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West Wing: Would you be interested in a new series?

Wow, I've never seen The West Wing. I guess I should Netflix the sucker, huh? :D

For sure. But just as a heads up, it's mostly talking. With some walking around thrown in for good measure. There's the occasional spike of action beyond that when it's finale or premier time too, but otherwise? Talking. Walking.

It's just that it's very good dialogue and very, very good acting (and moderately okay walking).

The writing is smart, and the performances are top of the line.
 
Exactly. It's not talking for talking's sake. It's DEEP conversations about big, important, weighty issues, combined with witty, sharp characterization.

It's less geeky, less scatological Kevin Smith, basically.
 
Exactly. It's not talking for talking's sake. It's DEEP conversations about big, important, weighty issues, combined with witty, sharp characterization.

It's less geeky, less scatological Kevin Smith, basically.

It's also a rare place in TV where the actors so channeled their charecters that a simple move of the eyes could deliver more power than five lines if dialogue.
 
Set it that Santos lost his reelection bid to the republican candidate, the Veep candidate on the Vinnick ticket.
I'd actually almost want to see a new TWW-esque show using this as its premise, telling a story this time from the perspective of a Republican administration. Even though I'm left-leaning myself, I think it could prove interesting. It'd never happen, though.
 
Isn't Sorkin working on a pilot right now set in the studios of a 24hr news network? I could definitely see it fitting into the WW-verse, since they'll have to be coming up with plausible and interesting fake political news for that setting anyways. The question of "Are political talking heads spewing their douchery on subjects that aren't real at all compelling?" remains, but the WW-verse is as good a place as any to set it, since then they have a solid realistic history to draw upon for their politics (with a few retroactive additions like 9/11, a Bush-like president, etc. )
 
I think I would be more interested in a series focusing on Charlie Young in Congress. We've seen the whole Presidential thing. Let's see something different.
I was about to say that. I think a Congressional show would be very interesting.
I have to be honest, I stole the idea from PsychoPere but only because it's a damn fine idea. ;)

As a side, I always found it amusingly coincidental how Santos vs. Vinick seemed to parallel Obama vs. McCain, which happened a few years later.
I rewatched the entire series (for the third or fourth time) during the election year and I was astounded by the number of similarities it had with the actual election.

Set it that Santos lost his reelection bid to the republican candidate, the Veep candidate on the Vinnick ticket.
I'd actually almost want to see a new TWW-esque show using this as its premise, telling a story this time from the perspective of a Republican administration. Even though I'm left-leaning myself, I think it could prove interesting. It'd never happen, though.
During season 7, I had hoped that Vinick would win and that would lead into an eighth season starring Alan Alda, Patricia Richardson, Stephen Root, and new cast members showing a Republican Presidency. Alas, it didn't happen. :(
 
Finally, I'm still waiting for that "Sports Night" reunion show because maybe one of these days Josh Charles will stop being mad at Aaron Sorkin.:)


He is bad at Sorkin? For what?

I don't know about recently but the story goes that Josh Charles blamed Aaron Sorkin for the end of "Sports Night". The cancellation of "Sports Night" is mostly ABC's doing even though their ratings were going up, albiet slowly. I think that Josh Charles felt that Aaron Sorkin brought about the end of the show because alot of his attention was being devoted to his new series "The West Wing". But thats what I've heard.
 
I'd like to see another Sorkin-led political series on television (HBO calling?), but I'm fine never setting foot in the universe of The West Wing again, besides with my DVDs. A new series should reflect the current political landscape, not the landscape from the late 1990s.
Exactly. The show made some concessions to the post-9/11 Bush years, but it would make no sense at all to try and continue that universe now that it's been gone several years.

I'd actually almost want to see a new TWW-esque show using this as its premise, telling a story this time from the perspective of a Republican administration. Even though I'm left-leaning myself, I think it could prove interesting. It'd never happen, though.
Sorkin himself said at one point that that wouldn't work, because Republicans don't believe that government should help people, only that it should kick ass overseas when necessary and otherwise be as small as possible. So you'd have liberal characters being idealistic, and the protagonists being cynical and raining on their parades all the time - not exactly a good formula for insiping drama. For some odd, probably random reason, Republicans just work far better as villains. ;)

One White House show I'd LOVE to see would be a several-season adaptation of Gore Vidal's Lincoln on HBO. Now that was a workplace with drama! :techman:
 
One of the subplots in Sorkin's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip involved a writer proposing a one-hour drama to the network about the behinds-the-scenes goings-on at the United Nations. I sometimes think that that might make for a very interesting series, actually.
 
^A non sci-fi Babylon 5?!

Well, presumably a series set at United Nations Headquarters wouldn't feature the U.N. evolving into a planetary government with its own army and navy the way Babylon 5 grew into the Interstellar Alliance. ;)
 
I would like to see another go at that West Wing semi-spin-off Mister Sterling...or at least get that show on DVD.
 
^A non sci-fi Babylon 5?!

Well, presumably a series set at United Nations Headquarters wouldn't feature the U.N. evolving into a planetary government with its own army and navy the way Babylon 5 grew into the Interstellar Alliance. ;)

Unless the Michigan Militia have been right all along ...

The United Nations couldn't even get its act together enough to use its legitimately-granted force to stop an obviously against-international-law genocide against the Tutsis in Rwanda, and you're gonna tell me they're gonna get their act together enough to become a global military power?
:guffaw:
 
Sorkin himself said at one point that that wouldn't work, because Republicans don't believe that government should help people, only that it should kick ass overseas when necessary and otherwise be as small as possible. So you'd have liberal characters being idealistic, and the protagonists being cynical and raining on their parades all the time - not exactly a good formula for insiping drama. For some odd, probably random reason, Republicans just work far better as villains.
A blinkered and simplistic outlook on Sorkin's part.

One White House show I'd LOVE to see would be a several-season adaptation of Gore Vidal's Lincoln on HBO. Now that was a workplace with drama!
And a Republican White House at that.
 
Sorkin himself said at one point that that wouldn't work, because Republicans don't believe that government should help people, only that it should kick ass overseas when necessary and otherwise be as small as possible. So you'd have liberal characters being idealistic, and the protagonists being cynical and raining on their parades all the time - not exactly a good formula for insiping drama. For some odd, probably random reason, Republicans just work far better as villains.
A blinkered and simplistic outlook on Sorkin's part.

No, I'd say it's a fairly honest description of what modern the modern Republican Party is like.
 
No, I'd say it's a fairly honest description of what modern the modern Republican Party is like.
And I'd say that's a blinkered partisan view, but obviously we're not going to agree on that. Administrations of both parties have their share of cynical bastards and true believers striving to do what they genuinely believe is best for their country, whether you agree with their philosophies or not.
 
Administrations of both parties have their share of cynical bastards and true believers striving to do what they genuinely believe is best for their country, whether you agree with their philosophies or not.
Neither I nor Sorkin said that Republicans were evil. Many Republicans genuinely believe that they're doing good overall by keeping government as small as possible. One can agree or disagree, but that's a separate point from the argument that it's more gripping from a dramatic perspective to side with the idealists than the cynics.

One White House show I'd LOVE to see would be a several-season adaptation of Gore Vidal's Lincoln on HBO. Now that was a workplace with drama!
And a Republican White House at that.
A far-left Republican administration, from the left-of-center party, yes.
 
Administrations of both parties have their share of cynical bastards and true believers striving to do what they genuinely believe is best for their country, whether you agree with their philosophies or not.
Neither I nor Sorkin said that Republicans were evil. Many Republicans genuinely believe that they're doing good overall by keeping government as small as possible. One can agree or disagree, but that's a separate point from the argument that it's more gripping from a dramatic perspective to side with the idealists than the cynics.

One White House show I'd LOVE to see would be a several-season adaptation of Gore Vidal's Lincoln on HBO. Now that was a workplace with drama!
And a Republican White House at that.
A far-left Republican administration, from the era's left-of-center party, yes.
 
^A non sci-fi Babylon 5?!

Well, presumably a series set at United Nations Headquarters wouldn't feature the U.N. evolving into a planetary government with its own army and navy the way Babylon 5 grew into the Interstellar Alliance. ;)

There is provisions within the UN charter for it to establish a standing military under it's direct control... It's just never actually done it, opting for "peace forces" on loan from member nations militaries.
 
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