PICSPAM: CJ and Danny, Institutional Memory
"Institutional Memory" is one of those eps of The West Wing that I can watch over and over and over again. In fact, it's still saved on one of my TiVo boxes that's in storage.
Basically, to me, this is pretty much the ultimate in CJ and Danny shippiness and I love all their interactions, from the early morning to the fight on the street and finally wrapping up at Danny's apartment where the day began.
I think the last scene of this episode might be my favorite scene that Allison Janney ever did, and it's also the equivalent of a Master Class in acting with all the choices she makes.
When I was doing the last picspammy with jillkins and ciachick711, I kept saying that I could just spam this one episode and be happy. I spent yesterday making this little picspam from those scenes. I'm leaving it here...really just for me.
(Graphic intensive, not for dialup.)
CJ: You make it sound like I'm trying to avoid you.
Danny: I didn't say that.
CJ: I don't make booty calls.
Danny: You don't make any calls, kind of how it works out.
CJ: What?
Danny: You're elusive, part of the draw.
Danny: At some point you have to choose to have a relationship. We're not 25 any more. At our age you can't date a little and screw a little and wait around to see if you get sentimental at Christmas. You have to decide you're gonna make another person a part of your life - a partner.
CJ: I don't have time for this right now.
Danny: Yes you do. I called Margaret before I came by, I'm not a moron. I called and you have twenty minutes. Hell you have an hour. You're not the busiest girl in America. That's not your life anymore.... Look, I'm not trying to turn you into Doris Day. I know if we have a future together, I'd be Mr. C.J. Cregg, that's fine. But you don't even see me in the picture do you?
CJ: I missed the window. That's what's going on here. I... missed the window to figure out... how to do this.
Danny: How to...?
CJ: Share my life with another person, how to be a partner or whatever condescending way you put it this afternoon.
Danny: Oh, I wasn't trying -
CJ: I don't know how to do it. Maybe at one point I did, maybe I never did, but it's over now. It's too late. This and skiing. It's too late, it's not going to happen.
Danny: C.J...
CJ: You said yourself, it's not an accident that this hasn't come together. This is who I am. I'm good at my job, Danny, I'm good at working, I'm not good at this.
Danny: You're right, you suck at it. You're going to need a tremendous amount of training.
Danny: I want you to do what you want to do - take the job at the White House. I just want you to talk to me about it. I want us to talk about what it will mean and we'll make it work. I want us to talk like we're gonna figure it out together. I want us to talk... because I like the sound of your voice. I just want to talk.
Basically, to me, this is pretty much the ultimate in CJ and Danny shippiness and I love all their interactions, from the early morning to the fight on the street and finally wrapping up at Danny's apartment where the day began.
I think the last scene of this episode might be my favorite scene that Allison Janney ever did, and it's also the equivalent of a Master Class in acting with all the choices she makes.
When I was doing the last picspammy with jillkins and ciachick711, I kept saying that I could just spam this one episode and be happy. I spent yesterday making this little picspam from those scenes. I'm leaving it here...really just for me.
(Graphic intensive, not for dialup.)
CJ: You make it sound like I'm trying to avoid you.
Danny: I didn't say that.
CJ: I don't make booty calls.
Danny: You don't make any calls, kind of how it works out.
CJ: What?
Danny: You're elusive, part of the draw.
Danny: At some point you have to choose to have a relationship. We're not 25 any more. At our age you can't date a little and screw a little and wait around to see if you get sentimental at Christmas. You have to decide you're gonna make another person a part of your life - a partner.
CJ: I don't have time for this right now.
Danny: Yes you do. I called Margaret before I came by, I'm not a moron. I called and you have twenty minutes. Hell you have an hour. You're not the busiest girl in America. That's not your life anymore.... Look, I'm not trying to turn you into Doris Day. I know if we have a future together, I'd be Mr. C.J. Cregg, that's fine. But you don't even see me in the picture do you?
CJ: I missed the window. That's what's going on here. I... missed the window to figure out... how to do this.
Danny: How to...?
CJ: Share my life with another person, how to be a partner or whatever condescending way you put it this afternoon.
Danny: Oh, I wasn't trying -
CJ: I don't know how to do it. Maybe at one point I did, maybe I never did, but it's over now. It's too late. This and skiing. It's too late, it's not going to happen.
Danny: C.J...
CJ: You said yourself, it's not an accident that this hasn't come together. This is who I am. I'm good at my job, Danny, I'm good at working, I'm not good at this.
Danny: You're right, you suck at it. You're going to need a tremendous amount of training.
Danny: I want you to do what you want to do - take the job at the White House. I just want you to talk to me about it. I want us to talk about what it will mean and we'll make it work. I want us to talk like we're gonna figure it out together. I want us to talk... because I like the sound of your voice. I just want to talk.