I love West Wing. And, politically, I’m to the right-ish of center, so I’m gonna give your Q a shot. (I also love Sports Night, but I’ll get to that later.)
I should also add that, being in the TV biz, I try to be extra aware of writing, structure, pacing, character development, etc.
Here’s what offends me about WW: They constantly employ a plot gimmick in which “our heros” are pitted against foils who appear worthy and dangerous, but are ultimately exposed to be ignorant frauds; naturally these foils are usually the administration’s right-leaning opponents.
Two examples come to mind:
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The scene: a White House summit between “our [lesser] heros” – Prez Bartlett is not present – and some Bible-thumpin’ fundamentalists who appear to have the administration over a barrel because of some indiscretion. The action: much chatter in which the “First Commandment” is misquoted liberally by the B-thumpers. Climax: in struts Prez B. who throws the Scriptures back in the fundamentalists’ faces by quoting the CORRECT 1stC (“I am the Lord your God…”). Oh how foolish and hypocritical those religious nuts looked!
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The scene: another White House summit between “our [lesser] heros” and a group of three resistant Congressmen; one includes a new, African-American, replacement representative who is really a Social Studies teacher back home. The action: much chatter about the constitutional requirements of census-taking (the Congressmen’s inaccurate counting vs. our hero’s accurate sampling). Climax: Our heros win over the new guy by reminding him that if we held to the original text of the Constitution, he, as a black man, would not even be counted as a whole person! As a Social Studies teacher he, of course, knows this and appreciates its deeper meaning; but those two stupid other throw-back Congressmen sit there with “duuh… wud do ya’ mean, not a whole person?” looks on their faces throughout.
Now, do the writers REALLY think that even the lamest Bible fanatic doesn’t know the First Commandment? It’s probably the ONLY thing he knows! Or that two Congressmen never read the friggin’ Constitution of the United States? Come on!
I hate when they pull that stunt.
BONUS OPINION:
Now, here’s my problem with Sports Night: All the characters talk the same. Watch while I make something up (see, I can write for SN, too):
A: They never get it right.
B: They never get what right?
A: My sandwich. They never get my sandwich right.
B: They never get your sandwich right, as in the KIND of sandwich, or they never get your sandwich right as in THE WAY THEY MAKE your sandwich… in which case they did get it HALF right because they got the KIND of sandwich right.
A: Well even if it’s HALF right, it’s still not right. I mean can anything REALLY be HALF right?
B: Maybe not. But it can be HALF wrong. And what does that make the other half?
A: I don’t know, but they still never get my sandwich right.
Okay viewers, who (could have) said the above dialogue?
The answer is ANYBODY! (EVERYBODY is also acceptable.)
They ALL talk in that rapid-fire, chatterbox, back-and-forth way which makes the show fun, but oh so unrealistic.
And Sports Night was good until the ::sniff:: bitter end. Blasphemy!