30 Days of The West Wing: Day 7
Here is the meme in case anyone else would like to join in:
Day 1: Favorite Season
Day 2: Favorite Episode
Day 3: Favorite Song Used In An Episode
Day 4: Favorite Female Character
Day 5: Favorite Male Character
Day 6: Favorite Friendship
Day 7: Favorite Romance
Day 8: Least Favorite Female Character
Day 9: Least Favorite Male Character
Day 10: Least Favorite Season
Day 11: Least Favorite Romance
Day 12: Least Favorite Episode
Day 13: Favorite Bartlet that isn't the President
Day 14: Favorite Secret Service Agent
Day 15: Episode You Like That Others Hate
Day 16: Character You Relate To The Most
Day 17: Character Who Didn’t Get Enough Screen Time
Day 18: Character You Like That Others Hate
Day 19: Best President Bartlet-centric Episode
Day 20: Best Leo McGarry-centric Episode
Day 21: Best Toby Ziegler-centric Episode
Day 22: Best C.J. Gregg-centric Episode
Day 23: Best Joshua Lyman-centric Episode
Day 24: Most Harrowing Scene
Day 25: Favorite The West Wing Quote
Day 26: Two Characters You Wanted To Get Together That Never Did
Day 27: Cutest/Most Adorable Moment
Day 28: Character You Love To Hate
Day 29: Episode You Hate That Others Love
Day 30: What You Think Made TWW So Great
Day 7: Favorite Romance
I am an obsessive shipper of The West Wing, it is true. And not really a monogamous one, either: I love Josh with Donna, and with Amy. I love Leo and Jed when they are cutely gay, but still like them with their respective women. I love CJ and Danny a lot while I love CJ and Toby even more. I would have been happy if Sam had ended up with Ainsley, or with Laurie.
Just for the record, I also love the awkward geekiness of Kate/Will and probably many other, smaller ships in addition to the list above, but there were really only two contenders for my absolute favorite romance. Josh/Donna is the obvious choice, and I will always love them as my first favorites in an unfading fashion, but I must say that they tie at this point with CJ/Toby.
So, since I already discussed Josh/Donna in this post, I choose CJ/Toby today.
First, I must quote myself from the above post. "That sort of relationship on shows is one of my favorite kinds, the type where the characters don't behave like most couples or don't even have that kind of relationship, because what they have is MORE than that, not less. Because their feelings run so deep that they don't need to say anything, or because they know each other so well they have a shorthand instead of standard conversation." Even though I was talking about Josh/Donna there, CJ and Toby ARE that couple, without pushing them into more like the show did with Donna and Josh.
CJ and Toby are even better than J/D in that way, because the way that Josh and Donna avoid communication via subtext and misdirection isn't true of CJ and Toby. They own up to their feelings, without needing to talk about them. Their looks and subtext ARE communication, and they know each other so well that not speaking is a form of love.
The following moments are examples of why I love them:
When CJ melts down about Qumar "beating the women" and then heads directly into her briefing, she manages to deliver the Qumar news with a joke and appear unruffled. Toby puts his hands over his heart for just a moment, in her sightline, and she pauses for just a moment in her briefing, in response. That's all they need and it is lovely.
When Toby's babies are born, and when he gets in a fight with Josh after his brother dies, CJ says as little as possible because her expressing love and sympathy for him would be too much, his face almost crumples at the possibility. The awesome part is that she knows that, knows him enough to just be there or to hold off until he can handle it.
And, the flirting. Oh, the flirting. "You want to make out with me right now, don't you?"/"Well, when don't I?" The "I'm too sexy" walk, right at a bewildered Toby, who starts backing away a little. The references to nights spent getting drunk and forgetting they work together.
My favorite unusual thing about the CJ and Toby relationship is that it was created by the actors playing them, something most ships can't say. It's not as though the showrunners noticed their obvious chemistry, like with Josh/Donna, and decided to focus on it. The actors themselves said that they decided to give their characters the backstory of having dated prior to the show's timeline...and you can tell in the early episodes that most of their chemistry is worked in around the lines they're given. The writers didn't start toying with it until Season 2.
Plus the CJ/Toby ship gets bonus points because I swear the actors have a thing for each other. Allison Janney was asked in an interview last year "Who would be top five showbiz guys that would just make you say 'that's the guy?'" The interviewer was asking generally, because they were discussing what she was looking for in a partner. Her response focusing in on co-stars is all her: "There are a few men that I've worked with that I would have considered, but they're married so since it wouldn't happen I'm not going to say their names. I wouldn't want their wives to come after me." I like to think that Richard Schiff is totally one of those guys, cuz it would explain a lot. Going the other way, Allison Janney explained "The Jackal" on Twitter thusly: "I learned the jackal in my trailer to make @Richard_Schiff laugh And it ended up on #WestWing" Richard Schiff's response? "That's the PG version of the story. Still laughing BTW." I swear they flirt in code. :)
Also, see the following (sorry some of the images have watermarks):
And...an icon! :)
Thanks for reading. :)
See you tomorrow for Day 8!
Day 1: Favorite Season
Day 2: Favorite Episode
Day 3: Favorite Song Used In An Episode
Day 4: Favorite Female Character
Day 5: Favorite Male Character
Day 6: Favorite Friendship
Day 7: Favorite Romance
Day 8: Least Favorite Female Character
Day 9: Least Favorite Male Character
Day 10: Least Favorite Season
Day 11: Least Favorite Romance
Day 12: Least Favorite Episode
Day 13: Favorite Bartlet that isn't the President
Day 14: Favorite Secret Service Agent
Day 15: Episode You Like That Others Hate
Day 16: Character You Relate To The Most
Day 17: Character Who Didn’t Get Enough Screen Time
Day 18: Character You Like That Others Hate
Day 19: Best President Bartlet-centric Episode
Day 20: Best Leo McGarry-centric Episode
Day 21: Best Toby Ziegler-centric Episode
Day 22: Best C.J. Gregg-centric Episode
Day 23: Best Joshua Lyman-centric Episode
Day 24: Most Harrowing Scene
Day 25: Favorite The West Wing Quote
Day 26: Two Characters You Wanted To Get Together That Never Did
Day 27: Cutest/Most Adorable Moment
Day 28: Character You Love To Hate
Day 29: Episode You Hate That Others Love
Day 30: What You Think Made TWW So Great
Day 7: Favorite Romance
I am an obsessive shipper of The West Wing, it is true. And not really a monogamous one, either: I love Josh with Donna, and with Amy. I love Leo and Jed when they are cutely gay, but still like them with their respective women. I love CJ and Danny a lot while I love CJ and Toby even more. I would have been happy if Sam had ended up with Ainsley, or with Laurie.
Just for the record, I also love the awkward geekiness of Kate/Will and probably many other, smaller ships in addition to the list above, but there were really only two contenders for my absolute favorite romance. Josh/Donna is the obvious choice, and I will always love them as my first favorites in an unfading fashion, but I must say that they tie at this point with CJ/Toby.
So, since I already discussed Josh/Donna in this post, I choose CJ/Toby today.
First, I must quote myself from the above post. "That sort of relationship on shows is one of my favorite kinds, the type where the characters don't behave like most couples or don't even have that kind of relationship, because what they have is MORE than that, not less. Because their feelings run so deep that they don't need to say anything, or because they know each other so well they have a shorthand instead of standard conversation." Even though I was talking about Josh/Donna there, CJ and Toby ARE that couple, without pushing them into more like the show did with Donna and Josh.
CJ and Toby are even better than J/D in that way, because the way that Josh and Donna avoid communication via subtext and misdirection isn't true of CJ and Toby. They own up to their feelings, without needing to talk about them. Their looks and subtext ARE communication, and they know each other so well that not speaking is a form of love.
The following moments are examples of why I love them:
When CJ melts down about Qumar "beating the women" and then heads directly into her briefing, she manages to deliver the Qumar news with a joke and appear unruffled. Toby puts his hands over his heart for just a moment, in her sightline, and she pauses for just a moment in her briefing, in response. That's all they need and it is lovely.
When Toby's babies are born, and when he gets in a fight with Josh after his brother dies, CJ says as little as possible because her expressing love and sympathy for him would be too much, his face almost crumples at the possibility. The awesome part is that she knows that, knows him enough to just be there or to hold off until he can handle it.
And, the flirting. Oh, the flirting. "You want to make out with me right now, don't you?"/"Well, when don't I?" The "I'm too sexy" walk, right at a bewildered Toby, who starts backing away a little. The references to nights spent getting drunk and forgetting they work together.
My favorite unusual thing about the CJ and Toby relationship is that it was created by the actors playing them, something most ships can't say. It's not as though the showrunners noticed their obvious chemistry, like with Josh/Donna, and decided to focus on it. The actors themselves said that they decided to give their characters the backstory of having dated prior to the show's timeline...and you can tell in the early episodes that most of their chemistry is worked in around the lines they're given. The writers didn't start toying with it until Season 2.
Plus the CJ/Toby ship gets bonus points because I swear the actors have a thing for each other. Allison Janney was asked in an interview last year "Who would be top five showbiz guys that would just make you say 'that's the guy?'" The interviewer was asking generally, because they were discussing what she was looking for in a partner. Her response focusing in on co-stars is all her: "There are a few men that I've worked with that I would have considered, but they're married so since it wouldn't happen I'm not going to say their names. I wouldn't want their wives to come after me." I like to think that Richard Schiff is totally one of those guys, cuz it would explain a lot. Going the other way, Allison Janney explained "The Jackal" on Twitter thusly: "I learned the jackal in my trailer to make @Richard_Schiff laugh And it ended up on #WestWing" Richard Schiff's response? "That's the PG version of the story. Still laughing BTW." I swear they flirt in code. :)
Also, see the following (sorry some of the images have watermarks):
And...an icon! :)
Thanks for reading. :)
See you tomorrow for Day 8!