Well, NBC has gone and done it.
It's something that they are really good at, canceling a show, which has a solid fan following, and not giving us a conclusion (i.e. Star Trek) before it has a time to regain it's footing on television. President Bartlet and his administration will be leaving the West Wing after seven years on television.
Anyone want to start a "Save the West Wing" campaign?
I'm sitting here wondering how will the show end, who will be the next president, and if Matthew Santos (Jimmy Smiths) or Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) wins the presidency will there be a new series with a new cast, but on a different network? Will we have a place to bring the modern political debates (which the media has been serious lacking as of late, I really don't need to see the same human interests story twenty times a day when we have bigger political considerations to worry about) to the airwaves? The West Wing served as a place where the political issues of the day were played out in a 40+ minute episode with the political debates and the mental angst that takes place in the minds of those in politics playing out before our eyes.
The West Wing introduced a lot of us to the realm of politics that few ever see. Working with the Orange County Democratic party, my experiences with the technology team with the Los Angeles and the Boston Democratic National Conventions, and my experience in student politics, I learned first hand the emotional ups and downs of political decisions. During the convention politicians who I've seen on the news were suddenly asking me questions and I interacted with their staffs (and sometimes the politician directly) everyday on the job. I even had a chance to jump up on stage after John Kerry gave his nomination acceptance speech as the remaining balloons fell from the rafters. [On a very cool side note, my brother is even in a documentary filmed by the daughter of Nancy Pelosi, you have to watch the credits and pause it towards the end, he is the one leaning against the tunnel with his arms crossed looking up at the balloons]. The West Wing brought some of the experience home every night (whether is was Wednesday or Sunday). Even when politics took a back seat to the tragic attacks on 9/11, the West Wing rushed an episode called "Issac and Ismael" which used the premise of a tour in the White House Mess during a lock down to explain why terrorist actions take place.
With the cancellation of the West Wing, I now have one less reason to watch television. (And I seem to have more reasons every single day).
