The West Wing
I am simultaneously working my way through seasons 2 and 6 (well, 7 now) of The West Wing. (It's only a little confusing.) I am struck by two things:
1. These people are all huge blundering fools in normal life, but so extraordinarily good at their jobs. In the pilot, the President rides his bike into a tree. CJ fell into a pool when Toby was there to hire her for a man who'd never heard of her. Josh is such an idiot at least once an episode that I can't even come up with an example. And I just watched 2x11 "The Leadership Breakfast", in which Karen Cahill figures prominently: Leo insults her shoes, so Sam tries to fix that and winds up mixinng up two countries that start with a K. While trying to fix THAT, Donna drops her underwear on the floor and doesn't notice. (Which, SO ADORABLE. I love her, and that scene is utterly fantastic, from the "X-ray vision" crack to her look of utter horror at Josh holding her underwear in his hands.) In normal life, they can't do anything right, but when asked to run for office or govern a country or represent the government, they do such a fantastic job that you can't even begin to question their appointments.
2. I love how Matt Santos is pretty much a direct parallel to Barack Obama. Minority candidate who doesn't want that to be an issue; good-looking guy with a pretty wife and nice kids; young and inexperienced to the point that a year before he ran, the idea was laughable; a new and revolutionary voice for change.
Also, on a completely unrelated note: I can't find my bathing suit. I'm going to the beach tomorrow for the first time all year, and I can't find my bathing suit. A brand-new, never-been-worn, bought-in-the-intention-of-swimming-a-lot-this-summer bathing suit. Gah.
1. These people are all huge blundering fools in normal life, but so extraordinarily good at their jobs. In the pilot, the President rides his bike into a tree. CJ fell into a pool when Toby was there to hire her for a man who'd never heard of her. Josh is such an idiot at least once an episode that I can't even come up with an example. And I just watched 2x11 "The Leadership Breakfast", in which Karen Cahill figures prominently: Leo insults her shoes, so Sam tries to fix that and winds up mixinng up two countries that start with a K. While trying to fix THAT, Donna drops her underwear on the floor and doesn't notice. (Which, SO ADORABLE. I love her, and that scene is utterly fantastic, from the "X-ray vision" crack to her look of utter horror at Josh holding her underwear in his hands.) In normal life, they can't do anything right, but when asked to run for office or govern a country or represent the government, they do such a fantastic job that you can't even begin to question their appointments.
2. I love how Matt Santos is pretty much a direct parallel to Barack Obama. Minority candidate who doesn't want that to be an issue; good-looking guy with a pretty wife and nice kids; young and inexperienced to the point that a year before he ran, the idea was laughable; a new and revolutionary voice for change.
Also, on a completely unrelated note: I can't find my bathing suit. I'm going to the beach tomorrow for the first time all year, and I can't find my bathing suit. A brand-new, never-been-worn, bought-in-the-intention-of-swimming-a-lot-this-summer bathing suit. Gah.