There is no accounting for taste. Everyone has a favorite movie or TV show that they like despite the general consensus being otherwise. Sometimes we come to this opinion upon a revisiting, as perhaps our new experiences and perspective opens up new ways to be entertained. Other times we've enjoyed it from the first time we saw it, and we still love it, damnit. We begin with season five of The West Wing, considered the weakest of the entire series.
There is no denying that The West Wing was weaker after Aaron Sorkin left. Even when the show rebounded during the Santos vs. Vinick election storyline, it was still missing something, that "Good Sorkin"* element that seemed to tie together the show so well. This can be best felt in the Zoey Bartlet kidnapping arc, half of which was under Sorkin, half of which was not. "Commencement" and "25" are tight, well written, and balance the drama with the tension really well. The juxtaposition of Toby's joy at the birth of his twins and the President and First Lady going through the utter hell of their daughter being kidnapped is spot on. Although the fourth season had some of the troubles of later seasons, it certainly ended with a bang.
"7A WF 83429" and "The Dogs of War", on the other hand, aren't bad, but they just aren't great. Instead of having that focus on the interpersonal drama surrounding the kidnapping and Bartlet's subsequent temporary recusal from the Presidency, it seemed far more concerned with the political aspects of the situation. That isn't to say there isn't a place for that, just that it wasn't as well balanced. The end of "7A WF 83429" tries to go for the emotion of "Two Cathedrals" or "Commencement", but it just feels overblown. To top it off, the conclusion of the kidnapping just seemed a bit perfunctory, like they forgot they needed to end it and just stuck it in there. They were pretty good television, and would have been great for many shows. But for a show like The West Wing, they just weren't good enough.
The other twenty episodes are about the same. They are nowhere near the awfulness some people seem to claim, but they are also nowhere near the heights of Bartlet's first term. Martin Sheen is great as always as President Bartlet, as is most of the rest of the cast. Season five marks a big step in Donna's development as a character, as she tries to become more than just Josh's faithful assistant.
My two biggest problems with the season are what they did to Leo and Will. In the first four seasons, Leo was the President's right hand man. He was powerful, he was wise, and he was competent. Sure, he often tempered the President's more quixotic side, but he knew when to slow things down, and when to let Bartlet be Bartlet. However, in season five, he becomes Mr. No. I suppose in the early part of the season it was because Bartlet wasn't quite back in the game from Zoey's kidnapping, and his subsequent estrangement from the First Lady. By the end of the season, his attitude veered between reticent gatekeeper and deluded warmonger. I suppose it was done to show the President's growth in self-confidence at being able to do the job, but it just makes Leo look terrible. On top of it all, it sets up what happens at the beginning of season six, the true nadir of the series.**
As for Will, why bring him on to be Sam 2.0 when you turn around and marginalize him by making him Bingo Bob's chief of staff? I suppose they felt it would create "drama" between Toby and Will, and also it would set up the election storyline in later seasons, but that assumes they were thinking that far ahead. Will vs. Josh works fairly well, particularly with Donna in there, but that didn't happen until season six, and Will could have conceivably jumped over to Bingo Bob's campaign a season later.
Those complaints aside, I still enjoyed the season. "Shutdown" and "The Supremes" are two of my favorite episodes, perhaps because the West Wing staff actually accomplishes something. "Han" was a surprisingly good episode, although much more somber than most of my favorite episodes. Finally, the show is astute in showing the dynamics of how dysfunctional the government can be when you have a far right wing Congress mixed with a centrist liberal White House. I was surprised how similar some of the situations were to our current mess.
In the end, I don't think season five deserves the scorn often heaped upon it. True, it had some hard to swallow stuff such as Toby saving Social Security in one day, and it had problems with some of the characters. Sure, none of the new characters in the season made an impact, or even lasted beyond the season***. But it still was The West Wing, which meant it was one of the best dramas on broadcast TV at the time. Now that the entire run is up on Netflix, I suggest you give it a shot if you've never seen it, or a second chance if you have.
*To me, Aaron Sorkin has two sides to his writing. Good Sorkin is some of the best writing found in TV or films. Good Sorkin can be found in movies like The Social Network or most of season two of The West Wing. Bad Sorkin can be absolutely awful. He can be misanthropic, smug, and just downright wrong. For this, see most of Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, good portions of The Newsroom, and any time he trolls Internet users in The West Wing.
**Good lord is the first part of season six terrible. Between the hatchet job they do to Bartlet and Leo's relationship and Leo's subsequent heart attack, it's just not good. Only once Santos and Vinick show up does it get better, with "King Corn" and "Freedonia" being the start of a much stronger portion of the season.
***Other than Elizabeth Bartlet, who shows up during the Santos/Vinick arc.
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