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Post by otherscott on May 5, 2018 16:21:29 GMT -8
"The Portland Trip"
That was a strong episode. The Republican who Josh debates the gay marriage act bill with is the the best portrayed Republican on the show to this point and it isn't close, and really a very good portrayal of a gay person on television which is saying something for the year 2000.
I also do like that the show is at least trying with Donna to make her into a character. It's not working yet, but I do like the effort.
My one gripe is that I think the president's treatment of CJ is problematic in this episode, as it's an abuse of his power to embarrass one of his staffers. I know it's supposed to be played for laughs and it's not harmful or anything, I just wasn't comfortable with it and how the show treated it as perfectly normal and okay.
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Post by Jeremy on May 5, 2018 17:52:40 GMT -8
I believe there are only two episodes in the whole series in which characters debate the issue of gay marriage - one in the Sorkin era, one in the Wells era. And in both instances, the Republican is revealed to be pro-gay marriage all along. Because presumably, audiences would otherwise get upset.
This tells you a lot about why The West Wing so rarely confronted social issues - the writers were afraid that audiences would get angry at the idea of positively-portrayed social conservatives. It also tells you a lot about how political discourse had shifted by the era of The Newsroom, a show which brashly dived right into social issues in virtually every episode.
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Post by otherscott on May 7, 2018 7:35:03 GMT -8
"Shibboleth"
The episode was fine. Nice connection between the pilgrims and thanksgiving and the Chinese refugees. I was a little worried for a minute that the leader was going to prove that the Chinese weren't actually Christian and it was going to be a cop out, but I shouldn't be - copping out isn't really in the shows M.O.
The West Wing has proven it can acquit itself well in dealing with religion. This isn't going to be an episode I remember in 6 months, though. This season doesn't really feel like it has any sort of throughline to this point and its a bit disappointing.
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Post by Jeremy on May 7, 2018 8:00:57 GMT -8
While it's usually quite serialized, The West Wing doesn't do heavy, long-term arcs the way a lot of cable/streaming dramas do. However, you will start to notice more of a continuity-driven throughline as Season Two continues. There's good reason why I consider it to be the best season of network TV drama ever.
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Post by otherscott on May 7, 2018 8:33:29 GMT -8
Yeah I understand in a sense, and I'm not expecting it to move away from dealing with different issues every episode. And I guess to be fair there is still that connection being made with the fact that congress isn't in session. But I was kind of hoping for more thematic similarities between the stories each episode, the way that Bartlet's paralysis to really make a difference was a thematic throughline for the second half of Season 1 (even though that started to wear on me a bit, so I don't know what I want). Right now it seems to be - sometimes they put their foot down and make a difference, and sometimes they don't, depending on what is prudent politically.
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Post by otherscott on May 7, 2018 10:42:07 GMT -8
"Galileo"
The show is in a bit of a comfort zone right now where it's interlaying 3 or 4 stories each episode and connecting them a little bit thematically but mostly they're isolated things with different characters tackling each one. It's all very well and pleasant, but I'm ready for it to leave that comfort zone now. The show is probably doing better by CJ than any other character at the moment, but all the character work has been a little muted lately, at least since the third episode.
I hear the next episode might be a doozy for that though.
A couple more notes of stuff I noticed recently: I finally figured out the cast order pattern of the opening credits, which is to go through the cast in alphabetic order of last name, except for Rob Lowe and Martin Sheen. Why Rob Lowe has earned top billing, I'm not exactly sure.
This would have been broadcasting in late fall 2000, which means that the show is pretty much in line with the seasons of the year. However it's exactly 2 yearly cycles off from the real world, as the year 2000 when The West Wing was doing midterms, there was a presidential election going on the US.
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Post by Jeremy on May 7, 2018 14:06:48 GMT -8
I finally figured out the cast order pattern of the opening credits, which is to go through the cast in alphabetic order of last name, except for Rob Lowe and Martin Sheen. Why Rob Lowe has earned top billing, I'm not exactly sure. Rob Lowe has top billing because, at the time the show premiered, he was the most recognizable actor (excepting Sheen, who got the coveted "and" credit). He was initially intended to be the show's de facto star, back in the early developmental stages when the President was only meant to be a background character. Interestingly, Moira Kelly gets second billing in Season One, despite the fact that her name comes alphabetically later than Dule Hill and Allison Janney. I believe this was because she was a minor movie star during the '90s, even if her flame had faded by the time The West Wing premiered. (She also had connections, having starred alongside Martin Sheen in Entertaining Angels, a film written by John Wells.)
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Post by otherscott on May 7, 2018 16:12:19 GMT -8
And boy am I glad the show centred around Sam's character did not materialize.
I'm excited to get more Josh. I feel like he was the main focal point of Season 1 and this season he's been pushed to the background a bit. I'm ready for "Noel"!
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Post by otherscott on May 9, 2018 5:41:12 GMT -8
"Noel"
Ironically I feel like I have less to say about an episode when it executes really well, like this one did. I think how they did the last scene was pretty incredible, even though it was a mighty coincidence that carollers happened to be singing the Christmas song that sounded the most like sirens. But to have that song fade into the sound of police sirens on the fade out was a fantastic touch.
The show does way better by itself when it does character based continuity stories, and having Josh, who's the most confident, sure of himself guy be the one who ends up with PTSD here is a really nice touch.
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Post by otherscott on May 10, 2018 19:36:31 GMT -8
"The Leadership Breakfast"
Terrific episode. Possibly better than the previous episode, which I wasn't expecting at all. Goes deep into the bulldozing nature of Toby, the savviness of CJ, and advances the plot forward on the Democrats vs Republicans without making the Republicans look incompetent. (Maybe a little villainous but that's fine.)
Very impressed and I really wasn't expecting this episode to be this good. It was supposed to be about a breakfast for goodness sakes.
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Post by Jeremy on May 10, 2018 20:31:36 GMT -8
Random Tidbit: Earlier this year, some popular legal website published an article about systemic racism and evil Republicans, and included a link to my review of "The Leadership Breakfast."
Not entirely sure what the connection was, but I appreciate the free promotion.
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Post by otherscott on May 11, 2018 19:21:26 GMT -8
"The Drop In"
Toby's on a real nice string of episodes here, as he jumps from one extreme of not thinking politically and it biting him, to thinking too politically - and it probably should have bitten him. Honestly if I were Sam I'd be tempted to quit after my boss did something like that to me. And obviously if Sam did quit, I would be most upset. (I would not be upset).
I'm not entirely sure what Lord John Marbury was doing in this episode, but there he was. Him somehow being the best selection for ambassador to the US was somehow a thing that happened.
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Post by otherscott on May 11, 2018 20:22:24 GMT -8
"Bartlet's Third State of the Union"
The episode was fine. Not really momentous enough except for the reveal at the end that Bartlet had made a deal with Abbey to not run for re-election before he ran the first time.
The wet paint in the woman's washroom at the fountain gardens or whatever it's called was just a bad move. Oh look, a convenient way for CJ to make a fool of herself by going on TV without pants and Ainslie to make a fool of herself by meeting the president dancing in a nightrobe. Those silly, silly women. Just...not a good look for the show that's struggled with stuff like this.
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Post by Zarnium on May 11, 2018 21:37:59 GMT -8
The episode was fine. Not really momentous enough except for the reveal at the end that Bartlet had made a deal with Abbey to not run for re-election before he ran the first time. One thing I like about The West Wing is how it displays that if you are the President, your family life has to come second. You simply can't make decisions based on what would be best for your personal life, or the personal lives of your loved ones. If you believe that you're the best person to fill the office, you can't voluntarily leave it just because you'd like to spare your family some grief, because then you're letting down hundreds of millions of constituents. Of course, I'm cynical enough to believe that for most (all?) Presidents and Presidential candidates, it's not a difficult choice to choose lust for power over family concerns, but... maybe that's a topic of conversation better suited for another time and place. In the context of the show itself, I think it displays the complex interplay of power vs. personal concerns very well.
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Post by otherscott on May 12, 2018 9:52:35 GMT -8
"The War At Home"
This one probably didn't resonate with me as well as it should have. I'm not sure why. I'm interested to read Jeremy's review, because the War on Drugs is an important topic I just didn't feel like this captured it in a sense that felt natural.
Also this was our new record holder for cheerful end credits over depressing final image, as the image is of the dead soldiers caskets while it's playing the bouncy closing music.
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