8.2 | / 10 |
Users | 3.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Inside the triumphs and travails of White House senior staff under the administration of President Josiah Bartlet.
Starring: Martin Sheen, John Spencer (I), Bradley Whitford, Dulé Hill, Allison JanneyDrama | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1, 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Twenty eight-disc set (28 BDs)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.5 | |
Video | 3.0 | |
Audio | 3.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Once upon a time, in a land that looked very much like our own but felt so very, very different, there was a dream; a dream of leadership,
integrity and progression toward a future where all were equal. Where all were governed with care, kindness and a stern dedication to right over
wrong. Not the days of the Declaration, flawed as they were. No, go back with me all the way to 1999, when we recognized our shortcomings but
believed that we, all of us, were clawing our way towards an era of betterment, equality and prosperity, both literal and figurative. Sigh. The
West
Wing isn't just quaint in 2024, twenty-five years after its pilot first introduced us to the Bartlet Administration. It seems positively out of touch.
Fantastical. It's much easier, in fact, to see our modern reality in the politics of House of the Dragon than The West Wing. And yet
there's still the lingering breath of hope. The idea that people will wake up, cast aside childishness and conspiracy nonsense and see the world for
what we've accidentally made it. The idea that we will manage to pull back from the brink and return to being the country we've always aspired to
be.
The idea that we can turn the ship around before it's too late.
Such grandiose ideas are what allow The West Wing to remain one of the
best network television shows of all time, even if recent years have rendered it strangely and depressingly dated. With moving performances, sharp
writing, a keen eye
for the things that make politics worth caring about, and only a few missteps (a showrunner-transition season is the worst you'll have to endure),
the
series stands tall and screams, "this is possible! You can still have this! It's not too late. There is a way back to normalcy and governance where
agreement and disagreement do not equate with ally and enemy but fellow citizens of all stripes." A dream, perhaps. But a dream The West
Wing, whatever your political bent, will leave the vast majority of you desperate to hold onto.
Brace for disappointment. While the new Blu-ray release of The West Wing offers some of the expected improvements in its move from DVD
to BD, the actual results are merely... fine. The 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation of the series is not the revelation its price point or Warner's
track record with TV releases might suggest, nor does the image represent much more than a modest, arguably marginal upgrade from its DVD
counterpart. Strikingly
similar to the high definition streaming version of the show (itself a hit-or-miss realignment of expectations), it proves to be a largely
shoulder-shrugging experience in and of itself, with each disc coming and going with
little in the way of visual fanfare.
Color, contrast and saturation are all decidedly decent, (though quite warm at times) with reasonably lifelike skintones
and fairly deep blacks. That said, the picture rarely pops. Grain sometimes reads as inconsistent digital noise than anything more filmic, and slight
blocking is occasionally present in
midrange and wide shots. Detail is rather average on the whole too, some of which can be traced back to the HD master being utilized (which
appears to my eye to be the same as the
master created in the early 2010s) and some of which is simply an unavoidable aspect of the series' original television photography. The showrunners
reportedly foresaw
the coming of the high definition era and shot each season accordingly. However, the cinematic nature of the show leans far more into an era-specific
softness and "dreamy haze" meant to evoke a desired style but, in retrospect, leaves many a scene struggling to make an impact in 1080p. Still,
edge definition is relatively clean and textures are moderately well-resolved all things considered, particularly in mid-to-late season close-ups.
Does that mean you'll ever be wowed? I've worked my way through each season (though time required some of the process to be reduced to
skimming) and can count on one hand the number of times I came across a sequence that left me thinking, "now that's an upgrade!" Instead, I
typically found myself forgetting to take note of the quality at all, as the results are so unremarkable that I just did my best to enjoy the episode that
was playing. Image quality does improve bit by bit with newer seasons, but only enough to warrant mentioning. In reality, it's an easily dismissed
improvement that may as well not be referenced as it only primes more hopes to dash. For a look at what I found to be examples of the
presentation's best and worst, look no further than screenshot #2 (above) for the former and screenshot #3 (below) for the latter.
As for the encode itself, I didn't spot much in the way of banding or significant macroblocking, though minor instances are present here and there. It
doesn't amount
to anything I'd call an issue with the set, but "perfection" isn't a word anyone will be using anytime soon. There are other problems as well.
Edited/altered/cut scenes or lines, missing "Previously On" segments, problems with the title sequence, and other oversights are not only irritating,
but should have been caught and corrected altogether had there been any sort of proper quality control measures when authoring the discs. It all
screams automation; toss the streams onto discs, tack on the DVDs' supplemental content, and roll it all out to market with the bare minimum of
spot checks or thorough testing. Restored or remastered this is not. Granted, there are no significant errors with the authoring to point to -- certainly
none that will push Warner to issue any disc recalls -- but it's one more disappointment in a set that might have been a candidate for a "Best of the
Year" title had it been given more TLC.
Likewise, The West Wing's DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 tracks leave a lot to be desired. Flat and uninspired, each season features a lossless mix that captures the feeling of watching the series on television more than a decade ago or, more objectively, an experience identical to watching the series stream on MAX. There is a notable uptick in clarity and proficiency from ye olde DVDs. Moreover, dialogue is clear and intelligible, prioritization is solid, the show's music soars and inspires with appropriate aplomb, and the soundscape is satisfying (once expectations have been adjusted). But quite frankly, it doesn't represent enough of an uptick in quality to warrant much praise.
I'm tired of attempting to use words other than "disappointing" to describe a set I was so, so looking forward to getting my hands on. But
here comes the sentiment again, this time in response to the 28-disc Complete Collection's lackluster packaging. Two bulky DVD-size clear
cases (each containing overlapping discs, two by two) are housed in a flimsy, glossy slipbox; one that isn't even all that attractive or eye-catching.
The first case is dedicated to Seasons 1-4 (16 discs, 4 per season) and the second to Seasons 5-7 (12 discs, 4 per season). A small booklet is tucked
in one of the cases that provides a bullet-point roadmap to the seasons, episodes and extras -- helpful if you're looking for something specific -- but
that's about all the frills you're gonna find.
It's a surprisingly generic set, with little in the way of pomp, circumstance or supplemental bells and whistles. (All previously released extras, as far
as I can tell, are present and accounted for, minus the 15-minute production tour with Thomas Schlamme and production designer Jon Hutman that
could be found within Season Two's clunky, thankfully exorcised "Access Granted" interactive feature). There aren't any exclusive or newly produced
special features either, which is, word of the day, disappointing.
Dated? Overly idealistic? Perhaps. Or maybe The West Wing is exactly what we need. Whatever the case, the Sorkin-born series is primed for a rewatch or introduction. I wish a better set was available by which to experience the show (be it for the first or thirteenth time), but so it goes. There is quite a bit of disappointment to be had with the Blu-ray release of The West Wing, but it nevertheless stands as the way to watch the series. You may want to wait for the pricepoint to come down a bit, sure. But don't wait for a better set or you might find yourself waiting for a long, long time. This may just be -- and likely is -- the best we're ever gonna get.
2012
1939
2005
2013
2016
2009
1946
2005
2011
2005
2008
House of Cards / To Play the King / The Final Cut
1990-1995
2007
1936
2016
2000
1990
Limited Edition to 3000
1976
2001
2016