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February 12, 2004
'The West Wing' gets a political makeover
by Neal Justin
Minneapolis Star-Tribune
LOS ANGELES -- Jed Bartlet's White House was once the most romantic spot on Earth.
We're not talking about make-out sessions in the Oval Office. We mean the kind of place where everyone talks like Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, where heroes make Shakespearean statements and no one giggles, where international crises can be solved in 53 minutes, where most of the movers and shakers are young, single and look nothing like Karl Rove.
Well, the honeymoon is over.
When creator Aaron Sorkin, who wrote the bulk of the episodes, and co-executive producer Thomas Schlamme, one of TV's classiest directors, left at the end of last season, they took the show's lyrical, sometimes whimsical spirit with them.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, according to cast members and executive producer John Wells, who is now the drama's "show-runner."
Sorkin's last episode was his way of saying goodbye to Camelot: President Bartlet's daughter was kidnapped in retaliation for an assassination ordered by the White House.
"That story helped us get a little bit more in line emotionally with where the country is," Wells said, referring to the repercussions of Sept. 11. "There was a huge shift in the middle of this show's run, from a place where we were, to a different place."
In the past, West Wing staffers would fight, but quickly make up over quips and cognac. These days, grudges linger, and White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer) hasn't cracked a smile all season.
I recently watched the first five episodes from 1999 again, and was reminded how funny they were.
The pilot episode introduces Press Secretary C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney) in a gym trying to hit on someone -- when she slips off the running machine with a flopping dive that would make Chevy Chase proud. The rat-a-tat interplay between Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) and his assistant, Donna Moss (Janel Moloney), has a screwball sizzle.
And I forgot just how dry a wit Rob Lowe was, particularly when he was in over his head. As Sam Seaborn, the much-put-upon assistant communications director, he delivers a hilarious, uninformative description of the White House to grade-school kids ("If I'm not mistaken, it's made mostly of cement.")
The creators even make fun of themselves. One long tracking shot, a Schlamme staple, follows Josh and Sam through the hallways when the two suddenly stop and realize that they have no idea where they're going.
"Let's never speak of this to anyone," Josh says.
And then there are the noble, chest-pounding moments that only a comedy could get away with. Martin Sheen's first appearance as the president doesn't happen until the final minutes of the pilot, when he kicks out a group of radical evangelists. It might be the most melodramatic entrance since Norma Desmond descended her staircase.
In one particularly sappy but sweet scene, Josh struggles with personal demons as "Ave Maria" soars on the CD player and C.J. sips wine on his couch. In the next room, the president cooks chili for his staff while his daughter flirts with his assistant.
It's hard to imagine a scene like that today. Cast members admit that they worried about the show's future without Sorkin's optimistic touch.
"Being on a one-hour drama is like being in an acting cult, and it was like David Koresh had left," Whitford said.
But Richard Schiff, who plays communications director Toby Ziegler, said the new, more sullen White House is a welcome one for him as an actor.
"We're no longer a romantic entity," he said. "It's more of a naturalism-and reality-driven drama now."
That might be stretching it a bit. In last week's episode, Toby single-handedly tackled the Social Security crisis, triggering insomnia, a double-cross of his friends, screaming and a resignation letter.
In the end, Toby and the other West Wingers settle for being invisible heroes, while their political allies take the credit. Now that's a romantic notion.
Posted by Jo at February 12, 2004 11:14 PM