To worry about Dh and the West Wing

[GirlInterruptedOftenByKids]

I am prepared to be told IABU in the following counts :

1. Caring about fictional characters
2. Talking about a TV show everyone else stopped caring about 20 years ago
3. Reading Internet spoilers

Dh and I have been watching the West Wing for ages now and are nearing the end. I stumbled upon some spoilers that reveal that a character dies suddenly and in dramatic circumstances. I also found out that this decision came about because the actor died similarly suddenly. Dh is very emotionally attached to this character....AIBU to worry about how he's gonna take this??

I'm surprised we haven't been visited by OliviaMumsnet yet

Are you there?

I had to take three days off work towards the end of that series. I've watched it on repeat constantly since then

#whenigrowupiwanttobeainsleyhayes

I ran amock recently and paid $100 (plus UK shipping) for a pink "spalding", the rubber ball Toby throws against the wall he shares with Sam's office SIGNED BY RICHARD SCHIFF.

I love it. I am trying to work out how to display it.

@HerculesMulligan - oooo! Where from?! I wanted to get one for DH's birthday but didn't know where to look!

They were on a website called If Only which seems to specialise in quirky experiences/gifts. The page is still up and showing as though they have stock, but even if not, I think I saw him say on Twitter that he's doing another batch soon, and their customer service has been excellent. The money goes to the ACLU, which is fine with me.

It wasn't fast - I ordered on 29 June, it was shipped on 14 August and arrived in the UK on 18 August. But it's not like I needed it urgently, and I could track it through the USPS website. Taxes and shipping probably doubled the cost, but I have watched TWW a million times all the way through, listened to all the podcasts, named my child after one of the characters etc, and it was a one-off splurge.

I binge watched TWW after taking voluntary redundancy. I felt like I lived it and really mourned the career I'd never have at the end. It was awful!

Jimmy Smits as Matt Santos - yum. Loved Josh too, and CJ was a legend..Sean Spicer should have taken a leaf or two from her book. Wish Josiah Bartlett was for real but I could never take to his wife

I was in love with Sam Seaborn but Josh's secret plan to fight inflation press briefing is my favourite episode.

OMG I cannot sit through 'The Jackal'. It's so cringe!! I have no idea what the fuck it's meant to be. Dreadful.

That and the episode after 9/11, which is preachy nonsense.

I agree with you 100% about The Jackal. Totally cringe-inducing.

Apparently doing "The Jackal" is one of Alison Janney's party tricks, so when the writers found out they shoe-horned it in. Thankfully she only ever did it the once!

I worked in the US for years and I noticed that they had this thing for "party tricks" at work which would simply perplex most Brits. I recall being dragged down a corridor very similarly to the way Josh is by Leo in that toe-curling Jackal scene and then the Americans watching me and wondering why I wasn't whoopin', hollerin', fist bumpin' and high-fivin' everyone in the whole office just because Phyllis had brought in home made cookies decorated with our nicknames.

Sorry if you're reading this Phyllis. I still love you.

Miming to a shit song is a shit party trick

And she looked really unattractive doing it too. I still have an enormous crush on the character of CJ but I want to bleach that one scene from my memory. Why am bleating on and on about it on a thread about how great TWW is????
I am glad I wasn't the only one Amy.

Jimmy Smits as Matt Santos - yum.

Indeed.

OMG I cannot sit through 'The Jackal'. It's so cringe!! I have no idea what the fuck it's meant to be. Dreadful.

Agree, I thought at the time Sorkin thought it was his version of sexy. But no one can find that sexy. I don't understand what anyone would get out of that.

I can't watch the Jackal because of Rob Lowe 'grooving' to it. I'm cringing just thinking about it. Eurgh.

OK, important update - DH knows. Kinda. We've seen the pre-programme bit with Martin Sheen talking about John Spencer so he knows that the actor is going to disappear at some point. He was a bit distraught but it's less of a shock this way...

Josh's face when he finds out Leo has died is one of the best bits of nonverbal acting I've ever seen - just an oh-my-god-i've-been-kicked-in-the-gut moment.

I had a dream about Matt Santos the other night. It was DELICIOUS. Man, I loved the West Wing. Think I might be ready for a rewatch.

I really love all the Hamilton usernames on this thread btw... RISE UP, @AlexanderHamilton and @HerculesMulligan.

I think the death was handled really well although when you know it's coming at some point it makes the whole arc very stressful. I really like what they build out of it though, it's very respectful and moving.

S7 in general was a real return to form, I thought. S5 was such a struggle (someone above mentioned how S4 Will Bailey is not the same person as S5-6 Will Bailey and I agree for most of the characters in fact) but S7 reached the dizzy heights of S1-2 for me.

It's been a great season so far. Am feeling the need for some closure on the election tho (I know who wins but I wanna see it play out)

Oh it's so goooooood

When precisely does Rubbish Mandy fuck off?

YES! OMG, I just found this thread and, coincidentally, I am rewatching WW right now. Every episode I think to myself "one more episode closer to Mandy fucking off"

I think Toby' s final storyline was the culmination of all the times previously when Bartlet disappointed him by either taking a morally dubious decision or was not radical enough

This is my take too. Each time I rewatch, I can see how much Toby struggled with this through the entire series.