Guest July 27, 2017 Share July 27, 2017 6 minutes ago, Only Zola said: 7/ The State Dinner Link to comment
Bastet July 27, 2017 Share July 27, 2017 I'm one who loves Edward James Olmos (although that is undoubtedly influenced by who he is as a person, rather than being exclusively based on his acting). When I was trying to think of little things I don't like about each of the remaining episodes, I skipped right over The Short List, figuring it wouldn't matter what I don't like, because EJO is in it and thus I won't be voting for it. He Shall, From Time to Time - CJ/Danny and Sam/Mallory Take Out the Trash Day - More CJ/Danny, and Mandy having to tell C.J. how to do her job (It was a toss-up between this and Mandatory Minimums, and I decided to be contrary). Link to comment
Melancholy July 27, 2017 Share July 27, 2017 (edited) @Bastet Well, I knew my Anti-EJO opinion was a minority one. Sounds like a great guy but he's a dull actor. I don't think it's as clear as "Mandy telling CJ how to do her job." The press secretary role is complicated because it involves serving the president to put him in the best light possible but it's also a tax-payer paid position where they're supposed to be serving the people. Moreover, the Bartleteers are internally progressive on gay rights. They just pretend like they're less so because it's the late '90s and the country wasn't there yet. Mainstream politicians like Obama or the Clintons didn't "evolve" on gay rights from the 90s. Society just reached a tipping point where those views became acceptable even among the non coastal elite set. CJ understandably and even correctly believed they don't serve the country or even their own partisan beliefs by silencing a grieving father when he's actually just willing to advocate for the LGBTQ accepting world that CJ wants anyway. Based on Mandy's insistence, CJ retreats into the "safe" option of silencing the father but I'm still not convinced Mandy was right. Edited July 27, 2017 by Melancholy Link to comment
Moose135 July 28, 2017 Share July 28, 2017 3 hours ago, Bastet said: I'm one who loves Edward James Olmos (although that is undoubtedly influenced by who he is as a person, rather than being exclusively based on his acting). When I was trying to think of little things I don't like about each of the remaining episodes, I skipped right over The Short List, figuring it wouldn't matter what I don't like, because EJO is in it and thus I won't be voting for it. I'm a big fan of EJO as well, I've liked him in just about everything I've seen. I have one minor complaint I have about The Short List, which didn't come to light until much later. As much as I liked the character of Justice Mendoza, in retrospect I hate that they used EJO in that role. I think he would have been perfect to play the Democratic presidential candidate who would succeed Jed Bartlet. Link to comment
Guest July 28, 2017 Share July 28, 2017 Goodbye to "He Shall from Time to Time" and "Mandatory Minimums." I love both of these episodes, but not as much as the ones left, so.... Keep voting against two! 7. The State Dinner 9. The Short List 10. In Excelsis Deo 13. Take out the Trash Day 15. Celestial Navigation 19. Let Bartlet Be Bartlet 22. What Kind of Day Link to comment
Bastet July 28, 2017 Share July 28, 2017 Take Out the Trash Day - because of yesterday's reasons Let Bartlet Be Bartlet - because I don't actually care about Mandy's memo Link to comment
Guest July 29, 2017 Share July 29, 2017 Take Out the Trash Day and The Short List are gone! Vote against one; this will determine our four finalists for Season 1! 7. The State Dinner 10. In Excelsis Deo 15. Celestial Navigation 19. Let Bartlet Be Bartlet 22. What Kind of Day Link to comment
Bastet July 29, 2017 Share July 29, 2017 Let Bartlet Be Bartlet Are we going to keep eliminating, to come up with a winner for season one, or just stop when we have the final four? (I know eventually, when we have a top four for each season, we'll have the all-star round between all those top fours to pick our favorite episode of the whole series, I'm just wondering if we're ranking those final four season by season first? That's what I'm used to, but this sounds different, so I want to be sure.) Link to comment
Guest July 29, 2017 Share July 29, 2017 3 hours ago, Bastet said: Let Bartlet Be Bartlet Are we going to keep eliminating, to come up with a winner for season one, or just stop when we have the final four? (I know eventually, when we have a top four for each season, we'll have the all-star round between all those top fours to pick our favorite episode of the whole series, I'm just wondering if we're ranking those final four season by season first? That's what I'm used to, but this sounds different, so I want to be sure.) The other forum I've seen it done on we get down to the finalists and don't have a winner for the season. If you guys want though, we can keep going til we get a winner. Though at this point, it might make sense to do it through ranking instead of 3 more days of voting? Let me know. :) Link to comment
Bastet July 30, 2017 Share July 30, 2017 Sure, ranking to make it faster works for me, but I'd definitely like to have season winners as well as a series winner. Link to comment
Guest July 30, 2017 Share July 30, 2017 When we finish voting and have the four finalists, we will do a ranking too. Which means I'll have to figure out how to choose between a couple of my favorites... it won't be easy! ;) Link to comment
Guest July 30, 2017 Share July 30, 2017 Well, two episodes each have two votes. So we'll just add them to the ranking. Rank your choices in order of favorite to least and this will be the final round for Season 1. :) The State Dinner In Excelsis Deo Celestial Navigation Let Bartlet Be Bartlet What Kind of Day Link to comment
Guest July 30, 2017 Share July 30, 2017 1) Celestial Navigation for the win 2) In Excelsis Deo 3) The State Dinner (the episode where I fell in love with the show) 4) What Kind of Day 5) Let Bartlet to Bartlet Link to comment
Bastet July 30, 2017 Share July 30, 2017 1. Celestial Navigation - far and away, the winner 2. The State Dinner - weaves multiple storylines together wonderfully, and it's Mandy's one good episode 3. In Excelsis Deo - a terrific showpiece for Toby, and Mrs. Landingham 4. What Kind of Day Has It Been - if the others weren't so good, this would be ranked higher if for no other reason than how wonderfully it's shot, but it's really just a typically solid episode except for the ending; the really great stuff happens as season two kicks off 5. Let Bartlet Be Bartlet - great moments abound, but the Mandy's memo thing permeates and I just don't care Link to comment
Zola July 31, 2017 Share July 31, 2017 Celestial Navigation - perhaps the funniest episode of the entire show, especially Josh's "Secret plan to fight inflation" In Excelsis Deo - a very close 2nd. Toby gives a passionate performance, and the ending was extremely well done. What Kind of Day Has It Been - a well put-together episode with a surprise cliff-hanger. Let Bartlet Be Bartlet - I enjoyed this episode because it comes off as a great big reality check for the sometimes smug senior staff, not least the memo, but the problems of getting gays accepted in the military; Danny defending his reporting against an irate CJ; but I loved Margaret's "muffin" problem too. Could have been a great episode had it not been for the rather cringe-worthy "I serve at the pleasure of the president" scene The State Dinner - good, but not great. Didn't really like the Indonesian state dinner storyline; the tedium of the Sam/Laurie thing is just a distraction; and then of course Mandy is still hovering around like a bad odour. The only standout story I really liked was the president talking to a sailor on a distressed ship being battered by a hurricane. Link to comment
Melancholy July 31, 2017 Share July 31, 2017 1. Celestial Navigation 2. What Kind Of Day Has It Been 3. Let Bartlet Be Bartlet 4. The State Dinner Link to comment
Guest July 31, 2017 Share July 31, 2017 The Season One Winner is...... Celestial Navigation! Moving on to the finals are second place winner In Excelsis Deo, third place winner What Kind of Day, and fourth place finisher The State Dinner. Not moving on is Let Bartlet be Bartlet. Voting for Season 2 opens now! Vote against 3: 1) In the Shadow of Two Gunmen (Parts 1 and 2) 3) The Midterms 4) In This White House 5) And It's Surely to Their Credit 6) The Lame Duck Congress 7) The Portland Trip 8) Shibboleth 9) Galileo 10) Noel 11) The Leadership Breakfast 12) The Drop-In 13) Bartlet's Third State of the Union 14) The War At Home 15) Ellie 16) Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail 17) The Stackhouse Filibuster 18) 17 People 19) Bad Moon Rising 20) The Fall's Gonna Kill You 21) 18th and Potomac 22) Two Cathedrals Link to comment
Melancholy July 31, 2017 Share July 31, 2017 (edited) Somebody's Going to Emergency...: I only truly like the Cartographers for Social Equality plot, Leo's Big Block of Cheese speech and the related sniping from the staffers, and Nancy McNally being awesome. That's a lot but this is S2. Now, for the stuff that sucked. Sam's plot about his dad's infidelity is weird. It's lifted directly from Sports Night so it's not original. But why did Sorkin bother self plagiarizing? It's not like the plot was so strange it was interesting like Toby's dad being a gangster or led to meaningful character development that became thematic for the character like Josh's sister dying in a fire or captured something universal like CJ's dad's altzheimers. It was just weirdly sordid. It was just a one off. UO, but I also think Rob Lowe overacted. I really resent when Donna takes a whole ep out of being an assistant to go on some personal crusade. It's not realistic that she could do it as frequently as she does and it smells bad when she tries to use the President's powers for her personal issues, even if it's meant with impulsive generosity. Toby's WTO protest was dumb. Free trade critics aren't crackpots. That ep really showed its age, given the world today. And it was beyond bizarre for Toby's crackpot/political plot to be taken over by flirting with some random cop. It's like Sorkin thought of writing a free trade story but then, he got all impressed with himself for thinking of security as a woman so he got carried away with writing flirt- scenes. The Portland Trip: A nice little episode. But this is S2. So critiques. More of Leo's "good girl" crap but directed at Margaret. CJ and Jed were funny in the Notre Dame story but the razzing was too big a part of the ep. And it felt mean spirited when Jed asked CJ to weigh in on defying policy for energy smuggling only to use it as an entree to humiliate her more on the stupid game. That sucked some of the "good spirited teasing" vibes from the story. The Lane Duck Congress: Another nice little ep but it's not exciting by S2 standards. Edited July 31, 2017 by Melancholy Link to comment
Bastet July 31, 2017 Share July 31, 2017 This is hard; this is my favorite season. Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail - Both Donna and Sam either annoy or bore me at times in this episode, and since they're a big chunk of it, that's an issue. Also, I share @Melancholy's criticism of the WTO protest storyline. Ellie - I find her annoying; she wouldn't be my favorite kid, either. The War at Home - For the simplistic, one-sided way a challenge to the president from the left is treated. Link to comment
Guest July 31, 2017 Share July 31, 2017 Ellie - she is such a grating character to me that it's not surprising I hate an episode centered on her The Stackhouse Filibuster - I dislike this episode intensely. The Portland Trip - it's not a bad episode; it's just not a very good one Link to comment
Guest August 1, 2017 Share August 1, 2017 Goodbye to Ellie, as you are not our favorite either. The Portland Trip went nowhere. Somebody's Going to Emergency is going to this game's version of jail. Keep voting for three! 1) In the Shadow of Two Gunmen (Parts 1 and 2) 3) The Midterms 4) In This White House 5) And It's Surely to Their Credit 6) The Lame Duck Congress 8) Shibboleth 9) Galileo 10) Noel 11) The Leadership Breakfast 12) The Drop-In 13) Bartlet's Third State of the Union 14) The War At Home 17) The Stackhouse Filibuster 18) 17 People 19) Bad Moon Rising 20) The Fall's Gonna Kill You 21) 18th and Potomac 22) Two Cathedrals Link to comment
Guest August 1, 2017 Share August 1, 2017 The Stackhouse Filibuster Galileo The Drop-In Link to comment
Melancholy August 1, 2017 Share August 1, 2017 The Lame Duck Congress Galileo The Drop In Link to comment
Zola August 1, 2017 Share August 1, 2017 6) The Lame Duck Congress 9) Galileo 12) The Drop-In Link to comment
Kohola3 August 1, 2017 Share August 1, 2017 I turn my back for two minutes and you vote out In Excelsis Deo???? What the heck! 6, 9, 12 Link to comment
Bastet August 1, 2017 Share August 1, 2017 The War at Home - same reason as before The Stackhouse Filibuster - because Donna is already kind of annoying The Portland Trip - because Danny is even more annoying Link to comment
PeterPirate August 1, 2017 Share August 1, 2017 The Midterms In This White House Lame Duck Congress Link to comment
Guest August 2, 2017 Share August 2, 2017 4 hours ago, Kohola3 said: I turn my back for two minutes and you vote out In Excelsis Deo???? What the heck! 6, 9, 12 YOU'RE BACK?!?!? And it did finish second for its season- pretty good! Link to comment
Kohola3 August 2, 2017 Share August 2, 2017 I'm back. And there is a LOT to be said for being without any Internet or phone for two weeks! I think that's my favorite episode of the entire series. I can cry buckets just reading the title. Link to comment
Guest August 2, 2017 Share August 2, 2017 Good bye to Galileo, The Lame Duck Congress, and The Drop In. Keep voting against three! 1) In the Shadow of Two Gunmen (Parts 1 and 2) 3) The Midterms 4) In This White House 5) And It's Surely to Their Credit 8) Shibboleth 10) Noel 11) The Leadership Breakfast 13) Bartlet's Third State of the Union 14) The War At Home 17) The Stackhouse Filibuster 18) 17 People 19) Bad Moon Rising 20) The Fall's Gonna Kill You 21) 18th and Potomac 22) Two Cathedrals Link to comment
Guest August 2, 2017 Share August 2, 2017 The Stackhouse Filibuster Bad Moon Rising Two Cathedrals Link to comment
Melancholy August 2, 2017 Share August 2, 2017 The Leadership Breakfast The Midterms 17 People Link to comment
Zola August 2, 2017 Share August 2, 2017 3) The Midterms 8) Shibboleth 14) The War At Home Link to comment
Bastet August 2, 2017 Share August 2, 2017 The War at Home The Stackhouse Filibuster The Midterms - there are so many moments in this I love, but I don't care for the Zoey/Charlie stuff (as per usual), I don't care about the little kid whose dad works in IT, and as much as I like the realism that people sometimes behave irrationally and need to be talked down, it's also a little uncomfortable watching Toby attempt to put the Constitution in the shredder. (Also, Sam can miss me getting pissy that a guy who engages in racist jury selection is not going to have his candidacy supported.) Link to comment
Melancholy August 2, 2017 Share August 2, 2017 (edited) 28 minutes ago, Bastet said: The Midterms - there are so many moments in this I love, but I don't care for the Zoey/Charlie stuff (as per usual), I don't care about the little kid whose dad works in IT, and as much as I like the realism that people sometimes behave irrationally and need to be talked down, it's also a little uncomfortable watching Toby attempt to put the Constitution in the shredder. (Also, Sam can miss me getting pissy that a guy who engages in racist jury selection is not going to have his candidacy supported.) Damn, these are really good points. Glad I voted for The Midterms but I forgot how I didn't care about the IT guy's kid or how ridiculous and offensive I found Sam getting pissy because he lost face about the DNC rightfully withdrawing support from a racist candidate. Edited August 2, 2017 by Melancholy Link to comment
Guest August 3, 2017 Share August 3, 2017 3 hours ago, PeterPirate said: How often are we allowed to vote? Once per round. I try to keep it as close as I can to posting a round at the 24 hour mark, but my schedule gets a little crazy sometimes or I'm in a meeting when it's time to post. Link to comment
Guest August 3, 2017 Share August 3, 2017 Goodbye to The Midterms, War at Home, and The Stackhouse Filibuster. Drop to voting against 2! 1) In the Shadow of Two Gunmen (Parts 1 and 2) 4) In This White House 5) And It's Surely to Their Credit 8) Shibboleth 10) Noel 11) The Leadership Breakfast 13) Bartlet's Third State of the Union 18) 17 People 19) Bad Moon Rising 20) The Fall's Gonna Kill You 21) 18th and Potomac 22) Two Cathedrals Link to comment
Zola August 3, 2017 Share August 3, 2017 (edited) 8) Shibboleth 11) The Leadership Breakfast Edited August 3, 2017 by Only Zola Link to comment
Bastet August 3, 2017 Share August 3, 2017 Shibboleth - I held off on this one because of the turkeys, but I loathe with the heat of a nova the knife storyline, so it's time. ("This has been in my family for hundreds of years, but I only have daughters, so enough of that." And instead of just giving you a gift and asking you to go find me a new knife [and tell you what damn knife I want], I'm going to send you off on some ridiculous quest while I sit back and amuse myself by watching you waste your time on my orders.) In This White House - "Sam's getting his ass kicked by a girl." Fuck you, Sorkin. (Also, I don't like Ainsley, although that's not really true yet in this one. I do think the delivery of her "I'm their lawyer" speech is bad, though.) Link to comment
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