|
Monday, October 11, 2004
'The West Wing' goes for 5th season on Studio 23
IN THIS very political season - while the world waits to see if the George W. Bush-led Republicans or the John Kerry-led Democrats will win the US Presidency - the currency of "The West Wing" tradition of timely storylines about politics, government, the world we live in, and the world we want to create for the generations to come assumes an even greater import.
But what would happen if the president of the US - the de facto leader of the free world - steps down voluntarily and turns over the job to someone with politics diametrically-opposed to his own? Find out Monday when Studio 23 brings to local television the highly anticipated fifth season of the acclaimed political series "The West Wing".
Taking up the narrative after the cliffhanger of the fourth season finale, this season opener is entitled "7A WF 83429" after the FBI file on the kidnapped Zoey Bartlet (Elizabeth Moss).
Distraught over what the seemingly politically motivated kidnapping of his youngest child might force him to do, President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) decides to step down from office, calling in the Republican Speaker of the House, Glenallen Walken (John Goodman), to take over as leader of the free world.
But as the search for Zoey continues, will Walken's strong-arm tactics lead get the enemy to surrender or will it spur them to an even more desperate act? How will the Democratic leadership react to Bartlet's surrender of his office to the most powerful Republican in office? And most importantly, will the heady spirit of the Bartlet administration ever come back?
For a series best known for its top-notch on-camera spectacles, the fifth season of "The West Wing" is also marked by an inordinate number of backstage drama. While this season still includes the presence of the Emmy winning-cast Martin Sheen, Alison Janney, John Spencer, Stockard Channing, Bradley Whitford, and Richard Schiff as well as Emmy nominees Dulé Hill and Janel Moloney, it also marks the departure of series creator Aaron Sorkin and executive producer Thomas Schlamme, who both left the show's reins to longtime "West Wing" co-commander and executive producer John Wells of "ER" fame. As art imitates life in the changing of the guards in "The West Wing", will fans receive the same high level of challenging entertainment in Wells' hands that Sorkin and Schlamme both guaranteed in the past?
It's never politics as usual as Studio 23 brings back the acclaimed politically themed drama "The West Wing" for its fifth season Monday at 10:30 p.m. (PR)
(October 11, 2004 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board.Click here. |
|
[return to top]
[home]
[network page]
|
LOCAL NEWS
BUSINESS
OPINION
SPORTS
LIFESTYLE
FEATURE
|
