The West Wing is the second television series acclaimed writer Aaron Sorkin brought to American audiences. The political drama premiered in 1999 and for seven seasons was a voice for progressive politics during the Bush era. Many argue that the show changed American politics forever, as it engaged a portion of Americans who, prior to the series, never gave the inner working of government any attention.
Sorkin left the series in 2003 after penning 87 of the 88 high-quality scripts for four back-to-back seasons. Television shows like this are rarely made anymore and the fact that Sorkin and his creative counterparts like executive producer Thomas Schlamme held on for so long is astounding. Legendary showrunner John Wells picked up where the creators left off and landed the plane in an outsanding way. But lets have some fun and rank each season from worst to best.
7. Season 5
Season five is certainly the rockiest of all seven seasons. With John Wells taking over as showrunner, there were certainly some kinks to work out during the transition. It didn't help that season four left audiences with the most intense cliffhanger imaginable and many people wondering how they could write themselves out of it. However, there are stand-out episodes in the season, including "No Exit" and "The Supremes" in which Glenn Close guest stars as a federal judge the Bartlett administration nominates to be the first female Chief Justice of SCOTUS.
6. Season 6
This season takes the series outside the walls of the White House and into the world of political campaigning. EP John Wells brought back seasoned director Alex Graves, best known for his work on Game of Thrones, to shape the look of the campaign trail. This season also features CJ Cregg, one of the best television characters ever, leaving her post as White House press secretary and rising to chief of staff. Stand-out episodes to revisit are "A Change is Gonna Come," "365 Days," "King Corn" and "2162 Votes."
5. Season 7
Crafting a satisfying ending to any series is hard enough, but landing a series the size of Air Force One is even harder. This season focuses primarily on the Presidential race to elect Bartlet's successor. The candidates are Democrat Matt Santos and Republican Arnold Vinick, portrayed perfectly by actors Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda respectively. Unfortunately, fans and everyone behind the show lost an acting icon, John Spencer, who played Leo McGary, to a heart attack midway through the season. The show handles this loss with grace and adds an extra sorrowful heft to the end of the series. Stellar season seven episodes that deserve a re-watch are "The Debate," "Running Mates" and one of the strongest network finales, "Tomorrow."
4. Season 4
This season marks the last hurrah for series staples Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme and actor Rob Lowe. The 22 episodes are jam-packed with the series' first presidential election, a sex scandal, a new addition to the senior staff and the kidnapping of Bartlet's youngest daughter. Despite the heightened stakes of the season, Sorkin manages to still maintain his grounded, yet idealistic, tone. Season four episodes that fans should revisit are "20 Hours in America," "Game On," "Commencement" and "Twenty-Five."
3. Season 1
Even the greatest shows often go through a bit of an adjustment period during their first season on the air. However, in the case of The West Wing, Sorkin, Schlamme and the outstanding cast and crew came out the gate with a fully formed vision of what the series could be. Getting to know these characters is truly a joy, as it is rare a cast clicks so quickly. The plot of the season revolves around a stuck-in-the-muck administration that seems to keep losing despite its vast potential. Stand-out episodes of season one include "Pilot," "Five Votes Down," "Let Bartlet, Be Bartlet" and "What Kind of Day it Has Been."
2. Season 3
With its inital release pushed back after the tragic events of 9/11, season three of The West Wing had a steep hill to climb when attempting to entertain a reeling American public. Thankfully, they succeed, as this installment in the series fires on all cylinders. Coming off the strongest season of the series, the cast and crew utilized their "Big MO!" and pushed the story to new heights. This season also features some incredible guest star appearances with actors like Laura Dern and Mark Harmon. The hit episodes of this season are "The Women of Qumar," "Bartlet For America," "100,000 Airplanes," "The U.S. Poet Laureate" and the documentary episode.
1. Season 2
This is one of the best seasons of television ever made and features one of strongest season finales put to screen. With the wind in their sails, the senior staff burns through their legislative agenda brilliantly while simultaneously delivering some of the best ensemble moments of the series. The MS arc introduced in the first season becomes an intengral part of the season's plot along with featuring flashbacks of how the senior staff came to be. Pinpointing several episodes to watch is too hard, so viewers might as well treat themselves to the whole thing.