Search - The West Wing: The Complete Fourth Season on DVD

Russ B. (russbaker) from WILLOW SPRINGS, MO
Reviewed on 10/15/2014...

Absolutely one of the all-time best programs. Great writing. Great acting.

End of an Era

Adam Dukovich | 02/16/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This season saw the end of a bright but sadly short-lived era. The West Wing was THE show to watch for four glorious years. There are those out there who might say that the show somehow lost steam in the final year of the Sorkin era, but I say unto you, listen not to them. When a highly regarded show undergoes (or is about to undergo) a major change, it is nitpicked to a great extent, and some people feel compelled to invent problems with it, for whatever reason. It is fortunate for the non-crazy, then, that this year proved so able to produce challenging, powerful drama. This season opens with presidential politics in full swing, President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) campaigning for a second term facing a suspiciously Dubya-looking Republican contender portrayed by James Brolin (okay, he's more like a Bush caricature). After several great campaign-themed episodes at the season's beginning, politics-as-unusual would once again turn up in the halls of power at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

This season's biggest change was Rob Lowe's departure from the show, but that was alright, because we got the super-talented Joshua Malina to replace him. We met Toby's and CJ's dads in "Holy Night" and "The Long Goodbye", respectively. The former continues in the show's tradition of powerful, moving Christmas episodes, the latter is a greatly underrated family drama centering around CJ and her Alzheimer's-stricken father. These episodes pack plenty of emotional power, and there were other great episodes like "20 Hours in America," which tracked Josh, Toby and Donna through Indiana after they lost the motorcade, and "Life on Mars," which led to the departure of John Hoynes as Vice President, thanks to Matthew Perry's guest turn as Joe Quincy. These episodes, in addition to the pulse-pounding final two shows of the season, were only a few of a memorable and consistent year of television that called to mind the show's first season--no grand arcs, just stories and characters and the delightful political mess the White House staff would sort through on a weekly basis. This season brought the series back to its roots and was an appropriate send-off for one of the medium's masters, although it's sad indeed that the send-off in question was needed in the first place. Where have you gone, Aaron?"

Excellent series continues to continue to continue.

Frank Gregg | Pittsburgh, PA | 03/04/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First of all, I'm a political science/history major and I'll still be the first to admit that I was a bit sceptical of this series. I just didn't think that they could make this show as interesting, informative, and especially funny as it ended up being. After watching about the first disk of the series, I was hooked and it had become my favorite show. The first season just blew my mind. I've now watched the rest of them, and they haven't let up a bit.

This is anything but watching an hour of Capital Hill voting on CNN, though. There's an incredible cast including Bradley Whitford, Allison Janney, Martin Sheen, Rob Lowe who take you into the show and the world of politics. It's nowhere near stuffy; full of humor, love interests, and interesting information. From the first frame of the episode, you'll be glued to the TV. If you're interested in politics, or even if you're not, give this series a chance. You won't be sorry you did.

Martin Sheen is my President."

THEY'RE THERE!

Chris | Hamburg, NY | 04/08/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The Special Features are on disk 6!

1) Put in Disk 6

2) Click "Special Features"

3) Next to "Main Menu" is this symbol ">" click on it and you got em!

Talk about non-intuitive design. Yeesh."