I like my shows smart, and I like it when the shows think that the viewer is smart, too. I like my dialogue quick, witty and, of course, funny. The characters should be well-developed, yet still quite mysterious so that you still want to learn more about ‘em. If you’ve got all those ingredients and manage to add some story arcs and inventive episode plots, then I’m generally a happy monkey.

Which is probably why I’m bananas about “The West Wing”.

No? Too easy, perhaps?

Well, my point remains the same: This is a fantastic TV-series.

When you’ve got a show named “The West Wing”, you would think that the premise was quite self-explanatory. Add that this was one of the most successful drama series at
its time, and the need for a long winding introduction shrinks further still. But for those of you who weren’t around when this was airing, I’ll let you know that the show deals with the life and intrigues of the White House. The central characters are the Senior Staff (finely featured above), and while the President is of course the most important character, he is by no means the one with the most face-time.

Now, I originally planned to review every single season of “The West Wing”, but these seasons were so closely matched in terms of quality and style that I opted for writing just the one review. Also, I had severe problems of giving myself the time to write anything after the cliffhanger-ending of the first season, and have to admit that I’m nearly half-way through the third as I write this. Yeah, this is one unhealthily addictive series, but who’s to blame for this brilliance?

Well, Aaron Sorkin (”Charlie Wilson’s War”, “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”) is, obviously. The guy’s quite simply a genius when it comes to making good TV-shows, and he’s easily among my favourite show-runners, only nudged out by Joss Whedon (mostly for “Firefly” and “Buffy”). I think Aaron Sorkin is the best dialogue writer in the business, and with “the West Wing” he fashioned a vehicle where his talents can truly shine. The first season is a twenty-two episode fist-pump of sheer quality, and the second isn’t far behind, but does sometimes lack a little originality and could have done with some new faces. The characters are also well-rounded and believable, even if it is a bit startling that everyone on the staff are so quick-witted. My favourite character is the Media Communication Director, Toby Ziegler, who’s really isn’t what you’d call a people’s person. He doesn’t have a lot charisma, and he’s bitter, but he always does what he believes in and tries to the Right Thing.

I actually found this show to be so good that the only thing I could think of complaining about was the music (too much pathos for my taste). That’s some achievement, huh? I could also make some grunting noises about there not being a lot of strong female characters, aside from C.J., in the central cast, and the ones that do exist are either lawyers or assistants, but… isn’t that the way it is over there? And it’s not like the show’s is misogynist or anything like that, so I don’t think it’s fair to make a fuss about something that really isn’t an issue.

It’s refreshing to watch a show that actually finds real issues more important than dealing with the odd burgeoning office romance. It’s also very refreshing to imagine a world where the president of the United States isn’t a total douchebag and where the people around him try to the best they can. They don’t always achieve it, and sometimes they have to give in to the system, but it gives me a little hope when a liberal (in American terms, of course) show like this can survive seven seasons on the air.

Season 1: 10/10

Season 2: 9.0/10 (strong)