Our Purple Principle series on Hollywood Presidents would not be complete without a stroll back in time through that show of all Potus shows, The West Wing, featuring Martin Sheen as President Josiah “Jed” Bartlet. We speak with award-winning West Wing writer, Paul Redford, a former Shakespearean actor turned screenscribe, who recalls: “West Wing came along and...filled a need that nobody knew was there… a need to believe again.” Canadian writer and cultural critic, Luke Savage, thinks the show gave American Democrats a little too much of what they wanted to believe. One of his prominent critiques is entitled, “How Liberals Fell in Love with The West Wing,” describing it as “a series of glittering illusions to be abandoned.” In our TPP interview, Savage points to the smugness of the show, as well as naivete regarding possibilities for bipartisanship, as two of the more obvious weaknesses. Redford concurs that The West Wing was created at a less partisan political time. In fact, following that show, he went on to write for two TV series deploying fictional independent Presidents to reach a wider audience -- Madam Secretary starring Téa Leoni and Designated Survivor starring Kiefer Sutherland. And regarding Designated Survivor, Redford agrees with the show creator David Guggenheim (TPP Season 2, Episode 12) that this was an effort to make an anti-West Wing, with not a lofty Bartlet but an everyman figure as President. Our third guest, the Greece-based media scholar Dr. Betty Kaklamanidou, sees not so much distinction as similarity among The West Wing, Madam Secretary, Designated Survivor and Commander in Chief (starring Geena Davis as independent President Mackenzie Allen), whose creator, Rod Lurie, was featured in TPP Season 2, Episode 11, the kick-off to this series. “It doesn't matter whether they are Independents, Republicans or Democrats,” observes Dr. Kaklamanidou, co-editor of Politics and Politicians in Contemporary US Television. “They are idealists. They want to do the right thing, irrespective of political games.” Is the lofty idealism of West Wing a relic of the past or part of a cycle coming back into play? Dr. Kaklamanidou feels political idealism will always find new forms and variations. But looking back over two decades of polarizing tumult, Paul Redford is not sure a West Wing reboot could sustain a large audience today. Still, he argues that it’s not for political leanings but dramatic tension that West Wing has resonated so widely for so long. And he credits the show’s creator and principal writer, Aaron Sorkin, for this enduring appeal. “Honestly, I think it ultimately came from Aaron and his vision for the show, because his constant demand from the other writers was, I need an argument,“ Redford recalls of Sorkin. “[G]ive me a good argument, I can write a scene.“ Tune in for a good argument among three uniquely informed guests on the iconic TV series The West Wing, and other TV Potuses, in: Hollywood Presidents for a Partisan Nation (Part 4): Romance, Grandeur & Smugness on The West Wing. Please Support us on Patreon! Our Guests Paul Redford: LinkedIn, IMDb Luke Savage: Twitter, website Betty Kaklamanidou: Twitter, book, LinkedIn Additional Resources Season 2 Episode 11: Hollywood Presidents Part 1 Season 2 Episode 12: Hollywood Presidents Part 2 Season 2 Episode 12: Hollywood Presidents Part 3 How Liberals Fell in Love With The West Wing-Current Affairs Canada's cliffhanger election is heating up. Some fear US-style political polarization will follow-CNN Henry Brooks Adams 1838–1918 American historian Borgen (TV Series): 2010-2013 Succession-Emmys Mr. Smith Goes to Washington-IMDb Find us online! Twitter: @purpleprincipl Facebook: @thepurpleprinciplepodcast Instagram: @thepurpleprinciplepodcast Our website: https://bit.ly/3jh9QwK Sign up for our newsletter: https://bit.ly/2UfFSja