DVD Corner

The West Wing: The Complete Series Blu-ray Review

“The West Wing” is among Aaron Sorkin’s best work. 

Back in 1999, “The West Wing” premiered and has since become an iconic ensemble drama network TV series. Through 7 seasons, viewers got a behind-the-scenes look in The White House at the fictional 2 term Democratic President (Jed Bartlet), First Lady (Abbey Bartlet), their daughter Zoey, and the senior staff including Communications Director (Toby Ziegler) and the Deputy Communications Director (Sam Seaborn), Press Secretary (C.J. Cregg), Chief of Staff (Leo McGarry), Deputy Chief of Staff (Josh Lyman) and his Senior Assistant (Donna Moss), Aide turned Deputy Special Assistant to the Chief of Staff (Charlie Young), etc. Stories focused on global conflicts, bills and legislation, appointments, The President and Toby getting shot, President Bartlet dealing with MS (and the blowback his concealment of the condition caused), career promotions or changes, romance subplots, speeches and campaigning, the Vice President (there’s a few of them), terrorists, scandals, Zoey being abducted, Speaker of the House Glen Allen Walken becoming acting President briefly, funerals, peace talks, security leaks, and Democrat Presidential candidate Matt Santos running for President against Republican Arnold Vinick.

It’s tough to make a political TV series, but writer Aaron Sorkin cracked the nut with the now iconic “The West Wing.” Although his writing style may drive some mad with the unnatural quick line deliveries and repetitious dialogue, Sorkin certainly developed his own style and made the “walk and talk” type of scenes a storytelling fixture. Aside from that, Sorkin also gave viewers a hopeful, idealized look at Government with this ensemble drama. Yes, the series feels positively archaic and dated now in these toxic and chaotic political times, but that might be why the show continues to comfort viewers 25 years later. The intelligent writing, the attention to detail, and the characterization help a lot too.

As for the series overall, the Sorkin years (the first 4 seasons) are undeniably the best. The John Wells years (5 thru 7) lacked Sorkin’s voice and vision although the seventh season was an improvement over the lackluster 5th and 6th seasons (especially with the innovative live episode “The Debate”). Ending the series with a new President felt like the proper way to send off the series. Going back to the Sorkin era, there’s so many highlights here from “The Pilot” (which perfectly sets the stage for the characters and the series), “In The Shadow Of The Gunmen” (which cuts back and forth between a shooting crisis to flashback prequels), and “20 Hours In America” (which finds Toby, Josh and Donna being left behind from the motorcade). The series also deserves credit for not only mirroring real world events, but also predicting the future as it were in its explorations of subjects about shootings, outbreaks, and survivalists.

You can’t ask for a better cast here. There are so many stars here whether it be in the main cast (Allison Janney, Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, Jimmy Smits, Alan Alda, Stockard Channing, Richard Schiff, Timothy Busfield, Tim Matheson, Elizabeth Moss, Marlee Matlin, Oliver Platt, and Gary Cole) or through guest stars John Goodman, Glenn Close, Laura Dern, Matthew Perry, etc. It’s tough to single out the best performers but Allison Janney (C.J.), Bradley Whitford (Josh) and Martin Sheen (President Bartlet) really were the heart and soul of the show. 

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.78:1 1080p. How does it look? The Blu-ray release of this pre-hi-def series is an improvement over the DVD release (although not a vast one). The picture quality is a bit blotchy in the earlier seasons, but the colors and image quality are sharper.

Audio Track: 2.0 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? While not the highest quality track around, the 2.0 track is adequate (if a bit low) and also a step up over the DVD Dolby Digital tracks.

Extras:
* Commentary on “The Pilot” by Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme.
* Commentary on “In Excelsis Deo” by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme and Alex Graves.
* Commentary on “Take This Sabbath Day” by Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme.
* Commentary on “Celestial Navigation” by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and Christopher Misiano.
* Commentary on “What Kind Of Day Has It Been” by Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme.
* Commentary on “In The Shadow Of The Gunmen Part 1” by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, Bradley Whitford and Janel Moloney.
* Commentary on “In The Shadow Of The Gunmen Part 2” by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme and Martin Sheen.
* Commentary on “Noel” by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme and Bradley Whitford.
* Commentary on “18th And Potomac” by Aaron Sorkin, Robert Berlinger and Kathryn Joosten.
* Commentary on “Manchester Part 2” by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme and Allison Janney.
* Commentary on “Bartlet For America” by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and John Spencer.
* Commentary on “Posse Comitatus” by Aaron Sorkin, Alex Graves and Thomas Schlamme.
* Commentary on “Game On” by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, Alex Graves and Joshua Malina.
* Commentary on “Commencement” by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and Alex Graves.
* Commentary on “Twenty Five” by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme and Christopher Misiano.
* Commentary on “7A WF” by John Wells and Alex Graves.
* Commentary on “The Dogs Of War” by John Wells and Christopher Misiano.
* Commentary on “The Supremes” by Alex Graves, Jessica Yu and Debroah Cahn.
* Commentary on “King Corn” by John Wells and Alex Graves.
* Commentary on “In God We Trust” by Lawrence O’Donnell, Jr. and Christopher Misiano.
* Commentary on “2162 Votes” by John Wells and Alex Graves.
* Deleted scenes from seasons 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
* “The Primaries”- A featurette with cast and crew interviews that deals with the show’s origins and casting.
* “The Inauguration” largely covers the sets and production side.
* “Capital Beat” revolves around the authenticity of the series.
* “Sheet Music”- Interview with composer W.G. Snuffy Walden.
* “The West Wing Suite”- A montage of clips accompanied by music.
* “Off The Record”- Interview outtakes.
* “Constructing Two Cathedrals”- A featurette on “Two Cathedrals.”
* “Gag Order”- Gag reels from seasons 1, 2
* “The Documentary Special”- Interviews with real-life Presidents and cabinet members.
* “A Property Master’s Story” revolves around props.
* “Behind Every Good Man…Is The First Lady”- A featurette on Abbey Bartlet.
* “The Letter Of The Word” revolves around the speechwriter characters in the series.
* “In POTUS We Trust”- Cast and crew talk about Jed Bartlet.
* “GAZA: An Anatomy Of An Episode”- A behind-the-scenes look at the making of the episode.
* A featurette on C.J. Cregg titled “C.J. Cregg: From Press Secretary To Chief Of Staff.”
* “Live From The Director’s Chair”- A multi-angle view of “The Debate” episode featuring the episode itself and a behind-the-scenes look at the production of the live episode.
* “Countdown To West Wing Live” covers the preparation and production in making “The Debate” episode.

October 12, 2024 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | 90's Series, Aaron Sorkin, Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, Martin Sheen, Political Series, The West Wing, The West Wing: The Complete Series Blu-ray Review, The White House