Liberal Wet-Dream
Okay, I know not everyone's a fan of "The West Wing". But to those of us who are politicos on the left, just about everyone, including those greenies, progressives, and Gore Democrats, all of them like watching a nice idealized view of the White House we all WISH existed. If you don't watch it, I'd highly recommend checking it out. You could start at the beginning, if you want to.
So: Tonight's season-opener was the first episode sans Aaron Sorkin, the creator and writer of every episode up 'til now. And the result of a new staff of writers was: so-so. It had good parts, bad parts, the bad parts notably being a slight change in character and tone for the show. When Mr. Jewish leftie Tobey says "If we close the markets, the terrorists win", it's a rather strikingly out-of-character statement. There was a good attempt to keep up the rapid-fire dialogue and pacing, but it occasionally veered into merely difficult-to-hear, a problem that also plagued the last season of Buffy, another similarly intellectual show. But what can I say: it still was fun, and a nice hour of fantasy where we could all pretend that politics still made some sort of rational sense.
What worries me most of all? The statement by NBC that, in an effort to attract more moderate (read: corporate) fans, the show would become more balanced in its viewpoints between both right-wing and left-wing agendas. Does the idea of "Crossfire" as an hour-long drama appeal to you? Me neither.