« West Wing veers north | Main | West Wing actors, crew members descend on town »
December 08, 2004
Saunders: 'West Wing' déjà vu for Alda
by Dusty Saunders
Rocky Mountain News
Call him Sen. Alan Alda.
Twenty-five years ago Alda played an idealistic, liberal U.S. senator in the feature film, The Seduction of Joe Tynan.
Tonight, on The West Wing, Alda begins his role as Sen. Arnold Vinick, a moderate U.S. Republican senator.
Idealistic? Alda feels it's too soon to know since he's on The West Wing, where scripts are often written and changed right up to rehearsal time.
Want more of Sen. Alda?
You can see him on the big screen this month in The Aviator, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes.
Alda portrays the late Sen. Ralph Owen Brewster, whom Alda describes as "a creepy, skuzzy guy."
"I know that Arnold Vinick is a moderate Republican on social issues and a fiscal conservative," Alda told critics during a phone interview.
"So I guess he might be considered an ideal presidential candidate - at least for The West Wing.
"You'll learn more about him as the series rolls along."
While NBC hasn't made an official announcement about The West Wing's future, Alda is scheduled to return for five episodes during next year's seventh season after appearing in five hours in the current run.
In the political world of The West Wing, President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) is completing his second term, so a new president will occupy the White House come September.
Putting on my best Tim Russert imitation, I'm predicting Arnold Vinick won't be elected.
Actually, the votes - or the vote - already has been tabulated.
"I'm really not interested in doing a regular weekly series again," the 68-year-old actor said.
"And besides, they'd have to fire a bunch of Democrats who have contracts on the show. I don't think they'll do that," the congenial Alda added, referring to the series' numerous co-stars who are part of the Bartlet administration.
Alda, a fan of The West Wing, took the role after getting a call from Executive Producer John Wells, who outlined the character.
"I have a lot of respect for John, whom I worked with a couple of seasons ago on ER," Alda said.
"The West Wing is one of the best acted, directed and produced series on television."
Alda indicated he didn't take the role of a Republican senator from California simply to modify his reputation as being a Hollywood liberal.
"I simply like the idea of working on a good TV show in a role that's fun to play. I'm not trying to convince anyone of anything."
Responding to a comment by a critic that The West Wing was full of "giddy optimism," Alda said. "One reason I enjoy The West Wing is because it attempts to show what is possible in the democratic process."
Alda gets a feeling of déjà vu when watching today's political scene unfold on television.
"A lot of the stuff that's real today was in the Joe Tynan fictional script. That's really weird."
Alda's main claim to TV fame, is, of course, as Hawkeye Pierce, a role that won him five Emmy awards during M*A*S*H's 11-season CBS run.
The series finale, aired Feb. 28, 1983, is being saluted this week by TV Guide and TV Land as the eighth most memorable "moment" in TV history. The 2 1/2 hour episode drew the largest audience ever to watch a single entertainment program in prime time.
Alda claims that one of the joys of working on The West Wing is the on-set camaraderie and humor among the cast and crew.
"From that perspective, The West Wing is an extension of M*A*S*H."
Posted by Jo at December 8, 2004 08:07 AM