And so, a snap of dialogue from arguably one of the very best television dramas to grace our screens in a long time. Inside this, an idealised USA White House, are a stack of plots and characters so well written that you have feel a renewed confidence in politics. The West Wing is a true gemstone of writing, with dialogue in seasons 1-4 so well developed, that you find yourself speaking similar to friends and colleagues. This box set captures the whole journey, from those truly remarkable first steps in seasons 1 and 2 (hampered only by some overly cheesy moments and overt references to the 'free world'), a period of greatness in Seasons 3 and 4 (with episodes that really stand out as accomplished storytelling). Season 5, with only a few notable episodes, is a let down, in part because the principal writer had just left taking his brand of witty interchange with him. Momentum regains in season 6 with a reframed series, focusing on the emerging rivals for the presidency played expertly by veteran Alan Alda, with Jimmy Smiths and Gary Cole.

The casting is also well achieved. President Bartlet (Sheen) was the perfect choice as are his staffers, including the late great John Spencer as the Chief of Staff, Dule Hill as personal aide Charlie Young, Richard Schiff as the ideological rascal, a loveable but grumpy Director of Communications, and Rob Lowe giving four seasons of his time to Sam Seaborn, a comical turn probably without intention. The leading women, CJ and Donna dust the show with their brilliance and provide humour and empathy, clashing against the male bravado. The only irritants comprise a mis-cast Moira Kelly as the poorly written Mandy Hampton, and Joshua Malina who, as Will Bailey, witters annoyingly in the background.

So what is disappointing about the box set? Take a browse of the region 1 counterparts and you'll see the real 'wealth of extras' so heavily promoted with this box-set. There are none bar those short snippets included already with season one. I suspect that the biggest buying market for a 'Bartlet Years' collection would be die-hard fans, and I wish that they had been shown more respect!

This really is a momentous collection of truly great television. Putting aside whether or not you like politics, here is something that narrates our desire for a better life - and shows that getting such a thing is never as easy as it sounds. A remarkable show.

Worth every penny
Review date: 2006-02-10 Rating: 10 out of 10

We bought this box set as a joint Christmas present since it seemed a lot of money to lay out. but boy has it been worth it. We've been watching it intensively since mid-january when it arrived (as in 'it's 2am, can we manage another one?) - there is a HUGE amount of viewing here. Much as I'm a fan of audio commentaries I'm not missing them on this since there is already so much there. The writing and acting are only rarely less than stellar and it turns out that all the friends who advised me to watch it were completely right, it is fantastic!!

My advice is definitely not to fiddle about with one season sets, buy this. the season cliff hangers are so heartstopping (especially the first couple) that you'll end up out looking for a 24hr DVD store!

But don't expect to get any studying/housework/exercise done for at least a month unless you are very strong willed!

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