The Best TV Show on Television (The West Wing - The Complete Season 1 (DVD))

Member Name: nakmeister

Product:	The West Wing - The Complete Season 1 (DVD)
Date:	03/03/09 (53 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great writing, acting, dialogue

Disadvantages: It ended after only 7 seasons

The West Wing is an American political drama series, set in the White House and featuring the US President and his staff as they go about running the country. Now I can imagine a lot of people would switch off at this point and think it was not for them, but hear me out because you might just like it after all.

Okay so I'm biased because I love this show and I'm quite interested in politics too. Before I watched the first season on DVD, I'd seen the odd episode before but these were mid-season and I didn't know what was going on, so consequently didn't really like it. Then a friend lent me the first season and I was hooked from the first couple of episodes. My wife was not interested at all in the show, thinking it sounded really boring and not at all for her, but she was in the same room as me on the computer while I watched it. It took a few episodes, but soon she was as hooked as I was and she previously couldn't stand politics.

So it's about the US President and his staff, what's so great about that I hear you ask? What makes the show great is the characters and the writing. The show is usually short on action - you hear about things happening but rarely actually see the action as it happens. Similiarly the show shows you the build up to a big speech, but rarely actually the speech itself. Instead the dialogue and interplay between the characters is the main draw, and as you get to know the characters better you start to get hooked on their every word. A lot of the time it is actually rather funny too in an often rather subtle way, though sometimes it can be as laugh out loud funny as the best sitcom.

There were seven seasons in all, and Season one is at least as good as the rest. The first couple of episodes help establish the characters. Martin Sheen is fantastic as the President, in fact he was originally only supposed make occasional appearances, but he was so popular with viewers that they put him in every episode. The other characters are great too, especially Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman who is played by Bradley Whitford.

Season One has it all: personal difficulties, global crisis', classic one lines, great performances, and (beware) a big, dramatic cliffhanger at the end. It might take you a few episodes to get into it, but you'll have so much to look forward to after that, it will really be worth it.

West Wing Season One is available from all Amazon, Play HMV and other good stores. Because it's a few years old now, it's quite cheap. You should be able to pick up the first season new for under £15, and may be able to get it for less than £10 on ebay.

Summary: A truly great TV show