 6

Hate season 5

My favorite two episodes were the first two of season 2

The creator and main writer, Aaron Sorkin left after season 4, it does show in season 5, season 6 and 7 are better with a new dynamic (new presidential race) but season 5 as some good episodes with one of my favorite (The Supremes) with Glenn Close, good actress....

one of the 3 best series for me

 

[HABsurde]

Just finished The Debate.

Really, really cool episode and apparently it was a Live episode when it originally aired, which is amazing to me.

even better, it was live twice, first for eastern time zone and then 3 hours later for pacific time zone

 

[HABsurde]

Some great TV. Each actor played his or her role to a tee. Have watched most of the seasons on DVD and recently got the final season.

Great acting you bet

Bradley Whitford
Allison Janney
Martin Sheen
Richard Schiff

they were all great....

And the legal counsel

John Laroquette (1 episode but a great one)
Oliver Platt
Emilie Procter

 

[Liberati0n*]

Great acting you bet

Bradley Whitford
Allison Janney
Martin Sheen
Richard Schiff

they were all great....

And the legal counsel

John Laroquette (1 episode but a great one)
Oliver Platt
Emilie Procter

I always thought the guy who played Leo was a pretty horrible actor, but everyone else seems to disagree.

 

[HABsurde]

I always thought the guy who played Leo was a pretty horrible actor, but everyone else seems to disagree.

John Spencer is not on my listing ; ) although he wasn't that bad, i think they overrun the character at a certain point

 

[Archangel]

thought the last two season where far more balanced then the first 5. john spencer was much like the character Leo. He was a recovering alcoholic and that is one reason why his working resumer was lacking sometimes. He admitted that he was told in the 80's either sober up or find a new occupation. His first job out of rehab was LA Law if i am not mistaken

 

[Liberati0n*]

John Spencer is not on my listing ; ) although he wasn't that bad, i think they overrun the character at a certain point

I didn't mean to imply that he was. I've seen a lot of praise for both the character and the actor and I just never got it. The character is...okay. The acting seems pretty questionable to me.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

I'm watching all the re-runs on Netflix and this show is great!

 

[member 51464]

I've somehow never seen an episode!

 

[GabeTravels]

Almost finished up...just watched the Election episodes in the last season.

Glad I didn't have the result spoiled for me. Emotion tugging episode.

 

[Say Hey Kid]

Almost finished up...just watched the Election episodes in the last season. Glad I didn't have the result spoiled for me. Emotion tugging episode.

Watched the shooting episode today and it was pretty emotional also.

 

[optimus2861]

Almost finished up...just watched the Election episodes in the last season.

Glad I didn't have the result spoiled for me. Emotion tugging episode.

There were rumors that the showrunners flipped the election result because of John Spencer's death; that originally Alan Alda's character was going to win, but they felt that it would be too much of a downer ending on top of Leo's death. I'm not sure if that was ever confirmed.

When watching the nuclear power plant "controversy" they cooked up to deflate Alda's character, it did strike me as far-fetched. I wonder if that was concocted after Spencer's death as some in-story means to make the election close, rather than the Alda cakewalk it was heading towards.

 

[Archangel]

There were rumors that the showrunners flipped the election result because of John Spencer's death; that originally Alan Alda's character was going to win, but they felt that it would be too much of a downer ending on top of Leo's death. I'm not sure if that was ever confirmed.

When watching the nuclear power plant "controversy" they cooked up to deflate Alda's character, it did strike me as far-fetched. I wonder if that was concocted after Spencer's death as some in-story means to make the election close, rather than the Alda cakewalk it was heading towards.

John Wells gave an interview at a TV workshop a few years ago where he addressed the theories going on and he confirmed that Spencers death did cause rewrites to happen. He also confirmed that spencer's death was not as shocking to those who worked on the show to those who watched it. Spencer starting having health problems during season 4 and that is one reason why it was decided to write into the show the problems he was having. As for the election, he confirmed that Alda's character did win in one of the original drafts, but it had been decided before spencer's death that Smits would win. According to Wells, the big rewrites were in the last few episodes and that a script written to flash forward 4 years (taking up where the flash forward in the season premier left off) and that when Josh walked up and they called him the man of the hour, it was not about the arrival of POTUS, but the fact Donna had just given birth and a few other things that wrapped up the series rather nicely. Wells lobbied NBC to add on more show to the series to wrap up all the characters in what they did after the time frame of the show (like wells did with third watch) but NBC would only do it if the cast reduced their rates and as we know, the cast was a unified block (minus Lowe--but that is another story) and they enmasse refused and there for the actual final episode written was never shot.

 

[Richer's Ghost]

West Wing is so good, it reminds me how lacking The Newsroom is.

Season 1 was fascinating because I'd never seen that style of writing and acting in a series.
Seasons 2 & 3 are just home runs as the characters solidified their roles playing off each other.

 

[GabeTravels]

Just finished my 2nd viewing of the series.

Wish it had continued past 7 seasons.

 

[Johnny LaRue]

The high quality of the West Wing is especially surprising given how terrible the Newsroom is. Anyone has an even chance of liking it even if they legitimately believe the Newsroom is the worst show on TV right now.

 

[Tawnos]

One of my favorites of all-time. So much about it was great. Yeah... a lot of season 5 is a skip-over, except for the first couple of episodes. What really annoyed me about season 5 was that there were a bunch of things that happened at the end of season 4 that they just decided to forget about. 1-4 are really what it's all about.

Re: John Spencer's acting... for the most part, I think he was phenomenal. The problem people seem to have is that he's not as polished as other actors are, particularly in comparison to Sheen's and Schiff's performances in the show. He almost plays it like a character in a 50s movie, but it feels somewhat out of place in 90s television. That makes sense, though, since Leo is playing an extraordinarily unique character in modern society... that of a "Kingmaker." I do have to say that the decision to make him the VP candidate was truly, truly awful. They wanted to keep him on the show, but couldn't think of a way to do it with CJ in the CoS spot and Josh running the campaign.

Generally speaking, the worst actor who got opening credits over the run of the show was Josh Malina.

 

[No Fun Shogun]

Loved that series to death, though I will be quick to say that it started going downhill once they gravitated away from the Bartlet White House more towards the Santos campaign.

 

[le_sean]

West Wing is 2nd GOAT after The Sopranos. Certainly the best written series ever.

 

[donghabs98]

It's a lengthy bump but I've started watching the series and it is a freshing to watch a political series grounded in some realism and reality. Mind you I like Scandal and House of Cards but they reality and realism is in the rear view mirror for them now.