The West Wing Series Review

The West Wing (1999-2006)

Season 1 - 22 episodes (1999-2000)
Season 2 - 22 episodes (2000-01)
Season 3 - 23 episodes (2001-02)
Season 4 - 23 episodes (2002-03)
Season 5 - 22 episodes (2003-04)
Season 6 - 22 episodes (2004-05)
Season 7 - 22 episodes (2005-06)
Rent The West Wing on Amazon Video (paid link)
Created by: Aaron Sorkin
Starring: Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, Allison Janney, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, Dulé Hill, Joshua Malina, Moira Kelly, Stockard Channing, Mary McCormack, Jimmy Smits, Alan Alda, Kristin Chenoweth
Rated: TV-14
Watch the trailer

Plot
Personal lives hopelessly tangle with professional duties as staffers in the West Wing of the White House try to conduct the business of running a country.

Verdict
I enjoyed the show just as much if not more this time as I did when I first watched it years ago. It delves into politics through people. The characters and actors are fantastic. It's certainly idealistic, but I appreciate that about the show. It always looks for the best path through every deadline as we explore real issues with huge impacts. Despite the often complex ideas, this also has a lot of humor, and that makes it feel authentic. It's a workplace comedy at times, and it's such a engrossing show. I couldn't wait until I had a free moment to watch more.
The first four seasons are the peak, after that the show does change. In the seventh season, I missed several core characters from the first four seasons that rarely appear. The focus shifts over the last couple of seasons. The show is more about drama and less about issues. It's still good, but it's a step down
Watch It.

Review
This is one of my favorite series. I loved watching it the first time, and I was excited to delve back in even if it is a lot of episodes. It's smart, poignant, and hopeful as it explores real world problems. The writing is incredible. With a point and a purpose, it presents an ideal political world.

Originally the show was going to be centered on Sam (Rob Lowe) and the senior staff with the President as unseen or a minimal role. When you have Martin Sheen as Jed Bartlett, you can't help but use him and Sheen became part of the main cast.

Martin Sheen plays President Jed Bartlett

The first episode of season one introduces us to the characters during an emergency with the President. It turns out he had a mild  bicycle accident. This show is probably what made POTUS (President of the United States) a common term. It's a fun way to start the series, and it introduces us to this fast talking, hallway walking, always moving, urgent show. The dialog is quite smart, though at times it's Sorkin showing off his range of knowledge. The dialog is too good, too smart for what people would say, but I want to be entertained and it does that.

While I'd love to see another show set at the White House, this show strikes the perfect tone. The problem with a remake is that it would be more dramatic, dark, and serious. I do have a gripe with the music in the closing credits. It's so light and upbeat when many episodes end with a big impact immediately undermined by that music.

This gave us the behind closed doors of politics where it's about spin and presentation. How do you win others to your side without alienating everyone? What's the perfect path to your end goal? What do the polls say? Who can you afford to dismiss?

This series is busy and each episode feels so much shorter than it actually is. There's always some kind of political crisis while the characters also deal with their personal lives. There's a depth to the characters. In episode three the President is upset and taking it out on the staff. You don't condone it, but you fully understand it. It's human. This delves into small details to build complex characters and make everyone unique. This also features small moments about the day to day and levity like when the President is high on pain medication.

At it's core this is a workplace dramedy. It's just that the stakes are so high and this really wants to debate politics. It looks at both sides of the issue, though it often comes down on one particular side.

What drives this show is that there's always a crisis, something to fix, and some kind of issue. We jump into this world that's engrossing by itself and meet characters that are complicated. The actors do such an amazing job. It's captivating. This never forgets characters or plot points. Some come back an episode later, some more.

Richard Schiff, Martin Sheen, Stockard Channing, Rob Lowe play Toby, Jed, Abbey, Sam

It is idealistic. Jed's staff contribute and push his campaign. Toby (Richard Schiff) is the most idealistic, pushing Jed on issues. Season one ends on a cliff hanger, network television was prone to do that. Cliffhangers were common for network television. You can't do that anymore in the streaming age where shows are streamed and forgotten in a matter of weeks. There's so much content and so much new content.

Season two starts in chaos, picking up where season one concluded. We don't know what's going on, no one does. Movies don't manage this level of drama. This is the most intense the series has been. It's an amazing episode that turns into a backdoor pilot that reveals how Jed and Leo (John Spencer) assembled the staff. Jed is the ideal President. Later in the season he wants to hire a Republican for White House counsel. When asked why, he states he likes smart people that disagree with him. The latter half of the season focuses on Jed's Multiple Sclerosis. Did the administration do anything wrong by not disclosing it, and if they did can it be proven?

Season three starts with Jed's reelection committee. How do you do it and how do you address his illness? His political enemies are coming after him for failing to disclose his health. The team decides they need to manufacture an enemy out of the Republican house trying to do their own investigation. There's a reason this show features games of chess on occasion. Politics is all about staying one step ahead of your opponent, and in politics there aren't any rules. In episode eight, Jed is focused on how to cook a turkey and even calls the Butterball hotline to argue his case. In episode seventeen Jed is caught on mic demeaning a presumptive presidential candidate. We discover just how calculating Jed can be. He scored points against a rival without losing any himself. This season features a special episode that interviews past Presidents and staff with clips from previous episodes. It's a nice detour that reminds us how this show isn't far from reality. As with most seasons, this ends on a harrowing scene. 

Season four starts on the campaign trail. How does a President run for office when they're busy campaigning? For three seasons we've seen Jed completely consumed by the job. How does he make time to travel the country and shake hands? The show doesn't answer that question, but something has to slip. It's fun to see the campaign trail, and Jed wins the election. This season is Sam's last. Episode thirteen is a bit different. It focuses on CJ (Allison Janney), and she's not even at the White House. The season ends with the President stepping down from his position, leaving the Republican speaker (John Goodman) of the house to fill in.

Sorkin left after the fourth season. He had written 85 of 88 episodes. The writing is excellent, though it often reaches for that obscure reference. These characters make a lot of references. His absence is noticeable. The first four seasons are peak The West Wing. After that it started to slip. What makes the final two seasons so different is that we're no longer focused on Jed and the White House staff. We follow two presidential candidates.

Season five starts with Jed's staff and the Republican speaker's staff both working out of the White House. Jed's staff see the speaker as an imposter with his staff trying to gain clout during their short stay. Season five goes for high drama so quickly with an abduction of Jed's daughter. It's a lot for what this show usually is. It's too much like a soap opera. This season does feel different without Sam. This is a good season but it's a lower tier than the first four. This season is focused more on action, leaning toward the dramatic. It's less about issues.

Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Bradley Whitford play CJ, Toby, Josh

Season six is heading into the last years of Jed's presidency. It's sad seeing Jed unable to perform the job due to MS. Josh (Bradley Whitford) finds a new presidential candidate in Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits). This season is a lot of campaign trail. It's a great window into politicking, but it less about issues and more about navigating the media. I appreciated this show the most when it delved into issues that made me consider and reconsider my position.

Season seven continues Santos's campaign. He's a distant candidate that vaults to front runner. This season really made me miss the peak seasons. Toby's treason plight is just too much. We don't see much of him. I like the perspective, following the two presidential candidates, Democrat Matt Santos and Republican Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) as they develop strategies to win voters and the media. Episode seven changes the format and is presented as just a debate. This season still addresses issues, but it feels secondary. This season and thus the series does end on a nice note with Jed leaving the White House as Matt Santos is inaugurated.

The first four seasons are amazing. I love how this show challenges my perspective on issues. It's so much fun to jump into the world of politics, going behind closed doors and seeing how the characters navigate and try to win the political game. Additionally, this does a great job of building these characters. You can't help but like the characters because we see them faults and all. We know exactly how they'd react in a given situation, and that's developed very early. The show also takes time to show us that this is a workplace, it's not always saving the world. Season seven especially made me miss the first four seasons. The show is so different at that point as it's moved beyond the White House and to the campaign trail. This is one of those shows you just can't match or replicate. It captured time and place and gave us something new.