The West Wing Season One: Stuck in Neutral

[BizBuzz]

Summary of Season One:
 

In his first term as President, Josiah Bartlet is finding himself stalled. His staff is restless, unable to pass legislation on the hill. To make matters worse, his Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman has just insulted the Religious Right on a national television program. As Bartlet and his staff work together to pass legislation through back channels and deal making, Bartlet decides to finally make a stand and attempts to get Roberto Mendoza appointed to the Supreme Court.

 

While Bartlet is able to get Mendoza on the bench, he still finds himself stuck in neutral until a rousing speech from White House Chief of Staff, Leo McGarry, gets Bartlet to focus on the issues instead of re-election. A few short weeks later, as President Bartlett is leaving a successful speech, shots are fired on him and his staff, with the Secret Service wondering who had been shot.

 

Summary via West Wing Wiki

 

Episodes:

 

Rewatch due by 01.26.15

 

1 Pilot
2 Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc
3 A Proportional Response

 

Rewatch due by 02.02.15

 

4 Five Votes Down
5 The Crackpots and These Women
6 Mr. Willis of Ohio

 

Rewatch due by 02.09.15

 

7 The State Dinner
8 Enemies
9 The Short List

 

Rewatch due by 02.16.15

 

10 In Excelsis Deo
11 Lord John Marbury
12 He Shall, from Time to Time...

 

Rewatch due by 02.23.15

 

13 Take Out the Trash Day
14 Take This Sabbath Day
15 Celestial Navigation

 

Rewatch due by 03.02.15

 

16 20 Hours in L.A.
17 The White House Pro-Am
18 Six Meetings Before Lunch

 

Rewatch due by 03.09.15

 

19 Let Bartlet Be Bartlet
20 Mandatory Minimums
21 Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics

 

 

22 What Kind of Day Has It Been?

[eyebleach]

oh yay!  We'll finish up Season 1 just by my birthday :)

[BizBuzz]

So, was I the only one that watched these three episodes?  ::giggle::

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

So, was I the only one that watched these three episodes?  ::giggle::

 

Today was going to be WW day but I got called to go into work. Healthcare :(

[AriAu]

Not sure how to begin this...I have seen them sooooo many times, and yes, I did rewatch over the last few weeks.

[BizBuzz]

Well ... let's start it this way ... let's talk about the Pilot ... what are your fave moments from the Pilot?

 

I felt the Pilot was a great introduction to all the characters.  It's kind of amazing that we got a snippet into all the main characters personality, and it pretty much carried on for the whole series run. 

 

It's hard for me to pick on just one scene I liked the best, but if I had to pick one, I loved how the buildup to the meeting with Mary Marsh was all about how Josh was supposed to apologize and was told to take it easy, and yet Toby was the one that got upset with the "New York sense of humor" ... when Josh says later "Okay, can I just say that, as it turned out, I was the calmest person in the room?" ... I about busted a gut.

 

As a point of reference, the Pilot was NOT the first episode I ever saw of the West Wing ... that honor goes to "Shibboleth" ... and so when I did finally get to see it, I already knew the characters pretty well ... it was great to be introduced to them in this way tho.

 

So ... anyone else?  What was your thoughts of the Pilot?

[AriAu]

My first impression the 2nd, 3rd and 500th time I saw it was how much lighter the tone was than the later episodes. More slapstick (CJ and Sam) Even tho the Bartlet administration was "stuck in the mud", they still seemed to all be having fun. Sorkin definitely turned down the funny as the years went on, especially when compared to this episode.

Also, POTUS' accent was much more noticeable than in later episodes-way more New England. AND Mr. Lewis could not have been his body man, but we never see him again.

But my lasting memory is, of course, the greatest entrance of any character E V E R.

One request....can we please not have the never ending debate on whether Toby etal were right about the order of the "damn commandments"!

http://westwing.bewarne.com/discontinuity/tencommandments.html

 

As a point of reference, the Pilot was NOT the first episode I ever saw of the West Wing ... that honor goes to "Shibboleth" ... and so when I did finally get to see it, I already knew the characters pretty well ... it was great to be introduced to them in this way tho.

 

Shibboleth was your 1st? Did you immediately go watch every episode as quickly as possible? Tough to start with such greatness. By the way, the Pilot is a great episode, but it never seems to make my top 10.

Edited January 26, 2015 by AriAu

[BizBuzz]

Shibboleth was your 1st? Did you immediately go watch every episode as quickly as possible? Tough to start with such greatness. By the way, the Pilot is a great episode, but it never seems to make my top 10.

 

Actually no ... back then we didn't have a DVR and I had no way to watch past episodes until they came back on cable.  So I continued to watch from that episode and then I caught what I could when they showed up on Bravo.  So it was quite a while before I could watch from the beginning.  It was actually in 2004 when I saw Shibboleth ... and the only way I saw it was because I had friends that were over that was channel surfing and they saw that it was on, asked me if I watch the show, and I said no, and they said, watch this episode, you will be hooked.  And I was.

 

Another one of those facts not worth knowing ... The West Wing is how I found TWOP in 2004.  I had to FORCE myself NOT to read the recaps from earlier episodes, as much as I wanted to.  I wanted to experience the show as if I never heard about it when I finally could watch from the beginning.

 

Anyway ... a little history.

[AriAu]

I saw the Pilot live and then missed two episodes, which I caught in the repeats later that year and then I don't think I ever missed an episode, although I did A L W A Y S set the vcr machine just in case. No, I wasn't obsessed!

Then, for several years, 2 repeats were on every Saturday night at like 11pm. Mrs. Ari Au got hooked that way.

And TWW was how I found TWOP, and it cost me a lot of biilable hours on Thursdays!

[BizBuzz]

And TWW was how I found TWOP, and it cost me a lot of biilable hours on Thursdays!

 

When I made the announcement in the mod area about TWW rewatch, there were more than a few mods that said that their reason for getting to be on TWOP was TWW ... it brought a lot of us ... and now we are all here, yippee!!!

[DebbieW]

My favorite part of the pilot is when Leo meets up with Bonnie when he enters the White House and then bumps into her again at the end of his circuit and picks up the conversation as if they had been together the whole time. 

 

I came to TWoP because of American Idol and found the WW thread way too late to participate.  WW had always been one of those shows I had intended to watch but was never available when it was on (pre DVR).  But let's forget that I'm late to the party and embrace the fact that I showed up at all. :-)

[PeterPirate]

Pilot was a good episode, but not among my favorites.  It comes across as an extension of The American President, which it was.  The dialogue was snappy, the music was light.  But yeah, "Stuck in Neutral" is pretty accurate regarding how the administration was portrayed from the outset.  

 

I still don't get how Sam could have hit on Leo's wife. Or how a religious leader who was prominent enough to make it to a meeting with WH senior staff could make a first-half/second-half mistake about the Ten Commandments. It's understandable to be off by one because of the different versions of the TC, but not three or four. Even in the Pilot Janel Moloney stands out as Donna Moss.  

 

The first season has some excellent episodes, my favorite being Take This Sabbath Day. The show really found its legs in the second season. For my money the arc from 17 People to Two Cathedrals is about the most fantastic stuff ever written for network TV.  I myself become a fan of the show when Amy dropped Josh's cell phone into the stew in the third season.  

[DebbieW]

I also found it implausible that Sam wouldn't have known who Leo's daughter was after having been on the campaign trail and in the White House all that time. 

[Bastet]

I was both a Sports Night fan and a political news junkie, so I was all over WW from the start.  I'm quite lenient with pilots, and this one sailed over the low bar I set; definitely one of the best I've ever seen.  The opening is ultimately one of those "Meet Character A, he is a [2-3 prominent characteristics] type," pieces of exposition, made all the more obvious by how many characters we were introduced to in that fashion, but it's a good deal more entertaining than most and even a bit more polished (Sorkin can thank Schlamme for the latter).  And Bartlet's introduction is the greatest character introduction in the history of television, which makes up for a lot.  (My second-favorite character introduction of the series comes not in the pilot, but when we meet Nancy McNally.)

 

Sam thinking Leo had a daughter in elementary school is a lot to ask me to swallow, but the scene where Sam implodes in front of Mallory is so damn funny I happily agree to go with it.  "Well, this is bad on so many levels."

[kassygreene]

Sam's from California, so a man Leo's age having a daughter in elementary school isn't that much of a stretch.  My brother-in-law was forty-five when his first kid was born, and far from the oldest dad in the neighborhood.  Hitting on Leo's wife was probably more of his flirting with all females - he was pretty enough for that to be his default social behavior, and it sort of explains how he could accidentally sleep with a prostitute.

[Bastet]

I don't mean for Leo and Jenny's age, I mean for the fact Sam and Leo have lived through a presidential campaign, inauguration, and a year in office together by the point Sam makes his mistake; it strains credulity that he'd have never met Mallory, let alone never heard about her, or that he could think there'd be a little kid in the picture whom he'd never heard of. 

[AriAu]

 I don't mean for Leo and Jenny's age, I mean for the fact Sam and Leo have lived through a presidential campaign, inauguration, and a year in office together by the point Sam makes his mistake; it strains credulity that he'd have never met Mallory, let alone never heard about her, or that he could think there'd be a little kid in the picture whom he'd never heard of.

 

Could not agree more- it was like a Romcom "meet cute" that then played out over the next several years (hey there schmutzie pants). After seeing the campaign flashbacks in ITSOTG, it is even more unlikely that there paths never crossed. At the very least, Sam could have asked his best buddy Josh, who ahs known Leo forever since Leo was a close friend of Josh's father (as we are told in ITSOTG). By the way, are we supposed to assume that we don't know stuff from future episodes here?  Does it matter if it is really from the past....somehow this feels like something from "Back to the Future".

[eyebleach]

Last night I began my boyfriend's introduction to TWW.  He's as big of a left leaning political dork as I am so how he has missed this is beyond me but we began last night and I found myself pausing repeatedly to explain the relevance of different things in the pilot.  The poor guy is likely to have to go back and watch it again on his own :)
 

[BizBuzz]

LOVE the discussion!

 

Ok ... so let's move on to Episode Two ... Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

 

The worst ... the intro to Mandy.  Ugh. 

 

The best ...

 

Sam: About a week ago I accidentally slept with a prostitute.

Toby: [pause] Really?

Sam: Yes.

Toby: You accidentally slept with a prostitute?

Sam: A call girl.

Toby: Accidentally?

Sam: Yes.

Toby: I don't understand. Did you trip over something?

 

By the way, are we supposed to assume that we don't know stuff from future episodes here?  Does it matter if it is really from the past....somehow this feels like something from "Back to the Future".

 

The general consensus with rewatches is to keep it either to the episode or the season you are in.  So any thing that has happened in Season 1 is AOK, but try to spoiler tag future information so that if there actually a person that hasn't seen it yet (and eyebleach just proved there is!) wont be spoiled.  I know ... sucky rule, but that is the guideline! 

[aenea]

I started watching/re-watching over the Christmas holidays- I'd watched the first season when it first aired, and I think most of the second, and then just stopped watching for some reason.  I like it both more and less than I did the first time around.

 

The pilot wasn't as great as I'd remembered it, with the exception of Barlet's entrance, and a reminder of just how long I've been an Alison Sweeney fan.  

 

Post Hoc was a much more satisfying episode for me, and more how I remembered the show.  Most of the cast seemed to be really finding their rhythm together, and Tim Matheson always knocks it out of the park as Hoynes.  I think that the Bartlet/Hoynes relationship is one of the most interesting in the show, and it's great to see it.  I'm not really a fan of the Sam/Laurie storyline- he certainly does come off as self-righteous, obnoxious, and patronizing to her. 

 

Mandy was just a mistake in the show, I think.  No offense to Moira Kelly, but Mandy's so self-involved, immature, and just plain miserable that I don't find her fun to watch at all.  It takes a special kind of person to whine to her assistant about how poor she is, and ignore it when the assistant brings up the idea that she actually needs her job to pay rent.  The interactions between her and Josh made me dislike him for quite a while- not only because there never seemed to be any attraction between the two of them, but because they act like they're in middle school. 

 

And a small thing that I've really been enjoying are the clothes.  I love the trench coats, scarves, suits that fit or are even a bit big (I hate the trend towards men wearing suits that look 2 sizes too small), the 'office wear'.  That's probably just because I'm old :-) 

[eyebleach]

If Mandy had never happened, I would have been ok with it.  Ugh.

 

And I LOVE the Toby/Sam exchange.  I have totally said to someone when they had some regret about sex - did you trip over something?  

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

I kid you not, my ears rung for days after I first saw Mandy's intro. Moira Kelly literally shrieked every single line in her scenes. Mandy was so belligerent and unlikable, I am amazed no one on production opposed to the direction they were taking her in. 

 

Not  only was she was shrill, she was in the wrong during those times, thus had no room to give attitude. The reckless driving, screaming on top of her lungs on the phone to that stupid parking. Someone must have hated the character from the get go because she was set up to fail. There is no way to write a half way acceptable character.

 

I'm not really a fan of the Sam/Laurie storyline- he certainly does come off as self-righteous, obnoxious, and patronizing to her. 

 

He was worse with CJ when she confronted him. I don't remember disliking Sam the first time I watched but I lean more and more towards dislike on every rewatch. They were trying too hard with him in the beginning.

 

 

And a small thing that I've really been enjoying are the clothes.

 

 

I am the opposite. The wardrobe for season one was drab more often than not. I hated Donna's clunky shoes she wore once and I could never understand why CJ was said to be elegant, her clothes were dowdy at best. 

[DebbieW]

I never liked Mandy, either (I like Moira, though.  She was great in One Tree Hill *don't judge me*). 

 

Whenever I'm having a good morning (highly unusual for me) I tell people to bring me the finest muffins in the land.

[BW Manilowe]

I started watching/re-watching over the Christmas holidays- I'd watched the first season when it first aired, and I think most of the second, and then just stopped watching for some reason. I like it both more and less than I did the first time around.

The pilot wasn't as great as I'd remembered it, with the exception of Barlet's entrance, and a reminder of just how long I've been an Alison Sweeney fan.

Post Hoc was a much more satisfying episode for me, and more how I remembered the show. Most of the cast seemed to be really finding their rhythm together, and Tim Matheson always knocks it out of the park as Hoynes. I think that the Bartlet/Hoynes relationship is one of the most interesting in the show, and it's great to see it. I'm not really a fan of the Sam/Laurie storyline- he certainly does come off as self-righteous, obnoxious, and patronizing to her.

Mandy was just a mistake in the show, I think. No offense to Moira Kelly, but Mandy's so self-involved, immature, and just plain miserable that I don't find her fun to watch at all. It takes a special kind of person to whine to her assistant about how poor she is, and ignore it when the assistant brings up the idea that she actually needs her job to pay rent. The interactions between her and Josh made me dislike him for quite a while- not only because there never seemed to be any attraction between the two of them, but because they act like they're in middle school.

And a small thing that I've really been enjoying are the clothes. I love the trench coats, scarves, suits that fit or are even a bit big (I hate the trend towards men wearing suits that look 2 sizes too small), the 'office wear'. That's probably just because I'm old :-)

Respectfully... When you said "Alison Sweeney", did you actually mean "Allison Janney"?

[eyebleach]

He was worse with CJ when she confronted him. I don't remember disliking Sam the first time I watched but I lean more and more towards dislike on every rewatch. They were trying too hard with him in the beginning.

 

 

 

 

Sam was supposed to be the center of the show which always shocks me because while Rob Lowe was the big name (other than Martin Sheen) - I just never saw him being the center.

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

Don't mind me 

 

[PeterPirate]

I once heard CNN anchor Victor Blackwell use "post hoc ergo propter hoc" when interviewing someone. He's a pretty smart guy.   

 

The thing about Mandy--aside from the shrill voice and overly short hairstyle--is that she wasn't all that interested in doing the right thing, rather she just wanted to do the politically expedient thing. That may be the way most politicians of all stripes operate.  However, on more than one place in the commentaries, Mr Sorkin points out that in order for the show to be successful the characters had to demonstrate more interest in doing the right thing than doing what was in their own best interests. Mandy didn't roll that way, so her character was doomed from the outset.  

 

Everything with Hoynes is great.  

Much better than Bingo Bob.  His departure from the show was a loss, but in some sense it made his failed comeback in season 6 all the more important.  

[AriAu]

The thing about Mandy--aside from the shrill voice and overly short hairstyle--is that she wasn't all that interested in doing the right thing, rather she just wanted to do the politically expedient thing. That may be the way most politicians of all stripes operate.  However, on more than one place in the commentaries, Mr Sorkin points out that in order for the show to be successful the characters had to demonstrate more interest in doing the right thing than doing what was in their own best interests. Mandy didn't roll that way, so her character was doomed from the outset.

 

Unlike the others, she really did not evolve from being the political animal/win at all costs and worry about consequences later character we saw from the outset. Josh is much less "bring me the finest bagels in all the land" and "victory is mine" after this episode, which is in keeping with AS's comments.

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

"Wow, are YOU stupid!

 

Watching a Proportional Response.

 

The  exchange between Josh and Donna before went to the dentist in his office was too funny. Josh, our Fulbright student missed the Dean's list two semester's in a role. Thanks for that little info CJ. 

 

Random thought. Martin's voice is not my favorite thing about him. Not when he is on a rant anyway. 

 

Welcome to a life changing experience, Charlie. Stop selling yourself short, honey. I hated Sam coming in to challenge Josh on asking Charlie some personal questions. Hey Sam, it is protocol. Seriously, he was an ass in this episode. 

 

If I wasn't in love with Josh already, the way he handled the various congressmen he met with in Five Votes Down, would have sealed my fate. It is nice to know that he put Congressmen in their seats way back when. Josh' accomplishments pre Bartlet is very impressive. He is the most political experienced senior staff.

It sucks that with that background and after all that he did for the administration, Jed promoted  CJ over him. 

[amaranta]

I knew I was all in with this show when Leo said, "the President, while riding his bicycle, came to a sudden arboreal stop."  Then came, as others have already stated, the greatest introduction of a TV character ever, and I was in love.  Well, I already loved Sorkin for Sports Night, but this show really sealed the deal.

 

And I stayed in love all seven seasons. Hey, every relationship has its ups and downs. ;-)

 

I'm always amazed when watching the first two episodes how complete and well-drawn the characters were, that early in the run.

 

I might be a bit sporadic on the rewatch, but I'm going to do my best to keep up. Since real life is a bit crazy right now, it makes me so happy to come in here and see new posts!

Edited February 1, 2015 by amaranta

[aenea]

Respectfully... When you said "Alison Sweeney", did you actually mean "Allison Janney"?

I did.   I have no idea where the Sweeney thing came from :-) 

[AriAu]

Made AriAu Jr. watch TWW with me recently and one of his profs asked if anyone knew what Post Hoc Ergo Proctor Hoc meant-I am so proud!

[BW Manilowe]

I did. I have no idea where the Sweeney thing came from :-)

Maybe you had the TV on NBC when you posted & they aired a The Biggest Loser commercial? Alison Sweeney hosts that (& used to be Sami Brady on Days of Our Lives). Just a possibility.

[marriedaniac]

A bit late to the rewatch party, sorry!

 

Re: the Pilot - Is there a greater entrance than President Barlet's first line and introduction? Gawd I <3 him.

 

 

 

Toby: I don't understand. Did you trip over something?

 

 

I LOVE this!

 

Charlie looks so young in his first episode. (Like, more than usual. He didn't change too much during the show, but he's a baby here.)

[whyjen8]

Been a long time since I watched the early episodes of season 1.  I blame Mandy!  She got at least tolerable mid-season but these earliest episodes are painful to watch.  It takes me out of every scene she is in with her over the top, erratic acting the likes I have not scene since Jessie Spano went on her caffeine bender.  

 

Does anyone really believe that Dr. Bartlett had and used a ouija board?  Some characters were not fleshed out in season 1, Abby wasn't even introduced at this point, I doubt they even knew she was to be a doctor.  Not sure of this since I'm no Abigal Bartlett but I doubt someone with MS could play basketball like the president did early on in the season.

Edited February 8, 2015 by whyjen8

[marriedaniac]

Speaking of Dr. Bartlet, we're up to her first episode. Her cleavage gets introduced, too.

 

 

Edited February 10, 2015 by marriedaniac

[Moose135]

Speaking of Dr. Bartlet, we're up to her first episode. Her cleavage gets introduced, too.

 

Thank you for pointing that out, Lord Marbury!

[muffinsandbagels]

Oh yay!  A West Wing rewatch!  I am totally down with that, it is my favorite TV show EVER, and never get tired of talking about its brilliance.  I feel like I am amongst my people!  :)

 

I love the pilot, mainly because of the brilliantly witty lines from Leo McGarry.   I love everything he says as he walks and talks his way through the West Wing starting with:

 

MIKE
It's a nice morning, Mr. McGarry.

LEO
We'll take care of that in a hurry. Won't we, Mike?

MIKE
Yes, sir.

 

Then his first scene with Donna:

 

DONNA
I heard it's broken.

LEO
You heard wrong.

DONNA
I heard--

LEO
It's a mild sprain. He'll be back later today.

DONNA
And what was the cause of the accident?

LEO
What are you, from State Farm? Go. Do a job, would ya?

DONNA
I'm just...

LEO
He was swerving to avoid a tree.

DONNA
And what happened?

LEO
He was unsuccessful.

 

Then this little bit with Josh:

 

JOSH
We need Al Caldwell. We want Al Caldwell. We do not need John Van Dyke. And
we do
not need Mary Marsh.

LEO
And I think there shouldn't be instant replay in football, but that' s not
my call,
now, is it?

JOSH
[stops walking, while Leo continues on] It was stupid.

LEO
Damn straight.

JOSH
I was right, though.

LEO
[talking to himself] Like I don't know that.

 

This with Mrs. Landingham:

 

MRS. LANDINGHAM
Oh, Mr. McGarry. Have they done an X-Ray?

LEO
Yup.

MRS. LANDINGHAM
Is anything broken?

LEO
A $4,000 Lynex Titanium touring bike that I swore I'd never lend anyone.

MRS. LANDINGHAM
[following Leo into the OVAL OFFICE] I don't understand. How did he...?

LEO
He's a klutz, Mrs. Landingham. Your President's a geek.

MRS. LANDINGHAM
Mr. McGarry, you know how I feel about that kind of talk in the Oval Office.

LEO
I apologize.

MRS. LANDINGHAM
Just in this room, Mr. McGarry. That's all I'm asking.

 

This with CJ:

 

C.J.
Is there anything I can say, other than the President rode his bicycle into
a tree?

LEO
He hopes never to do it again.

C.J.
Seriously. They're laughing pretty hard.

LEO
He rode his bicycle into a tree, C.J.. What do you want me to -- 'The
President,
while riding a bicycle on his vacation in Jackson Hole, came to a sudden
arboreal
stop' -- What do you want from me?

C.J.
A little love, Leo.

 

Squeee!  I adore Leo, and if I already didn't love The Pilot, I would love it even more for the best entrance of a new character on a TV show ever! 

 

PRESIDENT JED BARTLET
"I am the Lord your God. Thou shalt worship no other God before me."
Boy, those were the days, huh?

 

:)

 

Edit:  Is there anyway of accessing the content of the old TWOP West Wing forums or has that ship already sailed?  I would love to read them again.

Edited February 10, 2015 by muffinsandbagels

[Bastet]

You can use the Wayback Machine (with spotty results) for the forums.  The recaps are still available at TWoP, as they were archived.

Edited February 10, 2015 by Bastet

[BizBuzz]

If you go to any of the recaps, you can't get past the first page ... until you use this handy nifty little feature.  You put the first page of the recap in the input area, and then hit "Make 1 Page" and it all shows up as one page ... awesome possum!

[fastiller]

Awesome possum, indeed, BizBuzz!  Nice to revisit TWOP, 'specially the show that brought me there.

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

You can use the Wayback Machine (with spotty results) for the forums.  The recaps are still available at TWoP, as they were archived.

 

This is even better.

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20071114054936/http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/index.php?showforum=598

[muffinsandbagels]

It makes me sad that so much of the forums were never archived.  ::cries::  Thank you for the links.  :)

[marriedaniac]

If you go to any of the recaps, you can't get past the first page ... until you use this handy nifty little feature.  You put the first page of the recap in the input area, and then hit "Make 1 Page" and it all shows up as one page ... awesome possum!

 

Thanks for the tip!

I have been re-reading all the recaps via their webarchive.org addresses (up to s6e07 rn) - http://web.archive.org/web/20140329205945/http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/the-west-wing/ if anyone needs

 

 

Thanks for the forum archive link, too, Deputy! (I wish I had a time machine)

Edited February 12, 2015 by marriedaniac

[PeterPirate]

Fantastic!  I was a regular TWOP poster, almost all about The West Wing.  Glad to see out thoughts are still out there somewhere. 

[BizBuzz]

Hey all ... been handling some family drama ... back on TWW track now ...

 

We are up to these three episodes this week (due by March 2, 2015):

 

Rewatch due by 03.02.15

 

16 20 Hours in L.A.
17 The White House Pro-Am
18 Six Meetings Before Lunch

 

Discuss...

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

20 Hours In America.

 

We get introduced  to Special Agent Gina. I love Bartlet's concern for Zoey though it could be a little stiffing at times. First he tried to get Gina to spy on her for him and crushed her lunch. 

 

Are most hollywood type who dabble in politics how Ted was portrayed? Josh was a lot more diplomatic that I would have been after he cancelled the fundraiser in tantrum. The Californians were mostly entitled jerks.

 

"Gather ye rosebuds while you may" and he still didn't. Josh Lyman, slow on the uptake. Matching robes LOL!

 

This was an enjoyable episode. The absence of Mandy helped a great deal.

[eyebleach]

The White House Pro-Am has one of my all time fav scenes from the whole series:

 

[mhornbeam]

So great to find this, I am watching this show for the very first time (and compare/contrast to House of Cards: fun!). I have also now gotten my hubby interested. We just finished up with He Shall, From Time to Time and I just do not know how I missed such a good show for so long.

[marriedaniac]

"Just stand there in your wrongness and be wrong and get used to it."

I love the whole Jed/Abbey scene in that!