The West Wing Weekly & Other The West Wing Podcasts

[BW Manilowe]

Discuss Joshua Malina & Hrishikesh Hirway's The West Wing Weekly podcast, & any other podcasts you listen to devoted to the show, here!

[AriAu]

I hope that Hirway gets better-just heard this pearl of wisdom "The writing in the pilot is pretty awesome"

But Josh Malina is really, really good. "Have you met Rob Lowe...he is like a different species"

Edited March 24, 2016 by AriAu

[alihart41]

It was a good debut and it'll get better as they figure things out. I like how they were both like, "Yeah, I didn't like Mandy."

[BW Manilowe]

A recap of the first Weekly podcast from Entertainment Weekly--where the writer (NOT Josh or Hrishikesh) calls President Bartlet Jeb, as in Bush, instead of the correct Jed.

Sigh... You'd think the press would know the correct name by now. Especially since the show's been off 10 freakin' years already.

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/23/west-wing-weekly-podcast-premiere-recap

[eyebleach]

I love how Malina talks about Rob Lowe.  I get that Rob Lowe is just stunningly beautiful (I'm a child of the 80s, his picture was on my wall - thanks Teen Beat!) but Malina is hardly a troll!

[AriAu]

While there were a few nuggets-I especially liked the spelling of the Libyan dictator's name discussion, Malina's desire to be in TWW and SN at the same time and the reviews from the New York times-I felt it was a pretty cursory review of that episode and I hope they dig deeper in the future. It seemed like the analysis was weaker than the TWOP boards, where the debates began on a very high level about 30 seconds after the episode aired. In addition, there was no analysis of the shot selection or other technical aspects, things I would have expected from an episode that they point out dates back to the Clinton presidency....and I don't mean the one running now. I think several people on these boards could do a far better job

[BW Manilowe]

From Entertainment Weekly: Joshua & Hrishikesh list the 3 episodes each of them is anxious to talk about.

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/03/24/west-wing-weekly-podcast-joshua-malina-hrishikesh-hirway

And Time magazine also talks about The West Wing Weekly:

http://time.com/4270221/west-wing-podcast-joshua-malina/

[AriAu]

Is there something wrong with me that I am actually a little excited that tomorrow is Wednesday, which means we get another podcast for an episode that aired 16 1/2 years ago of a show that has been off the air almost 10 years. The fact that it is released on Wednesday brings back so many memories since Wednesday was TWW night...ah good memories

[BW Manilowe]

And I think Dulé Hill is supposed to be on next week's Weekly podcast (as opposed to others out there), because ep 103 is where Charlie was introduced into the story.

And no, there's nothing wrong with you about being excited tomorrow's podcast release day.

Edited March 30, 2016 by BW Manilowe

[eyebleach]

I spent my drive into work yelling at TWW History podcast this morning.  Today's was Celestial Navigation and they HATED IT!  My fav episode and they totally missed the beauty of it.  BAH!

[Kohola3]

It is interesting to see what they pick out to discuss and the impressions they have.  I can practically recite the first couple of seasons so maybe what are my beloved moments now were not the ones I initially loved.  Can't remember that far back. I've only heard the first two so will have to see what I feel about Celestial Navigation.

[AriAu]

I felt it was a pretty cursory review of that episode and I hope they dig deeper in the future.

 

Well, with the 2nd podcast, I definitely did not get my wish! The boards at TWOP were far more in depth than anything on this 2nd podcast other than Josh Malina telling us about the fact the the actress playing Daisy is the sister of the head of ABC entertainment division now.

[Irlandesa]

I think they're trying to figure out how to do this.  It's amazing to me to listen to early episodes of the podcasts I listen to, which are now polished, and hear how kind of awful they were and the things I put up with that I didn't even know I was putting up with. I'm just impressed they don't have sound issues. But I don't expect the depth of discussion that happened at TWoP because that was a special group of people who lived for that kind of thing.

 

One of the benefits of having an actor as co-host is that we'll get behind-the-scenes details or memories of him from shooting.  I liked the part in the first podcast when he talked about reading the script and trying to work on both shows.  I suspect once we get to season four, we'll get a lot more things like that from him.  However, since he didn't join until season 4, I hope they're able to land a lot of guests.  I'm curious to see how the next episode will go with Dule Hill.  Since Dule was there from early on, I think we'll get more "what it was like to be there" stories and see the potential of the podcast.

 

It's making me want to do a rewatch, that's for sure.

[BW Manilowe]

I think they're trying to figure out how to do this. It's amazing to me to listen to early episodes of the podcasts I listen to, which are now polished, and hear how kind of awful they were and the things I put up with that I didn't even know I was putting up with. I'm just impressed they don't have sound issues. But I don't expect the depth of discussion that happened at TWoP because that was a special group of people who lived for that kind of thing.

One of the benefits of having an actor as co-host is that we'll get behind-the-scenes details or memories of him from shooting. I liked the part in the first podcast when he talked about reading the script and trying to work on both shows. I suspect once we get to season four, we'll get a lot more things like that from him. However, since he didn't join until season 4, I hope they're able to land a lot of guests. I'm curious to see how the next episode will go with Dule Hill. Since Dule was there from early on, I think we'll get more "what it was like to be there" stories and see the potential of the podcast.

It's making me want to do a rewatch, that's for sure.

A lot of the cast who are on Twitter are also talking up Josh's podcast to their followers, & starting to at least sort of talk to Josh (I don't follow Hrishikesh yet, but probably should start) about being on the podcast. The other night, it looked like Kathleen York (Toby's ex, Congresswoman Andrea Wyatt) had agreed to do it & I think they're trying to get her on the ep discussing Mandatory Minimums, which is the first ep we saw Andrea (aka Andi) in.

Edited April 2, 2016 by BW Manilowe

[PokerNerd]

I saw their podcast promoted on NPR. It's rare to see so much buzz for a podcast before it has an actual archive to review. The podcast for now is giving me an impetus to re-watch West Wing on Netflix and follow along. I have so much affection for Wet Wing that the podcast doesn't need to be too polished or insightful for me to enjoy the project. Without the podcast re-watching the entire series seems like an enjoyable waste of time, but with the podcast it feels a lot less lonely.

[ToxicUnicorn]

I have so much affection for Wet Wing that the podcast doesn't need to be too polished or insightful for me to enjoy the project.

 

 

Same here.  This is my first podcast, I'm enjoying it  My favorite part is where they point out the great lines of dialogue and their functions.  I have watched TWW many times, and always enjoyed the dialogue as rhythm and (for the acting), but I've never thought about how efficiently the words were used.  That's fun.

 

It's also nice that the guys talk enough about the details of the episode that you can just listen and play along in your head.

 

It doesn't hurt that so ffar, they've praised the acting of Leo and CJ.  I still miss John Spencer.  He is one of the few celebrities whose death made me really sad for eall th eother performances that was taken away from el

[alihart41]

Here's a good interview with Josh and Hrishi: http://www.tvguide.com/news/the-west-wing-weekly-podcast-joshua-malina-hrishikesh-hirway/

They say the pod is not meant to be an super-in-depth look at the show, but they will discuss certain things more (Josh expresses regret for teasing Hrishi when he mentioned the treatment of female characters), and they've booked Kathleen York, Eli Attie (writer) and Obama's Jon Favreau as guests.

[biakbiak]

In my life from now on anytime something that happens that I think is unbelievable I am going to quote the late John Spencer "you wouldn't get this on a cop show!"

Edited April 6, 2016 by biakbiak

[eyebleach]

Now it's starting to feel like they're getting into the swing of things.  Having Dule Hill MADE this week's episode and I love the stories of the behind the scenes stuff.

[FozzyBear]

Now it's starting to feel like they're getting into the swing of things. Having Dule Hill MADE this week's episode and I love the stories of the behind the scenes stuff.

I did too, but I have to ask, is filming a TV show the dullest job on earth? It seems like every behind the scenes story of a TV show involves all the pranks and random jokes. I always end up wondering if they spend a lot of time just standing around and get stir crazy trying to entertain themselves.

[Kohola3]

Very nice to hear some inside stories from Dule Hill. I really enjoyed the podcast, especially Martin Sheen beating him at b ball!

[AriAu]

Finally got to listen and I really enjoyed the one with Dule Hill. A few nice tidbits and enjoyed the awe they all have for being on this show and seeing the set,especially of the Oval and the Sit room.

I also think I know what I will need to do is read the TWOP recap and then listen so that I get the indepth stuff from TWOP with the lighter stuff from them

[Kohola3]

Are the TWOP recaps even still available?

[AriAu]

Are the TWOP recaps even still available?

 

Well I only copied half of them when they first threatened to close it down.

Seriously tho, the are available through this site.

http://www.brilliantbutcancelled.com/show/the-west-wing/

 

And when I looked at the site a minute ago, I found that Proportional Response was the first review from Deborah, who presided over much of the heyday of the show.

[morgankobi]

Are the TWOP recaps even still available?

Want to read the forums, too? 

[AriAu]

Want to read the forums, too?

 

Well, there went an hope of billable hours today!

It was like having old friends back-Gordon Shumway, MJforty...ah the good old days.

[BW Manilowe]

According to this Tweet from Hrishikesh--the guy who co-hosts The West Wing Weekly Podcast with Joshua Malina--the Podcast is now available on Google Play.

https://twitter.com/hrishihirway/status/722125857389555713

[AriAu]

Just listened to the Podcast for Enemies and it was definitely not a step forward for these guys. It was not one of my favorite episodes (other than Rob Lowe showing his comedy ability), and it was not a Sorkin episode (a fact we were quickly reminded of), but they did not seem all that prepared, nor did they have much to add.

All that said, as long as Chicago keeps having traffic and the Cubs are not playing early in the morning, I will keep listening!

[eyebleach]

TOBY TOBY TOBY TOBY!  I think for the first time ever, I was sad there wasn't more traffic on the way to work.  I'm not even finished the episode and it's the best yet!  

[AriAu]

Quote

 I was sad there wasn't more traffic on the way to work.

I sat in the car in my garage to listen. Wow-what an incredibly talented actor, and he clearly figured out how to channel all of those emotions into making each scene the best possible. His respect for the other talents, on screen and off, was remarkable.  But boy must he have been a pain in the ass to work with!

And the reverence they have for the Mrs. L scene and the amazing acting by Kathryn Joosten. It got a little dusty in the car hearing it and listening to their comments.

[Eeksquire]

Quote

But boy must he have been a pain in the ass to work with!

That reminds me of stories of musicians collaborating with David Bowie - it sounds like he always comes in and is like, "Yeah, no, that doesn't work, it doesn't showcase my voice properly" etc., etc., and then you end up with genius.  It sucks when the people who are a giant pain are right, but then, I guess that's also why they're geniuses at what they do.

[twinkietwin94]

Thank goodness it's summer break bc I know what I'm doing now, catching up on this podcast, reading the old recaps, and rewatching the series. So hard to pick where to start though

[BW Manilowe]

In case you listen, but don't subscribe, to (& automatically get) the episodes of Josh Malina & Hrishikesh Hirway's The West Wing Weekly podcast, they apparently released a special episode today for Memorial Day. Their guest is Melissa Fitzgerald who played Carol, CJ's Assistant as Press Secretary, & they apparently talk about the work she does now, as Senior Director of Justice for Vets.

[ProudMary]

I only started listening to TWWW earlier this week and I am LOVING it!  So, I was excited to find this tidbit while reading articles on the TWW reunion at the ATX TV Fest.
http://tvradio.blog.austin360.com/2016/06/11/bartlet-for-president-west-wing-reunion-delights-fans-and-cast-at-atx-tv-fest/
 

Quote

Sorkin is not known for brevity, as he pointed out, and the panel ran almost two hours. Malina said ATX TV Fest folks agreed to let him use the audio for an episode of his “West Wing Weekly” podcast.

Two hours' worth of Aaron Sorkin discussing The West Wing?  Sign me up right now!

[AriAu]

Quote

Two hours' worth of Aaron Sorkin discussing The West Wing?  Sign me up right now!

I cant wait since the podcasts are starting to drag. Not enough analysis and not enough behind the scenes stuff, but I did love when they talked about Sorkin chastising them during A Few Good Men for creating backstories "If Colonel Jessup had a favorite song, it would have been in the play"

Edited June 13, 2016 by AriAu

[BW Manilowe]

The West Wing Weekly's Twitter account Tweeted today that the ATX Festival panel will be this week's episode of the podcast. It "drops" (comes out) tomorrow, Wednesday, June 15th.

[teddysmom]

I've listened to about half of th ATX panel on TWWW podcast and don't get me wrong, I absolutely love West Wing. 

And I know Bradley was thanking and crediting Sorkin for the show and the amazing writing, and Sorkin did give Tommy Schlamme credit for the walk and talk scenes, as he was the director and staged them,  and it was great to hear everyone together again  but for Bradley to say that there will never be another show with the quality of writing of The West Wing is a bit of a stretch.  The quality of writing for a show about politics, yes. 

But Breaking Bad, Six Feet Under, Better Call Saul, Fargo are just a few that I would list as having at least as good if not in some cases better writing than West Wing. It's in a category all by itself, as the shows I've listed are much darker and have anti hero facets to them.  I mean, Bradley was on Transparent, and I would say the writing on Transparent is pretty pretty good. 

Just sayin....

[ProudMary]

NYT article about The West Wing Weekly:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/26/arts/television/west-wing-weekly-podcast-joshua-malina.html?partner=IFTTT&_r=1

Quote

Future guests include Mr. Sorkin ("I'd do anything Josh Malina asked me to do," he said in an e-mail interview), the actress Marlee Matlin, the former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers, and the creator of "Hamilton,"  Lin-Manuel Miranda, a longtime "Wingnut" and one of the first fans who asked to be on.

[AriAu]

A little late, but I listened to the podcast for He Shall From Time to Time over the weekend. Was I hearing things or did they really say they thought it was not one of the great episodes of all time. What, next they will think Bartlet for America is a little to sentimental? I have a tough time choosing a favorite episode, but HSFTtT is on the short list (and so is The Short List).

I liked the clips, but I did not think they really added much to the episode...and certainly added less than the TWOP recap.

[twinkietwin94]

I think I'm up to my third listen on each episode. First time through the ATX panel the public service announcement for JFV had me in tears, as did most of the Richard Schiff guest episode, and in episode 4 when they play Reagan's addressing the nation after the Challenger accident (to this day I can't watch that without flinching, happened just the other day when I was watching something on NASA). I'm really enjoying it and it does seem to improve each episode, can't wait for Aaron to be on and Bradley and Marlee and Allison and yeah well pretty much anyone from the show, also really enjoyed Eli Atie

[DavidJSnyder]

On ‎6‎/‎23‎/‎2016 at 0:09 PM, teddysmom said:

 

And I know Bradley was thanking and crediting Sorkin for the show and the amazing writing, and Sorkin did give Tommy Schlamme credit for the walk and talk scenes, as he was the director and staged them,  and it was great to hear everyone together again  but for Bradley to say that there will never be another show with the quality of writing of The West Wing is a bit of a stretch.  The quality of writing for a show about politics, yes. 

 

I think he was saying there will never be another show with mostly one writer with that number of episodes a season.

[ProudMary]

I found this week's podcast covering "Take This Sabbath Day" particularly good.  I love that Hrishi and Josh attempted to discuss the episode chronologically and ended up all over the place.  I had truly forgotten just HOW good this episode was.  (I re-watched prior to the podcast.)  It had the perfect balance of gravitas and humor. I thoroughly enjoyed their conversation with Rabbi Spira-Savett.  I like when H&J do sidebar discussions on the important topics raised by the various episodes.  (BTW, the Rabbi seems to be an interesting guy and has a website/blog with some thought-provoking topics.  http://rabbijon.net/   )  

Their discussion of Brad Whitford's cold coffee spit-take almost caused one of my own while I was driving!  Funny stuff.

No podcast next week.  Fourteen days is too long to wait!!!   #TWWWwithdrawal .
Edited to add:  I just realized that the next episode is "Celestial Navigation."  It's time for a "secwet pwan to fight infwation" which makes it even harder to wait!

Edited July 7, 2016 by ProudMary

[teddysmom]

I just found another podcast "SorkinCast".  The two guys who host are huge fans and really know their stuff. They're up to 18th & Potomac" on discussing episodes and the host talks about how upset he was the first time he watched this one

 They do really in depth discussion of character motivations, and play a lot of great clips.   It's on iTunes. 

[Eeksquire]

Ooh, thanks for the tip! (Even though if I keep adding new podcasts, I will never be able to listen to them all!

[AriAu]

Quote

 

I just found another podcast "SorkinCast".  The two guys who host are huge fans and really know their stuff. They're up to 18th & Potomac" on discussing episodes and the host talks about how upset he was the first time he watched this one

 They do really in depth discussion of character motivations, and play a lot of great clips.   It's on iTunes.

 

I listened to a couple episodes (ITSOTG 1&2.....yes I picked one of the best (and one of my favorites) we can debate whether it is 1 episode or 2, but he treated it as 2) and it is an interesting contrast to Josh and Hrishi. SorkinCast takes it all very seriously and I think it might be best for people watching for the first time, whereas Josh and Hrishi are taking it a little lighter and seem to assume that the listeners know a lot about the show and are not afraid to bring up "spoilers" from future episodes. I do love the amount of clips on SorkinCast and is quite a trip down memory lane, but at least on these, he did not explore anything I did not know or had not heard before.

Like I said, it was an interesting contrast to The West Wing Weekly, especially after hearing the podcast on Take This Sabbath Day that featured a rabbi and an insight from Sorkin himself on how he came to cast Marlee Matlin.

[twinkietwin94]

ooo thanks for the tip I need another podcast, well not need but TWWW is just not filling enough time for me lol, and I couldn't stop rewatching so I'm now way ahead of Josh and Hrishi

[BW Manilowe]

On July 7, 2016 at 0:04 PM, ProudMary said:

I found this week's podcast covering "Take This Sabbath Day" particularly good.  I love that Hrishi and Josh attempted to discuss the episode chronologically and ended up all over the place.  I had truly forgotten just HOW good this episode was.  (I re-watched prior to the podcast.)  It had the perfect balance of gravitas and humor. I thoroughly enjoyed their conversation with Rabbi Spira-Savett.  I like when H&J do sidebar discussions on the important topics raised by the various episodes.  (BTW, the Rabbi seems to be an interesting guy and has a website/blog with some thought-provoking topics.  http://rabbijon.net/   )  

Their discussion of Brad Whitford's cold coffee spit-take almost caused one of my own while I was driving!  Funny stuff.

No podcast next week.  Fourteen days is too long to wait!!!   #TWWWwithdrawal .
Edited to add:  I just realized that the next episode is "Celestial Navigation."  It's time for a "secwet pwan to fight infwation" which makes it even harder to wait!

They just Tweeted, in the last hour-ish or so (as I post), that there WILL be a Weekly podcast this week. They recently (like last weekend, I think) did an event with the five thirty eight people (I think it's a political website, fivethirtyeight.com, but I'm not positive) & they're releasing the recording of that event as this week's ep of the podcast.

https://mobile.twitter.com/WestWingWeekly/status/753001789553651712?p=v

If anyone wants a third TWW podcast to listen to, there's Wingin' It Pod (I think that's the name, & it's on at least iTunes... & probably Google Play). They're up to their hundredth ep, or almost, discussing S5 right now, & post new eps on Wednesdays like Josh & Hrishi's podcast.

[PoMoPink]

On 12/07/2016 at 10:34 PM, twinkietwin94 said:

ooo thanks for the tip I need another podcast, well not need but TWWW is just not filling enough time for me lol, and I couldn't stop rewatching so I'm now way ahead of Josh and Hrishi

I started watching at the same time as the podcast started and I'm up to the start of season 6 again. Oops ;)

[BW Manilowe]

Josh Malina Tweeted yesterday (Eastern US Time) that there's now a lapel pin for his & Hrishi's podcast available through the website for the podcast. It looks like the kind a politician might wear representing, like, their state seal or something similar. It appears to be intended to help defray podcast production costs. Anyway... In case someone might want 1, the info is in this Tweet & at The West Wing Weekly's website.

https://mobile.twitter.com/JoshMalina/status/758057331116474368

[ProudMary]

But is the lapel pin approved by Josh Lyman?

 

 

#couldn'tresist