A couple weeks ago I first heard the rumblings that Warner Bros had complaints with the budget overruns on The West Wing. And now the worst has happened. According to several news sources, it was announced today that Aaron Sorkin, the show’s creator and writer, is leaving the show, alongside producer/director Thomas Schlamme. The series will continue to be produced by John Wells, who also oversees ER and Third Watch.As a long time fan of the show, this can’t be anything but terrible news. Aaron Sorkin was such a pivotal force behind the show that his leaving will definitely hurt it. Of course, John Wells can continue to put the show together, and will do so ably; but it was Sorkin who was the series’s distinctive voice. It’s easy to spot those few episodes Sorkin did not write, with their forced humor and fake fast-talking and clichéd situations. Sorkin’s episodes had a spark to them — wry, intelligent, lively, with lines that practically danced and soared — that not only stood head and shoulders above those lesser attempts but also made other dramas pale as well.
And to think Warners let that get away.
I can imagine the show continuing, I can imagine me watching it, but I doubt it will be as good — and it certainly will not be the same. And that, my fellow Americans, is already a terrible lamentable shame.
