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September 23, 2003
'West Wing' back in fine form
By Diane Holloway
Cox News Service
September 23, 2003
Fans of "The West Wing" are approaching this week's fifth-season premiere with trepidation.
Creator Aaron Sorkin, whose signature dialogue set the tone for the fast-paced political drama, left at the end of last season, along with director Thomas Schlamme, who was responsible for the show's distinctive look.
And Rob Lowe, the original star who had faded into the ensemble, left and wasn't quiet about the reasons.
"It was never about money or screen time," Lowe told reporters in July. "At the end of the day, I wanted Sam to be involved in the big story lines, not just shuffled in and out for relief."
It was an ominous situation for the acclaimed series, which finished the season with a 26 percent dip in its ratings.
'Crackling good'
But guess what? This season's opening episode (9 p.m. Wednesday, WTHR ), written by Sorkin's replacement, John Wells, is crackling good. The tone is the same, the story is compelling and the emotional wallop powerful. In at least one regard, it's even better than last season's finale: The characters don't talk over each other or sound like they're on speed.
Co-executive producer Llewellyn Wells, who has been with the show from the beginning (and is man-in-charge John Wells' brother), says the goal is to make only slight changes in style.
"Aaron and Tommy left us with a brilliant fictional world," Llewellyn Wells said in a recent phone interview. "There may be a slightly different take on things, maybe a bit more plot-driven. Aaron's voice as a writer is so distinctive that I don't think anyone here wants to try to imitate his style. It's futile. There will be some changes in the way the characters sound, but they'll be subtle changes."
John Wells, an original executive producer on "The West Wing," has assembled a writing team that includes John Sacret Young, who worked with him on "China Beach," "ER" and "Third Watch"; Carol Flint ("China Beach" and "ER"); Lawrence O'Donnell (a "West Wing" veteran and MSNBC's senior political analyst); and Alexa Junge ("Sex and the City," "Once and Again").
Alex Graves and Christopher Misiano, who directed previous episodes, will follow in Schlamme's footsteps.
"Tommy created such an indelible and beautiful style for the show that talented people can step in and take what he created and enhance it," Llewellyn Wells said.
So, "West Wing" fans, we enter the new season in good hands.
Catching up
When last we left the Bartlet White House in May, presidential daughter Zoey had been drugged by her French boyfriend and kidnapped by an unknown assailant. The president, believing his ability to govern was compromised, stepped down. After the vice president departed over a sex scandal, the Republican speaker of the House (John Goodman) was sworn in.
In this week's opener, Zoey is still missing, the speaker-turned-president is threatening to take the country to war and the first couple's relationship is strained to the breaking point. The ending (which we won't spoil here) is vintage "West Wing" -- a heart-wrenching scene of emotional agony with a plaintive search for spiritual strength.
The new vice president, played by Gary Cole ("The Brady Bunch Movie," "Office Space"), will arrive in the third episode. Wells said the character is from Colorado and doesn't appeal to the West Wing staffers, at least not at first.
Posted by Jo at September 23, 2003 07:23 PM