The highly-acclaimed political drama The West Wing ran for 7 seasons on NBC, from 1999-2006, following nearly the entire 8 years that President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and his administration served in The White House. While I had heard all the praise for the series over the years, it’s not one that I ever really found the time to check out. I’m not really a fan of politics, and I knew that I would likely not always agree with the opinions depicted in the series. However, as I sat down to check out this series, I found myself instantly captivated. It is well-acted and smartly written, with interesting characters, drama, and surprisingly lots of humor. The series comes from Aaron Sorkin, the king of the walk-and-talk, and the ever-present dialogue is quick and fast-paced, but with a pleasant rhythm. The series also looks and sounds very cinematic, with cameras that weave through the action as it captures the rapid dialogue and drama, plus it features an excellent orchestral score by W. G. Snuffy Walden.
While the series tackles some big political topics, at the core of the show is a workplace drama, which just happens to be set in the Oval Office. The coworkers often feel more like a family, and the chemistry between them is a lot of fun, from their sibling-like bickering, to coming together to help one another in a crisis. The series gives viewers a look at another side of Washington that you typically don’t see on TV, and the inner-workings of the White House and those who work there. While I didn’t necessarily always agree with the positions taken by Bartlet and his staff, the execution of these stories makes for great TV. I found myself quickly binging through the episodes wanting to see more.
One thing that surprised me as I made my way through this box set is how many amazing actors and actresses were a part of this series, many of whom I have enjoyed in other shows since. Some of the main cast includes Allison Janney (Mom) as press secretary C. J. Cregg, Rob Lowe as deputy communications director Sam Seaborn, Dulé Hill (Psych, Suits) as the president’s personal aide Charlie Young, Richrd Schiff (The Good Doctor) as communications director Toby Ziegler, John Spencer (L.A. Law) as chief of staff Leo McGarry, Bradley Whitford (The Handmaid’s Tale) as deputy chief of staff Josh Lyman, Janel Moloney (The Leftovers) as senior assistant Donna Moss, Stockard Channing as First lady Abbey Bartlet. And in later seasons, Joshua Malina as speechwriter Will Bailey, Mary McCormack (In Plain Sight) as Deputy National Security Advisor Kate Harper, Jimmy Smits as Congressman Matt Santos, Alan Alda as Senator Arnold Vinick, and Kristin Chenoweth as deputy press secretary Annabeth Schott. Plus there are so many other recognizable actors in guest and recurring roles, such as Timothy Busfield, Elisabeth Moss (as the First Daughter), Mary-Louise Parker, Moira Kelly, John Amos, Gary Cole, Tim Matheson, Ron Silver, Janeane Garofalo, and more.
The series has previously been released on DVD, but makes its way onto Blu-ray for the first time thanks to Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, perfectly-timed for the election season. While previous DVD releases of the first two seasons have always been released in 4:3 Full Frame format, for this new set, all episodes are presented in widescreen. I don’t own the DVD sets, and digital options seem to already present the earlier episodes in widescreen, so it’s difficult to see how the picture composition has been altered. Looking at some of the clips that appear in the bonus material, this doesn’t appear to be just a simple matte of the top and bottom of the 4:3 picture. In some scenes, there is additional material viewable in the left and right sides of the frame, while other scenes look like the top and bottom may have been trimmed slightly. Either way, the picture looks quite good. The pilot feels a bit upscaled, with a slightly flat, dark and noisy picture. However, after this episode, the rest of the first 2 seasons look very good, with a clean picture and a solid level of detail. You would never guess these originally aired in Full Frame, except for when the main title comes up and it’s presented in its original ratio. The other seasons did originally air in widescreen, and likely didn’t need to be modified for the Blu-ray. The audio track provides clear dialogue throughout, and the show’s amazing score sounds great.
The Blu-ray release includes all 156 episodes from all seven seasons on 28 discs, 4 per season, which are placed overlapping on trays in thick plastic keepcases the height of a DVD release (this is the same packaging that WB seems to be using for all of its recent Complete Series releases, such as Succession, which we recently reviewed. Since there are so many discs with this one, the release is split across two thick cases, the first containing Seasons 1-4 and the other Seasons 5-7. One of the cases also includes an insert that unfolds to list the contents of each disc. These two plastic cases are housed in a large cardboard slipbox.
There is no digital copy included, but nearly all of the bonus material from the previous DVD releases has been ported over. The one exception is an interactive feature from season 2. The bonus content includes over 20 commentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, gag reels, and more. There was no new bonus material created for this release.
What’s Included:
- All all 156 episodes from all seven seasons on 28 discs:
- Season 1 (1999-2000) – 22 episodes
“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”, “What Kind of Day Has It Been” - Season 2 (2000-2001) – 22 episodes
“In the Shadow of Two Gunmen”, “The Midterms”, “In This White House”, “And It’s Surely to Their Credit”, “The Lame Duck Congress”, “The Portland Trip”, “Shibboleth”, “Galileo”, “Noël”, “The Leadership Breakfast”, “The Drop-In”, “Bartlet’s Third State of the Union”, “The War at Home”, “Ellie”, “Somebody’s Going to Emergency, Somebody’s Going to Jail”, “The Stackhouse Filibuster”, “17 People”, “Bad Moon Rising”, “The Fall’s Gonna Kill You”, “18th and Potomac”, “Two Cathedrals” - Season 3 (2001-2002) – 21 episodes
“Manchester”, “Ways and Means”, “On the Day Before”, “War Crimes”, “Gone Quiet”, “The Indians in the Lobby”, “The Women of Qumar”, “Bartlet for America”, “H. Con-172”, “100,000 Airplanes”, “The Two Bartlets”, “Night Five”, “Hartsfield’s Landing”, “Dead Irish Writers”, “The U.S. Poet Laureate”, “Stirred”, “Enemies Foreign and Domestic”, “The Black Vera Wang”, “We Killed Yamamoto”, “Posse Comitatus” - Season 4 (2002-2003) – 23 episodes
“20 Hours in America”, “College Kids”, “The Red Mass”, “Debate Camp”, “Game On” , “Election Night”, “Process Stories”, “Swiss Diplomacy”, “Arctic Radar”, “Holy Night”, “Guns Not Butter”, “The Long Goodbye”, “Inauguration: Part I”, “Inauguration: Over There”, “The California 47th”, “Red Haven’s on Fire”, “Privateers”, “Angel Maintenance”, “Evidence of Things Not Seen”, “Life on Mars”, “Commencement”, “Twenty Five” - Season 5 (2003-2004) – 22 episodes
“7A WF 83429”, “The Dogs of War”, “Jefferson Lives”, “Han”, “Constituency of One”, “Disaster Relief”, “Separation of Powers”, “Shutdown”, “Abu el Banat”, “The Stormy Present”, “The Benign Prerogative”, “Slow News Day”, “The Warfare of Genghis Khan”, “An Khe”, “Full Disclosure”, “Eppur Si Muove”, “The Supremes”, “Access”, “Talking Points”, “No Exit”, “Gaza”, “Memorial Day” - Season 6 (2004-2005) – 22 episodes
“NSF Thurmont”, “The Birnam Wood”, “Third-Day Story”, “Liftoff”, “The Hubbert Peak”, “The Dover Test”, “A Change Is Gonna Come”, “In the Room”, “Impact Winter”, “Faith Based Initiative”, “Opposition Research”, “365 Days”, “King Corn”, “The Wake Up Call”, “Freedonia”, “Drought Conditions”, “A Good Day”, “La Palabra”, “Ninety Miles Away”, “In God We Trust”, “Things Fall Apart”, “2162 Votes” - Season 7 (2005-2006) – 22 episodes
“The Ticket”, “The Mommy Problem”, “Message of the Week”, “Mr. Frost”, “Here Today”, “The Al Smith Dinner”, “The Debate”, “Undecideds”, “The Wedding”, “Running Mates”, “Internal Displacement”, “Duck and Cover”, “The Cold”, “Two Weeks Out” , “Welcome to Wherever You Are”, “Election Day Part I”, “Election Day Part II”, “Requiem”, “Transition”, “The Last Hurrah”, “Institutional Memory”, “Tomorrow”
- Season 1 (1999-2000) – 22 episodes
- 1080p / Widescreen 1.78:1
- Audio: English 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio
- Subtitles: English SDH
- Season 1
- Audio Commentaries
- “Pilot” – Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme
- “In Excelsis Deo” – Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and Alex Graves
- “Take This Sabbath Day” – Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme
- “Celestial Navigation” – Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and Christopher Misiano
- “What Kind of Day Has it Been” – Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme
- The Primaries (17:29)
The cast and crew discuss how the series came about, the characters, themes, giving the characters a definite political view, the casting process, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with writer Aaron Sorkin, executive producer/director Thomas Schlamme, executive producer John Wells, producers Kristin Harms & Llewellyn Wells, executive story editor Paul Redford, casting directors John Levey & Kevin Scott, and stars John Spencer (“Leo McGarry”), Allison Janney (“C.J. Cregg”), Richard Schiff (“Toby Ziegler”), Janel Moloney (“Donna Moss”), Bradley Whitford (“Josh Lyman”), Stockard Channing (“Abbey Bartlet”), Dulé Hill (“Charlie Young”), Martin Sheen (“Jed Bartlet”), Timothy Busfield (“Danny Concannon”), Elisabeth Moss (“Zoey Bartlet”), Tim Matheson (“John Hoynes”) & Kathryn Joosten (“Mrs. Landingham”). - The Inauguration (29:03)
The cast and crew discuss the sets, the look of the show, shooting the walk-and-talks, the use of Steadicams, the fast-paced dialogue, memorizing the lines, the writing process, some of their favorite moments and episodes from the first season, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, outtakes, and interviews with writer Aaron Sorkin, executive producer/director Thomas Schlamme, producer Llewellyn Wells, production designers Jon Hutman (Pilot) & Kenneth Hardy, property master Blanche Sindelar, unit production manager Neal Ahern Jr., set decorator Ellen Totleben, directors Christopher Misiano & Alex Graves, director of photography Thomas Del Ruth, costume designer Lyn Elizabeth Paolo, executive producer John Wells, editors Christopher Nelson (Pilot) & Bill Johnson, co-producer Michael Hissrich, and stars Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Melissa Fitzgerald (“Carol”), NiCole Robinson (“Margaret”), John Spencer, Richard Schiff, Kim Webster (“Ginger”), Devika Parikh (“Bonnie”), Janel Maloney, Kathryn Joosten, Stockard Channing, Marlee Matlin (“Joey Lucas”), Jorja Fox (” Gina Toscano”), Dulé Hill & Timothy Busfield. - Capital Beat (8:08)
Various consultants talk about their experiences, and the process of working on the series, helping to keep things realistic. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with consultants Dee Dee Myers & Patrick H. Caddell, and executive story editor Lawrence O’Donnell, Jr.. - Sheet Music (6:38)
The crew discuss the process of composing the theme and score for the series. Includes interviews with composer Snuffy Walden, co-producer Michael Hissrich, and editor Christopher Nelson (Pilot). - Deleted Scenes (5:12)
Four scenes play back-to-back: “He Shall From Time to Time…” — “Toby’s Dark Mood”, Take Out the Trash Day — “No Touching”, Six Meetings Before Lunch — “Fourteen Words”, and What Kind of Day Has it Been — “Ca Neil Armstrong”. - Gag Order (2:58)
Short blooper reel from the first season. - The West Wing Suite (1:50)
The score plays over a montage of clips from the season. - Off the Record (3:28)
Outtakes and deleted clips from the featurettes with the cast/crew.
- Audio Commentaries
- Season 2
- Audio Commentaries
- “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part I” – Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, Bradley Whitford, and Janel Maloney
- “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part II” – Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and Martin Sheen
- “Noël” – Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and Bradley Whitford
- “18th and Potomac” – Aaron Sorkin, Robert Berlinger, and Kathryn Joosten
- Constructing “Two Cathedrals” (17:40)
The cast and crew give an in-depth analysis of the second season’s unique finale, which takes place in flashbacks in Bartlet’s head. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with writer/executive producer Aaron Sorkin, director/executive producer Thomas Schlamme, composer W. G. Snuffy Walden, editor Bill Johnson, and stars Martin Sheen (“President Josiah Bartlett”) & Lawrence O’Donnell, Jr. (“Dr. Bartlet”/producer). - Deleted Scenes (9:28)
Ten deleted scenes play back-to-back. While not noted on-screen like season 1’s selection, these come from episodes “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen, Part I”, “The Midterms”, “Bartlet’s Third State of the Union”, “The Leadership Breakfast”, “The War at Home”, “Ellie”, “Someone’s Going to Emergency, Someone’s Going to Jail”, “18th and Potomac”, and “Two Cathedrals”. - Gag Order (1:16)
Short blooper reel.
- Audio Commentaries
- Season 3
- Audio Commentaries
- “Manchester, Part II” – Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and Allison Janney
- “Bartlet for America” – Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and John Spencer
- “Posse Comitatus” – Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and Alex Graves
- Documentary Special (42:15)
Career politicians share stories about their time in and out of office. Includes clips from the series related to these roles, and interview with Presidents Ford, Carter, and Clinton, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, White House Chief Economic Advisor Gene Sperling (Clinton), White House Press Secretaries Dee Dee Myers (Clinton), Marlin Fitzwater (Reagan/G.H.W. Bush), Presidential Speechwriter Peggy Noonan (Reagan), Personal Secretary to the President Betty Currie (Clinton)White House Chief of Staff Ken Duberstein (Reagan) & Leon Panetta (Clinton), White House Advisor David Gergen (Nixon/Ford/Reagan/Clinton), Special Assistant Michelle Crisci Meyercord (Clinton), Counselor to the President Paul Begala (Clinton), Aide to the President Kris Engskov (Clinton), Senior Advisor to the President Karl Rove (George W. Bush), and Special Counsel to the President Lanny J. Davis (Clinton). This special originally aired on NBC before the final four episodes of the third season. - A Property Master’s Story (10:47)
A look at the duty of the props department and some of the props they’ve created for the series, including the fishbowls, various paperwork and bills, pens, knives, and more. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with director/executive producer Thomas Schlamme, property master Blanche Sindelar, on-set property master Steve Whiteside, and star John Spencer. - Chief of Stuff (13:20)
the cast, crew and former aides discuss at the duties of the President’s personal aide. Includes interviews with star Martin Sheen & Dulé Hill, and former Clinton aides Kris Engskov (1997-2000) & Andrew Friendly (1993-1994). - Deleted Scenes (4:51)
Three deleted scenes play back-to-back. While not noted on-screen like season 1’s selection, these come from episodes “The Two Bartlets”, “Enemies Foreign and Domestic”, and “Posse Comitatus”.
- Audio Commentaries
- Season 4
- Audio Commentaries
- “Game On” – Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, Alex Graves, and Joshua Malina
- “Commencement” – Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and Alex Graves
- “Twenty Five” – Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and Chistopher Misiano
- Behind Every Good Man…Is the First Lady (12:33)
The cast and crew discuss the role of The First Lady, the look and portrayal of the character on the series, her relationship with the President, and more. Includes interviews with executive producer Thomas Schlamme, casting directors John Levey & Tony Sepulveda, consultant Dee Dee Myers, costume designer Lyn Elizabeth Paolo, co-producer Eli Attie, co-executive producer Alex Graves, and stars Martin Sheen, Stockard Channing, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford & Allison Janney. - The Letter of the Word (18:39)
The cast and crew discuss the process and art of writing political speeches, some of the speeches used in the series, and the speechwriter characters. Includes interviews with consultant Dee Dee Myers, executive producer Thomas Schlamme, co-producer Eli Attie, co-executive producer Alex Graves, and stars Martin Sheen, Richard Schiff, John Spencer & Joshua Malina (“Will Bailey”). - Deleted Scenes (4:34)
Three deleted scenes play back-to-back. While not noted on-screen like season 1’s selection, these come from episodes “Game On”, “Arctic Radar”, and “Holy Night”.
- Audio Commentaries
- Season 5
- Audio Commentaries
- “7A WF 83429” – John Wells and Alex Graves
- “The Dogs of War” – John Wells and Christopher Misiano
- “The Supremes” – Alex Graves, Jessica Yu, and Debora Cahn
- In Potus We Trust (13:39)
The cast and crew discuss the character of President Bartlet and the man portraying him, his policies, how he’s changed over the seasons, the humor in the series, the family relationship of the characters, and more. Includes interviews with supervising producer John Sacret Young, directors/co-executive producers Alex Graves & Christopher Misiano, executive producer John Wells, executive consultant Thomas Schlamme, staff writer Josh Singer, consultant Gene Sperling, and stars Martin Sheen, Bradley Whitford, John Spencer, Stockard Channing, Richard Schiff & Dulé Hill. - Gaza: Anatomy of an Episode (15:04)
The cast and crew discuss filming the “Gaza” episode, which was unlike anything else they had done. They talk about filming the explosion, recreating the Gaza checkpoint, casting Jason Isaacs, and more. Includes interviews with executive producer John Wells, director/co-executive producer Christopher Misiano, writer/consulting producer Peter Noah, producer Neal Ahern, Jr., production designer Ken Hardy, location manager Mike Leon, story editor Lauren Schmidt, casting director Laura Schiff, and stars Bradley Whitford & Janel Moloney. - Deleted Scenes (5:30)
Five deleted sequences play back-to-back. Not all of these are labeled, but they come from episodes “Memorial Day”, “Slow News Day” and “Eppur Si Muove”. Note, the previous DVD releases included introductions before some of these, but those have not been carried over to this release.
- Audio Commentaries
- Season 6
- Audio Commentaries
- “King Corn” – John Wells and Alex Graves
- “In God We Trust” – Lawrence O’Donnell, Jr. and Christopher Misiano
- “2162 Votes” – John Wells and Alex Graves
- C.J. Cregg: From Press Secretary to Chief of Staff (14:49)
The cast and crew discuss the character of C.J. Cregg both in her role as Press Secretary and in her new role as Chief of Staff, and the talented actress behind her. Includes interviews with executive producer John Wells, executive producers/directors Christopher Misiano & Alex Graves, staff writer Lauren Schmidt, co-producer/writer Debora Cahn, and stars Allison Janney, Richard Schiff, Martin Sheen, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, Timothy Busfield & Lily Tomlin (“Deborah Fiderer”).
- Audio Commentaries
- Season 7
- Live From the Director’s Chair (50:40)
Picture-in-Picture view of the control room alongside the “The Debate” episode, allowing viewers to see director Alex Graves at work during the live broadcast. - Countdown to West Wing Live (25:19)
A look at the cast and crew preparing for the live episode, from how it came about, creating the script, rehearsals, building the sets, more rehearsals and the live execution. Includes behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with executive producer John Wells, writer/executive producer Lawrence O’Donnell, Jr., director/executive producer Alex Graves, producer Michael Hissrich, executive producer Christopher Misiano, line producer Tom Park, line associate producer Eric Wilker, set designer Chris Nushawg, production designer Kenneth Hardy, construction coordinator Scott DeShields, live technical director Keith Winikoff, Steadicam operator Chad Persons, live stage manager Debbie Williams,
and stars Alan Alda (“Arnold Vinick”), Jimmy Smits (“Matthew Santos”), Forrest Sawyer (“Moderator”), Ron Silver (“Bruno Gianelli”),
- Live From the Director’s Chair (50:40)
Episodes: (6,716 minutes)
Extras:
All of this material has been ported over from the previous DVD releases. Missing from the previous DVD release is an interactive “Access Granted” featurette from season 2 that included a 15-minute set tour as part of it. The majority of the featurettes are presented in 4:3 format.
Final Thoughts:
The West Wing fans can rejoice as the series finally makes its way onto Blu-ray. As a first time viewer, I was surprised by the amazing and recognizable cast, and how timely and relevant the show still feels. The series is well-written and has a very cinematic feel. The Blu-ray features all of the episodes in widescreen format on disc for the first time, and they generally look and sound great. While there is no ne bonus material on the release, nearly all of the features from the previous DVD releases have been ported over. Fans of the series will likely want to upgrade their DVDs, and new viewers can’t co wrong picking this up.
The West Wing: Complete Series (Blu-ray)
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