Thursday, September 21, 2006

Remembering Idealism

So okay, I had a free day today and spent it watching The West Wing. Since I can only repeatedly watch the pilot episode of Studio 60 on The Sunset Strip for so long, I figure why not check out my all time favorite show again. The difference between The West Wing from my other favorites such as Buffy, Veronica Mars, 24 or Grey's Anatomy is that no matter how many times you watch it, it never gets old.

It goes back to the creator Aaron Sorkin, the man also responsible for Studio 60. What makes the West Wing great is the idealism behind it. It takes me back from when I graduated high school and felt that I was going to change the world. Frankly, there's still time. Anyway, if you've never seen it, it's a brilliant and well-written show about the inner workings of the White House. The cast is brilliant from Martin Sheen as the President to his staff of intelligent and well-intentioned individuals. The first season, by far the strongest season, is just filled with the kind of idealism that makes one go "hmmm, I wish the world is like that." Sometimes, it's easy to see that the world and our leaders will never be that idealistic. However, this is television, the box that treads reality and the fantastic, and Sorkin is brilliant at treading that line.

As of now, Sorkin has his idealistic sights on the television industry. Studio 60 on The Sunset Strip is about the inner workings of a live sketch show ala Saturday Night Live. It's definitely worth checking out. Also, if you can avail yourself of the first four seasons of The West Wing, I would definitely recommend it. Shows like these are what television should be all about: intelligent, thought-provoking and risk-taking.

That's it for me. Ciao.

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