Sun Sets On The West

Well, the end of the television season is upon us. And that kinda sucks. Not because I'm such a huge fan of a ton of shows but, I do have a few I really like. But it helps with a routine. And I happen to be a guy who likes a pretty consistent routine. It was different back when the end of a season also meant the end of a school year. But there's no end work year to end. No summer break. Anyway, along with the end of the seasons one of my very favorite shows is closing the curtain.

The West Wing has been one of those shows for me, you know the show you actually find yourself looking forward to the second the credits close on an episode? I've always found politics interesting but hated politicians. This show made them interesting. They seemed to love what they were doing, care about the law and people. So, yes it was total fiction. But it made you feel, what if. What if we had a President like Jed Bartlett? How great could this country be? And how does a television show give you that kind of hope? And the writing. Just fucking great. Created by Aaron Sorkin, the guy writes dialogue the way I wish I could speak. His characters have great interesting conversations, with great banter and still sound totally believable. The show stumbled a bit after he left and when they announced this was the final season, I was okay with it. I didn't want to see a new administration, with a new cast. And then some how, in the past 5 or 6 episodes they got me hooked again. And I wanna see the show go on. But no luck. This Sunday ends a great run.

But there is a silver lining. Next season NBC has a new show by Sorkin. After Sports Night ended, another gem of a show that I discovered after it was too late, a lot of the same actors came to work on the Wing. And again, many are following Sorkin to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. So I am totally stoked about that. Matthew Perry, who had a great couple of guest spots on the Wing, Amanda Peet, Bradley Whitford are supposed to be part of the cast along with D.L Hugley and Steven Weber. And I'm sure we'll see Richard Schiff, Janel Moloney, Joshua Malina and hopefully Mary Louise-Parker. I'm already setting my DVR for this one.