I thought it was an entertaining episode overall… the whole “walk to the capitol” thing struck me as ludicrous at first, but then it grew on me… it’s just the kind of random event that can lodge itself in the public consciousness. I thought the Speaker caving at the end of the episode was perhaps a bit pat, but overall, it was satisfying.
However, what was the deal with that Rina woman? Were we supposed to be able to deduce what program she was a part of? What did it have to do with Americorps? And why would she want Toby to write her a letter of recommendation?
I’ve asked this on a separate thread but wasn’t that Emily Proctor (who played Aynsely) as Marina? And was it coincidental that Josh and C.J. had dialogue about poker, considering that Mr. Sheen, Ms. Janney and Ms Proctor will be appearing on Celebrity Poker on Bravo next month? Is there some kind of synchronicity going on here?
This episode was, of course, inspired by the real shutdown of the government several years back, which resulted in interns suddenly having something useful to do. One night, an intern takes some pizza to the Prez and. . .we’ll, you’ve probably heard this story. Ergo, Marina was a coy homage to Monica. Ick.
The Jeb’s Day Out thing was a bit pat, yet at the same time it was one of those glorious things that wish we had a real president like this.
They’ve been showing up Toby snapping at his assistants lately, so my guess is she is going to get hired by him to be his “Donna/Margaret”.
If this show was 24 then I say she was an undercover terrorist/mole (no one seems to know where she came from, she ingratiating herself with the senior staff). Then again, this ain’t Sorkin’s show anymore.
Yeah, she was oddly placed and oddly opinionated with Toby, yet simply the trash cleaning lady with everyone else.
I got the weird sense that she was some undercover republican mole or something.
I didn’t understand why the White House didn’t just get on TV and say exactly what happened: That negotiations had established that a Continuing Resolution would be put in effect with a 1% cut in spending, and just before officially signing it the Speaker said that there was no deal, that it had to be 3%.
Wouldn’t that have made the Speaker and his buddies look like the jerks that caused the shut-down? Wouldn’t public opinion then be against them and on the side of the President?
At least they got rid of the bizarre and annoying themes of Josh in exile and Abbey as the shrew from hell.
But there were still far too many significant glances, knowing looks, and stylized camera shots. Plus, these people aren’t smart anymore. I miss them being smart.
Ding! You nailed it on the head. Why exactly is Donna the one now coming up with all the brilliant ideas and concepts? Sure, she’s smart. But the people around her are head and shoulders above her!
I’ve only watched since the middle of last season, but I too miss the smartness. The tip o’the cap with “Marina” the probable intern was just a little too nudge-nudge-wink-wink for me. Sorkin, for all his shortcomings, was never that unsubtle.
I’m also struck by the dubiousness of a one-step-below-senior-staffer (what is Donna’s exact title, anyway) at the White House not owning her own computer, not even a 486 with a 33.3 modem. It’s 2003. What urban, professional with a college education and a job which requires a high level of “connectedness” to current events and a diversity of opinions doesn’t have a computer of their own? Did I miss some setup of Donna being broke beyond words?