"The West Wing" and some other TV notes
[SPOILER WARNING: If you didn't watch last Sunday's ep of "The West Wing" and don't know who won the election, then don't read ahead]
Just caught up on the last episode of "The West Wing." I was surprised to read that the ending was changed after John Spencer's death. I'd always assumed Santos would win. If Spencer hadn't passed away, I would have been wrong.
I've never tried to rank my favorite TV shows of all time, but if I did, "The West Wing" would be in the top five, no doubt. In its first two seasons, it was the best show on television. Everything I wrote about the show in my review of the first season DVD boxset for Amazon.com still stands. Not many shows can break the half-hour-sitcom/one-hour-police-medical-legal-drama stranglehold and create a dozen or more distinct and memorable characters. The show even restored American faith in politicians, albeit fictional ones (do a Google search for "The West Wing" and the actual real-life West Wing won't appear until the third page of results). Though it lost its footing for a season or two after Sorkin left, it found a compelling new overarching story arc when it transitioned from focusing on the old administration to centering on the election. Old characters found new roles, and the show won me back. Not too many shows jump the shark and then claw their way back.
When NBC announced that they weren't going to pick up another season, it freed the show to wrap up some loose ends. One of those, of course, was Josh and Donna's seasons' long flirtation. It's a measure of how dear the characters of the show are to me that their hookup (at long last!) made me happier than any culmination of a long-thwarted romance in my TV history (David and Maddie, Fox and Dana, and others that now escape my mind). A tenet of TV writing says that you shouldn't allow a romance to bloom between two of your main television characters lest you pop the bubble of sexual tension keeping your show flying high. But that tactic itself has become so widespread and predictable as to be moldy.
It makes sense to end the show now, as the Bartlet administration wraps up its second term, and yet I'll be more than a bit sad when I hear the theme song (MP3) for the last time (the last episode airs May 14; I hope they put the West Wingers in their finest formal wear for one last swanky affair before season's end). When they air Leo's funeral next week, I'll be wearing black. When old familiar faces like Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) and Amy Gardner (Mary-Louise Parker) pop back in for a visit, I'll feel like I'm reuniting with old friends.
Once the screen goes dark on The West Wing for the last time, and the credit appear, I'll miss them, in part because it doesn't feel like people like that exist in the real Washington, D.C.
Tim Harford wrote recently in Slate about the economics behind polygamy, or more specifically in the case of Big Love, polygyny.
Just caught up on the last episode of "The West Wing." I was surprised to read that the ending was changed after John Spencer's death. I'd always assumed Santos would win. If Spencer hadn't passed away, I would have been wrong.
I've never tried to rank my favorite TV shows of all time, but if I did, "The West Wing" would be in the top five, no doubt. In its first two seasons, it was the best show on television. Everything I wrote about the show in my review of the first season DVD boxset for Amazon.com still stands. Not many shows can break the half-hour-sitcom/one-hour-police-medical-legal-drama stranglehold and create a dozen or more distinct and memorable characters. The show even restored American faith in politicians, albeit fictional ones (do a Google search for "The West Wing" and the actual real-life West Wing won't appear until the third page of results). Though it lost its footing for a season or two after Sorkin left, it found a compelling new overarching story arc when it transitioned from focusing on the old administration to centering on the election. Old characters found new roles, and the show won me back. Not too many shows jump the shark and then claw their way back.
When NBC announced that they weren't going to pick up another season, it freed the show to wrap up some loose ends. One of those, of course, was Josh and Donna's seasons' long flirtation. It's a measure of how dear the characters of the show are to me that their hookup (at long last!) made me happier than any culmination of a long-thwarted romance in my TV history (David and Maddie, Fox and Dana, and others that now escape my mind). A tenet of TV writing says that you shouldn't allow a romance to bloom between two of your main television characters lest you pop the bubble of sexual tension keeping your show flying high. But that tactic itself has become so widespread and predictable as to be moldy.
It makes sense to end the show now, as the Bartlet administration wraps up its second term, and yet I'll be more than a bit sad when I hear the theme song (MP3) for the last time (the last episode airs May 14; I hope they put the West Wingers in their finest formal wear for one last swanky affair before season's end). When they air Leo's funeral next week, I'll be wearing black. When old familiar faces like Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) and Amy Gardner (Mary-Louise Parker) pop back in for a visit, I'll feel like I'm reuniting with old friends.
Once the screen goes dark on The West Wing for the last time, and the credit appear, I'll miss them, in part because it doesn't feel like people like that exist in the real Washington, D.C.
***
Everyone could sense Vito was headed for a fall. But holy Bada Bing, I never saw that coming. Truly a moment for the TV scrapbook.***
I've only seen the first two episodes of Big Love. When the show was announced, the premise didn't really hook me, but HBO as a brand name gets the benefit of the doubt with their one hour dramas, so I let my DVR file it away for later review. After two eps, I'm not ready to make any sweeping judgments, but the acting is exceptional.Tim Harford wrote recently in Slate about the economics behind polygamy, or more specifically in the case of Big Love, polygyny.