Alistair Cooke's Personal History of the United States of America is the classic documentary. Cooke's style of explaining every aspect of every part of key moments in the history of the United States is unbeatable. This documentary doesn't concern itself with attracting the highest audiences and doesn't waste time and money on expensive reconstructions, computer generated sequences or overly dramatic music, instead Cooke's words paint the picture of America precisely and the viewer is engaged by his style and his love for his subject.

Each episode is self contained and needs no introduction but leaves the viewer wanting more - it is the way documentaries should always be: interesting, engaging and informative.

Unfortunately, they don't make them like this anymore...

I love this episode. It's the first one since the pilot that I have trully loved.

Up until now, all the characters seemed to have been moping about the White House like there's is the worst position in the World - everything the staff did was a chore, the first family were miserable and nobody seemed to like anybody else...thank goodness for Stephen Bocho who came in and recognised this.

For the first time you saw Mac and her daughter having a nice conversation and Mac and Rod actually getting along!!! It was terrific to see!

Lurie obviously assumes that people will like these main characters because they're main characters, he's wrong and Bocho has done a great job in reintroducing us to the more pleasent aspects of these people. Good for him!

Can't wait for the next episode!

I'm glad that The West Wing is ending this season - it's getting worse again.

This episode lacked substance; I also don't care about any of the stories, which is ridiculous because I'm really excited about the campaign story that was told pretty well throughout series 6.

Oliver Babish was just awful, he was a great character back in series 2 and 3 but here he was smug and patronising and not at all the same character.

The flash-forward was embarrassing: "Nice prose"? What the hell kind of thing for Bartlet to say is that?

This episode was also making something out of nothing. It was like they did some stuff in the previous episode that they figured they'd better carry on.

Stories and episodes should not be this forced, I found my mind wandering. It just wasn't The West Wing I know and love and adore.

NOTE: This review was written for TV Tome and was submited the day after this episode aired.

And so it has begun . . . again! Channel 4 have really pulled out all the stops this year to ensure that everybody forgets last year's disappointment and are pushing us all to their new "evil" way of thinking. I love it!

The contrast between this year and last year's launch night is very clear. Last year there was no crowd (except for the housemate's friends and family), Davina appeared as least excited as possible and all in all it was a bit boring except for the first night nominations which bonded the group and saw them all being happy and nice to each other for the next nine weeks. This year, the biggest crowd I've ever seen for any eviction or even launch night or live final was gathered outside the new house, Davina was fantastic and had a brand new stage and the evening did not go by without it's excitement. One housemate refused to go inside the house until she'd said goodbye to her girlfriend, another turned up wearing, um, not a lot and it was revealed that one of this year's ladies . . . isn't!

So, how's the new series looking? I've taken the liberty of going through all the new things bit by bit:

The House

There's been much speculation about this year's house. With rumours of a secret garden and/or a secret "romp room" fuelled by the concept of last year's "reward room". In previous series the house has been a paradise, this was almost certainly the fact last year. In contrast, designed to be claustrophobic and as uncomfortable to live in as possible, this year's house is horrible. The colours are far too bright, the edges far to sharp and the walls too close together. It is, in a word, fantastic! I feel that part of the problem with Big Brother last year was that the house was so easy to live in. The housemates had no worries except for passing their weekly task which, if they did, lead to a week of them lying around with plenty of food and more sitting around in their nice clean, happy, show house. Where's the fun in that for us? The best years so far have not had comfortable houses. BB1's house was made with as little money as possible because Channel 4 simply didn't have any more! It looked more like the interior of a prison than a house. BB2's house, while being very nice and all, very slowly fell apart during the 9 weeks. BB3 housemates had to survive the rich/poor divide but without that, that series could have gone the same way as last year. This year, it looks like the housemates will have to survive in a house that could potentially drive them crazy from having to live on top of each other. Mind you some of them aren't in the soundest of minds to begin with!

The Housemates

Last year's housemates bored us and this new batch was a very impressive recognition for their own failure on the part of BB producers. This year's housemates have been specially selected to evoke a reaction from the public and from each other. The producers have been meticulous about their choices for the new batch and have even given the order in which they enter the house a lot of thought! I'll go through them one by one, in the order they entered the house, and give my initial reactions and how well I think they'll do. So the housemates:

Marco
He's overly camp and overly loud. I think this was such a great choice of housemate to put in first! He screams everything that last year's housemates weren't. As the evening wore on his screaming did begin to drive me crazy and I think he'll drive everybody else crazy pretty soon too! So I can see Marco going pretty much all the way to the end, because of his entertainment value, but I don't think he'll win it.
Ahmed
This was an interesting choice of person to put in second since in his audition, Ahmed claimed that he was homophobic and would rather sleep on the floor than share his bed with a gay man. By this time, I could see there might be death on the first night if Ahmed and Marco were left alone together for too long! Ahmed is the token older member of the house, in the past, such characters rarely do well. He'll be lucky to last until week two or three. Looking at him last night though, I think he might be the next Sandy. I don't think his escape will be quite as dramatic but he could be a walker . . .
Jason
He turned up in a thong and a bow tie! That's it! He obviously likes to show off his body and craves attention. No matter when he leaves the house, Jason is almost certain to release a fitness video, mark my words! I don't think he'll go all the way, might get half way on his looks though.
Daniel
I like this guy. He says he's only attracted to straight men, which should make interesting viewing, especially if he started to come on to Ahmed! Oh, and he doesn't like very camp guise - he'll just love Marco! The problem with trying to predict how well this guy will do though is really hard. He won't be one of the first to go but it very much depends on this first week to determine whether or not he's going to make it half way or going to win the day . . . we'll see . . .
Stuart
He's arrogant and big headed, claiming he's the most intelligent housemate ever. He is almost certain to drive me crazy and yet he's one of the guise I want to see win! I don't understand. But this is the sort of housemate that you either love or hate and it'll be interesting to see which way Britain will swing.
Victor
He's overly confident and won't last very long but he'll be great viewing while he's in the house. The reason I don't think he'll last very long is because I don't really remember very much about him and that is not a very good thing if he's trying to win this competition.
Vanessa
She's gorgeous! By this time in the evening we don't really get to see very much of what's going on inside the house because there are just so many people and the talking is more of a hum. But Vanessa stood out: she's gorgeous and in Big Brother, that's enough to see her quite far into the competition. Don't think she'd win though, although if a strong personality came through she might stand a chance.
Emma
She's loud and might get on my nerves as much as Jade. But, like Jade, that probably won't stop people keeping her in the house for the sheer entertainment value! I can see her getting quite a few nominations though because unlike previous loud housemates she's not as innocent. If she's put up against a strong housemate in nominations she will leave, but that could be week 1 or week 9. She might even get into the final 3 or 4.
Kitten
What a pleasant girl! Upon arrival to the house she stormed up to the end of the crowd, stopped, looked around, stuck two fingers into the camera and turned around to leave! This was great TV, for the first time on a BB launch show there was an element of uncertainty as to whether this girl would actually go into the house. My eyes were glued to the screen and while her actions were just downright stupid she defiantly stood out. I was a little surprised that after all that they still let her in the house but what the hell. She gave two figures to the press and to Davina (I love this girl) and in she went. I'll put money on the fact that she won't be in long and that she'll get boos when she leaves the house. I wouldn't be certain that Davina will get an interview with her either!
Michelle
She loves sex and hates snow. She didn't really stand out for me, but I was sill dazed by Kittens entrance! That actually might hurt this girl's chances in the long run. Unless she attracts the attention of the public and the press in a positive way, Michelle's stay in the house won't be a long one.
Shell
I really like this girl. If there's going to be a nice relationship this year, she'll be one half of it, the other half might be Stuart . . . I don't know, just a feeling I'm getting - they're probably in quite similar situations and they'll be able to relate. I think she's the nice member of the mad house and she's the one I really really really really want to win! But I don't think she will. She could do quite well but, like Emma, will probably leave the house if she's put up for eviction with a popular contender. Who would be mean enough to nominate Shell though???
Nadia
SHE'S A TRANSSEXUAL! If she lies to her fellow housemates about this, she won't last long because people will assume that she's not going to tell them at all and in all fairness - that's the attraction. If she confides in one of her fellow housemates, people might keep her in just for a laugh. If she tells them all pretty soon, she won't last long because the element of will she/won't she will be lost. This analysis might seem quite cruel and in my opinion I think people should be judged on their character. Truth is, I wouldn't really have noticed her except for her confession to the nation that she is a transsexual and therefore that is how she will be remembered whether she likes it or not.

The Surprises

Firstly Davina told us that the prize money for each housemate will be £100,000 but this will be reduced for each housemate as tasks are failed. This is such a great idea because immediately the housemates have to understand that their actions will have consequences. This builds up the pressure on the housemates and like the small house will drive them up the very low walls . . .

At the end of the episode it was revealed that only 11 of the housemates will get their luggage and which 11 will be determined during the first live Saturday challenge. Great stuff and will have much greater implications than last year's first night surprise since one of the housemates may potentially have to survive 10 weeks with 1 set of clothes!

Finally . . . will this series be any good or not???

The rumours that I've been hearing about this series would've suggested no. Everything seemed so outrageous and would have turned fans away, including me. But what everybody seemed to forget was that the people going into this house are just that: people. They don't want to have crazy porn-style sex, they pretty much want the same as the audience and that is to make BB5 as entertaining as possible and after last year's failure there are no guarantees. I think they'll succeed in their task to entertain and I look forward to the rest of the summer! Whether the series will be a success or not remains to be seen.

I watched The West Wing for the first time a couple of years ago. I watched two episodes in a row - The Women of Qumar and Bartlet for America. There was no continuity between them, there were too many cast members, too much going on and they were talking far too quickly.
Despite this, it won Emmys year after year and I couldn't figure out why so I thought what the hell I'll buy the first season on DVD. Three weeks later I owned the first four seasons on DVD, had devoured them and was begging for more. Why? Because this show is like no other (except maybe Sports Night, which was also written by Aaron Sorkin and apparently shares much of the same material). Visually, the show is cinematic: with the best examples of this in episodes like the Premier episode, In Excelsis Deo, In the Shadow of Two Gunmen and Two Cathedrals - but apparent throughout. The acting is spot on: the first four series lack a poor performance and as for the writing, my good God the writing is incredible, literally incredible. In the episodes where these three factors are at their best, it leaves the audience mesmerised and thirsty for more. Fine examples of this can be seen in every season's premiere and finale episodes up until season four - my personal favourite being Two Cathedrals which has me close to tears every time because of the way it manages to hit every beat it should. There was a review over at TV Tome for the episode entitled: Television Doesn't Get Much Better than This. I'd have to disagree - it doesn't get any better than that!
So if I am so in love with The West Wing, why have I only given it 8.9/10? Well, partly because I can't get the point to settle on 9 but also because of the departure of Aaron Sorkin. The season five DVD was released not so long ago in the UK and it arrived by mail order, I watched it like every other season of the show: in about 3 days. But unlike any other season of the show, I was left disappointed - the show had lost something really special. With Aaron Sorkin's departure, the show's unrivalled humour departed, and with the departure of Thomas Schlamme (and from what I understand a big chunk of their budget) gone so was the cinematic quality of the earlier seasons. But, to be honest, I could have coped with that. What I couldn't cope with was the departure of the element that made The West Wing like no other network television series: its cleverness. In the previous seasons I watched the show and never saw the next line coming, or the next plot twist or anything of that variety at all. Season five seemed to adopt a strange policy of: intelligence for dummies. More episodes in season five were named in foreign languages and started to tackle issues in a "Beverly Hills, 90210" manner. Towards the middle of the season it all got better, I enjoyed episodes like Shutdown and Slow News Day, which managed to incorporate that fantasy element and some of the smart writing that had been missing in the rest of the series but still didn't manage to rediscover that unique quality that kept me enthralled throughout the first four seasons.
I haven't seen season six yet, but I hated the end to season five where all of our main characters seem to dislike at least one other member of the cast. I pray that season six doesn't follow on from that.
I loved The West Wing; it showed that people would watch good and intelligent TV. It was set apart from every other TV show on air because of that. Today, it seems now to be fitting in nicely with every other show on TV, and no longer shines with the uniqueness it once possessed.