The West Wing

[Rado_N]

I thought it was genius myself, brilliantly written, researched and acted. One of the consultants, Dee Dee Myers, was Press Secretary to Clinton - as well as other former White House staffers and political operatives. You're never going to get a perfect reflection of reality (week long meetings and bureaucracy) but it was as close as I think you'll see and the characters were fantastic.

Obviously it's all opinions, but for me nothing has yet captured me more, with only The Sopranos coming close.

 

[moses]

I thought it was genius myself, brilliantly written, researched and acted. One of the consultants, Dee Dee Myers, was Press Secretary to Clinton - as well as other former White House staffers and political operatives. You're never going to get a perfect reflection of reality (week long meetings and bureaucracy) but it was as close as I think you'll see and the characters were fantastic.

Obviously it's all opinions, but for me nothing has yet captured me more, with only The Sopranos coming close.

I thought The Wire was better in all aspects, but I am more familiar with political theory / processes than police so I wouldn't be as au fait or critical.

The West Wing is brilliant TV but it's a lot more fictional than most people concede. It's a highly stylised and romanticised version in my opinion.

The characters are great, but almost vaudville in their lack of depth ... caricatures of good and evil, the only time the line is crossed is along partisan grounds.

 

[Rado_N]

Stop spoiling my illusions you bastard! Nah I know it's not like a fly on the wall of the real White House or anything, but you expect a romanticised take on things with a drama series such as it is.

Anyway, I love it, but I am certainly looking forward to starting The Wire; the missus' mum has been promising to lend it me for ages but her uncle has it and he's useless so I'm not holding up much hope of getting it any time soon.

 

[moses]

Stop spoiling my illusions you bastard! Nah I know it's not like a fly on the wall of the real White House or anything, but you expect a romanticised take on things with a drama series such as it is.

Anyway, I love it, but I am certainly looking forward to starting The Wire; the missus' mum has been promising to lend it me for ages but her uncle has it and he's useless so I'm not holding up much hope of getting it any time soon.

It is great, and it's taken me ages to put my finger on what I didn't like about it ... I really enjoyed watching it because it's so well done in so many ways but it always niggled.

The Wire is mindblowing. Well it was like a drug for me.

 

[zain]

Now that i'm done West Wing...I'm trying to figure out what to watch?! Its like I hate myself for watching it all!

 

[zain]

Just started watching a few clips of the show on Youtube again...

and my word, honestly, what an amazing amazing TV Show..

If anyone hasn't seen it, what is wrong with you...one of the best things on television ever...

 

[Count Duckula]

"Roads. It's not sexy. No one will ever raise money for it. But nine out of ten African aid projects fail because the medicine or the personnel can’t get to the people in need…. Blanket the continent with highways and then maybe get started on other priorities."

"You're right... it's not sexy. But, if that's what you think needs fixing, I'll give you ten billion dollars to fix it with."

 

[zain]

Bartlet for President......

 

[Melbourne Red]

I'm about to watch the infamously sub-par season 4 so that I can quickly get onto the apparently well above par seasons 5-7. It's at this stage stage that I wish America's big networks didn't make their series 22 episodes each.

 

[Melbourne Red]

I thought The Wire was better in all aspects, but I am more familiar with political theory / processes than police so I wouldn't be as au fait or critical.

The West Wing is brilliant TV but it's a lot more fictional than most people concede. It's a highly stylised and romanticised version in my opinion.

The characters are great, but almost vaudville in their lack of depth ... caricatures of good and evil, the only time the line is crossed is along partisan grounds.

Agree with this post.

As intelligent a show the West Wing is, IMO it's still ultimately a bit of a popcorn TV show whereas The Wire, if I may briefly speak like a gigantic wanker, is art.

 

[zain]

I'm about to watch the infamously sub-par season 4 so that I can quickly get onto the apparently well above par seasons 5-7. It's at this stage stage that I wish America's big networks didn't make their series 22 episodes each.

seasons 6 and 7 are some of the best TV i have ever seen..

 

[duffer]

I'm about to watch the infamously sub-par season 4 so that I can quickly get onto the apparently well above par seasons 5-7. It's at this stage stage that I wish America's big networks didn't make their series 22 episodes each.

Season 4 was great. you've got the election and the debate if my memory serves.

its season 5 which is the weakest. that's the first one after the creator/writer left. its still got some great episodes (any of the ones with john goodman, meryl streep one).

 

[Uncle Junior]

I haven't read the thread to avoid the spoilers. How is this show? Is it realistic and original, or is it full of cliches and bad acting and in the end the good American saves all the lives, like in 24?

 

[B Cantona]

I haven't read the thread to avoid the spoilers. How is this show? Is it realistic and original, or is it full of cliches and bad acting and in the end the good American saves all the lives, like in 24?

I think it's great. It has its share of cliches, I don't think the acting can be faulted much, but its immensely watchable and to be honest, watching through the box set, I don't really recognise a 'drop off' in standard that some have cited

 

[Devilton]

I haven't read the thread to avoid the spoilers. How is this show? Is it realistic and original, or is it full of cliches and bad acting and in the end the good American saves all the lives, like in 24?

It paints a very, very rosy picture of governance and the white house in particular. It's idealist to a fault at times, but that said it did during the first 4 seasons have some of the best writing for a network show.

I personally loved it because all the characters and the smart, witty banter between them (more then you'll normally get with a US network show). It's unabashedly pro-democratic as well. Watch it for some of the performances and some key episodes (season 2 - finale is 40 minutes of exceptional TV).

To answer your question though. It's not 100% realistic nor should you expect it to be. The premise of the show is to follow the 2 terms of the president and his white house staff. A realistic portrayal would be boring as shite. It's sort of cliched, but not in a terrible way (if that makes sense). It's romanticized version of how the white house should be, and Bartlet is the president many people would have wanted if they could vote for a US President.

 

[Devilton]

I think it's great. It has its share of cliches, I don't think the acting can be faulted much, but its immensely watchable and to be honest, watching through the box set, I don't really recognise a 'drop off' in standard that some have cited

It lost its sense of humor after 9/11 (which makes sense as the country was jolted by real events). Also there is a change in tenor when Sorkin left. His style is quite distinctive and although the remaining seasons were good, they weren't as great as some in the first 4 seasons.

 

[Zen]

It's Sorkin, just watch the film the American President to get an idea of what he's like, if you like that...odds are you'll like his TV shows. A Few Good Men is also his script, but he wrote it as a play, still a damn good film though.

His stuff isn't about 'realism', although it isn't gimmicky like 24 or something either, it's about the dialogue and perfect casting for those roles. SportsNight is also brilliant, and Studio 60 had a lot of potential. The West Wing is one of the greatest shows ever under the Sorkin years, then it dropped off massively after he left, some people still liked it because of the political angle was still good, but I've always been a Sorkin fan so the show lost a lot for me when he went...the only episodes I actually watched from the last 2 seasons were the finale and the live debate one tbh. I have the set, but have never opened it past season 2 -_-

 

[Devilton]

24 is shit compared to West Wing. It really is...nothing in 24 makes sense, at least West Wing does educate people who are interested on some of the nuances of US government. In fact, if you find politics boring you probably won't like WW because a lot of episodes deal with powers and responsibilities the US president has (state of the union, mid terms, primarys, etc). As someone who didn't know that much about US Politics it was quite interesting for me to learn about it via the West Wing.

But yeah, totally different types of shows. 24 is for a much younger, dumber demographic who believe the world can be saved in 24 hours....and 8 times over the course of 8 seasons. It's a nonsense. West Wing is actually rooted in some semblance of reality. A romanticized, idealized one granted, but at least it could possibly happen.

 

[esmufc07]

Devilton is a TV snob. 24 is great TV. West Wing is too and I agree it's very educational Upto Season 4 so far, need to get back with it

 

[Zen]

To be honest, the first few seasons, well the first at least, of 24, are at least in the realms of possibility, which is why they are the best years of that show. When they started to turn Jack into a superhero(season 4 onwards) is when it started to get dumber and totally unrealistic, I don't think his death toll in the first three seasons put together is as much as it is in any of the final few seasons on their own.

The first season is still classic TV though.

 

[Uncle Junior]

24 is great TV.

 

[Devilton]

Devilton is a TV snob. 24 is great TV. West Wing is too and I agree it's very educational Upto Season 4 so far, need to get back with it

You don't need to be a snob to think 24 is rubbish. Maybe when it first started there were some redeeming qualities to the show, but as the seasons went on it become progressively worse. In the end it was painful to watch. Almost torturous you could say.

 

[Zen]

In the first 3 or 4 years, it was, but then it just turned into a gimmick when they got rid of like 5 regulars for like no reason. Then brought them back only to kill them pretty quickly, then killed another, only to randomly bring him back.....continuing to destroy it's own credibility.

It was no more gimmicky than shows like Dexter, Lost and stuff though.

 

[esmufc07]

In the first 3 or 4 years, it was, but then it just turned into a gimmick when they got rid of like 5 regulars for like no reason. Then brought them back only to kill them pretty quickly, then killed another, only to randomly bring him back.....continuing to destroy it's own credibility.

It was more gimmicky than shows like Dexter, Lost and stuff though.

Yeah I didn't like it when they brought Tony back, but most characters were killed off at the right time.

 

[Team Brian GB]

There wasn't so much a drop off in the West Wing in terms of series but a few of the storylines were not as well done as others in and around series four and five.

I thought series three suffered in how they built up the MS disclosure in the second, and just before the third season aired 9/11 happened and all of a sudden that storyline became rather inconsequential and it changed midseason though the end of three and the beginning of four I think was the overall high point.

 

[Devilton]

24's best season was the first and possibly second. Like Prison break, the first season was at a guilty pleasure. It was highly implausible, but at least you were willing to suspended belief because it was telling a gripping story. The characters showed some flashes of depth.

After a few season though shit just become ridiculous. Bauer as superman symbolizing the US Renegade operative was just hard to believe, especially with how the show is framed (being this by the clock, taut, realistic type thriller). It just become far fetched and gimmicky.

It's aimed at a younger demographic though. The type that can't sit still and follow long episode arcs. They want their adrenaline fix and so every episode had to have a payoff, and that to me ruined the show because it became torture fest in the last few seasons and just stopped making sense.

 

[Zen]

Prison Break is the worst TV show ever. The only redeeming aspect of it was maybe the badass Billy Fichtner, don't go comparing some that's awfully written and acted to something that was well made with the first few seasons of 24.

All this talk of gimmick and realism, but don't you like Dexter? The only difference with Dexter is that it hasn't gone crazily overboard with it's gimmick(yet).

 

[Devilton]

Prison Break is the worst TV show ever. The only redeeming aspect of it was maybe the badass Billy Fichtner, don't go comparing some that's awfully written and acted to something that was well made with the first few seasons of 24.

All this talk of gimmick and realism, but don't you like Dexter? The only difference with Dexter is that it hasn't gone crazily overboard with it's gimmick(yet).

I love Dexter. To me, it's a far more accomplished show then anything you find on network TV. It's got a dark sense of humor which it has maintained, it has tightly controlled story arcs that build upon the characters and reveal more about them every season, and it's cohesive. Network shows fail more often then not because they have to fill 24 episodes a season and that means at least 5-6 are just filler...and you get maybe 6 or 7 that are really good. Cable shows don't suffer from this problem.

and I admit, PB was a terrible show, I'm just saying the first season was by far the best one. Just like 24. Each season after that got progressively worse. I compared it because both were FOX shows, both started off as hits and got shitty the longer they were on.

 

[Zen]

Pretty much everything from HBO/FX/AMC/Showtime is better than anything on network tv, the best network show isn't even on it's network anymore(being Friday Night Lights of course). They only care about ratings now since they simply can't compete with HBO, nothing can really, AMC doing a good job though. FX(which used to be alot better) and Showtime are way behind, but still way ahead of any other network.

 

[zain]

One of my fav scenes from the show......




Just got done watching the whole show, for a second time......

I cant get enough of it, and it for me is my favourite show of all time....

 

[Team Brian GB]

The 20 Hours in America two parter is probably the best two episodes in the whole series.

 

[Devilton]

"Two Cathedrals" for me...hands down, best 40 minutes on the show. Perfectly scripted and acted, the scene at St Paul with Bartlet speaking Latin to God, the ending montage to dire straits superb "Brothers in arm", Bartlet walking through the storm to the news conference. Flag in the background, hands in his pockets. Perfect scene to end the season.

 

[zain]

"This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole....."

Rest in Peace John Spencer....

 

[Team Brian GB]

"Two Cathedrals" for me...hands down, best 40 minutes on the show. Perfectly scripted and acted, the scene at St Paul with Bartlet speaking Latin to God, the ending montage to dire straits superb "Brothers in arm", Bartlet walking through the storm to the news conference. Flag in the background, hands in his pockets. Perfect scene to end the season.

It was by far and away the best dramatic episode certainly whilst the great thing about '20 Hours in America' parts one and two is that they encapsulated everything that was great about the West Wing's seven year run in a microcosm - the acting, the dialogue, the storyline, the ease with which it would go from prose to homour and back again - it is all there in those two episodes.

 

[zain]

Some of the episodes I loved...

Spoiler

The one where The President talks about Proportionate Response...
The Presidential Debate between Santos and Vinick
Two Cathedrals
20 Hours in America
Leo McGarry's funeral...
Mr Willis of Ohio
Celestial Navigation was amazing..the episode where Josh gives a university lecture while Toby and Sam try to get Mednoza out of jail..amazing episode..

Shibboleth
Galileo

The episode where Leo talks with his lawyer about the night he got drunk..the way he describes his drinking problem..."I love the sound an ice-cube makes when you drop it from just the right height...."


The very very last episode of the series is very nostalgic...

Too many episodes to mention....such a classy show...I can go on and on about this show.

 

[adexkola]

I just ordered The West Wing, The Sopranos, and The Wire on DVD. Happy days

 

[zain]

I just ordered The West Wing, The Sopranos, and The Wire on DVD. Happy days

If you haven't seen the TWW yet, you have no idea how much I envy you as to what you have to look forward to!

 

[duffer]

If you haven't seen the TWW yet, you have no idea how much I envy you as to what you have to look forward to!

And the Sopranos, and the Wire! He's just ordered my 3 favourite shows ever!

 

[Rado_N]

"Two Cathedrals" for me...hands down, best 40 minutes on the show. Perfectly scripted and acted, the scene at St Paul with Bartlet speaking Latin to God, the ending montage to dire straits superb "Brothers in arm", Bartlet walking through the storm to the news conference. Flag in the background, hands in his pockets. Perfect scene to end the season.

Agree complely, I absolutely love that episode, it's brilliant.

 

[zain]

Honestly...what a scene..



and also..



Amazing quote..

"I like the little things, the way a glass feels in your hand, a good glass, thick with a heavy base. I love the sound an ice cube makes when you drop it just from the right height. Too high and it'll chip when you drop it. Chip the ice and it'll melt too fast in the Scotch."

"I'm an alcoholic, I don't have one drink. I don't understand people who have one drink. I don't understand people who leave half a glass of wine on the table. I don't understand people who say they have had enough. How can you have enough of a feeling like this? How can you not want to feel like this longer? My brain works differently."