Primetimer March 23, 2015 Share March 23, 2015 Joe Reid explains how Aaron Sorkin's White House was a haven for altruistic dicks. Read the story Link to comment
teddysmom March 23, 2015 Share March 23, 2015 I was watching The American President yesterday and afterward this very topic came to mind, how god awful Josh was, and how in fact most of the men on TWW were mysoginistic douchebags. Of course, being created by that douchiest of douchebags, Aaron Sorkin, probs didn't help. 3 Link to comment
AndySmith March 23, 2015 Share March 23, 2015 Wow. If we had to play a drinking game every time you said dick...our livers would've needed replacing ;) 1 Link to comment
Charlie Baker March 23, 2015 Share March 23, 2015 I guess this isn't really a ranking, but Mandy is an excellent choice for Number One. Link to comment
sinkwriter March 23, 2015 Share March 23, 2015 (edited) Toby Ziegler was my favorite character on the show so I guess I'm into "lovable curmudgeons." LOL.Then again, I don't enjoy the final seasons of the show, so I pretty much ignore the episode and the season that contains your chosen Toby scene. I really, really don't like seasons 6 and 7, and I HATE what they ultimately decided to do with Toby's character. So much bullshit. But don't get me started. *GRIN*Overall, I like Josh and Toby. I think what made me like them too is that even when they did behave like dicks, they usually got their comeuppance for their behavior. Like in your Josh example, where the White House press corps ate him for breakfast and then the President and the rest of the staff yelled at him for being an idiot. It was HILARIOUS. "CJ, so help me, even if blood is gushing from the head wound you sustained from a herd of stampeding buffalo, you'll do the press briefing." (Unspoken: And Josh will never, ever be allowed to do it again.) Also, the characters often admitted their own dickishness. For example, Josh admitted to the interviewer during that episode that one big lesson he had learned was a healthy new respect for the position of White House Press Secretary. "It's a lot harder than it looks." Ha!And like you said, anything Toby did often stemmed from a terrible sense of self-loathing. I've often said that I bet after so many of those shitty days where things went terribly wrong or they couldn't get done what they needed to get done, Toby probably went home and drowned his sorrows in a bottle of Jack Daniels. Toby may have been a dick, but there was also so much to like about him. There's a reason why "In Excelsis Deo" is one of my favorite West Wing episodes, and that's largely due to Richard Schiff's amazing performance in it. I really loved his character. Edited March 23, 2015 by sinkwriter 2 Link to comment
Snevik March 23, 2015 Share March 23, 2015 #1 dick in the entire series goes to "everyone involved in Isaac and Ishmael." 3 Link to comment
dr pepper March 23, 2015 Share March 23, 2015 The West Wang wouldn't have been what it was without the overbearing influence of Martin Sheen. The original plan was to focus on the strategizing staffers, trying to help the administration get things done. The president was supposed to be off screen most of the time. An this involved the assumption that you could cast Sheen and then contain him. A mistake, but a lucky one for the viewers. Sheen's dickishness became a challenge to the writers. We would have been deprived of some really gripping tv without it-- starting with Bartlett's rant in which he loses of track of whether he's mad at his father or God. 1 Link to comment
ferretrick March 24, 2015 Share March 24, 2015 The press briefing is certainly up there in the top 10 Josh dick moments, but the number one, most egregious example of Josh Dick will always be The Poet Laureate episode, and his resulting battle with Television Without Pity, er, I mean a political internet forum. In that episode Josh was a stand in for The King Of Television Dicks himself, Aaron Sorkin. Nothing ever can or ever will top that. If George W Bush and Dick Cheney went on FOX News and had torrid sex while Anne Coulter watched, it still wouldn't top it. Link to comment
sinkwriter March 24, 2015 Share March 24, 2015 If George W Bush and Dick Cheney went on FOX News and had torrid sex while Anne Coulter watched, it still wouldn't top it. Oh my god, what a HORRIBLE image to put into my head! If that ever happened, I would definitely think it was worse than Josh's idiocy when it came to social media. *shudders* 2 Link to comment
ScoobyDrew March 24, 2015 Share March 24, 2015 Oh I do love me some Lemon Lyman ... but what I never go was how Will. a man so noble and starry eyed ,he got a dead guy elected suddenly became a craven dick for the likes of Gary Cole. It seemed like a complete 180 to me 4 Link to comment
Sandman March 24, 2015 Share March 24, 2015 If "The West Wang" is a typo, it is the greatest thing of its kind I've ever seen. If it isn't a typo, my hat goes off to you, Dr. Well played! Link to comment
PeterPirate March 28, 2015 Share March 28, 2015 A salute to this sites predecessor. The long back story of Aaron Sorkin and TWoP. I've always disliked the Bartlet rant against Jenna Jacobs. 2 Link to comment
sinkwriter March 28, 2015 Share March 28, 2015 I've always disliked the Bartlet rant against Jenna Jacobs. Why is that? (Just curious for your perspective.) Link to comment
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