Word: sorkin
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...AARON SORKIN Talk about your greenlighting. West Wing producer sees NBC drama win nine Emmys...
...ensemble drama heads to its season finale next week (Wednesday, 9 p.m. E.T.), creator and writer Aaron Sorkin has proved that dealing with public policy doesn't mean ratings hell. The characters--President Josiah Bartlet, a liberal Democrat played by Martin Sheen; chief of staff Leo McGarry, played by John Spencer; and a clutch of earnest young staff members--have wrestled with school vouchers, the Pentagon's "Don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays, even the debate over using statistical sampling to improve the Census. "Make the Census interesting, who'd have thought?" says (real) White House spokesman...
...debates in Washington instead of giving us Hollywood's usual cartoon version. That's not out of civic obligation, the showmen insist, it's just that reality is entertaining. "The farther you get away from the truth of those debates, the softer the drama is going to be," says Sorkin, who also created and writes the ABC series Sports Night. For a political edge, he relies on consultants like Caddell and former Clinton press secretary Dee Dee Myers, who describes Sorkin's approach as "Give me a really boring issue and let's have a fight about it." But, notes...
...actress who plays press secretary C.J. Cregg, stood on the podium to open Lockhart's midday briefing. The show even got a validating blast from Republican House leader Tom DeLay, who--while admitting he's never watched it--declared it displays "disdain for [religious] faith." A cheap shot, ripostes Sorkin, about a violence-free series that idealizes public service...
...Lockhart that read, "If this were West Wing, C.J. wouldn't be at this meeting." NBC has realized that the show's verisimilitude can pay off. Because of its edu-content, teachers have given the show high marks, and NBC has distributed West Wing study guides to high schools. Sorkin says he's already looking to hire some conservatives--to give the scripts an even sharper edge and not, he insists, to deflect fire from right-wing critics. Still, if the real White House should change parties in January, it couldn't hurt to have card-carrying Republicans...