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Speaking of West Wing, my wife and I didn't watch very much TV when we were working, and so now we've bought a whole bunch of DVD sets of some of the great shows that we missed.
By coincidence we're now in year 7 of West Wing, and it's absolutely uncanny how so many of the major social issues we constantly fight about today were very faithfully presented in a TV show that's now some twenty years old. It's as if they had a crystal ball looking ahead twenty years.
I’ve never seen it. Sounds pretty good. I might be able to stream it from Prime (or buy the dvds).
Yes people don’t change much. Shakespeare’s depiction in Julius Caesar of unbridled political ambition pursued through deceit, duplicity, disloyality is as spot-on today as when he wrote it around 1600. He really understood what motivates men in high places. I don’t know if any of these apply to West Wing but would be surprised if some don’t.
@Old_Joe Glad you two are viewing WW. West Wing was excellent, and the casting was excellent, too. I recall the feeling of really getting to know the characters and the situations they faced and mostly solved. NOTE: The series was created by Aaron Sorkin, who served as executive producer for the pilot episode. He's very insightful, and has been involved in many great productions.
Old_Joe and @hank et al Try to find the movie Charlie Wilson's War, starring Tom Hanks. Another great network production series (The Newsroom) that was on, I believe; HBO, starring Jeff Daniels. E for excellence, again. And fellow Michigander, who lives a bit down the road (well, about 60 miles); Jeff Daniels is an excellent actor/performer. His hometown (Chelsea), where he still spends time; makes the famous Jiffy Mix for cornbread and biscuits, since 1901. OK. End of show and tell, for me.
Thanks @catch22 / Daniels is an excellent performer - and person as well. I saw him live in NYC several years ago in ”To Kill a Mockingbird” which played to packed seating.
Hanks is a favorite, although his works are mixed - mostly great. I watch “Polar Express” every Christmas season in which he plays several different characters thru electronic wizardry. A fun “trip”.
I'm in good company. The West Wing was superbly written. Great character development. Deft and deep treatment of the issues! Daniels' speech (of sorts) in the first episode of Newsroom is already a classic. Viral everywhere. I'll always remember him as Col. Chamberlain of the 20th Maine Regiment in Gettysburg. And the prequel, Gods & Generals.
@Crash I've sent 'The Newsroom' video you posted to many folks over the years. Quite the writing of the commentary and Mr. Daniels's presentation, eh? For those who have watched the video snippet, the lady in the audience holding the sign' is the main characters 'Newroom' producer.
EDITED. ...Also saw Charlie Wilson's War. Also superb. With Julia Roberts. Eye Candy. So, we helped the Taliban mujahideen against the Soviets. Charlie could never have predicted the junk that's happening in Afghanistan today. Damn shame. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Wilson_(Texas_politician)
All my searches indicate that CC and/or subtitles are embedded for use. NOTE: subtitles always indicate 'in the original language'. So, the original English language would qualify both, to my understanding.
ALSO, CC off or on should be a function of the DVD player menu.
AND, two things: The Newsroom title also applies to a CBC Canadian program from 1996. SO, be sure to look for Aaron Sorkin and Jeff Daniels for qualifiers of the correct show. AND #2. Be sure the DVD is for region 1 (North America). This is sometimes easy to overlook or not documented.
LASTLY, I've not looked at Amazon, but a few views at Ebay. The seasons appear to be in 2 DVD sets. And to know that there were 3 seasons for a total of 25 episodes.
Good hunting, as I think you'll have good fortune finding these DVD's.
@Catch22- Hey Mark, thanks so much. The 3-DVD set is available at Amazon, but for some reason they don't show any info on the subtitles or CC. We have a couple of "unrestricted" DVD players which can play from any region, and have been able to get some great deals on DVD sets from other than region 1. And Sorkin it is, for sure.
And @Old_Joe As had been mentioned is: non-fiction movie, not a series; starring Tom Hanks
Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American biographical comedy-drama film based on the story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson and CIA operative Gust Avrakotos, whose efforts led to Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989).
The film was directed by Mike Nichols (his final film) and written by Aaron Sorkin.
A 5 star for me, from my fascination for global history; and 'real stuff' that happens and shapes 'forward' history.
You can buy streaming rights to West Wing for $30 a season on Amazon. Offered through Prime Video but you do not to be enrolled in Prime. Not bad for 22 episodes. I’ve had good luck buying instead of renting. No time constraints as to when or how often you view.
I must be culturally deprived having watched not a single episode of this highly rated series.
We prefer DVDs to streaming for a number of reasons. The entire set was about $120 on Amazon, and we have been watching anywhere from 3 to 5 episodes a week. Really cheap when you consider the price for a decent movie these days.
We hadn't either, until well after we had retired. Never have watched all that much TV other than PBS.
Comments
A great moment to re-share this:
By coincidence we're now in year 7 of West Wing, and it's absolutely uncanny how so many of the major social issues we constantly fight about today were very faithfully presented in a TV show that's now some twenty years old. It's as if they had a crystal ball looking ahead twenty years.
Yes people don’t change much. Shakespeare’s depiction in Julius Caesar of unbridled political ambition pursued through deceit, duplicity, disloyality is as spot-on today as when he wrote it around 1600. He really understood what motivates men in high places. I don’t know if any of these apply to West Wing but would be surprised if some don’t.
West Wing was excellent, and the casting was excellent, too. I recall the feeling of really getting to know the characters and the situations they faced and mostly solved.
NOTE: The series was created by Aaron Sorkin, who served as executive producer for the pilot episode. He's very insightful, and has been involved in many great productions.
Old_Joe and @hank et al Try to find the movie Charlie Wilson's War, starring Tom Hanks. Another great network production series (The Newsroom) that was on, I believe; HBO, starring Jeff Daniels. E for excellence, again. And fellow Michigander, who lives a bit down the road (well, about 60 miles); Jeff Daniels is an excellent actor/performer. His hometown (Chelsea), where he still spends time; makes the famous Jiffy Mix for cornbread and biscuits, since 1901.
OK. End of show and tell, for me.
Hanks is a favorite, although his works are mixed - mostly great. I watch “Polar Express” every Christmas season in which he plays several different characters thru electronic wizardry. A fun “trip”.
West Wing sounds great.
OJ
Talibanmujahideen against the Soviets. Charlie could never have predicted the junk that's happening in Afghanistan today. Damn shame.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Wilson_(Texas_politician)
https://www.purplerosetheatre.org/about/history/
Thanks- OJ
All my searches indicate that CC and/or subtitles are embedded for use. NOTE: subtitles always indicate 'in the original language'. So, the original English language would qualify both, to my understanding.
ALSO, CC off or on should be a function of the DVD player menu.
AND, two things: The Newsroom title also applies to a CBC Canadian program from 1996. SO, be sure to look for Aaron Sorkin and Jeff Daniels for qualifiers of the correct show.
AND #2. Be sure the DVD is for region 1 (North America). This is sometimes easy to overlook or not documented.
LASTLY, I've not looked at Amazon, but a few views at Ebay. The seasons appear to be in 2 DVD sets.
And to know that there were 3 seasons for a total of 25 episodes.
Good hunting, as I think you'll have good fortune finding these DVD's.
Thanks again- Dan
As had been mentioned is: non-fiction movie, not a series; starring Tom Hanks
Charlie Wilson's War is a 2007 American biographical comedy-drama film based on the story of U.S. Congressman Charlie Wilson and CIA operative Gust Avrakotos, whose efforts led to Operation Cyclone, a program to organize and support the Afghan mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War (1979–1989).
The film was directed by Mike Nichols (his final film) and written by Aaron Sorkin.
A 5 star for me, from my fascination for global history; and 'real stuff' that happens and shapes 'forward' history.
I must be culturally deprived having watched not a single episode of this highly rated series.
We hadn't either, until well after we had retired. Never have watched all that much TV other than PBS.