"The West Wing rules…

To be honest, I'm glad I got into the West Wing around the time that I did. 18-year old me would've like the show, but I wouldn't have gotten as much out of the politics in the show as the 24-year old version of me. I don't even think you necessarily need to like the politics to enjoy the show, though. The writing, the characters, and the plot are truly what made the show worth watching.

Characters
Listed from my favorite to my least favorite:
Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) - Deputy Chief of Staff - To fans of stupid comedies, he's probably better known as Erik from Billy Madison. Some of the better episodes from the season involve him putting his foot directly in his mouth and having to recover.

Toby Ziegler (Richard Schliff) - Director of Communications - Basically, he's in charge of Sam, CJ, and Josh. His sense of humor is very abrasive, he's very pessimistic, and he enjoys being the guy that everyone seems to hate-but-not-really-hate. In a way, he reminds me of a political version of Tony Kornheiser.

Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) - Deputy Communications Director - He's basically Toby's second in command. He does a lot of speech-writing and also attends a lot of meetings for the President. And in typical "Rob Lowe is the baddest man in Hollywood"-fashion, he is kinda-sorta seeing a high-priced hooker.

C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney) - Press Secretary - She has one of the most stressful jobs as she is forced into handling the press without giving them too much information. A highlight of the first season was watching her sing "The Jackal."

Leo McGarry (John Spencer) - Chief of Staff - He has one of the most interesting roles. As right-hand man to the president, he is responsible for making important decisions. At the same time, his life is being torn apart as his wife leaves him and the press leaks that he was in rehab for Valium and alcohol.

Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) - President - He replaces David Palmer (aka Pedro Ceranno) as my favorite tv president of all-time. The highlight of the first season is where he decides he's going to stop caring what people think of his agenda and start almost shoving it down there throats. Instead of being so worried about being re-elected, he worries about being a good President.

Charlie Young (Dule Hill) - Presidential Aide - He's a bright young gent who is trying to find a way to put his sister through school after his mom (a policeman) was killed in the line of duty. Without even applied, he was selected as the aide to the President and basically serves as his organizer/gopher. Oh yeah, he's also dating the President's daughter which causes a little racial tension by some neo-Nazi radicals who, coincidentally, don't list "Jungle Fever" on their list of favorite movies.

Honorable Mention - Abigail Bartlet (Stockard Channing) - First Lady - I thought she was going to be a main player as many awards as I've seen her win. She's hardly ever even on the show, though!

Many of the show storylines follow along with what would probably be considered realistic issues that the White House has to deal with over the term of a Presidency. Of course, a lot of it is played up for tv drama, but a lot of the issues dealt with on the show have been issues Bush has had to deal with over the past couple years.

After it's all said and done, I've got to say I hugely recommend this show especially at only $20 a pop for the first two seasons. The cliffhanger from season 1 to season 2 is great and you'll appreciate not having to wait 4 months to find out what happens.

-B-