There is a high cost involved with getting hooked to a new soap. In economics we call this (‘we’?? …classy!) fixed cost. With this in mind I am not keen in getting to watch anything that has the word ‘pilot’ attached to it, in fear of being hooked on something that isn’t very good, but keep on watching nevertheless, simply out of curiosity as to ‘where are they going with is’, or doubt that maybe there is an interesting twist somewhere down the line that will make all previous 24 episodes make sense! I simply don’t do that anymore…it is bad enough trying not to watch an episode of sex and the city every time they come up! But there has been talk about this series that has been and gone and by-passed me like wind in the Aegean. And I have now heard this from a number, of what I’d like to think are reliable sources. So, I took a leap in the dark and opted to give Pascal a 7-season West Wing present for his birthday, and in doing so, also give myself a little one too. No harm in that. Few weeks ago, we took the fling film out of season one and weekends have not been the same since, and have no intention of reverting to being whatever they were ‘before’, till we have been through the whole seven seasons, I have googled the writers, the characters and all matters of high and low importance.
And it is not difficult to decide what is great about the series. The speed for one, gives a certain element of immediacy that makes you feel that '....yes .... we can'. The issues are so actual, pressing and close to the bone that we wonder whether we wouldn’t qualify for deputy chief of communications to the white house ourselves! But the dialogue…well, I am as much of a sucker for new and fancy word as the next guy (like my summer experience of ‘discombobulated’), but West Wing takes this to a whole new level, with words like Shibboleth (which by the way I knew but had forgotten), the odd diplomatic parlance like ‘plenipotentiary’ and ‘filibuster’ or the deliciously loaded word of “buxom” uttered from no other that the eccentric British ambassador to Washington, Lord Marbury.
Cast and characters make for a great match, with Martin Sheen at the driving seat, a very worthy president. I think Toby is my favourite character though, simply because he is so principled. I like Sam too because he is a good writer (something I had always wanted to be) but mostly I think because I had the hots for Rob Lowe when I was 15 and he played in all those teenage films! I like CJ too, primarily because she has a very tough job and she is very quick on her feet. Josh is nice but I don’t think I would ever become a good friend of his. Leo is discrete and tough and his alcohol problem makes him all that more human. Charlie is cute and Ms Cunningham is the old lady we all want to know. Not so keen on the first lady but then we don’t get to see her much. I like how the private lives of the characters feature only minimally and the story line so far has been very much about the issues….
Just finished season two tonight and I am already getting nervous of what weekends will look like when the whole thing is over.
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