so, about the west wing...

[lizaveta]

And last, Bartlett becoming a major character was an accident. Sorkin's original concept was that the show would focus on the White House staffers, and the President would be an incidental character, and occassional walk on, but Bartlet/Martin Sheen was so compelling in the pilot and opener, and scored so high wth the audience, that things went in another direction, so it's not inconceivable that Vinick could win and we'd see more of the staff.

I don't really have a prediction yet, but you gotta hand it to them that they've established a level of "game" again in the writing of the show that we're even guessing, let alone talking about it!

Good points all, but your mention of Barlet as a cameo character in the original concept is what seals the deal for Santos, to me. While we're seeing inside the Santos campaign and getting to know his staff, there has been NO development of the Vinick staffers. We don't know them well enough.

If they're going to cancel the show at the end of the season then I could see a Vinick win. But if they have any hope at all of continuing the series it has to be Santos.

Would you tune in every week to see Republican Sheila and her unnamed friends?

And yes, this season has been much better than the last few, BWhitford's ep from S6 notwithstanding. Still not Sorkinesque, but we can't have everything, can we?

 

[australwind]

if i were you, i'd move.

i wish there was something we could do for you because it really IS improving, as a few have pointed out. it's been quite a while since i've gotten to the end of an episode and thought, "NOOOOOO!!!! they can't stop NOW!!!!" but i've done that every week this season.

Having posted earlier in the day lamenting lack of screening here, I thought I would go and see whether I could get it on DVD...struck out today, but I will keep trying...not sure whether getting some of the earlier series to brush up on what has gone before would be a goood idea.


I was going to try cable but that's no better here...filled with constant screenings of outdated programmes that weren't worth the free to air time on the major networks.

I will survive for a bit longer...but not sure for how long......

 

[fgarvb1]

West Wing Fans are ya?

Give this a look.

I don't think you will be seeing these episodes any time soon on your TV!


http://www.adultfanfiction.net/aff/main.php?list=70

 

[lizaveta]

That live ep might have been the fastest hour of WW television in the last three seasons.

Very nice.

fgarvb1, thank you for the ff link; there's tons more where that came from. Anyone needing a hookup, just let me know.

 

[midwestyankee]

That live ep might have been the fastest hour of WW television in the last three seasons.

Very nice.

fgarvb1, thank you for the ff link; there's tons more where that came from. Anyone needing a hookup, just let me know.

It was intriguing. My guess is that the opening segment in which Vinick proposed dropping the timing rules was scripted but that just about everything after that was improvised (apart from the questions from Forrest Sawyer).

Who do you think "won" the debate? Do you think that either candidate gained or lost ground as a result of his performance?

 

[lizaveta]

It was intriguing. My guess is that the opening segment in which Vinick proposed dropping the timing rules was scripted but that just about everything after that was improvised (apart from the questions from Forrest Sawyer).

Who do you think "won" the debate? Do you think that either candidate gained or lost ground as a result of his performance?

No, I think they were scripted, but perhaps more loosely outlined than we generally get to see. They can't take the chance that the actor would reverse a position or say something they'd have to clean up in a future ep, since those eps are mostly shot already.

I don't know that there was a clear winner. One thing I don't like about Vinick, and we've seen it in previous eps as well, is that when he starts getting desperate he gets accusatory. Really turned me off. But, he came across as being smarter than Santos, which is already something Santos has to worry about.

In the end I'd take either of them over Bush. LOL

What did you think?

I'd be interested to see the west coast performance as well.

 

[midwestyankee]

No, I think they were scripted, but perhaps more loosely outlined than we generally get to see. They can't take the chance that the actor would reverse a position or say something they'd have to clean up in a future ep, since those eps are mostly shot already.

I don't know that there was a clear winner. One thing I don't like about Vinick, and we've seen it in previous eps as well, is that when he starts getting desperate he gets accusatory. Really turned me off. But, he came across as being smarter than Santos, which is already something Santos has to worry about.

In the end I'd take either of them over Bush. LOL

What did you think?

I'd be interested to see the west coast performance as well.

Is the west coast performance also being done live, but at a later time? That's tough on the actors and crew.

Vinick showed a control of several issues and had some surprising takes on some things. I thought that his rant on African taxes was so far off the wall that it could have shaken his opponent (though it didn't) and it certainly came out of left field. I loved Santos's riff on the term "liberal." I wish that several Democratic candidates over the last couple of decades would have made the case as clearly. I also liked the way that Santos discussed his ethnic background and his achievements.

It was also a bit interesting that Josh ***** did not appear at all, though I'll fight the temptation to read anything into that. My guess is that the debate will have done Santos more good than harm and the Vinick will have made no ground among people who were not already supporters. Guess we'll have to see what Joey Lucas comes up with, won't we?

 

[lizaveta]

Is the west coast performance also being done live, but at a later time? That's tough on the actors and crew.

Vinick showed a control of several issues and had some surprising takes on some things. I thought that his rant on African taxes was so far off the wall that it could have shaken his opponent (though it didn't) and it certainly came out of left field. I loved Santos's riff on the term "liberal." I wish that several Democratic candidates over the last couple of decades would have made the case as clearly. I also liked the way that Santos discussed his ethnic background and his achievements.

It was also a bit interesting that Josh ***** did not appear at all, though I'll fight the temptation to read anything into that. My guess is that the debate will have done Santos more good than harm and the Vinick will have made no ground among people who were not already supporters. Guess we'll have to see what Joey Lucas comes up with, won't we?

I Josh. It's not easy being Whitford's whore when he doesn't even get any screen time.

I don't read anything into that, though; Lou is the logical choice to be with him as he heads toward the stage.

Yes, they are doing the live show twice. Wicked, eh?

I'll be interested to see what happens when the season resumes in a few weeks. I agree with you on the "Africa" and "liberal" segments, and wonder if these are things we'll be hearing about again.

 

[midwestyankee]

Just a quick observation: I've written out Josh's full name in two different posts here and each time it has been edited by the bulletin board. I wonder why - does anyone know what's going on with that?

 

[lizaveta]

Just a quick observation: I've written out Josh's full name in two different posts here and each time it has been edited by the bulletin board. I wonder why - does anyone know what's going on with that?

Nope; I used to have his full name in my sig and it did the same thing.

I was going to ask you, frankly, and forgot.

 

[midwestyankee]

Nope; I used to have his full name in my sig and it did the same thing.

I was going to ask you, frankly, and forgot.

Hmmm...I wonder if some experimentation is in order.

Josiah Bartlett
Arnold Vinick
Donna Moss
Matthew Santos
C. J. Craig
Toby Ziegler
Leo McGarry
Josh *****

 

[lizaveta]

Hmmm...I wonder if some experimentation is in order.

Josiah Bartlett
Arnold Vinick
Donna Moss
Matthew Santos
C. J. Craig
Toby Ziegler
Leo McGarry
Josh *****

LOL It's discrimination!

 

[midwestyankee]

LOL It's discrimination!

I wonder what it is about the last name "*****" that causes this.

 

[lizaveta]

I wonder what it is about the last name "*****" that causes this.

I can't figure it out.

L yman

Ly man

Lym an

Lyma n

 

[lizaveta]

I can't figure it out.

L yman

Ly man

Lym an

Lyma n

I got nothin'.

 

[jerseyman1963]

Who Won?

The live debate wasn't bad, and yeah, it flew by. The Santos monologue on the word "Liberal" is a Sorkin theme running throughout his work. You can find a similar speech by President Shepard in "The American President." And I've been saying the same thing since the Dukakis-Bush I campaign. If the real life Democrats embraced the word, they'd steal a major Republican campaign tool right out from under their noses. This is an off the wall analogy, but the first time I was with a woman who used the "C Word" about her own body during sex, I remember being slightly shocked, as it was a word I never used as being mysoginistic, but once I got over the initial shock, I realized how cool it was that she'd co-opted a "bad" word for her own use and by embracing it had turned it into a positive. But alas, the Democrats don't have enough guts or bravado. I've never understood why because it'd be such an easy thing to do. But the Republican Party's strength has always been that they have the strength of their convictions, whereas the Dems always seem to be floundering, trying to figure out what it is they really stand for, and never quite getting there because they're afraid of really speaking up and geting spanked by the electorate. But back to the WW... there was a brief blurb in one of my Sunday papers that it was in fact live and unscripted. I can't quite believe it, but maybe it was true. I am interested to see in the papers or on a WW web site if that was true or not. A zillion years ago there was a MASH episode directed by Alan Alda where he tried to get the rest of the cast to improvise an entire episode in character, but nobody else wanted to do it. (If anyone remembers MASH, it was an ep involving Hawkeye giving everyone foot inspections.) Who won? Hard to say. They (Santos and Vinick) both scored points and acquited themselves OK. It will be interesting to see the post debate spin on the next new ep. Wouldn't it be great if the ratings were up and they're renewed? Let's hope. And BTW there was also a blurb in the paper yesterday about a new Aaron Sorkin series next season to be set backstage at a fictional Saturday NIght Live type of TV show, sort of a Sports Night drama again. Sports Night was a greta show, but I will miss his "take" on politics and America, although somehow I doubt he's done with that, having after all also given us "The American President" and "A Few Good Men." Let's hope.

 

[silverwhisper]

EJ, i think your guy came off worse than my guy. :>

ed

 

[Guest]

 

[silverwhisper]

alternately, you could bijack. :>

ed

 

[Guest]

 

[silverwhisper]

[strokes chin thoughtfully]

not bad, not bad at all...

ed

 

[Guest]

 

[bisexplicit]

Can other people really bijack?

Is it a hijack if it somewhat follows the flow of the conversation, and a bijack if its just completely random?

 

[Guest]

 

[silverwhisper]

nah: i think it's more about the style and grace w/ which they're performed. :>

[pats bi on the head]



ed