Off Topic — HabitableZone

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OK, here goes
Fox — (archived)

I read a couple of days ago that WW's ratings have slipped since NBC moved it to Sunday night, and it's being beaten handily by the new presidential drama, Commander in Chief. Last night's live 'debate' was primarily a gimmick for sweeps month.

As an episode in the continuing series, it came up to the level of quality one expects from that team of writers, and got the job done in furthering the plot. As a stand-alone piece of live theater, it was nothing like the most compelling scripted 'debate' I've ever seen performed (I reserve that for Drummond vs Brady at the end of Inherit the Wind).

I've been a fan since the first season, and haven't missed an episode in the last three years, so I've seen all the buildup and backstory that led to last night's episode. I think it's clear from my stand on issues raised in HZ that if this campaign and those candidates were real, I'd be supporting Santos. I've appreciated the "independent Republican" flavor they've given Vinick, but that's not enough to make me think about switching.

So, I was primed for a clear Santos "win" -- and the script was obviously stacked in that direction. The one time Vinick didn't sound like a mere mouthpiece was in describing the vicious cycle of 'assistance' loans to African countries, and the taxes imposed to repay them strangling the natural growth of their economies. On the other hand, Alan Alda is a much more seasoned actor. I saw the first of the two stagings (for the Eastern and Central timezones), and Jimmy Smits stumbled over a couple of his lines. Maybe he did better in the West Coast staging.

Overall, it was a tie: Santos beat Vinick, but Alda beat Smits.

The big disappointment for me is inherent in West Wing being a long-running work of fiction in what some might call a 'parallel' timeline, but has actually become a diverging one. It hampers the writers' ability to relate their characters to real-world, realtime issues. The result is: there was no meat on the bones we were thrown last night.

[btw, I've been watching Commander in Chief, too. It's rapidly turning into a soap opera, and losing my interest while it does.]

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