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December 02, 2004

No More Surprises

I think I finally figured out what my problem is with the West Wing. Like everyone else, I sorely miss Aaron Sorkin’s quirky narrative style and use of dialogue. But there’s more to it.

John Wells produces fine, nicely polished episodic television. But he’s been at it so long he falls into television shorthand and telegraphs actions. As a result, one of the best things about Sorkin’s work is missing here and that is the element of surprise.

Last night’s episode crystallized it for me. From the get-go I saw something was wrong with Bartlet. He wouldn’t normally miss something like the Taiwanese flag and the way he played it as a mistake was not in the same coy way he got his message across during the re-election television interviews. No, something was wrong and the lingering looks on CJ as she worried about the Prez screamed there’s a problem.

And what problem could that be? Well, gosh, we just got through Leo telling CJ Bartlet needs to play chess as a check against the MS recurring. The Prez now has a problem…oh; it has to be the MS. So, as the episode ended, and Bartlet told Abby about his vision troubles, I proclaimed, “ah ha!” The coming attractions cinched it beyond a doubt.

Without meaning to, John Wells is slowly morphing The West Wing into ER. First there’s Donna caught in the explosion and the season ending cliffhanger as they rush her back into surgery. Then Leo’s heart attack. And now this.

Someone at NBC or Warner TV needs to remind Wells he’s producing a political drama. A drama that has been built on the characters and their foibles as well as their strengths. I’ve been slowly rewatching the first season on DVD and am reminded all over again about how Wells slipped in fascinating information through the various characters as well as revealing things about them over time. Just got through the episode where we meet Toby’s ex-wife, the congresswoman. That was a surprise and we got to see some nice characters bits with him.

This season, Wells has found more Sorkinesque rhythms but it’s not enough and they don’t crackle. Charlie’s attempts to retrieve the Taiwan flag told us plenty we didn’t know about what becomes of Presidential gifts is from the Sorkin bag of tricks but the heavy-handedness of Josh being denied China while being wooed by Hoynes is boring drama.

I miss the surprises, both big and small.

Posted by Bob Greenberger at December 2, 2004 04:44 PM

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Bob Greenberger observes some predictible ER-like plot points on The West Wing. Apparently, the timeline has sped up, skipping a couple of presidential years, either in an attempt to make radical changes when cast contracts expire or, as I tend... [Read More]

Tracked on December 4, 2004 10:54 AM

Comments

You hit it right on the money when you said that Wells is turning the show into ER. From what I've heard, Wells and NBC want to keep the show going, but they don't want to keep the current cast forever. In fact, one can argue that doing so would be unrealistic; most Presidential staff members don't stick around for so long, and if we're going to stick to our version of the Constitution, Bartlett can't run for re-election next time. So Wells takes a play from his own playbook -- bring in new and different characters, move the old ones around in ways that can take them off the playing field, and hope the audience likes what you're doing enough to stick around.


I agree with a friend of mine who said that she would feel better if they gave Wells a spin off show but didn't call it The West Wing.

Posted by: Michael A. Burstein [TypeKey Profile Page] at December 2, 2004 05:07 PM

In addition to your gripes about how the MS was "telegraphed," I was also not thrilled how the Taiwanese flag was conveniently used as a prop to convey Bartlet's loss of vision.

It is highly unrealistic that if the US were to do such a thing as accept the Taiwanese flag (even on accident) that simply returning the flag would've made that situation go away.

Posted by: :: jozjozjoz :: at December 4, 2004 09:50 PM

Bob,

Of course you meant to write that Sorkin "...slipped in fascinating information through the various characters...", not Wells.

At least the DVDs (and Sports Night too) are there for you to return to.

Brian

Posted by: Brian Czako at December 5, 2004 11:18 AM