What will they do? Surely Aaron Sorkin will tire of the series at that point, but with if he doesn’t? Will they change the cast wholesale? It has worked for Law and Order to make changes of the cast over the years, but it is more incremental. I can’t see Sorkin writing a Republican White House. Would he allow Hoines to win or a different candidates takes the DEM Nomination (rare)?
I also expect to see some changes in the cast next season. With the contract disputes earlier this season, I feel like Sorkin may be out there looking for a new Chief of Staff. The White House changes staff over a period of time. It would be easy to write into the series.
Who is the most easily replaced?
I nominate Toby. Sure he won the Emmy, but he really grates on my nerves (of course that is his role).
Most irreplacebale- Josh Of course, Bartlett would be tough to replace. However, the original plan of the series was to NOT have a president in the cast. Basically, he was to be an off camera character, but when Martin Sheen should interest, it was over.
One option would be to elect a new President, but go back to the original concept of never showing him. Of course, the new President would have to be a designated successor to Bartlett, or he wouldn’t retain the same staff.
Another option would be to tell the story in “T.V. time.” Remember, the Korean War lasted 11 years on MAS*H, with the years 1951 and 1952 playing out numerous times (some events from those years happened more than once over the course of the series).
Or he could spin Martin Sheen off into a new “Citizen Baines”/“Guarding Tess” type thing, about what the President does once he leaves office. The more I think about it, the more I like that concept, especially if my favorite West Wing actress, Stockard Channing, signs on. It could focus more on the ex-President and his family, maybe having him involved in Sorkin’s pet social issues a la Jimmy Carter. Aaron, are you listening?
Good call on the ex-prez idea. It could also include Charlie as his son-in-law. Maybe Stockard could run for Senate.
As an aside, I must be the only person who watches the show that doesn’t like Stockard Channing at all.
And the TV time thing is true, but they keep advancing the time pretty fast by having noticeable and timeable events. Midterms and Christmas episodes Of course, how many times has Bart finished 4th Grade? On one of the blackboard gags, he wrote recently, “I should be old enough to drink.”
The only way they would be able to avoid dumping all the staff is if Hoines succeeds Bartlett. Considering Bartlett’s got “problems” these days that might happen even sooner than we think.
Another option could be to simply do the whole series over again; new President, completely new cast. West Wing II, if you will.
Of course most of the staffers have bad blood with Hoines.
I tend to agree that it would have to be a new series.
West Wing: The New Class (of course the original class will go onto to West Wing:The Paid Speaking Engagement Years)
It would be unusual for a new president to keep the old staff, even if he or she was the “chosen successor”. One way to keep the gang together would be to turn them into a consultant/lobbying firm. Especially if a Democrat is elected after Bartlett (and after a cooling off period), they would have access to high officials, including possible inside scoops, and, as lobbyists, would get to center on topics near and dear to our liberal hearts. Even reacting to current events wouldn’t be difficult,as long as they maintained an “open” lobbying stance (i.e. don’t define them as environmental lobbyist). True, it would lack the scope and power of the Presidential setting, but it would still provide a forum for addressing issues.
I, OTOH, worship Stockard Channing. I never even watched The West Wing until I read that she had appeared on the show, and then I taped the next episode in which she appeared. I’ve grown to like the show, but as you can tell from my suggestion for West Wing: The Continuing Saga, I am still much more interested in watching Martin Sheen and Stockard play husband and wife than I am in all the political maneuvering (in spite of, or perhaps because of the fact that I spent years studying and working in politics.)
Of course, I have never gotten all the fuss about Bradley Whitford and Alison Janney. To each his own, I guess.
