SORKIN-LESS 'WEST WING' TRYING TO KEEP THE FAITHFUL.Byline: David Kronke Television Critic ONLY GRAY DAVIS Davis, city (1990 pop. 46,209), Yolo co., central Calif.; settled in the 1850s, inc. 1917. It is an education center with light industry; machinery, processed foods, and computer equipment are produced. The extensive Univ. has had a worse political year than Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and his White House staff on ``The West Wing.'' Approval ratings plunged 20 percent last season, and series creator Aaron Sorkin Aaron Benjamin Sorkin (born June 9 1961) is an American screenwriter, producer and playwright. After graduating from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theatre in 1983, Sorkin spent much of the 1980s in New York as a struggling, largely unemployed was ousted. The series returns for its fifth season tonight - after receiving its fourth consecutive Emmy on Sunday for best dramatic series - with John Wells (``ER,'' ``Third Watch,'' ``Citizen Baines'') in charge. Tonight's episode picks up where last season concluded: Bartlet stepped down from the presidency in the wake of his daughter's kidnapping by terrorists, handing the position (temporarily) to John Goodman's gruff Republican Speaker of the House Walken (the vice president having resigned in a scandal). A synergistically syn·er·gis·tic adj. 1. Of or relating to synergy: a synergistic effect. 2. Producing or capable of producing synergy: synergistic drugs. 3. placed MSNBC MSNBC Microsoft/National Broadcasting Company graphic reads ``Constitutional Crisis,'' and no one's happy. Leading Democrats - and Josh (Bradley Whitford) - worry that Bartlet ceded his post too soon. The staff is dismayed to behold Walken taking initiatives on his own without their input. And as Bartlet's daughter's chances of survival grow exponentially bleaker, the administration braces for war. It's actually pretty entertaining to have Goodman stomping around, speaking intemperately in·tem·per·ate adj. Not temperate or moderate; excessive, especially in the use of alcoholic beverages. in·tem  per·ate·ly adv. and disrupting ``The West
Wing's'' usual politically correct politically correct Politically sensitive adjective Referring to language reflecting awareness and sensitivity to another person's physical, mental, cultural, or other disadvantages or deviations from a norm; a person is not mentally retarded, but feng shui Feng shuiTraditional Chinese method of arranging the human and social world in auspicious alignment with the forces of the cosmos, including qi and yin-yang. It was devised during the Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 220). in general. He may actually be a more interesting character than the powerfully earnest Bartlet, though it's not likely he'll be haunting the Oval Office for long. If there's a smidgen less bracing wit to the swirl of office banter, the dialogue remains intelligent. When ``West Wing'' entered the TV landscape, its quality gave it a longer way to fall than most series, and now that it has done its nose dive and stabilized, it's still a pretty good show. Now it's up to fans to care again. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke(at)dailynews.com THE WEST WING - Three stars What: Fifth-season premiere of the White House drama. Where: NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. (Channel 4). When: 9 tonight. In a nutshell: John Goodman reinvigorates the Oval Office, at least temporarily. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: John Goodman, right - pictured with the returning John Spencer as Chief of Staff Leo McGarry - joins the ``West Wing'' cast as gruff Republican Speaker of the House Walken. |
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