LTTP: The West Wing (should I keep watching after Season 4?)

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SCULLIBUNDO

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So it took me ages to get around to watching it, but I recently started watching The West Wing and just finished Season 4.

This quickly became one of my favourite shows ever and introduced me to what is perhaps the finest episode/finale of any show I've seen with Season 2's Two Cathedrals.

This was Sorkin at his peak and I can now see where some people's frustration comes from regarding The Newsroom. Every character in this show is so very well developed and you really do come to care about this group deeply.

Now, I've heard from a lot of people that the show takes a noticeable dip in quality as Sorkin departed the show at the end of Season 4. Right now I think I'd be happy to stop watching, but I'm curious if the writers behind the following seasons were ever able to match up to the show under Sorkin's pen.
 
It does have its dips, but I really liked the series in its entirety.


But then you don't like Firefly, so your tastes are pretty twisted...
 
I'd say do it. If you don't like it, you don't like it. But be prepared: S5 is the worst season of the show.

S6 and S7 are awesome, though, but not as good as S1 - S4.
 
I'm mid-way through Season 3, and yeah, this show is absolutely amazing. In the Shadow of Two Gunmen I & II, Two Cathedrals, and Bartlet for America are my favorite episodes so far.
 
I started The West Wing for the first time recently as well (currently mid-way through the 6th season). There is a noticeable dip after season 4, but if you're invested in the characters it's still well worth watching. It's interesting how many political issues in the show are still major issues today (although the show isn't that old I guess).
 
I also feel this would be an appropriate time to mention that I would do very inappropriate things to Zoe Bartlett and Donna Moss.
 
Season 5 is meh. Season 6 is better. Season 7 might be my favorite season and I think it matches the Sorkin seasons. The presidential campaign is great and although I am a liberal I liked the Republican candidate and his aides more.
 
Veitsev said:
Season 5 is meh. Season 6 is better. Season 7 might be my favorite season and I think it matches the Sorkin seasons. The presidential campaign is great and although I am a liberal I liked the Republican candidate and his aides more.
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That's because they were Magical Sensible Republicans from Fairy and Unicorn Land (aka Democrats).
 
It's a completely different show after 4, it loses a lot of the idealism. The writing has a huge drop in quality too; when it eventually gets better in seasons 6/7 it's because of the political focus, not the characters. Season 5 is especially terrible. If you lower your expectations it's still a decent show.

I'd suggest watching the beginning of season five and stopping. That way you get the season four plot wrapped up and you can see for yourself how bad the show gets.
 
S5 dips a lot...but it picks up in the second half of S6 and S7. Those are pretty good seasons. Yeah watch it.
 
The presidential campaign that takes up most of season 7 and the latter half of season 6 is one of the best parts of the series. So yeah, keep going.
 
maharg said:
Vinick might have been able to run as a Republican...

In 1968
.

Anyways, the campaign in 6+7 is, as has been said many times, very good. Definitely worth watching.
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Lol nice edit. Maybe even more accurate. No way he'd even win a local election as a republican today.

Season 5 sucks and as someone else said 6 and 7 are awesome but very different from 1-4
 
Scullibundo said:
This quickly became one of my favourite shows ever and introduced me to what is perhaps the finest episode/finale of any show I've seen with Season 2's Two Cathedrals.
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Brofist. Dat monologue.

Sorry, I can't answer the question, I tried the first few of Season 5 and gave up. I might go back and try again someday based on the replies so far, but the first two are just...awful.
 
faceless007 said:
Brofist. Dat monologue.

Sorry, I can't answer the question, I tried the first few of Season 5 and gave up. I might go back and try again someday based on the replies so far, but the first two are just...awful.
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Wasn't even the monologue for me in Two Cathedrals. It was the final five minutes. Just absolute perfection.
 
maharg said:
Vinick might have been able to run as a Republican...

In 1968
.
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Hmmm. Nope. Still not seeing it. The only thing Vinick offered that was liberal and/or considered a typical Democratic position was that he was pro-life. Other than that, how does he align with the contemporary Democratic Party? His magical solution to everything is tax cuts (like today's Republican Party), he demonized Medicare for private insurance, and only offered "tax deductibles" to solve the country's health care problem.
 
Most of his positions are essentially centrist -- opinions shared by the right wing of the democratic party and the left wing of the republican(*). And frankly, being pro-choice is more than enough to ensure he could never ever even be nominated for the republican ticket at this point (or any point after, say, 1996). Not without renouncing it. Stubbornly insisting on it would tank him almost immediately.

(*) I find it funny you list cutting taxes as a purely republican ideology. There is no pro-tax party in the US. Democrats and republicans alike are willing to cut taxes even when they don't have the money to spend on it. And as recently as 1993, a Democrat controlled congress wasn't able to pass health care reform desired by Bill Clinton.
 
Scullibundo said:
Wasn't even the monologue for me in Two Cathedrals. It was the final five minutes. Just absolute perfection.
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Ha, I am in the same boat as the OP but I have started to power through the fifth season and I am gad I am keeping up with it. One of the best shows I have watched.
 
I just finished S7 the other day. Very good show with a satisfying conclusion. I remember feeling "that wasn't really a great season" after finishing S5, but during S6 I'd forgotten about it and was happy with how things were going.

Scullibundo said:
I also feel this would be an appropriate time to mention that I would do very inappropriate things to Zoe Bartlett and Donna Moss.
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Carol is the best.
 
Just started on season one after watching House of Cards. It's been good so far.

It's amazing how old shows from this time period feel. Some how a pager makes a show feel older than not showing any mobile communications at all.
 
I love this show.

I had similar concerns but I'll be honest even though it started treading water a bit in season five the quality was already at such a level that it still was some of the best stuff on TV.
 
maharg said:
Most of his positions are essentially centrist -- opinions shared by the right wing of the democratic party and the left wing of the republican(*).
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I'd like to see a list of these centrist positions he holds. Also, there's no left wing of the Republican party.
And frankly, being pro-choice is more than enough to ensure he could never ever even be nominated for the republican ticket at this point (or any point after, say, 1996). Not without renouncing it. Stubbornly insisting on it would tank him almost immediately.
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That doesn't mean he'd be immediately viable as a Democrat. Vinick would have to change his stances on a variety of issues, like Medicare, in order to have a shot.
(*) I find it funny you list cutting taxes as a purely republican ideology. There is no pro-tax party in the US. Democrats and republicans alike are willing to cut taxes even when they don't have the money to spend on it.
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You missed the point. The use of a tax cut as an economic fix-it to almost every solution is a by-the-book modern Republican line of thinking. Democrats use tax cuts as one of many policy solutions for economic problems. Democrats also, when backed into a corner, will choose to raise taxes if it means expanding the welfare state. See ACA.
And as recently as 1993, a Democrat controlled congress wasn't able to pass health care reform desired by Bill Clinton.
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Why does that matter?
 
5 and 6 are a dip in quality but they aren't terrible like some people would have you believe. The final season is great. Discovered the show last year, definitely in my top 5
 
I think one of my favorite episodes is 20 Hours In America. "300 IQ points between the two of them and I swear if Donna wasn't there, they'd have to buy a house."

"The streets of heaven are too full of angels..."


As for S5-7...
Season five is not good but I love the episode with William Fichtner. I'd say the season is worth watching almost for that.

Then once season six starts, I really enjoyed it. Different type of West Wing but still enjoyable.
 
Great show, far better than Newsroom from what I've seen of that. I would stick with it all the way through to the end. The last two seasons are great because they really get into a side of politics that isn't explored in the earlier seasons but some of the later Presidential stuff does drag.
 
Megasoum said:
I'm watching the show for the first time right now and I'm halfway through season 3. I love it. The writting is so fucking amazing.

Also this is, by far, the best (and funniest) product placement I've seen in a show. I was laughing so hard, I think I re-watched the clip 4-5 times today haha.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=zQsvcs9IB8A

Small Season 3 spoiler I guess but it's not story related.
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See now this is the sort of joke 1600 Penn should be doing.
 
I started watching this weekend (two episodes in)...quite like it so far...will stay clear of this topic in fear of spoilers...
 
Skip season 5. I liked the budget showdown, and it's a bit funny given what is happening with Obama and the Republican congress right now, but it's mostly a forgettable season.
 
Worth going through 5 to get to 6 and 7, some of Santos / Smitts scenes are incredible (the one where he explains why he wants to run in the Texas Primary...).

The final episode is a great resolution as well, with one of TV's best closing scenes / lines.

The one thing I didn't like was the Will Bailey characters arc, he was a little annoying early on but he becomes this nasal whiny prick later when running Russels campaign and his whole thing with Kate just seemed like they were trying too hard.
 
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