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View Full Version : Following The West Wing into the grave


abcdefz
11-26-2006, 05:13 PM
...this no-TV guy finally got to watch how The West Wing wrapped up.

Did anybody else get into this stuff?

I thought the Vinnick/Santos stuff was better than I expected, but not too riviting. The debate episode was kind of limp; it didn't feel real very much at all.

The outgoing/ingoing White House families stuff was interesting. I'd never really thought about it, but yeah; pack 'em up, get 'em out, get 'em in. The efficiency of it, potentially, would be impressive.

Santos' wife was turning into a bit of a witch, though, but that felt REALLY real. I can totally imagine a First Lady starting to get more than snippy as she realizes life changes an enormous amount with that job. I've seen it in ministers' wives, where they thought the idea of a "life of service" was a noble, polite thing, then grow to realize it can pretty much consume the whole family setting, demanding almost unrealistic sacrifice -- and yet, that's what you signed on for.

Josh and Donna -- okay, fine. Good luck with that. CJ and Danny -- yeah, I hope that one works out, even if he's written a little "perfect." Busfield did a great job with that role.

The last episode was a little too creaky; I was hoping to really feel sad that it was over. Probably the fairness of giving the Santos/Vinnick material so much weight had already separated us from the Bartletts.

My favorite shot, probably, in the whole thing, was the morning when Vinnick goes out in his bathrobe to get the morning papers -- his first day as a civilian, probably -- and a lady walking a dog looks at him kind of ambiguously -- maybe she's embarassed for his election loss or something. And he doesn't muster a "good morning" for her, either -- it's like he's been caught, but he hasn't done anything; he just lost. And that's failure, with us -- that's embarassing. Nice moment.

So it doesn't seem like the series flamed out or anything, just kind of sputtered, but was still good. Seasons two and three are reason alone to justify all seven, I think. I wish they had never written off Ainsley Hayes (?), the blond Republican lawyer who was so great. I don't even quite remember how she got axed. That was a shame.


Anybody else a fan? What'd you think?

Documad
11-26-2006, 08:28 PM
That show was great in its prime. I don't think the new one about backstage at SNL will ever work though.

I never watched another episode of West Wing after the president's daughter was kidnapped. It was so silly that I didn't even want to know how that turned out. I made it through the cliff hanger with the shooting even though it made me really mad, and then all the MS nonsense, but the kidnapping made me decide the show had gotten too night time soap opera to ever be redeemed.

The actress who played the female republican lawyer left the show to go on one of the CSI shows. I liked the actress, but the character bothered me. It might just be that I have more in common with her (government lawyer) than the other characters, but she was the least believable person on the show to me.

Drederick Tatum
11-26-2006, 11:28 PM
I'm on season 5. it's good. someone should buy Sorkin a few more kilos of coke and he can write another show.

abcdefz
11-27-2006, 09:43 AM
I'm on season 5. it's good. someone should buy Sorkin a few more kilos of coke and he can write another show.


I think season six gets its feet back a bit. If you can get through season five, I think you're fine.




That show was great in its prime. I don't think the new one about backstage at SNL will ever work though.

I never watched another episode of West Wing after the president's daughter was kidnapped. It was so silly that I didn't even want to know how that turned out. I made it through the cliff hanger with the shooting even though it made me really mad, and then all the MS nonsense, but the kidnapping made me decide the show had gotten too night time soap opera to ever be redeemed.

The actress who played the female republican lawyer left the show to go on one of the CSI shows. I liked the actress, but the character bothered me. It might just be that I have more in common with her (government lawyer) than the other characters, but she was the least believable person on the show to me.



Really? I bought her hook, line, and sinker. But I guess if I'm going to buy the conceit that all these people also happen to know nearly every word to HMS Pinnafore, I'm probably on board.

The kidnapping didn't bother me, but the resolution was crap. It was pretty obvious that the old writers sort of wrote the new writers into a corner, and the new writers just kind of said "meh" to the challenge.