In just a few short years, the edgy, no-holds-barred drama that took TV cameras inside the walls of a fictional White House has become the “other” television presidency.
As Josiah Bartlet’s administration on NBC’s “The West Wing” spiraled into relative obscurity, Geena Davis’ Mackenzie Allen moved into power on ABC’s “Commander in Chief.”
“Wing’s” stay-the-course approach has unraveled so badly that even Emmy voters finally gave up on it last year, sending it home with no trophies for the first time.
“The West Wing” is now the tofu to “Commander in Chief’s” filet mignon, the rice cakes to “Commander’s” Chee-tos, the “7-Up” to its “Red Bull.”
And I’ve got a stack of recent Nielsen ratings that says you don’t really care much.
So what’s a struggling presidency to do at its lowest point?
No, Bartlet isn’t going to nominate a Supreme Court justice or two.
Nor will he lay out a comprehensive plan for battling the dark forces of an avian flu pandemic. (But that would make for a fine “ER” crossover episode.)
Instead, “The West Wing” is going live.
The two candidates in the show’s brewing election will face off in a live debate at 8 p.m. Sunday, with veteran actors Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits providing the theatrics for Sen. Arnold Vinick and Rep. Matthew Santos.
That’s all the information we have at this point. We don’t even know who the mediator is, although we hear Dan Rather might be available.
But the fact is that “The West Wing,” while lacking the relevance it once had, is still good for drama – especially in an election year.
Take a break from “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” for a week. I can pretty much guarantee you that the family is going to get the home of their dreams and there will be lots of tears.
Move on over to NBC for a night and rediscover what “The West Wing” has to offer in a new era.
I can’t make any promises, but if there is any drama to be had under the looming Alda or Smits administration, it had better be on display Sunday night when the new contenders go face to face, mano a mano. En vivo.
A complete disaster
I try to avoid it every time one of these TV disaster miniseries comes along, but they always seem to sweep me up like a Category 7 hurricane.
Oh, yes I did.
Just a couple of months removed from that real disaster that devastated the Gulf Coast, CBS unleashes “Category 7: The End of the World,” a four-hour miniseries that tries to prove that last year’s “Category 6: Day of Destruction” was just a warm-up.
Indeed, this one is far worse.
The first two hours air at 9 p.m. Sunday on KIRO-TV, Channel 7. The two-hour conclusion is at the same time one week later.
The casting department rolls out some heavy hitters, such as Gina Gershon, James Brolin, Swoosie Kurtz, Robert Wagner, Tom Skerritt and Randy Quaid.
And Shannen Doherty takes a turn as Faith Clavell, “a beautiful, discredited scientist” who hangs up her bartending apron to chase tornadoes.
But it all comes out looking like this cast of solid actors owed some producer a favor and showed up for a weekend to shoot a miniseries that will get huge ratings thanks to a special-effects crew that can blow up the Eiffel Tower, the Pyramids and Mount Rushmore within minutes.
Gershon’s Judith Carr, however, is the most stylish FEMA director we’ve seen since Louis Giuffrida in the early 1980s.
That guy could rock a two-piece suit like nobody’s business.
Victor Balta’s column runs Mondays and Thursdays on the A&E page. Reach him at 425-339-3455 or vbalta@ heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
