Inside Bartlett's White House: Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to the West Wing

Rating:
Summary: Covers first three seasons and a portion of the fourth
Review: Topping wrote excellent episode guides to "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," a series which I like for the same reason I like "West Wing": I am willing to overlook unrealistic, inconsistent plots to enjoy the witty dialogue.

I zeroed in on Topping's treatment of "Dead Irish Writers," the worst episode of the series. Topping accurately points out that the whole Donna-is-suddenly-Canadian plotline is ridiculous on many levels, and how unbelievable it is that the "English" (British?) ambassador would make rude comments to the President about the First Lady's body. However, the low point of the book is Topping's asinine rant about how the Northern Ireland conflict is solely about national loyalties and has nothing to do with religion. Nothing to do with religion?!

Topping, a Brit, gives four to six pages for each episode, focussing on logical flaws, memorable lines, actors' prior roles, and oddball categories such as "Oh, Donna!" Overall, the author's insights compared unfavorably to those in his "Buffy" books, but it is still the best hard-copy episode guide on the market. The "revised and updated" 2004 edition covers the first three seasons plus the first seven episodes of the fourth season.