The West Wing Going Out in Style

The West Wing was considered for a long time one of the best dramas on TV. With quick dialogue and political savvy, The West Wing took us out of cop shows and hospital shows and put us into The White House. The same critics who loved the West Wing have, in the last few years, considered it to be on the decline. The 2005-06 season, the series' last, has proved the show still has some kick left.

The West Wing was criticized a lot the last few years for nose-diving in quality. Some blame this on the departure of West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin who used to write or co-write all the scripts. (He won an Emmy for co-writing West Wing episode In Excelsis Deo, by the way). Personally, I didn't think last year, 04-05, was a bad some other did; I thought Santos' convention speech in the eleventh hour of the convention in the season finale was as emotional and powerful moment that finally paid off the Santos arc. Now in it's final season, the show has pepped up, using the momentum, perhaps, of that final episode from last year as a starting point.

Now on Sundays after a lifetime on Wednesdays, The West Wing has not gained any viewers, it seems. But, it has pushed forward the White House race between Democrat Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Republican contender Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda). The West Wing's content has been topical, thoughtful, and multi-angled this year as it has the two candidates facing off on issues like abortion, intelligent design vs. evolution, and campaign reform. The live debate episode may have been more publicized than it was entertaining, but in general, the show, especially early in the season, attacked issues with an evenhandedness, giving the pros and cons of liberal and conservative views and giving us candidates with opinions that crossed party lines.

One early West Wing this season, for instance, dealt with abortion. The Republican Vinick had to juggle his pro-choice beliefs and his consideration for the center of his party with his need to appease the pro-life right wing of it. He also had to figure a way to respect his party's pro-life platform by making it clear being pro-choice didn't mean he was for an abortion free-for-all but also find a way to stifle extremists groups who were portraying Santos as a pro-abortion radical. Busy day, and not one where there were easy answers.

Santos didn't have it any easier, managing his own "life begins at conception" views while staying pro-choice, politically, yet, not so pro-choice that he believes in a free-for-all, either. Meanwhile, he's got to fend off the attack ads he thinks Vinick stuck on him and convince a big national women's group that he's on their side. And, most complexly of all, each of the guys is going nuts trying to respect the other and be fair and not sleaze around, but neither of them knows this - so when they meet, they're angry about negative ads, even though, we, the audience, no neither of them is really to blame! It's complex stuff handled in a complex way. Very West Wing.

A similar episode had Santos talking simply and honestly about intelligent design to a group of school teachers. The episode was thoughtful and respectful of the sides involved. Though it didn't waiver from Santos' position that intelligent design theory isn't science, it also allowed for the guy to talk about believing in God. This in contrast to Vinick who's not a big believer despite being a Republican. The show has flip-flopped the traditional candidates in a believable way- well, a believable way if the parties weren't controlled by zealots in real life.

Not to say "real politick" is short-shifted. Recurring guests Janine Garafalo and Ron Silver, for example, slick it up as non-nonsense operators, corresponding in party to their real life affiliations. Garafalo's character is with Santos, Silver's character has switched over to the Republicans. Santos and Vinick are both flawed, with some ego and impatience and other sundry things keeping them real, and so is Josh, Santos' campaign manager, who doesn't always know what he's doing. Sadly, the late John Spencer, as Leo McGarry, will not be able to show us how he would resolve Leo's slow but sure walk towards being a national candidate. The storyline didn't always mesh with Leo's back-story (he'd run for congress and won, before), but it was complicated and Spencer was great.

But let's not forget that the show is still called The West Wing. On occasion, we get to see what's going on in the title local. This has been a good year for CJ Cregg stories, especially a mid-January episode where she proved she doesn't need Toby - booted for telling an insider secret- and Josh around to TCB. Alison Janney continues to be a great and true lead on the show whenever she's given the chance. Side plots don't always allow- random legislation and an uninteresting international story have not given her or the show in its traditional setting much for fans to consume. Most of it comes off like today's traumas on ER: stuff we've already seen, done better in previous renditions.

Santos and his wife (Teri Polo), a flirtation with Kate Harper (Mary McCarthy) and Will Baily (Joshua Molina) and Timothy Busfield's return as CJ's reporter would-be beau Danny Concannon gives us some hints of romance, as did a West Wing wedding. But the two romances we're maybe most invested in, namely Josh and Donna and Charlie & Zoey Bartlett have gone nowhere. Clock's ticking, people.

As for Bartlett, his MS has apparently gotten itself under control and he still whittles away at some problems now and then. But basically, legs back or not, he's a lame duck. That doesn't mean Martin Sheen doesn't still rock every scene he's in, because he does. It's hard to imagine Jimmy Smit's Matt Santos taking over yet, and being as good, maybe it's easier, sort of to see Alda's older Arnold Vinick getting the job. Maybe. Really though, it'll be strange to consider TV's best Oval Office occupied by anyone but Jed Bartlett. But come spring, the constitution will come into effect, and Barlet and The West Wing will belong to the (TV) ages.