# The West Wing - when does it get good? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 6, 2006, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052 "2006-12-06T12:26:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kiros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/439d5e/32.png) [@Kiros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiros)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 6:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/21 "2006-12-07T06:21:48Z")
[QUOTE=Unauthorized Cinnamon] All right, I do watch \*Bones \* and _Jericho_, but I feel appropriately dirty afterward. [/QUOTE] Hey, _Bones_ is probably in the top quartile of what’s on the network schedule right now (though that says more about said schedule than the show). At the very least, it has two absolutely smoking hot women 😃 okay, so that may or may not be why YOU watch it… _Celestial Navigation_ is probably the best episode in Season One, IMO, but others are correct in saying that you should at least get glimpses of ‘stuff you like’ before then. It’s alright, though. We won’t do anything to you for not liking it, except revoke your membership in the Cool Kids Club, and ostracize you whenever you post about something you _do_ like, and, and… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MilTan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@MilTan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MilTan)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2006, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/22 "2006-12-07T06:54:05Z")
[QUOTE=Unauthorized Cinnamon] But didn’t it bug you that right out of the gate they felt the need to set up a Krazy Kristian straw man to knock down? Granted, it did give Martin Sheen an awesome line to enter on, but it really pulled me out of the suspension of disbelief. [/QUOTE] Not _that_ much of a straw man. If memory serves, Stephen Colbert had a guest on one night who advocated the posting of the Ten Commandments in public places. When asked, the guest could only name about three of them. _searches through YouTube_ [Found it!](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiE_xq-2-n8) ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/23 "2006-12-10T18:34:08Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] _In Excelsis Deo_ is, IMHO, right up there as a contender for the best episode of any series. You will cry. _Mr Willis of Ohio_ is also very good. An interesting one is the first one on the Season 2 DVDs. [/QUOTE] I say, is this an echo of post 13?! :eek: 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/24 "2006-12-10T19:20:53Z")
There’s a huge intersection, but I make additional comments on _In Excelsis Deo_ and refernce an episode you don’t. ---
**Author:** ![vinniepaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@vinniepaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vinniepaz)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/25 "2006-12-10T20:32:16Z")
[QUOTE=glee] I say, is this an echo of post 13?! :eek: 😕 [/QUOTE] What, exactly, is your point here? He was simply agreeing with you, and even added something to it. ---
**Author:** ![11811](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/1/9d8465/32.png) [@11811](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/11811)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/26 "2006-12-10T23:51:28Z")
I think it got good every time Rob Lowe’s character was asked to write a speech. I think every time Leo opened his mouth it was gold. Leo’s explanation for why he helped Brad Whitford’s character (There’s this guy, and he’s stuck down a hole…) moved me to tears. Chances are the show just doesn’t resonate with you. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/27 "2006-12-11T00:55:02Z")
[QUOTE=vinniepaz] What, exactly, is your point here? He was simply agreeing with you, and even added something to it. [/QUOTE] My point is that he repeated both the names of the two episodes I mentioned plus the likelihood that people cry when they watch In Excelsis Deo. But he didn’t acknowledge my original contribution. What exactly was your point? ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/28 "2006-12-11T08:22:04Z")
[QUOTE=glee] My point is that he repeated both the names of the two episodes I mentioned plus the likelihood that people cry when they watch In Excelsis Deo. But he didn’t acknowledge my original contribution. [/QUOTE] Why should I have acknowledged your post? It wasn’t original. I’ve posted [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6323926&postcount=183) and [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5672010&postcount=23) that I cried when watching _In Excelsis Deo_, and I’m not the only one who said they cried. You might care to note the title of that second thread. As for the other episode, _Mr Willis of Ohio_, I once started a thread about [precisely that episode](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=323377&highlight=West+Wing). ---
**Author:** ![Quartz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quartz/32/267_2.png) [@Quartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quartz)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/29 "2006-12-11T08:26:10Z")
BTW there’s a typo in my original post: I should have referenced the first episode of Season 3, not Season 2. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/30 "2006-12-11T16:26:39Z")
[QUOTE=An Arky] the way-too-fast-and-glib dialogue and constant stress and people taking themselves too seriously can be offputting. [/QUOTE] That’s exactly why I can’t stand it. Or The American President, or Studio 60. No one really talks like that, do they? ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/31 "2006-12-11T17:11:49Z")
IMHO, it jumped the shark when the Prez decided to punish God (for allowing a beloved employee to die) by snubbing out his cig on the floor of the church. Yeah, that’ll teach Gawd! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/32 "2006-12-11T17:32:20Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] That’s exactly why I can’t stand it. Or The American President, or Studio 60. No one really talks like that, do they? [/QUOTE] I have to say, I hear this complaint a lot and I don’t understand it at all. Nobody really talks like ANYONE on television. That’s because they have writers behind them. Real conversation is peppered with "uh"s and "ah"s, repetitive wording, and is generally uninteresting to listen to unless you’re actively involved in the conversation. I love that Aaron Sorkin and other screenwriters of the modern generation (your Joss Whedons, Tim Minears, Rob Thomases, etc.) are willing to write intelligent, often complex dialogue for their characters. Do I think real White House staffers (or high school students, sketch comedy writers, starship captains, or what have you) actually talk like their fictional counterparts? No. But then, I don’t really think the White House has giant windows in the Roosevelt Room, mood lighting in the Chief of Staff’s office, or that the Presidential motorcade would go by the front entrance of the National Cathedral on their way to the State Department, either. It’s a stylized universe, and I for one find as much enjoyment in the poetry and spitfire sparkle of Aaron Sorkin’s dialogue as I do in the grand special effects of shows like “Battlestar Galactica.” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/33 "2006-12-11T17:34:39Z")
You’re right. I actually second-guessed myself after posting that :smack: I guess for me it’s that they talk that way in particular, then. Runner-up is the fast-talking manic “comedic” delivery on shows like “The Class” and later episodes of “Friends”. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/34 "2006-12-11T17:38:04Z")
[QUOTE=DrDeth] IMHO, it jumped the shark when the Prez decided to punish God (for allowing a beloved employee to die) by snubbing out his cig on the floor of the church. Yeah, that’ll teach Gawd! :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] Diff’rent strokes, I guess. I’m about as opposite an observant Catholic as you can get, and I still found that moment incredibly powerful, as the conclusion to an impassionated, almost Shakespearian speech against an unjust God within the halls of His greatest house. ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052/35 "2006-12-11T18:46:38Z")
[QUOTE=Quartz] Why should I have acknowledged your post? It wasn’t original. I’ve posted [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=6323926&postcount=183) and [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=5672010&postcount=23) that I cried when watching _In Excelsis Deo_, and I’m not the only one who said they cried. You might care to note the title of that second thread. As for the other episode, _Mr Willis of Ohio_, I once started a thread about [precisely that episode](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=323377&highlight=West+Wing). [/QUOTE] I thought it was a simple courtesy to show you had read the current thread, and acknowledge previous posters. As for your two threads dated 2005, I posted about Excelsis Deo making me cry in 2004: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=281500&highlight=excelsis](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=281500&highlight=excelsis) Do try to keep up! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-west-wing-when-does-it-get-good/383052.md?page=1)