Ah, the post that started it all. The West Wing Week is an outgrowth of this here weekly feature; the series was simply too mammoth to be contained in just one post. Either that, or I figured it was a good way to get everyone else to carry the load for me (a thought that has merit to it) — I could just refer back to another post instead of actually dissecting a topic.

Seriously though, The West Wing was a show with so many strengths in so many different areas, not to mention so many faithful amongst our writers and readers, that we felt the need to not only share a lot with you, but also to do so from various perspectives.

The point being that a lot of ground has been covered already, with some yet to come. As a result, I figured the best way to flash back on The West Wing was to just look back, retrospective style, at the highlights that came together to make season after season, all adding up to one phenomenal series. Let’s see what we’ve got. Read the rest of this entry »

When it came to casting, The West Wing was a rock star. And I’m not just talking about one-off guests or mini-arcs, but the heart of the cast as well. But since I could likely get lost saying “a little something” about each one, let’s just leave it at this: job extremely well done.

There was one role — within the framework of the show — that was actually filled twice. Or so one could argue. And that was the privilege of getting dumped on by Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff), as White House Deputy Communications Director.

Before (a variation on) the theme even struck a chord, we were introduced to Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe). Sam came to us, like the rest of the administration, already in progress. In fact, it wasn’t until the season two premiere (”In the Shadow of Two Gunmen”) that we learned how Sam (and everyone else) found his way to the Bartlet White House. Read the rest of this entry »

Kids, I know we’re crotch-deep into the new fall television season, but we wanted to do something else to not only highlight one of our favorite programs of the recent past, but to have Ivey stop complaining about the cancellation of According to Jim. Over the next week, we’re going to highlight The West Wing with a number of well-thought, comprehensive articles. Or, whatever we can dig up on the Interweb.

So, you might be asking yourself this question while walking down a hall muttering references to ancient Roman law: Why The West Wing? Basically, it was one of the best written and acted dramas in recent history. Not because it was rife with left-leaning politics, or religion, or social commentary; though the show was rife with liberal politics, religion, and social commentary. Even if you stripped that all away, it was still one of the best acted written and acted dramas.

Read the rest of this entry »

Brothers and Sisters feels like it’s treading water, waiting to figure out which direction it wants to go. The land deal that Tommy is orchestrating is going to blow up in his face like a land mine. Rebecca’s father has come back at the same time that Ryan is giving Nora mixed signals about his interest in the Walker plan.

I never know from one minute to the next about what is going on with Sarah’s company. Kitty’s marriage is a sham at the time she is expecting her first child. Justin had a lame, dead-end storyline with Chelsea, his pseudo sponsor. Nora puts energy into her cancer center only when she isn’t busy meddling with the family’s drama. And Kevin should have quit his position with Robert several episodes ago: What can possibly be in it for him to stay? Read the rest of this entry »

(Season 3, Episode 13 – “It’s Not Easy Being Green” )

All right. I admit it. I fell for it. When I saw the previews for this week, I did indeed think that Nora had slept with Roger, Sarah had slept with Ethan, and Rebecca had slept with Kyle. It never occurred to me that in every single situation the sex would fall through.

I have to admit, I was more surprised by the idea of Rebecca cheating on Justin than I was surprised by her faithfulness. Let me unpack that statement a bit: When Rebecca first arrived on the show and tangled with Sarah’s husband Joe, she didn’t seem like the most trustworthy girl. I think she has grown up a lot, though, and her commitment to Justin demonstrates a new-found maturity, as does her new job.

Now, watch, she’ll completely contradict that statement in the next episode…. Read the rest of this entry »

The brief back-and-forth I recently had about shows and their creators (following a great review of the Scrubs premiere) led me to pay a visit to my DVD bookcase. Over the years, my wife and I have assembled quite the collection of TV on DVD, and every few months I cycle back to the beginning and watch every show all over again. Well, since the baby not so much, but let’s just say that I have a fair number of cycles under my belt already.

Anyway, the back-and-forth was about Aaron Sorkin and his behemoth, The West Wing. The gist (if you’re too lazy to have clicked the link above) was that when a creator who is the voice of a show leaves, the tendency is for the quality to go with him or her. I suggested that this curse did not befall The West Wing, and was supported to an extent. Under contention? Season five. (Before I begin; one big mistake that Aaron Sorkin made? Letting Rob Lowe go.)

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(Season 3, Episode 11 – “A Father Dreams”)

I feel like an idiot for actually thinking that MAYBE Brothers and Sisters was going to attempt a dramatic storyline rather than a MELODRAMATIC storyline. What was I thinking? After the steamy scenes in the breath-taking ad for Episode 11 of Brothers and Sisters before the holidays, I had hopes for a scandalous affair between Kevin (who is gay!) and Tommy’s wife Julia (who is boring!) and a long, ugly drawn out custody battle to warm us through the winter. So, imagine my disappointment last night to see that Kevin was trapped instead in a series of dreams and he didn’t even get a pair of ruby slippers out of it.

It’s not a bad thing for a TV show to operate in the dream world. House has done is fabulously (especially in the two-part finale last season). However, in the episode of Brothers and Sisters last night, there wasn’t even a discussion of what those dreams might mean. Well. That isn’t completely fair: Kevin did realize that his dreams about Elizabeth indicated that he wanted children and that he thought he might be a good father after all. However, why did his dreams of becoming a father include seducing his biological daughter’s mother? Yes, I know how babies are made, but Kevin is GAY. Gay, gay, gay. I would have expected him to have dreams about a mayonnaise jar and a turkey baster. Read the rest of this entry »