All Time Favorite TV Drama: The West Wing

"What's next?"

Two words that set up one of the most amazing 7 year run in TV history. Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme's The West Wing. The show was kicked off at the end of the Clinton presidency, while real world politics was bogged down in a sex scandal. In the fantasy world of The West Wing we had President Bartlett, an upstanding, honorably, terribly intelligent dream Commander in Chief.

But the show wasn't just about Bartlett, it was about the senior staff. Chief of Staff, tortured political operative Leo McGarry, Deputy Chief of Staff, smarmy, sarcastic Josh Lyman, Commications Director, self righteous and pessimistic Toby Zeigler, Deputy Communications director, idealistic academic Sam Seaborn, and press secretary, smart mouthed and charismatic CJ Craig. Not to mention Josh's put upon assistant Donna, President Bartlett's personal aide, Charlie and his doctor wife Abigail.

The show's story lines ranged from tiny and personal, like CJ's flirtation with reporter Danny Kincannon, (who didn't cheer when they finally got together at the end?) to soap operaish and absurd, like first daughter Zoe's kidnapping, but the show was almost always captivating. I watched the show from pilot to finale, stuck with it thorugh cast changes (Rob Lowe for Joshua Molina, downgrade!), character deaths (Mrs. Laningham, sob!), shift in focus (from the Bartlett White House to the Santos and Vinnick campaigns, which 3 years ahead of time was eerily similar to the 2008 presidential race), time slot changes (Wednesday to Sunday, actually way better, I never had rehearsals on Sunday nights), and I loved 95% of it. There's never been anything before or since like The West Wing.

Oh right, and did you know that in the foyer of the White House Andrew Jackson had a two ton block of cheese?

Bling Bling Bling

So I've been watching my Office DVDs while I've been studying for my finals, and I don't know why but I was thinking about something my mom and I discussed a while ago, and that's how NBC successful shows have a certain something to them.

NBC's biggest successes come in a certain package, ensemble casts of mostly unknowns with a few familiar faces.

St. Elsewhere's made most of its cast stars, sure people knew William Daniels (But that was about it.)

Cosby, they knew Cosby. But Lisa Bonet, Phylcia Ryshaad, Malcom Jamall Warner, all unknowns, made into stars.

Cheers. All unknowns. Entirely.

Seinfeld. No one knew those guys, Jerry Seinfeld was a mildly successful comedian, Jason Alexander was a failing character actor. Now look at them.

Friends. Courtney Cox was in a Bruce Springsteen video and David Schwimmer had done some theater. I mean just look at that cast now, especially Jennifer Aniston who's biggest credit was Leprechaun.

The West Wing. Martin Sheen was a big movie star, and John Spencer was somewhat known. But the entire staff was really only known for playing small roles in movies.

Scrubs. Um, wait isn't that the black kid from Clueless? Granted NBC then destroyed the show by moving it to a different time slot every year, but still.

The Office. The Office is like the best show on television right now (Besides GG) and it was all these people you'd never heard of, unless you watched The Daily Show, then you knew Steve Carrell. Now they're all doing things, they're recognizable

Heroes. The Heroes cast were all "Oh That Guy!" type actors. Except Milo...*sigh*...OK, I'm back, but think about it. Ali Larter, "Isn't that the girl who wore the whipped cream bikini in Varsity Blues?" Or "Hey, that's the little girl from Remember The Titans?" or "Wasn't he in Top Gun?" Now, they're, well, not so much famous, as "Oh that's Matt Parkman!"

So there you have it. That's why shows like, mm, My Own Worst Enemy don't work for them...you watch NBC to see the future, not to be sad because all Christian Slater can get work doing is some pathetic Fight Club rip off show.

And of course there are exceptions...like 30 Rock. Tina Fey, Tracy Morgan, Jane Krakowski and Alec Baldwin are hardly unknowns. They're actually pretty famous and have been for a while. There are always exceptions.

Fan freaking tastic and a PSA

The people over at Desperate Housewives have made me a very happy little nerd girl.

Ahem

The character of Karen McClusky (Played by the actress who I affectionately call Mrs. Laningham) her sister was introduced this week. This sister, is being played by Lilly Tomlin.

Get why this makes me happy?

Can't figure it out?

On The West Wing, Mrs. Laningham was President Josiah Bartlett's personal secretary, that is until she was killed by a drunk driver in one of the best season finales in the show's seven year run. I say best in the sense that it was incredibly heart wrenching and the TV nerd in me is still upset by it. Mrs. Laningham was replaced after an extensive search process by Lilly Tomlin. She never really did actually replace Mrs. Laningham, in fact I can't even remember her character's name (Jenna help me out here.) I'm just saying this is awesome.

I'm actually watching a West Wing marathon now. I completely forgot how well written and perfectly executed this show is.

Also, a part of me wants to write Jed Bartlett in tomorrow...Who's with me?

Granted I'm a hardcore crazy small government Republican and he's a practically socialist big government Democrat, not to mention fictional and played by an actual socialist, but I think that this is good.

And really, who doesn't want to see what would happen if Emilio, Charlie and Renee were the first children? All of a sudden the Bush daughters don't look so bad, right? I mean, next to Charlie Sheen, they're saints.

So do I have a point? Yes! I am making my first self important political statement. When I say I'm a Republican I'm not shitting around. I believe in small government and low taxes. I think that every day decisions should be in the hands of the people who have to make them every day, or if absolutely necessary on a state level. I believe in protect all people's rights, whether they're born or convicted of a crime, or making the difficult decision to protect this country by joining the armed forces. Incidentally this puts me against the current party leadership (Neo Conservatives are not real republicans) in several ways. Yes, I oppose abortion, I also oppose the death penalty, the war, human torture and I support equal rights for all Americans (I don't think that Gay marriage will destroy anything except for unfair double standards for heterosexual couples). I support John McCain because he feels the same way on most of these issues, gay marriage being the exception, but I refuse to be a single issue voter.

I'm a Republican, I'm not a fan of Bush, I think the fact that our country is in the toilet at the moment is evidence of what he and his administration have done. But I also think it should be known that The Senator from Arizona is the same way.

I've always supported this man, but after seeing him speak in person, I know that this is what we need.

It also doesn't help that according to Barack Obama my family is rich and yet both my parents work full time, don't own their home, can barely make tuition payments my mother is driving around in a on its last leg 15 year old mini van. I have trouble trusting anyone who's that out of touch with people in the middle class. Especially when they claim to be advocates of that group. White collar workers are still middle class...not just blue collar. I resent when people don't make the distinction between my father, an upper management consultant in a big corporation and The CEO of a fortune 500 company. There is a big difference. It's called upper middle class people, we exist, and we're hurting too, know why? Most of our money is in the stock market. Raise our taxes, and guess what happens? We don't have money to put in the stock market and the economy doesn't get better, it gets worse. Raise our taxes and give that money to other people, then you piss us off...We work for that money, (OK, in my case my father does, but someday I will) it's ours, we need it, to do things that we've earned, like take nice little weeks near the ocean to be with out families and recharge our batteries. Or buy new cars that we don't live in fear will stop working halfway through a drive through the Pennsylvania mountains to take our children to college. Those are just a few examples of things that my family has had to give up because of the current economic status. I assume other families like ours are in similar spots.