My new love
Y’all, I LOVE THE WEST WING!!!
I’ve only watched four episodes so far, but it makes me so happy! I can't believe I have seven whole seasons to watch!! Buying the complete series was one of the best purchases I've ever made! Here, have some flailing:
1x01: Josh insults an Evangelical Christian on national television and almost loses his job; the team tries to appease said Christian until she insults Jewish people, at which point Toby turns into a BAMF and calls her on her hypocritical BS; Bartlett tells her to get the hell out of his office because a fundamentalist group has just terrorized his granddaughter- so much emphasis on separation of church and state, IT’S LIKE THE PILOT WAS DESIGNED TO APPEAL TO ME- oh yeah, and Sam inadvertently sleeps with a call girl! 1x02: Sam stupidly decides to maintain a relationship with the call girl and is an ass about it; Syria shoots down an American plane and kills Captain Montgomery from Castle Bartlett’s personal physician, who’s just become a new daddy. 1x03: CJ finds out about the call girl and has a shitfit; Bartlett wants to blow Syria off the face of the map, basically; Leo is a BAMF and tells Bartlett to stop being an idiot. 1x04: The team has to get five votes to get a bill passed; Toby is in a sketchy legal position regarding stocks; Leo’s wife Jenny leaves him and he joins VP Hoynes’s secret AA group.)
-I LOVE C.J. I mean, this is probably not a surprise to anyone- it’s certainly not a surprise to me. She is clearly the Goddess of TWW (and not just because there is a sad lack of main female characters). For that matter, she is also the God of TWW. God is gender-neutral for C.J. Cregg.
-Second only to C.J. in my affection is Toby, who is utterly lovely, even though he was a bit stupid about the stock. I especially loved him in the pilot when he stood up to Mary Marsh and in 1x03 when he told the press that the SS investigated all potential threats to the president. Also, his reaction to the call girl news was WONDERFUL. So were Josh and C.J.'s for that matter.
-Speaking of that Toby scene in 1x03, in what world is it okay for a Congressman to tell the press that his hometown is so patriotic that if the POTUS visited, he wouldn’t make it out alive? Seriously? If someone said that today, I’m pretty sure there would be hell to pay.
-"There's literally no one in the world that I don't hate right now." NOW I KNOW THE CONTEXT FOR THAT EXCELLENT TOBY QUOTE that several of you have the icon of. Which I will probably steal the next time I see it. Is that okay?
-I loved Sam in the pilot, especially in the scene with Leo’s daughter, and then I wanted to kick him in the teeth in 1x03 for how he spoke to C.J. concerning the call girl. Also, FFS, how patronizing and paternalistic was he in 1x02 when he wanted to “save” Laurie? The way he threatened to call the DA (?) to get her to leave her dinner was completely inappropriate and creepy, and at first I was glad that she called him on it, but then she went off with him anyway, and I was sad. :/
-Mandy is interesting. I enjoy watching her OTT scenes in 1x01 and 1x02, but at the same time, I’m not sure she’s someone I’d want to know in real life. I don’t think driving one’s car into the sidewalk during a temper tantrum is funny or remotely okay.
-OMG, the scene in 1x04 where Bartlett is on Percocet and Vicodin and is high as a kite is HILARIOUS. Martin Sheen is brilliant. I mean, he’s great in general, but he’s particularly good in that scene. Also, I can see Charlie Sheen in his features and movements, especially in that scene, and it's more than a little creepy.
-LEO WAS SUCH A BAMF IN 1X03, OMG. I didn’t have any strong feelings on him in the first two episodes, and then when he told Bartlett off at the end I just wanted to give him all the hugs. And in 1x04, I also wanted to give him hugs, but for a different reason. :(
-It’s weird to me that the VP and the First Lady are not very involved in the show. If the pilot were aired today, would that be different? Hmm.
-I really like Josh. Sometimes he’s an ass to Donna and annoys me, but overall, I like him quite a bit.
-I like Charlie. Mostly because I like the actor from Psych. He's so baby-faced and sincere.
-I really like how the show addresses potentially problematic issues or when characters are called out for their problematic behavior. Ex: When Leo asks Admiral Fitzwallace (who is EXCELLENT) if it’s problematic to hire Charlie; when Congressman Richardson shuts down Leo for trying to tell him how to be a role model for African American men. I hope the show continues to do this sort of thing.
So to sum up, I WANT TO MARRY THE WEST WING AND HAVE POLITICALLY ASTUTE BABIES WITH IT. Who wants to officiate? Who wants to be my maid of honor? :D Also, Cregg/Ziegler 2016!