OMG!!!
Uh.
That’s really all I have to say right now.
Ok (SPOILERS)
I was half listening…who died? Was it Mrs. Bartlett? It sure as hell seems like that’s it, but I missed who was driving the car…help!
Jman
It was the old blonde secretary… I forget her name.
MISS HAVERSHAM or HANAHAN or something like that—BARTLETT’S secretary.
Too bad it wasn’t JOSH’S secretary----I CAN’T STAND HER!!!
Mrs. Landingham…
Driving her first new car ever. 
On 18th and Potomac…
Can’t wait until next week.
On the good side, the woman who wouldn’t pay below sticker price for a car (for fear of it being perceived as an illegal gift to a government worker) was spared ever knowing that the president sort of lied about his health.
As if this episode needed any more drama! While I enjoyed the surprise death of a character on the Practice last week, this was wrong, wrong, wrong! Who is Charlie going to chat with?! I could just strangle Aaron Sorkin. The whole episode was running along so well - and then BAM! I just think this was overkill. I feel like the ongoing conversation about the car was Aaron tapping us on the shoulder saying, “remember her? look at what a cute little old lady she is - remember how much you like her?” -and then he kills her?! I guess the next time a minor role has a semi-spotlight we should all prepare for their demise? Grrrr. Okay, that was all incoherent rambling, but I just finished watching the episode (on tape) so I am still flabbergasted. But I was hoping that the lighthearted banter about the car was supposed to be a way to ease the tension of a heavy situation. Hrm.
I wonder if we will see Barlet dealing with guilt over asking her to come back to the White House?
Why “Sagittarius”?
Anyone else want to be CJ Cregg when they grow up?
“…You didn’t answer my question.”
“How 'bout that.”
No, I want to marry CJ when I grow up. (I’m 36 and still waiting.) Watta woman!
Actually, I had a suspicion that something was going to happen to Mrs. Landingham (?) because of the amount of time they spent on her character, and the constant adverts NBC ran all week: “Don’t Miss The Last Five Minutes!” It was obviously going to be another plot twist, not an overly dramatic moment of Bartlett deciding whether or not to run for re-election.
And tonite, I thought the best subplot was the Dominican Republic crisis - the whole cast really shines when the writers pull out the stops on the affairs of state. The whole illness plot is beginning to get tiresome, and is coming across as an obvious pretense for a change of administration next season.
I have always had the pet theory that big surprises should be kept secret. When the network goes out of its way to advertise a big surprise, or a big twist, it lessens the impact.
Not tonight, though. I was sure the big surprise in the “final five minutes” was going to be President Bartlett’s announcement of whether he is going to run for reelection.
[Mini-rant]
Note to NBC: Fans of your big shows know that big things happen at the end of the season. Do you seriously think that advertising big twists at the end of “The West Wing”, “ER”, and “Friends” does anything other than lessen the potential dramatic impact that these surprises will have? I could have shot the idiots who decided to give away the entire plot of the Friends finale in Las Vegas, save the last scene. I am ready to kill those responsible for revealing ahead of time who is playing Chandler’s dad.
Let me put this in language even a network promotions person can understand: Fans are going to watch the season ending shows anyway. The only thing I want to know about the Voyager finale is when it is on. Don’t spoil the big surprises by telling us about them.
[/Mini-rant]
I don’t think they’re setting up for a change of administration. Bartlett has almost two years left in his administration (in the show’s reality, Bartlett was elected in 98, is up for reelection in 2002). In any case, a change of administration would mean replacing every character on the show. It wouldn’t work.
To me, it seems as if Sorkin is setting things up to show how a big personal scandal is and should be dealt with, and to show a President being honorable and honest about having decieved the public over what is essentially a personal matter.
I completely forgot about the “LAST 5 MINUTES” crap.
I agree. It ruins everything.
Oh well. Sweeps has struck again.
:sigh:
Does anyone see any potential problem concerning the proximity between Mrs. Landingham’s death and the MS announcment? As in what’s-his-name in the Clinton administration that was hit by a bus, and everyone thought it was the CIA or the White House that pushed him?
Just a thought.
I didn’t see the episode yet. Did they say something stupid like that that address is only 2 blocks from The White House? Because the only 18th and Potomac is in southeast DC, near Congressional Cemetary, DC General Hospital, and RFK Stadium.
I can’t imagine at this point any reason to kill off Mrs. Landingham except for the shock value, and if that’s the case, they just lost a fan.
That sort of manipulation really pisses me off.
Come on, now how do you know the actress didn’t want to do the show anymore? That’s a perfectly valid reason. She’s not exactly a spring chicken, so there could be many motives for her to depart the cast.
Don’t jump to conclusions.
Besides, it may be the best dramatic show on TV, well-acted and well-written, and set in the most important office in the free world, but it’s still a soap opera.
I didn’t think of it that way, amarinth, but I think you’re right. Mrs. Landingham probably would’ve been devastated by the news of the president’s illness. Unfortunately we’ll never know.
I kept thinking about how she was telling the president about her new car, the blue one with air conditioning (even though she could have just rolled the windows down). I really liked her character, and I’ll miss her on the show.
Sapphire Bullet, I’m with you 100 percent – I want to be C.J. Cregg when I grow up!
Marry CJ? Only on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Mondays and Saturdays I’ll marry Donna, and then Wednesdays and Fridays I’ll be with Ainsley. Then on Sunday, I’ll be with all of them.
Ok, I’m dreaming. Sue me. (And Joey Lucas would show up in the early afternoons, too.)
Anyway. I was under the impression that the actress had asked to be written out of the show, and Mr Sorkin (possibly while hepped up on goofballs) decided to have a drunk driver go kaplooey into her brand new car without the tow package. I think it’s a very insightful point to make that she avoided having to deal with the dishonesty shown by the president.
I suspect that Bartlett will run for a second term. If he serves the rest of his current term (as expected), the show will run to 2002. If he’s reelected, they’ve got four more years of the show. Otherwise, the cast is replaced in its entirety- the chief of staff, press secretary, etc, would all be new with a new administration.
I’m just curious how they’re going to spin it to keep him in office until 2006.