WEST WING: S1 (DVD)

The West Wing is easily one of the best television shows ever created, and hands down is the best drama to come out of the 1990s. This look at a fictitious Democratic administration in the late 1990s is a wonderful mixture of drama, lessons in government, humor, empathy, and a master class in witty writing and the value of a strong ensemble cast. A network television staple, this television show is safe for teenagers and even those fourth through sixth graders who are incredibly interested in American government. It's amazing that 20 some odd years later we are still arguing about the same things, and while this show does tend to air on the idealistic side, you can't help but be inspired by these characters and their drive to lead with integrity and make the country a better place.Season 1 in particular is a standout of the show, not least of which because these characters were in their early days and the writers and creators were figuring out how to make the best use of them. There's not a single member of this ensemble cast that is weak, including Moira Kelly who often gets overlooked for her contributions to the show since she was only in season 1. Martin Sheen is at his best, with a career defining role for Allison janney and beautiful solemnity and cantankerousness from Richard schiff. You can't forget the powerful impact of Rob Lowe and Bradley whitford and of course John Spencer, Dule Hill, and Janel Maloney.The show is highly quotable, and feature some of the best holiday episodes of television ever created. Get the tissue box ready when you watch the season 1 Christmas episode In Excelsis Deo. I still cry when I hear the Little drummer boy.Give this gem a watch. And as President Bartlett would say, "What's next?"

I was never really interested in watching this show. I often saw it playing on TV while I was living in Toronto, Canada, but was never captivated to sit indoors and watch it (I spend most of my spare time in outdoor activities).Then one day Bush junior took office. Then came September 11, then the US invasion of Afghanistan, followed by the US invasion of Iraq in 2003. Then Moore's Fahrenheit 911 hit the screens to become a box office hit. Then came Bush's second term, which I did not expect he'd win, followed by the lowest approval ratings in US history. Iraq was a disaster; Afghanistan was becoming another problem as the Taliban regrouped and regained strength; and Bin Laden was still evading capture.Suddenly I found myself interested in American politics. I wanted to know more about what goes on behind the scenes. What makes a US President popular? How are decisions taken? Does the President act on his own or as a team? Can the President sleep at night when US troops and innocent civilians are dying? How does the secret Service protect the President? My questions could fill several pages. I could easily have gone on the internet and typed each question on Google. Better still, I could have gone to the Library, a trip few of us take today with the advent of the internet. But I decided to watch Season 1 of the West Wing, and am I glad I did.The West Wing will give you an inside look at the American Presidency. You will really learn a lot about American politics. Did you know, for example, that the American Eagle holds thirteen arrows in the left talon and an olive branch in the right talon? When at peace, the Eagle faces the olive branch. When at war, the Eagle faces the arrows. In the halls of Congress the carpets are actually changed to reflect this.Did you know that the Secret Service is aware at all times of the location of the President, even while he is in the White House? A Secret Service agent radios the Central Command when the President enters the Oval Office and when he leaves it. A Secret Service agent is practically positioned at every door in the White House, radioing where the President is at all times. There is little privacy for the President in the White House. Maybe being the President of the US is not as glamorous as we all think if one has to forego his privacy and freedom.Every word the President utters must be well thought off, and the consequences of the words calculated ahead of time by his team. A US President goes through rehearsals before giving speeches and before standing in front of journalists. He is always surrounded by a team of experts advising him of how he should answer questions, and which questions should not be answered. One wrong word could mean a slide in approval ratings.The Secret Service also protects the President's family. Could you imagine an unfriendly country kidnapping the President's daughter? What would the President do in such a case? Would he make the wrong decisions in order to save his daughter? Would his daughter come first, or the country? Would the President be relieved of his duties in such a situation as not to compromise US security? This series will answer a lot of these questions.This series will also show you the relationship between the President and his staff. The Vice-President is not necessarily always on the President's side, and he often has his own agenda. Sometimes he would act to his own benefit in order to gain popularity for a possible run at the Presidency. Politics can be a dirty business, and a very selfish one.I enjoyed learning about the press core in the White House, and how they retrieve news. I now watch CNN in a new light.The characters in this series are well thought off, very believable, and likable. There is one character I did not particularly like, and I think he was later replaced in other Seasons. Martin Sheen plays the President, and I don't think anyone could have played the part better.This series is exciting, with many twists. The series ends with an attempted murder at the US President and his daughter, and someone is shot, but we don't know who. You'd have to watch Series 2 to find out.If you've always wanted to learn more about the US Presidency and US politics in general, this series will be a great start. Get your notebook out and join US Presidency 101! You are going to enjoy this course.

There are some tv shows that don’t just stand the test of time, but past or present, you are moved as you watch. The West Wing is one of the shows that has rightfully moved its way to the top of the heap: directing, acting, and writing all among the best ever. I love that Amazon has made it available for purchase via streaming and had to get the whole series.Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing keeps me going when our non-fictional government lets me down. But it’s because the writing is intelligent, thoughtful, strong, impassioned, and inspired. From the first episode through the last the characters of President Bartlet, CJ, Josh, Abby Bartlet, Leo, Donna, Toby, Charlie, and the rest carry us both personally and professionally through the ins and outs of how government works at the federal level. While the Bartlet administration is Democrat, Sorkin’s characters passionately show us how government works and what and why persons on both sides of the aisle think, feel, and work for.Sorkin famously ‘invented’ the walk-and-talk scene, whereby talented actors walk their way through the halls of the White House and deliver lines so flawlessly you drop right in next to them. It’s almost breathless to watch. While some of the issues of this 90s show are no longer an issue, others remain as vital to Americans now as they were then - it’s fun and eye opening to watch. But Sorkin presents ideas, ideals, and viewpoints so clearly you can’t help but think about and perhaps even understand what another’s viewpoint really is.But what stands out - aside from the writing and directing - are the outstanding actors and performances. These are the top of the heap, the cream of the crop for series television, actors and actresses whose work remains with me years later. There is a reason this show continues to draw crowds (and until recently a very popular podcast): because they are phenomenal.Series One hit the ground (or technically a tree) at full speed and never let go until season 7 was in the books. Meet the Bartlets, Josh and Toby the president’s advisors, Sam another adviser and frequent crux of the issue, Charlie, POTUS”s body man and ‘son’ figure, Leo, the chief of staff and best friend, and all the others who pass through those halls and tell us the story of us all.

The West Wing is a show so delicious to watch - it is difficult to imagine that there are 22 feature films made in any given year that are as well-done and entertaining to watch.It's wonderful to watch these episodes with a digital transfer and no commercials - my wife and I feel spoiled. After watching a few hours of "West Wing" it feels like a real step-down to watch other network television, and it's the RARE movie that is as entertaining, thought-provoking and heart-warming.The characters in this show seem very real, and even better, they seem very fundamentally "good" and concerned about each other, the country and their fellow man. Time and again the characters take a step out of "the usual", but never with the intention of benefitting themselves. Although this White House is democratic, you get a sense that they consider "all sides". Every so often an event happens where various characters have the opportunity to "do the right thing" versus "look good", and invariably they err on the side of "doing the right thing".One of the great things about this show is that it presents and "teaches" some of the fundamental political debates in our country in a way that is much livelier than a dry textbook or lecture. For example, when C.J. pulls aside Sam and admits she understands basically zilch about the national census, Sam gives her a quick "Census 101" that make it very clear to C.J. - but also makes it clear to the audience as well. We get to hear political debate - and although the Bartlett White House is full of liberal democrats we usually get a pretty good look at the opposite side. Example: Donna discovers that there is a budget surplus of over 30 billion in this first season (at about the same time that the Clinton administration unexpectedly discovered the same thing). Donna thinks the taxpayers should get a refund. Josh, her boss, explains to her that democrats have a much better plan for the surplus and it just wouldn't be a democratic party kind of "thing" (any event or idea is a thing to these characters.)Opposing viewpoints are not ridiculed for the most part. Although a fictional account who wouldn't feel comfortable with a team like this leading our country?Accompanying the complete first 22 episodes is a disc of "behind the scenes" documentaries that make it clear that the genius behind the madness is writer/creator Aaron Sorkin.Seldom does writing, directing, setting and acting come together so in a manner so completely satisfying. Mr. Sorkin says in one of the included interviews that one of their goals is to make every episode as good as the best one. Everyone has their "favorites" among the episodes - me too - but in this first season every one is excellent.

The range from light to dark provided by a good DVD player is analogous to the dynamic range (loud to soft) of a good stereo system. Being more of a music than a film person, I'm saddened by the increasing use of "compression" (in the audio engineer's sense--I don't mean JPEG or MP3 compression) in music. It makes CDs sound better in car stereos and on portable players. But for listening on a good hi-fi at home, much of the music's drama is lost if there isn't much difference between the quietest and the loudest passages.One of my favorite things about West Wing has been that it's unusually cinematic for a television series. It isn't bright and day-glo. Unlike most TV shows, which more and more seem to be converging with the techniques of television advertisements.So, yes: great cinematography. But it was Sorkin's scripting which was crucial. His ability to weave multiple subplots both within a show and from show-to-show remains unmatched by any other writer for television. Some may object that what I've described is merely the "soap opera" formula: but what soap opera ever had this kind of substance or emotional impact?[SPOILER alert -- covering the next two paragraphs]Think of the show where Josh is on stage narrating "a day in the life" at the White House: the time he filled in at a press conference after C.J. had an emergency root canal and could barely speak. Josh jokingly told the press corps that the President had a "secret" plan to fight inflation, and the reporters all take him seriously! His verbal performance is cut in not only with shots from that past fiasco -- but also merges with the developing story -- which Josh follows via his cell phone, occasionally interrupting his talk -- that story taking place in parallel, in the present, where a teetotaling Supreme Court nominee is arrested on a groundless DWI charge, which was in fact the crime of "driving-while-Hispanic" in what must have been a very-white Connecticut town.If only the judge had followed through with his initial intention to stay in prison, not only so that he can see the justice system from the other side, but presumably also develop a better cause of action to sue the racist cops who arrested him. Yes, the plot might have slowed down too much...but what a spectacle it would have been.[OK, this is where you can start reading again, if you didn't want to hear too much]Most television producers imagine the audience can't possibly keep track of so many characters and plotlines. Especially not timelines! The success of West Wing has proven them s-o-o-o wrong.I suppose it's too much to ask. To expect that kind of brilliant writing to appear on TV again.But we can always watch the Sorkin seasons on DVD. Even on widescreen, although that wasn't done until Season Two.

Watching the first season of "The West Wing" again from the perspective of fifth it is interesting to reconsider how the show began, especially now that creator Aaron Sorkin is gone. When watching the pilot episode you have to remember that originally that President Jed Bartlett (Martin Sheen) was going to be a minor, recurring character, and that the series was really going to be about the staff in the West Wing: the authoritative Chief of Staff, Leo McGarry (John Spenser), the wunderkind Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford), the cranky Communications Director Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff), debonair Deupty Communications Director Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe), and Press Secretary C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney). However, getting Martin Sheen to play the President was just too good of an actor in too good of a role to ignore, and "The West Wing" became something else.One of the best ways of noting how the series took off in a direction that was not originally anticipated would be to note how Public Relations Consultant Mandy Hampton (Moira Kelly) never became part of the family, while the role Donna Moss (Janel Moloney) became increasingly more significance, and she was added to the main cast for Season 2. That was mainly because of her comic relationship with Josh Lyman, although I have to add that Marlee Matlin as Joey Lucas was a much better fit for the group as well. Ironically, the Josh and Donna tag-team combined with the additon of Charlie Young (Dulé Hill) as the personal aide to the President, derailed the idea that Josh was the son that Jed Barlette never had (the idea was to bring a person of color into the mix of the main cast). The President refers to Josh as his son in the second season in his rant to God at the National Cathedral after the death of Mrs. Landingham (Kathryn Joosten), but clearly Charlie assumes that role, even without taking into account his dating Zoey Barlett (Elizabeth Moss).All of this underscores the fact that the supporting cast is as good as the main roles. Not only Donna and Mrs. Landingham that first season, but John Amos as Admiral Fitzwallace, Timothy Busfield as Danny Concannon, Roger Rees as Lord John Marbury, Tim Matheson as Vice President John Hoynes, and, of course, Stockard Channing as as First Lady Abbey Bartlet M.D. That is without starting to check off the impressive list of guest stars like Karl Malden, Ken Howard, Edward James Olmos, and CHH Pounder.The biggest flaw in the first season is the idea that the Vice President would be so out of the loop. Even with the history lesson of the animosity that existed between JFK and LBJ, no New England intellectual elected to the White House is going to waste having a powerful former Senator from Texas in his administration. Every since Jimmy Carter thoroughly vetted the cream of the Democratic party for his Vice President it has been an imperative that the spot be picked by somebody qualified to be president from day one, and other that Dan Quayle that has certainly been the case. Gary Cole is a nice addition to the supporting cast, but Bartlett being 0 for 2 on Veeps is not a good thing.That is why the idea this season that the Republicans would force some junior Congressman into the position is so offensive. The key historical precedent would be the selection of Nelson Rockerfeller: qualified to be President and approved with the caveat this would be his final government job (i.e., he would not be on the ticket when Ford ran in 1976). But if the show was intended to not be about the President but his staff, then the Vice President is a minor concern. So it is interesting to be revisiting that idea this fifth season, just as it is watching Josh get into and out of the doghouse the same way C.J. does in a minor story arc in the first season.Best Moments from Season One: the first appearance of the President, quoting the First Commandment in the "Pilot," Danny bringing C.J. a goldfish on the advice of Josh, Charlie coming to Zoey's defense in "Mr. Willis of Ohio," the President getting a gift from the one Cabinet Secretary who will not be attending the State of the Union address in "He Shall, From Time to Time...", and the prophetic father's worst nightmare that Bartlett lays out for Zoey in "Six Meetings Before Lunch" (which also has the classic fight between Sam and Mallory on school vouchers).Final Thought: It would be interesting if when Barlett's second is up if the show continued with a Republican Administration. It will not happen, but it would certainly be interesting.

25 years later and it's still one of the best shows ever. Worth watching again and again.

It's hard to find something satisfying on television nowadays. Given the girth of tiresome reality shows and the straining, over-the-top ploys of hospital and other "dramas," its a good thing that the first season of "The West Wing" is preserved on DVD for those times when whatever is on the tube disappoints.The season begins with an introduction of the various senior members of the White House staff, who help President Bartlett (Martin Sheen) with his job of leading the country. It continues with a focus on the staff and all the work that they put into running the country before things even get to the President, while offering plenty of glimpses into the charismatic and good-hearted President as he tackles the unique joys and responsibilities that come with the most important job in the world. We get a glimpse of Washington Politics and the extraordinary-yet-everyday people fighting the good fight to help make the country better.This first season of "The West Wing" has it all - witty dialogue, moving and suspenseful story lines, and superlative acting and direction. From the introduction of the President in the first episode to the cliff-hanging ending, you won't be disappointed with a single of the twenty-one episodes in the first season. In addition to its pure entertainment value, its hard to watch "The West Wing" without becoming excited about American politics and our potential for great leaders, if only for an hour at a time. Easily 4.5 stars out of 5, with certain episodes worthy of the highest rating ("Mr. Willis of Ohio" and "In Excelsis Deo" in particular).

Je n'aime pas trop la politique mais j'avoue que cette série est très intéressante ! Les personnages sont très attachants, drôles, les intrigues passionnantes ! J'apprécie beaucoup tous les acteurs qui font un travail merveilleux ! Dommage qu'on ne voit pas davantage Moira Kelly (Mandy) que j'adore ! ;) Cette série est vraiment d'une très grande qualité ! Le cliffender de la fin de saison est ahurissant ! On n'a qu'une envie : acheter la deuxième saison !

Can't go wrong with this. How many shows can keep you engaged just with people walking and talking?Play when the Trump disaster gets to you and you need hope.

I ordered the DVDs simply because I was disappointed with pricing for buying individual episodes from any online Source. The DVDs were generally good quality, although some of the initial episodes were a little blurry, but given the length of time since they've been around, that's not surprising, I loved this season and all the stories contained therein and had forgotten about most of them but thoroughly enjoyed watching them again. It's been a very long time since I played DVDs and surprisingly I still had a DVD player and found it surprising to find that I had to flip the DVDs over to watch the episodes effectively. There are three episodes on each side of each DVD and perhaps I always had to do this but I didn't know

I've watched the entire West Wing series in full 3 times, not counting random episodes here and there. IMHO it's the best television series for drama, comedy, and prettymuch everything you might want other than action. The dialogue is fast-moving and snappy (as you would expect from Aaron Sorkin), the characters are smart (even the majority of the antagonists) and funny and yet very human, and the situations and political issues which were supremely relevant when the series first aired are still worth thinking about years later.When I want to share this great series with a friend who hasn't watched it, I buy the first season for them as a gift, and they are invariably compelled to find and watch the remaining six seasons. If you like intelligent television (the kind that usually gets prematurely cancelled), or are interested in American politics, I highly recommend you get this for yourself.

Vendor reliable and prompt, item used but in good condition as described.