Opinion

Inside Bartlet's White House - An Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to The West Wing

Written by: Keith Topping
Published by Virgin Books

"I don't know about you, but a world in which the man with his finger on The Button is Josiah Bartlet seems immeasurably preferable to the one we've actually got." [From the Introduction.]

The West Wing is rightly regarded as one of the best drama series currently being made, but some of its strengths can also work against it. The pacing of most episiodes is pretty hectic, and it's possible to miss detail in the constant movement from one situation or exchange to the next. For that reason alone, it's a prime candidate for an episode guide to help viewers keep track of what they might have missed, but on another level, this particular guide has an additional value. The series is uniquely US-centric. It's based around the very heart of US government, and is entirely immersed in the structures, channels, and practices of a system very different from that in the UK. And this guide is unashamedly aimed at the UK-based viewer.

Virgin Books has been cornering the market in a style of non-glossy, non-crawling, unauthorised episode guide of which this is the latest, and Keith Topping, along with occasional co-authors, has largely defined the format. Like his books on Buffy The Vampire Slayer (Slayer, possibly the best offline guide to that series), Angel and others, this guide takes a detailed, critical look at the series, its influences, highlights, lowlights, and occasional gaffes, and does so from a British perspective. So his terms of reference are from this side of the Atlantic, and he knows when to stop the tape and explain what the hell the characters are talking about.

As a work of reference, therefore, this one has a great deal of value. As always, Topping's detailed research is apparent, and his structure (both of the episode guides themselves and the book as a whole) is clear and logical. There are some explanation categories which have been imported from his previous work, and some that are unique to this book. As a work of opinion, it's not afraid to point out the weaknesses of those episodes that fall short of the target, few though they are.

Also like the Buffy and Angel books that went before, Topping takes in time to highlight some of the better websites that study, analyse and even further the series drama (yes, there's a thriving West Wing slash fiction culture, much like there is for those other series). His research here seems equally solid. The nature of the series itself attracts a different type of internet fan, one not so given to hunting down spoilers and launching vitriolic attacks on individual characters or actors, but the quiet passion for the series is still impressive.

As with all his subjects, Topping makes clear that he's a fan of the series, and that his guide is something of a labour of love. The good thing about his approach though, is that he's not blind to the flaws of his subjects or the occasional associated controversies, nor tied by 'authorised' status to provide the party line (excuse the pun) on its creation and strengths. This helps in making this guide, like his others, both an entertaining read and a valuable point of reference.

And in the spirit of one of the flaws he points out, I'll join in by asking "Where the hell *did* Mandy go?"