Charlie Young

[twinkietwin94]

I looked and didn't see a thread about Charlie, hope I didn't somehow miss one. I like Charlie and find the body man job really interesting though I was never fond of him getting a job for CJ after graduating and that part of that that really got to me was we only ever see him at the Oval Office. He's there almost constantly, he traveled all over with the president, when on earth did he find time to take college classes?  This is before the days of online degrees. Really he was able to go to classes and get all of the work done and do everything required of him in his job? I mean he's supposed to be really smart but still...

[CJRocks]

I love Charlie. He is one of my favorites in TWW universe. However, they did have him working ridiculous hours, raising his sister AND going to school, all while dating one of the most watched young women in the world. Sure.

Some of my favorite scenes, though, are with Charlie. I love his snarky line about the Republicans because they are the party of inclusion, the scene when Jed gives him the carving knife, and especially in the series finale, when he and Jed say their final farewell. I think I truly fell in love with Charlie when he rushes to Zoe's defense in the Georgetown bar, and, afterwards, when Sam and Josh are talking about which guy was "their guy" at the bar, Charlie assures them that there weren't any guys they could have taken.

[twinkietwin94]

I love Charlie too, he's absolutely one of my favorite characters. I love his relationship with the president. I love when Jed catches him sneaking I think it was out of Zoe's room. I'm in season 4 right now, and I love when he and Toby are posting bond and Charlie is "laying down the street" then when Toby tells Sam he took care of business and Charlie says "Excuse me" Toby then corrects himself, makes me giggle. Then the anguish on Charlie's face when he finds out Zoe was taken and it's real bc Wes tells him Molly is dead, wow

[DebbieW]

I'm a big Charlie fan, too!  It was so touching when Jed was leaving the White House to go to the press conference in the middle of a storm without his overcoat and Charlie took his coat off when he saw the President wasn't wearing one.  I have to admit that I got a little choked up over the gesture.

[CJRocks]

I almost forgot about the coat in the rainstorm, just another way that Charlie proved his devotion.

[BoogieBurns]

The scene in season 4 when there is a shooting in the press room. Then they "seal" the Oval office to be sure the president is safe and Bartlett asks where Charlie is. They are all (paraphrased) "no one is getting in here, Mr. President, not possible" and he's like "if Charlie knows there was a shooting, you better believe he'll get to me." Then you see Charlie bust through the door. 

I have never loved him more than in that moment. I rewound maybe 10 times on my first viewing. What a guy. 

[Zola]

I liked Charlie too, although he doesn't quite get into my "favourite 5 West Wing Gang".

I was particularly taken by him on his debut episode, when he was applying for the messenger job, but finds himself being intrusively questioned by Josh for the president's Personal Aide. The confusion in Charlie's face is wonderful; but despite the confusion he always remains polite to Josh, calling him "Sir" and apologising. But the one line that really makes me smile/endears me to him is ...

Quote

I’ve got a driver’s licence and my own bike so...

Almost at once I am visualising Charlie Young on his push bike, following the President in the corridors of the White House. 

However, I wasn't a big fan when he hitched up with Zoe, although I can understand the reasoning by means of creating one or two decent story lines. But it just didn't feel natural to my way of thinking. 

And then come seasons 6 and 7, Charlie is no longer Bartlet's personal aide, and he just seemed to wander round through each episode like a 5th wheel. I would have loved to have seen him become more embroiled within the political machinations of the White House/Capital Hill, as well as having one or two story-arcs of his own.

Three stand-out scenes for me (others have already been discussed here):-

"Hartsfield's Landing" (Season 3 15 I think), and CJ & Charlie going toe-to-toe with each with some crazy pranks, until ultimately Charlie wins the day when CJ's desk collapses

Quote

CJ - So, how long do you usually make people your bitch? 
Charlie - That Depends. 
CJ - Okay. 

Then there's ""20 hours in America Part II"" (Season 4 2), and Charlie's wonderful defence of CJ to a disrespecting Anthony

Quote

Charlie -  This is Ms. Cregg. She's the White House Press Secretary and senior counsel to the President. And if she wasn't, she would still be Ms. Cregg!

I don't mind you not respecting people. I mind you doing it out loud. I mind you doing it in this building. You wanna be a punk, fine, but I don't think you've got the size for it. You wanna go to juvey, get out, deal, and kill cops? Okay, but every time you do a crime, you get caught, so I think you're gonna have to do something else.

9:00 on Saturday mornings, I eat breakfast at Cosmo's on Delaware. I come here for an hour and do office work, and then I go to St. Jude's for an hour to play basketball. You can go to juvey, or you can be at Cosmo's 9:00 on Saturday morning. It's entirely up to you.

 

and "Celestial Navigation" (Season 1 15) And Charlie has to ring Jed for his 6:30am wake-up call

Quote

Charlie - Good morning, Mr. President. It’s Charlie. I hope...

POTUS - What could you possibly want right now?

Charlie - Sir, it’s 6:30am, and...

POTUS - In the morning?

Charlie - Yes sir. And I wanted to remind you that...

POTUS -  I mean, what in the name of everything holy could you want right now?

Charlie - I wanted to remind you that you have a 7:00 a.m. at the Oval Office with senior staff, followed by your security and intelligence briefings, and a meeting with the Chairman of the Fed. Would you like me to have the stewards bring you some coffee and the Washington Post?

POTUS - Who the hell is this?

Charlie - Sir.

POTUS -  And what could you possibly want?

Charlie - Sir. I need you to dig in now. It wasn’t a nightmare. You really are the President.

 

Brilliant! Especially Charlie's final line.. "..you really are the president!"

Edited July 16, 2017 by Only Zola

[Kohola3]

All wonderful lines.  I adored Charlie.

[BW Manilowe]

3 hours ago, Only Zola said:

I liked Charlie too, although he doesn't quite get into my "favourite 5 West Wing Gang".

I was particularly taken by him on his debut episode, when he was applying for the messenger job, but finds himself being intrusively questioned by Josh for the president's Personal Aide. The confusion in Charlie's face is wonderful; but despite the confusion he always remains polite to Josh, calling him "Sir" and apologising. But the one line that really makes me smile/endears me to him is ...

Almost at once I am visualising Charlie Young on his push bike, following the President in the corridors of the White House. 

However, I wasn't a big fan when he hitched up with Zoe, although I can understand the reasoning by means of creating one or two decent story lines. But it just didn't feel natural to my way of thinking. 

And then come seasons 6 and 7, Charlie is no longer Bartlet's personal aide, and he just seemed to wander round through each episode like a 5th wheel. I would have loved to have seen him become more embroiled within the political machinations of the White House/Capital Hill, as well as having one or two story-arcs of his own.

Three stand-out scenes for me (others have already been discussed here):-

"Hartsfield's Landing" (Season 3 15 I think), and CJ & Charlie going toe-to-toe with each with some crazy pranks, until ultimately Charlie wins the day when CJ's desk collapses

Then there's ""20 hours in America Part II"" (Season 4 2), and Charlie's wonderful defence of CJ to a disrespecting Anthony

 

and "Celestial Navigation" (Season 1 15) And Charlie has to ring Jed for his 6:30am wake-up call

 

Brilliant! Especially Charlie's final line.. "..you really are the president!"

By season 7, if not by season 6, Dulé Hill (who played Charlie) had started filming his next TV show, Psych, which aired in the US on USA Network (a cable channel here) for 8 seasons (not sure if/where it aired in the UK). Perhaps that added to the "5th wheel" feeling you got from Charlie in the last 2 seasons.

[Zola]

26 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

By season 7, if not by season 6, Dulé Hill (who played Charlie) had started filming his next TV show, Psych, which aired in the US on USA Network (a cable channel here) for 8 seasons (not sure if/where it aired in the UK). Perhaps that added to the "5th wheel" feeling you got from Charlie in the last 2 seasons.

 

Thanks for the heads-up. I had heard that Dulé was dividing his time between shows, and that both he and Toby's Richard Schiff wanted to either leave TWW at the end of S6, or have few appearances in 7 due to such commitments. 

Psych, did air on UK TV, but for whatever reason the channel schedulers lost faith in the show by S3 and started moving it around to later and later in the evening. I don't even know if we got to see all 8 seasons!

Is it worth tracking down? It has a quite favourable score on IMDb with a lot of positive reviews. 

Edited July 16, 2017 by Only Zola

[Kohola3]

4 minutes ago, Only Zola said:

Is it worth tracking down? It has a quite favourable score on IMDb with a lot of positive reviews. 

While not a real fan, I did enjoy it mostly for Dule.  His co-star was a bit too manic for my taste but Dule was hysterical at times.  Comedy is his forte.

[Zola]

1 hour ago, Kohola3 said:

While not a real fan, I did enjoy it mostly for Dule.  His co-star was a bit too manic for my taste but Dule was hysterical at times.  Comedy is his forte.

I will do a search on Kodi and check it out. 

Thanks!

[Bastet]

I think he's a lot better in Psych than he is on WW (where he's not actually bad, just incredibly outmatched by the acting giants he's surrounded by), and it's just a cute little show.  I haven't seen a lot of it, but what I've seen I liked.  And when they do a parody episode, they seriously do their homework -- wonderful allusions to the source material via camera work, score, casting, dialogue, etc. 

My favorite Charlie moment is the Celestial Navigation phone call.  (I like the "You're taking extra protection, right?" scene a lot, too, but that's entirely because of Leo.)  I love his relationship with Jed.  I don't particularly care for Zoey, and think Elisabeth Moss does a pretty poor job playing her, so I can't get properly invested in his relationship with her.  And I definitely think they should have let that go a lot sooner than they did.

[BW Manilowe]

If there are any Dulé Hill fans here who haven't heard, USA Network is airing a Psych cast reunion movie, Psych: The Movie, in December. And the HBO series Ballers, in which Dulé also appears, starts its next season next week, I think it is.

He can also be seen in the canceled-after-2episodes CBS series Doubt, which is currently doing a "burn off" of the episodes that were filmed but not aired before cancellation; those air Saturday nights at 8PM Eastern/7PM Central. And he's in the film Sleight which was recently in (at least) US movie theatres.

[Kohola3]

Quote

 I love his relationship with Jed.

when Jed have Charlie the Paul Revere knives I was reduced to a puddle of tears.

[CJRocks]

I heard that Dule is also joining the cast of Suits this season, which airs on USA. I am not sure at which point his character airs, and I don't know anything about the character. I have the first episode DVR'd. but haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

[BW Manilowe]

19 hours ago, CJRocks said:

I heard that Dule is also joining the cast of Suits this season, which airs on USA. I am not sure at which point his character airs, and I don't know anything about the character. I have the first episode DVR'd. but haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

You're right, he is & I forgot that. Probably because I haven't been watching it. I think I read his character's supposed to be a lawyer (does that sound right for the show, anyone).

[Zola]

I have got hold of all 8 seasons of "Psych" on Kodi - so I think i will treat myself this coming weekend to a bit of a Season 1 marathon!

Just out of interest is this show one of those slow burners that doesn't find its feet until latter seasons? 

[BW Manilowe]

59 minutes ago, Only Zola said:

I have got hold of all 8 seasons of "Psych" on Kodi - so I think i will treat myself this coming weekend to a bit of a Season 1 marathon!

Just out of interest is this show one of those slow burners that doesn't find its feet until latter seasons? 

I thought it was good from the get-go. It's kind of a weird premise. The main character & Dulé's character are BFF's from childhood & when Dulé's character's not at his other job (pharmaceutical sales representative), & sometimes when he is, they solve crimes based on the main character claiming he's psychic but he's really not--just has a good sense of perception (I think that's how you'd describe it)--& that's gotten them a consultant position with the Santa Barbara (California) Police Department & their detective division. Part of the premise is also, is he fooling everyone regarding his "psychic" ability or not (do they believe he is or not)? Once you see the first ep or 2, I think you'll understand the premise. As someone else said upthread, they also do great homages to/parodies of big things in pop culture in some episodes. Like the Friday the 13th movies/horror movies in general & Twin Peaks, & I can't remember what else right now. Or they do eps set in/flashing back to a different decade, & they do Christmas episodes. They also change up the style in which the theme song's done sometimes, depending on the plot of the episode, & they have some really interesting guest stars.

With its premise, it's not necessarily everybody's cup of tea, but hopefully you'll like it.

[Zola]

Excellent!  I have the house to myself this weekend, so will indulge while trying hard not to think of Charlie in the role ?

[CJRocks]

I love Psych. Did you know that there is a pineapple in every episode? Psych the Musical guest-starred Anthony Rapp of Rent fame and was an opportunity for Dule to show off his mad dancing skills.

Suits is about a law firm that has always exclusively hired Harvard Law graduates. I read that Dule's character will have graduated from Georgetown Law, as a salute to Charlie. The first couple of seasons, it was a good show. The last couple? The shark, she has jumped.