Hi, gang! I'm back from three days in the Bartlet Universe!
Specifically, I was at the first "West Wing Weekend," a three-day fan convention in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., centered around the drama that aired on NBC from 1999 to 2006.
It was like a comics con or a Star Trek con, except there was a lot less cosplay -- but then, all people wore on that show was business suits and power ties.
Back in the day, on a past incarnation of the board, we used to have an ongoing thread where we discussed each episode as it aired. We had great discussions, as the show was of such a caliber that people could appreciate it irrespective of their political persuasion.
Events during the weekend included:
- Screenings of key episodes, followed by discussion
- Table reads of scripts of other key episodes
- A play adapted from the episode "Isaac and Ishmael," which was the West Wing's response to 9/11
- An original musical
- Appearances and panel discussions with some actors from the show (no, not any of the stars; people like C.J's secretary, Carol)
- An appearance and panel discussion with W.G. "Snuffy" Walden, the Emmy-winning composer of "The West Wing Theme" and music supervisor
- A "State Dinner"
- A "Presidential Ball"
There were also discussions on various aspects of the show and its influence, like:
- The women of the show
- How did it inspire you?
- What would a reboot look like?
- What about the women on the show?
- What's it like to work in the White House for real?
- How can you get involved in public service?
- A look at the characters who went to Mandyville (that is, disappeared off the canvas without explanation)
I enjoyed the show when it was on, but I'm no fanatic; I haven't watched it since it went off the air. On the other hand, some of the people who attended binge-watch all seven seasons regularly. Some said they've seen every episode 30 or 40 times.
And people traveled great distances for this event. There were attendees from Illinois, Georgia, Indiana, Virginia -- even London and Scotland.
It was great, great fun, and there's the possibility they might do it again! So, as President Bartlet is often wont to say, "What's next?"
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Sounds like fun. I didn't watch the show when it aired, but Tracy did. We bought the series set and wayched it in 2005, but haven't seen it since. We really must watch it again one of these days. We'll see what happens in 2020...