No 'Wing,' no prayer

NBC Cancels 'West Wing' After 7 Seasons

The new president on "The West Wing" will be a real short-timer: NBC announced Sunday it was pulling the plug on the Emmy-winning political drama in May after seven seasons.

NBC, struggling to regain its footing after the worst season in its history, also outlined several midseason schedule changes — including the moves of popular dramas "Law & Order" and "Las Vegas."

"The West Wing" announcement wasn't much of a surprise. Although this season's story line with a presidential campaign involving a Democrat played by Jimmy Smits and Republican portrayed by Alan Alda has been strong critically, ratings have sunk with its move to Sunday nights.

West Wing was, when on its game, both the best writing on TV by a country mile and a reminder of the distance between what is and what could have been. I despise most network programming, but for several years West Wing was my only gotta see TV. Then the quality dropped off. It got better again recently, but for me the context had changed, and watching it was almost unbearably painful. There was a cruel, taunting quality to seeing the ghost of the precious thing that has been ripped from our grasp flicker across the screen.