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 Let's start out with Wikipedia, since it can summarize better than I can: Wikipedia posted:The West Wing is an American television serial drama created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006. The series is set in the West Wing of the White House—where the Oval Office and offices of presidential senior staff are located—during the fictional Democratic administration of Josiah Bartlet (played by Martin Sheen). For my money, The West Wing is the best written television show I've ever seen (at least the first four seasons). Aaron Sorkin wrote the first four seasons, and then left the show over creative differences. The first four seasons are my favorite because the drama is derived mostly from personal relationships between characters, and not external disasters. The last three seasons are still good, but they're good in a different way. Our Characters: An ensemble cast deserves an ensemble cast photo. Obviously these characters change and grow and develop as time goes on, but I'll try and keep these descriptions pretty benign.  Back row, from the left: Donna Moss: Senior Assistant to Josh Lyman (you'll meet him a bit below). She's been with him since the campaign, and has been described as having a "Bambiesque naivete. Abby Bartlet: First Lady, medical doctor.. She's headstrong and not the typical First Lady. She has her own staff, works her own legislative agenda, and generally takes no crap from anybody. Leo McGarry: White House Chief of Staff. He flew in the Air Force during Vietnam. Leo has worked in the private sector for a defense contractor and a chemical company, and later served as United States Secretary of Labor before becoming COS. He is wealthiest member of the staff, more so than even the President. He is the President's best friend Charlie Young: Personal Aide to the President. Charlie's mother was a police officer killed in the line of duty a few months before we meet him, and he is now raising his younger sister all by himself. He is 21, but very smart and mature. He puts off entrance into Georgetown to work for the President, but finishes his courses eventually while working at the White House. Josh Lyman: Deputy Chief of Staff. Josh's duty is essentially to wrangle with Congress. He negotiates with Congressman and if need be, intimidates Congressman to push the agenda of the President. Josh is also Jewish. C. J. Cregg: Press Secretary. C. J. is the face the administration puts towards the press. She is freakishly tall, and obviously well spoken. Bottom row, from the left: Sam Seaborn: Deputy Communications Director. His role is primarily that of speech writer. He is a California boy who worked at the most prestigious law firm in New York City (Gage Whitney) before working for the Bartlet campaign. He is a staunch liberal Democrat, but also works to keep the Democrats from demonizing the rich, because he was once a top income earner himself, and he knows that not all rich people are "bad." Josiah "Jed" Bartlet" President of the United States. Jeb is from New Hampshire, and descendant of the real world Josiah Bartlett, an original signer of the Declaration of Independence. He has a Masters and PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics, and is a Nobel Laureate in Economics. He served in the US House of Representatives for three terms and two terms as New Hampshire governor before becoming President. He has three daughters, and is of course married to Abby Bartlet. Toby Ziegler: Toby is Communications Director. He is the supervisor of both Sam and C. J. He is probably the most liberal member of the staff, and sometimes acts as the liberal conscience of the administration. His primary duties are also speech writing, and he is also Jewish. There are of course many other characters that come and go, but this is the main cast that will get you started. FISHMANPET fucked around with this message at 14:10 on Jul 8, 2011 |
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Jul 7, 2011 05:07
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bobkatt013 posted:You are missing Mandy. Also Bartlet's introduction is one of the greatest moments on tv. No, I left her out on purpose, since she doesn't last long. Fun fact, Bartlet originally wasn't going to be a big part of the show, he would just show up occasionally like he did in the pilot, but people liked him so much they made him a regular.
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Jul 7, 2011 05:15
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Deadpool posted:I need this series to come out on Bluray. Preferably with tons of extras. The HD versions on Amazon look pretty drat good. I think they're on iTunes as well but at a more expensive price. But as of right now online is the only place you can get the first season in widescreen. It was never shown on TV in widescreen and never released on DVD in widescreen. And it's not a hack job either. It's real widescreen. I'm guessing it was like the second season and never aired that way or they went back and did a reframe from the original source. Wow, that HD shot looks amazing. If they shot in widescreen but cut it down, the shots can get kind of stale though. It happened with Babylon 5. Everything was shot in 16:9 but framed for 4:3, so in widescreen everybody looks clumped together in the middle of the shot. And this clip kills me every time: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQWxgnFc1fk I'm constantly amazed at Sorkin's ability to bring me to tears. I can't really watch the first four seasons with anybody else or I'll be a blubbery mess.
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Jul 7, 2011 14:44
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Doctor Spaceman posted:I've heard that too (and also that it was planned that way regardless). Not sure. "You're putting my parents' cats on the supreme court!" Apparently the set for the West Wing was the same set from "This American President." I guess that's about the only way you'd be able to afford a set like that for a TV show.
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Jul 8, 2011 04:52
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Josh Lyman posted:Did someone ask for me? Whoops, fixed.
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Jul 8, 2011 14:11
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Alter Ego posted:Matt Santos was from Texas--they mention it multiple times in terms of "flipping" the electoral math during the campaign. I would vote for Santos, but I wouldn't be absurdly angry if Vinick won.
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Jul 9, 2011 18:32
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Season 6 has still got it, and Martin Sheen can still sell it. "This. Plane. Is going to China. That is a direct order from your commander in chief."
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Jul 10, 2011 01:06
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scarymonkey posted:Josh, why the pornstache? Have you seen "The Good Guys"? He rocked it well in that.
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Jul 10, 2011 02:22
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Plucky Brit posted:While I do like The West Wing, I think that the optimism really grated after a while. My main problem is that nobody on the show stopped and asked whether the policy was good or not; people would pass something and say what's next. It never analyses the implications of the policies, which makes it feel very detached. The Wire was a pretty good way to show the implications of federal policies and how they rarely help those who need it most. John Marbury, Earl of Croy, Earl of Sherborne, Marquess of Needham and Dolby, Baronet of Brycey. GERALD!
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Jul 11, 2011 15:22
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WoG posted:I had a few eps running last night, and should have stopped at one fewer. What a letdown to see the excellent 'The Supremes' (with Glenn Close and William Fichtner as justice nominees) followed by the worthless 'Access' (fake documentary of a day in CJ's life). My favorite part about Access is how one of the deputy press secretaries shows up later (Donna takes his place on the Middle East trip).
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Jul 11, 2011 16:55
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WoG posted:The new players suddenly introduced in that episode were a bit jarring. Of course it's a given that there are many more people working behind the scenes of the west wing that we'd never meet, and the press office hasn't been the focus or fleshed out much, but after five years of a show that consists almost entirely of people striding around handing off envelopes, we would have caught a glimpse of people who interact with CJ directly and constantly. I just suspend disbelief at who we do or do not see. It's never stated what happens to Sam after he loses his House race, and we do see that he at some point ends up as a lawyer in California, but it's suggested that he still works at the White House, doing policy stuff.
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Jul 11, 2011 19:36
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Mandoira posted:Pretty sure you're thinking of "King Corn". S6E13. Ethanol pledge actually, but yeah, this is probably it. They all meet up at the end too.
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Jul 11, 2011 22:26
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Next up in the rewatch is '2162 votes.' I know what happens, and I'm getting chills from the cold open alone.
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Jul 14, 2011 01:50
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On the other hand, this shuttle plot is a loving non starter, since I know the secret already.
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Jul 14, 2011 02:07
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In 2162 votes the shuttle plot was stupid because it was nowhere near as interesting as the convention plot. For the rest of the series, it's just kind of lame. I' not able to relate to the outrage that everybody is feeling, the writers just didn't sell it very well. It's also pretty much the exact opposite thing that I like about the West Wing, which is the day to day occurrences in the white house, and instead we get this big huge public drama thing. Just started Season 7 last night, not really looking forward to seeing this plot again, but the rest more than makes up for it.
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Jul 14, 2011 16:06
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CelestialScribe posted:Absolutely my favourite show. Season 5 wanes, but last half of 6 and all of 7 are great. I think Danny might be my favorite character, period. I don't think the writers really knew what to do with Toby after Sorkin left. He gets pissed at Josh for leaving to groom Santos, then gets pissed that Josh didn't work with him, then feeds lines to another candidate, then gets in a physical fight with Josh? Toby always crossed the line, but only with his words.
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Jul 15, 2011 02:59
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mdemone posted:I don't know. These are two guys who care deeply about what they do, and have a lot of history together. I don't remember the scene all that well (it's been years), but I don't think it's particularly out of character for two bros in a Profound Situation to throw blows. The fight was pretty sissy, which was in character itself. Honestly, the fight was good if you can beleive the stuff that brought them to it, I just don't really believe it. And Justine Bateman? Huh?
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Jul 15, 2011 04:16
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KTS posted:I love this show, S5 drags a bit for me and I know there's episodes in there that I haven't seen. I should go back and do a slower re-watch so I'm not burnt out by the time I get to S5 again. I love the Santos campaign story through S6 & 7 though. Related video, and I think one of my favorite minor plots, an issue with Canada: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g81eGiLXA1M&feature=related
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Jul 15, 2011 17:22
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WoG posted:My only problem with how Will was handled is that his jump to the Russell staff seemed a bit out of character, in that he started out so idealistic he'd run a dead man's campaign to the bitter end, but shifted quickly to the cold pragmatism of getting in with the presumed nominee, no matter how little he believes in the guy. It felt like Will never really knew that Russel was Haffley's pick. There's some scene where he's emphatically yelling at Toby (I think during the lock down) about he's trying so hard to see what the President and Leo and the rest of the staff saw in him when they picked Russel, but he doesn't realize that Russel wasn't really picked, he was thrust upon the white house by a lovely SOB of a speaker.
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Jul 20, 2011 16:22
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t3ch3 posted:During my rewatch I've become a huge Margaret fan. Just a couple of episodes into season two and she's already crashed the White House email system by forwarding an email about muffins and told Leo that she's willing to forge the President's signature on a document handing power over to the Vice President. Might be a lesbian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy97RcGoFes The President's speech at the end of "20 Hours in America" loving kills me every time Bartlet: Ran into the fire. Me: 
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Jul 24, 2011 19:36
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jeffersonlives posted:In God We Trust's plotline was basically "Congress is playing games with the debt ceiling, Bartlet and Vinick have to be the adults in the room." Watched this a few weeks ago and it scared the poo poo out of me how similar it was to what's going on now.
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Jul 26, 2011 16:36
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t3ch3 posted:Also, they should have made Edandlarry the Press Secretar(ies) after CJ's promotion. Have them both up at the podium doing fact-heavy briefings. "Where did you get this?" "I swear to God? Encyclopedia Britannica"
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Aug 13, 2011 23:30
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I watched it through because I hate myself. Donald Sutherland is trying to get in as the VP so Geena can resign and he can take over, and she's OK with the plan at first, and then decides "hey I'm gonna run this poo poo." There's a couple of crisis or whatever, a lot of gags with the old First Lady's Chief of Staff staying on to head the office the First... Man? Gentleman? What the hell do we call him now?
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Aug 18, 2011 19:32
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myron_cope posted:In The Good Guys (tv) Whitford plays a badass cop with a badass mustache. Highly recommended to everyone. It only got one season though It's amazing how completely different his character is on the Good Guys compared to The West Wing.
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Aug 27, 2011 00:47
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It's on Netflix instant!
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My least favorite part of Season 5 compared to the other seasons is from where the drama comes from. Previously it was in the day to day goings on in the government, and in Season 5 it's all about huge world events (Tornado, Israel, Zoy [Though did Sorkin set that up at the end of Season 4 or did somebody else have a hand in that?]).
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Aug 28, 2011 19:33
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Dancingthroughlife posted:Will's insistance in season 6 that Russell is the only candidate (when he's the anti-Bartlet) was incredibly annoying and I was so happy he got his comeuppance by losing. Seriously, gently caress Will. Plus who cared that he slept with Kate Harper in season 7? I had a hard time caring about her too. He always went around like he didn't understand that Russel was forced on Bartlet by Speaker Hafley, and keeps running around screaming that he can't see what Leo and Jeb saw in him (nothing)
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Aug 31, 2011 03:38
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t3ch3 posted:In case you wanted to know what happens to the senior staff after the end of the series... they all die in the delta quadrant. What the poo poo is this.
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Sep 4, 2011 18:11
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Ur Getting Fatter posted:I got the impression there that every other time he'd said it it had been pointless, or that it had made him seem arrogant, but in that particular instance it was actually an asset because he was giving the guy a chance to tell his problems to someone who could actually do something about it. And that was the point. The whole point of the bet was to tack something that was pointless at best on the end of an introduction, but in this case it really meant something, which is why Josh motioned he didn't have to do it, but Toby did it anyway, because Toby is Toby.
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Sep 29, 2011 16:53
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Chamberk posted:No, the worst character was that random assistant of Toby's during season 5. There was some sort of kerfuffle about her dressing too casual for the White House. That was pretty much all she did. And then she was gone. In the episode where Toby goes to malls to mall test the state of the union, she comes with (and serves little to no purpose). Yet they still put her in the "Previously on the West Wing" opening.
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Oct 13, 2011 23:09
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FrozenVent posted:Pagers. Phone back then were bigger than a beer bottle. Except Toby had a non-brick phone on the plane in the cold open. "Are you saying I can flummox this thing with something I got at Radio Shack?"
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Oct 23, 2011 17:39
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It all came down to casting, but if we wanna sperg about it, you can pretty easily say that Bartlet didn't respect laywers very much, and they thought they'd have his ear, and they were all wrong, so they kept leaving (which they all said in the show) but once the MS thing happened, both Bartlet and Babaish understood what their roles were in the relationship, and stuck to them, and Babaish stayed for the long hall.
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Dec 17, 2011 21:42
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I basically worship the ground Sorkin walks on, so I'm super excited that this is actually happening. I guess June 24 is the premeire? I'm hoping he can cut loose a bit since it's on HBO. I feel like West Wing and Studio 60 he had to hold back sometimes.
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Apr 3, 2012 22:13
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We can probably just talk about it here until there's something more than a short trailer, since without more on the show we're just talking about Sorkin.
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Apr 3, 2012 22:22
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king of no pants posted:Now to see if he cries at the end of In Excelsis Deo. (If he doesn't, he is obviously a cylon.) Holy poo poo I'm glad I'm not the only one. That ending just loving destroys me.
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Apr 19, 2012 15:30
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TheBigBad posted:In Excelsis Deo is pretty cryptic. It won an Emmy but then spawned an internet debate/feud between the Sorkin and the writer. Its a bit of trivia, but pretty significant because Sorkin features it later as a storyline that highlights how much of a douche he can be and how much we as forum-goers absolutely eat that poo poo up. Is this the thing where Sorkin took credit for the writing Emmy even though the guy that actually wrote it was telling the story of his dad or something? I guess I wasn't aware that that feud played out over the internet either.
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Apr 19, 2012 23:01
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I was only 14 at the time, but based on what people still think these days about Islam, I don't think it's the craziest thing in the world to try and do a little educating. I'd imagine the cast and crew wanted to do something to help, and they had a unique position to do it from. But seriously, get over it. I watch it on my run throughs.
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Apr 20, 2012 03:00
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My fiancee pointed out that the first shot was a bit of a walk and talk, but they obviously couldn't pull it off for long, because most of the conversation was standing in front of his office.
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Apr 20, 2012 14:29
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He was in Burn Notice early on for a few episodes (as a sorta bad guy) and he was in House of Lies for most of Season 1. His last act on that show was taking a poo poo in someone's briefcase, so that's an interesting thing to reconcile the way he acted there vs the West Wing.
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Apr 20, 2012 17:15
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I loved Leo's argument with Bartlet about the virtues of a proportional response. I think the second video is labelled wrong, and also lovely as gently caress quality. I'm pretty sure both clips are from 1x03: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJMVtP1CbOM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo2prRD2pdA
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Apr 21, 2012 20:30
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I always assumed the military shuttle story line was some cop out because the actor was working on another project and didn't have much time for the show. That's the only way such a hamfisted plot makes any sense. In reality all it did was further fracture the cast. My favorite part about the first 4 seasons is the way the cast interacts with each other, and as time goes on that just keeps falling apart. Taking Toby out of the white house was the last straw. You've got Josh's story, which is completely separate from CJ's story, which is now completely separate from Toby's story, which is completely separate from... you get the idea.
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Apr 21, 2012 20:56
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