Phew - and now normally transmission can resume for a while. Some things about The West Wing, in no particular order:
- The way that everyone says "ok" all the time, especially in the early seasons, often because what's been said before is just, you know, so darn intense that there's nothing else to say.
- The episode in which Zoe is kidnapped is probably the single most tense tv episode I've ever seen, and to the strains of Massive Attack's "Angel", too, though a large part of that is probably due to my investment in the show. But the single most memorable moment is the micro-scene where Amy asks Donna if she's in love with Josh and the camera cuts immediately.
- The various strands in episodes are often thematically related - something I tend to notice near the beginning and then forget all about as the story takes over.
- Josh is my favourite, and has been from the start. I probably don't seem much like him to other people, but I definitely identify.
- The show plays fair - it sets things up using generic conventions, and it has the confidence to develop them over a long period. For example, from about halfway through season 1 I was thinking that there had to be some kind of romance between Josh and Donna, and also expecting that Hoynes would end up showing his patriotism somewhere along the line.
- I didn't know about the MS.
- There's a pretty serious dip in quality in seasons 4 and 5 (and especially 5), but it really picks up again in 6.
- Toby as press secretary is gold.
- It does get a wee bit distracting the way pretty much every woman who passes through is extremely attractive (in a "hang on, this isn't how the real world is" rather than some kind of sub-libidinous way, natch).
- The episode structures keep things interesting (eg, sometimes opening with a flash-forward) - it's only really around aforementioned season 5 that things feel formulaic.
- Lots of episodes give me a rush and a chill down the spine.
- I do particularly enjoy the court and judge-related ones.
- If only everyone I worked with was like the people in this show!
- So much more to say but what says the most is that I fully intend to watch it all the way through from the beginning again once I've done this final season 7.
One season to go!
