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April 29, 2006

Whitford Spreads His Wings

By Ben Grossman
Broadcasting & Cable

NBC’s The West Wing is leaving office for good May 14. But actor Bradley Whitford, who starred as the always frazzled Joshua Lymon for the show’s seven-year run, isn’t going to become a highly paid lobbyist. Instead, he’s starring in Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a drama that goes behind the scenes of a Saturday Night Live­like series, to which NBC has already given a commitment. Whitford spoke to B&C’s Ben Grossman about whether it was really time for West Wing to go, show scheduling, and why he’d mow Aaron Sorkin’s lawn.

How did the shooting of the finale go?

I think it’s very hard emotionally when shows like this end, but some of that has been put into perspective by the death of John [Spencer, who played politico Leo McGarry on West Wing]. So the end of a show feels pretty puny. But the last thing we shot was Martin [Sheen] walking out of the West Wing, and everyone gathered when it was shot; it was pretty emotional.

It was also a nice moment for Martin because the way our characters are supposed to feel about Bartlett [Sheen’s presidential character] is the way we feel about Martin.

What sticks out about the show as it reaches its conclusion in the next couple of weeks?

One of the most underreported parts about the show is, we got a great full run and [we had] cultural impact, and a lot of people made a lot of money, and we never once had a lead-in. I can tell you that, if we had been following Friends for five years, it would have been different. We had a full run with it, even in this era of procedural crime dramas and reality programming with people eating slugs, but it had a certain commercial power that was underrated.

Did you want to see another season?

There were areas I would have been interested in going into, but it did make sense to end it now. Plus, the network made it clear when it moved us to Sunday night that the show was not going to be a priority.

How is it reuniting with Aaron Sorkin, who created both West Wing and Studio 60?

There are two kinds of product in Hollywood, and there is an unmistakable stench to the first kind, which is when smart, talented people are producing shows they wouldn’t watch themselves.

Then there are guys like David Chase [The Sopranos], David Milch [Deadwood] and Aaron Sorkin, who are going on the assumption that the audience is as smart and funny as they are. Both West Wing and this new show have that in common. It’s so great working with Aaron again, I’d mow his lawn.

How important is Studio 60’s success to NBC?

We all know there is pressure on NBC, but the No. 1 network has incredible pressure to stay there, and No. 2 needs to catch No. 1. Luckily, it’s very clear to me that those kinds of pressures are beyond my cosmic eggshell, so the best thing I can do for NBC is just to make the next scene work and concentrate on my hair.

When on the NBC schedule would this show make the most sense?

The show probably makes the most sense at 10 p.m. All I know is that the implication is, it will be a pretty good slot. It’s no secret it’s not going to be on Friday or Saturday night, and probably at 9 or 10 whatever night they choose.

Plus, at 10, you can show full frontal nudity.

Posted by Jo at 02:24 PM | Comments (0)

April 25, 2006

'West Wing' is plagued by leaks

By Scott Collins
Los Angeles Times

Among fans of NBC's "The West Wing," the question of who might get a pardon from outgoing President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) in the series finale May 14 is a subject of intense speculation.

But the network and studio aren't preparing any pardons for some show enthusiasts, who've been crowding blogs and discussion groups with plot "spoilers" and commentary about how executive producer John Wells and his team will wind down the final three episodes of the White House drama.

The website Television Without Pity has separate threads devoted to spoilers in its "West Wing" forum: one for tips and raw information, another for discussion and a third for pure, uninformed speculation. The site westwing.bewarne.com has a blog entirely devoted to spoilers and contains a disclaimer that such information often comes from "first drafts of scripts" and that the plot is often changed during production or editing.

The sites can also contain some useful non-plot-related intelligence, such as (and here a spoiler warning really isn't necessary) gossip that former regular cast member Rob Lowe and series creator Aaron Sorkin, among others, may appear in cameos for the finale.

Of course, the Internet has made it virtually impossible to police this kind of data flow, and that creates a thorny issue for networks and studios. Although it's obviously better to be spoiled than ignored, spoilers probably do little to expand viewership for a series such as "West Wing," which has had a dwindling fan base for the last several seasons. That may explain why the studio takes a dim view of such websites.

"We'd prefer not to have that out there, but it happens on all our shows," says Sharan Magnuson, a spokeswoman for Warner Bros. Television, which produces "West Wing," adding: "We never confirm any of it."

Posted by Jo at 05:55 PM | Comments (0)

April 23, 2006

'The West Wing' turned dark horse into a champion

From the start, "The West Wing" challenged viewers with brainy fare. Now, after a triumphant term, it's time to bid farewell.
by Neal Justin
Minneapolis Star Tribune

The Bartlet administration, which moves out of the White House next month, always operated outside the scope of reality.
The team was too ideological, too fair-minded, too optimistic, too witty and too gorgeous to exist anywhere beyond the small screen. But the most outrageous legacy these Pollyanna politicians leave behind is that audiences accepted them, turning a dark horse into a historic champion, one of the most critically acclaimed series and addictive soap operas of our time.

"The West Wing," just four weeks from its final episode, hit some bumps along the way, first creatively when creator/writer Aaron Sorkin departed after four seasons, and then in the ratings when it moved from Wednesdays to Sundays two years ago. But after 24 Emmys, including four for best series, no one can dispute that this was one of the airwaves' most impressive, and unexpected, success stories.

There were serious doubts that viewers would be interested in a show that asked us to care about Washington wonks in the same way we embrace hard-boiled detectives. Plots about census taking and foreign diplomacy? That sounds as inviting as "The Jim Lehrer Variety Hour." Even cast members were skeptical in the fall of 1999.

"We all felt going in that we had something special, but we didn't know whether or not it would work on network television," said Martin Sheen, who played President Josiah (Jed) Bartlet as a cameo for the pilot and wound up being the drama's primary star. "There were no car chases or fires or special effects. The action was in the words. We were public servants and we wondered if an audience would support us and if sponsors would sell their products with us."

Co-producer Lawrence O'Don-nell Jr., who came to the show with a political background, knew enough about TV to figure the series had as much chance as a Gary Coleman gubernatorial campaign.

"I was absolutely convinced that it didn't have a chance. No chance," he said. "As far I could tell, in TV terms, nothing happened. It was a bunch of guys in neckties and some nicely dressed women who were arguing and nothing happened."

"I was guaranteed 13 episodes of employment and my lifetime budget was based on that at the time."

Despite its long-shot status, the show became an instant hit, maintaining a longtime residence in the Nielsen ratings' top 15 and attracting more viewers than any other show in the much-coveted demographic of those pulling down more than $75,000 a year.

But the fans who most amused the cast and crew were their real-life counterparts.

Politicos in Ohio tried to recruit Sheen to run for public office. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told series regular Bradley Whitford that he was disappointed in an episode in which the show's Fed guy died because no one seemed to care. At a dinner last year, former Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., and Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor begged cast member Kristin Chenoweth to tell them who would win the show's pivotal election.

"When I worked in Washington, nobody watched any TV shows at all," said O'Donnell, who was chief adviser to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., and Democratic chief of staff for the Senate Finance Committee. "I was very surprised that they latched onto this thing as quickly as they did."

Antidote to Clinton?

It's possible that those in the nation's capital were watching in hopes of getting a shout-out or at least a Sorkin one-liner they could steal for their next congressional hearing.

But what about the rest of Americans? What excuse did they have for watching a show that demanded more than 15 percent of one's brain?

As they say, timing is everything.

When "Wing" debuted in 1999, President Bill Clinton was dealing with Monicagate and impeachment for lying under oath. Bartlet, on the other hand, never, ever considered cheating on his First Lady. He came across as so true and honest that no one would have blinked if he had grown a long beard and starting wearing a stovepipe hat.

The faux commander-in-chief offered an equally attractive alternative to President Bush. Bartlet's intellectual credentials were never in question -- a former economist, he liked to grill his subordinates with trivia about world capitals and national parks -- and he could get through an entire speech without a single grammatical stumble.

Yes, this was a liberal administration, but it also offered smart, thoughtful opponents, not the least of which was presidential candidate Arnie Vinick, played the last two seasons by Alan Alda with the same charm that made Hawkeye Pierce our favorite Korean War surgeon. Bartlet even hired a political adviser from the other side, nominated an arch-conservative to the Supreme Court and turned over his office temporarily to the Republican Speaker of the House.

As the country's two parties grew farther apart in real life, Bartlet's sense of even-handedness had its appeal.

"We felt we were dead in the center and that we would give everyone a fair shot," Sheen said. "We wanted to reflect a hope that this was possible and we should always aspire to it."

Allison Janney, who won four Emmys for her role as C.J. Cregg, said it was clear from very early on that this alternative universe was extremely inviting to fans.

"People were coming up to me, telling me how important it was to them and how much they hung onto Bartlet," she said. "They would say how great it was to look at these people in public service who you could admire and love and respect."

You'd think audiences were ready for more political fare, and more public officials as TV protagonists. But subsequent attempts -- "The Court,"Mister Sterling,"Jack & Bobby,"First Monday" -- never caught on. "Commander in Chief," which debuted last fall to mandate-like numbers, has nose-dived in the ratings and become less about politics and more about family squabbles.

"Wing" defied the odds, if only because it was so smart, so funny, so well acted, that it couldn't be ignored.

Don't expect another "West Wing" around the corner. Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme, who directed the "Wing" pilot, are developing a series for next season, but "Studio 60" is about the yuks behind the scenes of a late-night comedy show -- a more audience-friendly setting than, say, the office of the deputy White House communications director.

More and more, shows are being tailor-made with specific audiences in mind, said "Wing" executive producer John Wells. While "Wing" attracts a choice demographic, it's not large enough for the network to put a lot of money behind it.

"If we were redoing 'West Wing' right now, we'd have to do it far less expensively," he said. "I don't want to sound arrogant about this, but I think the show will be missed. It will be a very long time before anything similar to this will be on the air."

Posted by Jo at 09:05 AM | Comments (0)

April 21, 2006

Rob Lowe Is Seaborn Again on Wing

by Mary Murphy
TV Guide

President Bartlet may not have been eligible for another term, but Rob Lowe has elected to revisit NBC's The West Wing (Sundays at 8 pm/ET). "One line, and Rob was back where he left off," executive producer Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. says of Lowe, who's reprising the role that resurrected his career when The West Wing premiered in 1999.
Lowe left the show in 2002 in a dispute over salary and screen time. Now, with the series coming to an end next month, Lowe has signed on to make two guest appearances, with the first of his episodes airing on April 23.

"It was a great moment," says O'Donnell. "I saw him in the monitor, and he turned toward the camera and I realized that the series would have been incomplete without that moment. Seeing Rob and Brad Whitford together was like the good old days." Adds executive producer John Wells, "You thought it was going to be odd, but it wasn't. It was emotional for Rob, and it gave all of us closure."

SPOILER ALERT: Lowe's return as former White House staffer Sam Seaborn comes after the election that replaced the Bartlet administration with President Matt Santos and his crew. Former Bartlet chief of staff Josh Lyman (Whitford), who works for the new regime, flies to L.A. to convince his old buddy Sam to come aboard.

"Sam doesn't want to do it," says Wells. "He's gotten on with his life. He's working for a law firm and is engaged to be married." But Josh persists, offering Sam the opportunity to become deputy chief of staff. "In other words," Wells says, "Josh wants Sam to become his Josh."

But Josh doesn't make such an enviable role model. "We see Josh as we have never seen him before," says O'Donnell. "He's out of control, he's enraged. It becomes clear that he cannot run the White House without Sam. Sam is the only person who knows how to manage Josh."

Sam also has some personal advice for Josh, who is having relationship troubles with Donna. "Josh has to make a decision about their relationship," says Janel Moloney, who plays Donna. "Sam influences him and tells him: 'You are not just your job.'"

But what about Sam's potential new job? Will he, or won't he? Josh will get the answer when Lowe makes his final visit to The West Wing for the May 14 finale. If our vote counts, he'll say yes.

Posted by Jo at 07:52 AM | Comments (0)

April 19, 2006

Saying Good-Bye to the West Wing

By Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith
National Ledger

Shooting the final episode of "The West Wing" was "heartbreaking," admits Bradley Whitford, who has spent the last seven years playing Josh Lyman on the revered NBC series, which will make its final bow May 14.

"Working on this show, it's very familial -- a crushing level of intimacy, of everyone knowing what everyone else has gone through. People have become parents, toddlers have become teenagers. And then it's the end. I've never experienced anything comparable."

He reports that the final shot, the final day had Martin Sheen, as President Bartlet, "walking through the West Wing and people applauding, feeling sad. Martin is a hugely beloved guy. We never had to act what our characters felt about Bartlet because we felt that way about Martin."

Still, adds Whitford, the death of costar John Spencer last year "gave everyone more perspective than we would normally have had. It makes the end of a TV show feel pretty puny."

Whitford says he was hoping he'd have time to "shake my Etch-a-Sketch" before jumping back into the series game, but when "West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin had a role for him in his "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" pilot, it was too good to pass up. The probable NBC fall series goes into the backstage world of a sketch comedy show, with Whitford as a director with a drug-ridden past. Also in the cast are Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, D.L. Hughley, Steven Weber and Tim Busfield.

Besides -- Whitford, who is wed to Jane Kaczmarek of "Malcolm in the Middle" fame, with whom he has three children, adds, "Our kids are in school 15 minutes away from the studio. I'm one of the very few actors who knows he isn't going to leave town."

Posted by Jo at 08:06 AM | Comments (0)

April 16, 2006

'West Wing' drama comes full circle

by Mark Dawidziak
Cleveland Plain Dealer

It's not uncommon for an aging series to stage a creative comeback in its final season. Even a show badly off the artistic track can rediscover its greatness in the homestretch to the farewell episode.

There are reasons for this prime-time phenomenon. With nothing to lose and no do-or-die ratings pressure on it, a network veteran suddenly might recall the top form of its glory days.

The writers and producers start pulling out the stops. They play loose. They take chances. They swing for the fences, and, in doing so, they get back in touch with those elements that first won them acclaim.

If you hadn't noticed, that certainly has been the case this season on "The West Wing." With the shadow of cancellation hanging over it, NBC's once-mighty White House drama is doing its best work in years.

This seventh season has been so good, many have called for NBC to rescind the cancellation notice and give "The West Wing" another year. It's not likely, given the complexity of network and studio contracts, although programming executives would be smart to find a last-minute way to reverse the decision.

But NBC programmers haven't exhibited a great deal of smarts over the last three seasons, so it seems that the last goodbye still will be Sunday, May 14, with a retrospective special at 7 p.m. and the series finale at 8 p.m. on WKYC Channel 3.

Yet there's a certain symmetry here: "The West Wing" began its celebrated run as the finest NBC program on the air, and, coming full circle, that's how the Oval Office series is ending its run. Having regained its sense of balance and its sense of purpose, it's going out in a blast of class.

And expect something special, moving and particularly poignant about tonight's episode, which airs at 8. President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen), president-elect Rep. Santos (Jimmy Smits) and their friends bid goodbye to vice-presidential candidate Leo McGarry (played so brilliantly by John Spencer).

This is also the fans' chance to say goodbye to Spencer, who died of a heart attack in December. It was announced in January that Leo, too, would die of a heart attack, before Bartlet's successor was named.

"John's passing happened at a point where we had made a decision in how to go, and it changed a lot of the storytelling," said John Wells, executive producer of "The West Wing. "And we spent a lot of time during the Christmas holidays trying to figure out how we were going to deal with it. You know, we even had conversations about whether it was appropriate to continue to do the show without John. He was such a close friend and a wonderful actor and a central part of the ensemble and of our lives together."

Emily Proctor and Mary-Louise Parker are among those reprising roles from past seasons for the episode about Leo's funeral.

"It's incredibly difficult and hard," said Allison Janney, whose character, C.J. Gregg, succeeded Leo as White House chief of staff. "He was a man who meant so much to all of us. He was so generous with all of our work. He was so supportive of us. It feels like a very organic ending to the show with him gone because I just can't imagine doing it without him."

The sentiment was echoed by her co-stars.

Posted by Jo at 03:54 PM | Comments (0)

April 11, 2006

A timely 'West Wing' victory

By CARL P. LEUBSDORF
The Dallas Morning News

It may have been just a coincidence, an unplanned correlation between fiction and reality.

But in the very week that massive demonstrations put the national spotlight on the potential political clout of millions of Hispanic immigrants, the presidential election on a popular television show was won by a Mexican-American Democrat because he carried the Southwestern states with large Latino populations -- including Texas.

The show, of course, is "The West Wing," the NBC version of life in the White House, now nearing the final episodes of its seven-year run. The winning candidate, by a razor-thin margin, was Matt Santos, a congressman from Houston.

He achieved his narrow victory with a slim victory in Nevada, the final state to be settled. But his total of 272 electoral votes, two more than needed, included 63 from five states with growing Latino populations: Texas (34 electoral votes), Arizona (10) Colorado (9), New Mexico (5) and Nevada (5).

In the real world, all five of those states were among the "red states" that gave President Bush his 286-252 electoral vote victory in the 2004 election. But some Democratic strategists see all of them except Texas as potentially winnable as early as 2008 if their party can mobilize enough unregistered Latino voters.

To be sure, Mr. Bush showed in both of his presidential elections - and in his gubernatorial races in Texas before that - an ability to attract Hispanic voters. His fluent Spanish undoubtedly helped, along with his stance on immigration and other issues of interest to the large Mexican-American population in Texas.

But many experts feel that the current immigration debate, and the leading role taken by some Republicans in opposing any provision providing ultimate citizenship, could damage the GOP in the way that former Gov. Pete Wilson's hard-line anti-immigration stance hurt the party in California.

In Texas, many Democrats see the Hispanic growth as their way to overcome the current Republican majority.

In the real world, that's for the future, if at all. On television, it happened this week.

Of course, the producers of the show admitted they only made the election come out that way for entertainment purposes, fearing it would be too great a blow for the show's Democratic viewers if Mr. Santos lost on top of the death of the party's vice presidential candidate due to the real-world death of actor John Spencer.

Posted by Jo at 05:39 PM | Comments (0)

The Legacy of The West Wing

How Things Ought to Be...
by Katherine Brengle

http://www.opednews.com

On Sunday night, the greatest show in television history said its final farewell to America. In a mad swirl of drama and classic idealism, we watched as Leo McGarry mirrored John Spencer's too early departure from this world. We watched as an eerily familiar election night played out, both sides wondering if they would need to file lawsuits after the polls closed, a razor thin victory, and a news media extremely hesitant to announce the results of exit polls or call the election for either candidate.

Perhaps the integrity and strength of character shown by both candidates was a little unrealistic--after all, politicians are not known for always taking the high road--but it showed us what elections should be like in this country.

Our elections should be positive, not fraught with tension and negative campaigning.

Our elections should be clean, not filthy with corruption, conflicts of interest, and fraud.

Our elections should be between Americans of quality, not battles between megalomaniacs.

Our elections should be about making America better for Americans, not about dividing Americans in order to make life better for a tiny handful of wealthy business owners.

The West Wing was fairly idealized fiction, but for one hour a week for the past six years, it gave us a glimpse of what American politics could be, with a little integrity, honesty, and heart. For those of us deeply pained by the current direction in which this country is moving, it was a necessary and beloved escape from reality. For me, it was a peek at possibility.

There really are Josiah Bartlets in this world--men and women who, though imperfect, have a deep and abiding love for this country and its people, a desire to perform a vital public service, and the ability to do so with honesty and an open-mind not guided by political dogma alone.

There really are politicians out there who understand what they have been elected to do, to represent the will of the American people, and want to fulfill this sacred duty. There really are American men and women serving in public office who know that when it comes to matters of public policy, their job is truly to put their own opinions and needs aside and listen to the people.

If this television phenomenon taught us anything, it showed us that there is something of American politics left to save. There is a tiny shard of truth and hope and beauty and idealism buried beneath the surface of grime and mud and lies and nastiness and corruption and pragmatic indifference to which we have become accustomed.

The West Wing is now a thing of the past, added to our DVD collections and pop-culture trivia, but its message is one that will be carried into the future.

Posted by Jo at 07:35 AM | Comments (0)

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 05:50 PM | Comments (0)

'West Wing' Writers' Novel Way of Picking the President

By JACQUES STEINBERG
New York Times

Like many political campaigns, the presidential election depicted last night on "The West Wing" on NBC would have had a different ending had it been held four months ago.

But the reversal of fortune for Matt Santos — the Democratic nominee, played by Jimmy Smits, who was the victor — had nothing to do with any shift in opinion among voters.

Instead, Lawrence O'Donnell, an executive producer of the show, said he and his fellow writers had declared Santos the winner only after the death, in mid-December, of John Spencer, who portrayed Santos's running mate, Leo McGarry. At the time of Mr. Spencer's death, the plot for last night's episode had been set: the election was to be won by Alan Alda's Arnold Vinick, a maverick Republican (modeled a bit on Senator John McCain), whom many Democrats (including the Democrats who write the show) could learn to love.

But after Mr. Spencer died, Mr. O'Donnell said in a recent interview, he and his colleagues began to confront a creative dilemma: would viewers be saddened to see Mr. Smits's character lose both his running mate and the election? The writers decided that such an outcome would prove too lopsided, in terms of taxing viewers' emotions, so a script with the new, bittersweet ending — including the election-night death of Mr. Spencer's character — was undertaken by John Wells, executive producer of "The West Wing" and "E.R."

The loss of Mr. Spencer, who had been on "The West Wing" since its inception seven years ago, imposed a layer of grief on the sadness and nostalgia the cast would feel in the weeks leading to the final day of production. NBC announced in January that primarily because of falling ratings, it was not renewing the series for next season.

The final episode of "The West Wing" is not be broadcast until May 14, but the show effectively ended for Martin Sheen, who plays President Bartlet, and for his fellow cast members on March 31, when they filmed their last scene together. Appropriately, it shows the president striding around the White House for final goodbyes to the applause of his staff members, in a scene filmed on the Warner Brothers lot in Burbank, Calif.

An impromptu cast party followed shortly thereafter in and around the trailer of Allison Janney, who plays Bartlet's chief of staff, C. J. Cregg, said Bradley Whitford, who portrays Josh Lyman, most recently manager of the Santos campaign.

"This show is probably the first line in my obituary," Mr. Whitford said. "Everyone knows they got lucky with this one."

For a series that sought to provide a backstage glimpse of White House politics, however stylized and idealized, it seems appropriate to assess its legacy, political and otherwise, as its conclusion nears.

On that score, Mr. Sheen was offered an opportunity to see how his character's appeal would play in a real-life campaign. Not long ago, he said, he was approached by Democratic Party representatives from his native state, Ohio, to see if he would be interested in running for the United States Senate after he left the show. Though he would have had little trouble drafting a campaign platform — he is a fierce opponent of nuclear power and the war in Iraq, and a champion of human rights — he turned them down.

"I'm just not qualified," he said. "You're mistaking celebrity for credibility."

Nonetheless, Mr. O'Donnell, a onetime adviser to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York, said he was especially proud of the show's response to the increasingly shrill political debate in the real world, particularly on cable news. As it became tougher to learn much of any substance from programs like "Crossfire" on CNN, now defunct, "The West Wing" seemed to delve deeper into real issues like health care and education, as exemplified by the raw, one-hour live debate last fall between Matt Santos and Arnold Vinick.

"Political talk on TV has degenerated so much," said Mr. O'Donnell, who is also a political analyst on MSNBC. "You can say something complex on 'The West Wing' and you will not suffer a screaming interruption by three other panelists."

It may not come as any surprise to viewers, given that President Bartlet was a Democrat, but there were no registered Republicans in the most recent incarnation of the "West Wing" writers' room, which included Eli Attie, a former speechwriter for Al Gore. Though the show began at the end of the Clinton administration, it soon found its creative niche by evoking a parallel reality, one that imagined how the White House might have been different if George W. Bush had not been elected to two terms.

As the war in Iraq escalated, Mr. Sheen said he came to liken the show's role to that of good, escapist fiction.

"In order to sometimes get a different perspective on what's going down in the world, to reach back to your humanity, you read novels," Mr. Sheen said. "We're like the reading of a novel."

Which is not to say that President Bartlet escaped making some of the hard decisions that President Bush faced in real life. This year, Bartlet was shown agonizing over whether to commit 10,000 American troops to an escalating, fictional conflict on the border shared by Russia, Kazakhstan and China.

In deciding to put flesh on a Republican like Mr. Alda's Arnold Vinick and committing, at least initially, to having him win, Mr. O'Donnell said he and the other writers had delighted in playing against type. And then Mr. Spencer died.

Other than a coming episode that will linger at the funeral for Mr. Spencer's character — and include, as mourners, a parade of former cast members, including Rob Lowe — the show's final episodes will be devoted to the transition from the Bartlet administration to that of President-elect Santos.

The actors and producers are embarking on a similar transition.

Mr. Whitford has signed on to star in "Studio 60," a one-hour drama expected to be on the NBC schedule next fall, about life backstage at a live variety show. It was created by Aaron Sorkin, who created "The West Wing."

Mr. O'Donnell has deliberately put off finding his next project, to savor the last days of editing "The West Wing," though he can currently be seen in a rare acting role, as a lawyer for the polygamist main character on the HBO drama "Big Love."

And Mr. Sheen?

At 65, he has decided to make good on a promise he made to himself long ago: to enroll, for the first time, in college. A graduate, though just barely, of Chaminade High School in Dayton, Ohio, nearly five decades ago, he will began taking classes next fall — in English literature, philosophy and, he hopes, oceanography — at National University of Ireland in Galway, in the country where his mother was born.

In describing how much he relished retreating to an ivory tower, Mr. Sheen sounded a lot like a former president after two terms in office, even if he was a former president whose biggest challenge was commuting to a fictional White House.

"I'd be up at 4 in the morning, and out of the house by 5 to get on the freeway, all so we could start at 7 o'clock," he said. "That's a lot of wear and tear on your body."

Posted by Jo at 05:22 PM | Comments (0)

April 08, 2006

'West Wing' is a class act to the end

by Hal Boedeker
Orlando Sentinel

America elects a new president Sunday night, and most viewers don't care.

Too bad. It has been an exciting race, and Election Night hinges on one state. It's not Florida this time, though, so you can check into NBC's The West Wing without suffering flashbacks to 2000.

The West Wing is bowing out after seven seasons with little buzz and weak ratings. It's No. 78, averaging 7.87 million viewers -- confirmation that NBC sapped its White House drama by moving it to 8 p.m. Sundays.

Yet the series, which ends May 14, is going out with passionate acting and arresting developments. Last Sunday's episode arranged romance for Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) and Donna Moss (Janel Moloney) after years of longing glances.

If you haven't been watching this season, catch up when the DVD comes out. A nuclear-plant accident and a missing briefcase have propelled other gripping plots.

This Sunday's superb episode balances the death of vice presidential candidate Leo McGarry (the late John Spencer) with edge-of-your-seat election returns. Rarely are civics lessons so stirring.

The equally appealing presidential candidates -- Republican Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) and Democrat Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) -- make the close election credible. The winner vows unity, saying, "It's not about left or right. It's about doing right."

Alda and Smits are terrific. But so are veteran cast members (Whitford, Martin Sheen, Allison Janney) and newer additions (Patricia Richardson, Janeane Garofalo). The tributes to McGarry -- and Spencer, of course -- are touching.

Unlike most long-running series, The West Wing is leaving the air with class. The ratings don't tell the whole story about a series. How many programs make you feel pride in our democracy?

Posted by Jo at 06:32 PM | Comments (0)

Saunders: 'West Wing' election delivers a winner

By Dusty Saunders
Rocky Mountain News

And the winner of the presidential election is . . . of course I won't tell you. That would be unfair to everyone connected with The West Wing and the series' fans.
Tune in to Election Day II Sunday night and find out if Republican Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) or Democrat Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) is the new fictional occupant of the White House.

And as a dramatic bonus you'll learn how The West Wing handled the Dec. 16 death of series regular John Spencer, who portrayed Leo McGarry, the former White House chief of staff who had become Santos' running mate.

I wince when reviewing The West Wing's weekly audience figures. Now in its seventh and final NBC season, the award-winning series has gone from "must-see" to "maybe-see" TV. In its ridiculously early Sunday time period (7 p.m. in Denver) The West Wing regularly finishes third behind CBS' Cold Case and ABC's Extreme Makeover.

Has the series' former loyal audience deserted because of the awkward time period or left because of content? I prefer to think it's the former, since this final season has produced a fascinating mix of White House politics and a dramatic presidential campaign.

One fascinating aspect of the show's presidential race: how the scripts have dealt with relevant issues facing real politicians. For example, Sunday night's hour acknowledges the impact illegal immigration has had on our political landscape.

While simplistic answers to knotty problems are not offered, it's to the writers' credit that they can make a fictional political show so timely.

Sunday's hour, written by Executive Producer John Wells and Eli Attie and directed by Co-Executive Producer Chris Misiano, moves seamlessly between the two political camps as the polls begin closing.

This reel see-saw battle will remind viewers of the real 2000 Bush-Gore election, although the script wisely stays away from any hanging-chad scenarios. While the stress reactions in both political camps seem realistic, I'll leave it to the political pros to make that decision.

From strictly a storytelling perspective, these scenes tingle with dramatic intensity. Nearly a dozen talented actors lend their talents to dramatize this down-to-the wire political battle.

The death of Spencer's character, hinted at during last Sunday's final scenes, adds a personalized element to the campaign and produces strong performances from Martin Sheen (President Josiah Bartlet)and Allison Janney (chief of staff C.J. Cregg).

But it's Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman, Santos' political guru, who shines the brightest. Lyman, reflecting on his close White House ties with McGarry, makes no attempt to control his grief. Whitford's Sunday performance, and several others in recent weeks, are of Emmy caliber.

Obviously, Spencer's unexpected death produced last-minute script changes. And such revisions were done with dramatic logic.

Some early fans of The West Wing claim the series lost much of its word power when creator Aaron Sorkin left after season four. Although scripts no longer have Sorkin's cerebral writing style, the strong characters have remained consistent and the storytelling is still superb.

Wells and his crew have done an expert job of melding life in the Bartlet White House and the drama of the campaign trail without confusing viewers. The resulting episodes resonate with flesh-and-blood characters rarely found in a weekly television drama.

The West Wing, airing through the May sweeps, will end with the inauguration of the new president. Numerous past cast members (including Rob Lowe) will be featured along the way.

NBC, which made a critical mistake moving the series from Wednesday to Sunday, at least is allowing The West Wing to have a conclusive ending.

If you're a fallen-away fan, see Sunday night's episode, which should whet your appetite to follow the series to its conclusion.

A final note about Sunday's story line: Only in the world of TV make-believe could the Republicans and Democrats come up with such likable, honorable presidential candidates.

Unfortunately, The West Wing deals with the reel world.

The matchup

Results of the The West Wing election will be revealed at 7 p.m. Sunday on 9News. Here's a look at the race, considered a dead heat by pollsters:

• Sen. Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda): longtime moderate California Republican senator from the San Diego area.

• Marital status: widowed with grandchildren.

• Running mate: Ray Sullivan (Brett Cullen), governor of West Virginia.

• Campaign issue: tax cuts.

• Strength: A high national profile dealing with defense issues and a moderate voting record in a Democratic state.

• Weakness: Lobbied to open a Southern California nuclear plant under adverse circumstances.

• U.S. Rep. Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits): former Democratic mayor of Houston, now in the U.S. House.

• Running mate: Leo McGarry (John Spencer), former White House chief of staff, who dies after a heart attack in Sunday night's election program.

• Marital status: Married to Helen (Teri Polo), two children.

• Campaign issue: Increase in educational opportunities, particularly for Hispanic youngsters.

• Strength: A more youthful approach to government.

• Weakness: Santos has little national recognition, particularly on issues such as national defense.

Posted by Jo at 06:27 PM | Comments (0)

'West Wing' calls election on Sunday

By JILL VEJNOSKA
Atlanta Journal-Constitution

ATLANTA — And the next president of the United States is ...

You won't see the secret spilled here. But bless their "orderly transfer of power"-obsessed little hearts at "The West Wing" for not leaving us hanging Sunday (8 p.m.). Other shows might have been tempted to make a cliffhanger out of the Election Day face-off between Democrat Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Republican Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda). But as this simultaneously bare-knuckled and bittersweet episode reminds us, "Wing" isn't just another show.

Where else but on the four-time Emmy winner for best drama would a vice-presidential candidate die on Election Day and it not feel emotionally manipulative? Yes, actor John Spencer's death last December meant his character, Leo McGarry, would likely have to go, too. But other than on the real Capitol Hill, it's rare to find people so capable of, uh, working through their grief so quickly.

"I know he's your friend; he's my friend, too," media guru Louise Thornton (Janeane Garofalo) growls at Santos. "But we can't be sentimental about this or we will have a Republican president."

So cold. So absolutely dead-on.

Here's a few other interesting tidbits from Sunday's episode:

Every vote counts? Try telling them that in Rhode Island: Forget hanging chads. For electoral suspense, nothing beats candidates hailing from the country's two most populous states (California for Vinick, Texas for Santos). We're talking final results well past the last commercial break.

First, kill all the lawyers: Better yet, send 'em all to Eugene, Ore. When it appears the entire race might come down to two late-reporting states, Santos campaign manager Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) knows to wait for all the votes to be counted. Ha, ha, just kidding. "Every lawyer we got, get 'em on planes to Oregon and Nevada!" he shrieks.

Seriously, wouldn't Michigan look better in mauve?: Maps get even more screen time than Alda and Smits, as numerous scenes feature campaign reps coloring "called" states in red or blue. Who knew scripted TV was as boring as the real thing?

The father-in-law from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.: Vinick-Santos isn't the only game. There's also a congressional race involving the son-in-law of President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen), who clearly isn't his fellow Democrat's best stumper: "If the Republicans end up with a one-vote majority in Congress, we can chalk it up to my eldest daughter's lousy taste in men."

Posted by Jo at 06:19 PM | Comments (0)

West Wing Actress York Shares Her Passion for Music on Debut CD

By Paul E. Pratt
San Francisco Bay Times

Industry insiders assured Kathleen “Bird” York she was a “shoe-in” to receive a Best Song nomination at this year’s 78th-Annual Academy Awards. They pointed out how few other songs were used in such an integral manner as “In the Deep,” her theme to Oscar-winner Crash. When York received the nod, the actress/singer she was alternately overjoyed and crying, confessing: “I had no idea it would affect me this way.”

“I’ve had such a tricky life and tricky career,” admits York, who was orphaned in her teens and lost her brother, a gay filmmaker, to the AIDS epidemic a few years later. “I just don’t really count on much of anything any more. I figured if it was going to happen, it would happen.”

York was not the only one surprised by the recognition. For many of York’s biggest fans, the nomination might have also come as a shock. York is arguably best known as “Andrea Wyatt,” her recurring character on critically acclaimed television series The West Wing. While York says she enjoys her acting career – and makes other appearances before this year’s series finale — singing has always been her first love.

“The truth is, I’ve been writing music and singing since I was 15,” York points out. “If you look at the numbers alone, I have spent probably a total of two days filming The West Wing. I spend 300 days a year making music, but since people don’t see that they think I’m only an actor.”

Now the world knows better. In addition to fellow Oscar nominees Dolly Parton (performing “Travelin’ Thru” from TransAmerica) and eventual winners Three-6 Mafia, York was one of three musical numbers at Hollywood’s biggest night. While it was certainly York’s largest and most influential audience, she refused to get nervous.
“My only concern was having a conversation with the people in that room, telling them what it is like when everything you thought you could count on falls away from you,” intimates York. “I poured out every disappointment I’ve ever had, every heartbreak – and I don’t just mean romantic, every time I have ever been disillusioned in my life.”

Wearing a soft, pink gown, her long red hair accentuating her beauty, York’s performance was haunting. While more than 400-million viewers saw her live performance, she says she was singing “to only the people in that room.”

“The house lights are up so high, it feels like you’re performing in a gymnasium,” she relates. “Sometimes I could see Dolly. Another time I was singing to Stephen Spielberg. When the lights would go down, I’d only make out people’s heads. Really, I could have been singing in a coffee shop.”

“I know it sounds crazy with that whole thing going on behind me,” details York. Though she references the staged live-action “homage to the film” taking place on-stage with her, she says: “To me, it was a very intimate room.”

As York sang, modern dancers moved in slow-motion around the stage. The centerpiece was a blazing car, paying tribute to the scene from Crash in which her song was featured. Concerned many viewers might not have seen the film, she says Oscar producers were striving for something “spectacular.”

During the actual performance, the action was out of her line of vision. “I never looked at them during rehearsals or the performance,” she fesses up. Like many viewers and critics, when seeing it for the first time York was not enthusiastic. “It was distracting,” she opens up. “The people were lovely at the Oscars, but I simply didn’t get it!”

While many at home might not have either, they did get a feel for York, her intelligent lyrics and ethereal vocals. Though the release of York’s debut CD Wicked Little High was overshadowed by her Oscar hype, “In the Deep” rocketed onto Billboard’s “Hot 100” on the power of the nomination. She is happy to think her album will reach a broader audience as a result.

“I had no idea this record would ever see the light of day,” York reveals. “It was like rolling a rock up a hill for a couple of years, never knowing if it was going to be worth it.”

York finds a degree of irony in having “In the Deep,” and subsequently her album, gain exposure as the result of Crash. In many ways, she relates her experience recording Wicked Little High to the one director Paul Haggis had making his Oscar-winning film.

“He had no idea anyone would ever fund it, would ever give him the money to make it,” York explains. The fact it was ever filmed is “an incredible testament” to his intentions, she says. Wicked Little High proved to be a similar labor of love for York.

“Every label refused to make it – for years,” she says. “Everyone wanted to hear me. Everyone thought my voice was amazing and the songwriting was great. Nobody wanted to spend a dime on it.”

With a little help from some friends – “I just kept hounding them until they gave in,” she assures readers – the album came to fruition. A dreamy collection of atmospheric tracks punctuated by York’s honey-sweet vocals, the singer considers Wicked Little High a throwback to days-gone-by.

“There was a time when artists released albums which took you on a journey,” she says. “Now it’s such a song-based culture, people are more focused on the single.”
Saying she wanted to record an album people could “just vibe on from head-to-toe,” York acknowledges the danger of such a “thematic” CD. “People can hear it, misunderstand and just think you’re boring rather than realizing you did it intentionally,” she says.

So far, feedback has been positive. “People say it’s like a drug,” she admits. “It’s subtle at first, but then it gets under your skin. You wake up in the morning singing it.” She bursts out laughing. “I don’t know. I recorded it, so I can’t be objective.”

More than anything else, York is simply happy to have it in people’s hands. “Many people would have quit,” she concedes, “But I couldn’t. I thought if they wouldn’t do it, I’d find a way. Whether it takes off, who knows? That it even made it to this point is pretty cool!”

Posted by Jo at 06:14 PM | Comments (0)

'West Wing' cheats with sudden death

by Alan Sepinwall
New Jersey Star-Ledger

Friday, April 07, 2006
SUNDAY NIGHT on "The West Wing" (8 o'clock, Ch. 4), the election results are announced and Leo dies -- and this time, they mean it! Really! Absolutely! No more foolin'!

After last week's whole lotta nothing bait-and-switch, which ended with ballots still being counted and Annabelle stunned to discover something amiss in Leo's hotel room, the show finally gets down to the business of naming President Bartlet's suc cessor and dealing with the real- life death of John Spencer.

And yet it still feels like a cheat.

The death of Spencer in the middle of an election storyline that had Leo as a key figure created a minefield for producer John Wells and his writers. The last few weeks, they navigated it by keeping Leo off-screen, campaigning in different states from running mate Matt Santos. (Appropriately enough, Spencer's final scene had Leo in the Oval Office with his old friend Jed.)

But by having Leo's death take place on Election Day, then using it as a plot device to create tension about how it might affect voter turnout on the West Coast, Wells has done a disservice to the fans and himself.

Here you have arguably the most beloved character on the show (both among viewers and the other characters), and his death is squeezed into a busy hour that's primarily about the tight race between Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda). Aside from Josh (Bradley Whitford) and, to a lesser extent Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and C.J. (Allison Janney), none of the characters who were so close to Leo in the first six seasons get time to show much, if any, reaction to his passing. Toby and Charlie don't even appear, and several of the characters who do, learn the bad news off-screen.

How do you fail to show the initial conversation between C.J. and the president? Or the reaction of Leo's long-suffering assistant, Margaret? How do you screw up something that obvious?

And by the episode's halfway point, Leo's passing is almost an afterthought. Wells has done an admirable job this season of get ting viewers to invest in the San tos and Vinick campaigns at the expense of scenes with their old TV pals. But turning Leo's death into just one more obstacle San tos has to overcome is going to really tick off the handful of people still watching out of loyalty to what the show used to be.

Next week's episode will be a more fitting on-screen tribute to Leo and Spencer, but regardless of which candidate you're pulling for (no hints here as to who wins), "Election Day II" is going to leave a bad taste in your mouth.

Posted by Jo at 06:11 PM | Comments (0)

On TV: 'West Wing' brings election contest to a satisfying close

By MELANIE McFARLAND
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

In "The West Wing's" early years, NBC invited us to believe in an idealized presidency and elections as fair sport, an institution and process that in reality has let us down time and again, and we showed up eagerly, happily.

That was a long time ago, wasn't it? Now we're left not only with a lame duck, but a shadow of a gold-standard drama limping -- with dignity, but still, dragging along -- to its May 14 finale. Hard to imagine what's worse, our political reality or the state of NBC's fictional one.

Having acknowledged that, those who have lost their faith in the Bartlet presidency should know they might find some comfort in Sunday's episode, airing at 8 p.m. on KING/5.

To the series' hard-core fans, the ones who never abandoned it, the idea that anyone would leave it is unfathomable. Even now, they love the show for its intellectual subject matter and its great storytelling. The rest of us packed it in when the caliber of the writing tumbled a few seasons ago.

By the time "The West Wing" regained its creative footing last year, most of the show's constituents had bitterly moved on. Full of hope, they checked out Geena Davis' Madam President ... and kept on driving.

But the election battle brewing between Rep. Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Sen. Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) has been interesting to monitor, even from a distance.

There was a lot to admire in their respective campaigns, from the national conventions (where candidates actually fight for delegates and party nominations) to their free-form debate -- aired as a live episode on each coast -- in which the candidates tossed out the rules and waged a battle of platforms.

A little less than 8 million viewers on average have tuned in to see it all happen. So honestly, we can't expect many of the folks who were there in the glory days to tune in, for old time's sake, to find out how the writers handle Leo McGarry's official exit, forced by actor John Spencer's sudden death on Dec. 16.

As if it's not enough that the election is a nail-biter in the spirit of 2000's race, Leo's death forces conversations on how the news will or won't be used to either camp's advantage, and it becomes a tool to allow for each candidate to reveal his humanity in the midst of the most cutthroat night in American politics.

Then again, it's a handy way to put a bow on what the producers have been working toward all season, which is to make either a Vinick or a Santos presidency acceptable to viewers of every political stripe. They gave us a Democrat who is young, determined and eager to do what's right for the American people, and a moderate, sensible Republican contender as opposed to the mustache-twirling villain any hack can slap into a script. (Oh, and that reminds me, Davis' "Commander in Chief" returns April 13 at 10 p.m. Mark your calendars.)

It's worth a look, if only for the sake of mourning. Somebody's going to lose Sunday, at long last. Watching how it unfolds, however, may remind you of what this series lost some time ago.

Posted by Jo at 06:07 PM | Comments (0)

'Wing' elects to exit a winner

by David Bianculli
New York Daily News

NBC's "The West Wing" has one more month to go, and it's gone - but boy, is it going out in style.

Since embarking on its show-both-sides presidential race between Alan Alda's Arnold Vinick and Jimmy Smits' Matt Santos, "The West Wing" (Sunday night at 8) has introduced about a dozen compelling new or recycled characters (Ron Silver and Janeane Garofalo have been particularly strong), and as many complicated plot lines and issues.

Fighting for its own survival, the show got better and better.

By the start of this season, with Vinick and Santos emerging as frontrunners and with their respective political camps strategizing every step of the way, "The West Wing" achieved the seemingly impossible. Once again, it was as riveting, surprising and entertaining as when series creator Aaron Sorkin was turning out weekly masterpieces during the show's first two seasons.

Were there justice in television land, "The West Wing" and eventual executive producer John Wells would have been rewarded with a renewal for next season.

The producers, writers, cast and crew have done their jobs brilliantly, and have every reason to be not just proud of their efforts, but boastful of them. Yet banished to Sundays at 8, "The West Wing" couldn't develop traction, and only faithful fans have been witnessing the total rebirth of a once-great, great-again TV drama.

Most remarkable of all, perhaps, is that once NBC rendered its verdict, and announced that "The West Wing" would end after this season (its finale airs May 14, on Mother's Day), the "West Wing" crew responded by sprinting with a vengeance.

Alda, as Vinick, has turned in one of the most nuanced performances of the season. The handshake show, in which the numbing weariness of campaigning was revealed in painful, unforgettable detail, presented Alda at his best - which is about as good as it gets. Smits, as Santos, has matched him stride for stride.

As presidential candidates go, both of these men, and their politics, have been a lot more inspirational than the real thing, on either side of the aisle.

And where, only two years ago, "The West Wing" seemed to be abandoning or betraying its tenured characters, this presidential race story line has been a welcome, thrilling return to form. Bradley Whitford as Josh, and Janel Moloney as Donna, have done a lot of the heavy lifting, and the two Santos campaigners have gotten to consummate a flirtatious relationship that began when the show premiered in 1999.

Not even the real-life sudden death of John Spencer, who played Santos' vice presidential Democratic running mate Leo McGarry, derailed the show. Instead, it fed the beast.

Sunday's show opens with one character after another getting the word that, with Election Day polls open for only an hour or so, Leo has collapsed in his hotel room. News goes from bad to worse, and the candidates and strategists have to decide, with the race too close to call and every vote and second counting, what to do and say next.

It's a masterful hour, written by Wells and Eli Attie, and directed by Chris Misiano. The climax reveals the winner, and sets up more emotional stuff to come.

Low turnout isn't just something that happens on Election Day - but viewers voting with their eyeballs and watching "The West Wing" are enjoying some of the year's best TV.

Originally published on April 6, 2006

Posted by Jo at 06:04 PM | Comments (0)

'President Bartlett' retiring to new role at NUIG

The Irish Times

The Government should not believe anything the US says about its use of Shannon airport, because the White House is controlled by "a bunch of gangsters", The West Wing actor Martin Sheen has claimed. But the man famous for playing a fictional US president admits he may have to tone down his opposition to the real one during his next major role, as a full-time student in NUI Galway, writes Frank McNally.

Speaking after an honorary arts doctorate was conferred on him by the National University of Ireland yesterday, Sheen (65) said he would become the "oldest undergraduate" at NUIG later this year when he begins a course in philosophy and English literature.

As a "foreign student", he believes he will have to curtail his real-life political activism, although he regards the use of Shannon by the US military as an "outrage". He also considers President Bush a "very, very dangerous man" who has "opened the gates of hell in Iraq".

Sheen has been arrested more than 60 times in the US for acts of civil disobedience. On a previous visit to Ireland, playing his TV role as President Bartlett, he issued a "pardon" to the five Catholic worker activists who attacked a US aircraft at Shannon. "I still support them," he said yesterday.

He shot his final episode of The West Wing last week and says he will now "slow down a bit", although he has already featured in a film directed by his son Emilio Estevez about the assassination of Robert Kennedy.

Born Ramon Estevez to a Spanish father and a Tipperary mother, Sheen deliberately failed his university entrance exam so he could pursue a career in acting. He used to boast about never having been to college, "but gradually realised what I'd missed".

One of his concerns about attending NUIG is that he would be a "distraction" to other students. Despite such concerns, he will be attending lectures like everyone else. "I'm very serious about it," he said.

© The Irish Times

Posted by Jo at 06:02 PM | Comments (0)

"Do It, Already!"

TV couples that take forever to hook up.
By Kate Aurthur

"It was bound to happen sometime." That's what Donna said to Josh on a recent episode of The West Wing when they finally—finally—kissed, after nearly seven years of flirty banter. In that episode, Josh and Donna enjoyed a slapdash, almost unintentional, smooch, inspired by the happy news that the presidential candidate they work for was polling well. Then, in Sunday's episode, when it became apparent that everyone else in the campaign had paired up around them, Josh and Donna had sex. Twice.

Donna was right, of course—it was inevitable that the two of them would eventually consummate their relationship. The spacey-but-shrewd, willowy blonde played by Janel Moloney has always been sweet on her boss, Josh, the gifted, sarcastic White House strategist played by Bradley Whitford, despite the fact that his hair is terrible even by D.C. standards. And though Josh has at times been dismissive of Donna's professional ambitions, and even of Donna herself, it has often seemed that he loves her, too—especially when he sat distraught by her hospital bedside after she was nearly killed in Gaza in the Season 5 finale.

Because this is prime time, however, it was also inevitable that the courtship would take ages. Television hates nothing more than a happy couple. Elaborate mating rituals and thwarted love seem to make better viewing than the comfortable routines of life à deux. Still, seven years? Is it possible that Josh and Donna have set some kind of record?

Movies and books have it easy when it comes to romance—whatever push-and-pull they peddle can tie up near the end, leaving the viewer or reader to imagine what happens next. But on television, writers who deposit a couple in each others' arms for the season finale must then write their way through the morning after—and the second date, and the 15th—come September. As a result, they go to great lengths to keep promising couples apart. The obvious strategy: extremely protracted wooing. On the 1980s detective show Remington Steele, for example, the workmanlike, anti-fun Laura spent four seasons infuriated by Steele's flash and charm before she finally succumbed to it. And even Josh and Donna have occasionally been outdone. On Frasier, for example, the effete Niles pined after Daphne for a full seven years. During most of that time, his efforts to pursue her were so pathetic that she didn't even notice; it was Frasier who finally blabbed.

In other cases, a pair gets together, only to break up and then make up again with the regularity of an oscillating fan. See: Sam and Diane from Cheers, Big and Carrie from Sex and the City, and, perhaps most notably, Ross and Rachel from Friends. That couple got together in the show's second season, only to hit the skids the following year, calling it quits after Ross had a one-night stand when he thought they were "on a break!" They got married while drunk in the fifth season, and even had a baby together in the eighth, but it wasn't until the series finale—naturally—that they finally overcame their years of ups and downs.

Sometimes it takes a cockamamie plot device to keep a lovelorn couple apart. On Alias, for example, as soon as double agent Sydney fell into bed with her CIA handler Vaughn, kidnappers abducted her and faked her death. And in the 1998 X-Files movie, Mulder and Scully's long-anticipated initial hookup was thwarted when Scully was—of all things—stung by a bee. Anaphylactic shock is a mood-killer, to be sure. In the seasons of the television show that followed, the couple shared a few measly kisses. Wherever they are now, I hope they're compensating for their chastity. (In the world of fan fiction, they certainly are.)

When did these stunted relationships become so prevalent? Did the trend begin with M*A*S*H, which featured derisive repartee between Hawkeye and Hot Lips? Did the respectful but playful dynamic between Mrs. Peel and John Steed of The Avengers pave the way for Mulder and Scully? Cheers was one of the first comedy programs to make sexual tension its central premise. Sam and Diane's love-hate relationship drove the show during its Shelley Long years, and made a serial out of a sitcom. The couple's power struggle had more in common with Dallas than it did with Happy Days, All in the Family, or any other successful sitcom that came before it—Friends would not have existed if Cheers hadn't.

Today, as slow-motion courtships proliferate onscreen—see the Kate-Jack-Sawyer triangle on Lost, Jim and Pam on The Office, Grissom and Sara on CSI—it's important to remember that we're living in the Moonlighting era. Almost 20 years after the Bruce Willis-Cybill Shepherd detective series ended, it is Moonlighting's post-coital flameout that keeps the Joshes and Donnas of the world fully clothed. The show had been on for less than two years when US Magazine—not a weekly yet, if you can remember such a world—screamed "Do It, Already!" in a February 1987 cover story. A month later, David and Maddie obliged, before an astonishingly large audience of 60 million viewers. (The Friends series finale drew 52.5 million.) From there, Moonlighting seemed almost cursed. Shepherd's pregnancy absented Maddie from the story for months the following season, and then a 1988 writers' strike caused all television production to shut down. When Moonlighting came back after a nine-month absence, it had a terrible 13-episode fifth season, crawled into the forest, and died.

Since then, we've all grown used to the couples we love waiting a lot longer than two years to get it on. The problem seems to be that writers and actors are unable to reliably generate and sustain palpable sexual buzz between two characters who are actually having sex—which may be a depressing comment about life in general. After all, what do you replace that fun flirtatious energy with? Discussions about what to order from Fresh Direct?

In its sixth season, Gilmore Girls presents an interesting cautionary tale. The iconoclast Lorelai and the grumpy Luke got together at the end of Season 4, temporarily delighting fans. But during the show's fifth season, it became apparent that the two actors are simply not physically comfortable with each other: We barely see them kiss or show any affection—and thank God for that.

What to do? Most viewers still want the couple to end up together; we just don't want to watch them be together. You can see why the writers might resort to a temporary breakup—one that endures for about as long as the Gilmore Girls runs and then gets resolved by the series finale. If they do, I'll play along. The marriage plot remains a tried-and-true narrative thread, and in Victorian novels it never bothers me when a seemingly unworkable relationship is miraculously, happily tied up in the final pages. If these lengthy hindrances and postponements are simply the television equivalent, then I'm willing to believe Donna, Rachel, Carrie and every other Jane Eyre-inspired sister when she finally tells me—right at the end—"Reader, I married him."

Posted by Jo at 05:58 PM | Comments (0)

April 01, 2006

'West Wing' Merits A Vote With Remote

By ROGER CATLIN
Hartford Courant

"The West Wing" is not the water-cooler item it once was, long since supplanted by ABC's "Desperate Housewives" and "Grey's Anatomy." More recently, the Sunday night spotlight has been taken by the long-awaited return of HBO's "The Sopranos."

But NBC's "The West Wing," in its 8 p.m. slot, competes with none of those hits. And now that it's in the final seven episodes of its last season, it's time to tune back in before the still-smart show is gone for good.

Here are some reasons to get on board Sunday:

Election Day! - After what seems like years of campaigning (another mark of political realism on the show), it's time for voters to elect the successor to Martin Sheen's President Josiah Bartlet. Producers are mum on who will win, and it will be announced next week, but Jimmy Smits' Rep. Matt Santos has been surging in the polls, especially since a clip of Alan Alda's Republican Sen. Arthur Vinick supporting nuclear energy years ago was constantly being rerun after the meltdown of a plant in his home state.

Anybody's race - Ordinarily we'd say Santos long had the edge because his administration would provide jobs for most of the show's lingering characters, including Leo McGarry, Josh Lyman and Donna Moss. But since the January announcement that this would be the series' last season, anybody could win. In fact, having the moderate Vinick win could provide a more emphatic bookend to the Bartlet administration, which has been followed for the length of the series.

Death of a major character - The death of actor John Spencer Dec. 16 was a shock to "The West Wing" family; his Leo McGarry character, as chief of staff and then vice presidential candidate, was a strong pillar of the program. Several episodes already completed when Spencer died have been broadcast. The show will deal with the death of his character in Sunday's episode, as his chirpy aide Annabeth Schott, played by Kristin Chenoweth, discovers his body.

A history lesson - What would happen when a vice presidential candidates dies so close to the election? The writers investigated and wrote the conundrum into the drama.

Josh and Donna - Seven seasons' worth of sexual tension was broken two weeks ago when longtime co-workers Josh and Donna shared a lingering kiss in a hotel room.

"It was totally inappropriate," Josh said afterward. Donna tried to slip him her hotel key. But things obviously progress in the lull before the votes are counted: The preview for Sunday's episode shows them in bed together (it's not my spoiler; it's the network's).

Guest stars - The election episodes have been packed with familiar actors in strong roles. Besides the marquee names as candidates, there are Vinick campaign workers played by Ron Silver, Patricia Richardson ("Home Improvement") and Melinda McGraw; the Santos campaign has employed Janeane Garofalo and Stephen Root.

Returning stars - Rob Lowe is the biggest name returning to "West Wing" on or before the May 14 finale. Others include Mary-Louise Parker, Anna Deveare Smith, Emily Procter, Marlee Matlin, Tim Matheson, Gary Cole and Timothy Busfield.

Posted by Jo at 04:50 PM | Comments (0)

THE WEST WING

The acclaimed White House drama comes down to its final hours
ANDREW RYAN
Globe and Mail

The end is near for The West Wing, but the show appears intent on going out with a bang, not a whimper.

The West Wing has spent seven seasons depicting life behind the scenes at a fictional White House. Viewers have become very familiar with the various movers and shakers in the administration of Democratic president-elect Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen). The show has won multiple Emmys (including Best Drama wins for its first four seasons) and has changed dramatic focus as often as it's changed producers and timeslots (it currently airs on Sunday nights). And since The West Wing has long adhered to the strict procedural confines of U.S. politics, the show is ending its run by putting a new man in the Oval Office.

The long goodbye begins with this Sunday's show, which marks the beginning of an extended prologue leading up to the finale on May 14. The West Wing has devoted much of the past season to the mounting presidential showdown between staunch Republican candidate Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) and idealized Democrat hopeful Matt Santos. The two men are diametrically-opposed political opposites, with appropriately polarized viewpoints.

Titled Election Day, the episode takes place the night before voters head to the polls. As with most outings of The West Wing, a good deal of screen time is devoted to the key members of the ensemble cast. Josh (Bradley Whitford), who has been running Santos' campaign, is already fretting about voter turnout and returns, while C.J. (Allison Janney) is fielding job offers from people who aren't even in office yet. There are likewise quantum life shifts in store for original West Wing character Charlie (Dule Hill) and relative newcomer Annabeth (Kristin Chenoweth).

More importantly, the weeks ahead will see the re-entry of a considerable contingent of West Wing regulars. Most notable is the return later this month of Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn, the savvy political insider he played from 1999 to 2003. Sam is the prodigal son.

Also scheduled to return is Mary-Louise Parker a recent Best Actress Emmy winner for the cable drama Weeds who will reprise her role of women's-right advocate Amy Gardner (who had a hot-and-heavy relationship with Josh over two seasons of the show). The closing weeks will also see the return of former recurring West Wing characters played by Emily Proctor, Marlee Matlin, Timothy Busfield and Tim Matheson and Gary Cole as, respectively, the good and bad vice presidents.

The final days of The West Wing should provide a respectful sense of closure for the fans who've stuck with the series' through its innumerable ups and downs over seven seasons. The finale will be preceded by an hourlong retrospective that will include a tribute to recently-deceased cast member John Spencer, who portrayed Leo McGarry.

At the same time, The West Wing has to make room for the arrival of a new president in the next few weeks, and NBC has promised the series will not close doors before the election results are revealed.

Posted by Jo at 04:46 PM | Comments (0)

Left Wing? It's the right time to tune in

Selling the seven must-sees of series' finish
By MIKE MCDANIEL
Houston Chronicle

Unless you're a West Wing junkie, you probably didn't realize the show has returned to NBC's lineup after a seven-week Olympics interruptus.

That's a shame, because while Wing's ratings are broken — it has slipped to less than 8 million weekly viewers and is No. 83 in the household rankings — its ambitious and scary-real election story line has been one of the most compelling of the 2005-2006 television season.

Even those who have only loosely followed the series since its 1999 debut might want to tune in now as the four-time Emmy winner for best drama series airs its final seven episodes. Sunday's is the first of a two-parter titled Election Day, an episode that will climax with the discovery that vice-presidential candidate Leo McGarry (the late John Spencer) is dead.

We know there are Wing nuts out there who may have missed an episode or two. So here's a post-Olympics catch-up followed by a peek at what will happen in the show's remaining episodes.

•March 12: The Cold, deals with the fallout of January's nuclear incident in California. The Santos camp, led by former Houston Mayor Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits), catches up with the campaign forged by pro-nuke California Sen. Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda). Donna (Janel Moloney) and Josh (Bradley Whitfield) celebrate the results with a kiss. Sheila (Patricia Richardson), Vinick's campaign manager, voluntarily resigns. Meanwhile, Bartlet (Martin Sheen) orders soldiers into Kazakhstan as Russians and Chinese approach.
•March 19: Two Weeks Out. Both campaigns go into overdrive, often running into each other. Jane (Melinda McGraw) is the new Sheila in the Vinick camp, an aggressive woman Bruno (Ron Silver) distrusts. She argues they should hit the South next, but Vinick wants to go to California and, after much cajoling, that's what happens. Santos goes to California, too, but he forgets his briefcase in Philly. Bruno finds it and discovers Santos is paying child support. At the site of the nuclear incident, Vinick takes all questions, hogging the cable-news feeds, shutting up the reporters. The Santos camp is alarmed how Vinick is stealing the momentum. Vinick meets Santos, advises him to come clean about the checks. Santos says he's covering for his brother's mistakes.
•March 26: Welcome to Wherever You Are. The Santos campaign is operating virtually without sleep. The candidate's wife, Helen (Teri Polo), is sent to Miami to appease a Latina organization but makes what Santos fears is a gaffe. As they photo-op their kids for Halloween, they bicker. Josh steps in and gives Santos a buckle-up speech.
Meanwhile, a special prosecutor threatens to throw the election by indicting Toby (Richard Schiff) for obstruction of justice for not revealing his source in the military-shuttle leak. Toby calls his bluff but the outcome is unknown.

•Sunday: the campaigns go through Election Day rituals. They vote, wave, wait, sweat and seethe. Or, if they're Donna and Josh, they hit the sheets. At episode's end, Annabeth (Kristin Chenoweth) discovers Leo is dead.
•April 9: In Part 2 of Election Day, the word of Leo's death spreads and the election takes on a different tone. If the Santos campaign wins, what happens? Is the election somehow void because the running mate died?
Earlier this year, West Wing executive producer John Wells outlined the plot point. The death of a running mate on election day is unprecedented in U.S. history, he noted, and the experts he talked to said a candidate would face two choices: either indicate his choice for replacement or go silent on the issue.

"If elected, it makes the most sense to wait until the inaugural and then try to get a candidate nominated and through Congress under the 25th Amendment," Wells said. "It's actually a very interesting kind of gray area, and certainly we wouldn't have gotten into this area without John's death."

•April 16: Requiem. The nation mourns Leo's death. The handling of the election becomes a Constitutional issue to be settled by the Congress.
•On the next three episodes — Transition, The Last Hurrah and Institutional Memory — a new government comes in and and old one exits. Andy (Kathleen York) seeks a presidential pardon for Toby. C.J. (Allison Janney) and Danny (Timothy Busfield) consider a future together. The Bartlet staff considers post-White House options. Bartlet reflects on his presidency.
•May 14: The series concludes with an Inauguration Day episode titled Tomorrow.

Posted by Jo at 04:43 PM | Comments (0)