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Day 19 - Best TV show cast.
Jul. 21st, 2014 05:47 amDay 19 - Best TV show cast.
This is so hard. All my favorite shows have good ensemble casts. I can watch a few episodes of something where I’m only really there for one character (Athelstan!), but for a show to really grab my heart I need to love almost everyone.
But I think the best ensemble cast remains the first ensemble show I watched: The West Wing, which had a core cast of tremendously strong actors (with the possible exception of Rob Lowe) playing well-designed characters who played off each other well. Even the smaller parts - Mrs. Landingham, Margaret - were memorable. (I also have a special place in my heart for the President’s daughter Ellie.)
And they could all deliver Sorkin’s dialogue in a way that made it sound like something real people would actually say, which is an important quality in a Sorkin production.
The writers also had a gift for realizing which characters clicked and which didn’t. They made room for repeat performances by Joey Lucas, Ainsley Hayes (I’m still sorry she and Sam never got a full-blown storyline together, because that would have been amazing), and Stanley Keyworth, while they quickly moved away from the idea that Sam Seabourn was playing the lead rather than a member of an ensemble.
This broke down a bit in later seasons - I know there are people who care about Will Bailey, but I can’t for the life of me fathom why - but the first few seasons are a really shining example of how an ensemble cast should be written. Not only are all the characters great, but the writing is remarkably free of favoritism: everyone gets moments to shine.
This is so hard. All my favorite shows have good ensemble casts. I can watch a few episodes of something where I’m only really there for one character (Athelstan!), but for a show to really grab my heart I need to love almost everyone.
But I think the best ensemble cast remains the first ensemble show I watched: The West Wing, which had a core cast of tremendously strong actors (with the possible exception of Rob Lowe) playing well-designed characters who played off each other well. Even the smaller parts - Mrs. Landingham, Margaret - were memorable. (I also have a special place in my heart for the President’s daughter Ellie.)
And they could all deliver Sorkin’s dialogue in a way that made it sound like something real people would actually say, which is an important quality in a Sorkin production.
The writers also had a gift for realizing which characters clicked and which didn’t. They made room for repeat performances by Joey Lucas, Ainsley Hayes (I’m still sorry she and Sam never got a full-blown storyline together, because that would have been amazing), and Stanley Keyworth, while they quickly moved away from the idea that Sam Seabourn was playing the lead rather than a member of an ensemble.
This broke down a bit in later seasons - I know there are people who care about Will Bailey, but I can’t for the life of me fathom why - but the first few seasons are a really shining example of how an ensemble cast should be written. Not only are all the characters great, but the writing is remarkably free of favoritism: everyone gets moments to shine.
