I've been watching early seasons of the finely-crafted "West Wing on DVD --the household is halfway through "season 2 that was aired in 2001. They are currently watching season 5 in the US, which does not involve Aaron Sorkin. He left at the end of the fourth season.

I find the stories about the lives of staffers in the west wing of the White House fascinating. One of the strengths of the show is the fine writing. I find that I can draw a lot of information from this entertaining television show, in spite of the slickness, the clipped conversation and Aaron Sorkin's the good goody liberalism of the staff and the more-than-human, heroic Democrat President. I did not see Sorkin's 1995 film The American President, or his latter work.

Information refers to the behind-the-scenes political activity behind the news events and the way that it caputres politics as a world. It is both TV drama and a commentary on contemporary U.S. politics. It's portrayal of the checks and balance system in the US Federal government is good as shows the way the Congress and the White House must work together, especially when the Democrat President is not elected with a mandate and the Congress is made up of a majority of the Republican party who have declared war on the President.