Guest October 30, 2020 Share October 30, 2020 Despite having access to the show on Netflix and owning the DVD set, I’m watching on TNT today. I think my favorite sequence in the whole show starts as Abby cuts of his tie through “Can we have it back, please?” Link to comment
Kohola3 October 30, 2020 Share October 30, 2020 Watching election night on TNT. What a great flashback to see people lined up to vote, the machines with the levers and the curtain, the football player being so excited and wanting to "go again". Gave me the warm fuzzies for sure. 3 Link to comment
PeterPirate October 31, 2020 Share October 31, 2020 (edited) On 10/29/2020 at 11:48 AM, ifionlyknew said: I must be in the minority because I didn't care for Sterling K. Brown's performance as Leo. I didn't dislike it but he portrayed him as emotionless and John Spencer always played Leo as someone who you could feel his emotions right there right under the surface and could bubble out at any moment. SKB's Leo seemed very tightly wound and I never saw JS's Leo as that way. Completely agree. John Spencer brought empathy and vulnerability to Leo. Leo was, after all, a recovering alcoholic. I think it's hard for most male actors to make the kinds of acting choices that John Spencer did. I am reminded that James Caan was cast in Misery after a bunch of actors turned down a role where they had to be at the mercy of a female character. I still consider Bartlet For America to be the best hour of TV I have ever seen. And: Sean Connery was in The Hunt For Red October withSam Neill who was in Jurassic Park withLaura Dern, the US Poet Laureate Edited October 31, 2020 by PeterPirate 2 Link to comment
GHScorpiosRule November 2, 2020 Share November 2, 2020 So I was watching Copland last night and when I saw John Spencer, I was like: 'How could I forget that he was in this?' to 'Oh NOOOOESSSSS! He's a dirty cop!' to 'Well, at least he was only in three or four scenes and only spoke in his first one' No wonder I'd blanked it out! Still a good movie with a stellar cast. Link to comment
ifionlyknew November 2, 2020 Share November 2, 2020 13 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said: So I was watching Copland last night and when I saw John Spencer, I was like: 'How could I forget that he was in this?' to 'Oh NOOOOESSSSS! He's a dirty cop!' to 'Well, at least he was only in three or four scenes and only spoke in his first one' No wonder I'd blanked it out! Still a good movie with a stellar cast. There is an 80's movie Hiding Out in which John Spencer plays an FBI agent. When I had originally seen the movie I didn't know who JS was and didn't pay much attention to his character who was only onscreen for less than 10 mins. Fast Forward about 15 years and upon a rewatch I see JS and think hey It's Leo. He is also in a good Billy Crystal movie called Forget Paris. Link to comment
BlackberryJam November 2, 2020 Share November 2, 2020 John Spencer was the cop in Presumed Innocent, 1990 Harrison Ford film based on a Scott Turow book. It's good. I loved Raul Julia in that film and right now, why couldn't Raul Julia have played Matt Santos' father?? That would have been fantastic. (Yes, it's only a 15 year age difference, but who cares?) I miss Raul Julia. 4 Link to comment
GHScorpiosRule November 2, 2020 Share November 2, 2020 I first got introduced to John Spencer on L.A. Law, as Tommy. He was awesome. Then in the pilot for Law & Order Mothership as the father of the victim. I was like, hey! It's Tommy! I loved the way he pronounced antibiotic, as anteeebeeotic; I always say it as antibyeotic! Hee! 1 Link to comment
BlackberryJam November 2, 2020 Share November 2, 2020 4 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said: I first got introduced to John Spencer on L.A. Law, as Tommy. He was awesome. Then in the pilot for Law & Order Mothership as the father of the victim. I was like, hey! It's Tommy! I loved the way he pronounced antibiotic, as anteeebeeotic; I always say it as antibyeotic! Hee! Oh that’s right. And Jimmy Smits was on LA Law. He and John Spencer had ...I think two seasons together? Victor and Tommy, that’s your presidential ticket! 1 2 Link to comment
AriAu November 2, 2020 Share November 2, 2020 (edited) Quote For anyone without access to HBO Max at the time it was released, A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote is now available free-to-all until the end of 2020 at this link: https://www.hbomax.com/votebecause Thanks for the heads up......and given everything else going on, I decided to watch it 3 or 4 more times and noticed the following: 1. The napkin on Sterling K Leo's desk at the beginning while talking to POTUS...was it there in the original? 2. Toby bouncing the spaldeen in the black and white stills. Since it wasnt part of the episode, its got to be safe to assume that Richard Schiff brought his own. 3. First time they said "New Hampshire", i instinctively said "It's what's new" 4. Is it possible to buy Snuffy and the quintet doing the opening theme? 5. Mackie Flender-Fed Chair.Ha! 6. Didn't love the PSAs other than Dule and Elizabeth Moss-perfect writing and just the right tinge of "yeah, we know its over the top, but it's ok". Dule and Sterling K crossed that line......and seriously, how did Samuel L not swear once. 7. The staging was great and there were virtually no gaffes....but was that pawn supposed to fall over. 8. For all WingNuts, be sure to check out The West Wing Weekly Pod with Joshua Malina and Hrishi.....Sorkin is on and there are some pretty cool insights into how it got made. Edited November 2, 2020 by AriAu 1 Link to comment
kassygreene November 3, 2020 Share November 3, 2020 10 hours ago, BlackberryJam said: Oh that’s right. And Jimmy Smits was on LA Law. He and John Spencer had ...I think two seasons together? Victor and Tommy, that’s your presidential ticket! As I recall (and just verified on IMDB), JS's first television credit was on the pilot for Miami Vice. And in that role, a very young and skinny Jimmy Smits also played the first person to be killed on Miami Vice. 2 Link to comment
PeterPirate November 3, 2020 Share November 3, 2020 (edited) 9 hours ago, AriAu said: 1. The napkin on Sterling K Leo's desk at the beginning while talking to POTUS...was it there in the original? Wow, I did not catch the napkin while watching the special. Thanks for that. I went back and did not see it in the original episode. Fwiw, I don't think they used the exact same napkin Bartlet gave to Leo in Bartlet For America. I'm pretty sure they did use the same one on the final scene of Tomorrow. But hey, it's been 15 years, and it's the thought that counts. Edited November 3, 2020 by PeterPirate 1 Link to comment
GHScorpiosRule November 3, 2020 Share November 3, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, kassygreene said: As I recall (and just verified on IMDB), JS's first television credit was on the pilot for Miami Vice. And in that role, a very young and skinny Jimmy Smits also played the first person to be killed on Miami Vice. When I read this, I thought, wait, John Spencer wasn't in the pilot of Miami Vice! And then when you wrote out Jimmy's name, I was like, ohhhhh, @kassygreene was talking about Jimmy Smits when she typed "JS"!🤪 Edited November 3, 2020 by GHScorpiosRule Link to comment
PeterPirate November 4, 2020 Share November 4, 2020 From Election Night: Sam - Democrats and diehards vote early, right? From What Kind Of Day Has It Been: Bartlet - Decisions are made by those who show up. 2 Link to comment
GHScorpiosRule November 5, 2020 Share November 5, 2020 I meant to post this much, much earlier, but I got sidetracked, heh. When Bartlet is talking about the current Prime Minister in India as the granddaughter of the first, Nehru (total fiction here, because Rajiv, his grandson was the last Gandhi to be Prime Minister when he was assassinated), I got a smile on my face. Why? Because I remember Martin Sheen playing an American reporter in 1982's Gandhi, who reported when India gained her independence. And it's also one of the reasons I cringe when Bartlet mispronounces Kashmir. Oh, what I would have given if Roshan Seth had made a cameo on this show. Link to comment
PeterPirate November 7, 2020 Share November 7, 2020 (edited) From Election Night: Jack - You know, this is the first election in my life where I haven't had to vote by absentee ballot and I was really looking forward to pulling that lever. Donna - Absentee ballot. I know how you feel. I'm from Wisconsin. It's my home, but here I am in Washington on Election Day. Jack - I've usually been on a Los Angeles class submarine in the South China Sea. Donna - Don't try to trump me here. It's not a battle. We're in this together. Edited November 8, 2020 by PeterPirate 4 Link to comment
Kohola3 November 7, 2020 Share November 7, 2020 Wow, what inadvertant foreshadowing! 2 Link to comment
MaryMitch November 8, 2020 Share November 8, 2020 18 hours ago, Kohola3 said: Wow, what inadvertant foreshadowing! I recently finished binge watching the series (watched it instead of election coverage since I knew that would be a waste of time), and it's amazing how many topics in the show are relevant now. 4 Link to comment
kieyra November 8, 2020 Share November 8, 2020 We're also rewatching. I had forgotten the stuff about the space shuttle Columbia in season one. Oof. That was hard to watch. As a result of rewatch, I also discovered that Aaron Sorkin apparently doesn't use twitter. (I looked, only found one tweet from 2014.) Can't say I blame him. I tried to briefly tell my husband how Sorkin got into it with viewers on TWOP back in the day and came out looking ... not great (for the pre-social media times) ... but the husband worships Sorkin and was not having any of it. It's hard not to watch young Elisabeth Moss through slightly jaded eyes now and be super unimpressed with her acting. (That early scene in the Georgetown bar is also pretty silly in general, in terms of how long Zoey remains physically blocked behind the two cartoon villains.) 2 Link to comment
Bastet November 8, 2020 Share November 8, 2020 1 hour ago, kieyra said: It's hard not to watch young Elisabeth Moss through slightly jaded eyes now and be super unimpressed with her acting. I was thoroughly unimpressed with her acting at the time, so remain a bit stunned she went on to have the career she's had as an adult. The only thing I've seen her in since is Us, so I don't have a proper frame of reference, but, while she was better there she was just okay. 1 Link to comment
VCRTracking November 9, 2020 Share November 9, 2020 (edited) Dang. I forgive Akiva Goldsmith for BATMAN & ROBIN now! Edited November 9, 2020 by VCRTracking 1 Link to comment
PeterPirate November 10, 2020 Share November 10, 2020 On 11/7/2020 at 3:43 PM, Kohola3 said: Wow, what inadvertant foreshadowing! I know, right? I sometimes edit lines from the show slightly for dramatic effect. But in this case I took the words exactly from the transcript. Any change I made would have only been detrimental. And from In The Shadow Of Two Gunmen. Words that I literally quoted to my daughter while imploring her to be diplomatic (ie, "act like an adult") in writing an email expressing her unhappiness over some substandard customer service. Leo - Act as if ye have faith and faith shall be given to you. Put it another way, fake it till you make it. Link to comment
BW Manilowe November 10, 2020 Share November 10, 2020 (edited) On 11/9/2020 at 1:17 PM, VCRTracking said: Dang. I forgive Akiva Goldsmith for BATMAN & ROBIN now! Akiva’s last name is Goldsman, not Goldsmith. Edited November 13, 2020 by BW Manilowe To fix a name and spacing. 1 Link to comment
ProudMary November 11, 2020 Share November 11, 2020 Let's all send our healthiest vibes to Richard Schiff (and to Sheila Kelley too.) 2 Link to comment
anna0852 November 11, 2020 Share November 11, 2020 Someone needs to go outside, turn around three times and spit... 1 6 Link to comment
Kohola3 November 11, 2020 Share November 11, 2020 As my local committee members were celebrating on election night I kept repeating: "You want to tempt the wrath of the whatever from high atop the thing?" Of course, none of them knew what that meant. But look what happened. 1 3 Link to comment
PeterPirate November 12, 2020 Share November 12, 2020 I have a certain song running in my head over and over and over. Here's a related quote from The Indians In The Lobby: Bartlet - There's nothing wrong with the policy, it's just too small. I could fund this initiative out of my pocket. Toby - It's ten million dollars. Bartlet - Leo could fund it out of his pocket. Shouldn't this be local government, like the YMCA or something? 1 Link to comment
ifionlyknew November 12, 2020 Share November 12, 2020 On 11/8/2020 at 1:56 PM, kieyra said: We're also rewatching. I had forgotten the stuff about the space shuttle Columbia in season one. Oof. That was hard to watch. I just finished a season one rewatch and while I remembered the space shuttle story with Toby's brother I honestly think I had forgotten about it when the other space shuttle story came up in later seasons when I watched it when it originally aired. Watching the show now while all this real life political upheaval is happening is so surreal. It saddens me that so many of the issues they talked about and fought about on the show over 20 years ago is still being fought about today. 4 Link to comment
ProudMary November 18, 2020 Share November 18, 2020 This is certainly not the update that any of us here would have wanted to see. 😔 2 Link to comment
Bastet November 19, 2020 Share November 19, 2020 (edited) Better update from Schiff today; he's just been released from the hospital: And he posted this lovely Tweet to Allison Janney for her birthday (Toby and C.J.'s relationship was my favorite of the show, and I love that the friendship between the actors grew quickly and into one that remains close): Edited November 20, 2020 by Bastet 8 Link to comment
ProudMary November 22, 2020 Share November 22, 2020 A smile for your Sunday. I watched the full video. The variety of wildlife is quite amazing. 2 Link to comment
BW Manilowe November 22, 2020 Share November 22, 2020 5 hours ago, ProudMary said: A smile for your Sunday. I watched the full video. The variety of wildlife is quite amazing. Looks like Pluie, or Pluie’s supporters finally got his/her/their wish! 3 Link to comment
ProudMary November 22, 2020 Share November 22, 2020 3 hours ago, BW Manilowe said: Looks like Pluie, or Pluie’s supporters finally got his/her/their wish! Yes, a win for "the crackpots!" Let's all have some cheese in Leo's honor. (And Jackson's, I guess.) 3 Link to comment
PeterPirate November 24, 2020 Share November 24, 2020 They need to install "Wolves Only" signs. 1 Link to comment
Driad November 25, 2020 Share November 25, 2020 2019 article about POTUSes pardoning turkeys. Link to comment
BW Manilowe November 30, 2020 Share November 30, 2020 From People: West Wing Actor Richard Schiff Warns ‘You Don’t Want This’ After COVID-19 Hospitalization He was also on MSNBC’s The Last Word, which is hosted by former TWW Writer/Producer/Executive Producer (& cameo actor, in S2’s “Two Cathedrals”, as Jed’s father) Lawrence O’Donnell, talking about his experience with the virus & the Canadian healthcare system (it appears he & actress wife Sheila Kelley contracted the virus while filming their current roles—as a married couple—in Vancouver, on ABC’s The Good Doctor, on which former Lost & Hawaii Five-0 co-star Daniel Dae Kim is now an Executive Producer). Richard was hospitalized in a Vancouver hospital. This appearance was apparently on Wednesday’s episode. The “meat” of the interview (without the intro & outro) is embedded from YouTube on the page. I think it’s interesting both Richard & his wife have their current credits in The Good Doctor, but she’s credited as having been on/in L.A. Law & he’s credited with The West Wing. I guess, technically, TWW is his most recent acting credit again though, because of the dramatic staging of “Hartsfield’s Landing” airing/aired on HBO Max. 1 Link to comment
CheshireCat November 30, 2020 Share November 30, 2020 I finally watched the Special. It was the first time I saw Sterling K Brown in anything and it was strange to see him in the role of Leo because he wasn't part of the original cast. But I still thought that he was great in the role. He'd have made a great original Leo or he'd make a great President on screen! I still get mad at Charlie or rather the lack of consequences for his actions. I think it was a disproportionate response and that he took things way too far. While super-gluing the phone was funny, he destroyed property twice and messing with the security card as an employee of the White House should be an absolute no-go. There should have been severe consequences for that. 2 Link to comment
ifionlyknew November 30, 2020 Share November 30, 2020 I'm a little more than halfway through the second season and I have to say the shady political moves by the Senate Majority Leader from the opposing party seems like something that would happen in today's real world. When I first watched the show when in aired in the late 90s I thought it was a heightened fictional portrayal of politics. Now I see it was a sign of things to come. And I might be in the minority but I could not stand Ainsley Hayes. 4 Link to comment
PeterPirate November 30, 2020 Share November 30, 2020 7 hours ago, CheshireCat said: I still get mad at Charlie or rather the lack of consequences for his actions. I think it was a disproportionate response and that he took things way too far. While super-gluing the phone was funny, he destroyed property twice and messing with the security card as an employee of the White House should be an absolute no-go. There should have been severe consequences for that. I completely agree with this. But in defense of my gender, I will add "CJ started it". Link to comment
BlackberryJam November 30, 2020 Share November 30, 2020 2 hours ago, ifionlyknew said: And I might be in the minority but I could not stand Ainsley Hayes. On rewatch, she’s much less likable. It was nice having a counterpoint to the liberal arguments made on the show, but I was really bothered by her dismissal of women’s issues and stance that sexual talk was fine in the workplace. 1 Link to comment
A.Ham November 30, 2020 Share November 30, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, CheshireCat said: or he'd make a great President on screen! You know, I read this and immediately visualized and heard Sterling K. Brown making Martin Sheen's grand entrance saying "I am the Lord your God. Thou shalt worship no other god before me." 'Cause that's just how my brain works. Edited to add the link that I originally came here to post--Richard Schiff is now doing better, and I am hoping the video below is post-COVID-19 battle (t was posted a couple of days ago): Warning: Cute dog overload Edited November 30, 2020 by A.Ham 3 Link to comment
Kohola3 November 30, 2020 Share November 30, 2020 40 minutes ago, BlackberryJam said: On rewatch, she’s much less likable. It was nice having a counterpoint to the liberal arguments made on the show, but I was really bothered by her dismissal of women’s issues and stance that sexual talk was fine in the workplace. This. I think the idea was indeed to have a counterpart and she was a brainy Republican but I hated her stance on women's rights from the get go. But then I marched for the ERA back in the day. 4 Link to comment
ifionlyknew November 30, 2020 Share November 30, 2020 1 hour ago, BlackberryJam said: On rewatch, she’s much less likable. It was nice having a counterpoint to the liberal arguments made on the show, but I was really bothered by her dismissal of women’s issues and stance that sexual talk was fine in the workplace. 19 minutes ago, Kohola3 said: This. I think the idea was indeed to have a counterpart and she was a brainy Republican but I hated her stance on women's rights from the get go. But then I marched for the ERA back in the day. Every once in awhile she would have an argument that I agreed with but then she would act like a ditz and just annoy me all over again. I think Sorkin thought her being tongue tied and getting nervous made her look cute or something but I hated it. 3 Link to comment
Bastet November 30, 2020 Share November 30, 2020 4 hours ago, ifionlyknew said: And I might be in the minority but I could not stand Ainsley Hayes. I am so with you on that one. 2 Link to comment
CheshireCat November 30, 2020 Share November 30, 2020 6 hours ago, PeterPirate said: I completely agree with this. But in defense of my gender, I will add "CJ started it". She absolutely started it but Charlie should have stopped after super-gluing the phone. Given that the phone is important for her job and the schedule is important for Charlie's job, I think they were even after that. 2 hours ago, Kohola3 said: This. I think the idea was indeed to have a counterpart and she was a brainy Republican but I hated her stance on women's rights from the get go. I don't get why no one argued that it's obviously not working and just let her argument stand but I liked her in general and wish they'd have properly used her and even kept her on. (There was even some potential for a character arc, then again, they didn't really do character arcs). 1 Link to comment
Guest December 2, 2020 Share December 2, 2020 On 11/30/2020 at 2:05 AM, CheshireCat said: I still get mad at Charlie or rather the lack of consequences for his actions. I think it was a disproportionate response and that he took things way too far. While super-gluing the phone was funny, he destroyed property twice and messing with the security card as an employee of the White House should be an absolute no-go. There should have been severe consequences for that. I think Hartsfield Landing is an episode it is good not to look too closely at, but just enjoy. For starters, the election part didn't make sense as it was a primary - of course Bartlet would win the primary. He was running unopposed for all intents and purposes. Second, the prank war escalated too far and I don't think we should really think Charlie was able to get the desk to do that. To me, it's mainly filler. But enjoyable filler. Link to comment
CheshireCat December 2, 2020 Share December 2, 2020 6 hours ago, deaja said: I think Hartsfield Landing is an episode it is good not to look too closely at, but just enjoy. For starters, the election part didn't make sense as it was a primary - of course Bartlet would win the primary. He was running unopposed for all intents and purposes. Second, the prank war escalated too far and I don't think we should really think Charlie was able to get the desk to do that. To me, it's mainly filler. But enjoyable filler. I enjoy it - until CJ comes back from her pizza run. Then I get mad at the fact that there are no consequences for Charlie and how Josh is treating Donna. 😄 1 Link to comment
anna0852 December 5, 2020 Share December 5, 2020 Boooo! The series leaves Netflix on December 24th Link to comment
marypat57 December 5, 2020 Share December 5, 2020 1 hour ago, anna0852 said: Boooo! The series leaves Netflix on December 24th Bah humbug Link to comment
BW Manilowe December 6, 2020 Share December 6, 2020 On 12/4/2020 at 11:28 PM, anna0852 said: Boooo! The series leaves Netflix on December 24th And it moves EXCLUSIVELY to HBO Max (but I don’t know when it starts there; just that it was announced in October, 2019, that it would be on HBO Max after the deal with Netflix expired). So hopefully some kept their free trials from the “Hartsfield’s Landing” dramatic staged presentation. Otherwise you’ll have to sign up again to keep watching the show on streaming/somewhere besides your DVDs. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.