The West Wing

From what I understand this was just a complex coping mechanism for American liberals during the Bush years?

I absolutely LOVE it. So smart, so watchable, so warm, so great to listen to. It just pleases my ears and brain and heart so much. Sorkin-scripted episodes like Celestial Navication, 17 People, Two Cathedrals, Bartlet for America, and In the Shadow of Two Gunmen (one of my top 10 TV eps ever) justify TV's goddamn existence for me. Yes, it definitely dipped after Sorkin left (S5 is not great), but I genuinely got really into Vinnick vs. Santos in the last two seasons.

What a fun show. The writing was excellent, the characters were all well developed, and it never became a soap opera the way most dramas do. (Well, I only watched the Sorkin seasons, so I guess I can't really make that claim). Whether or not you agreed with Bartlet's politics, the show can teach a lot about the process of politics (albeit a lofty and naive version).

Not always agreeing with the politics but still remaining enthralled is a good sign.

This was an incredible show that really sucked you into the world and made you think about how humanity clashes with power and politics.

Only watched 4 episodes so far

so boring

Watched most of season 1. The dialogue is usually clever and the first few episode are amazing, but overall the story is very cheesy and overly theatrical. The plot twists are foreshadowed so heavily they become a joke. And whenever a relevant political issue arises the smart writing morphs into some of the worst moral arguments I have ever seen.

The first few episodes I’d give 80, but it got sillier as the show went on.

The West Wing features a likable cast and some great writing, that makes a show that would otherwise be dry and pedestrian, much more interesting than it has any right to be. The show does feel a little dated (2 decades from when it first premiered) but that doesn't lessen the many great dramatic moments that it delivers. Two Cathedrals (S02E22) features one of the best TV moments of all time, set to Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms.