I have a confession to make. I watch a lot of television. I like college football. I like tennis. I like the reality singing shows. I like good movies. But I also like that streaming has brought us the limited series. It's like a movie divided into parts, except the creators have 10's of hours to develop characters and story lines instead of 1-2 hours with movies. And unlike the weekly series that we grew up on, you can watch the episodes back to back if you have time. A lot of what I watch is entertaining, but I don't feel like a lot of what I watch is great. One of my favorite series of all time is The West Wing - 7 seasons with over 140 episodes. I love that show because you don't always get what you expect, and the show has heart. It was probably my favorite TV show of all time until the one I just finished - The News Room - with a cast of actors that is very impressive - Jeff Daniels, Jane Fonda, Oliva Munn, Sam Waterston and B.K. Novak just to name a few. But the secret sauce is the creator/writer Aaron Sorkin, who just so happens to also be the creator/writer of The West Wing. Not only are the stories smart, fast-paced and interesting, they have something that most television and movies are lacking - decency. You won't find one sex scene or one murder in the three seasons, and the characters stand for something besides self-promotion. If you decide to watch for the first time. or watch again if you have already seen it, don't skip the "Inside The Episode" following each episode which gives Sorkin a chance to talk about what went into his thinking in putting each episode together. Let me know what you think if you take the time to watch.
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