For lovers of the West Wing, does anyone feel that there should be some sort of an election for the next president?
I realize this sounds a bit hokey, but I find it a really interesting concept in television.
As we all know, with the two term limit Pres. Bartlett is out, so the show is struggling to figure out who to replace him with. My thought was to leave the season finale as a cliff-hanger (obviously) and have viewers vote on who they want as the next President, especially whether they want it Republican or Democrat.
I think the problem with the OP’s suggestion is that it is likely that one of the candidates (Smits) is very up for acting in a regular TV series, while the other (Alda) probably isn’t. Everyone involved with the show is naturally staying mum on the subject to generate “suspense”, but I sincerely doubt that such a balloting would be allowed when they have no assurance that the “winner” could or would follow-through with “the voice of the people”. That’s at least a 4-year gig! (unless POTUS got assassinated or something–and that would be the jump-shark there).
That’s a pretty good point, I hadn’t really considered that before the “election” both candidates would have to agree to a four year contract. But keep in mind that season 1 didn’t start right after Bartlett’s election, and there is nothing requiring the show to match year for year. They could just as easily cram a four year term into two seasons.
I still think this would make for an interesting plot twist, where the show is about politics. Has something like this been done before?
It’s not just the president you have to think about. A Republican presidency and a Democratic presidency would have entirely different casts, require entirely different issues, and would use every existing cast member differently. You’d essentially have to have two shows ready to go.
Besides, as others have said: a) the show is already dead and should not continue and b) the next president is already picked out since Alan Alda isn’t going to do a full series.
