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The West Wing - The Complete First Season


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Aaron Sorkin's American political drama The West Wing is more than mere feel-good viewing for sentimental US patriots. It is among the best-written, sharpest, funniest and most moving American TV series of all time. In its first series, The West Wing established the cast of characters comprising the White House staff. There's Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), a recovering alcoholic whose efforts to be the cornerstone of the administration contribute to the break-up of his marriage. CJ (Alison Janney) is the formidable Press Spokeswoman embroiled in a tentative on-off relationship with Timothy (Thirtysomething) Busfield's reporter. Brilliant but grumpy communications deputy Toby Ziegler, Rob Lowe's brilliant but faintly nerdy Sam Seaborn and brilliant but smart-alecky Josh Lyman make up the rest of the inner circle. Initially, the series' creators had intended to keep the President off-screen. Wisely, however, they went with Martin Sheen's Jed Bartlet, whose eccentric volatility, caution, humour and strength in a crisis make for such an impressively plausible fictional President that polls once expressed a preference for Bartlet over the genuine incumbent.

The issues broached in the first series have striking, often prescient contemporary relevance. We see the President having to be talked down from a "disproportionate response" when terrorists shoot down a plane carrying his personal doctor, or acting as broker in a dangerous stand-off between India and Pakistan. Gun control laws, gays in the military and fundamentalist pressure groups are all addressed--the latter in a most satisfying manner ("Get your fat asses out of the White House!")--while the episode "Take This Sabbath Day" is a superb dramatic meditation on capital punishment.

Handled incorrectly, The West Wing could have been turgid, didactic propaganda for The American Way. However, the writers are careful to show that, decent as this administration is, its achievements, though hard-won, are minimal. Moreover, the brisk, staccato-like, almost musical exchanges of dialogue, between Josh and his PA Donna, for instance, as they pace purposefully up and down the corridors are the show's abiding joy. This is wonderful and addictive viewing. --David Stubbs


My first ever review
Review date: 2008-09-20 Rating: 10 out of 10

I have not felt the need to review an amazon item before, but I'm choosing the West Wing to break my duck.

The West Wing is the best thing on television by some distance. It can be extremely funny, but it handles pathos better than any show I have seen. The acting is consistently superb and the fast-paced intelligent script writing is what makes the show so unique.

I cannot recommend it highly enough.

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Reviews


Great show
Review date: 2008-04-29 Rating: 10 out of 10

I first encountered West Wing on C4, but not being a dedicated enough TV viewer I only caught the occasional episode. It was only after discussing the series with my husband who likes a bit of politics that I decided to invest in the box set for series 1 (we are now on series 6 ... and just waiting for an excuse to finish the set!)

We are both true addicts now.

I can't say that I am very political, but I enjoy this series.

The casting is excellent & the interactions between the characters are complex & interesting. There are a central group of characters, but this is a sizable group and it might take you a show or two to get them straight - the Presidents PA is one of my favorites, I really hope that there is someone like that in the Whitehouse keeping them all in line :o)

Its more of an intellectual view than the typical American TV export, the story lines give you something to think about as well as being thoroughly entertaining.



Absolutely Brilliant
Review date: 2008-04-16 Rating: 10 out of 10

I first heard about The West Wing at University. A friend (who knew I was into american politics) recommended I watch it. Although at first cautious after expecting the average American-type drama, I was completely hooked and ended up watching the entire first series in about a week!

Although having seen other similar dramas such as 'Commander in Chief,' I feel that none can compare to the sheer volume and plot intricacy that the West Wing brings to our screens. You only have to look at the number in Series to see how successful this drama has been. Martin Sheen was the perfect actor for this role and indeed Aaron Sorkin the perfect writer!

TV drama at its best
Review date: 2008-01-26 Rating: 10 out of 10

Television rally does not get much better than this. In a time when we are lucky enough to have a whole host of excellent TV dramas available to us, the West Wing neverthless stands out. What makes it so good?

The characterisation is strong and convincing. Unsurprisingly, all the people surrounding the president are extremely bright, very forceful and have egos the size of the Empire State Building. The show manages to convince us that they also have the drive to work the long hours required and to advise, and even contradict the president on matters they believe in. What makes them bearable is their humanity, by which I mean their attachment to certain basic principles and, to an extent, the flaws in their character also. Heading up the team is Leo, the Chief of Staff, an old soldier whose marriage is heading for the rocks ever more swiftly as he devotes himself more and more to the service of the president. There is Sam (arguably the least successul of the main characters) whose intellectual brilliance does not prevent him from being hugely naive in certain respects. Josh and Mandy make a great double act, helped by the fact that they used to be partners, and a certain amount of unresolved sexual tension remains. Toby is a towering success as a character - a very strong sense of personal morality coupled with doubts about his personal self-worth. And CJ is a feisty, intelligent but lovable character who holds all the other together. One of the show's finest achievements is to show how this bunch of over achievers do not overwhelm the President, who, while taking their counsel, always remains resolutely his own man, deserving all their respect.

Over and above the characterisation and the acting (also excellent), however, it is the skillful and sensitive writing that makes this show stand out for me. The writers clearly set their stall out as Democrats with Democrat values running through the show like a stick of Brighton rock. They also show the machinations of the White House - one of the most telling lines is "You should never let people see how two things are made - laws and sausages".

All in all, an excellent series that I thoroughly recommend.

Unbelievably good.
Review date: 2007-10-11 Rating: 10 out of 10

The thing that hits you when you watch The West Wing is just how brilliantly written it is. The acting is magnificent too, but with a cast like this that should be expected. But the real star of the show is Aaron Sorkin the writer and creator. His genius at coming up with such fantastic dialogue is unrivalled in modern day TV. Let's face it, it's about politics and there's little action so the dialogue has to hold your attention. And if you haven't heard of Sorkin before he's the guy that wrote A Few Good Men (remember the "You Can't Handle The Truth" speech?). Every episode is as good (if not better) than a night spent at the cinema watching a big budget movie. The standard never drops and the series ends on a great cliffhanger.
This had me hooked right from the first episode when Martin Sheen made one of the great screen entrances as Jed Bartlett. This is high quality TV and even if you don't know what the characters are talking about half the time, it still has you hooked.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Allison Janney
Moira Kelly
Dulé Hill
Martin Sheen
Rob Lowe

Creators:
Martin Sheen (Primary Contributor)
Rob Lowe (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900223935
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 6
Format: Box set, PAL, Subtitled,
Release date: 2002-11-18
Number of discs: 6
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 905 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1999-09-22
Language: English (Original Language)

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