By WILLIAM MOCCIA
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
"Anyone who knows me is probably amazed to see that I'm not writing my first-ever 'Editor's Pick' about 'The West Wing' or Star Wars, but I figured I might as well try something different." That's how this article started last year.
I had this grand idea that, since I already bore my friends half to death with my pathetic ability to insert a random "West Wing" line into just about any conversation, I should try branching out for once. And I did; I wrote about V for Vendetta. Considerate, right? So much for that.
Let's see if I can put this mildly: "The West Wing" is, by far, the greatest television show of all time (huh, guess I can't). But you all knew that already; at least, you did if you read my review of series creator Aaron Sorkin's next show, the tragically underappreciated "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip." (For those of you who need help remembering, that would be the really over-the-top review that one fellow Ram staffer very politely referred to as something like my "verbal lusting after Aaron Sorkin.") While the aforementioned "anyone who knows me" can tell you that I certainly am obsessed with Sorkin's work, there is something about "The West Wing" that sets it apart from the rest (which, by the way, includes A Few Good Men, The American President and Malice. Don't watch Malice, though. It was bad. Really bad).
So why "The West Wing," you ask? Well, first of all, let's be perfectly clear about something: We're only talking about seasons one through four. Sorkin wrote the first four, won the Emmy for Best Drama every year, and then left. The decline started immediately. Seasons five through seven were kind of like Malice. By which I mean bad. Really bad.
After these completely pointless digressions, which seem to be typical of any column I write nowadays, it's going to be completely impossible for me to highlight all of the factors that go into making "The West Wing" such an incredible show. But let's try a few (in no particular order):
2008 Woodie Awards
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