The West Wing Season One
Damn you IMDB for all your perfections! The bad thing about them being so current with all their info is when you do a little research on a TV series that is a few seasons long. You accidentally learn who disappears / dies / gets married, whatever just by scanning a couple lines. Damn their perfections to an imperfect hell.
So the Saintly Andy lent me the first season of The West Wing to tide me over between seasons of Roswell. I'm a crack addict when it comes to TV shows I enjoy, & The West Wing was no different. From the very first episode to the last, I was enthralled. I'm a huge fan of The American President, which is also written by Aaron Sorkin, so I'm not surprised at how good it was.
Just like Michael Douglas' President Andrew Shepherd, the American President of The West Wing is a real man with a quirky sense of humour, & layers of humanity. Martin Sheen ably plays President Jed Bartlett with such whimsy I've almost blotted out his performance in Spawn. If you'd like to learn more about Martin Sheen, check out IMDB trivia on the actor who has played four American Presidents. Bartlett is easily one of the best characters I've ever had the honour of watching on TV (or TV on DVD).
Strange as it is though, the American President is a supporting cast member of The West Wing, & sometimes is almost a footnote, thanks to the unbelievably strong lead ensemble cast. Whilst watching the first episode, I thought the series was going to be seen through the eyes of Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford). Whitford brings so much charisma & everyman feelings to his performance as White House Chief of Staff (I think that was his job title, if I'm wrong, don't tell me. If I'm right, sing my praises).
Then there's Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe), who sometimes comes across as absurdly stupid, but is, in truth, one of the smartest people on the show. He's young, & some of the senior staff hold that over his head, due to some brash, human mistakes he makes. We're none of us perfect, even those of us in the highest office in the land.
I could go over each & everyone of the cast members. Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff) would probably get a couple paragraphs all on his own. Mostly due to my deep respect for the character actors that people point at & exclaim "Hey it's that guy!" I love those guys. Let's just say everyone's excellent & leave it at that.
Apparently working at the White House is like a sitcom, except with wittier banter & less ricockulous situations. Some of the lines & deliveries you just want to play over & over again. One that comes immediately to mind would be when the President's Personal Assistant, Charlie Young (Dule Hill), comes into the Presidential Bedroom to wake up the President. Bartlett has had less than three hours sleep & is extremely groggy & mumbling & Charlie responds with "No sir, it's not a horrible dream, you are the President of the United States." That line says so much about both characters that sitcom writers should shit themselves at how craptacular they are at their jobs.
One thing I didn't like earlier on in the season was how certain storylines seemed to be abandoned & never heard from again. Well I'm sort of impatient, because nothing appears to be forgotten about on this show. Little threads of storylines will disappear for a couple shows, then rear their ugly heads again just when you'd almost forgotten about them.
As well, this series had the most elite group of special guest stars I think I've ever seen in a TV series that wasn't animated & past it's prime (I'm looking at you Simpsons). Plus, it had so many actors I've seen in Buffy, Angel & Alias, not to mention 24. It had Eric Balfour from Buffy, Dawson's Creek & 24 in one episode. The Mayor from Buffy was also in it, Harry Whathisname. Bah, just fantastic in my books.
By the way, if it weren't for DVD technology, I'd pretty much hate cliffhanger episodes. Thankfully we've evolved enough as a species that I usually don't have to wait too long to find out what happens next year. It's usually right at Andy's house, awaiting a turn in the Lending Circle. I still won't watch The West Wing on TV every week, but that's only because I haven't caught up yet. & I'm still a far ways away from completely catching up. I can't wait for more.
The West Wing Season Two
The West Wing Season Three
The West Wing Season Four