Back in when I was in secondary school, everyone in my family had 'their show'. We didn't have cable, and weren't really prodigious television watchers so everyone ended up having one show they were really into. As stated before, I was a Buffy person. My sister (although she watched TV less than everyone else) was a Friends person (which I also occasionally participated in) and my Mom was always a West Wing person (and as a group we were Survivor people). She loved the series from the first season all the way through the season finale 7 seasons later. Although some of my peers also enjoyed the show, I always kind of thought of it as an 'older person's show'. I guess this designation makes sense when you're 16, but at 26 you're kind of an 'older person' and that designation kinda falls apart.
So what did I know about The West Wing in those formative years and up until a few months ago? Well I knew that it involved a fictional president of the U.S., and that something dramatic happens to 'Josh' at some point, and that's about it. I had always heard of what a great talent Aaron Sorkin was (I still haven't seen Sports Night), and how his shows were meticulously put together.
What I didn't know about The West Wing is how entertaining it is. I figured the show would be kind of dry and heady, but did not really expect it to be fun. After watching almost the first half of the series I can report that it is one of the funnest shows I've never seen. Now this is not to say it is the funniest show I've ever seen (although it is quite often funny) but the dialog between the characters is so deft and clever that it often feels like you're watching the the Shakespeare of our time. Because of this, it's not really a show in which you can do other stuff while it's on, or walk away come back and know what's happening in the episode.
Except for Martin Sheen (and I guess the unlikable Rob Lowe) who plays the President, the cast is mostly a bunch of no-name actors (even following the success of the show). The characters are written with incredibly full personalities, and the actors make these characters their own. I think for almost everyone involved, it will be the defining part of their careers. Bradley Whitford will always be 'Josh', and 'Richard Schiff' will always be the persnickety 'Toby'. And the steely eyed President Bartlett may be my favorite fictional president of all time. Quirky enough but also a strong and charismatic leader, Sheen really steals any scene he's in. As it is with all great stories, it takes some time to feel out the characters, but by the end of the first season you love them all. I could easily watch an entire episode of The West Wing where the cast sits around and discusses the minutiae of the White House dress code over coffee.
Unlike most creative heads (Joss Whedon, David Chase, Matthew Weiner, David Simon etc.) Aaron Sorkin wrote the teleplays for almost every single episode (85/88) for the first four seasons of the show (conflict with NBC caused this to end after the 4th season). This is almost unfathomable if you think about it. Even a show like The Wire with the strong central force and creative vision of David Simon has at least 7 people writing episodes for a full season (and this is for 13 episodes, not the 22 per season that The West Wing has). This makes the show incredible consistent episode to episode, and really is the source of its strength. Characters never behave strangely, there aren't 'outliers' or episodes that seem completely out of place. The West Wing is consistent, and consistently spectacular.
Although the first season sets the tone for the rest of the series, I would say it's probably the weakest of the three that I've seen. One of the main characters is incredibly annoying and although they completely write her off the show without explanation by the 2nd season, her presence often throws off even the most cohesive of episodes. By the 2nd season the show really hits its stride, and the last couple of episodes leading up to the famous and incredible 'Two Cathedrals' have yet to be matched.
If there is a complaint with the show is that often too much happens. There are a few too many catastrophic storms or hurricanes, and a few too many hostage situations. Often the political and personal happenings of the staff is more then enough to fill an episode, and then Sorkin feels like there needs to be a national tragedy. Furthermore anytime anyone on the show has something good going for them personally, shit always seems to hit the fan. This has led my girlfriend to note that 'no one is allowed to be happy on The West Wing'.
I'm not sure if you can call The West Wing a procedural, because there are long term plot lines and there is really no other show like it in tv history. However it is the kind of show where most episodes stand alone so in that way it has more in common with a show like House than it does with a show like Lost. That being said, it is probably the best 'procedural' I have ever watched.
To me, The West Wing is to politics (at least for leftists) what Friday Night Lights is to football. The way football games are portrayed in FNL is what you wish real football was like. Almost every game comes down to an exciting finish and (at least up until the most recent season) the better team in terms of skill and likability wins. The main characters on The West Wing are all the 'good guys' and are in politics for all the right reasons. They also quite often 'win'. The 'others', whether it be republicans or members of the House or Senate, are often out to get our heroes for their own nefarious purposes. It's easy to root for our team seeing that they represent everything positive about the Democratic party. It's no wonder that this show was such a hit during the Bush years with liberals and intellectuals.
Just as it is with FNL and football, you don't have to be extremely interested in politics to enjoy The West Wing. Sure it will help if you are politically minded, especially if you have liberal leaning policies (I would like to hear what conservatives think of this, I don't know any who have watched it) but it's not necessary. You do need a rudimentary understanding of how our government works, but one of the hidden qualities of the show is that is also feels educational in these matters. Above all, The West Wing is intellectually stimulating and uplifting. It is a feel-good show, one that revivies your faith in human beings, and makes you understand what makes our country so great.
