I can't help it

A few weeks ago, Netflix made all seasons of The West Wing available for streaming. Not only was it available, it keeps being pushed towards me; both through /r/NetflixBestOf, and Netflix's many lists of recommendations. My lack of self-control means that I caved in and rewatched the show again. Yes, I'm really blaming Netflix this time.

I absolutely loved watching the earlier episodes again; especially seeing CJ being nervous and not nearly as experienced as I remember her to be, when going in to the press briefing room. I've missed the dynamic of the team very much. And I've definitely missed the friendship between Josh and Sam, and CJ and Toby by extension.

The more episodes I watch, the sadder I get because I know Sam Seaborn is leaving. Moreover, not too long after Sam's farewell, Amy Gardner would soon join him in leaving the show. Those two are my favorite characters after Josh Lyman and the show is just not the same without them; yes, even though Amy was never really a regular on the show. I really wanted Josh to end up with Amy; I thought she was more of a match to him than Donna ever was. Sure, Josh and Donna shared some cute banters, but they're far from the scope and level of Josh/Amy banters. This blog post takes the words out of my mouth, and then polished them and expressed my points more clearly. I honestly can't believe that there are so many Amy-haters out there. What's not to love about her? I understand that most people shipped Josh and Donna since the beginning of the show, and to have this very attractive woman come in and steal the man can be aggravating, but how could they not see how perfect Josh and Amy are? Okay... Taking my shipper hat off now...

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

I was basically Sorkin-dialogue-deprived after The West Wing and just couldn't stop myself from watching Studio 60 – it was either this or re-watching TWW and I don't want to get tired of TWW just yet (however unlikely it now seems, it will happen if I keep watching it). Plus, Matthew Perry and Bradley Whitford and their wonderful chemistry; can't go wrong there!

It's been a while since I last watched S60, which I blogged about a little on my old blog, but I remember thinking that the Pilot episode was very strong – maybe not as strong as TWW's Pilot – it got me intrigued and captivated right away. I vividly remember watching Wes Mendell's (Judd Hirsch) rant and felt that this was gonna be a good show.

Postmortem: The West Wing

It might be my attention span problem, but I wasn't as excited about the show during the last two seasons as I was in the first five. It was still a very good show, don't get me wrong, but with Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) running the Santos campaign, the show became very fragmented, and I found that to be much less enjoyable than the earlier seasons.

My biggest problem is with Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) himself [side note: nothing personal against him, but I didn't like his character on Dexter either]. I just didn't buy Santos as a competent presidential candidate, let alone as POTUS. Smits doesn't have that presidential presence that Martin Sheen has, and that alone made the new administration seem a lot weaker than Bartlet's.

Goodbye, Sam Seaborn! :(

I was just looking through the cast list of The West Wing on IMDB when I saw that Rob Lowe was only in 82 episodes, instead of 154 like the rest of the main cast.

Seasons 1-4 main cast

I was determined to avoid reading any stories on the issue, so I don't spoil the storyline to myself. But curiosity got the better of me, and I started reading articles that enlightened me to what happened.

Just a random thought

For some reason, I find it strange that the people on The West Wing were still using pagers in season 1, and then some - not all - of them had cellphones in seasons 2 and 3. I know it was during that time when cellphones started booming, but I honestly thought that these people, who are leaders of the most powerful country in the world, would somehow be more technologically advanced than the rest of the world. They'd have things before they're invented. Stupid thought, I know, but it bugs me that they don't have Internet on the go, that only a few of them have cellphones, that information is not readily available anywhere, anytime. We are a spoiled generation!

And, another random thought: the clock ticking in The Oval Office is, if not just a coincidence, simply brilliant. Adds an urgency around anything that happens in that room. Not that it needed any, but I just thought it was brilliant.

Can White House people really be this cool?

I have just finished season 2 of The West Wing and, I have to say, this might be the best television show I've ever watched.

That doesn't say much, that's for sure – it's not like I've watched that many TV shows – but even when on paper, I'm not particularly interested in the subject, I can't seem to stop plowing through the episodes. I watched season 2 in 2 days!

I don't understand, nor was I interested in, the American government. This is one of those shows that I feel are smarter than I am. It's incredible to see the variety of issues that these people have to deal with on a daily basis. It shows how essential loyalty and friendship are between these very important people, to be able to do what they do.

It took me quite a few episodes to grasp the different characters and their positions within the White House. And even after two seasons, I'm still confused as to what their roles are. The senior staff seem to be doing everything important, instead of each having their own particular function. Or maybe there is, but I'm just not getting it. Again, the show feels smarter than I am; so I probably missed a lot of things – something which I tend to do, especially when I go through episodes as quickly as I do.

I did develop a crush on Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford); and I think he and Donna have the most adorable boss-assistant relationship and friendship. I just love their banter.

I honestly don't know how to stop myself from watching more episodes tonight. I think I need a little break from it; and it'd be nice to go a little slower and save more episodes for the upcoming weeks, but that seems unlikely. I'm still debating whether I should start watching season 3 tonight or wait until at least tomorrow morning. Oh, who am I kidding; I'm probably gonna watch season 3 right after I publish this post!

The West Wing

I'm all caught up on Doctor Who, so I decided to watch The West Wing while waiting for the new series. I've been a fan of creator Aaron Sorkin's other works, especially Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip and The Social Network, and if not for all the critical acclaim and love from the fans, I knew I would love this dialogue-heavy show.