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

Russ B. (russbaker) from WILLOW SPRINGS, MO
Reviewed on 12/25/2015...

One of the very best of television programs to come along. Good actors and GREAT writers. I learned a lot about politics too ... the good and the bad.

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Jr N. from TAMARAC, FL
Reviewed on 8/19/2015...

OMG .. Simply the best show ever on network tv, sets the bar so high for all others to reach. On a scale of 1 to 10 .. it's 11! Six stars ******

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

James H. from BROOMFIELD, CO
Reviewed on 2/27/2014...

My wife and I were big fans of the series when it aired on NBC but missed several episodes here and there, including big chunks of the first season. I have to say this is one of the best written, best acted, most all-around entertaining scripted TV series I've ever seen... right up there with MASH, All In The Family, Cheers, etc. The scripting is so smart, you feel yourself thinking "I never read about that in the news" only to realize you're watching a scripted TV show! During one of the first season episodes (CJ has emergency root canal surgery), I was literally in tears from laughing so hard... had to pause and rewind several times just so I wouldn't miss anything. And, there are moments so touching as well. If you've never watched The West Wing, get it... watch it!

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Rachel C. (rackoflamb)
Reviewed on 9/3/2008...

The cast is superb, but it's the writing that made me want to own it. Aaron Sorkin at his very best.

During the Bush administration, West Wing helped me hold on to my political idealism.

3 of 5 member(s) found this review helpful.

Best Show on TV

Tom Munro | Melbourne, Victoria Australia | 08/26/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This DVD has the first eleven episodes with a bonus of interviews with the writer Sorkin and most of the cast. West Wing is one of the better ensemble dramas ever screened on television. However it was only after seeing the interviews of Sorkin and the cast members that one realised how it was done. Sorkin is clearly highly intelligent and his scripts are powerful and the basis of the show. This becomes clear when you hear the cast members talk. They lack the presence of their on screen personalities and although they are talented actors one realises that it is the structure of the plot and their lines which creates the characters. Sorkin also indicates how in reality the plots have a high level of sentimental resolutions. One doesn?t pick this up in watching it. Sorkin explains how he uses humour to break up the flow of the story and to prevent the material becoming mawkish. He also indicates that although the White House portrayed is a Democrat one, he interplays conservative and liberal story lines. On first viewing the show it appeared to be moderately liberal but on re-watching the episodes on the CD Sorkin is right. The second episode is highly nationalistic and the last scene is the character played by Martin Sheen regretting that Americans cannot walk the earth with the same protection that was afforded the ancient romans. In other episodes the character Donna argues strongly the Republican line on taxation. Watching these eleven episodes after watching them on TV some years ago, one is still struck by the strength of the characters, the frantic pace of the action and the fact that the scenes are seldom static. Even though one begins to see that there is a sentimentality which initially slips by you, one can still be moved when Toby arranges the funeral and honour guard for the homeless war veteran. It is however the humour and intelligence which is the driving force of the series and what makes it so watchable."

Amazing series

Deborah MacGillivray | US & UK | 05/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I don't watch many telly series anymore. They come, they go and by the time you get interested, they are cancelled. I enjoy movies, but series often just do not have the quality that I seek. I resisted this series. I am not fond of politics; the process
often is more PR than real substance. It frustrates me, so why would I seek out a series about a subject that makes me want to toss a brick at the screen? Due to my husband getting hooked on it, I ended up catching bits and pieces as I would pass by. I found myself captured by the incisive writing, the amazing insight into the different characters, the humour, the pathos, the drama. The acting is top drawer, the casting amazing.The show is simply addictive."

An American in Europe

Cynthia Yeung | 03/13/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Season one of my favorite TV series is a 5 star hit on Region 2 DVD. The best show imaginable without the commercials! The first part of season two is due out in April. The reason WHY The West Wing is not available on DVD in the US is because the producers have sold syndication rights to the Bravo cable channel for a reputed 1 million an episode. Bravo only broadcasts in the US and will begin the series at the beginning. Once Bravo feels they've got their moneys worth, THEN a region one West Wing will appear. This will probably take several years. It's all about money! Code free DVD players are available through several sources on the net, but most require a world system tv. Get one with a built in video convertor that will let you play DVD's from anywhere on your American NTSC tv and then buy the DVDs from amazon.uk.co. Why wait for the best? Of course you could always get a DVD recorder and edit out the commercials, but the quality just isn't the same."