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The West Wing - The Complete Fourth Season | 
| Directors: Thomas Schlamme, Chris Misiano
Actors: Martin Sheen, Bradley Whitford
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $59.98
Buy New: $44.99
You Save: $14.99 (25%)
New (49) Used (22) from $24.48
Rating:  64 reviews
Sales Rank: 1046
Format: Box Set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dvd-video, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Number Of Discs: 6
Running Time: 1000 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.5 x 1.3
MPN: WARD31623D
ISBN: 0790787504
UPC: 085393162320
EAN: 9780790787503
ASIN: B0007OY2N0
Theatrical Release Date: September 2002
Release Date: April 5, 2005
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Studio: Warner Home Video Release Date: 04/05/2005 Run time: 1000 minutes
Amazon.com
The winning streak for this veritable show continues through its fourth year. As with many long-running series, The West Wing faces the inevitable--a cast member chooses to leave. But this show handles Rob Lowe's exit with such well-executed grace, a could-be-harmful experience (or at least sudden) is turned into an asset. The season begins with three staff members marooned in the heartland (played mostly for laughs) and ends with a dramatic cliffhanger even more powerful than the initial season's shooting. In between are 20 excellent episodes packed with the series' trademark wit and pace, and an uncannily ability to create excellent moments for the entire cast. The election nears and West Wingers brace for the final onslaught including a make-or-break debate. There's a horrible genocide in Africa changing the course of the Bartlett administration and a covert assassination with effects lingering throughout the season. There's also the now-annual flashback episode, this time to the first days at the White House (with another comforting appearance by Kathryn Joosten as Mrs. Landingham). The series also has its first episode set mostly outside the West Wing when C.J. (Alison Janney) goes back to Ohio for a high school reunion and visits her father (Donald Moffat) who is starting to feel the effects of Alzheimer's. Lowe's Sam Seaborn picks a new fate at the spur of the moment and is eventually replaced by the very person whose verve he was swept up by--a harried, vastly intelligent campaign manager, Will Bailey (Josh Malina, best known for his work in creator Aaron Sorkin's previous show, Sports Night). He's an excellent fit for the West Wing, both fictionally and for the series. Part of the show's success belongs to the continuity, helped immensely by high-caliber guest stars continuing long runs on the show, including Mary-Louise Parker, John Amos, Marlee Matlin, Tim Matheson, Timothy Busfield, Lily Tomlin, Anna Deavere Smith, and Ron Silver (hey, that's a pretty good cast for their own show). One-time guest stars are also used to the fullest. Notice how a single-episoe appearance by Christian Slater (as a naval attache who strikes Donna's fancy) turns into a three-episode arc. Matthew Perry delivers an Emmy-nominated performance in a key role in the season's final arc. This fourth season was capped by the departure of creator-writer Sorkin and producer-director Thomas Schlamme, plus another Emmy win for Best Drama, its fourth straight. Many were surprised or even angered that the series kept up the winning streak. Perhaps the series was not as relevant to the times as four years earlier, but the proof is in the pudding--the series was still in rarefied air by the end of this season. Luckily, Sorkin and Schlamme were invited to air the commentaries for the DVDs, here on three episodes. It allows them to talk about their departure, a subject barely mentioned in the two making-of featurettes. One deals with speechwriters and other with Stockard Channing's role on the show. Note: the documentaries and deleted scenes are hard to find. Look for the pointer (>) at the bottom right of the special features menu of the sixth disc. --Doug Thomas
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| Customer Reviews: Read 59 more reviews...
 Another Great Season December 23, 2008
Scott (Cincinnati, OH USA)
The start of the season is a bit slow, but it's another season of great writing and acting. The season finale is awesome and I'll buy the 5th season right away!
More Great Character Additions! November 28, 2008
Chris Scott
Every season they seem to bring in more and more interesting characters! Will Bailey is an exciting new character, along with guest appearances by many characters you will recognize from other shows. Love interests, debates, and campaigns dominate this season, so if you like all of the sub=plots from prior seasons, you will more than likely love this season (although I thought it was not quite as good as the first three). Enjoy!
 The West Wing--The Complete Fourth Season November 17, 2008
M. Schmidt (Sarona, Wi)
Very pleased with this choice. Our purchase arrived quickly and in very good condition. We are enjoying the series.
amazing political drama series November 14, 2008
Heather (Illinois, USA)
This was one of the best TV series ever. If you like comedy, politics, and drama, you should check this out. I have the entire series on DVD and I cannot tell you how many times I've watched it. This series has massive replayability so it's worth the buy. It is also not "dumbed down" so they deal with a lot of hot-button topics and you can actually learn a little of how the government actually works and how cutthroat life is like in Washington, D.C.
The first few seasons and the last two seasons are the best. There are a good deal of special features and this season was amazing. It has a liberal bent so if you are conservative you may not like this show as much as someone who is more liberal. That said, I still high recommend this series and this first season to anyone and everyone.
Very proactive! November 9, 2008
E. Ryan (Washington DC)
My DVD did not arrive in the window of time that Amazon estimated so I emailed the sender who was very proactive in finding out why the DVD had not arrived. It turns out that the package simply got boomeranged back and fourth across the country a few times before it reached me (gotta love the US Postal Service). Of course, this was at no fault of the sender, who was very friendly and willing to help fix the problem!
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