- DB
A Little to the Left | The West Wing, Season One
'A little to the left' also describes the politics of the characters in The West Wing.
MOVIES
- Not a single movie watched since Poor Things, or even re-watched!
- It's amazing how media preferences can change, with movies actually holding very little appeal for me right now, with games (old and new) being my preferred medium of choice.
GAMES
- A Little to the Left is another game I'd already seen a playthrough of before getting to try it out for myself when it came to PC Game Pass.
- To be fair, considering I hadn't seen that playthrough since the end of 2022, I'm not sure it really helped other than having some idea of what to expect in terms of puzzles.
- For the most part, it's fairly obvious what you have to do on each stage to progress, although I will admit to being glad that there are hints you can use when stuck.
- Much like Unpacking, the game's logic is what's important, regardless of how you'd tidy, store or display things in real life.
- It's simple enough though, and with no time limits comes no pressure to hurry things along, so it's enjoyable to do at your own pace.
- There's also enough of a variety to the puzzles that there should be something satisfying for most at some point in their progress.
- Saying that, there are a lot of 'mirror' stages where you have to sort things to create a symmetrical image close together and they did become a little tedious for me.
- Otherwise, A Little to the Left is an enjoyable, relaxing game that can also provide some catharsis when you nail a stage perfectly on your first attempt. [8/10]
TV
- So, about those Star Wars TV shows...
- When I saw the opportunity to watch the entirety of The West Wing again, I couldn't resist it and the show's first season is a hit right out of the gate.
- The first episode actually turns out to be the odd one of the bunch, as the show was originally intended to follow Rob Lowe's character, Sam Seaborn, until Martin Sheen agreed to a much larger role as President Bartlet.
- That aside, this is about as perfect a first season of a show as it's possible to imagine, giving Frasier a run for it's money when it comes to the cast nailing their characters from the very start.
- Some of the dialogue does feel a little off, with some of the characters being a little too quick-witted at times to feel like real people, but it still mostly works.
- The other biggest issue is how much American politics dominates news around the world these days, making this show feel even more of a fantasy than it did when originally aired.
- That aspect is something that I know isn't going to change over the course of the series, with political opponents depicted as far more respectable than they deserved even at the time, never mind now!
- I can't really judge the show for how it might be received by first-time viewers, but it's like a big comfy blanket for me even if I hadn't seen this show for probably over a decade before this re-watch began.
- It's nice getting to spend some time in a fictional version of our world where politicians actually give a shit about the people they represent, especially looking at UK/US politics especially.
- The West Wing is a great show to watch and this is truly enjoyable so I really enjoy it, but TV shows, the world and politics have changed so much since then that I'm not sure if new watchers will like it all. [9/10]
