TV serials, says Richard Beck, self-consciously set out from the very beginning to get us to take them seriously. From Hill Street Blues to The West Wing to The Sopranos and The Wire, how the television series convinced us that it was art — and now, why Lost's achievement of success via casual genre mixing and narrative derangement might signal that there's no future creative ground left within the old limits of serial drama.
posted by hat on May 24, 2010 - 120 comments

Don't catch all the West Wing Dialogue? Me either... The idea so offended my NPR supporting cum aging grad student sensibilities that I had to read why "Watching TV Makes You Smarter" (nyt, reg. req.). Am now completely sold on the argument for the Sleeper Curve.
posted by Wash Jones on Apr 24, 2005 - 71 comments

The West Wing debunker. I have grown to hate this show even though I agree with its politics. The show occasionally brings up interesting topics but it is so goddamned sanctimonious. I worry that people think this is how our executive branch works. I hope this isn't a double post.
posted by McBain on Oct 18, 2002 - 46 comments

West Wing is Fictional??? Just in case our friends in New Mexico are concerned, what happens on the West Wing this week cannot happen in New Mexico. "New Mexico has no tunnels" a press release, approved by state governor Gary Johnson, states. Whew...a load off my mind. Is this an example of government being very pro-active, or just plain insulting to the people of NM?
posted by JaxJaggywires on Apr 3, 2002 - 14 comments