Sarah's Marathon Diary: It's Time To Escape The Presidential Race And Visit The West Wing

[Primetimer]

With the 2016 election driving us all bonkers, there has been no better time to let Aaron Sorkin be your sherpa to liberal fantasyland (and also U.S. history class).

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[teddysmom]

I've been watching West Wing the last few weeks for just this reason, and it is amazing how speeches and policy discussions could be used in the current election. The "criminalization of politics" a phrase used by Oliver Babbish in S4 I believe, struck a chord with me, how events that are normal day to day goings on in politics are spun into something sinister. "They can't beat you at the ballot box, so they try to do it in a hearing room".

I just started Season 5, the first of the non Sorkin seasons. It is very dark. Lots of yelling.

Mandy was bad, but what Josh was supposed to see in Amy Gardner I'll never know. And I wonder if Mary Louise Parker had her jaw wired shut because it always seemed like she was talking without moving her mouth.

[kricka]

Oh, how I envy those who are watching TWW for the first time...
I adore this show, and have seen it way too many times. It is a safe haven when the world of politics seems completely bonkers and horrible.

[teddysmom]

Oh, how I envy those who are watching TWW for the first time...
I adore this show, and have seen it way too many times. It is a safe haven when the world of politics seems completely bonkers and horrible.

Do you listen to The West Wing weekly podcast? They're just at the end of S1 and I chuckle when they talk about not spoiling future episodes. I think "who hasn't seen the West Wing??!" But there is probably a whole generation of people who didn't see it when it was on NBC. Or Bravo.

It's my go to television when nothing is on and I just want to relax. I can't tell you how many times I wake up on the couch and the Netflix screen says "ARE YOU STILL WATCHING THE WEST WING"

[zxy556575]

I'm not younger but wasn't interested during its initial run. It's on my streaming watchlist but I haven't bit the bullet because I assumed it would be eye rollingly outdated and irrelevant by now. But maybe not!

[Kohola3]

lordonia, I think (sincerely hope) that you will be hooked after viewing the first few episodes. I didn't watch it initially because I mistakenly thought that anything about government would be a crashing bore. I started watching the reruns the first year and was hooked after the first episode.  I have WAY too much of the dialog memorized from frequent viewings.  Give it a try - and report back!

[teddysmom]

I'm not younger but wasn't interested during its initial run. It's on my streaming watchlist but I haven't bit the bullet because I assumed it would be eye rollingly outdated and irrelevant by now. But maybe not!

Technology wise it's dated but as far as the issues, other than a couple things that have since been overturned, DODT, DOMA, it's relevant. I think they refer to those with different names or acronyms, but it's stuff that was being discussed in the early 2000s.

[reggiejax]

I happen to be watching The West Wing right now, for what is essentially the first time. I never watched when it was on originally, save for parts of an episode here and there. I can't honestly say I am unspoiled though. The show was a hit, and if you're a dedicated follower of pop culture, which I am, you are going to know a lot of plot points by sheer osmosis. The interesting part is that I am a huge Sorkin fan, and I was back then. Sports Night is one of my favorite TV shows ever. But I recall that I really didn't want to watch TWW because a) politics bore me and b) watching TWW felt to me like I was being disloyal to Sports Night. Ridiculous but true. Of course after taking in Studio 60 and The Newsroom, I realized my error in thinking, so while it took me a while, I am all in with TWW. I am halfway through season 2, and enjoying every minute of it.

[Guest]

Quote

Mandy was bad, but what Josh was supposed to see in Amy Gardner I'll never know. And I wonder if Mary Louise Parker had her jaw wired shut because it always seemed like she was talking without moving her mouth. 

QFT

[scarynikki12]

I've always wondered if she had some kind of medical jaw condition.  She barely opened her mouth on TWW but she was able to move her jaw just fine in Fried Green Tomatoes and The Client in the 90s. 

[Bonneykate]

It's a little off topic, but I was just discussing the concept of free speech with my 15 year old nephew recently and ended up paraphrasing The West Wing's precursor, The American President, also penned by Sorkin.

I said "The true definition of free speech is defending a man whose advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours."

I still love that whole speech.

[SingleMaltBlonde]

Trumpy? J'accuse! People have been burned at the stake for less...

[MissL]

Yes! I just decided to do a rewatch again! Love to see this.

Seriously I need this to feel better and maybe hopeful about govt and when I just need a laugh.

And yes "whose been hit?!" was a horrifying way to end for those of us who were watching back then. It was a long summer.

Sigh. Can't we really have Jed for president?

[frogprof]

12 hours ago, kricka said:

Oh, how I envy those who are watching TWW for the first time...
I adore this show, and have seen it way too many times. It is a safe haven when the world of politics seems completely bonkers and horrible.

I was just thinking the same thing. It was always a revelation to me, how deeply involved I could get with a story about POLITICS, of all things.

[frogprof]

It was The West Wing that landed me here, and at MightyBigTV.com [as was], and in a Saturday-morning chat with participants from all over the world. It led that group to a hotel in LA for a WestWingCon to which I couldn't go; but they sent me several goodies, including a script book of the first season SIGNED BY AARON SORKIN, as well as a notepad that says "I sense I'm being mocked" and a Peters projection map magnet that to this day is front and center on my refrigerator. Pretty much The West Wing was my introduction to the Internet back in the days of dial-up modems and waiting 10 minutes for any webpage to pop up. 

And it led me to create this for my Facebook page, and to post it every four years:

 

Edited August 24, 2016 by frogprof

[Flamingo]

  19 hours ago, kricka said:

Oh, how I envy those who are watching TWW for the first time...
I adore this show, and have seen it way too many times. It is a safe haven when the world of politics seems completely bonkers and horrible.

Do you listen to The West Wing weekly podcast? They're just at the end of S1 and I chuckle when they talk about not spoiling future episodes. I think "who hasn't seen the West Wing??!" But there is probably a whole generation of people who didn't see it when it was on NBC. Or Bravo.

It's my go to television when nothing is on and I just want to relax. I can't tell you how many times I wake up on the couch and the Netflix screen says "ARE YOU STILL WATCHING THE WEST WING"

It's my comfort TV and what I've been escaping to during this election season as well. I watched it during the initial run. Then again on Bravo which is when I truly fell in love with the show. I miss the marathons they used to run, particularly on Memorial Day and July 4th. When Bravo started turning into the junk channel it is now and quit showing it, I had to buy the DVD set. Then I watched on my lunch hour back in the day when it was actually on Amazon Prime and there were maybe only 40 people who knew you could watch it on Prime. And, finally, now I stream on Netflix although sometimes I pull out the DVDs for the extras. All of this is to say I've made sure not to be without TWW since it went off air. I've watched it all the way through more times than I can count. But, here I am, re-watching again to go along with The West Wing Weekly podcast. There are other WW podcasts but I like TWWW the best not only for their discussion but for all the special guests they have that really add to the discussion.

Like everyone else it seems, Season 5 is my least favorite. Most of it, I don't really mind and there are good episodes. But, I hate the Josh story line in the earlier part of the season and with the intern which they could have done so much better with it.

I hope newbies love it just as much.

[teddysmom]

Quote

Like everyone else it seems, Season 5 is my least favorite. Most of it, I don't really mind and there are good episodes. But, I hate the Josh story line in the earlier part of the season and with the intern which they could have done so much better with it.

I just watched Disaster Relief last night.  I always wondered why they had Josh doing so much of this type of work, as IRL wouldn't it be the purview of the Minority Whip? That way the WH staff is insulated from this type of shenanigan.  The thing with the intern is he's a lot like Josh in that he's pretty pompous, but he has a better way of getting people on board with an issue. Didn't he solve the one problem with the Congressman from RI voting for Russell for VP? And Josh doesn't even know, he thinks it was his berating the guy.  

At least Amy is gone. 

 One thing I've found interesting lately is

Spoiler

how as soon as Donna gets away from Josh and works on the Russell campaign, she stops all the girly flirting and really comes into her own, and the power structure between the two of them does a 180. Especially when she ends up working for Santos campaign. 

Didn't want to spoil for people who haven't seen the last two seasons. 

[Hasteur]

Interesting trivia:

The main protagonist of the series was suppose to be.... Sam Seaborn.

You picked up on the clue in the first episode. The President wasn't supposed to be in every episode or scene. He was initially planned for 3~5 short scenes every year, however with the out of the ballpark effort that Sheen did, they had no choice to keep him very involved.

Part of the reason why [SPOILER REDACTED] is that while the rest of the cast recieved significant raises in Season 2 and when it came time for [SPOILER] to recieve their raise the studio/network were unwilling to give them the raise. It did not help that they were largely written out of the 3~5 major conflicts (President vs Mrs Bartlett, Josh vs Donna, Toby vs Congresswoman Wyatt, Zoe vs Charley, President vs Leo).

[Hasteur]

  On 8/23/2016 at 10:13 AM, kricka said:

Oh, how I envy those who are watching TWW for the first time...
I adore this show, and have seen it way too many times. It is a safe haven when the world of politics seems completely bonkers and horrible.

Do you listen to The West Wing weekly podcast? They're just at the end of S1 and I chuckle when they talk about not spoiling future episodes. I think "who hasn't seen the West Wing??!" But there is probably a whole generation of people who didn't see it when it was on NBC. Or Bravo.

It's my go to television when nothing is on and I just want to relax. I can't tell you how many times I wake up on the couch and the Netflix screen says "ARE YOU STILL WATCHING THE WEST WING"

I need a Tell-a-Donna right now!

[teddysmom]

Quote

nteresting trivia:

The main protagonist of the series was suppose to be.... Sam Seaborn.

You picked up on the clue in the first episode. The President wasn't supposed to be in every episode or scene. He was initially planned for 3~5 short scenes every year, however with the out of the ballpark effort that Sheen did, they had no choice to keep him very involved.

Part of the reason why [SPOILER REDACTED] is that while the rest of the cast recieved significant raises in Season 2 and when it came time for

to recieve their raise the studio/network were unwilling to give them the raise. It did not help that they were largely written out of the 3~5 major conflicts (President vs Mrs Bartlett, Josh vs Donna, Toby vs Congresswoman Wyatt, Zoe vs Charley, President vs Leo).

Yep, this is correct, and recently I heard Rob Lowe on The Nerdist podcast saying that he left because he knew Aaron was leaving and the show would suck after that. It was pretty rude, IMO.   I think the more things focused on other characters making it an ensemble, and less on Sam, the less Rob liked it.   He's never seemed too interested in doing anything with the cast since the show ended. 

 

[hiccup]

The West Wing is my all time favorite show, so I'm always happy when new viewers come aboard. I hope you end up enjoying the show.

I agree with you on how you feel about some of the characters, with the exception of President Bartlet. He reminds you of Trump? That is a scary thought, he is nothing at all like Trump.

One correction: the location at the end of season 1 is not Zoey's college.

[A.Ham]

On ‎8‎/‎23‎/‎2016 at 9:32 PM, MissL said:

And yes "whose been hit?!" was a horrifying way to end for those of us who were watching back then. It was a long summer.

Just realized I read those words and immediately flashed back to that season ender--the exasperated repetition by Secret Service Agent Ron Butterfield, and the quick cuts of people falling/on the ground (that shot of Leo on the pavement, possibly injured/dying, was most impactful for me I naïvely thought he was the one that was hit).

Back on topic, this year's presidential circus has me wanting to retreat into a West Wing cocoon, and stay there until at least the election, if not way longer. I am even thinking of getting me one of these Bartlet for America 2016 t-shirts , because, hey, why not. It will be my own small way of protesting the absurdity of this election cycle.

Edited August 31, 2016 by A.Ham
Correcting link

[BW Manilowe]

For some reason, I can't quote the right post. Anyway... I just wanted to say @hiccup is right. President Bartlet isn't speaking at his daughter Zoey's college in the S1 finale, though she is with him. Jed's actually doing a televised "town hall meeting" on MSNBC at what is now the former location of The Newseum in Rosslyn, VA. A few years after the ep, The Newseum relocated; I think to Washington, DC proper. It may or may not still be open; I can't remember.

And Zoey went to Georgetown University. Just by the way.

Edited August 31, 2016 by BW Manilowe
Fixed a spacing issue.

[Moose135]

1 hour ago, BW Manilowe said:

Jed's actually doing a televised "town hall meeting" on MSNBC at what is now the former location of The Newseum in Rosslyn, VA. A few years after the ep, The Newseum relocated; I think to Washington, DC proper. It may or may not still be open; I can't remember.

I visited DC a few years after that episode aired, the Newseum had already moved, but I did stop by the site - here are the stairs where Josh was shot:

The "shooters" were in this building across the street:

The Newseum is still open, it moved to Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington.  I was at a conference in DC a couple of years ago, and we had a reception there one evening.  It is an impressive place - having spent 20 years in the newspaper business, I was really interested in seeing it.