jamie goode's wine blog: West Wing

Monday, January 08, 2007

West Wing

One of my birthday presents in late November was a box set of series 1 of the West Wing. We finished watching the last episode (no 22) tonight. Of course, almost all television is horrible nonsense, but every now and then there's something that is compelling viewing. The West Wing is one of those programmes, and I can't believe that we missed it for seven years and seven series. The dialogue is wonderful; the writing is tight; the pace just right - and there's a feel good factor that no British treatment of politics would ever contemplate. Jed Bartlet is the political leader we'd all love but will never get.

Fiona and I have a habit of coming late to things. We managed to avoid The Lord of the Rings until last week, when we watched the first two of the three films. It took us four sessions to get through them, though.

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8 Comments:

At 3:04 AM, Blogger shawaddict said...

I like the West Wing after Sam leaves. He is just not believable.

oh and i like to find new prayers at www.roman-catholic-prayers.com

 
At 6:49 AM, Anonymous amy christine said...

You must check out "Six Feet Under" - and what about "The Sopranos"? Also "Lost"was our saving grace during harvest this year, good to watch an episode or 2 in between early evening and midnight punchdowns. That said, I have never seen an episode of West Wing :) It's on my list...

 
At 9:23 AM, Blogger Robert McIntosh said...

I find it impossible to watch a series like that on television as with work & kids you just cannot guarantee you will catch each episode, and with series like these missing an episode can make a big difference.

DVD series can get pricey though. Bring on proper TV-on-demand!

I am a massive fan of West Wing too, but never quite got into Six Feet Under and have avoided Lost (I'd rather watch Gilligans Island!). I do like 24 though - have you seen that?

 
At 1:12 PM, Blogger colin.smith18 said...

Jamie, don't fret that you have got to the West Wing late. At least you can still watch it on DVD and you won't be disappointed as you watch all the series - it gets better and better especially as you get to know the characters.

I agree entirely about Jed Bartlett. I only wish we had a human, passionate and educated leader like that. The last episode where he stands down is emotional as he has drawn you into his character and you just don't want to see him go.

And as for CJ, it's fabulous to watch her grow through the series.

Enjoy!

 
At 2:36 PM, Blogger Richard & Catherine said...

100% agree (though suspect you've been somewhat spammed by shawaddict with the prayers link!) - West Wing provoked much mourning in our household when it finished - there's roughly 10 less-than-superb episodes in the entire run (and they're still better than most).

My suggestion:

Don't go near 24 - it's utterly addictive (despite not being nearly as well written as WW) and you need 18 hours free (once the ad breaks are factored out!) within a week to watch it or it'll drive you mad!

 
At 8:33 AM, Blogger Cru Master said...

i almost enrolled for med school after getting addicted to Greys Anatomy!!

 
At 8:30 PM, Blogger Jamie said...

Thanks for the comments. With six more series of West Wing to look forward to, I don't think I'll plump for any of the suggested alternatives just yet. Nice to know there's more addictive viewing out there.

We're currently in cold turkey while waiting to acquire the second series. I have a few ebay bids in; failing that it's always available for less than £30 new, and I can probably recoup most of that through ebay afterwards. Makes for cheap viewing.

 
At 3:02 PM, Anonymous Alex Lake said...

I just bought myself the complete Curb Your Enthusiasm.

There seem to be rather a few exceptions to break the rule concerning the inferiority of American TV...

 

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