« 'West Wing' Writers' Novel Way of Picking the President | Main | The Legacy of The West Wing »
April 10, 2006
Blue states win - at least on `West Wing'
Jimmy Smits' Matt Santos may have won West Wing's fictional presidential race, but the television program, in its seventh and final season, is the real success story.
BY CONNIE OGLE
Miami Herald
The end is near, but at least stalwart fans of The West Wing -- and the Santos campaign -- are going out as winners.
On Sunday night's episode of the series, which has spent the past two years following a new presidential race, Democrat Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) eked out a victory over Republican Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda, nominated for an Emmy last year for the role) to become the country's first Hispanic commander in chief. (Yes, this is a progressive liberal fantasy, but it's a formidably well-written one, and the vote-counting tension was reminiscent of the 2000 Bush vs. Gore election.)
Florida, you may or may not be happy to learn, went Vinick all the way. So far, no reports of chad abuse.
In a poignant blend of jubilation and sorrow, the episode also dealt with the unexpected death of vice presidential candidate Leo McGarry, played by the terrific John Spencer, who died after a heart attack Dec. 16. In typical WW fashion, the writers didn't show each character reacting to the awful news -- creator Aaron Sorkin and his disciples have always favored a ''less is more'' ideology -- but the stricken countenance of White House chief of staff C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney) and the absolutely shattered Santos campaign manager Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) conveyed a shocked, palpable pain.
The West Wing, once as vital to NBC as Lost is to ABC -- only with a lot more Emmys -- concludes May 14, ending the Josiah Bartlet/Martin Sheen era. It's fashionable now to say that you gave up on the show three years ago, after Sorkin bailed, even as it's equally fair to say the show's best episodes lay in its first years. Catch the first season's Celestial Navigation on Bravo reruns, and you'll see what I mean.
But what executive producer John Wells and his writers have accomplished in the past two years is amazing. They have re-created a series hemmed in by a limited time frame, and the campaign war between Vinick and Santos breathed a thrilling new life into the series. Sure, there was less screen time for regulars C.J. and disgraced former communications director Toby (Richard Schiff, whose story line hasn't quite been resolved yet), but Smits and Alda, such cool, seasoned pros that they even took on a live-debate episode, more than made up for any losses.
Casting Janeane Garafolo as an acerbic Santos strategist was equally brilliant, and the transformation of former assistant Donna Moss (Janel Moloney) into a sharp political mind on the campaign trail has been fascinating. As for the (finally) erupting romance between Josh and Donna, there's only one thing to say: Thank you, writers. Just . . . thank you.
There are five more episodes before the series ends, more than enough time for a graceful departure. The Santos campaign will need to find a new vice president, and a slew of former cast members will be back to reprise roles: Mary-Louise Parker, Anna Deavere Smith, Emily Procter, Marlee Matlin, Gary Cole, Tim Matheson, Timothy Busfield, Annabeth Gish and, best of all, Rob Lowe as former deputy communications director Sam Seaborn. All fine reasons to consider this final season a victory.
Posted by Jo at April 10, 2006 05:50 PM