All good things must unfortunately come to an end
Taking a break from the unusual drama of the last month, I'd like to take a moment and pay tribute to the best hour of television that we will no longer be able to enjoy (except thru repeats and dvds).
The West Wing came to a graceful ending last night. Over the last seven years, the West Wing provided me and countless others an idealistic escape, even for one hour a week, from the world we live in. The show's characters served at a White House we could only dream we had today, prototypical public servants, heroes burdened by their own tragic flaws who, with honesty, integrity, and great wit, debated and decided based not simply on their own party affiliations, but steeped in their desire to do good by all the citizens of their country.
The West Wing went through it's ups and downs, winning a whole bunch of Emmy's (25 out of 90 so far) when many in the TV-watching world thought they should be awarded to a show focused on death and killing and the soap opera lives of a mobster family. After each and every single episode of the first four seasons, the ending credits rolled while I tried to recover from that lump-in-your-throat feeling- no, it wasn't a show that just made you feel all good and warm and fuzzy inside, but one that forced you to think deeply about issues affecting society and feel an instant connection and closeness with the characters who struggled to find the right path and make difficult decisions.
I can go on and on about the sheer brilliance of the show and its characters, but much has been written already. The show was provocative, compelling, funny, witty, intelligent without being snooty, and above all else, it wasn't perfect but it was fresh.
The West Wing will be sorely missed. But thank God for Bravo and box-set DVDs.
The West Wing came to a graceful ending last night. Over the last seven years, the West Wing provided me and countless others an idealistic escape, even for one hour a week, from the world we live in. The show's characters served at a White House we could only dream we had today, prototypical public servants, heroes burdened by their own tragic flaws who, with honesty, integrity, and great wit, debated and decided based not simply on their own party affiliations, but steeped in their desire to do good by all the citizens of their country.
The West Wing went through it's ups and downs, winning a whole bunch of Emmy's (25 out of 90 so far) when many in the TV-watching world thought they should be awarded to a show focused on death and killing and the soap opera lives of a mobster family. After each and every single episode of the first four seasons, the ending credits rolled while I tried to recover from that lump-in-your-throat feeling- no, it wasn't a show that just made you feel all good and warm and fuzzy inside, but one that forced you to think deeply about issues affecting society and feel an instant connection and closeness with the characters who struggled to find the right path and make difficult decisions.
I can go on and on about the sheer brilliance of the show and its characters, but much has been written already. The show was provocative, compelling, funny, witty, intelligent without being snooty, and above all else, it wasn't perfect but it was fresh.
The West Wing will be sorely missed. But thank God for Bravo and box-set DVDs.
posted by elanit | 8:17 AM
2 Comments:
As your West Wing-watching buddy through grad school, I echo your sentiments, my friend. I do have to say that I lost a lot of interest in the show after Aaron Sorkin left, and the plot line started going off the deep end, but still... When we went to war with Iraq, when Bush won re-election, when Bush nominated two conservative white men to the Supreme Court... I kept turning back to WW for some comfort. President Bartlett & Co. will be greatly missed.
Happy (one day belated) BIRTHDAY, Elanit!!
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