The West Wing - season 1

"Lady, the God you pray to is too busy being indicted for tax fraud." -Josh Lyman, White House Deputy Chief of Staff

The West Wing main cast

The first season of The West Wing is a stunning display of television at its best. OK. So Mandy Hampton wasn't the most interesting character ever made for television, but hey; At least they got a lot right. The casting came very close to a home run. Add the ability to make politic interesting, add the walk-and-talk, add characters with layers and humanity in both their shortcomings and their emotions, and you come close to summing up the first season of The West Wing. Of course you'll still be way short, as its strength is the complexity and that's not something you sum up in a couple of short lines.

New drama doesn't get much better than this. It's filled with passion and yet manages to use wit, relations and human reactions to drive the stories forward. They never bash their view to death with repetitions, but we're never in any doubt on were they stand. The first season of The West Wing is close to perfection in script writing and character building. Managing to keep the smaller episode stories interesting as they went along was the icing on the cake making it an instant success.

Who knew politic could be so interesting prior to The West Wing?

And between all these political victories and losses, it's all those small moments I'll always remember the most from the first season of The West Wing. Moments reminding us also the people with the most powerful jobs in the US are people who gets touched by others in so many ways.

The first season of The West Wing is nothing short of excellent entertainment. I've got no problem recommending it strongly if you have yet to get acquainted with the White House senior staff, and if you are familiar with them this might maybe serve you as a reminder to say hello to an old friend.

Donna Moss (The West Wing)

Janel Moloney is Donnatella Moss at The West Wing.

Bradley Whitford played the Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman at The West Wing. As his assistant Janel Moloney as Donnatella Moss was only credited as a guest star despite appearing in all episodes the first season. Starting out I suspect Aaron Sorkin didn't have any larger plans for this character than he had for others assistants or secretaries like Margaret, Carol and Bonnie. When the second season started no-one was surprised to find Janel among the intro-credits as Donna grew into an important part of the West Wing ensemble during their first season.

In the first episodes Donna is used as a prop to explain political stands with those classic West Wing walk-and-talk conversations with Josh. From the beginning its easy to notice how well Bradley Whitford and Janel Moloney captures their scenes together. Sorkin must have noticed it early as well, as their chemistry is relayed on to make some of the more interesting political storylines quite early in the series.

Josh Lyman and Donna Moss

As seasons pass by Donna grows as a more and more important part of the Bartlet's White House-staff and her assignments slowly grows in importance as well. She never reaches the level of importance for the show as President Bartlet, Josh Lyman, Toby Ziegler, Leo McGarry and C.J. Cregg, but Janel makes this supporting role one of the more memorable long time supports I've ever seen in any show. She's no doubt one of my favorite supporting roles at least.