The West Wing
I’ve always been a fan of Aaron Sorkin. He manages to write excellent, fluid dialogue that has tight and enjoyable rhythm and it makes you think and smile. The West Wing is probably his best work so far and if I didn’t have the first seasons in my DVD closet, I’d be a hollow man.
With the series, Sorkin manages to paint a vivid image of the political intricacies going on at the top level of U.S. power struggle between democrats and republicans. Martin Sheen embodies the presidency with the character Josiah Bartlet in such a way, that if he would run for presidency, most likely most of the U.S. citizens would vote for him - Bartlet is written so well that he in many way defines the perfect president.
There are many excellent moments in the series, but I think it’s enough to say that there are no weak aspects in the production. The camera work, casting, scripting, directing, everything just works so damn well. The illusion of being there is unbroken throughout the series (although sadly the quality and vision drops quite a bit after 5th Season). If you don’t find politics too boring and would like to have some virtual look at the way things supposedly could work in the White House, you wouldn’t go wrong by picking up this series.
The thing about The West Wing is that after you have watched it for some time, the characters have become so real that you actually feel a sense of loss when you leave the series. And to me, that is the ultimate definition of a good series.
