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The West Wing - The Complete Seventh Season by Tommy Schlamme, Chris Misiano
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DVD detailsActor: Bradley Whitford, Martin Sheen Director: Chris Misiano, Tommy Schlamme Brand: Warner Brothers DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled) Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen Picture Format: 1.77:1 Running Time: 957 minutes DVD Release Date: 2006-11-07 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Warner Home Video
DVD Reviews of The West Wing - The Complete Seventh SeasonDVD Review: So Sad....! Summary: 5 StarsWe never saw The West Wing when it was first on TV but our son got us hooked by giving us the first two seasons as a gift. We enjoyed all seven and were very sorry when it ended.
DVD Review: A fitting end to a wonderful series Summary: 4 StarsThis final season was a fitting end to a fantastic series. My only qualm is that I'd like to have had a bit more Martin Sheen in this last season. He was on only sparingly. It fit with the story fine but I was a bit nostalgic for him.
All in all a fine purchase.
DVD Review: Truly enjoyable Summary: 5 StarsI'm not much of a TV watcher but loved seeing this final series. It was excellent.
DVD Review: When bad writing happens to great characters Summary: 2 StarsIt's hard to say much about what makes this final season so lackluster without spoilers. But it's clear that good characters created by incredible actors cannot overcome bad dialogue. The first four seasons written by Aaron Sorkin gave us extraordinary character development: it's the reason so many reviewers praise The West Wing as the best TV drama ever. Bad writing always reduces everything to plot. Of course plot is important, it's what moves the story along. But great writers know how to move story through character development not just the events themselves.
What makes the writing in the last three seasons (five, six and seven) so disappointing is that the characters' core values change. Not because the characters change these values themselves but because the writers who took over from Sorkin at the end of season four fail to understand that people cannot change their core cultural and family values the way they change their clothes.
Martin Sheen says and does things in the later seasons that his character, President Bartlett, would never say or do. Likewise Janel Moloney...her character's values, especially in the last two seasons, are particularly mismatched with everything we know and love about Donatella Moss. The characters of Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits (both great actors) also suffer at the hands of bad dialogue and thin story line.
Unfortunately, the bad writing, weak plot lines, and incredulous character motives don't apply only to the characters I've mentioned. I loved the first four seasons so much, I felt disappointed for the actors and all the fabulous characters they had created for this great show to play out so badly at the end.
DVD Review: Best season of a TV franchise giant Summary: 5 StarsThis was definitely the most exciting season of a truly terrific show. The scriptwriting and characters come together so effortlessly. This season allowed The West Wing to once again dominate the ratings, as it retired on top.
Description of The West Wing - The Complete Seventh SeasonThe seventh season of the West Wing chronicles the transition between the administration of President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet and the race for the new presidency between Congressman Mathew Vincente Santos of Houston, Texas and Senator Arnold Vinick of California. The season includes the live episode of "The Debate" and ends with a new administration in the West Wing. Get out your hankies for the moving final season of The West Wing. It's not just because it's the last season, and the last time we know we'll hear that thrilling theme music. It's not just because it's the end of the line for the administration of President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet (Martin Sheen), an inspiring, beloved fictional leader of the free world in a time of great cynicism about real-life politicians. It's also because of the sudden, untimely death of costar John Spencer, who played chief of staff Leo McGarry, who, like his character, was a recovering alcoholic and died of a heart attack in December 2005. Spencer's death was worked into the season's story line, and it's both exhilarating to see some of Spencer's finest work in the early episodes here, and heartbreaking to see the impact of his death on the cast. At one point, Martin Sheen delivers a moving on-air tribute: "Johnny, it seems we hardly knew you." Other highlights of the season include the fleshing out of presidential candidates Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits, both respectable, admirable and worthy opponents. And in abundance are the things viewers had come to love about the show: the witty dialogue and spot-on delivery, especially by actors Bradley Whitford, Richard Schiff, and the crack Allison Janney and the long tracking and circular shots of characters in their element (subsequently found on creator Aaron Sorkin's follow-up series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip). If the story lines aren't as topnotch as some in earlier years, it hardly matters, as this is the season that wraps up the entire story arc. The gimmicks, like the live debate between Smits and Alda's characters, don't hold a candle to the true soul-searching and idealism found in every single episode. The set includes all 22 episodes, a glossy guide to each episode, and "Live from the Director's Chair," a mini-doc about filming the live debate episode. Hail to the chief! --A.T. Hurley
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