After seven seasons, 24 Emmys, two Presidents, one assassination attempt, an administration-threatening disease and the death of a beloved character, The West Wing has officially termed out.
NBC's long-running political drama ended Sunday night in a remarkably sober finale with few tears and even fewer plot twists.
The show ended at its logical conclusion: With President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and his gang of Beltway insiders making way in the White House as newly elected President Santos (Jimmy Smits) was sworn into office on Inauguration Day.
The retrospective-less finale was spared from spending its last hour wrapping up any errant plot points, as the run-up to the series ender had most of the characters' post-Bartlet-era lives resolved. Santos locked up the election several weeks ago; Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) and Donna Moss (Janel Maloney) finally consummated their long-hidden feelings, settling into a relationship and jobs under the new administration; C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney) decamped from the political grind to save the world under the sponsorship of a good-willed billionaire and made a commitment to permanently partner up with on-again journalist beau Danny Concannon (Timothy Busfield).
The only remaining question mark was that of Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff) who fell out of favor--and his White House job--after leaking classified military information and who was facing an almost certain prison sentence as a result.
But his fate, too, was hardly in the air.
Though The West Wing was often criticized during its run for showcasing an idealized, utopian presidency, it did lend itself nicely to the obligatory happy ending: Ziegler was granted a last-minute pardon, Bartlet's final task before leaving the White House.
The episode ended with nary a tearful goodbye, simply the orderly transition from old staff to new business. Which isn't to say there wasn't plenty of sentiment to go around.
The series' final scene tipped its hat to the late Leo McGarry (the late John Spencer), as Bartlet, being transported aboard Air Force One back to his New Hampshire home, opened a gift from McGarry's daughter, a napkin scrawled with the words "Bartlet for America," a memento, longtime watchers know, that pushed Bartlet into running for the presidency in the first place.
The final words uttered in the show were by Sheen and Stockard Channing, who played the first lady, Abbie Bartlet.
"What are you thinking about?" the missus asked. "Tomorrow," was the reply.
Of course, for all its restraint, the series finale did include one would-be network stunt.
Aaron Sorkin, the show's creator who wrote every episode between 1999 and 2003 before leaving in the wake of a contract dispute with Warner Bros., returned for the finale, though not in a writer capacity--that honor went to executive producer John Wells. Sorkin finally got his close-up, appearing in the audience during Santos' inauguration.
Sorkin can take heart in knowing he won't be off the airwaves for long.
NBC has already picked up the prolific writer's new series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, a dramedy taking a look at the backstage goings-on at a Saturday Night Live-type sketch comedy show.
The series reteams several West Wing alumni, as both Whitford and Busfield star in the show, alongside Emmy-nominated West Wing guest star Matthew Perry.
Studio 60 has already made it onto the network's fall lineup, carrying with it hope to revive the faltering Friends- and Will & Grace-less Thursday night at 9 p.m.