The West Wing - "Institutional Memory" - 5/07
05-07-06, 10:08 PM
#2
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Giving a whole hour to one of the least interesting characters on the show when the audience already knows how it's going to end is not a good idea.
Hopefully the finale is better than this
Hopefully the finale is better than this
05-07-06, 10:46 PM
#3
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What a boring episode. It's the second-to-last episode in the series, and this was the best they could come up with? Talk about going out with a whimper. It's almost like they're just coasting to the finish line.
05-08-06, 01:24 AM
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Maybe NBC is going to take a play out of the ABC Boston Legal/The Practice playbook and spinoff the new blood.
DC Politics, starring Jimmy Smits as the slimy-yet-charasmatic Democrat with his whacky Republican sidekick Alan Alda. They can share "leading man" stories about being a New York cop and a doctor in the Korean War. At the end of every episode, they'll smoke cigars on the White House balcony.
DC Politics, starring Jimmy Smits as the slimy-yet-charasmatic Democrat with his whacky Republican sidekick Alan Alda. They can share "leading man" stories about being a New York cop and a doctor in the Korean War. At the end of every episode, they'll smoke cigars on the White House balcony.
05-08-06, 01:46 AM
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the scenes for next week made it seem like just another episode. The announcer was like "oh yeah by the way it's the series finale. "
And the big celebration that Sunday night:
2 BIG HOURS?
Uhh..
drumroll...
They're just gonna show the first episode.
And the big celebration that Sunday night:
2 BIG HOURS?
Uhh..
drumroll...
They're just gonna show the first episode.
05-08-06, 03:53 AM
#7
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It's really a shame the way this show is going out. It was such a great show in it's prime. It deserves a much better sendoff.
Of course, the way they treat good shows nowadays, I guess we should be grateful they didn't just put it on "hiatus" in the middle of the season and then act as though it never existed.
Of course, the way they treat good shows nowadays, I guess we should be grateful they didn't just put it on "hiatus" in the middle of the season and then act as though it never existed.
05-08-06, 06:10 AM
#8
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When I first saw 2 hours of WW next week in the TiVo guide next week, the first hour was described as a retrospective. What happened to it that they're showing the pilot instead?
Agreed, major boring episode for being the second to last.
Agreed, major boring episode for being the second to last.
05-08-06, 11:02 AM
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Originally Posted by Bandoman
I like CJ. This would have been a good ep if it's wasn't the second-to-last ep ever.
I like her too. A fine supporting character. I just don't like the episodes that revolve around her character.
05-08-06, 11:30 AM
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I've been enjoying all the recent episodes and really liked this one. They've been handling the transition from all angles very nicely. I'm not quite sure what everyone else was expecting (a major crisis to rally "the team" together for one last hurrah, lots of explosions and for someone to die?) - if you want a big finish, may I suggest 24 instead?
05-08-06, 11:30 AM
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Thank you all, well except Bando, I really dislike CJ, but mrs bdb loves her, and I can't argue with the provider of marital bliss 
however the episode was just crap. Nothing happened at all, I know we are wrapping up here, and in 1 day CJ is able to completely transform her personality, from the woman who can't let anything go, to the opposite.
And Will and the Blonde chick, Will going to Oregon.
If I'm CJ I'm taking 2 or 3 500K jobs, and living wherever I want. Get out while teh gettings good. Look at poor Toby, who's going to employ him even if he gets his pardon.
however the episode was just crap. Nothing happened at all, I know we are wrapping up here, and in 1 day CJ is able to completely transform her personality, from the woman who can't let anything go, to the opposite.
And Will and the Blonde chick, Will going to Oregon.
If I'm CJ I'm taking 2 or 3 500K jobs, and living wherever I want. Get out while teh gettings good. Look at poor Toby, who's going to employ him even if he gets his pardon.
05-08-06, 11:58 AM
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I figured this episode would deal with the VP choice. I know they've simply said Baker previously and left it at that. I just thought there would be something more.
I can only imagine what Josh's reaction would have been when he got back from vacation and he found out CJ was staying in the WH. First, you hire Vinick as SoS and then you hire the outgoing CoS as a Special Consultant? "Thanks for telling me."
I can only imagine what Josh's reaction would have been when he got back from vacation and he found out CJ was staying in the WH. First, you hire Vinick as SoS and then you hire the outgoing CoS as a Special Consultant? "Thanks for telling me."
05-08-06, 12:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Bandoman
Right now Josh is having sex with Donna on a beach somewhere, I really don't think he cares.
ah donna.
Josh was on Bill Maher last night.
05-08-06, 07:35 PM
#20
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Originally Posted by TheBigDave
It's really a shame the way this show is going out. It was such a great show in it's prime. It deserves a much better sendoff.
Of course, the way they treat good shows nowadays, I guess we should be grateful they didn't just put it on "hiatus" in the middle of the season and then act as though it never existed.
Of course, the way they treat good shows nowadays, I guess we should be grateful they didn't just put it on "hiatus" in the middle of the season and then act as though it never existed.
05-08-06, 08:44 PM
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Originally Posted by BadlyDrawnBoy
Look at poor Toby, who's going to employ him even if he gets his pardon.
05-08-06, 08:48 PM
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Yeah, I don't think I'm going out on a limb by saying people who get presidential pardons don't have a problem finding future employment. We're not talking about axe murderers here.
05-09-06, 04:40 PM
#24
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Thread Starter
Originally Posted by Chew
When I first saw 2 hours of WW next week in the TiVo guide next week, the first hour was described as a retrospective. What happened to it that they're showing the pilot instead?
NBC Impeaches "West Wing" Special
Tuesday May 9 4:26 PM ET
By Gina Serpe
Just what President Bartlet needs on his way out of the Oval Office: an emerging economic crisis.
NBC has scrapped its planned hourlong West Wing retropsective, featuring favorite highlights and cast reminisces--a seemingly obligatory send-off for any long-running series--amid reports of a salary squabble.
Last Friday, NBC announced it was scuttling the clipfest for "creative" reasons and instead airing the show's 1999 pilot.
But according to a report Tuesday in Variety, the network unceremoniously yanked the special from its schedule after several "key cast members"--no names named--refused to participate as nostalgic talking heads lest they be paid the same amount they would for a typical episode, in some cases around $200,000 apiece.
With ratings already bottoming out for the lame-duck show, NBC decided against coming up with the extra cash, or even negotiating lower payments, and called off the whole shebang. Variety says the additional cost would make the retrospective a money-losing proposition.
The retrospective, which had been commissioned by Warner Bros. TV and John Wells Productions, was due to run just prior to The West Wing's series ender this Sunday, making the finale a two-hour event rather than a one-hour whimper.
NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly even touted the retrospective back in January, when first announcing the show's impending end.
Fans of the Emmy-winning drama seem to be taking the news particularly hard, if message board postings are any indication.
"I too, am less than thrilled with this decision," writes TheMuse on NBC's official Website. "I have yet to talk to one person happy about seeing the Pilot for the millionth time."
"The treatment NBC has given The West Wing and its fans this season makes me glad they don't broadcast any other shows of interest to me. I can totally disregard this network after May 14," adds ByeByeNBC.
"I think that they cancelled the retrospective because the ratings of the show have been so low that they don't think that there is any reason to spend any 'new money' on a loser," observes one Neurosturgeon. "Showing the pilot will cost them nothing. It is a cheap way to fill up an hour. It is all about the money."
The MIA retrospective is particularly unusual for NBC, which seems to relish turning farewells into all-night events. Fellow swan-song series Will & Grace, which itself has seen better days of both ratings and buzz-worthiness, is gearing up for a clip-filled two-hour send-off May 18.
Fox's That 70s Show, however, puts both finales to shame. It will boogie off May 18 with a whopping 83-minute clipjob
Tuesday May 9 4:26 PM ET
By Gina Serpe
Just what President Bartlet needs on his way out of the Oval Office: an emerging economic crisis.
NBC has scrapped its planned hourlong West Wing retropsective, featuring favorite highlights and cast reminisces--a seemingly obligatory send-off for any long-running series--amid reports of a salary squabble.
Last Friday, NBC announced it was scuttling the clipfest for "creative" reasons and instead airing the show's 1999 pilot.
But according to a report Tuesday in Variety, the network unceremoniously yanked the special from its schedule after several "key cast members"--no names named--refused to participate as nostalgic talking heads lest they be paid the same amount they would for a typical episode, in some cases around $200,000 apiece.
With ratings already bottoming out for the lame-duck show, NBC decided against coming up with the extra cash, or even negotiating lower payments, and called off the whole shebang. Variety says the additional cost would make the retrospective a money-losing proposition.
The retrospective, which had been commissioned by Warner Bros. TV and John Wells Productions, was due to run just prior to The West Wing's series ender this Sunday, making the finale a two-hour event rather than a one-hour whimper.
NBC Entertainment President Kevin Reilly even touted the retrospective back in January, when first announcing the show's impending end.
Fans of the Emmy-winning drama seem to be taking the news particularly hard, if message board postings are any indication.
"I too, am less than thrilled with this decision," writes TheMuse on NBC's official Website. "I have yet to talk to one person happy about seeing the Pilot for the millionth time."
"The treatment NBC has given The West Wing and its fans this season makes me glad they don't broadcast any other shows of interest to me. I can totally disregard this network after May 14," adds ByeByeNBC.
"I think that they cancelled the retrospective because the ratings of the show have been so low that they don't think that there is any reason to spend any 'new money' on a loser," observes one Neurosturgeon. "Showing the pilot will cost them nothing. It is a cheap way to fill up an hour. It is all about the money."
The MIA retrospective is particularly unusual for NBC, which seems to relish turning farewells into all-night events. Fellow swan-song series Will & Grace, which itself has seen better days of both ratings and buzz-worthiness, is gearing up for a clip-filled two-hour send-off May 18.
Fox's That 70s Show, however, puts both finales to shame. It will boogie off May 18 with a whopping 83-minute clipjob
05-10-06, 12:40 AM
#25
DVD Talk Legend
^
That really sucks. A retrospective would have been especally meaningful for us hardcore fans with the death of John Spencer. I agree the ep was good, just not as the 2nd to last. I don't get all the bitching about the season as a whole. I agree with the previous poster who said this has been the best post Sorkin season. The first 4 were phenominal and it was never going get that good again.
That really sucks. A retrospective would have been especally meaningful for us hardcore fans with the death of John Spencer. I agree the ep was good, just not as the 2nd to last. I don't get all the bitching about the season as a whole. I agree with the previous poster who said this has been the best post Sorkin season. The first 4 were phenominal and it was never going get that good again.
