Wednesday 12 August 2009

Why I love the West Wing... (well, some of the reasons!)

- Bradley Whitford: so intense, so brooding, makes me melt in that part of the credits where he raises his head and looks straight at me
- Janel Moloney: beautiful, attractive, brings Donna to life so beautifully. If I were in the least inclined towards women, I would have a massive crush on her.
- Rob Lowe. I’m still smarting form his treacherous departure from a show which suffered its loss, but the fact that this is the case is testament to how much he brought to it.
- Allison Janney. Her character is a role model. Strength, intelligence, femininity. Wonderful acting. My favourite for a long time.
- The chemistry between Bradley and Janel
- Josh as a character – I would marry him in an instant!
- Donna as a character and her many little quirks
- The increasing romantic/sexual tension between Josh and Donna
- The understated way in which it does romance and weaves it into the plotline – never forced, and often doomed or difficult!
- The characters – so believable all of them, so lovable most of them. That’s part acting, part writing I guess. I feel I really know them as my friends.
- And speaking of writing. Oh the writing. Aaron Sorkin please be my mentor.
- The pithy one-liners
- The big storylines
- The tiny storylines
- The mini, one-episode storylines Donna gets in series 1 – they’re all brilliant. I love it when Josh falls of his chair just as she is talking about the intelligence of people who work there.
- The trivia you learn: dwell, dwindle, dwarf – the only three words in the English language that start with dw
- The Latin you learn: Post hoc ergo propter hoc – I love that. Desperately seeking a way to get it into every day conversation. Or at least a book
- The music. Oh the music is so good. I am desperate for the sound track of everything, including everything by Snuffy Walden – so brilliant. So well used. “Body and Soul” at the end of episode 713 being a perfect example – the words are so pertinent and it’s worked so well into the scene.
- The intelligent women!!
- It has made me so interested in and intrigued by the great nation that is the US. And you would not have got me saying that a year ago.
- It is not smutty: you turn off the TV feeling good about what you have just watched
- You also turn off the TV feeling more intelligent and educated
- That’s if you turn off the TV at all. I became increasingly unable to watch just one episode
- It gives me hope in politics in an age when, quite frankly, as a left-wing Brit, well you get the picture...
- It make me laugh and gasp and cry and shout things like “But Josh should be with Donna!!!!!” or “you evil Republican” or just “Aaaarrrrghhh!”
- It speaks to me spiritually. Seriously. For example, the fierce protectiveness of Jed Bartlet towards his family reminds me of God’s Father heart towards us and his “secret service” of angels at his disposal to protect us...
- It inspires me to write
- It gets my creative juices flowing
- And last but definitely not least: it inspires me toward greatness. I’m not sure how this translates yet, but it will.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

There are certainly a lot of things you like about The West Wing!!!

I have to agree that the loss of Sam was a big one, but the plot moves on so quickly that you soon forget about him

I can't believe that there are only 3 English language words beginning with dw. That's absolutely dwantiful.

Claire said...

dwigusting.

Although they left out dweeb! (which, considering the nature of the conversation in the first place...)

Oh, I dunno, I never quite forgot Sam...

Pleasure to meet another Fan! Thanks for your reply to my posts :)

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

In my first run through the series (out of 4), I only noticed Sam was gone after a few episodes... I kept thinking "where's Sam?"

Fave character (though IMO probably played by the worst actor among the main actors) is Leo McGary. Don't like his foreign policy views, but I like his demeanour the most.

I can't stop loving the West Wing. Even after four times watching it through, every single episode fills me with an emotional, silent awe... nothing ever made on any screen compares.

Unknown said...

david DWeck, wanna dwink of wawa...

A line from my favorite episode - 20 hours in America - season 4.

And examples of "dw"

joon said...

We're watching straight through - now nearing the end of season six. Absolutely loving it for many of the reasons you state. No way can I forget Sam. I worried all during the first four seasons knowing it was on the horizon. My dread was well founded.

And Deon - shame, shame, shame. John Spencer is an outstanding actor. Always was. I saw him on a soap opera way back when. His presence in any scene transformed the daytime soap genre.

We are huge Bradley Whitford fans, having seen Studio 60 before West Wing. Cannot get enough of him or that show. Do you have his new show, The Good Guys across the pond? You will love it. He is a scream. Some episodes are on line.

Enjoyed chancing upon your blog, Claire. I hope you're enjoying your novel. Have you heard of NaNo WriMo? November is almost upon us. I wrote one last year. I think you'd love it.

Have a beautiful day today.

joon

Unknown said...

I´m firstly an unashamed Christian and second an unashamed fan of the The West Wing - delighted to have come upon your blog !! Terrific!! - I agree on your wise insights to the Fathers love for family and community - clearly Sorkin reveals shades of his heart too throughout the West Wing series as being a heart FOR relationships - the change over when he left .... OUCH!!! it was indeed- Jarring!

Great to chat
blessings....
Yazz