The West Wing - Season 2 Part 1 [DVD]

Product Description

Episodes 1 to 11 from the second series of the acclaimed political TV drama. 'In the Shadow of Two Gunmen: Parts 1 and 2' sees Josh fight for his life as an investigation unfolds around the assassination attempt on President Bartlet (Martin Sheen). 'The Midterms' covers the problems with the midterm elections, the aftermath of the shooting of Josh and sees the President lashing out at a radio host. 'In This Whitehouse' sees the President wanting to hire a Republican after he beat Sam in a televised debate. 'And It's Surely to Their Credit' sees the President taking some flack from White House staffers. In 'The Lame Duck Congress' the staffers consider calling a lame duck session of Congress. 'The Portland Trip' sees Leo staying behind to deal with the Gulf situation whilst the rest of the staff join the President on a trip to Portland. In 'Shibboleth' it is Thanksgiving. 'Galileo' deals with a NASA space probe, the Russians denying any knowledge of a fire in a nuclear missile silo and C.J. and Sam having to confront various people they have been avoiding. In 'Noel' Josh is forced to deal with his post-traumatic stress symptoms. And finally, 'The Leadership Breakfast' sees the staff before and after a bi-partisan breakfast with the Republicans.

Amazon.co.uk Review

The second series of The West Wing takes up literally where the first series left off and, after a few moments of slightly toe-curling patriotic sentimentalism, maintains the series' astonishingly high standards in depicting the everyday life of the White House staff of a Democratic administration.

The two-part opener covers the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt on President Bartlet (Martin Sheen), switching between the anxious wait on the injured and flashbacks to Bartlet's campaign for the Presidency. Other peaks in a series exceedingly short on troughs include "Noel", the episode in which Alan Arkin's psychiatrist forces Josh Lynam to confront his post-traumatic stress disorder and the concluding episodes in which President Bartlet, having lost his secretary Mrs Landingham in a tragic car accident, rails angrily against God in Latin.

Other new features of this series include the introduction of Ainsley Hayes, a young Republican counsel hired after she beats communications deputy Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) in a TV debate ("Sam's getting his ass kicked by a girl!" crow his colleagues), as well as the revelation (to us first, then later his staff) that the President has been suffering from multiple sclerosis. Meanwhile, the White House must move heaven and earth to make incremental political gains as well as deal with a host difficulties abroad, demonstrating, some might argue, more compassion, skill and restraint than that exercised by the real-life US administration.

With Aaron Sorkin's dialogue ranging as ever from dry, staccato mirth to almost biblical gravitas, an ensemble of overworked (and curiously undersexed) characters and an overall depiction of the workings of government that's both gratifyingly idealised yet chasteningly realistic, The West Wing is one of the all-time great American TV dramas. --David Stubbs