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The seventh and final season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from September 25, 2005, to May 14, 2006, and consis…
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Investigate this subjectThe seventh and final season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from September 25, 2005, to May 14, 2006, and consisted of 22 episodes. The series changed time slots from Wednesdays at 9:00 pm to Sundays at 8:00 pm, and the series struggled in its new time slot against ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and CBS's Cold Case.
The seventh and final season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from September 25, 2005, to May 14, 2006, and consisted of 22 episodes. The series changed time slots from Wednesdays at 9:00 pm to Sundays at 8:00 pm, and the series struggled in its new time slot against ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and CBS's Cold Case.
The seventh and final season principally follows Santos and Vinick on the campaign trail, while also addressing the aftermath of the space shuttle leak investigation. The Bartlet administration's last year in office is featured, but not prominently. Toby admits to leaking the story about a military spacecraft and President Bartlet is forced to fire him. Later, Toby refuses to name his recently deceased brother as the source of the classified information, despite being urged to by his ex-wife, his lawyer and a federal prosecutor, as he feels it would be wrong to dishonor his brother's memory. C.J.'s tenure as Chief of Staff becomes more stressful as she deals with the war between Russia and China over Kazakhstan. The presidential race tightens up when Vinick's lead is dampened by an accident at a nuclear plant he had championed. Leo suffers a heart attack and dies on the night of the election, reflecting the death of actor John Spencer. Santos wins the election, and the last few episodes show the final days of the Bartlet administration and Santos' transition. In the series finale, Santos is sworn in as president.
The seventh season had star billing for thirteen major roles, with the previously recurring Kristin Chenoweth joining twelve returning main cast members from the sixth season. Jimmy Smits is the only actor to appear in all 22 episodes. Sheen (12 episodes), Alda (12 episodes), Janney (17 episodes), Whitford (19 episodes), McCormack (12 episodes), Chenoweth (10 episodes), and Spencer (7 episodes) are credited for all 22 episodes, despite appearing in a diminished capacity. Spencer died of a heart attack in December 2005. Hill (5 episodes), Channing (4 episodes), Schiff (11 episodes), Malina (13 episodes), and Moloney (13 episodes) are only credited for the episodes in which they appear.
Janeane Garofalo initially joined the show for a three-episode arc as Louise Thornton, a media strategist hired by Matt Santos; however, she became a long-term recurring cast member. Other characters who returned in recurring roles were Ron Silver as Bruno Gianelli, campaign manager for Senator Vinick. Other guest stars returning to recurring roles include Teri Polo as Helen Santos, Patricia Richardson as Vinick's chief of staff Sheila Brooks, Lily Tomlin as presidential secretary Deborah Fiderer, Karis Campbell as Santos' secretary Ronna, Allison Smith as Leo's daughter, Mallory, Kathleen York as Andrea Wyatt, Melissa Fitzgerald as Carol, Renée Estevez as Nancy, and Peter James Smith and William Duffy as Ed and Larry and all White House staff. Oliver Platt returned in his recurring role as Oliver Babish, having previously appeared back in 2001. In March 2006, it was announced that a number of former cast members would be reprising their roles. These included Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn, Mary-Louise Parker as women's-rights advocate Amy Gardner, Anna Deavere Smith as National Security Advisor Nancy McNally, Emily Procter as Republican attorney Ainsley Hayes, Marlee Matlin as pollster Joey Lucas, Gary Cole as Vice President Bob Russell, Tim Matheson as former Vice President John Hoynes, Timothy Busfield as journalist Danny Concannon, and Annabeth Gish as Liz Bartlet Westin, eldest daughter of President Bartlet.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 95% with an average score of 8.5 out of 10 based on 20 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "Bidding a fond farewell to the Bartlet administration, The West Wing regains its idealistic thrill with a sweetly amicable presidential election in this strong final season."
PopMatters said the final season "recovered its sense of humor". David Hinckley of the Daily News praised the character of Bruno Gianelli as a "brilliant (...) shark of a campaign manager" and commended the series for never rushing the romantic character arc of Josh and Donna. As the fictional Election Day approached, Aleksandra Stankovic of The Harvard Crimson said that "a more complex, more mature West Wing, but one with no clear narrative resolution in sight" was evolving and that she welcomed the "restoration of narrative tension". Bill Brioux from the Toronto Sun agreed, stating that the seventh series was "enjoying a creative renaissance" and had been "enlivened by the election storyline". Mike Duffy of the Detroit Free Press said that The West Wing had "rediscovered the vivid political zing in its farewell season"; however, Jeffrey Robinson from DVD Talk commented that the shift away from daily issues and operations in the White House meant "season seven did not feel like The West Wing".
One episode, "The Debate", was aired as live television. Rob Owen of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote that "real-life issues were brought to a prime-time national audience," but the first half was "boring back-and-forth [with] not much revealed about the characters" and had it not been live it could have been "stronger, better produced and with a less dull first half." Janet Daley of The Daily Telegraph called the episode "riveting, and astonishingly brave" with "dazzling exposition of the central political argument of our time: whether free markets deliver better life chances, and a more virtuous society, than e
Source: The West Wing season 7 (CC BY-SA)
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