It's really the only show I watch anymore, besides the Daily Show. Anyone else as addicted as I am?

Anyone else wish they could vote for President Barlet this year?

I actually have never watched a single episode of West Wing. I hear that the President in it is good.

I'd like to see a Presidential run off between him and David Palmer (from 24).

It's amazing. Probably the most intelligent show on network TV I've ever seen. OK, I'm biased, but...I love it.

walrusoct9--
just want to support you in loving this show; the writing is wonderfully intelligent & humorous and the acting is refreshingly unforced... its completely great. i have unfortunately fallen off watching it this year, but have heard that the writing hasn't suffered the loss of aaron sorkin too much which is a relief. i plan to start tuning in again soon. (everyone on this show rocks, but the women alone are worth tuning in for--stockard channing, allison janney, janel maloney or whatever... i think its rare to find such strong female actors on tv, let alone on one show.)

Agreed...the female cast members kick ass.

The writing has been pretty good, not as strong as last year but still better than just about anything else on TV. (since most of TV is just reality shows anyways...god help us)

The one thing I did notice is that the dialogue doesn't move as fast as it used to. You really used to have to pay attention to every second of last year's shows, the characters packed an absurd amount of diaogue and information into those 48 minutes. It's a little looser this year, I think.

Steve: Did you ever watch Sports Night? That was another Aaron Sorkin show, filled with that rapid-fire dialogue. (I remember one episode where one of the main characters became obsessed over the fact that he had misused the word "secular." It was great!)

I miss Rob Lowe on West Wing. Favorite characters are Josh and C.J. And yeah, I'd elect Jed Bartlet OR Martin Sheen, in a heartbeat!!

Oh, wait: Martin Sheen WAS the guy (Greg Stillson) who Johnny predicted was going to blow up the world in The Dead Zone movie.

Hmmm ... maybe not!! : )

Yeah but President Bartlet was a war hero too (remember Apacolypse Now? That makes you more electable, apparently.

Ye-ess ... but didn't ol' Martin kidnap a girl in one of his earliest movies??! Another strike against him!

: )

Although ... I think the girl mighta been Exorcist she-devil Linda Blair ...

Man, I'm more confused than I'm gonna be come November, trying to choose between Kerry and Bush!!

There's a choice?

Oh my god. Last night's episode...so good.

I never get to watch this show. Damned night shift.

Is this show even ON anymore?

There was a new episode this past wednesday. And it was awesome.

Any other year, I'd be afraid the show might be in jeopardy...but with NBC losing basically every show it has, I don't think they'd risk cancelling an established show like West Wing.

Doesn't it win like 4 billion emmys every year?

I dont know...I only watch 2 shows on TV that aren't on Comedy Central (WW and the Simpsons), so I've never actually had a reason to watch or give a crap about the Emmys. I know it won a bunch of stuff in past years, I don't know about last year though.

I tried to watch it last night and just could NOT stay interested. Don't even know if it was new or not, but by 8:25 p.m. I didn't care.

: (

last night's show was pretty weak. From a character development standpoint, there were things I liked about it, since I'm very familiar with the characters and their pasts. But yeah, that wasn't a good episode to pick to start watching the show.

I don't know what your library is like, or your video rental store, but I highly, highly reccomend borrowing/renting/stealing the first season DVD's and watching the first couple episodes.

Aaron Sorkin, who created the show, is no longer writing it, and so it's been a weird season, with some really good episodes and some best left forgotten...i think they're still trying to figure out exactly what direction to take the show with Sorkin gone.

They also show episodes from the first four seasons on Bravo...I'd start there first before you watch the new ones.

Yep...it's the only show to have won 3 Best Drama Emmys in a row in its first 3 seasons.

I learned this when I played an extra in Episode 2 of last season...we were at the House of Blues on Sunset the Monday morning after the show had just won its third Emmy. Director Alex Graves came out on stage and thanked the cast and crew and made a nice little speech. It was cool.

The show has been a little lackluster this season since Aaron Sorkin left and John Wells (ER) took over most of the writing. Still good, but Wells trying to write in Sorkin's established style for these characters is a little obvious...and Wells doesn't know how to tell the audience what the hell the characters are talking about (politically) the way Sorkin used to.

All that said, I still love this show and am interested to see how next season is handled...and if it will continue after Bartlett's term is over. Part of me thinks they might have Gary Cole take over, but I can't see any of these characters working for him so the show would not be the same and I guarantee it wouldn't survive. So manye next season would be a good last one to do with bartlett going out of office and have that be it...a nice little 5 season run.

I can guarantee that the show won't win the Emmy this year, though. With Sorkin gone, the Show just ain't the same and everyone in the industry knows it...and the ratings have shown it too.

Dude, you're like the West Wing tome. Thanks, that was informative.

Hey! What did you do as an extra! Did you get to meet Alison Janey (sp. wrong, I'm sure)?

Even though it's not as good as the first four seasons...it's still better than anything else on TV.

Although the show started when Bartlet took over from the former Pres. who died...so technically the show could run for 8 or 9 seasons...I wouldn't be surprised if next year is the last year though.

Yep, she was very cool. She was quite tired from winning the Emmy for Best Actress the night before, but one of the first scenes we filmed was when she comes on stage to introduce Barenaked Ladies for the Rock the Vote event at which part of the episode takes place. When she walked out to check her mark and run through her lines in front of the audience, everyone cheered her...it WOULD have been a standing ovation, but we were all playing a concert crowd so we were already standing. She smiled, a bit embarrased, and was very sweet in answering a few questions the crowd shouted.

I didn't chat with Alison much, but I did with Richard Schiff while he smoked a cigar late after the shoot was wrapping. We chatted a bit about USC (my alma mater). A few of the extras had hung around (bypassing the security and dodging the assistant directors)...Brad Whitford was dancing with Alison (who is quite tall) and put his cheek on her chest and said, "Alison Janney at her junior high prom." We all cracked up.

I'm sorta in love with Mary-Louise Parker (Amy), who sat quietly on the other side of Schiff from me. She's so gorgeous in person.

Earlier, Brad's kids visited the set and he remarked as I walked by that his son's haircut looked like Moe from the Three Stooges. I said, "Or the Beatles. Ya coulda gone with the Beatles." He chuckled at and chastised himself... "Yeah I could have gone with [thought of] the Beatles...but I had to come up with Moe."

Aside from crowd scenes (we were all Rock-The-Vote concert goers), I can be spotted in two scenes...in one where Josh and Amy meet in the middle of the concert crowd, I'm standing right behind him. As the scene ends, he moves out of frame and if you pause it (don't blink) I'm right there in profile for about a wink. (They cut a kiss between the characters there, which I found an interesting edit when later watching the show.)

Later, when Toby, Josh, Sam, and CJ are at a table talking, I'm in the background with my back to them drinking a beer and talking to a redhead who is a regular extra on the show. I'm slightly out of focus but I get a little more "screen time" there when the camrea is on Toby...because I'm standing just a few feet behind where he's sitting.

That scene was fun because Schiff was eating peanuts or pistascios in between takes...and throwing the shells into a plastic cup full of near-beer that sat on the rail just behind Janney's shoulder...he was hitting them pretty good, but every once in a while one would hit the far lip and bounce off onto the floor into the distance or hitting the near edge and falling ont hetbale in front of her...and it was driving her nuts (take that pun if ya want it). At one point she screamed--with hilarious exasperation, like a sister whose brother is annoying her but she can't help but laugh at his impishness--"Richard STOP!" (Of course, I turned around because that's my name too.) And then the director (Alex Graves) began to yell action and Schiff launched one last shell RIGHT into the cup, just perfectly. Janney nearly lost it, it was so funny.

The shoot went so late they had to bring back some extras for the next day, so I basically hung out for two days...it was cool. Ah, good times.

(P.S. it was episode 3, not 2...the script said episode two, because the first episode that year was actually a 2-parter--the 2-hour premiere and then the one-hour part-2.)

(P.S. Again---I said "a nice little 5 season run"...of course, I meant 6 seasons, because THIS is season five...I keep forgetting the episode I was in was OVER a year ago during season 4....and of course, it continued the record-setting emmy deal by winning its 4th Emmy for its 4th season. THAT streak will come to an end with this season, I'm sure.)

Really? I don't recall that. I'm not sure where you got that impression. I recall the show beginning after his first year after being elected in office.

In fact, in the Pilot "POTUS", Toby says, "Mind-boggling to me that we ever won an election."

And here's a link to a detailed and dedicated fansite that talks about the campaign.

Originally the show was going to focus on the staffers, with Sheen as the President just making appearances now and then. But Sheen was so great they decided to go ahead and focus more on him than originally intended, and it became a stronger ensemble.

Sorry, my bad...I've never actually seen the first 3 seasons yet...I started watching at the beginning of the 4th. I can't really afford it, but after this season ends somehow I'm going to get the DVD's and start catching up. I know they're on Bravo but I want to start watching from the beginning and see the whole series in order.

So whatever...the show can go for 8 seasons.

LOL...I'm unsure of how many seasons are out on DVD...but you could try Netflix...prolly the cheaper way to see them on your own time.

The first season has been out for a few months...the second season comes out in a couple of weeks.

I'd like to just own them...i mean, it is the best show I've ever seen (not that I really watch much TV anyways, but...the show still blows me away)

U.C., that is an awesome story. I love Allison Janney!
My brother was an extra on the show too, last year, in the episode with Bartlet debating his opponent before the election (don't remember the character's name...James Brolin played him). My brother was actually pulled to be Brolin's son, so he had to sit in the front row with the rest of the "family," and there was a scene at the end of the debate where both families went onstage to shake hands with each other, but they cut it. They showed Brolin's family walking onstage--Mom, daughter, and --- bam!! cut to Martin Sheen's face and no sign of my bro. That sucked!

But my brother said that he was really struck by how good an actor Martin Sheen was, he nailed his debate speeches every time. And also, Sheen and Stockard Channing are like the smallest people ever.

ah, i just had to reiterate how much this show rocks. my. world.
in the past couple days i have reignited my passionate affair with it and am falling in love all over again...
i've only ever seen it here and there, now and then, so when our worship arts director at church (who actually bought his DVD player specifically so it would be compatible with the British-release West Wing DVDs, which came out earlier than the U.S. ones...) brought in a huge shopping bag of VHS tapes and asked if anyone wanted to watch the 3rd season, i JUMPED at the chance.
i looked at the bag and said, "wow, this is like the whole season three.."
he heard, "wow, looks like seasoned brie..." which he thought was a good analogy.
so now i call the show my "seasoned brie"
it's just so good... i hope this next season isn't it's last, but i can understand where it would be.

oh well.

I got the first and second seasons on DVD a couple weeks ago...having not seen anything before the fourth season. I've been watching the show in sequence from the first episode, and it's just absolutely breathtaking. God I love this show.

This show is amazing. I am working on Season 3 on DVD, but I can't stop myself from watching the new ones!!!

Gosh I miss Sports Night.

Yeah, I'm working through season 3 as well.

I've never seen Sports Night...I really need to buy those DVD's but I just haven't found the money yet.

Sports Night is/was one of those shows that sort of snuck up on me ... I was watching it one night, only half-paying attention, and then all of a sudden, BAM, I realized it was SO good. Sadly, not enough people watched it ... but then, that's happened to some of my all-time favorite shows.

(What do people know, anyway??!)

: )

Steve, as a West Wing fan, I think you will enjoy Sports Night.

Oh, I'm sure I will. I mean, I love TWW because of the subject matter and the characters, but I think I'd watch damn near anything that was written by Aaron Sorkin. The way he writes dialogue is just amazing, I've never seen anything quite like it.

I love Jimmy Smits on this show.

: )

Really? I'm really growing to dislike his character...I mean, maybe the point is that he'll undergo some major character change over the campaign or something, but right now...I just miss the regular cast. And I miss the Josh/Donna thing...they really made the show, IMO. When they showed Toby for 5 seconds on TV at the end of tonight's show, it made me realize how much I miss the actual West Wing...

I find myself wondering where they're really going to "go" with this series ... I mean, will it end once Bartlett is out of office? Because, realistically, any new guy is not going to keep that same staff ... which makes me think Santos is going to win, thanks in no small part to Josh's input ... which, in turn, will lead to Josh talking Santos into bringing in CJ, Toby, Donna, Charlie, Lily Tomlin, etc., etc.

Of course, this cannot happen, so, again: Where do they go??!

: )

Well, I think the idea is that the election will happen at the mid-point of next season, so around January...then there will be a couple of episodes about the new president, a couple of episodes about what Bartlet does post-presidency, and hopefully the end of the show. I mean, really this should be the last season, but they're gonna drag it out as long as possible I suppose.

I think all of this stuff is kind of disasterous without Aaron Sorkin. Some of this season's episodes were still pretty good, since the characters Sorkin created had so much chemistry and were so good that they could carry the show even without his writing. But without Sorkin and without all of those characters playing prominent roles in the shows, it just doesn't work. I really wish he'd come back and write a few of these episodes. The guy could write a show about a bathroom attendent and it would be worth watching.

[HJ]

Steve man, I love ya, but you're such a purist. No offense meant at all, but I love how you find something you like and never want it to change.

[/HJ]

It's okay if things change. The question is whether they change for the better. I think if Aaron Sorkin was still writing the episodes, he'd be able to pull off a regime change on the show succesfully, because his writing is so brilliant...without him, though, all that was left was the characters, and when you take away that ensemble cast with far weaker writing, you're treading on dangerous ground.

I've watched TWW from the beginning and although it's not as good as the first few years, it still seems better than 99% of the rest of the junk on TV. Celebraty skating? Are you kidding me?

This show will be missed. I hope the bean counters that make a decision like this take into account the money brought in from reruns and DVD sales. It's hard to believe it didn't make sense to continue.

It's one of the very few network TV shows I watch nowadays, and my wife never misses it. It is still better than 99% of what's on TV -- witness the brilliant dialogue about the opposing perspectives of politicians and the press between CJ and Danny in the restaurant to open last week's episode.

I've heard NBC is replacing it with a show about a beleaguered young Prime Minister and his family moving into 24 Sussex Drive and trying to lead Canada in the face of a contentious Parliament.

Actually, I think it's actually a good creative decision to end the show now. Even if they continued, there will be a new president at the end of this season and thus very little of the original cast would be involved (Josh and Donna, if Santos wins the election, that's about it). I think building up to the election, and showing the transition to a new administration in the white house, and the transition of the current administration into their post-presidency lives will be a really nice way to wrap up the show.

I think if the ratings were really high, they'd find some way to keep the show going, but I think it's better this way. This season's been really strong, and I think it will end will...too bad not many people will actually see it. And, even though it's a fictional show, one thing I always loved about the show, as Keith just pointed out, was the way it presented perspectives on issues that you wouldn't otherwise get to hear. It wasn't a cohesive course on policy or politics, but there were so many times I'd watch the show and a character would make a point and I'd say "wow, I never thought about it like that before," whether it was guns or education or whatever. I also think it was interesting that it portrayed a very religious president who still managed to be a progressive. Not sure that's possible in real life, but it gave me hope.