BartlettNet - The West Wing Appreciation Society - May Contain Spoilers!

[CaveMum]

A thread for the discussion of West Wing - the best tv show ever made!

If you haven't seen all 7 Seasons be aware that this thread may contain spoilers!

Yes, I believe Rob Lowe thought he should get paid more than everyone else as he was more famous before the series started. Load of bloody nonsense in my view.

Re: Amy, I always thought she had left voluntarily - this is what Wiki has to say.

It does get annoying Grand. I especially liked Matthew Perry and wanted to see more of his role. After season 1, they said any actor that did a disappearing act in the West Wing was referred to as "gone to Mandyville."

On a different note, I would have a loved a West Wing take on Obama having to fly to the UK a day early from Ireland because of the ash cloud. That must have caused all kinds of backstage chaos in terms of where would he stay, was the security in place, who could be drafted in to greet him at short notice. Hope the US Ambassador keeps the guest bedroom made up! :)

Agree Matthew Perry was excellent.

culturemulcher, the will-they-won't-they-oh-look-they-have trajectory is just so cliched IMO. I like banter and sexual tension in a show as much as the next person, but prefer it to go unresolved.

For the same reason I wasn't keen on CJ and Danny getting together even though I adored them both. I minded Donna and Josh more though, perhaps because he was her boss whereas CJ and Danny were more like equals.

Am joining in (if that's ok) as I adore the West Wing and H and I started re-watching a few weeks ago. We're up to season 3. I love Sam and want to work for Jed and Leo. If only it were real...

Big Block of Cheese...

I wonder if Sorkin would have got Josh and Donna together. Infound his relationship with Amy more believeable.

Mind you DP and I still cheered when he followed her to the lift.

octopus, that's why I wish they hadn't got together too ? the crowdpleaser thing. You put it much more articulately than I could though!

I'm just watching Shibboleth now. Is the refugee the exact same actor who played he Chinese ambassador in season one?

Don't think so bigkids.

Agree with the crowdpleaser angle, very typical John Wells (far too much of it in ER as well). Will and Kate being another case in point. We don't need all these people to be having relationships to make a show worth watching. Of course, by the end, Josh and Donna were both Chiefs of Staff - I did like the bit where Donna got shown in to her new office.

I adore the WW, I'm probably on watching it through for the 4th or 5th time now - it's my staple 'watch when I'm travelling with work' iPod show. With the exception of the episode where CJ goes back to stay with her dad and it's all just about that, I never get tired of it. I'm just coming to the end of s3 at the moment and I love the way all the little bits of plot and build up gradually throughout the series.

I also liked the way they were never above having a little 'in giggle' at themselves - s3 has a recurring theme of people getting Ed and Larry mixed up for example.

I must admit I was always a bit 'meh' about Josh and Donna getting together too - I still reckon in the long run she should have stayed with Cliff the Republican Lawyer.

'crowdpleaser' is a good point. Accepted. I did like, though, the way that Josh and Donna didn't just go all 'happily ever after'. Even after doing the deed they still bounced out of bed to check the exit polls

ROAR at Donna leaving her underwear on the floor

Well my first sentence got lost! Watching the Leo - Sam - Donna embarrassing themselves incident

I love it when Leo begs the president not to wade into the whole affair bigkids

Sam: "I accidently slept with a prostitute"
Toby "Did you trip?"

Glad this thread is still going. Actually what I find odd about Donna is not getting together with Josh but the way she suddenly becomes a savvy political player after seven years of sometimes solving things because of her special female intuition and not much else. And then there was the interlude with the Northern Irish photographer around the time she gets blown up in Gaza, which was also a bit weird, especially as like all her boyfriends he just disappeared without trace.

Still, I am afraid that I am the crowd that was pleased that they got together, and even my husband who normally has no interest in the romantic subplots was shouting 'go on Josh' just before he followed her into the lift. That was a great scene, and I loved the way that whole series gives you the drama of the election, alongside the gradual inevitable decline of the second term president, plus everyones lives being shaken up.

Also, my view on Toby is that he is only a traitor because he followed his own moral values rather than remaining absolutely loyal to the President. he makes a huge decision, and you kind of respect him for that.

I do agree that following his own moral compass rather than operating on blind loyalty to the President would be commendable and probably what Toby would do in general if faced with a major moral dilemma. I just never fond it convincing that he would have acted that way in that particular situation and jumped in there without trusting the President to act as he should ultimately.

Richard Schiff said he acted it as if Toby was covering for someone else and that made more sense to me - especially the scenes with his lawyers where he wont admit to anything - I think if Toby had done it he would have been insistent that yes he had done it and it was the right thing to do etc.

I couldnt see Toby deciding to take a moral stance but then cover it up and not immediately admit to it even when people like CJ were getting pressured.

Yeah but actors are dumb sometimes... i liked that it was a bit messy and unheroic. he did what he thought was right, but was still scared of the repercussions.

Was Toby covering for his brother? I got the impression he might have had an affair with that Senator, Ricky wotserface.

I read that Richard Schiff had decided to leave in season 6 and therefore only appeared in half of season 7 - I think he was shooting some Hollywood blockbuster.

Hi, hope you don't mind me joining. Have been guided over here from the Josh/Toby thread.

Just rewatched 'In Excelsis Deo' for the umm lots-of-times -th time

So moving - I love the juxtaposition of little drummer boy with the funeral. I know the White House scene is very staged but it just damn well works Toby at his finest!

change - I posted pretty much the same thing on the Toby/Josh thread! It is absolutely one of my favourites too. I always cry buckets at it, especially when JB's secretary, Mrs Landingham (sp??) speaks to Charlie about losing her boys in Vietnam. Heartbreaking. Lovely, lovely Toby.