And behind door number 22... a guide to some music of the more traditional kind
Catherine Munn and Jacob Martin list their Top 5 programmes to watch over the festive period.
And behind door number nine... some dazzling musical delights
The complete arts guide, for week 9
The best Christmas present I ever received came as a complete surprise - the DVD box set of The West Wing, seasons one to six. It was a complete surprise because not only had I never mentioned the series to my mum (the official gift buyer), but I had barely even registered an interest to myself. In a striking moment of maternal telepathy, she had clearly foreseen that my future would rest in politics, and that when the day came for me to ascend to democratic office I should be able to generate pithy one-liners to my staff. In the following weeks, I watched all the episodes, re-watched many, and became somewhat obsessed with the show - at one point dreaming that I was shouting orders at Josh, Toby and CJ from behind a mahogany desk. I unashamedly loved and still love Aaron Sorkin's The West Wing. A tragedy, then, that Sorkin left the show after four years.
For those who have missed out on this high-end cultural phenomenon (and what a sad bunch you are) The West Wing takes place in a universe similar to our own, but with a twist: the President of the United States is one Josiah Edward 'Jed' Bartlet (Martin Sheen), a Nobel-Prize winning economist, principled liberal politician par excellence and an all-round charismatic genius. Assisting Bartlet in his plans to govern the superpower with intelligence and moral personality are his growly Chief of Staff and best friend, Leo McGarry (John Spencer), and a cohort of politicos with intelligence and integrity oozing from their eyeballs. These include Leo's Deputy, Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford), a man who once passed out drunk in his office while wearing fishermen's clothes; his best friend Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe), who slept with a prostitute in the pilot and suffered from chronic foot-in-mouth disease; Toby Zeigler (Richard Schiff), the dour, caustic, but loveable Communications Director who enjoys smoking cigars and draws inspiration from pie when writing the President's speeches; and CJ Cregg (Allison Janney), the fast-talking Press Secretary who was coincidentally fired from her last job on the day Toby hired her. Together these admirable characters experienced the highs and lows of American political life and, with Sorkin's sparkling and fast-paced dialogue, constituted one of the greatest programs ever to be shown on television.
What, then, went wrong? After four years of patented brilliance, Sorkin quit the show, ostensibly due to a falling out with the producers. It's no exaggeration to say that this created a vacuum of not only creativity and snappy dialogue, but of any idea about how to handle the characters. Prior to season five, the White House staff had acted as a tightly-knit family who would sooner take bullets for each other (which is almost what happened in the much feted second season finale, Two Cathedrals, often called the greatest piece of television ever produced) than backstab one another. Yet after Sorkin's departure, the characters never ceased bickering, and even betrayed one another. This cack-handedness reached its apex when (spoiler) Toby undermined the President's authority by leaking top-secret information about a military shuttle. This so appalled Richard Schiff that he had to privately justify Toby's actions by claiming he was covering up for his astronaut brother. Likewise, Bartlet was transformed from an affable and charismatic figure to more resemble grandpa Cotton from King of the Hill - a permanently grouchy and irate old man. Further follies included the debut of the series' most unlikable character, security liaison Kate Harper, who had the personality of a urine-soaked cardboard box, and the departure of Rob Lowe's Sam Seaborn, who was one of the show's most engaging and likable characters.
In fairness, the series did receive a re-injection of energy in its seventh season, which followed the intrigues of various character during the presidential campaign to replace Bartlet. The more high-paced and adrenaline-fuelled format, along with the inclusion of Matthew Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) as the enviably intelligent and moral contenders for the presidency, helped the show return to something like its roots, though it remained sub-par compared to the Sorkin years, and couldn't erase the memory of how the most praiseworthy characters and narrative on television had been twisted beyond recognition.
I can not disagree with the entire premise of this article strongly enough. If the show had been cancelled when Sorkin left then it would have completely undermined just how brilliant The West Wing was. It would have implied that the only reason for the show's success was Sorkin and without him, the show was doomed. It ignores the fact that it was one of the best made and acted shows in television history. It was right that they carried on as they did. It was right that they saw through to the end of Bartlett's presidency. It was right that Series Seven shifted focus from the White House to the election.
I do agree that Series 5 and 6 do not match the quality of the earlier episodes but, honestly, the weakest episodes of The West Wing are still far better than the majority of television shows. I would happily watch the worst West Wing episode over and over than sit through a lot of what passes as 'entertainment' on television. I understand your frustration that the show slumped but I thoroughly disagree that The West Wing should have been cancelled because of that slump.
Sorry to end on a pedantic point but the use of "would sooner take bullets for each other" is a reference to the Series One finale, "What Kind of Day Has It Been?". The Series Two finale, "Two Cathedrals", (which I agree is one of the greatest pieces of television ever) concerns Bartlett's decision to seek re-election.
Agree with above, (and in a nod to Justice Roy Ashland) on it's worst day the West Wing was better than all around it.
It is easy to write off Season 5+ and Will Bailey really irks me, but it was still awesome. Some of the best episodes were post Sorkin as well (The Supremes being one of my favourites).
It should also be noted that post-Sorkin was in some ways a little more original; Sorkin drew heavily from Clinton's time. Read Primary Colours or even Clinton's 'My Life'
D
Jonathan: Yes, I wrote this in a bit of a hurry and noticed that error soon after it was published.
Needless to say I stand by the article. I can't even watch season 5, and have a hard time with the others, because it's like the Mirror Universe in Star Trek - everyone's the same but acting out of character. The stories are quite lumpen as well, to say nothing of that ridiculous Kate Harper - in the old days, if a character didn't work they were sent to Mandyville and that was that.
Also, given that Sorkin basically was the show from its inception, I think it could be argued (though I can't be bothered to actually do so) that it was a different show after he left. For me, the real West Wing only lasted 4 seasons. Everything after is one of Josh's nightmares.
I can genuinely see what you mean (although I didn't think Kate was that bad) but considering the monumental highs that The West Wing reached with its first few seasons, a slump in quality was inevitable. The fact that the slump didn't come for 90 episodes is extraordinary!
The thing I think we disagree about is whether that drop in quality should have led to it being cancelled. So can I ask, when and how would you have ended it?
This article would have been ok if it was just you discussing your frustrations with the later seasons of the show. I think those frustrations are lost behind the heading "Should have been cancelled". The Yorker Arts is full of, sometimes preoccupied with, themed articles (Top 10, Have you Seen?, The week in...) Your article about The West Wing didn't have to be squeezed into a set theme or concept.
Well, I guess you're right in that my take on it doesn't fit exactly under the Should Have Been Cancelled banner. On the other hand, the feature is mostly a venue to talk (and by talk, I mean extravagantly bitch - in my case at least) about shows which writers feel tailed off towards the end, and I think TWW meets that criteria perfectly. (And, by the way, you can never have too many Top 10s.)
It's a bit whimsical to say TWW should have been cancelled given that, to me, it was dead anyway. The ideal scenario, of course, would have been for Sorkin to work out whatever the problem was with the network and write all 7 seasons of the show. Apparently he wanted to end the series with an arc similar to the film The President's Plane is Missing (though hopefully without killing Bartlet) which would have been very interesting. Although I have to say the final scene of Tomorrow did end the series well.
Agreed, the very last shot of Bartlett in "Tomorrow" is sublime. I'm still happy watching the weaker seasons because I really think Season 7 goes a long way in restoring that energy and originality of the earlier seasons and is a fitting end to one of the best ever television shows.
Well... now I want to go and watch The West Wing. All of it. I'll tell Kate Harper you say hi.
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