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Fitz was a scene-stealer. My favorite is this scene with him and Leo in the situation room. They go from cute to unsettlingly insightful in seconds. All seven season spoilers. I have to say, I really like Will, and it breaks my heart when he and Toby fought because both of them were my favorites. While I didn't agree with it, I respected Will's decision to back Russell early on. All the senior staffers thought he was bland and mediocre, but in Russell's first episodes he set out to really be an effective politician. He earned my respect for reacting to Will and Toby's attacks on the teleprompter with grace, and he proved himself to be intelligent during the nuclear testing episode, when it was he who recalled that Israelis were testing submarine launched nukes. Russell was not the natural leader Bartlett was, but he seemed willing to learn, and Will was a true kingmaker. He even got a dead guy elected! Bingo Bob would not have been a great president like Santos or Bartlett, but Will could craft him into a decent democrat, which to me is infinitely preferable over a strong Republican like Vinick. I also enjoyed his romance with Kate. I thought it was hilarious how they had their first romantic encounter, standing next to each other at formal party, pretending to talk to each other to avoid having to talk to other people 
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Aug 31, 2011 07:18
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Hoops posted:I think I've posted this before but the West Wing also has some xenophobic twinges now and again. Nearly every single foreign leader is portrayed in a negative light. They're always either slightly sinister, or for "friendly" countries they're always arrogant, or a blowhard, or a drunk, something like that. I loved the stoic Indonesian president, even though that episode contained a few mistakes about Indonesia that only an Indonesian would really care about. Plus, the Indonesian deputy totally put Toby in his place for his arrogance and callousness.
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Oct 4, 2011 19:07
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kingturnip posted:It's odd. There's a lot of dialogue dedicated to how Bartlet gets through White House Counsels like cheap toilet paper and then Babish re-appears 6 years later, in the same job, without anyone commenting on it. I only remember that dialog once, in the episode that introduces Babish. And Oliver did see them through the MS controversy, so that might have been a significant commitment step.
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Dec 17, 2011 14:12
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I love CJ and Nancy's dialog in the episode where a Georgian ambassador offers CJ some weapons-grade uranium. CJ: It's just sitting there behind what he's describing as an excellent padlock. Nancy: It's a miracle nobody's boosted it yet. CJ: The Russians don't guard this stuff? Nancy: They gave 'em the padlock.
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May 16, 2012 18:50
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Kloaked00 posted:On Holy Night now, one thing that always bothers me is how the last we see of Zoey and Charlie's relationship they're fine, and all of a sudden she's dating French royalty. Speaking of the daughters, I'm rewatching season seven, and I'm learning that I enjoy Ellie the most, especially the wedding prep segments. The fruit fly guy is so twitchy and weird and out of place, but it works (in a way that Ryan Pierce from the fifth season never did).
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Jun 24, 2012 13:22
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myron cope posted:Another one of my least favorite exchanges. Will and Kate, 7.10 There could be no way I would enjoy this show and rewatch it regularly if the characters talked as people do. If I want clumsy, unoriginal, mundane and believable dialog, I'd eavesdrop conversations at the bus stop.
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Jul 1, 2012 02:31
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Rewatching A Proportional Response, at one point Mandy is standing outside Josh's door and he asks her sardonically, "Why are you here?" In my mind it sort of became an existential and meta question, as if he were asking her character on behalf of the viewers. In all honesty, I actually don't hate Mandy, but the universal negative response to her presence fascinates and amuses me.
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Jul 13, 2012 01:34
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MrBling posted:I think it is possible to enjoy Sorkin's dialogue while also realising that nobody in the world actually talks that way. This is true, but I personally can't understand how the latter prevents the former. The real world is full of unclever moments. It also does not have perfectly arranged lighting, a whimsical soundtrack, and political problems that can be explained and fixed in 44 minute digests. Pointing out how stylized The West Wing is seems about as insightful as pointing out that Van Gogh's paintings don't look like the real world. What's even more bizarrely criticized is the wit of the writing. Maybe my taste preferences do not have an upper bound for cleverness, but I have a hard time remembering any time I ever felt a work of art was being too smart. Sorkin's punchy writing fits so well with the fast-paced directing and ensemble cast. If he's jerking off while writing scripts, I'm okay with it because those scenes of intense wit give me braingasms myself. I'm skeptical that the show would have improved if the writing and directing were more cinema verite.
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Jul 28, 2012 22:32
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Hoops posted:When the line makes you think "that was written because the writer wanted to talk about iambic pentameter" rather than "Ainsley is a bit flustered and Tribbey is really smart, these characters are awesome", then it's not successful. That's a valid reaction and one that understandably would frustrate you when watching The West Wing, but don't use "you" when you mean "me" because I have never had that reaction. Not just while watching The West Wing. I've never felt that way ever, as best as I can remember. Even further, if I could remember those moments, I'd be ashamed of them as I am about other things I do not want to be a part of my identity. I don't mind when writing is so witty that it draws attention to the writing process. Stories are artifices, but the realization does not kill the magic for me. The more I learn about TV/Film-making, the more I can't "unsee" certain things, but I'd go crazy if I let this ruin things for me. How I could I ever enjoy the things I love most if delving deeper into them made me appreciate them less? The scenes in The West Wing are in fact trying to tell you more than just Ainsley is feeling X and Tribbey is Y. On top of other creative goals, The West Wing does go for a stylized, witty tone. Having Ainsley hyperventilate in iambic pentameter hit the bullseye for me. Going for wit is like showboating in sports. Of course it's going to draw attention to itself, but that's also its intention.
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Jul 29, 2012 10:24
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Hoops posted:It's a really common linguistic device, its hypothetical, I don't mean "you" specifically and there's no implication that it does. Genuine question, is English your first language? It's not, but English is the language I've used for the majority of my life. I'm more on a personal Macavoy-esque quest to kill the usage of the indefinite you, especially in places where opinions are shared. The indefinite you is barely fine when the topic is objective ("When you jump off a plane, you fall towards the Earth"), but why dodge ownership over a personal reaction? You watched the episode, you had the reaction, you put the feelings to words, and you shared them online. Why throw all that work away to the universal? quote:What the gently caress? Don't even worry about it.
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Jul 29, 2012 19:23
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I really enjoy the episodes where animals come to visit the West Wing. The turkeys, the goat, Big Bird, White House needs a petting zoo.
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Sep 30, 2012 22:24
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myron cope posted:It bothers me that Bartlet didn't commute that dudes death sentence. This and not supporting a study on remote prayer to pass a foreign ops bill were my biggest Bartlett letdowns. Danny was right, why are Democrats always so bumfuzzled?
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Nov 5, 2012 12:46
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Alfred P. Pseudonym posted:I mean we routinely have him calling the shots in the situation room while the President is attending to other matters and the idea of someone who is not elected making these decisions independently makes me a bit uneasy. Toby calls Barlet out on this, but I think the West Wing may have inadvertently changed my mind a little. Bartlet is closer to his Chief of Staff and his National Security Advisor than he is to his elected Vice President or any of his Senate-confirmed Cabinet secretaries. I'm not sure who I would rather be my President's 2nd in command, someone picked that could pass a Senate confirmation, or someone picked without that extra reservation.
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Jan 14, 2013 09:41
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myron cope posted:He could have been saying "yeah, right!" about the medical school part! The President: "Say, Zoey's growing up nicely, isn't she?" His Deputy CoS: "Man, I'll say!" The President: 
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Jul 21, 2013 02:49
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God drat, 10 years later and he's still awkward around women.
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Sep 4, 2013 03:43
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BrooklynBruiser posted:At least he doesn't still have that hair. It's a mild improvement.
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Sep 4, 2013 08:11
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LordPants posted:Speaking of I just saw Josh Lyman as a crazy volcano killing man something from a very average episode of the X-Files. Josh really let himself go after leaving the White House to work at that cabin in the woods.
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Sep 6, 2013 04:36
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Ah, a new season of television means we get to see our old friends in different places! FBI Agent Mike Casper got promoted to another government desk job in Agents of SHIELD.  In a fit of senility, a disoriented Marion Coteseworth-Haye wandered from her home in Marblehead and found herself in the Brookyln 99 precinct. Hey, with this shutdown, it's nice work if you can get it.
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Oct 2, 2013 23:47
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myron cope posted:I'm trying to imagine what this would have looked like and it's hurting my head "Plus, I've got that boyish thing."
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Oct 31, 2013 07:10
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CelestialScribe posted:Are you serious? That line is terrible and a good example of how Sorkin can go way, WAY overboard with the corn. That line makes me cringe every time. Same with Josh's "game on!" Ugh. I had to go back and check; a good chunk of your posts are complaints about specific lines you think are typically Sorkin cheesy. Several people here regularly comment on this. Well I guess corniness irritates you all in a way that just tickles me right, but I think objectively Sorkin's corn has to be the best drat corn in the market.
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Nov 8, 2013 20:26
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Or his DVD player with that wimp rear end Bond movie.
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Dec 30, 2013 08:46
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withak posted:It is possible that the writers took some poetic license. Yeah, and Indonesia does have a national language, Aaron. What, you think we have 583 different versions of each government form? You underestimate our
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Dec 31, 2013 06:48
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Victor Vermis posted:That is incredible- but if any episode of any show deserves that kind of a salute, its Seventeen People. Whoa whoa whoa, are we not counting Privateers, the episode that gave us Helena Hogworth Hooter Tooter of Braintree?
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May 22, 2014 03:22
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Victor Vermis posted:Does anything after season 3 count? Do you know what a blood enemy is? Because you just made one.
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May 22, 2014 06:37
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TheBigBad posted:There are no roles for Asians... wait that's Whedon not Sorkin. nvm "We don't hate Asians. John Cho is more valuable to us where he is." Later, we hate Asians.
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Nov 19, 2014 20:17
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Are we going to talk about the Bartlett daughters and not mention Liz, the tall drink of eminence grise?
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Sep 12, 2015 22:53
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She has two beautiful kids and is a caring mother 
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Sep 13, 2015 00:51
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Khablam posted:The line never stood out to me, because in the UK & Europe that's every election result ever. American exceptionalism.
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Apr 8, 2017 10:42
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WampaLord posted:And yet, the one episode where they decide to call him out, they use the loving dumbest resolution imaginable, where Ainsley basically proclaims her brand of feminism as the only brand. Ainsley doesn't need no government to protect her rights! Unless it's her right to own a gun.
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Jun 3, 2017 03:35
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