West Wing

Introduction ********** The planet is overpopulated by people forced to share a world and sometimes it seems easy to believe that the only innovation that we have anymore is finding new ways to hate each other. I think it was the poet Thomas Gray who said "Where ignorance is bliss, 'tis a folly to be wise" We cannot solve the world's problems - a lifetime is just too short and the problems are too big. If we could enjoy ignorance at least we wouldn't have an obligation to even try to make a start on solving the problems so that our descendants would be working on broken ground. Alas, we don't have the luxury ...  Read the complete review

I have not seen the West Wing for a while and I am having withdrawal symptoms... it is THAT good! Although the West Wing began a while ago I think it has faired pretty well with the passing of time. Although it was very topical and might not seem quite so much that way now, I think it is still relevant and still provides excellent viewing. The character in this series are excellent. They are perfectly balanced and very life-like. The president is a good honest and honorable man, which is perhaps not realistic for a political leader, but he also has his flaws and at times treats people in a rude or patronising way. There is also a breadth ...  Read the complete review

For me, one of the greatest tests for a television series is how it is viewed once the series has finished and the inevitable hype has died down. This is particularly the case with "topical" programmes that have a tendency to age very badly. Not so with the West Wing. The further we get from the end of the series, the more I start to believe that the writers were psychic. Much has been made recently of the almost unbelievable foresight of the last series in particular - a relatively inexperienced ethnic minority candidate challenges a very experienced candidate who is a maverick in his own party for the Presidency. Where have I come across that ...  Read the complete review

In 1996, Aaron Sorkin's creation The West Wing was launched onto our screens. It followed the fictional administration of President Bartlet and his entourage of political heavyweights. Its main feature of fast dialogue and heavy pressurised politics balanced very well with some excellent character acting and poignant directing and soundtrack accompaniment. There were 7 series in all, and they followed a regular sequence of 24 or so episodes each series. Each episode followed on from the next, and it would be hard to watch a one-off episode and completely understand everything going on, as plotlines crossed and weaved and popped up and disappeared for a while ...  Read the complete review

Set in the West Wing of the White House, Washington DC, this witty drama series follows the daily operation of the administration of the fictional Democratic president Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen). Created by Aaron Sorkin for Warner Bros the West Wing was originally broadcast on NBC from 22nd September 1999 to 14th May 2006, and has since been broadcast by many networks in dozens of other countries. The series creator Aaron Sorkin left in 2003 at the end of the fourth series, being replaced by a new writing team. I have come to the series somewhat late and am now working my way through from start to end on DVD. Whilst each episode works as an ...  Read the complete review