The West Wing, mostly.

I noticed, during the season finale of The Newsroom (and a few times during the rest of the season, too) that the way it made me feel was so similar to what The West Wing used to make me feel. It's not surprising, because they're both written by Aaron Sorkin. He also wrote The American President, which is, at the very least, in my top three favorite movies. He also wrote two short-lived TV shows -- Sports Night, which was  great, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which was not great. What everyone who loves (and I suppose hates) Sorkin knows is that he is a man of many, many words. His scripts are so dense and if your attention is pulled away from the screen for even 30 seconds you either miss the joke or the story or the point all together. And if you know me, you know that I am a lover of words and of wordplay and of wordiness. And most of the words in these Aaron Sorkin productions focus on two things -- politics and relationships. It should not surprise anyone that I cannot possibly get enough of this.

I've started re-watching The West Wing (I did so about a year ago, and may just make it an annual thing) because I have a lot of free time and it is the best show that has ever and will ever be on television. That's a pretty bold claim and a few years ago I may have said that LOST was the best show on television (but I would have been wrong) and some people may someday say something otherwise and I can't know if they'll be wrong. The point is that I love this show.

And I just finished watching season 2 tonight, and it is by far the best season. It's not that there's a bad season, and I'd say season 4 is pretty good too, oh and season 7 and this is getting dumb. Season 2 is the best. It's just blow after blow to the Bartlet White House, episode after episode. And everyone just keeps talking.

If you haven't seen The West Wing, I'm sorry that that's true but also sorry for the spoiler or whatever but can you just watch this? It's after Mrs. Landingham's funeral and just before President Bartlet has to make his MS announcement and the world is going to hell in a handbasket/tropical storm. What I love about it is that he's this seriously devout man of faith and here he is, in the National Cathedral, shouting at God at the top of his deeply aggrieved lungs. It's television gold and it's human gold.