Were The West Wing writers psychic or just very clever in their reading of the political landscape?
Several writers, including Stephen Siilver at NorthStarWriters.com, have noticed that the current Presidential election is very similar to the election that The West Wing had in its final season and a half. The show had a Democrat that inspired people by his speeches but didn't have much experience (Matt Santos), a Republican from the West that even liberals liked because he wasn't too far right (Arnold Vinick), and a candidate that had already been in the White House as a VP (Bob Russell). Does that sound like Barack Obama, John McCain, and Hillary Clinton?
Creating a show for a secondary character can be a tricky thing. For every 
(S07E20) Hmmm...you would think they would leave a title like "The Last Hurrah" for the last episode of the series (it's not, the title of that episode is "Tomorrow"), but it fit this one. This was a very solid episode. I usually don't like the episodes that are almost all Vinick and new administration-oriented, but this one was great. Alan Alda is a flawless actor, and it's terrific to see what Vinick is going through now that he's lost. And another nice touch? Using the older characters of Amy and Ron to sort of bridge the old cast and the new cast. 
(S07E18) Now this was the type of
episode longtime West Wing viewers were hoping for. If you had asked me what should happen in the Leo's
funeral episode and who should be in the episode, this is what I would have done. The montage at the beginning of the
episode showed everyone getting ready for the funeral - President Barlet, Josh, Toby, C.J., Donna, etc - and then
showed all of the people at the church. Sure, it was jarring not to have Sam there (Rob Lowe isn't back yet), but you
really can't complain when you have Mallory, Nancy McNally, Carol, Margaret, Hoynes, Russell, Joey Lucas, Danny and
everyone else. Nice touch having Toby stay in the church til everyone leaves and Charlie offering to walk out with
him.
(S07E17) This must have been the hardest episode for
the cast to film. How do you even go about filming the onscreen death of a beloved character when the equally beloved
castmate also died in real life?
Before I get into the review, a couple of questions. One,
where is John Spencer? Supposedly he filmed several episodes before he passed away, but he hasn't been in it much at
all.
The West Wing star John Spencer, who played Leo McGarry, died today in a Los Angeles
hospital of a heart attack, according to his publicist. Spencer played Chief of Staff to Martin Sheen's President Jeb
Bartlet. On the show, ironically, Spencer's character suffered a heart attack that forced him to give up his White
House gig. In a main storyline this season, though, his character had been tapped as a vice-presidential running mate
for Democratic hopeful Matt Santos, played by Jimmy Smits.
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