The West Wing (TV Series) 7A WF 83429 (2003) User Reviews

One prime rib dinner away from sudden cardiac arrest.

[robrosenberger · 10/10 · 3 December 2012]

It would be hard to overstate the importance of Aaron Sorkin and Tommy Schlamme to THE WEST WING. Of course, that seems half-patently obvious. Sorkin was the visionary and the voice. Once things are clicking, you can replace the former, but the latter? When STAR TREK lost Roddenberry, they only lost their visionary. And Schlamme was, for lack of a better metaphor, the show's body. He gave the show's voice its look and texture. Losing these two, due to squabbles with the studio, can only be compared in television history to Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds leaving M*A*S*H. The fact that both shows survived, even thrived, reduces the second-guessing to fodder for fan debates. And John Wells becomes Burt Metcalfe, promoted from in-house to guide the show once the horse (or camel) has left the one-bactrian town. Did the studio bring shame upon its house by allowing this pair to leave? Yeah. But what cannot be doubted is that Wells was the right choice. Welcome to "7A WF 83429", darkly and disquietingly shot, the combustible part three of a four-episode arc. Imagine Stephen King writing half a novel, then asking you to finish. This episode simmers, as Walken (John Goodman) replaces Jed, his finger on the trigger of massive military retaliations against Qumar (never mind that Zoey's kidnappers are still unknown). Is it possible that Goodman single-handedly elevated this one into greatness, assuring a nervous fan base that the show would survive? Yes. Not to diminish the fantastic contributions of the regular cast, but with any other actor in the Walken role, this episode, season, and series could have gone a whole different way.

Interesting turn of events

[krharlan · 9/10 · 10 February 2023]

Yes, this episode is old but the cast and story are both strong. One observation I want to point out is that in the mass scenes, Martin Sheen is the only actor we see placing the host in his mouth. I have to assume that is because he was the only devout Catholic in the scene. Not that it matters , I just found that interesting.

Martin Sheen comes from my hometown of Dayton, OH. As does Ms. Janney. Rob Lowe spent time there but I digress.

In previous episodes Martin used a University of Dayton coffee mug. This episode showed him using a Notre Dame mug. While that would be consistent to his character's backstory, I really enjoyed seeing the UD mug.

7A WF 83429

[lassegalsgaard · 6/10 · 26 July 2022]

And here we are, back again. This time, it's a completely different show with Aaron Sorkin having left due to issues with the network, with executive producer John Wells taking over as showrunner and writer. This was never going to be an easy job to fit into, especially after Sorkin's legendary tenure on the show. However, it seems like Wells is well-versed in what came before and how Sorkin crafted the scenarios and characters, so why not give him a chance and see what happens. This first episode is a fine carry-over from the last season, but not an inherently great episode to start with.

I'm not blaming this on the transition between the two heads, as this episode feels like it was written during the "Sorkin-period." The character all seem like themselves and go through the episode not experiencing any big changes. However, there is something that's missing, and I'm not sure if it's the focus. I was interested in seeing where they were going with this kidnapping storyline, and I think having Bartlet invoke the 25th Amendment was a good narrative device. However, in this episode, they're trying to cram a lot of ideas into one season premiere, focusing on the kidnapping, but somehow also managing to focus on the aftermath of the kidnapping before it has even been resolved. The characters seem like they're in need of a focus and I think that's where the clash of interest come in. I'm not sure that Wells ever really wanted to work on this kidnapping storyline, so a lot of the things he may have wanted to dive into are being introduced a little too soon, not allowing the show's already-set arcs to play out. That's where it loses me a bit. I think that the character interactions are still really good, and I think it's great that we're finally seeing more of Bartlet's personal life, but it all seems like it's coming on a little too fast. Also, whoever did the lighting on this episode should be fired. Either it was cartoonishly over-exposed or too dark to see anything. That wasn't a good showcase of whatever they wanted to showcase.

With "7A WF 83429," we're entering new territory, and while the characters seem like they're the same, the overall narrative is a little muddled now. I'm hoping that Wells will find a way to resolve this issue and carry on with whatever he wants to do and bring the show back to its former glory.