Struggling with the departure of writer/creator Aaron Sorkin, Season Five of The West Wing stands as one of the show’s weaker years. A formulaic structure belies the new writers’ attempt to give every character equal weighting (which Sorkin never bothered to do) and the show’s trademark snappy exchanges, while present, have lost a little vim.
This remains superbly entertaining TV, but is best viewed as a transitional bridge between the chaotic genius of the early years and the more structured, narratively superior Season Six. Stand-out moments include the President’s dramatic walkout in ‘Shutdown’ and that explosion in ‘Gaza’.