Ahh, TV obsessions.

I don't know that I've ever fallen so hard for a TV show as I have for The West Wing. That's not to say for sure that it's become my number one favorite TV show of all time, but it is to say that it's so good that I want to start rewatching it even before I've finished watching it all for the first time.

We're on season 3 right now, and I'm loving each new episode we watch. At the same time, I'd love to go back and watch all of seasons 1 & 2. I don't know if that's ever happened to me before. I mean, I've gotten into a show in season 2 or 3 and then started to watch the earlier seasons to catch up while still watching what's currently airing, but of course The West Wing isn't currently airing at all. It's just SO good that eps I've already seen have nearly the same attraction as the ones yet to come!

Then again, what does it mean that with shows like The X-Files, I blew through the DVDs as fast as I could (until I got to seasons 8 & 9, of course), just longing for the next one and the next one? I don't know. Maybe they're different kinds of shows.

A new (to me) favorite TV show

So, this past month or so, my family has been watching Sports Night on Netflix. Tonight, we watched the series finale. As usual when I reach the end of an excellent show - especially one that was canceled far too soon - I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, it was excellent, and it brought me much joy, laughter, and too many quotable lines to count. It also introduced me to many fine actors and actresses that I'd either never watched in much of anything before, or only seen in brief guest-starring roles. On the other hand, it's over! And far too quickly. It really deserved more.

It's a stellar cast: Peter Krause, Josh Charles, Felicity Huffman, Robert Guillaume, Sabrina Lloyd, and Josh Malina (who has recently shot up to being rather high on my list of favorite actors), as well as some excellent guest stars. It's not just for people who like sports a lot, either. I'm not a huge sports person, though I'll watch a game with my dad if it's a team in which I'm at least faintly interested. But my mom pretty much hates sports, and she looked forward to each new episode of this show.

It has its minor issues of course: some plotlines & character moments that were frustrating or that I didn't really like, and some dialogue that bordered on frankly ridiculous in its snappy Sorkin-ness. (That's especially noticeable when you watch a lot of it in a row, interspersed with episodes of The West Wing.) But overall, I would highly recommend it to anyone who might be looking for a show with a fantastic cast, great heart, hilarious dialogue, and wonderful characters.

Here's a video that someone made to celebrate the show. It's goofy and cute, but don't let that fool you: the show itself is a comedy, yes, but with many moving dramatic moments as well.