As far as drama goes, the folksy President Josiah Bartlett is no match for Bill Clinton, the real-life incumbent of the White House. Bartlett is not going to get up to mischief with interns in the Oval Office. Instead, in the opening episode of The West Wing (Pearl, 9.30pm), his first dramatic moment is to ride a bicycle into a tree.
But don't let that put you off this new series. The point is, everything the president does, or happens to him, is of consequence to those who nurse him and his government, 24 hours a day.
Like The Sopranos that it has replaced, Aaron Sorkin's drama is about the characters behind a form of fallible government. We've had mafia rule in New Jersey. Now we have those who are meant to be steering the United States and the world beyond.
The West Wing is named after an area of the White House where high-powered senior staff are on call night and day to keep policy flowing and the press happy.
Sorkin, the writer, creator and executive producer, added the president as an afterthought, played with a mix of charm and ruthless statesmanship by Martin Sheen.
'We give the Oval Office and the presidency itself the greatest respect. There is no nonsense in this thing. There are no interns,' Sheen said in an interview on the Internet. His list of presidential heroes begins with Jimmy Carter, who he says inspires much of the humanity and heart of the character he plays. 'The current occupant is also a hero of mine, though I don't excuse some of his behaviour.' Sheen is thankful Bartlett is a Democrat. 'But sometimes he has to do some very difficult and violent things which I find difficult to involve myself in,' he said.