What
can one say about one of the most acclaimed television dramas of all time
that hasn’t already been said? Not much, to perfectly honest. Created
and largely written by Aaron Sorkin, THE WEST WING is a thought
provoking and highly entertaining television show- two things that many
programs are, but rarely together. Now, as someone who started watching THE
WEST WING somewhat late in the show’s history (after all the
critical acclaim, and its nine first season Emmy Awards) I am delighted
that it is being released on DVD, as it allows latecomers like myself the
opportunity to catch up with any episodes they may have missed. As I side
note, I should mention that I am getting to the point where I actually
prefer watching television shows on DVD and skipping the original
television broadcasts all together.
Taking
place in the White House, THE WEST WING is certainly a politically
charged drama, but I feel the show’s strength lies in its more human
aspects, not to mention its fully developed characters. For those of you
who may have never seen THE WEST WING, the premise of the show
follows the day-to-day world of the presidential staff under fictional
American President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet (Martin Sheen). In the offices of
the West Wing, one will find John Spencer as White House Chief of Staff
Leo McGarry, Bradley Whitford as Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman, Richard
Schiff as Communications Director Toby Ziegler, Rob Lowe as Deputy
Communications Director Sam Seaborn, Allison Janney as White House Press
Secretary C.J. Cregg, Dulé Hill as Presidential Aide Charlie Young and
Janel Moloney as Josh Lyman’s assistant Donna Moss. Another familiar
face around the White House is Stockard Channing as The First Lady, Dr.
Abbey Bartlet, M.D..
. THE WEST WING: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON ($60) comes to DVD
in a four-disc set that features the following twenty-two episodes that
were aired in that first year: Pilot,Post Hoc,
Ergo Propter Hoc,A Proportional Response,Five
Votes Down,The Crackpots And These Women,Mr.
Willis Of Ohio,The State Dinner,Enemies,The Short List,In Excelsis Deo,Lord John
Marbury,He Shall, From Time To Time,Take Out The Trash Day,Take This Sabbath Day,Celestial Navigation,20 Hours In L.A.,The
White House Pro-Am,Six Meetings Before Lunch,Let
Bartlet Be Bartlet,Mandatory Minimums,Lies,
Damn Lies And Statistics andWhat Kind Of Day Has It Been?.
Warner
Home Video has made all twenty-two episodes from THE WEST WING: THE
COMPLETE FIRST SEASON available on DVD in the proper 4:3 full screen
aspect ratios of their original television broadcasts. This being a
relatively new show, it is not surprising that THE WEST WING looks
pretty darn good on DVD. The image appears fairly sharp and well defined,
although it is not at the level of a theatrical feature. Occasionally, a
shot or two will appear mildly soft, but for the most part, the picture is
very pleasing. Colors appear solid, have good saturation and are rendered
with natural looking flesh tones. Blacks are very accurate, whites are
clean and contrast is good, although it does remain at the television
level. The film elements used to master the episodes are pretty clean,
with an occasional speck of dust generally being the worst of it. There is
a bit of grain here and there, but nothing particularly bothersome. Even
with four episodes encoded onto a side of a disc, digital compression
artifacts remain nicely concealed.
All
the episodes that comprise THE WEST WING: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
are presented on DVD with a Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtracks that
decodes to standard surround. Considering that THE WEST WING is
first and foremost a talky drama, I doubt that 5.1 encoding would have
brought any significant improvements to the sound. Most of the sound
emanates from the forward soundstage, with the rear channels offering
occasional and sometimes barely perceptible reinforcement. Fidelity is
quite good; with the musical scores having a smooth quality and the sound
effects being rendered convincingly. Dialogue is always completely
understandably and the voices sound quite natural. No other language
tracks are provided, but English, French and Spanish subtitles have been
included.
.
.
.
Full motion video, animation and sound serve to enhance the DVD's
interactive menus. Through the menus, one has access to standard scene
selection and set up features, as well as the supplements that have been
spread throughout the set. Audio commentaries by executive producers Aaron
Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme (plus additional comments by others) have been
provided for the following five episodes Pilot, In
Excelis Deo, Take This Sabbath Day, Celestral
Navigation and What Kind Of Day Has It Been?.
On
side "A" of disc four one will find the remaining supplemental
programming. The Primaries runs seventeen minutes and looks
at the show’s inception and creation. The Inauguration
clocks in at twenty-nine minutes and touches on various topics, including
how the show recreates its famous setting. Capital Beat
provides eight minutes of interviews with political consultants. Sheet
Music is an eight-minute program focusing on composer W.G. Snuffy
Walden and his contributions to the show. Deleted Scenes
includes four scenes cut from the show, totaling five minutes worth of
material. Gag Order includes three minutes of goofs and
flubs from season one. The West Wing Suite could be
considered a music video of sorts, with its blend of music clips from the
show. Off the Record is another three minutes of goofiness
taken from the materials produced for the DVD.
THE
WEST WING is truly one of the greatest dramas to ever be produced for
the television medium. Beautifully written and acted, THE WEST WING
shows how compelling television can be, that is, when it is done
correctly. As for THE WEST WING: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON DVD set,
Warner has done another first rate job- giving the episodes very solid
audio and video presentations, plus very worthwhile supplemental features.
If you are a fan, THE WEST WING: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON is a
must have. If you have never experienced the series, the DVD set is an
ideal way to play catch-up. Highly recommended.
What
can one say about one of the most acclaimed television dramas of all time
that hasn’t already been said? Not much, to perfectly honest. Created
and largely written by Aaron Sorkin, THE WEST WING is a thought
provoking and highly entertaining television show- two things that many
programs are, but rarely together. Now, as someone who started watching THE
WEST WING somewhat late in the show’s history (after all the
critical acclaim, and its nine first season Emmy Awards) I am delighted
that it is being released on DVD, as it allows latecomers like myself the
opportunity to catch up with any episodes they may have missed. As I side
note, I should mention that I am getting to the point where I actually
prefer watching television shows on DVD and skipping the original
television broadcasts all together.
Taking
place in the White House, THE WEST WING is certainly a politically
charged drama, but I feel the show’s strength lies in its more human
aspects, not to mention its fully developed characters. For those of you
who may have never seen THE WEST WING, the premise of the show
follows the day-to-day world of the presidential staff under fictional
American President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet (Martin Sheen). In the offices of
the West Wing, one will find John Spencer as White House Chief of Staff
Leo McGarry, Bradley Whitford as Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman, Richard
Schiff as Communications Director Toby Ziegler, Rob Lowe as Deputy
Communications Director Sam Seaborn, Allison Janney as White House Press
Secretary C.J. Cregg, Dulé Hill as Presidential Aide Charlie Young and
Janel Moloney as Josh Lyman’s assistant Donna Moss. Another familiar
face around the White House is Stockard Channing as The First Lady, Dr.
Abbey Bartlet, M.D..
.
Warner
Home Video has made all twenty-two episodes from THE WEST WING: THE
COMPLETE FIRST SEASON available on DVD in the proper 4:3 full screen
aspect ratios of their original television broadcasts. This being a
relatively new show, it is not surprising that THE WEST WING looks
pretty darn good on DVD. The image appears fairly sharp and well defined,
although it is not at the level of a theatrical feature. Occasionally, a
shot or two will appear mildly soft, but for the most part, the picture is
very pleasing. Colors appear solid, have good saturation and are rendered
with natural looking flesh tones. Blacks are very accurate, whites are
clean and contrast is good, although it does remain at the television
level. The film elements used to master the episodes are pretty clean,
with an occasional speck of dust generally being the worst of it. There is
a bit of grain here and there, but nothing particularly bothersome. Even
with four episodes encoded onto a side of a disc, digital compression
artifacts remain nicely concealed.
All
the episodes that comprise THE WEST WING: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON
are presented on DVD with a Dolby Digital 2.0 channel soundtracks that
decodes to standard surround. Considering that THE WEST WING is
first and foremost a talky drama, I doubt that 5.1 encoding would have
brought any significant improvements to the sound. Most of the sound
emanates from the forward soundstage, with the rear channels offering
occasional and sometimes barely perceptible reinforcement. Fidelity is
quite good; with the musical scores having a smooth quality and the sound
effects being rendered convincingly. Dialogue is always completely
understandably and the voices sound quite natural. No other language
tracks are provided, but English, French and Spanish subtitles have been
included.
.
On
side "A" of disc four one will find the remaining supplemental
programming. The Primaries runs seventeen minutes and looks
at the show’s inception and creation. The Inauguration
clocks in at twenty-nine minutes and touches on various topics, including
how the show recreates its famous setting. Capital Beat
provides eight minutes of interviews with political consultants. Sheet
Music is an eight-minute program focusing on composer W.G. Snuffy
Walden and his contributions to the show. Deleted Scenes
includes four scenes cut from the show, totaling five minutes worth of
material. Gag Order includes three minutes of goofs and
flubs from season one. The West Wing Suite could be
considered a music video of sorts, with its blend of music clips from the
show. Off the Record is another three minutes of goofiness
taken from the materials produced for the DVD.
THE
WEST WING is truly one of the greatest dramas to ever be produced for
the television medium. Beautifully written and acted, THE WEST WING
shows how compelling television can be, that is, when it is done
correctly. As for THE WEST WING: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON DVD set,
Warner has done another first rate job- giving the episodes very solid
audio and video presentations, plus very worthwhile supplemental features.
If you are a fan, THE WEST WING: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON is a
must have. If you have never experienced the series, the DVD set is an
ideal way to play catch-up. Highly recommended.