Product Description

Follow the drama when the government is temporarily passed from a Democratic Administration to the Republican Speaker of the House, as President Bartlet copes with the kidnapping of his youngest daughter, Zoey.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1439 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2005-12-06
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 6
• Dimensions: .85 pounds
• Running time: 946 minutes

Features

• Follow the drama when the government is temporarily passed from a Democratic Administration to the Republican Speaker of the House, as President Bartlet copes with the kidnapping of his youngest daughter, Zoey.Running Time: 946 min. Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR Age: 012569712768 UPC: 012569712768 Manufacturer No: 71276

Amazon.com
Two administrative changes rocked The West Wing's fifth season. Offscreen, the ship of state steered a tad off-course with the departure of series creator Aaron Sorkin and director Thomas Schalmme. Onscreen, President Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) relinquished the power of his office to Speaker of the House Glenallen Walken (John Goodman) in the wake of his daughter's kidnapping. In the season opener, "7a WF 83429," Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) wonders if this wasn't a mistake. What if the citizenry prefer Walken to Bartlet, he ponders. What if Walken comes off more presidential? Is he kidding? Sheen's Bartlet is the president of Hollywood's dreams, and the stuff of Rush Limbaugh's nightmares. (In a character profile included as one of the bonus features on this six-disc set, Bartlet is described as an amalgam of John F. Kennedy, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton!). Not to worry, though, Bartlet is back in the Oval Office by the end of the season's second episode, "The Dogs of War." The next order of business: choosing a vice president to replace the disgraced John Hoynes. Enter Gary Cole as "Bongo Bob" Russell, who, as the season unfolds, will confound misperceptions of him. Hoynes himself (Tim Matheson) returns in "Full Disclosure," in which the former vice president dishes dirt on Bartlet and chief of staff Leo McGrarry (the late John Spencer) in advance of a tell-all book. Formidable and usually unflappable press secretary C. J. has an intensely personal reason to spearhead damage control and thwart Hoynes' publishing plans.

Allison Janney, as C. J. earned The West Wing's sole Emmy this season. One of her showcase hours is "Access," a format-breaking episode presented as a Frontline-type "day-in-the-life" documentary. Other memorable episodes that helped to right The West Wing's course include "The Supremes," featuring Glenn Close as a Supreme Court nominee; the battle-of-wills episode, "Shutdown"; "Gaza," in which Donna (Janel Moloney) is severely wounded during a fact-finding mission to the Middle East; and "Memorial Day," a flashback episode that echoes "Bartlet for America" from season 3, and which ends the season on a strong note, and almost make viewers forget the Sesame Street Muppet cameos in the episode, "Eppu Si Muove." Almost. --Donald Liebenson

Customer Reviews

Not the disaster it is made out to be
Of course Season 5 of The West Wing was different. Losing (or dropping) Aaron Sorkin was a major problem for the series as it was his vision and tone which had guided it through its first four sucessful seasons. However the backlash against the series from some fans was completely over the top. To them Sorkin could do no bad and John Wells & Co. could do no good.

There were problems in style at the start of the season. The main worry expressed by fans at the changeover was that the series would become soap opera and relationship based rather than content/issue driven. Instead the series went the complete other way and became far too heavy and dark, as if the writers needed to prove their dramatic creditenials. A lot of the wittiness and humour of the dialogue disappeared in the first couple of episodes as the new writers struggled to understand the characters and find a level that could be both funny and serious at the same time.

However from mid-season (around the execellent "Shutdown" episode) the series began to find its feet again and began to deliver episodes of quality some of which would have no problem with being matched against their Sorkin counterparts. In particular the standout "Supremes" episode is as good as the show had ever been.

By the end of the season a new level had been found. It may not have soared to some of the dizzying heights that the series had under Sorkin. There were still bad episodes but there had been bad episodes in earlier seasons. However The West Wing was still a damn sight better than practically any other television series around capable of being clever, funny, intriguing and thoughtprovoking at the same time.

Cry me a river. Build a bridge and GET OVER IT
The majority of the fans vilify Season 5, in reviews and chat rooms. Yes there were changes and some of the transitions were choppy. But, please not all of Seasons 1-4 were pearls of wisdom. Starting with the kidnapping of Zoe with no apparent reason other than to create a cliffhanger for the end of the season. The resolution to that story was poor at best with the only shining moment being the 'amazing act of patriotism and fairly common act of fatherhood' by relinquishing the presidency.
On to Season 5. Was no one moved by the episode 'Han' about the
Korean pianist who wanted to defect and the moral and political struggles that caused? Ended only by the pianist choosing the greater good. 'Shutdown' where Bartlett refused to be held hostage again by the same bunch that had forced Bingo Bob on him and by the way refused to be held hostage by some of his own staffers. 'The Benign Prerogative' about the pardoning process and the damage that mandatory minimums has caused in our country. 'An Khe'- 'corruptio optima pessima' friendship, betrayal and government contracts. CJ's performance in 'Full Disclosure' was one of the best she's given. 'The Supremes'was as good as anything Sorkin ever did.
Any group, real or fictional, changes and grows. People learn grow, make horrible mistakes and great strides. Did everyone expect everything to stay the same? I miss the oratory ("the streets of heaven are too crowded tonight") but these speeches are getting better.
The fan base that moans and rend their shirts over Lord Sorkin's departure need to keep some of that sense of wonder that the show originally brought to us all.
These fans remind me of the Rockies fans who still talk about Joe Girardi's trade.

Strictly a quality in manufacturing issue.
There are enough reviews involving the quality of content for this excellent show, you don't need mine. My gripe is with the packaging. I prefer the fold-out style of the first three seasons. The fourth and fifth season cases are less appealing. The fifth actually fell apart in my hands upon opening. Binding plastic sleaves with tape; "hey thats quality!". Enough said, I yield the floor.