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October 20, 2004
'West Wing' hits ground running
By Rick Bird
Cincinnati Post
Two congressmen are killed and a White House aide is in critical condition after a Middle East terrorist attack. Congress, the media and the American people are calling for the president to retaliate. Invade something; bomb anything.
The president seemingly does nothing. Of course, viewers know better -- we are let into the plot knowing the president is replying to terrorism by starting peace talks.
That is the intriguing, politically charged premise as season six of "The West Wing" premieres tonight (9 p.m., Channel 5). The series picks up last season's cliff-hanger of an ending after a terrorist bombing in the Gaza Strip raises the specter of whether a series regular, White House aide Donna Moss (Janel Moloney), may be killed off. (We won't spoil the result.)
We will say, though, that after watching the first few episodes of the new season available for review, the series has regained its splendid, cerebral form that won the show four Emmys as best drama in its first five seasons.
The show is back to relying on the power of its main characters to carry the drama. Many thought the show slipped to more soap opera status last year after creator and main writer Aaron Sorkin left the series, now in the hands of producer John Wells ("ER").
Martin Sheen is magnificent in the debut as the conflicted, but bold, President Josiah Bartlet, who sees a chance for Middle East peace even as his chief of staff and best friend, Leo McGarry (John Spencer), is urging military reprisal. The next three-episode arc may also be seen as a shot from "The West Wing" writers to get in their pre-election statement. In contrast to the Bush Administration's invasion of Iraq, it argues President Bartlet's refraining from military action could actually lead to a peace process.
Because of Sorkin's departure, many viewers thought the series lost some of its political edge last year. But this season the art-imitating-life politics seems to be back. By the third episode, as the president apparently nears a deal that requires American troops as peacekeepers, he is having trouble selling the concept to the fictional Republican Congress. Wells has a Republican congressman say, "We can't afford $60 billion for peacekeeping."
It is an ironic comment, clearly meant as a real-life knock on the Bush Administration.
Still, fans of any political persuasion should find the new "West Wing" season as compelling and provocative as ever, simply based on the great acting and storytelling.
Posted by Jo at October 20, 2004 04:49 PM