<p>One of the things I love about this show is that there are some things that are never resolved (like what really happened to Ainsley & John Quincy), but others that were nicely tied up by the end of season 7. One of my favorite season 7 moments was when Josh went to get Sam again after the election. Kind of a full circle moment.
The writing was so good that even the little things that were wrong or ridiculous could be ignored. Example: In the final episode, Abby asks Bartlett why they have inaugurations on these cold, cold days of January and he responds with something about the founding fathers. In reality, the inaugurals were initially held in March until sometime around FDR’s time in office. Such good writing, acting, that kind of blunder is easily forgiven. After all, that episode provides the wonderful moment when Pres. Bartlett gives Charlie his copy of the constitution. Also, kind of a neat thing that Aaron Sorkin appears in the scene where the new president is sworn in.
I love how some of you have said it was a bonding moment with your children. Same at my house. S began watching seriously around S3 and we started watching together when he was home from school. The final episode was a few weeks after his college graduation and he was a few weeks from moving away to start his job. D was sometimes jealous of the TWW time/conversations with S, but she and I shared Gilmore Girls in the same way. So many people say they don’t watch television, that it’s a waste of time, etc., but really good tv can be a joy.</p>
<p>LOVE West Wing! I keep hoping one of the cable channels will pick it up for syndication. Know nothing of how that works-- I may just resort to spending a few bucks to rent it. Now that I think about it…I should have asked Santa to put it under the tree for me! Charlie is high on my list. Others I like: Jed, Josh, Leo, C.J… Ainsley was very annoying at first, but she grew on me. Several of these actors are creating new characters in current series, but I still identify with their WW character. Great Cast!</p>
<p>Danny! Santa Danny. Goldfish Danny. Befuddled Danny. Adorable Danny. :)</p>
<p>zebes, who’s thankful Santa brought WW to her house this year so she could rewatch it with h.s. jr. d</p>
<p>Santa is obviously a connoisseur of good TV.</p>
<p>Romantic Danny, “I just love to hear you talk.”</p>
<p>Ah.</p>
<p>Couldn’t agree more - West Wing is the best written show I’ve ever seen. Own all the DVDs, and still watch them whenever I get a chance. Not sure who I identify with most, but it would probably be Josh or Toby. </p>
<p>What about some of your favorite episodes? I personally think season 2 is one of the best. “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen” were two of the best episodes of the series. So to was “Two Cathedrals” (as a student of Latin, I loved Bartlett’s monologue with god in latin). :D</p>
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<p>Those who liked the symmetry of Josh going to hire Sam away from corporate law firms at both the beginning and end of the series might also like the symmetry of having whopping bloopers in both the first and last episodes of the show.</p>
<p>2VU0609 has pointed out the last episode’s whopper, as quoted above. The whopper in the first episode was that it began with various White House staffers in Washington being interrupted in the early morning hours with the news that the President, visiting somewhere in the Western United States, had crashed his bicycle into a tree. Of course he crashed! Thanks to time zone differences, at the time when he had his accident, it would have been the middle of the night in the Western U.S. He was cycling in the dark.</p>
<p>Best episodes? Besides the two excellent ones that Icarus mentioned, I loved these:</p>
<p>In Excelsis Deo (first season; Toby arranges a funeral for a homeless Korean War veteran)</p>
<p>Noel (second season; Josh’s PTSD crisis – and the reason why Bradley Whitford won an Emmy that year)</p>
<p>Somebody’s Going to Emergency, Somebody’s Going to Jail (second season, Sam faces a problem involving his father in an episode that truly showcased Rob Lowe’s abilities as an actor)</p>
<p>20 Hours in America (fourth season; a two-parter where Toby, Josh, and Donna get stranded while campaigning in Indiana and a sleep-deprived Sam covers for Josh at the White House)</p>
<p>Game On (fourth season; I love what Abby does to Jed’s tie)</p>
<p>2162 Votes (the convention episode at the end of the sixth season – probably my all-time favorite because I’ve always wanted to see a political convention that wasn’t just rubber-stamping a candidate who had won all the votes he needed in the primaries) </p>
<p>Transition (seventh season; Sam reappears, and the saga of Josh and Donna is more-or-less resolved)</p>
<p>I was absolutely amazed when I re-watched the very first episode. The viewer jumped right into the middle of situations with people who really knew each other, what they were doing. There was no “expository” or “introductory” prose or setups; you followed the action or you were lost.</p>
<p>^ how could I forget those! All very good episodes (especially Noel - gotta love Yo-Yo Ma, who I just saw in concert a month or two ago - he’s even better in person)</p>
<p>Lionel Tribbey still isn’t ringing any bells and I know I’ve seen at least one </p>
<p>Otoh, Lord John Marbury, the British ambassador…oh Lord, there’s a role I’d like to even <em>try</em> to play.</p>
<p>TheDad’s Trivia Note: Elisabeth Moss, aka Zoey Bartlett, danced at D’s ballet school. I saw her dance solos in at least a couple of Nutcrackers, including Dew Drop in 1996, plus Giselle in “Giselle” (1996) and White Cat in “Sleeping Beauty” (1997).</p>
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<p>…minor character, but very funny</p>
<p>Lionel Tribbey is only in several episodes, actually episodes with Ainsley. He plays White House Senior Counsel and debates Gilbert and Sullivan with Sam.</p>
<p>He longs to go on vacation to a resort and have drinks “with little umbrellas.”</p>
<p>Think “He is an Englishman.”</p>
<p>Lionel Tribbey was the chief White House Counsel at one point in the Bartlet administration. I think that the character appeared in only one episode – the one where Ainsley Hayes gets assigned to a dreadful office and Sam fires two staffers who play a nasty practical joke on her. Tribbey may be referred to in some other episodes, though.</p>
<p>John Larroquette played the part, and he was very funny.</p>
<p>There were other instances in later seasons where there was a White House Counsel involved, but the character had a different name and was played by a different actor. I think there was a mention in some episode about how there had been an awful lot of White House Counsels during the Bartlet administration, which suggests that the writers thought that we would all remember Lionel Tribbey and they had better explain his absence (something they often didn’t do for characters who vanished).</p>
<p>Oops, I cross-posted with mythmom. Sorry.</p>
<p>The cast said vanished characters were in Mandyland because they ever explained where Mandy went. I was happer to see her go. </p>
<p>The other White House Counsel was Oliver Babich played by Oliver Platt. He had the whole investigation/censure thing to deal with and dueled with the First Lady.</p>
<p>TD: In case you missed it, Ainsley (the character, not the actress) is a Smithie. She’s even in Wikipedia!</p>
<p>Being one of those middle-aged women to whom you referred, however, I believe I felt more in tune with CJ. Especially in her new reincarnation as Juno’s step-mom.</p>
<p>Haha. It was meant to be. A meeting of the threads.</p>
<p>Well Stockard Channing actually graduated from Radcliffe.</p>
<p>I have to show this thread to my D. She is a HUGE West Wing fan and bought all 7 seasons of DVDs with her own money. Her favorite character is Josh and she said her favorite episodes are “20 hours in America” and “Debate Camp” That life at the White House would be her dream.
I did not watch when it was on TV but have seen a few episodes with her. Excellent program. I love the fast paced and intelligent dialogue.</p>
<p>Pesto: side note, but one of the four “regulars” on “Sex and the City” is also a Smithie. The character, not the actress. We gave S&tC almost two seasons on DVD. Interesting but annoying. And totally unrealistic in terms of jobs vs. standard of living in NYC. I wish I could write as little as Carrie Bradshaw and afford that lifestyle.</p>
<p>I was given the first season by a friend shortly before the series ended. D, a h.s. junior, “discovered” it last year, got two more seasons for Christmas, and spent a lot of her vacation watching it. She announced one day “I learned what a filibuster is”. </p>
<p>I don’t identify with any one member of the cast, but like to pretend that I work with those people and that JB is the REAL president - this stuff we read about in the papers is fiction (and badly written fiction at that). </p>
<p>It’s supremely entertaining and I firmly believe that it has a positive effect on kids - they do learn about government, issues, and also what fun it can be to throw yourself into something with like minded people (an ideal working environment.) It’s inspiring.</p>
<p>Yes, but dark as well. Very little gets accomplished; Barlet is always bemoaning that. Monumental egos are involved – considerations of his legacy often outweigh the public good, and Josh likes nothing more than vindictively punishing folks in Congress.</p>
<p>And the Godfather arc of the Sharif business.</p>
<p>Very powerful stuff going on underneath the witty banter and Bartlet bonhomie.</p>
<p>That just adds to its stature, IMO. Problem with last season is that Smits’ character lacks these shadings.</p>
<p>This is a great thread. S and I watched the Thanksgiving episode with CJ and the turkeys while he was home on break. He took the first two seasons back to school with him.</p>
<p>“Mandyland”…that’s hysterical. I hated Mandy. I love CJ though.</p>
<p>I think the very little getting accomplished was pretty accurate given that the fictional President and Congress were of different parties. I learned a lot about government from the show.</p>