I would love it if the show started again. IMHO making Vinnick lose was a huge mistake, he was just so damn likable.
The West Wing
- Thread starter MountainDew17
- Start date
Maybe that's where quits. Midway through his term he meets a gal, but after battling the republicans in his own party and the democrats across the aisle he throws it in after one term to be with her.
a definitely think the west wing is the kind of show that could be rebooted, so long as there was a good writer, and different characters
Borgen is the only political drama I can think of that has had a female protagonist, so a female president in a rebooted west wing would be interesting (much more interesting if Hillary doesn't run/loses in 2016)
Borgen is the only political drama I can think of that has had a female protagonist, so a female president in a rebooted west wing would be interesting (much more interesting if Hillary doesn't run/loses in 2016)
It's already been done with Commander in Chief - ok not well but not really badly either.
No, I think you'd need some continuity with the old West Wing. Sam is the obvious reboot but you could get some mileage out of Ainsley as a Republican candidate supported by some of the old crew.
I would love to see a new West Wing series based on a moderate republican POTUS who has to constantly fight his/her own party to get things done. Would be a great way to re-launch the series today.
You don't fancy John Goodman as Glenallen Walken blowing the shit out of everything that moves then...(with Brian Dennehy as Rafe Framhagan, the most insane VP since Aaron Burr).
He was supposed to win but when the actor who played Leo died they just couldn't bring themselves to do it.
There is some conflicting debate over this, some sources say that Santos was always going to win, but others say that Vinick would have won if it was not for the tragic death of the great John Spencer who played Leo.
Wouldn't complain but he's already spoken for in Alpha House.
Besides Ainsley / Emily was (is?) easier on the eye
I think a Vinick Administration would be interesting. Despite the show's leftward leaning, there were a lot of Republicans they showed in a positive light
- Vinick
- Shelia Brooks- Vinick's CoS
- Ainsley
- Joe Quincy
- Cliff Calley- even through he worked for Bartlett he's still a Republican.
- Vinick
- Shelia Brooks- Vinick's CoS
- Ainsley
- Joe Quincy
- Cliff Calley- even through he worked for Bartlett he's still a Republican.
If they had gone with a Vinick win they could have taken the opportunity to bring Sorkin back in at the beginning of Season 8. He was back on NBC by 2007 with Studio 60, with Matt Perry too.
Makes me wonder whether they could change things up by making Joe Quincy a major character and increasing the prominence of the counsel's office within the show, and maybe bring in a couple of other 'names' to give the new Vinick White House a kick start. I also like the idea of having Bradley Whitford become an occasionally recurring cast member for a while, taking some genuine time off and marrying Donna. Maybe Santos runs and wins the governorship of Texas, and he invites Josh to be his Chief of Staff - but he finds the whole thing too small-fry, even though he knows he shouldn't. Josh says goodbye and the two part as friends. Santos makes a Shermanesque statement about the White House, and Josh understands.
Realistically, I think Janney and Schiff would be out of the show for good. Schiff, remember, soured on the programme in the final season because of the Toby storyline. CJ, meanwhile, has been very well written out of the show and it really felt like she was done with the public sector. I can see her cameoing, perhaps in a two-part episode to do with Africa (remember that's her new job) but I don't see her being a regular character in seasons 8 or 9. I do think she might be tempted back - both Janney the actor and CJ the character - to be part of Sam's Presidential campaign in season 10.
What else for the 'core' regulars of the Bartlet West Wing? Leo is obviously brown bread, though if John Spencer's death were butterflied I think he'd take a stately retirement and be a grand old man of the Democratic Party. Donna could become a senior manager in anyone's political office, so she could work at that off-screen. Will - as suggested in season 7 - would go back to Oregon and try to become a Congressman. Kate? I can see her being kept on as a national security adviser of some kind in the Vinick White House, perhaps clashing with some hawkish figure the GOP pressures him to bring in. Charlie was headed to law school as of the end of OTL's West Wing, I think it'd be right for him to head there, marry Zoey at some point and actually stay on as a private lawyer. He could be part of a memorable suit against the Vinick White House at some point, going head-to-head with Joe Quincy.
As for Jed himself... I think he'd retire from the show (as in, Martin Sheen would) and would only appear very, very occasionally. Perhaps in a season finale where his counsel is sought on some grand issue, maybe to do with the economy (the season after the crash would have to bring in an in-universe economic slowdown). I think he would die at a significant moment, perhaps season 10, and his funeral is what brings the key players in the Seaborn For America team together. I repeat my idea that Josh hands Sam a napkin at the wake.
I loved The West Wing but picking it now, post-Santos administration, would mean that you're getting further and further into serious alternative reality territory. Not that we weren't from minute one of the pilot but the world we'd be looking at would be so less a reflection of our own.
For example, we'd have a world where the Palestinians have a real nation, recognized by the United States. Also, no 9/11 and an invasion of Iraq that either never happened or happened after the series ended. So commenting on the Middle East would be difficult.
We'd also have two successful (or not) major foreign interventions. One in Kazakhstan and the other in that Rwanda-like African country that eventually wandered off to Mandyville.
So, yeah, a continuation would be fantastic. It's just that there'd be some serious hurdles, story-wise.
For example, we'd have a world where the Palestinians have a real nation, recognized by the United States. Also, no 9/11 and an invasion of Iraq that either never happened or happened after the series ended. So commenting on the Middle East would be difficult.
We'd also have two successful (or not) major foreign interventions. One in Kazakhstan and the other in that Rwanda-like African country that eventually wandered off to Mandyville.
So, yeah, a continuation would be fantastic. It's just that there'd be some serious hurdles, story-wise.
Gaius Julius Magnus
Gone Fishin'
Don't forget the the U.S. troops now stationed in Palestine and Israel as a border force, and I believe there was talks of a possible Palestinian civil war in the last season when the Palestinian leader was assassinated but nothing ever came of it.
If they picked it up say beginning in the fall 2015, that would have been barely a year after the 2014 Presidential Election, sort of where the show began to begin with
They did not really think about the continuity. When it is revealed who leaked Leo´s medical records she is sent to talk to Leo who reveals that he had not had a drink in six years. Later when the presidents MS is highlighted Leo is shown getting drunk meeting fundraisers during the presidental campaign
And then there is the issue of pension reform that happened in one of the later seasons. When the live debate happened they still talked about beeing an issue. Think of someone in the crowd had rose at that time and shouted "It is already solved in a earlier episode"
Until Donna left Josh to work in a campaign i did not see her beeing all that mature but rather wimsy
The Zoey kidnapping plot was worth more than three episodes imho.
Charlie becomes Obama of the West Wing? Rising high as a law maker and then asked by Bartlett to become a senator and after 4 - 8 years(around 2024) he runs for the presidency with Zoey at his side(were they really together during the last season btw?) and behind him three former presidents(Bartlett, Seaborn and Santos). Who does he choose for VP? WIll, after beating him in the primaries. Josh is asked once again to act as chief of staff
What if C.J. is elected Governor of California and then runs against President Adrian Calvin (President after Santos leaves and the former Governor of Texas).
She is endorsed by Mayor of Santa Paula Arnold Vinick, Governor of Texas John Hoynes and Senator from Colorado Bob Russell.
Wins the Presidency, with Josh as Chief of Staff to the First Husband, Will as Communications Director and later Chief of Staff, Donna as Press Secretary, Charlie as White House Counsel, Sam leaves the Senate to become White House Counsel and then Attorney General, Ainsley as Attorney General and then Solicitor General, McNally as Secretary of State, Annabeth as Communications Director after Will is promoted, Andrea Wyatt as Secretary of State once McNally leaves, and Kate as NSA.
Campaign Slogan: "Cregg for a Better Tomorrow"
She is endorsed by Mayor of Santa Paula Arnold Vinick, Governor of Texas John Hoynes and Senator from Colorado Bob Russell.
Wins the Presidency, with Josh as Chief of Staff to the First Husband, Will as Communications Director and later Chief of Staff, Donna as Press Secretary, Charlie as White House Counsel, Sam leaves the Senate to become White House Counsel and then Attorney General, Ainsley as Attorney General and then Solicitor General, McNally as Secretary of State, Annabeth as Communications Director after Will is promoted, Andrea Wyatt as Secretary of State once McNally leaves, and Kate as NSA.
Campaign Slogan: "Cregg for a Better Tomorrow"
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