In the history of dramatic television there have been many fine shows. Many I've become attached to. And many that left the canvas with a whimper, long after they'd lost my interest. That's what almost happened with The West Wing. A couple of years ago I'd just about lost interest. After writer Aaron Sorkin was replaced with John Wells I thought the show changed for the worse. Though I've enjoyed John Wells' programs in the past (most notably China Beach) I didn't enjoy what he did to the characters in season 4. Suddenly it seemed like my favorite characters just couldn't get along. And while I did think it was more realistic that highly ambitious people, like those who would staff the west wing, probably wouldn't all love each other, it still hurt to watch. Where was the clever banter? Where the underlying love they all had for one another. Gone. And so was I almost.
And then a funny thing happened. Perhaps in a last ditch bid to gain a new audience with shock and awe, perhaps merely because the salaries became too high. Whatever the reason the writers decided to create a whole new group of people to star the show and tell the story of a presidential campaign without Martin Sheen and company. And funnier still, it worked.
This last season (the last, damn it!) has been tremendous. Fascinating. Well-written. Suspenseful. It's all been there. With Jimmy Smits and Alan Alda as the democratic and republican nominees The West Wing became a whole new ball game. And now it's almost over and I don't want it to be.
In terms of dramatic television I can't remember the last series that was still so watchable this late in the game. I loved NYPD Blue but didn't miss it all that much when it was gone. Ditto the aforementioned China Beach. Both fine shows, but ones that had lost that certain something by the time the curtain came down. Sad though I was to see them go, I mourned what they were in their heyday, rather then the final product. And that's what's so different this time around. The West Wing is good television. Plain and simple. Please NBC, wake up at this late point and realize what a good show looks like, though I know it's been eons since you've seen one.
Any dramas you missed after they were gone?
When I was twelve I read my first dragon novel. The book was The White Dragon by Anne McCaffrey. In that novel Jaxom is a young landholder on the planet of Pern. His parents were killed before he reached his majority and though Jaxom is now almost an adult he still answers to far too many people and often feels powerless. When he accidentally impresses (bonds with) a young dragon, all hell breaks loose. Landholders don't become dragon riders! But impression on Pern is a one way thing. Once a dragon and his rider bond, there's no getting between them. Jaxom and his dragon Ruth go on to have many adventures and save the world. What fun. After reading that first one by McCaffrey I glommed them all and I read them cover to cover, back to back. Though I got much enjoyment from them, none quite lived up to Jaxom and Ruth. Until now.
The other night I read until 3 in the morning. The book? His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik. Ms. Novik has taken Ms. McCaffreys fantasy idea and placed it in the middle of the Napoleonic wars. What a fabulous read. Captain Will Laurence is an up-and-coming naval officer in the British Navy. When his ship captures a French one he's surprised and how hard his opponents fight him. The discovery of a dragon egg makes everything clear. Dragons are powerful allies in the war and the British dragon corps is desperately outnumbered by the French. Will attempts to get the egg to London before it hatches but it's too late. And much against his inclination Will is bonded with the dragon. Being a dragonrider means leaving his beloved navy and entering a strata of fighting men who are admired and scorned with equal measure by British society. When the dragon asks for a name, Will chooses Temeraire. And a partnership is formed.
I loved that this was a grown up version of the story. Will and Temeraire's relationship is equal parts fascinating and charming. Temeraire is the rarest of the rare in dragon kind and his intelligence more then equals Will's. As they bond and train together it's clear they will be a team for life. What made this such a great read was the placement of the dragons into this historical context. Ms. Novik has an incredible imagination but has also done the research. Dragons battling over the English channel? Really? Yes.
Equally wonderful is the fact that these novels were previously pubbed in England (take a look at the British cover) so they are going to be published in quick succession here in the states. One in April, May and June. Can't wait.