I've seen reviewers love it and others hate it, calling it "preaching and pedantic."
What do you guys think?
Me, I'm in between.
I only got into watching WW in the second season so I haven't seen all the shows, but this is definitely my favorite show of this series.
There are many good moments, but the best was when the high school girl asked Abbey how "all this" got started and Abbey responded with the Bible story of Isaac and Ishmael. Very powerful stuff.
They have never re-run it, but I sure hope they do.
Preachy and pedantic. When they attempt to have a reasonable discussion of the issues in a format that does not make me want to retch, and have the characters actually be IN CHARACTER, I'll watch. Maybe. (Although CJ's relationship with her Secret Service officer is interesting in light of her love for the CIA and secret agents in general shown here, I'll give them that. Unfortunately, I must then take it away from them because we keep getting told that this episode never actually happened. La la la...)
Matthew,
I hear what your saying, and from a Nitpicker's point of view, I suppose this show commits a mortal sin by saying "it never actually happened". I can only remember that I found it to be quite moving considering the state of mind I (and many people) were in at the time. Also, remember that this show was conceived, written, staged, shot, edited and put on the air in a period of ONE month. In terms of a response to the attacks and saying what the country needed to hear at that particular moment, it was great.
Just my .02
Ed
In terms of a response to the attacks and saying what the country needed to hear at that particular moment, it was great.
Well, no, it wasn't that either. The ultimate answer to the question of "Why do some people hate us" is Abbey going all the way back to nearly the beginning of Biblical history and saying it's because the sons of Isaac and the sons of Ishmael hated each other? This just doesn't work. There has to be a reason other than "it was like that 5000 years ago," and I'm extremely disappointed that Sorkin didn't even try to come up with a real answer. The rush job on this one doesn't excuse the fact that it's, well, sloppy.
Just one thing Matthew. The question at the end of the show was not "Why do some people hate us?". The question was, "How did this all get started?".
It does make the answer a bit more responsive.
Ooooh, "For What It's Worth."
And CJ was wayyy out of character. Why is she arguing the Republican side of this? She's the most liberal character on the show. :?
Why did this show "never exist"? It reminds me of the text at the beginning of The Hunt for Red October. "Nothing of what you are about to see...ever happened."