Any West Wing Fans out there?

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  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 114
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    Just as a matter of interest, can anyone tell me what the aspect ratio of the complete boxset is? It doesn't say on any of the sites that are selling it.

    Although the later seasons are in 1:77, the earlier ones are in 1:33 - not too bad on our old tv, but makes viewing on a widescreen look a bit odd.

    I already have all the episodes but the boxset sounds fantastic value and I know someone who would be more than willing to buy my current sets at a good knock down price. Apart from the extras which were missing from the original Region 2 release is it worth buying?

    Sorry for all the questions folks :o
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 114
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    Sorry, double post!
  • dronkuladronkula Posts: 2,084
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    The ratio on the complete box set (which is what I've got) is exactly the same as that of the separate DVD sets.

    So, season 1 and 2 are not widescreen. Season 3 is awful because it's 'widescreen' but not set to the proper aspect so you get a little picture floating in the middle of your screen with black bars all the way around and from season 4 onwards it's 'proper' widescreen. Sorry - don't know all the official ratios - just know if it's 'widescreen' or 'not widescreen'.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,435
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    xTizerx wrote: »
    Just as a matter of interest, can anyone tell me what the aspect ratio of the complete boxset is? It doesn't say on any of the sites that are selling it.

    Although the later seasons are in 1:77, the earlier ones are in 1:33 - not too bad on our old tv, but makes viewing on a widescreen look a bit odd.

    I already have all the episodes but the boxset sounds fantastic value and I know someone who would be more than willing to buy my current sets at a good knock down price. Apart from the extras which were missing from the original Region 2 release is it worth buying?

    Sorry for all the questions folks :o

    I got the Region 1 box set because as well as all the extras on the Region 2 box set it also has episode commentaries, which are inexplicably missing on the UK version.

    Have to say though that the commentaries aren't that great - Sorkin is an amazing writer but not really an amazing talker - and the other extras are a little underwhelming. Worth having but not as great as they should have been for such a huge show.

    No idea about aspect ratios - I never notice that sort of thing, everything plays in widescreen and looks just the same on my telly.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 1,435
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    one of my favorite bits is in the 2nd season (I think) Sam and Josh try and light a fire in a display fireplace with a blocked up chimney, suddenly it goes to Charlie knocking on the President's door and waking him in the middle of the night "You know you said not to wake you unless the building was on fire...."

    I love that bit too - the humour in Sorkin's seasons was crazy good :D:D Mostly involving Josh but I also love the episode (can't remember the name) when the President is on painkillers and is quite clearly high as a kite. Martin Sheen plays it beautifully. Yet another episode I could rewatch a hundred times
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 122
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    I'm part way through season 4.

    Those of you who watched it when it first came on must have felt quite despondent and dejected.
    Why?: You had this intelligent and charismatic leader, someone who you admire and respect, someone you would follow without hesitation - but in reality the man with his finger on the button was the polar opposite. Quite depressing?
  • BesterBester Posts: 9,698
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    dronkula wrote: »
    The ratio on the complete box set (which is what I've got) is exactly the same as that of the separate DVD sets.

    So, season 1 and 2 are not widescreen. Season 3 is awful because it's 'widescreen' but not set to the proper aspect so you get a little picture floating in the middle of your screen with black bars all the way around and from season 4 onwards it's 'proper' widescreen. Sorry - don't know all the official ratios - just know if it's 'widescreen' or 'not widescreen'.

    Season 3 plays fine on our TV. Although we did have that problem with the HD-DVD release of Star Trek TOS season 1.

    The complete boxset basically is just all of the individual sets, plus an extra couple of discs of extras, all in a nice box.
  • player1player1 Posts: 2,518
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    Sorry about reviving such an old thread but I missed The West Wing and treated myself to the box set - a bargain at £50. Now I am totally addicted,....what an awesome piece of TV...and I'm only about 4 eps into season 2 ...so much more to look forward to.
  • carl.waringcarl.waring Posts: 35,579
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    Indeed. Still the best US drama ever.
  • dizziedizzie Posts: 4,794
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    I've just treated myself to the full series 1-7 box set (less than £40 - bargain!) I just loved this show so much when it was on TV, nothing's really come close to matching the quality of the writing and acting since. Plus I love doing the 'Hey It's That Guy' game with the guest stars - I'm up to Series 5 and Terry O'Quinn (John Lock in Lost) is currently playing a general!
  • monkeypuzzlermonkeypuzzler Posts: 165
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    Great show, we picked up the first season DVD when on hols in US a few years ago just because it was cheap. Ended up costing us much more in the end when we couldn't resist buying the rest.
  • leithladleithlad Posts: 1,488
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    Indeed. Still the best US drama ever.

    I will call you TWW and raise you The Wire and at least 4 other HBO dramas,:D
  • BesterBester Posts: 9,698
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    leithlad wrote: »
    I will call you TWW and raise you The Wire and at least 4 other HBO dramas,:D

    Loved The Wire, love most HBO stuff, but for my money TWW is still the best piece of drama to come out of the States for as long as I can remember.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 614
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    Hi everyone, just spotted this thread. I'm at the moment near the end of the first season. I've never watched any west wing before, but I am absolutely hooked.
  • irishguyirishguy Posts: 22,172
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    Biba, so jealous that you get to experience watching this show for the first time.... wish I could do that again. Agree completely with Bester's comments below. To me, season 2 was the greatest season... the final 5 or so episodes were awe inspiring and the actual final was the finest 45 minutes I've seen on TV.... enjoy!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 49
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    I bought the full box set from Amazon this week for the bargain price of £40. It really brought home to me just how good value this was when a friend of mine told me that he bought each series on DVD when they first came out, when they were about £40-£50 each. I bought season 1 on a whim and am now totally addicted. Can't believe I missed it when it was on TV... although then again I was only 11 years old when series 1 started so it probably wouldn't have appealed to me.

    I'm about halfway through series 2 so far, and here are my favourite and least favourite things about it (stealing this idea from another West Wing thread):

    Things I've liked:

    CJ
    'Secret plan to fight inflation'
    'The Portland Trip' episode
    The President pardoning a photogenic turkey
    'Five Votes Down' episode
    Josh sitting down where there isn't a chair
    "...However I do think $5 is too high a price to pay for pornography"
    The Jackal
    Sam 'getting his ass kicked on TV' by Ainslie Hayes
    CJ's Root Canal
    The 'In Excelsis Deo' episode
    Celestial Navigation
    "Toby, I was just heading out to get lunch and I'm a little short. You wouldn't happen to have $125,000 I could borrow?"

    Things I haven't liked:

    Joey Lucas
    Mandy
    '20 Hours In LA' episode
    The call-girl storyline
    First two episodes of Series 2 being cop-out flashback episodes

    ...the pros by far outweigh the cons. On balance this is superb series. Intelligent and funny at the same time, with fantastic acting and writing.
  • BuddyBontheNetBuddyBontheNet Posts: 28,157
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    Indeed. Still the best US drama ever.


    I agree. The Wire, The Soprannos and others are up there, but TWW is my all time favourite TV show.

    Might just start watching all over again.
  • irishguyirishguy Posts: 22,172
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    StevieFM wrote: »
    I bought the full box set from Amazon this week for the bargain price of £40. It really brought home to me just how good value this was when a friend of mine told me that he bought each series on DVD when they first came out, when they were about £40-£50 each. I bought season 1 on a whim and am now totally addicted. Can't believe I missed it when it was on TV... although then again I was only 11 years old when series 1 started so it probably wouldn't have appealed to me.

    I'm about halfway through series 2 so far, and here are my favourite and least favourite things about it (stealing this idea from another West Wing thread):

    Things I've liked:

    CJ
    'Secret plan to fight inflation'
    'The Portland Trip' episode
    The President pardoning a photogenic turkey
    'Five Votes Down' episode
    Josh sitting down where there isn't a chair
    "...However I do think $5 is too high a price to pay for pornography"
    The Jackal
    Sam 'getting his ass kicked on TV' by Ainslie Hayes
    CJ's Root Canal
    The 'In Excelsis Deo' episode
    Celestial Navigation
    "Toby, I was just heading out to get lunch and I'm a little short. You wouldn't happen to have $125,000 I could borrow?"

    Things I haven't liked:

    Joey Lucas
    Mandy
    '20 Hours In LA' episode
    The call-girl storyline
    First two episodes of Series 2 being cop-out flashback episodes

    ...the pros by far outweigh the cons. On balance this is superb series. Intelligent and funny at the same time, with fantastic acting and writing.

    you didnt like "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen"???? its generally considered to be very good. I love the way that we get to see how everyone joined the campaign and the early stages of the electioneering. I would hardly call it a flashback episode!

    but once again im totally jealous as you've still to see the best episodes. enjoy!
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 49
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    irishguy wrote: »
    you didnt like "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen"???? its generally considered to be very good. I love the way that we get to see how everyone joined the campaign and the early stages of the electioneering. I would hardly call it a flashback episode!

    but once again im totally jealous as you've still to see the best episodes. enjoy!

    Thank you! I'm really looking forward to the rest of the series. I've been told by several friends that I may have to persevere with series 5 but things pick up again with 6 & 7.

    RE: Shadow of Two Gunmen. Admittedly - even when a West Wing episode isn't amazing, it's still very very good. This is the way I feel about these two episodes - they had good things in them, but as a viewer I was desperate to see the aftermath and fallout of the shootings, and I was left feeling frustrated that they kept cutting to largely irrelevant flashbacks. I would have liked to see these flashback episodes at some point, but not straight after such a pivotal event.

    One question - what happened to Mandy? She seemed to leave without any on-screen explanation. If they wanted to bin her character off then they should have killed her off in the series 1 shooting :p
  • SandgrownunSandgrownun Posts: 5,024
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    leithlad wrote: »
    I will call you TWW and raise you The Wire and at least 4 other HBO dramas,:D
    There a quite a few US dramas that I really like, but TWW is the best of the lot imho (in fact it's better than most UK dramas for that matter!).
    StevieFM wrote: »
    Things I haven't liked:

    Joey Lucas
    Mandy
    '20 Hours In LA' episode
    The call-girl storyline
    First two episodes of Series 2 being cop-out flashback episodes
    Nobody liked Mandy, not even the writers :D And the call-girl storyline was pointless (apart from Toby's 'I don't understand, did you trip?' line).
    I enjoyed the first two episodes of season 2 though, loved the flashbacks to how they all started working for Bartlet. I don't think they were a cop-out seeing as they had to film the scenes rather than rehash old ones.
    StevieFM wrote: »
    One question - what happened to Mandy? She seemed to leave without any on-screen explanation. If they wanted to bin her character off then they should have killed her off in the series 1 shooting :p
    She just vanished, never to be mentioned again. There was even a fandom term for anyone who disappeared from a show - going to Mandyville. I don't think they wanted to kill her as that would have given her character too much focus when they really just wanted to forget she ever existed ;)
  • irishguyirishguy Posts: 22,172
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    its weird but its almost like Sam is a completely different person by the end of season 1. i mean, can you imagine the Sam with the personality of seasons 2 or 3 having a one night stand in a bar and then hanging in her apartment while she smokes a joint???

    btw, watch out for Ainsley in season 2 - shes way better than mandy
  • zwixxxzwixxx Posts: 10,295
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    Haven't read prev pages - but bits I can remember really liking:

    Stomping out the cigarette in church
    Alfred(?) Modina(?) making it rain
    Emily Procter ep with the show tunes in the basement
    Rosanne's Husband taking over for a short while.
    Nobody sits - though it was ripped from an open letter in a newspaper.
    Sam cures cancer.

    Things that irked:

    Rob and Sorkin leaving the show - always wondered how the series would have progress and culminated had they both remained.
    When they went to solve the Middle East, Modina got a girl friend whose sole reason for being in the show was to suggest things that were ALWAYS right. (iirc)
  • irishguyirishguy Posts: 22,172
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    Thats Josh Malina who played Will.... with a similarly quirky Sam type personality...handily enough

    and I absolutely <3 that "nobody sits" scene... yep it was based on an email that was doing the rounds at that time but Martin Sheen totally nails the scene. That was the scene that first got me into this show.
  • [Deleted User][Deleted User] Posts: 4
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    Anyone catch 'Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip'? After being told how great WW was but never quite getting into it (tho I may now if the cheap boxset still about), I watched this from ep 1 and thought it was great in terms of characters and witty scripting... Sad that it died after one series, tho at least they tied up all the loose ends.
  • LudwigVonDrakeLudwigVonDrake Posts: 12,836
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    Studio 60 was a decent enough show once it found its feet midway through the series. I agree, its a shame it got canned. Its one of a long list of shows I liked that were axed by short sighted execs.

    And glad to see I'm not the only one having a West Wing marathon at the moment. :D
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