Strangely enough, I have an easier time imagining that than
Posted on 01/22/2006 11:18:33 AM PST by LdSentinal
NBC Cancels Emmy-Winning 'West Wing' After Seven Seasons, Makes Several Midseason Moves
PASADENA, Calif. Jan 22, 2006 — The new president on "The West Wing" will be a real short-timer: NBC announced Sunday it was pulling the plug on the Emmy-winning political drama after seven seasons in May.
NBC, struggling to regain its footing after the worst season in its history, also outlined several midseason schedule changes including the moves of popular dramas "Law & Order" and "Las Vegas."
"The West Wing" announcement wasn't much of a surprise. Although this season's story line with a presidential campaign involving a Democrat played by Jimmy Smits and Republican portrayed by Alan Alda has been strong critically, ratings have sunk with its move to Sunday nights.
NBC Cancels 'West Wing' After 7 Seasons Odds-On Oscar Favorites Emerge as Noms Near There She Is
The decision to cancel it was made before actor John Spencer, who played former presidential chief of staff Leo McGarry, died of a heart attack Dec. 16, said Kevin Reilly, NBC entertainment president.
"There's a point when you look at the ratings and say, it feels like it's time," Reilly said.
The series finale will be May 14, preceded by a one-hour retrospective. The campaign to replace the fictional Josiah Bartlet as president will be settled, NBC said.
Producers Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme, who created the show and guided it through its early years, will not be involved in the finale, Reilly said.
"The West Wing" won four Emmy Awards for best television drama in a row for its tales of political intrigue. At its prime, it also offered NBC two valuable benefits: critical acclaim and the most upscale audience on television, an important drawing point for advertisers.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Never watched it.
Don't be surprised if they do just that.
Say, have the show contrive a plot about incompetent handling of an emerging nuclear power that is also considered a rouge state.
The first 4 seasons of this show was some great television. Sure, the overall point of view was liberal, but it was surprisingly even handed in many ways and did not pull punches in criticizing Dems.
It was a patriotic show in every way. The characters deeply respected the institutions government they were participating in and had a deep sense of American history.
Aaron Sorkin is a brilliant writer. Some of the scripts he created were breath takingly beautiful and very moving. The death penalty episode was about as good as a TV drama could be.
Kudos to a brilliant cast....the chemistry was awesome. Martin Sheen was perfectly cast BTW.
For those of you who didn't see it......who are you to comment?
You don't have to, I'll summarize it for you: Kind, benevolent democrat administration leads the nation, often opposed by evil republicans.
Schadenfreude on a Sunday afternoon....life is good.
Hopefully Commander in Chief is next. ;)
Hollywood put "Left Wing" on the highest spin cycle possible. What a POS. "Las Vegas", a total waste of time. I've been "Law and Ordered" and CSI'd til I'm blind. Back when I was young living in Chicago we got about 5 or 6 channels and today we've cable and I swear it's still the same; nothings on.
http://medialifemagazine.com/artman/publish/article_2304.asp
Shrinking mandate for 'Commander'
First-year ABC drama hits a series low of 2.4
By Abigail Azote
Jan 19, 2006
“Commander In Chief’s” Geena Davis may have walked away with the Best Actress in a Drama award during Monday’s Golden Globes, but among the American voting public she's sliding in the opinion polls that matter most, the ratings.
They've been on a steady decline for the once-promising freshman show.
“Commander” averaged a 2.4 rating on Tuesday night, an all-time low for ABC's political drama. That’s down 14 percent from the previous week’s 2.8 18-49 rating, its second lowest, for the show’s first original episode to air since Nov. 29. And it’s down substantially, 38 percent, from the show’s 3.9 season-to-date average.
Part of the decline can be attributed to its holiday hiatus. Viewers have a way of drifting back to shows that have been off the air for a bit.
More worrisome is the show's increased competition in the Tuesday 9 p.m. timeslot. The return of Fox’s "American Idol" was expected to dominate Tuesday night, as it did, overwhelmingly so, but "Commander" also lost out to NBC’s drooping "Scrubs" and a repeat of CBS’s "CSI."
“Commander” tells the story of the country’s first female president, and as such has caught much flack over charges of being a vehicle to get a woman, Sen. Hillary Clinton in particular, into the real White House. Such publicity doesn’t seem to have helped the show.
Even the addition of a powerhouse producer like Steven Bochco early on in the season couldn’t halt the show’s decline. It peaked in its second week out, with a 4.8 rating, and has not come close to that level since.
“Commander” made Newsday’s Worst of 2005 list. “While this show has become a moderate-sized success -- with 17 million suckers tuning in each week -- that doesn't overrule the fact that ‘Commander’ is often silly, sophomoric and utterly improbable,” wrote Verne Gay.
"and Republican portrayed by Alan Alda"
!
I never saw Debbie Does Dallas, or even Deep Throat. I guess I'll become officially neutral on them and have no opinion.
About time it was cancelled. It jumped the shark ages ago.
Never saw it.
One would think they'd run out of ideas by now.
They did. Years back. Same with the CSI's.
Looks like the POS Lawrence O'Donnell will be looking for a new job. I'd recommend dog catcher.
Strangely enough, I have an easier time imagining that than
It was a laughable, over-dramatic ultra-liberal piece of garbage.
Tears.
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