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April 06, 2005
TV: Presidential campaign breathes some fresh air into 'West Wing'
by Vince Horiuchi
The Salt Lake Tribune
For many fans, this is the year that "The West Wing" bounced back.
Most of this season was focused on primary elections for a changing of the guard while the current administration, led by President Jed Bartlett (Martin Sheen), is finishing a second, and last, term.
Indeed, many of this year's episodes, at least when they concentrated on the campaign trail for both the Democratic and Republican primaries, were a step up from the leaden previous two seasons.
But I've had a heap of reservations about this season, too, and I haven't been as forgiving as other fans of a show that was among my favorites when it first aired in the fall of 1999.
Now, all of the baby-kissing and grip-and-grin photo-ops comes to a head when the series' season finale airs tonight at 8 p.m. on KSL Channel 5.
In the final episode of the Emmy-winning show's sixth season, Democratic candidates Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Vice President Robert Russell (Gary Cole) go head to head at the party's national convention.
Up until now, there have been some fine episodes that concentrated on the machinations of running a presidential campaign, from trying to seduce voters in the New England primaries to the process of finding a vice-presidential candidate to join the party ticket.
But the spirit and verve of the show's early days have evaporated, although we saw a glimpse of it this year in the story line about the young, energetic and idealistic Santos. But whenever the series cut back to the White House, well, I felt like one of those people you see yawning behind President Bush during one of his speeches.
There were a number of credibility gaps this year as well. For example:
* It was difficult to believe former Vice President John Hoynes (Tim Matheson), who was ousted from the White House because of a sex scandal, could bounce back to become a viable candidate for president.
* Would the GOP really nominate such a moderate Republican presidential candidate in California Sen. Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) who is a) pro-choice and b) doesn't attend church regularly? Uh, given today's climate in the party, that's about as likely as nominating Michael Moore.
* And how come the press and the party didn't know
that Vinick was not a churchgoer until after he secured the party nomination? Something tells me the religious right would not have let that slip by so late.
Like many have argued, I believe the show "jumped the shark" - that moment when a series begins to head south - when creator Aaron Sorkin left at the end of the fourth season.
As the creator who literally wrote or co-wrote every episode for the first four years, the soul of Sorkin could be felt in every line of dialogue. Yeah, those could be preachy years, but they also had spunk.
The show has been picked up for a seventh year, and like in real life, I welcome a new administration with fresh ideas and new characters to explore. Whether it's Santos (my money is on him) or Vinick (he would be interesting, too) - the two likely candidates to head into the final election - next year could be a bold season for a once-great series that needs resuscitating.
Posted by Jo at April 6, 2005 03:26 PM