Hi Ellbell, how's the new house?
Wow - what an incredible opening to a series, the dialogue was sharp and concise, there wasn't a single word wasted (even if some of it did go over my head), all the characters bar one (guess who?) are well introduced and wonderful, it was sharp, funny, emotional and everything that good tv should be.
A few points, why did they all wear identity badges when they were dropped by episode two? Thye don't as a matter of course call him POTUS, he is 'The President' and why did they write Alison Janny such a crap opening sequence. To show her gabbling away to a man and then falling off a running machine is an insult to the character and does not portray her in the right way. she of course does redeem herslef pretty quickly, but why on editing was that scene allowed thru.
I love Toby, I love Leo, I love Sam, I love Josh, I love Jed and I would lay my house on the line to say that the current administration does not have one man who can compare to any of them.
It was wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. So many fantastic lines, Leo and the crossword, Sam and Laurie, the way he looks at her when he gives her his coat, Sam and Malory, "this is bad on so many levels", Toby on the plane, Jed and the doctor (sob), the scene between CJ and Hoynes when with hindsight we know that she slept with him beofre this, - need I go on???
How can anyone say that the women in the West Wing are not good role models? You forgot Joey Lucas, attractive, female and disabled and she has a little man running round after her all the time! There are probabaly as many women as men in the press room, there are Nancy and Kate who are not only highly placed but could also break your neck with a pair of tweezers at thirty paces. When Leo was indited his lawyer was a woman (oh he should have got together with her!) I'm drawing a veil over the squeaky voiced midget,and I suppose that Helen Santos did very little but wear things and break beds with Matt (Marsy, where are you?) but on the whole these are intellegent women. I suppose that my only real argument with it is that none of them had young children to care for, apart from Andi, but perhaps a family life is not really compatible with the hours that were demanded of them. But that of course also applies to the men.
And look how well Donna did (sorry on a roll here!), she went from a pretty wet asisitant to being the First Lady's Cheif of Staff with a very snazzy office!
Roll on three and four - St Charlie's in the next one