DVD Review: West Wing: Season 5

Follow the drama this December 6th, when the government is temporarily passed from a Democratic Administration to the Republican Speaker of the House, as President Bartlet copes with the kidnapping of his youngest daughter Zoey. All 22 episodes from the Emmy Award winning fifth season available in a 6-disc collector’s set, including never-before-seen special features.

Special features include:
Commentary by John Wells and Alex Graves on 7A WF 83429, Commentary by John Wells and Christopher Misiano
on The Dogs of War, Commentary by Alex Graves, Jessica Yu, and Debora Cahn on The Supremes, In POTUS We Trust: presidential profile of President Bartlet and his portrayer, Martin Sheen Gaza: Anatomy of an Episode, Unaired scenes on three episodes

Review:
West Wing fans will find that season 5 has a bit of a different feel to it. The show lost writer Aaron Sorkin, which was a major problem for the series. It was his vision that guided the show through the previous seasons and established the show as such a success.

The first half of the season is a bit dark and heavy with dramatics and the humor that so many of the fans adored seemed absence. The new writers were getting a feel for things, so there were some bumpy parts. The show explored more dramatic topics such as terrorism and crime, and then mid-season we are greeted by an episode of a lighter tone; we have the Republican congressional leadership on one side and President Bartlett and prime political advisor Lyman on the other making strategic like moves in working out the approval of the budget. It was from about this episode on that it was smooth sailing for the show. It was as thought provoking, clever, and funny as ever. These new writers had produced some of the best material that the show had ever seen.

This show is extremely brilliant and with episode such as “The Supremes”, you can’t help but find yourself drawn into this series. Whether you are a fan of politics, or you’re just a fan of good television, this is one DVD set worth checking out!

Review by Emma Loggins

Grade: A-
Official site: http://www.westwingtv.com/
Buy on Amazon: West Wing: Season 5

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