TV's dramatic political year


I have just been reading TV's dramatic political year. I watched some of those programmes like any one who knows me will know that I am a massive fan of The West Wing and it is being repeated on More4 and I have the all 7 series on DVD so there is nothing that stops me from watching and adoring what great television it was especially Series 1, 2 and 4.


However in 2006 I missed most of The Amazing Mrs Pritchard and found that when I spoke to blogers, classmates and lecturers no one seemed to impress and one of the complaints from the political and apolitical was the idea of the Purple Alliance winning a general election was just a little too much.


I like watching Spooks but find that I usually miss it for some reason or the other. The times I have watched they have done some good stories. I happen to miss all the exciting things like the attempted coup, the siege in London's Saudi Trade Centre, Juliet's car exploding in Westminster and Ruth faking her own death. However I did catch the attempt to flood London by sabotaging the Thames Flood Barrier which I thought was a good episode.


Like I said before I am a massive fan of The West Wing and was very disappointed when President Jed Bartlett stood down after eight years in The White House, I was standing there screaming four more years. I was really pleased when I heard that Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) was coming back to the White House to work for President Santos but was very disappointed when that just got us a few minutes of TV time. The most disappointing moment was when John Spencer who played Leo McGarry the Democratic Candidate for Vice President at the time died following a heart attack in a Los Angeles hospital. His character died of a heart attack on election night. What was really spooky was that in the first episode of series 7 The Ticket, Jimmy Smits character Matthew Santos the Democratic Candidate for President says something like "you want out, you're gonna have to drum up another heart attack" and Leo replies “Thanks, that's a beautiful sentiment". The story involving China and Russia was fun and the Wedding episode featured some vintage Bartlett but Series 7 was all about the election and for me there wasn’t enough Bartlett while Santos was good he was no Bartlett.


I watched Geena Davis as Mackenzie Allen in Commander in Chief, where as a mother of three she goes on to become the first woman to occupy the Oval Office after a sitting President dies. I think Commander in Chief like The Amazing Mrs Pritchard made the mistake that the person in office was an independent. People just can’t envisage a world where that happens.


I don’t think I ever watched The Thick of It but when they had the Christmas special on I enjoyed that. I'm not sure if it will be returning to our screens any time soon but I would recommend that as one to watch.