The term ‘Golden Age of TV’ gets thrown around a lot these days, and while it certainly feels as though television on the whole has never been better, it has made the prospect of catching up with it all incredibly daunting.
In a mad rush to avoid spoilers, I recently binged my way through Squid Game season three (although I wish I hadn’t), and similarly, my wife and I made an effort to get through the latest season of The Bear at a decent pace (which I’m glad we did).
I can just about keep up with some of these tentpole shows but for other series that have dominated the discourse this year such as The Rehearsal , Andor and The Studio (all of which require different subscriptions for streaming services, no less), they’ve all been relegated to my watchlist in the hope that I am able to carve out some time for them and actually join the discussion whilst it’s still ongoing.
While I am hopeful that I can get around to some of these shows, I did come to the realisation a few months ago that I’m never going to be able to watch them all, which offered up some degree of liberation.
Once I accepted the reality of my ever-growing watchlist, I started to think less about shows to watch so that I could avoid being a social pariah, and more about the types of shows that are talked about less frequently in the modern age but always turn up in lists about the best series of all time. That, my dear reader, is how I landed on The West Wing.
Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry
Embracing an early-modern TV masterpiece
If this is the first you’re hearing about The West Wing, then shame on the Gen Xers in your life, but allow me to fill you in. As you may have guessed from the title, The West Wing depicts the inner workings of the American Government at the highest level: The White House. It shows how an administration in power might try to navigate the political issues of the day, both at home and abroad, not to mention the interpersonal relationships that form between a team that has to work so closely on high-pressure tasks.
The premise is strong enough on its own but the entire show is elevated because of two things: its cast and its writing. Starting with the former, I couldn’t believe just how many faces I recognised right from the first episode. You’ve got Rob Lowe playing Sam Seaborn, a quick-witted speech writer, Allison Janney as CJ Gregg, the indomitable press secretary, and Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman, the deputy chief of staff who always has his finger on the pulse.
These are just a few examples of actors who are now household names but got there because of their performances on The West Wing. What ties it all together, though, is the casting of Martin Sheen as President Jed Bartlet. As a Hollywood legend, Sheen brings a level of intensity and dedication to each scene he’s in that you honestly can’t keep your eyes off of him. Of course, it’s common nowadays to have big-name actors front a TV show to help sell it to a general audience, but back in 1999, this was a true game-changer.
I mentioned earlier that the show also excels off the back of its writing, and that’s because it’s a creation of none other than Aaron Sorkin, the same mind who brought The Newsroom, The Social Network and a Few Good Men to the page. Out of all his works however, it’s in The West Wing where Sorkin is firing on all cylinders.
The initial episodes of the first season honestly feel like they have been written as one-hour films that stand alone with enough emotion and character that they could be watched completely out of sequence, and you’d still love every minute of it. It’s also worth calling out Sorkin’s ear for dialogue, which runs at the pace of a Gilmore Girls episode but carries the quotability of Breaking Bad’s most iconic scenes. If you still need some convincing, the clip above features one of Sheen’s best monologues as he absolutely obliterates a conservative radio host who makes the mistake of withholding respect for the office.
It’s a whirlwind of a show that I can’t recommend enough, particularly as you can watch The West Wing in its entirety without paying a single penny.
It’s also worth calling out Sorkin’s ear for dialogue, which runs at the pace of a Gilmore Girls episode but carries the quotability of Breaking Bad’s most iconic scenes
Your next watch should be a golden oldie
If you head on over to Channel 4’s streaming service right now, you’ll find all seven seasons of The West Wing completely free to watch. That in itself is as good a reason as any to give it a try (what do you have to lose?), but it opens up a wider discussion about just how underrated these free services are against the ever-rising cost of bigger streamers like Netflix and Disney+ .
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
At the time of writing, there are plenty of other must-watch dramas on Channel 4 that are also freely accessible, including The Handmaid’s Tale, The Blacklist and The X-Files, and that’s before mentioning the absolute bounty of homegrown series, like Taskmaster , that have become big hits. All of this begs the question: why are we still chasing the latest trends when there are so many classics just sitting there for the taking?
I’m now nearing the end of The West Wing’s second season (there was no such thing as an eight-episode season in 1999), but the show has already landed in my personal top 10 of all time. Off the back of that, I implore you to take on a similar challenge for yourself – instead of having your next watch be one of the latest Netflix Originals, you should finally seek out that show that you’ve always heard great things about, particularly if it’s free.
At the very least, given the speed at which shows get cancelled nowadays, isn’t it more rewarding to watch something that actually has a definitive ending? I think so.
Author: Thomas Deehan, Contributor, Tech Advisor
Tom began covering tech all the way back in 2018, initially writing about tech deals for Trusted Reviews before working his way up to being the site’s Deputy Editor. Now operating as a freelance writer, you can find Tom testing the latest smartphones, wearables, earbuds and more. In his spare time, you’ll either find him trying to get through a backlog of books, games and TV shows, or trying to write his very own novel (if he’s feeling productive).
