Revisiting the West Wing

I’ve been a fan of the West Wing for a long, long while. I recently restarted watching the series, figuring I’d just do the first or second episode. And then I just got sucked in, and became comfortable with the fact that I’d be re-watching every episode, from Season 1 to Season 7 start to finish.

Mostly, I’ve watched it in small segments: 10-15 minutes in the morning, while I’m eating breakfast at the computer. 10-15 minutes over lunch. And sometimes at night, if Liz and I aren’t watching anything together.

I feel very fondly towards all of these characters. And even though I think the series peaked with Sorkin, holing up in hotel rooms to write while fueled by hallucinogenic mushrooms and cocaine… I still did enjoy the seasons after his departure.

I haven’t been much of a book reader, these last few years. But I did always have a certain set of books that I’d return to, with some frequency, over and over again. I don’t think of myself as someone who consumes a lot of multimedia (movies, streaming, videos)… but this series is one I’ve returned to, time and again.

In a lot of ways, I’m not sure what to do with myself, now that it’s over (again). I feel like I need some larger storyline to get lost in, another narrative that is equally far-reaching, equally sprawling.

I wonder what it says about me, that I’m tempted to reach for something old, instead of something new.

Related:
Revisiting the West Wing (Again)
The Definitive History of the West Wing
Seventeen People – Meticulously Illustrated Tribute to One Man’s Favorite West Wing Episode
An Oral History of The West Wing