Anyone else miss "The West Wing"?

[TheOlderGuy]

We haven’t had cable for as long as West Wing’s been airing. But we discover good shows through word of mouth, and West Wing is one of those we’ve voraciously Netflixed. We’ve just finished the final season, and despite losing John Spencer to real life mimicking the script, the show was still on an upswing.

Perhaps they all just tired of the intensity of producing such a show. The scripts were fast and smart, and so filled with rich and witty dialogue that you want to see it again. They had successfully transitioned the end of Bartlett’s second term, and had a cast second to none for raw energized talent. Why quit?

Let’s petition them for more.

 

[amicus]

I for another, miss it also, I even tolerated the one-sided politics to enjoy the quick and sophisticated repartee.
I might suggest "24" which will begin a new season in January, I think, and being re-run on the Sci Fi channel is "Dead Like Me", another finely crafted program and of course I still miss, "Northern Lights" and even the reruns have ceased on that.

amicus...

 

[deliciously_naughty]

We haven’t had cable for as long as West Wing’s been airing. But we discover good shows through word of mouth, and West Wing is one of those we’ve voraciously Netflixed. We’ve just finished the final season, and despite losing John Spencer to real life mimicking the script, the show was still on an upswing.

Perhaps they all just tired of the intensity of producing such a show. The scripts were fast and smart, and so filled with rich and witty dialogue that you want to see it again. They had successfully transitioned the end of Bartlett’s second term, and had a cast second to none for raw energized talent. Why quit?

Let’s petition them for more.

Honestly, seasons 6 and 7 had their high and low points. I honestly don't know that they wouldn't have jumped the shark if they'd tried to take the series into the Santos Presidency.

However, I've been watching Studio 60 and with only one or two episodes, Sorkin's been on his game. And dear god but I want Bradley Whitford and badly.

You can also netflix sportsnight, which was his first show and has Josh Malina (Will Bailey from WW) and Felicity Huffman (who's on Desperate Housewives now).

 

[Darklove666]

I agree

My wife and I also discovered this gem on DVD, but I agree it wouldn't have been the same without Jed. If you love intense shows you can't go wrong with "24" It's kind of like a Tom Clancy novel spread across 24 episodes. Also, if you have never seen the movie The American President, find it (Sorkin wrote it), as it was great and his first venture into political entertainment.

 

[scriptordelecto]

My husband(darklove666) and I have all of the available seasons on DVD, as well as The American President. I love the show, even though the dialogue didn't have quite the same cadence after Sorkin left the show. (The man is a poet) The plots were still great. I've heard that Heroes is a very good show, but we have no cable or TV reception(hence my life here).

 

[S-Des]

My husband(darklove666) and I have all of the available seasons on DVD, as well as The American President. I love the show, even though the dialogue didn't have quite the same cadence after Sorkin left the show. (The man is a poet) The plots were still great. I've heard that Heroes is a very good show, but we have no cable or TV reception(hence my life here).

I've tried to watch Heroes, it seems like a good idea. Unfortunately, what I saw just didn't appeal to me.

The West Wing is one of my favorite all-time shows. I have almost all of them on tape and watch them from time to time. Personally, I would have loved to see them let Alan Alda win and do one season under a Republican administration. It would have been a nice change of pace and probably would have breathed life back into the show. It would have also been interesting to see how they would have written about the headaches the Right has with their various factions (and an opposition Congress). Maybe they could have helped people see through the stereotypes and made politics a touch less hateful.

 

[sophia jane]

I love West Wing, and I'm watching season 7 thru Netflix now. It was a great show, great writing definitely.
I watch Studio 60, too. It's not the same, but it's got a similar feel and I'm pretty crazy about Whitford, too.

 

[neonlyte]

Great show - only ever watched it on CD and have all the series through 1 - 3 are currently out on loan Now NaNo is finished, time to watch 6 and 7 again.

 

[Guest]

For a few seasons, one of the best written shows on television.

I can read their memorable quotes on IMDB.COM and laugh out loud.

 

[shereads]

I loved it right up until the last two years, when creator Aaron Sorkin "resigned." The writing suffered. An NBC exec defended the change with this marvelous statement: "The writing will be just the same, but without all the banter."



Edited to add:

1. The series is available on DVD at Amazon.

2. I'll remember West Wing for one of the most courageous scenes on network TV: the president crushes a cigarette on the floor of Washington Cathedral and calls God a "vicioius bastard."

 

[TheOlderGuy]

it did go downhill after Sorkin left, but i think they had recovered as the actors got deeper and deeper into their roles. i think the Santos Presidency could have been interesting, though i wouldn't have minded Vinick winning either. and Bartlett could have made some appearances for ole time sake.

saw the pilot for Studio 60, and thought it showed some promise. i like Bradley but he doesn't get me hard or anything. 24? we enjoyed the first season to a point, thought the second season was a big letdown, and haven't been back since.

we've been soothing ourselves with Monk and House, two well-crafted shows available on dvd, but The West Wing rules.

 

[S-Des]

it did go downhill after Sorkin left, but i think they had recovered as the actors got deeper and deeper into their roles. i think the Santos Presidency could have been interesting, though i wouldn't have minded Vinick winning either. and Bartlett could have made some appearances for ole time sake.

saw the pilot for Studio 60, and thought it showed some promise. i like Bradley but he doesn't get me hard or anything. 24? we enjoyed the first season to a point, thought the second season was a big letdown, and haven't been back since.

we've been soothing ourselves with Monk and House, two well-crafted shows available on dvd, but The West Wing rules.

I'm with you, Monk & House are the best shows on right now. If they really wanted something interesting, they would have had Santos lose in the Primary, but win as an Independant. The plot devices they could have used with the first Latino President, who was also the first Independant....Endless.

 

[scriptordelecto]

2. I'll remember West Wing for one of the most courageous scenes on network TV: the president crushes a cigarette on the floor of Washington Cathedral and calls God a "vicioius bastard."

Two Cathedrals was the name of that episode and it was one of the most powerful of the series. Another favorite episode for me was Noel.

 

[deliciously_naughty]

You could tell when Sorkin began to consult during season 7. The quality started to go way back up.

One of my favorite eps is Celestial Navigation. It's the one where the Supreme Court Nominee is tossed into jail by cops in Connecticut. Edward James Olmos kicked ass. I'm sad he didn't show up again after the first season.

 

[S-Des]

You could tell when Sorkin began to consult during season 7. The quality started to go way back up.

One of my favorite eps is Celestial Navigation. It's the one where the Supreme Court Nominee is tossed into jail by cops in Connecticut. Edward James Olmos kicked ass. I'm sad he didn't show up again after the first season.

I loved the episode where they wanted to nominate Glen Close's character for the supreme court. They made a sacrifice that we all know would never happen in RL (and Bartlett's reaction when being told of the plan was priceless ). I loved the fact that they showed the Right-Wing judge as a real human being...intelligent and insightful (plus friendly with someone he disagreed vehemently...if only certain people could behave the same way ).

 

[deliciously_naughty]

Here's a link to a site with WW fanfic (some of it erotic, most of it non, plenty of it good)

http://national-library.net/index.php

 

[b_cuz_a_chi_boy]

I enjoyed West Wing it had some great stories, I was actually looking foreward to have Rob Lowe back and Alan Alda and Jimmy Smites in the cast. I also miss JAG, it also had some great stories.

 

[deliciously_naughty]

LOL....thanks for inspiring me to do a WW marathon today