The West Wing Season One: Stuck in Neutral

[Guest]

I would guess that was a directional choice to keep the more prominent actors front and center, but now that you've pointed it out, it will bug me. ;)

[PeterPirate]

In one of the commentaries someone talks about how Marlee Matlin didn't like to follow the signing by Bill O'Brien (who played Kenny) because it messed up the timing of the acting.  So he was instructed to do the signing and not worry about whether she was following him.

 

Which doesn't seem all that illogical (to me, the untrained viewer), since Joey could read lips.  She could engage in a conversation with the persons in front of her and use Kenny to fill her in on things said by other people.  

Edited March 6, 2016 by PeterPirate

[DebbieW]

To me she looks very uncomfortable when she has to look away from the person (POTUS) speaking to her to look back at Kenny, like she was trying to side eye the speaker while looking behind her.

[Kohola3]

Joey is talking with POTUS and has to keep turning her head to see the interpreter.

 

I always thought that was odd  but thanks for the "insider" view.  

[Bastet]

I watched a few early season one episodes last night while unable to get back to sleep, and Bartlet's "I am the Lord your god" entrance in the pilot will never stop being a thing of beauty.  And Mary Marsh remains one of the most unpleasant people ever to darken my doorstep (or, you know, television).

 

No matter how many times I watch it, it will never be believable to me that Sam thinks Leo has a daughter in the fourth grade.  These people have worked together in the White House for a year now, and were piled on top of each other on the campaign trail before that.  Sam specifically knows he's married to Jenny, not some young second wife.  Nor will I believe that Sam would have told who he thought was a random school teacher that he accidentally slept with a prostitute last night.  Sure, it all makes for a very funny scene, but I can't swallow it.

 

With Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc, I didn't do myself any favors in the trying to get back to sleep department, because I got all riled up that here we are on episode two, and we already have our first example of the show presenting it as darling when a man ignores a woman's well-founded objections and refuses to take no for an answer.  Laurie ignores Sam's multiple calls, so he tracks her down and makes a scene that forces her to leave.  She tells him she neither needs nor wants his Captain Save-a-Ho routine, and flat-out tells him he humiliated and scared her - to which he replies, "I guess that's just the way it goes."  When she tells him that's not good enough, he announces it doesn't matter what she wants, because he has decreed he will become a friend of hers.  That's not cute, Aaron, it's disgusting.

 

I like the episode otherwise (well, except for Leo saying C.J. is a "good girl" to the Vice fucking President).  And I love A Proportional Response.  I think it was brave to write, in only the third episode, the president as completely out of his depth.  Those scenes in the Situation Room are uncomfortable to watch, he's so decidedly un-presidential in front of all these guys he's terrified think he's unfit to serve as Commander in Chief to begin with, but it's a great story.  I like Fitz telling Leo to tell Bartlet it's always like this the first time, and he's doing fine.

 

I like the introduction of Charlie, but he's working now and deferring college because he has a sister in high school to take care of.  So how does taking a job in which 20-hour days and long, last-minute trips are not uncommon make sense?

 

Five Votes Down was the last episode on the disc, and by this point I'd been briefly dozing off and on for a while, but thankfully I was awake for the scene in which Bartlet wanders into the Oval Office stoned on a combination of Vicodin and Percocet.  It's damn hard to pick a favorite part of that, but the way Martin Sheen mimes rolling up his sleeves has to be a contender. 

 

I like Thom Barry as Congressman Richardson.  "Not the three-inch grip, but the two-inch grip. With the forty-gauge barrel and the thirty round clip, not the twenty round clip. With a three-day wait to run a check to see if you're crazy. As if wanting the gun wasn't a pretty good heads up in the first place. No, this is for show. ... You write a law that can save some lives, I'll sign it. In the meantime, please don't tell me how to be a leader of black men. You look like an idiot."

 

The break-up of Leo and Jenny is really well done.  Much more mature and nuanced than what we normally see on television.  You want to put Leo in the wrong for going so far as to forget their anniversary, but he's absolutely right that for the time they're in office this job is, in fact, more important than their marriage.  And you want to be annoyed with her for not understanding - she has, after all, been married to a politician for a very long time now - but she's not being irrational or tossing down ultimatums, she is simply saying she cannot live like this.  She couldn't have truly known how it was going to be, and asking someone to spend four to eight years with a spouse who is virtually never home other than to sleep is no small thing.

Edited March 24, 2016 by Bastet

[Eeksquire]

 

I like the introduction of Charlie, but he's working now and deferring college because he has a sister in high school to take care of.  So how does taking a job in which 20-hour days and long, last-minute trips are not uncommon make sense?

I think he means 'take care of' financially, rather than 'being home for dinner every night' - after all, their mother was a police officer and I always got the impression that her hours made the kids home alone at least part of the time.  (I can't quote chapter and verse, but I think he says that his mom worked nights when the IT guy comes to fix Mrs. Landingham's computer with his little boy.)

[Bastet]

Oh, I know she's not a little kid who needs that kind of supervision, and that being raised by a single mom who worked nights a lot meant they'd had to achieve a greater level of self-sufficiency already, but she is still in high school and it just seems odd to take a job which will result in her basically living alone, because he's pretty much only home to sleep.

 

I watched a few more last night, including the introduction of Zoey, and then of the First Lady.  It always strikes me anew how instantly Stockard Channing and Martin Sheen capture the chemistry of a long-married couple.  That was inspired casting.  Zoey, on the other hand, I always find annoying, and possibly the world's most immature 19-year-old.  I do love the scene when Bartlet explains the Secret Service's nightmare scenario, though, and with Zoey's changing facial expressions Elisabeth Moss finally shows me she can act.

 

I'm trying to just enjoy the C.J. and Danny flirtation/banter back when it's cute, but it's tainted by how much I come to hate it, so that's hard. 

 

I skipped over the patronizing "we can't get over these women" bullshit at the end of The Crackpots and These Women for the sake of my blood pressure, because that's a fun episode otherwise.

 

The other thing that really annoys me in the midst of some fine episodes is C.J. knowing jack all about the census.  I don't envy the writers their task of making so much exposition palatable week after week, and trying to figure out which character should do and receive the explaining for each issue.  And, as bright and experienced as these characters are, they aren't going to know everything, so by and large it works (especially when it's someone like Donna getting filled in, as she doesn't have the same experience).  But it could have been a dialogue between C.J. and Sam where she needs certain details filled in.  That instead she acts like someone who hasn't completed junior high, let alone 22 years of schooling, and has to have the entire concept, let alone process, explained to her is just too much for me to take.

 

Bartlet on the phone with the kid in the radio shack, listening to him explain how they're taking on water and are down to their running lights so they may get run over by a carrier ... that is such good television.  And Mandy is at her most interesting in that one, when the president goes with her suggestion of sending in an FBI negotiator - over pretty much everyone else's advice to just take the house and get it over with - and the negotiator winds up getting shot.

Edited March 26, 2016 by Bastet

[Bastet]

I watch season two episodes every few years, but I haven't watched season one in a while until recently.  Wow, how nuanced things were from jump.  The writing, and then elevated (boy howdy) by the acting.  Jed and Leo when Leo has to give his press conference about going to rehab and Jed has to simultaneously apologize for not being there ("I tried to get up but then I fell down again") and explain why he didn't tell him about the MS.  C.J.'s significantly different reactions - not just from scene to scene, but from person to person within the same scene - to Leo and Toby when she learns they concealed the India/Pakistan thing from her because they're not sure she can - after a campaign and a year in office - do her job when the shit hits the fan (ouch ... and, you know, assholes!).  Holy balls.  And then when Toby apologizes to C.J. ("So, apologize! ... I'm sorry. ... God, Toby! ... I wanted to say it nicer").  My two favorite relationships, and they both really grab my attention around the same time.

 

Josh - in Sam's foul-weather gear - has suffered through his hung-over introduction to Joey Lucas, and if I can stay awake he will soon invent a secret plan to fight inflation.  This show was art at its finest for a time.

Edited March 29, 2016 by Bastet

[Bastet]

Even though I've seen it before, the end of Let Bartlet Be Bartlet always gives me chills.  And makes me want to run out and conquer something.  That episode is fantastic.  "We're gonna raise the level of public debate in this country.  And let that be our legacy."

 

Two (well, two of several) recurring annoyances this (stellar) season:

 

C.J. so frequently being the one who doesn't know something, makes a mistake, or is the only one not part of a group discussion.

 

Renee Estevez getting her name so far up in the credits, despite the fact all Nancy ever does in an episode is say, "Good morning, Mr. President" or, in one case, just stand there.  That's taking nepotism too far.  She's billed above Kathryn Joosten, NiCole Robinson, and a bunch of guest stars.  In the early episodes, she's even billed above Janel Moloney.

[BW Manilowe]

Even though I've seen it before, the end of Let Bartlet Be Bartlet always gives me chills. And makes me want to run out and conquer something. That episode is fantastic. "We're gonna raise the level of public debate in this country. And let that be our legacy."

Two (well, two of several) recurring annoyances this (stellar) season:

C.J. so frequently being the one who doesn't know something, makes a mistake, or is the only one not part of a group discussion.

Renee Estevez getting her name so far up in the credits, despite the fact all Nancy ever does in an episode is say, "Good morning, Mr. President" or, in one case, just stand there. That's taking nepotism too far. She's billed above Kathryn Joosten, NiCole Robinson, and a bunch of guest stars. In the early episodes, she's even billed above Janel Moloney.

But as of the beginning of S2, Janel got moved up to the main title credits & Renee was still listed with the guest stars. So things balanced themselves out again, I'd say.

Edited April 2, 2016 by BW Manilowe

[Bastet]

Janel's billing at any given time accurately reflected her evolving role.  Renee's never matched anything other than the fact she's Martin Sheen's daughter.  And, hey, better to have her name higher in the list of credits than it should be for saying four words than to having her shoehorned in to a larger role.  As sops go, it's an innocuous one, especially for someone as nice as Martin Sheen.  It just really stands out to me, especially in the episode in which she had no lines at all.

 

I feel asleep somewhere during the last disc for the season last night, so I'm not quite finished with my revisit of season one, but almost.  I don't remember being quite this aggravated with Danny before.  I remember he went from charming to annoying me fairly quickly, but this time I'm kind of sitting here muttering, "I hate Danny" and that's new.  I like Joey, and Josh's comportment around Joey, every bit as much as ever, though.  I don't buy she'd feel comfortable blowing a raspberry at Josh in front of the president in the Oval Office during her first week on the job, though.

 

Mandy just never did click, did she?  Has Moira Kelly ever spoken about it?  I know that Aaron has said it had nothing to do with her as a performer, that Mandy just wasn't working for whatever reason, and that she understood and was professional and gracious about it, but I don't recall ever hearing her talk about it.  That had to be hard; she didn't even have to audition, was just offered the role, and now here's this incredible show picking up steam and accolades and she's told she'll no longer be part of it.

[PeterPirate]

Not only did they eliminate Mandy, they never replaced the character type--that is, a political operative who worked inside the White House.  

 

The closest they ever got to replacing Mandy was when they introduced Annabeth, but she was at best a secondary character who was never given any real political power.  Bruno was a campaign strategist and a strong figure, but he worked outside the west wing.

 

That raises the question about whether a different actress could have played Mandy in a way that made the character more palatable.   

[BigBeagle]

 

That raises the question about whether a different actress could have played Mandy in a way that made the character more palatable.

It's a good question, PeterP, but I think the problem was more with the character than the actress. I love just about everything Moira Kelly's been in, but I couldn't abide Mandy. Her main quality was supposedly she was this super-duper political operative, but when did the show display those qualities? Instead, we got this woman whining about panda bears and the President not agreeing to her photo op ideas.

[Bastet]

"We've got people down!  Who's been hit?  Who's been hit?"

 

Man, that was a long summer.  The internet was fun, though - we Zaprudered the hell out of that footage.

 

Tommy Schlamme did a brilliant job directing What Kind of Day Has it Been.  First, to stage a mass shooting when he had no idea which character(s) were going to be revealed as having been shot.  But also the ways he shot the scenes at the Newseum differently depending on whether they were going to be used at the beginning when the audience didn't know what was going on or at the end when we'd caught up to real time again.  Music certainly helped give the latter a different feel, but so did his shot choices.  And the way they put it together, so that we saw and heard some of the same things, but also different sections of the Q&A session and staff conversations.  Just so well done.

 

And, to bring this back to Mandy:  They must have known then they weren't bringing her back, because she's not at the Newseum event (when, in reality, she would have been) and thus not part of the shooting.  But she's in the episode, when they're doing the prep sessions for the Q&A.  They're all professionals, but that had to be awkward.

 

I think it was mostly the character that didn't work, but I think it was a little bit the actor, too.  The actors developed their characters as they went along, and Aaron began writing to what he was seeing.  Particularly with Allison/C.J., but it happened with everyone.  Moira never really did anything with Mandy, though.  Aaron didn't flesh the character out, but neither did Moira.  That's a pretty fatal combination, especially when surrounded by an ensemble that is putting on quite a show.  The character just never sparked, and never really gelled with the rest.

Edited April 3, 2016 by Bastet

[BW Manilowe]

"We've got people down! Who's been hit? Who's been hit?"

Man, that was a long summer. The internet was fun, though - we Zaprudered the hell out of that footage.

Tommy Schlamme did a brilliant job directing What Kind of Day Has it Been. First, to stage a mass shooting when he had no idea which character(s) were going to be revealed as having been shot. But also the ways he shot the scenes at the Newseum differently depending on whether they were going to be used at the beginning when the audience didn't know what was going on or at the end when we'd caught up to real time again. Music certainly helped give the latter a different feel, but so did his shot choices. And the way they put it together, so that we saw and heard some of the same things, but also different sections of the Q&A session and staff conversations. Just so well done.

And, to bring this back to Mandy: They must have known then they weren't bringing her back, because she's not at the Newseum event (when, in reality, she would have been) and thus not part of the shooting. But she's in the episode, when they're doing the prep sessions for the Q&A. They're all professionals, but that had to be awkward.

I think it was mostly the character that didn't work, but I think it was a little bit the actor, too. The actors developed their characters as they went along, and Aaron began writing to what he was seeing. Particularly with Allison/C.J., but it happened with everyone. Moira never really did anything with Mandy, though. Aaron didn't flesh the character out, but neither did Moira. That's a pretty fatal combination, especially when surrounded by an ensemble that is putting on quite a show. The character just never sparked, and never really gelled with the rest.

I remember reading in 1 of my local papers, before S1 ended, the announcement that Moira was leaving the show at the end of S1 "by mutual agreement" (or a similar phrase--they may have used another word besides "agreement"); but I don't remember now, seeing as it's been over 10 years since I read that, how far in advance of the airing (or even the filming of the S1 finale) I read it. Just that it was near the end of S1, before the season finale aired.

Having said that, if they knew far enough ahead that Mandy/Moira wasn't coming back, I've started to wonder, in recent years, why they didn't have the character go to The Newseum as part of Bartlet's entourage (heck, it seemed like Mandy was supposed to go along on that photo op she tried to arrange during the Christmas shopping trip Bartlet just wanted to sneak out for with no fanfare/as little fanfare as possible, given he was the president & all that entailed, so why not have Mandy tag along to The Newseum too)?

Then they could've either had her injured badly enough she had to resign her position (sort of like James Brady after John Hinckley's assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan) or had her killed outright in the shooting.

It at least would've explained what happened to Mandy in the storyline, instead of the whole "now you see her, now you don't, she got shipped off to Mandyville & was never seen or heard from, or spoken about--as I remember--by anyone on the staff again" (unlike Rob Lowe's Sam Seaborn, after Rob left the show--he was spoken about by the remaining characters, as well as seen and heard from again, after he was written out of the show)" thing. Did they all really hate Mandy (but hopefully not Moira) enough not to give the character a definitive ending?

That was 1 of the 2 things that probably bugged me most about the show (other than Sorkin giving 2 of the Bartlet daughters first names [Elizabeth & Eleanor] which share the same nicknames)--everybody else (or pretty much everybody else) got "closure" when their character/storyline ended, except Mandy. Mandy was there 1 day, gone the next & never to be heard from again... Not even in the series finale or the run-up to it, unlike other departed characters who came back (except they may have also not included former Vice President Hoynes... I forget).

[betsyboo]

"We've got people down!  Who's been hit?  Who's been hit?"

 

Man, that was a long summer.  The internet was fun, though - we Zaprudered the hell out of that footage.

I can legitimately hear those words in my head right now, even tho it's been ages since I saw this ep. I remember chills at the time and my mom and I calling each other to say: "DID YOU SEE THAT??OMGWHOSGONNADIEOMG....................?"

[AriAu]

except they may have also not included former Vice President Hoynes... I forget

 

Hoynes came back in Season 6 when he ran for President. We also got that awkward story line with him having slept with CJ, something we never had a hint about until then, not even when he shut her down in Season 1.

[Kohola3]

I can legitimately hear those words in my head right now, even tho it's been ages since I saw this ep.

 

Like it was yesterday, right?  I ran for the phone and was dialing my sister at the same time she was dialing me.  We both kept getting busy signals and when we finally got through....DID YOU SEE THAT??OMGWHOSGONNADIEOMG...................

Edited April 4, 2016 by Kohola3

[Bastet]

I had a roommate at the time, and she was a big fan, too.  So my memory is of the two of us leaning closer and closer to the TV as the tension mounted, so that we both practically tumbled off the couch when the shooting started.  Then the mutual OMG WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! flailing as the screen faded to black, and lunging towards the VCR to rewind and re-watch in an effort to figure out who'd been shot.  I think diagrams were drawn at some point.

[betsyboo]

I had a roommate at the time, and she was a big fan, too.  So my memory is of the two of us leaning closer and closer to the TV as the tension mounted, so that we both practically tumbled off the couch when the shooting started.  Then the mutual OMG WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! flailing as the screen faded to black, and lunging towards the VCR to rewind and re-watch in an effort to figure out who'd been shot.  I think diagrams were drawn at some point.

LOL!

[AriAu]

I think diagrams were drawn at some point

 

Pretty sure that I just went to TWOP and watched others (some of whom are here) obsess over it....so I didn't have to!

[Deputy Deputy CoS]

Not only did they eliminate Mandy, they never replaced the character type--that is, a political operative who worked inside the White House

 

 

Amy

[Bastet]

I would guess [the positioning of Kenny, Joey's interpreter] was a directional choice to keep the more prominent actors front and center, but now that you've pointed it out, it will bug me. ;)

 

God, yes.  This discussion took place shortly before I started re-watching the first season, and thanks to it, for every single scene with Joey, this was all I could see.

[BizBuzz]

So I was watching the Pilot again for the umpteenth time and I caught something I didn't catch before ... and I think I only caught it because of some discussion around here about how ludicrous it was for Sam not to know who Leo's daughter was.

 

I am not saying it makes it plausible that he didn't know, but I think the writers were trying to cover that base, albeit weakly.

 

The scene where Sam and Cathy were talking and Cathy was telling him that Leo's wife called:

 

CATHY
Leo's wife called.

SAM
That woman hates me.

CATHY
Yes.

SAM
What'd I do?

CATHY
You tried to hit on her at party fundraiser.

SAM
Yes. I meant recently. I meant why did she call.

CATHY
She wants you to...

SAM
For the hundredth time, I didn't know who she was, and how long am I gonna be crucified for that?

CATHY
Well a little while longer anyway, 'cause...

SAM
Most women, I would think, would be flattered that...

CATHY
Yeah, I think Leo was especially touched that you...

SAM
What'd she want?

CATHY
She was supposed to give a tour to some students from her daughter's fourth grade class. She can't make it and she wants you to do it.

 

 

If he didn't know who Leo's wife was, could it be possible he didn't know who Mallory was?  Yeah, like I said, it was weak, but it was an attempt.

 

Did any one catch that, or am I late to the party (which is most likely the case).

[Kohola3]

I caught it as well but it didn't make much sense having seen Leo's wife in the opening.  She was clearly not a young woman so a) Sam hitting on her was a bit of a stretch and b) she was unlikely to have a small child.

[Bastet]

Yeah, that exchange is one of the reasons I find it unbelievable that Sam thought Leo had a young child.  Mallory lives in the area and drops by to see Leo a lot, so it's unlikely Sam has never met her before.  Maybe we can fanwank the regular visits to Leo are new, and due to the divorce.  But he didn't meet her at Inauguration, if nothing else?  It's just fundamentally silly, given her relationship with not just Leo but the Bartlets that someone who has spent over two years living in the back pocket of all these people has never met her.  But let's say somehow he hasn't.  He knows Leo is married to Jenny, not some young second wife, and still thinks he has a daughter in fourth grade? 

[Driad]

For fans of highways for wolves: The new Nova episode "Wild Ways" is on creating corridors to protect endangered species. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/wild-ways.html

[twinkietwin94]

No idea if anyone is still reading this thread, other than me that is, I've been reading here since TWOP closed where I was also a lurker and not a poster, always afraid I'd just add one more internet or tv show addiction LOL but I'm rewatching season 1 for the um yeah I don't know how many times and I'm on Five Votes Down, the scene with Leo and Hoynes, WOW knowing what I know about those characters from previous viewings this scene is so much more intense, just one reason I so love this show! and one reason it's so extraordinarily rewatchable.

[twinkietwin94]

Eagerly waiting for the notification from the library that season 1 has arrived from my hold so I can watch it with commentary as hubby is slacking on buying me the seasons, though he has bought me all 11 seasons of M*A*S*H and started by ST:TNG collection as well as feeding my space obsession soo... I might have to buy them for myself, in the meantime TG for the library.

[Moose135]

29 minutes ago, twinkietwin94 said:

...hubby is slacking on buying me the seasons

I think you may have grounds for divorce there...

[LeGrandElephant]

I've never watched this before but I decided to give it a try because it's famous and on Netflix. I haven't even made it through the opening credits before I had to come say this to someone - in 1999, did people really not know what POTUS stands for? In the first few minutes there were multiple lines about people thinking that's a weird name, not sure I spelled it right, etc. I looked it up and the acronym has been in use since telegraphs in the 1800s, but maybe this show made it popular with the general public? Of course now with the Twitter handle and stuff it's even more standard.... Made the opening to the pilot seem really dated.

Edited July 26, 2016 by LeGrandElephant

[Bastet]

Someone hearing POTUS spoken and not making the connection, I can easily understand, but seeing POTUS written and not knowing what it means would be less common.  Then again, Laurie was totally baked, so we can give her a pass.

[LeGrandElephant]

36 minutes ago, Bastet said:

Someone hearing POTUS spoken and not making the connection, I can easily understand, but seeing POTUS written and not knowing what it means would be less common.  Then again, Laurie was totally baked, so we can give her a pass.

True, but it wasn't just her, there was also a flight attendant who came with an important message from the cockpit about POTUS and wasn't sure if she had written it correctly. Unclear if she had heard it spoken and written it down or received it by text of some sort. But you'd think in order to get an important message to the cockpit of a plane in flight at all, you'd have to identify yourself as somehow government-related, and with that context I'm even more surprised she wouldn't know the acronym. So they seemed to be setting it up as an acronym that only those close to the president would know and use, which is clearly not the case nowadays. 

I enjoyed the rest of the first episode more. Now starting the second, and I noticed that the previouslies on Netflix are in the old style TV aspect ratio (meaning black bars on the sides of my computer screen), but the main show is in wide screen (fits full screen on my computer). Does that mean they cut off a bottom strip of footage for Netflix to make it wide screen, or what? 

Edited July 26, 2016 by LeGrandElephant

[Bastet]

Quote

True, but it wasn't just her, there was also a flight attendant who came with an important message from the cockpit about POTUS and wasn't sure if she had written it correctly. Unclear if she had heard it spoken and written it down or received it by text of some sort. 

The message being patched up to the cockpit could have been verbal or written, but if she was just copying text from a screen, I don't think she'd have been concerned that she didn't get it right, so I assume it was verbal.

What stretches believability for me is that such a non-critical message for Toby would actually be relayed to him that way - someone had to call the airline and request that the pilots be interrupted with a message to pass along.  Nothing would have been different had Toby not found out until he landed, so I think they'd have just paged him as they did everyone else, knowing he'd see it as soon as he landed.

[LeGrandElephant]

26 minutes ago, Bastet said:

What stretches believability for me is that such a non-critical message for Toby would actually be relayed to him that way - someone had to call the airline and request that the pilots be interrupted with a message to pass along.  Nothing would have been different had Toby not found out until he landed, so I think they'd have just paged him as they did everyone else, knowing he'd see it as soon as he landed.

Good point! 

As far as being dated, the pagers are also notable. But I can already see why the show was a hit. I'll probably keep watching it since its all on Netflix. 

[Guest]

Welcome!!!

[Moose135]

5 hours ago, LeGrandElephant said:

I've never watched this before but I decided to give it a try because it's famous and on Netflix.

Welcome! I tell you what, let's forget the fact that you're coming a little late to the party and embrace the fact that you showed up at all.

[LeGrandElephant]

11 minutes ago, Moose135 said:

Welcome! I tell you what, let's forget the fact that you're coming a little late to the party and embrace the fact that you showed up at all.

I just watched that one! Marathoning a bit.  Thanks for the welcome. Too bad there aren't episode threads, I'll have to finish the season before catching up on the rest of this thread. 

[twinkietwin94]

9 hours ago, LeGrandElephant said:

I just watched that one! Marathoning a bit.  Thanks for the welcome. Too bad there aren't episode threads, I'll have to finish the season before catching up on the rest of this thread. 

Welcome and can't wait to live vicariously through you as you experience each episode for the first time. You can skip reading the thread and just keep posting your impressions of each episode, we'll love that :)

[Eeksquire]

Quote

You can skip reading the thread and just keep posting your impressions of each episode, we'll love that :)

Plus, there's no doubt that your first impressions will inspire us to discuss other points all over again! :)

[AriAu]

Quote

Welcome! I tell you what, let's forget the fact that you're coming a little late to the party and embrace the fact that you showed up at all.

And as the last few weeks have reminded us, decisions are made by those who show up...so we are glad you showed up

[eyebleach]

Few things are as fun as joining someone on their first TWW journey!  Welcome!

[Guest]

I was in your shoes last year! As it is, I'm on a rewatch and enjoying it just as much!

We can set up a thread for your rewatch if you want!

[twinkietwin94]

On 8/3/2016 at 9:10 PM, deaja said:

I was in your shoes last year! As it is, I'm on a rewatch and enjoying it just as much!

We can set up a thread for your rewatch if you want!

That could be  a lot of fun!

[GHScorpiosRule]

I am really late to the party! I hope you won't mind if I talk about how much I'm loving this first season! I had a lot going on when the show premiered, but I think I remembered watching a few episodes, but then I had some health issues and lapsed. I do remember loathing Moira Kelly's character. From the second she showed up onscreen.  Donna is another who bugs me. And yup, CJ is my favorite!

I hope you will indulge me as I post my thoughts and feelings!

[Kohola3]

Go for it!  We love to hear new opinions!

[GHScorpiosRule]

11 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Go for it!  We love to hear new opinions!

Thanks! I've read this entire thread and for the most part, I know I'll be preaching to the choir, so to speak.  I will say that I really appreciate that the viewers who don't live in the DC metropolitan area, did get to see some of the real DC. Unlike iother shows *cough*Criminal Minds*cough*NCIS*cough*Scarecrow&Mrs. King*Designated Survivir*cough* who used just stock footage and places that were CLEARLY Not DC, or names of streets that do not exist.

And yes, I know it was filmed primarily in CA, but at least some of the exterior shots tactically looked like DC.

Why yes, this is a huge peeve of mine.

Unless I missed it, the one thing I didn't like wasn't mentioned-and that was Leo giving that twit who had seen his file and given it to Lillienfiekd or that shuck lawyer, one of which was a family friend.  And I wasn't convinced as to why she did it. Her unfinished "My fad drank..." to then saying Leo was responsible for making important decisions. It left me yelling at my television "well WHAT did your dad do? Beat you? Your mom? Trash the house? Embarrass you? Whaaat????"

And then Leo undoes all the AWESOMENESS of the scene when Sam figures it out and fires her ass, by rehiring her.

I know that just watching this show made me wish I worked in the West Wing, and can't remember why it fell off my radar when it was on the air, because I know my mom watched it because she loved Martin Sheen.

And Dule Hill was such a baby!!! But all kinds of cute!!!

So thanks to Netflix, I'm catching up.  To buy the series is beyond my budget, but it's on my to buy list, for sure.

And like all of you, I was howling[/] in "Celestial Navigation" at hearing CJ soeak after her root canal, with her "pwesident" and "bweifing" and just everything. ????

Though the scenes of Josh telling that story was distracting because of the way he sat in that chair in the stage-legs spread open. Very distracting.

I'll  apologize now because I'm going to be all over the place since I didn't know about this thread and therefore wasn't able to watch and talk in a coherent manner.

But yes, the introduction of President Bartlett was THE BEST EVER.

i have to get back to work now.

[Eeksquire]

Quote

And yes, I know it was filmed primarily in CA, but at least some of the exterior shots tactically looked like DC.

They did a lot of location shooting in DC - if you listen to Josh Malina's podcast (The West Wing Weekly), their guests talk about it quite a bit.  I think it probably made it really hard on the actors because not only were they shooting out of order, continuity-wise (which I guess is pretty standard), but they were shooting more than one episode at once out of order.  

[twinkietwin94]

On 10/3/2016 at 11:58 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

I am really late to the party! I hope you won't mind if I talk about how much I'm loving this first season! I had a lot going on when the show premiered, but I think I remembered watching a few episodes, but then I had some health issues and lapsed. I do remember loathing Moira Kelly's character. From the second she showed up onscreen.  Donna is another who bugs me. And yup, CJ is my favorite!

I hope you will indulge me as I post my thoughts and feelings!

We love it when someone posts their thoughts and feelings and gets us going so far, and I love reading what you've added already!

On 10/4/2016 at 7:58 AM, GHScorpiosRule said:

 

i have to get back to work now.

oh don't go back to work ;) just keep watching LOL

[GHScorpiosRule]

On 10/9/2016 at 5:38 PM, twinkietwin94 said:

We love it when someone posts their thoughts and feelings and gets us going so far, and I love reading what you've added already!

oh don't go back to work ;) just keep watching LOL

Why I haven't posted since my first post above-I haven't been able to stop WATCHING and am up to halfway through season four right now!?

 

This show and especially this season, compared to any shows aired during this season or shows aired since, is so so so much better and sharper.  I'm not as eloquent as all of you are in expressing just what it is that makes this such a great show. It came to me that the reason I detest Mandy is because she's so strident and her insistence, that her way is the right way and everyone else is wrong. And that everyone should listen to her and do what she says.

 

Yes, I realize that's her job, but it was her attitude that bugged and especially her I'm too good for this town when we first meet her-continuing her phone conversation AFTER she's been pulled over for speeding, as if it's some inconvenience. I'm sure it was supposed to be funny? Okay, hee hee ha ha. NOT.

And to see the Congressman? Senator? played by an actor who was the dweeb in Trading Places, but more famously as a murderer and rapist in Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, she was working for and sleeping with, just took me out of it.

Edited October 10, 2016 by GHScorpiosRule