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January 31, 2006
'West Wing' ends in style
By DUSTY SAUNDERS
Scripps Howard News Service
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- The president, on a hotel stage rather than in the West Wing, gave his state-of the-TV-union address.
"I love 'The West Wing' for many reasons," Martin Sheen said. "The show has been a fantasy. But we have offered a parallel universe to reality."
Sheen, aka President Josiah (Jeb) Bartlet, then looked around the stage at fellow cast members.
"To have been a part of this crowd and those who were here before has been a powerful gift for me. It's a great inspiration to older actors, like me. If you stick around long enough, something good may happen," said Sheen, 66.
"There have been occasions where people have asked me if I was interested in public political life. And I thought, 'My God, are we in that bad of shape?' "
Sheen, fellow actors, writers and producers of "The West Wing," gathered last week to meet with the press following executive producer John Wells announcement the seven-year-series will end May 14.
It was an emotional weekend for "The West Wing" crew. The day before the announcement they attended a final service for the late John Spencer.
"I don't think anyone was really surprised. The rumors had been all over the place," said Wells. "I had conversations with Warner Bros. and NBC late last year. We agreed the time had come. But I'm thankful we'll have the opportunity to finish in graceful style, while providing a legitimate ending to Jeb Bartlet's administration."
"The West Wing," off the air during the Winter Olympics, will return with episodes leading up to shows April 2 and April 9 dealing with the presidential election between Democrat Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Republican Alan Vinick (Alan Alda).
The series finale will deal with the inauguration of the new president and the departure of the Bartlet administration.
"That's a perfect ending," Wells said. "We were very fortunate to get two more wonderful actors (Smits and Alda), who you could actually believe could be president of the United States.
Paying tribute to creator Aaron Sorkin, Wells said another major success ingredient was showing the remarkable strength of American democracy.
"That was one of Aaron's original concepts," Wells said. "And the peaceful passing of power from one leader to another expresses this strength and makes for wonderful storytelling."
So who will win the election?
"Obviously, we won't share (the winner) with you, because that wouldn't be fun for anyone," said Wells. So the guessing game begins while the question is asked: In the blabbermouth world of Hollywood, will the final plot remain secret until air time May 14?
The death of Spencer (Leo McGarry, formerly Bartlet's chief of staff and then Santos' running mate) happened at a point where producers and writers had "pretty much" made a decision, according to Wells. Perhaps Spencer's death has changed the original thinking.
There's a feeling among some critics and NBC insiders that having Alda's Republican candidate win the election would be a tour de force ending for "The West Wing," which has projected a Democratic liberal face during its run.
The show's cancellation hasn't put a negative spin on cast members' attitudes.
"It's a miracle to be able make a living in a non-humiliating way as an actor," said Bradley Whitford (Josh Lyman). The actor stressed that "The West Wing" has offered creativity on a cultural level in an arena (commercial TV) where the stakes are high.
Sheen said all the cast members felt they were involved in something special when the series started.
"The only real doubt we had was whether it would work on network television. It was a political show. There were no car chases or fires. The action was in the word. We wondered if the audience and sponsors would support us. And we quickly found there was a market for this type of show," he said.
The series has been regularly criticized for its liberal story lines. "We've maintained a core of viewers who have been with us from the start," Sheen said. "A core is what most politicians depend on for their success, so we sort of fell into that."
That core audience includes Washington politicians, predictably mostly Democrats. But cast members have discovered that some Republicans watch.
Broadway performer Kristin Chenoweth, who plays a presidential aide, recalled the response she received recently while singing at the Kennedy Center.
"I was at a table with former Sen. Tom Daschle and Sandra Day O'Connor. After realizing I wasn't going to tell them who would win the election, both said they had never seen a movie or TV show that was more true-to-life about life in Washington."
Whitford chimed in: "Alan Greenspan _ you know, with that face that's just not trained to express anything _ once said to me he was really upset when our Fed chairman died and nobody cared. It wasn't even the 'A' story line."
Posted by Jo at January 31, 2006 06:58 PM