TV

It’s Not Too Late To Watch ‘The West Wing’

This year, 'The West Wing' turns 20, but its impact is still being firmly felt -- both in TV and in the world of politics.

by Elyce Phillips  7 February 2019
The West Wing

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The year was 1999. In the United States, Bill Clinton had just been acquitted of all charges laid in his impeachment. Here in Australia, John Howard was trying to get a preamble about ‘mateship’ into the constitution. The world of politics was a mess, and it wasn’t about to get better any time soon. Enter The West Wing.

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The West Wing is a show that is largely responsible for me doing three years of undergrad political science at uni (Aaron Sorkin, please pay my HECS debt), and is also one of the most influential television dramas of the 2000s.

This year, The West Wing turns 20, but its impact is still being firmly felt — both in tv and in the world of politics.

Decades later, creator Aaron Sorkin continues to have a say in how US Democrats should sound, for better or worse. An entire generation of politicians and public servants grew up watching the show and are now out there, influencing our lives (Again, Aaron, I would love it if you could even just chip in a little on my massive HECS debt).

Drawing from the political issues of the era, it’s a show that was very of its time, but it’s absolutely not too late to start watching The West Wing.

“I Work At The White House”

The show follows the day-to-day White House life of the Bartlet Administration, a first-term Democratic government, and largely takes place in the offices and hallways of the titular wing.

Over its seven seasons, you get some insight into how a country is run, and it’s an engaging way to explore a wide range of political issues — from gun control to refugee policy and a whole lot in between.

The best thing about The West Wing, however, is the characters. The core cast of President Jed Bartlet and his staff are endearing and complex from the get-go. Say what you will about Sorkin (I for instance, will say that he’s out of touch, sexist, and absolutely refuses to pay a cent towards my HECS debt), but the man can write the hell out of some witty and winning dialogue.

On top of that, the cast is stacked. Martin Sheen is amazing as Bartlet. You will absolutely fall in love with Allison Janney as C.J. Cregg. Rob Lowe is there, being delightful, as is Bradley Whitford. In later seasons, you get Alan Alda, Kristin Chenoweth and Lily Tomlin. What’s not to love?

And as an added little benefit of coming to the party 20 years after it kicked off, there’s a tonne of cameos of our current favourites doing bit parts at the start of their careers. I mean, just look at this baby-faced Nick Offerman in season 1.

Walk’n’Talk

One of The West Wing’s biggest legacies is its heavy use of ‘walk-and-talk’ tracking shots.

In just about every episode, you’re going to see characters having intense conversations while briskly stalking the corridors of the White House. It’s a very clever way of adding pace and interest to a show that is mostly made up of Very Important Talking in an office setting, and you see its influence all over TV dramas today.

Beyond that, The West Wing ushered in an era of cinema-quality production values in network TV. At around $3 million an episode, it was one of the most expensive dramas being produced at the time, and it shows.

For a 20-year-old program, The West Wing still looks real slick.

“Bring Me The Finest Muffins And Bagels In All The Land’

So, where are you going to find the best moments?

For me, The West Wing is at its best when it blends together a good dose of comedy with its sappier moments, and so I can’t go past ‘The Crackpots and These Women’ in season 1.

It’s the first of the ‘big block of cheese episodes’, where the staffers meet with members of the public to talk about their weirder concerns, and it’s an absolute delight. Also, it’s the first time we see Elisabeth Moss appear as Bartlet’s daughter, which is a lovely treat.

In a similar vein, ‘20 Hours In America’ (Season 4, Episode 1 & 2) is another one to look out for. It sees Josh (Bradley Whitford), Toby (Richard Schiff) and Donna (Janel Moloney) left behind by the presidential motorcade while campaigning in rural Indiana. Their struggle to make their way back home provides some sweet, silly relief for the more serious storyline playing out back at the White House.

If you prefer your episodes more dramatic, ‘Two Cathedrals’, the finale of season 2, is for you. It’s the best example of an episode that hones in on the relationship between two characters, and definitely spends more time in the realm of the personal than the political. We get a greater sense of the complexity of President Bartlet as he navigates the grief of losing a close loved one, and Sheen’s performance as he monologues in the cathedral is absolutely stunning.

As a final recommendation, ‘Isaac and Ishmael’ (Season 3, Episode 1) is a terrible episode of television, but a fascinating time capsule. It aired on October 3, 2001 and was written with a fast-turnaround following the events of September 11. It took two weeks to write, rehearse and film and oh, boy, it shows.

It’s earnest and clunky, but extremely interesting as a historical artefact.

‘Let Bartlet Be Bartlet’

Going back for a rewatch, The West Wing scratches the same itch it did in its heyday.

In the early 2000s, it was a nice bit of escapism from the conservative governments of the time — both here and in the US — and now it does the same. It presents a comforting fantasy land of a functional small-l liberal government, struggling against the odds to follow their moral compass and do the right thing by their constituents.

Heck, what a concept! It makes a strong case for leadership over populism, principles over point-scoring, and as cheesy as it can get, it fills you with hope. And when it’s not doing that, it gives you chance to commiserate over the trashfires of government.

Watching The West Wing is a lot like wrapping yourself in a fluffy blanket until you’re a human burrito — comfortable and entirely shielded from what’s happening in the outside world.

Sure, watching it today, you notice that the blanket’s gotten a bit stiff and itchy and filled with mostly straight white dudes, but wow, I just get all toasty inside seeing political figures that can speak in full sentences and not absolutely ruin the hell out of everything they touch.

Where To Start?

This is definitely a show where you want to start from the beginning.

The pilot episode of The West Wing holds up as one of the strongest in the series, and is the perfect introduction to the core cast.

From there, seasons 1-4 are a must-watch. Season 5 — the first after Sorkin’s departure — is largely considered to be missable. Seasons 6 and 7 have some great moments, and bring in a bunch of new characters, so if you’re enjoying it, it’s worth seeing through to the end.

Where You Can Watch The West Wing

Seasons 1-7 of The West Wing are on Stan.

Elyce Phillips makes comics, comedy and general nonsense. Her writing has appeared in McSweeney’s and Funny Ha Ha, and you can see her make a fool of herself regularly at The Improv Conspiracy in Melbourne.

All this week, Junkee is heading back in time to relive the greatest moments in pop culture from 1999. For more 1999 content, head here.