# So, I just started watching West Wing, and... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076 "2012-10-17T22:42:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/1 "2012-10-17T22:42:23Z")
…are you SURE this first came out in 1999? I’m still on the first season, but the topics are directly out of TODAY’S headlines, right down to PBS funding. Have we not changed a bit? BTW, I enjoy the show 🙂 I am just a little creeped out that, 15 years later, well… But wait: the show is fictional. Perhaps it was just predicting the future? 😃 In that case, well done!! and in any other case…good show, looking forward to more 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/2 "2012-10-17T22:52:09Z")
This was not a good show. This was a great show! I just may have to re-watch these. My wife and I were going through it season by season a few years ago (before we had kids), but we stopped for some reason and I don’t remember why. ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/3 "2012-10-17T22:53:31Z")
This was one of the best shows EVER! And they got better and better. I envy you seeing them for the first time. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/4 "2012-10-17T22:53:48Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > This was not a good show. > > This was a great show! I’m sure you meant to write \*the greatest goddamn network television show ever made, at least during the Sorkin years, and even during his absence 34% better than most of its competition. \*Probably you just need more coffee. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/5 "2012-10-17T23:03:32Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I’m sure you meant to write \*the greatest goddamn network television show ever made, at least during the Sorkin years, and even during his absence 34% better than most of its competition. \*Probably you just need more coffee. :smack: My stupid fat fingers always miss certain keys. ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2012, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/6 "2012-10-17T23:34:03Z")
Well, for those who enjoyed the show, I challenge you to watch the first season and tell me that’s not today’s world. Seriously, it’s creepy! ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/7 "2012-10-18T13:13:09Z")
We re-watched Season 1 from Netflix just a couple months ago. Season 2 is coming up in a few discs. ---
**Author:** ![boozilu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@boozilu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boozilu)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/8 "2012-10-18T15:29:52Z")
The OP reminds me of an old Dilbert comic where Dogbert has written a newspaper that is never out of date, with headlines like these: Pope urges World Peace Unrest in the Middle East etc. (Sorry to go off-topic.) ---
**Author:** ![Taomist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/53a042/32.png) [@Taomist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Taomist)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/9 "2012-10-18T20:08:22Z")
> [@boozilu](#): > > The OP reminds me of an old Dilbert comic where Dogbert has written a newspaper that is never out of date, with headlines like these: > > Pope urges World Peace > Unrest in the Middle East > etc. > > (Sorry to go off-topic.) Not off-topic, I don’t think; I probably wouldn’t have posted 'Hey, I’m finally watching West Wing!" except the similarities to right now were so eerie I just had to comment. I am looking forward to third season, which must have been about when 9-11 happened. I wonder if they cover it; I’m too far removed from the original series timeline to remember whether what they cover in-show has ANY relevance to what might have been happening at the time, or in the near-past of that time. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/10 "2012-10-18T20:11:22Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > Not off-topic, I don’t think; I probably wouldn’t have posted 'Hey, I’m finally watching West Wing!" except the similarities to right now were so eerie I just had to comment. > > I am looking forward to third season, which must have been about when 9-11 happened. I wonder if they cover it; I’m too far removed from the original series timeline to remember whether what they cover in-show has ANY relevance to what might have been happening at the time, or in the near-past of that time. You’re watching on disc, right? There is an episode called “Isaac & Ishmael.” DO NOT WATCH IT. It’s entirely irrelevant to the ongoing plot and will merely annoy you at a minimum and may cause you to claw out your own eyes. Even if they had shown Donna or Zoe naked in that episode, which they did not, it would not be worth it. To repeat: _Skip Isaac & Ishmael, first episode of the third season, in its entirety, for the love of Athena_. Trust me on this. I even took off my evil hat. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/11 "2012-10-18T20:21:18Z")
[Isaac and Ishmael](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_and_Ishmael) is out of West Wing storyline and was in response to September 11th. I rather enjoyed it. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/12 "2012-10-18T20:33:12Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > … Even if they had shown Donna or Zoe naked in that episode, … That’s running on a loop in my mind right now. Needless to say, it’s a really good episode. ---
**Author:** ![Skammer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skammer/32/143_2.png) [@Skammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skammer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/13 "2012-10-18T21:12:23Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > You’re watching on disc, right? > > There is an episode called “Isaac & Ishmael.” DO NOT WATCH IT. It’s entirely irrelevant to the ongoing plot and will merely annoy you at a minimum and may cause you to claw out your own eyes. Even if they had shown Donna or Zoe naked in that episode, which they did not, it would not be worth it. To repeat: _Skip Isaac & Ishmael, first episode of the third season, in its entirety, for the love of Athena_. > > Trust me on this. I even took off my evil hat. Heed the Rhymer. For the love of all things good and holy, and all things evil and profane, skip _Isaac and Ishmael_. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/14 "2012-10-18T21:15:28Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > skip _Isaac and Ishmael_. Why??? ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/15 "2012-10-18T21:22:29Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Why??? Seriously? It’s enormously preachy, for one. It’s too literal, for another. It thrusts sledgehammers into the characters’ hands for the sake of making its points, for a third. Look. I _understand_ I & I. Sorkin wrote it almost immediately after 9-11, a very emotional time for all non-asshole Americans. He had stuff he needed to deal with, fears of his own he needed to address, and so on. Probably all good writing comes from places like that, but in the rush to get I&I out, Sorkin et al lost the perspective needed to make it a good episode by WW standards. ---
**Author:** ![Evin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/59ef9b/32.png) [@Evin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evin)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/16 "2012-10-18T22:35:36Z")
> [@Taomist](#): > > …are you SURE this first came out in 1999? I’m still on the first season, but the topics are directly out of TODAY’S headlines, right down to PBS funding. > > Have we not changed a bit? I had the pleasure of watching all the seasons of this marvelous series for the first time this summer. My reaction to its uncanny currency was exactly the same as yours. You have a great ride ahead of you. ---
**Author:** ![Jane\_Elliot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jane_elliot/32/6166_2.png) [@Jane\_Elliot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jane_Elliot)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2012, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/17 "2012-10-18T22:50:56Z")
After the first Presidential debate I turned to a friend and said, we need to send the debate scenes from West Wing to Obama to show him how to do it right. This is a great show and I envy you the pleasure of watching it for the first time. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/18 "2012-10-19T00:39:14Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Seriously? It’s enormously preachy, for one. It’s too literal, for another. It thrusts sledgehammers into the characters’ hands for the sake of making its points, for a third. “Get your fat ass the Hell out of my White House!” isn’t a preachy sledgehammer? ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/19 "2012-10-19T00:45:53Z")
> [@Jane\_Elliot](#): > > After the first Presidential debate I turned to a friend and said, we need to send the debate scenes from West Wing to Obama to show him how to do it right. > > This is a great show and I envy you the pleasure of watching it for the first time. And after the second Presidential debate, right about the moment Obama said to Romney, “Proceed, Governor,” I flashbacked to “In case you’re wondering, ‘Crime, boy, I dunno’ was when I decided to kick your ass.” ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076/20 "2012-10-19T03:01:58Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Why??? Among other things, the terrorists cross into the US by crossing the Ontario/Vermont border… Even ignoring the tiresome meme that the terrorists who struck on September 11th of 2001 entered the US from Canada (which they fucking didn’t!), could no one on the writing staff take 5 seconds to look at a God-damned map?!? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-i-just-started-watching-west-wing-and/638076.md?page=2)