Product Description

It's never politics as usual inside this Oval Office. As Season Two's 22 episodes unfold across this 4-disc set, the President and his staff have been targeted for disruption by rival politicians, soon after being targeted by would-be assassins. Yet the determined colleagues continue to serve the U.S. and its President as the administration heads through midterm elections and into a crisis that leads to allegations of criminal conduct. Presented with must-see bonus materials, The West Wing's second season won the Best Drama Series Emmy and Golden Globe Awards.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2069 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-05-18
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dimensions: .80 pounds
• Running time: 954 minutes

From Amazon.com
The second season of The West Wing takes up literally where the first season left off and, after a few moments of patriotic sentimentalism, maintains the series' astonishingly high standards in depicting the everyday life of the White House staff of a Democratic administration. The two-part opener covers the immediate aftermath of the assassination attempt on President Bartlet (Martin Sheen), switching between the anxious wait on the injured and flashbacks to Bartlet's campaign for the Presidency. Other peaks in a series exceedingly short on lows include "Noel," the episode in which Alan Arkin's psychiatrist forces Josh Lynam to confront his post-traumatic stress disorder and the episodes in which President Bartlet, following a tragic car accident, rails angrily against God in Latin.

Other new aspects include the introduction of Ainsley Hayes, a young Republican counsel hired after she beats communications deputy Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) in a TV debate ("Sam's getting his ass kicked by a girl!" crow his colleagues), as well as the revelation that the President has been suffering from multiple sclerosis. Tensions grow between him and the First Lady (Stockard Channing) as she realizes, in the episode "Third State of the Union," that he intends to run for a second term in office. It becomes clear to Bartlet that he must go public with his MS, and his staff is forced to come to terms with this, as well as deal with the usual plethora of domestic and international incidents, which apparently preclude any of them from having any sort of private lives. These include crises in Haiti and Columbia, an obstinate filibuster, and a Surgeon General's excessively frank remarks about the drug situation. Thankfully, the splendid Lord John Marbury (Roger Rees) is on hand to make chief of staff Leo McGarry's life more of a misery in "The Drop-In."

These episodes, though occasionally marred by a sentimental soundtrack and an earnest and wishfully high regard for the Presidential office, are master classes in drama and dialogue, ranging from the wittily staccato to the magnificently grave, capturing authentically the hectic pace of political intrigue and the often vain efforts of decent, brilliant people to do the right thing. The West Wing is one of the all-time great TV dramas. --David Stubbs

On the DVD
ccSecond-season making-of documentary "Constructing Two Cathedrals"
"Access Granted"
Audio commentary on four key episodes
Deleted scenes
Gag reel
All-new digital transfers
English, French, & Spanish subtitles

DVD Menu

• Disc #1, Side A -- West Wing: The Complete Second Season
  • Play All
  • Commentaries
    • In the Shadow of Two Gunmen Pt. 1 Commentary by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, Bradley Whitford and Janel Moloney
    • In the Shadow of Two Gunmen Pt. 2 Commentary by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme, and Martin Sheen
  • Episodes
    • In the Shadow of Two Gunmen Part I
    • In the Shadow of Two Gunmen Part II
    • The Midterms
    • In This White House
  • Languages
    • Spoken Languages: English
    • Subtitles: English
    • Subtitles: Fran�ais
    • Subtitles: Espa�ol
    • Subtitles: Off
• Disc #1, Side B -- West Wing: The Complete Second Season
  • Play All
  • Episodes
    • And it's Surely to Their Credit
    • The Lame Duck Congress
    • The Portland Trip
    • Shibboleth
  • Languages
    • Spoken Languages: English
    • Subtitles: English
    • Subtitles: Fran�ais
    • Subtitles: Espa�ol
    • Subtitles: Off
• Disc #2, Side A -- West Wing: The Complete Second Season
  • Play All
  • Commentaries
    • No�l Commentary by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme and Bradley Whitford
  • Episodes
    • Galileo
    • No�l
    • The Leadership Breakfast
    • The Drop-In
  • Languages
    • Spoken Languages: English
    • Subtitles: English
    • Subtitles: Fran�ais
    • Subtitles: Espa�ol
    • Subtitles: Off
• Disc #2, Side B -- West Wing: The Complete Second Season
  • Play All
  • Episodes
    • Bartlet's Third State of the Union
    • The War at Home
    • Ellie
    • Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail
  • Languages
    • Spoken Languages: English
    • Subtitles: English
    • Subtitles: Fran�ais
    • Subtitles: Espa�ol
    • Subtitles: Off
• Disc #3, Side A -- West Wing: The Complete Second Season
  • Play All
  • Episodes
    • The Stackhouse Filibuster
    • 17 People
    • Bad Moon Rising
  • Languages
    • Spoken Languages: English
    • Subtitles: English
    • Subtitles: Fran�ais
    • Subtitles: Espa�ol
    • Subtitles: Off
• Disc #3, Side B -- West Wing: The Complete Second Season
  • Play All
  • Commentaries
    • 18th and Potomac Commentary by Aaron Sorkin, Robert Berlinger and Kathryn Joosten
  • Episodes
    • The Fall's Gonna Kill You
    • 18th and Potomac
    • Two Cathedrals
    • The Drop-In
  • Languages
    • Spoken Languages: English
    • Subtitles: English
    • Subtitles: Fran�ais
    • Subtitles: Espa�ol
    • Subtitles: Off
• Disc #4, Side A -- West Wing: The Complete Second Season
  • Featurette: Constructing Two Cathedrals
  • Access Granted
  • Gag Order
  • Deleted Scenes

Customer Reviews

The BEST show
Been a fan of The West Wing since the first season. I have been waiting for second one to come out. The West Wing has some of the best writing and acting on television - I would say the show is to drama television as Friends is to sitcoms. I absolutely recommend getting The West Wing - The Complete Second Season, as well as The West Wing - The Complete First Season. They're well-worth the money.

Great show, disappointing DVD
Sadly, this DVD does not do the 2nd season justice. The extras are almost non-existant. A few commentaries and a "virtual set tour" result in far less than half the extras the Season 1 DVD had. Still, at 40 bucks its a good deal, just not a complete steal like Season 1 (even though this season was vastly superior).

I would give it more stars if I could
See my review of the first season. My politics lean towards conservative more than liberal. And I don't really care for Martin Sheen that much. At least I didn't before watching this series.

Still, this is GREAT TV. In fact, it is a great show regardless of the venue.

The second season is even better than the first. If you want a show that will make you laugh, make you cry and make you feel good that you are an American try this one.

You just have to see it to appreciate what I am saying.

This is one of the very few movies that I would consider buying so that I could watch it again and again.