Wow, you’d really hate last night’s episode then. Let’s just say Barlett is doing an FDR imitation now, and leave it at that.
I agree. Until Josh told Will that he did care about who the next President would be, and he didn’t want it to be Russell, there was the chance that he’d continue with those in power. “There’s no one that can beat him (Vinick).” - Leo to Josh, means that someone else not currently in contention has to emerge - and that’s Santos. Hoynes can’t cut it against a campaign with Josh in it a second time.
Of course, all of this is moot if NBC doesn’t renew the series for next season. And if the show does, and Sheen doesn’t (I don’t think he’s yet signed for the necessary shows he’d need to be on to make the transition to the next administration), then Russell will get to be President, if only for a few months.
Why all the animosity toward CJ? Josh is talented and effective, But Leo probably perceived that his overt idealism might weigh down the administration’s bipartisan efforts. And I like Toby, I really do, but he’s a basketcase. He has never been onscreen when he didn’t look like he was about to burst into tears. CJ is unfailingly practical, and she’s kept her head on straight in all kinds of crazy situations. She may not have the experience the others do, but they all had pros and cons. I’m just saying I don’t think she was such an implausible choice.
Bingo. She’s the friggin’ Chief of Staff! A position that requires encyclopedic knowledge of all possible policy aspects, and the ability to communicate them to the President on a daily basis. In other words, *exactly * what Josh has been doing for his entire career.
CJ was a PR agent for a publicity firm before beginning politics (and Bartlet was her first foray in the field)!!
It was during the mid-east peace talks. He disagreed with the President on his non-use of immediate military force, couldn’t reconcile that difference and was forced to resign. Then he had a heart attack in the woods where nobody saw him. (Is it even possible to get lost in the woods around Camp David? Wouldn’t that place be swarming with Army Rangers at all times during a summit meeting?)
My wife told me that a commercial shown last night for next week’s West Wing hyped something about an asteroid heading for the Earth? WTF? I half expect that Keanu Reeves is going to be a guest star.
“Mr. President, we have to get out of here. Now!”
Remember when they used to do cool things like have a subplot about some annoying cartographers with a crazy complaint about the way countries are represented on world maps, and in the end it turns out that they have a really good point that is pretty cool to learn about?
My wife told me last night that they had a commercial on for next week’s West Wing that hyped an asteroid heading for Earth. WTF? I half expect Keanu Reeves to be a guest star.
“Mr. President, we have to get out of here. Now!”
Remember when they used to do things like have a subplot about a bunch of annoying cartographers with a crazy complaint about how countries are represented on the world map. In the end, it turns out that they have a point, and you learn some really cool bit of information?
Oh, I forgot all about the asteroid. Maybe that’s how they’re going to end the run of the show.
“Well, since the Earth has been smoted by God, the point of an administration after Barlett is now moot.”
And I really liked the cartographer epsidoe, on one of the “Big Wedge Of Cheese” days. They definitely need to bring back something like that.
Now, as for Josh and Donnatella, why is she chasing him like that? I mean, we’ve seen no evidence that he’s even interested in her now that she’s not in critical condition in a German hospital. He’s treating her like he always has, taking her for granted and ignoring her needs. I say let him go looooooooooove Santos - she’s too good for Josh!
A major problem the writers are having is that the characters are supposedly breaking up professionally but the writers still need to bring them together in the series. They’ve had Will having to implausibly drop by every week to say “As you know, I work for the Vice President, and this is what he thinks. Why he keeps sending me here to say these things instead of coming himself is something that will require an increasing suspension of your disbelief.” Now we’ve got Leo who’s retired but still drops by for a visit on a regular basis. Soon we’ll have Josh (and maybe Donna) working in Texas but flying up to Washington every week for some airtime on the show.
“Block” of cheese. Big Block of Cheese Day, in a reference to the days of Jefferson and his big block of cheese days. Great episodes those were.
Gotta admit, that’d be a sweet way to do it. Just an ordinary Big Block of Cheese Day episode, with one of the minor plots being some lunatic astronomer (best played by Brent Spiner), ranting and raving about the End of the World[sup]TM[/sup], and being dragged off by MPs. Then, with 10 minutes left to go in the episode, BOOM!
I’d just like to declare right now that I am voting for Alan Alda. In fact, I’ll volunteer to be his campaign manager. (Especially when his opponent is going to be Otter, Bobby Simone, or Mr. Brady – although sadly, not Al Bundy).
Also, it looked to me from the preview like the asteroid story was going to be another crazy cartographers story. Did you see the guy who was telling Josh about the asteroid? Clearly the same type of expert/scientist that they’ve had fun with in the past (the penny guy, the UFO guy, etc.)
Actually, that’s Jackson and his big block of cheese.
And those were great episodes. The cartographers showed up during “Somebody’s Going to Emergency Somebody’s Going to Jail” and the job Rob Lowe did as Sam coming to terms with some of his basic beliefs being shattered was amazing. Internal conflict vs. asteroids… which makes less cheesy TV.
Most likely, some astronomer guy will try to freak out a staffer by announcing the existence of an asteroid which will destroy Earth… possibly, in 2145. He’ll spill a lot of factoids about the dinosaur extinction and whatnot and try to get Federal funding for an asteroid-tracking program. It’ll put all this partisan squabbling in perspective if there’s something out there which could casually wipe out humanity without warning.
Yeah, I did a little :rolleyes: at that too. Didn’t we already cover this, when Donna got a memo from NASA about an impending asteroid and she interrupted CJ’s meeting with Oliver Platt to warn her about it?
Nah. That was a satellite, and one of those fall to Earth every week or so. Josh just let her run around like Chicken Little to break up a tense day at the office.
In fact, I’ll volunteer to be his campaign manager. (Especially when his opponent is going to be Otter, Bobby Simone, or Mr. Brady – although sadly, not Al Bundy).