It’s loyalty to the work and to the position. Not the person that holds said position. There’s a stark difference to those that serve because they want to make a difference and those that only want to be seen making a difference.
My daughter recently asked me what my favorite show of all time is, and I didn't even hesitate before saying, "The West Wing". It was a first for me, in that I had not watched a show based on politics before, but now I kind of love that genre. The amazing actors who made these characters come to life so much that you wanted to be in their world and you hated when a show ended. The humor, interspersed amongst the drama, was priceless. I laughed and cried during EVERY. SINGLE. EPISODE. No show has ever even come close to being this wonderful, at least for me.
@@stribe1000 I agree.not the same level, but very very close. And I'd like to see a new show with mix crew from both... Imagine a President CJ Cregg with Will McAvoy as Com Director, Charlie Young chief of Staff, Jim Harper in the speechwriter staff... and MacKenzie McHale Deputy Chief Of Staff 🙂
Part of it is that Martin Sheen is a great actor, but a big part of it is the moral depth and gravitas of Josiah Bartlett, but when he starts the commissioning by saying, "William Bailey..." That's the moment I go into tears.
How can you not cry? And how can you not laugh while you're crying? Donna's comment to Josh, Josh's comment to Will, Will's confusion, the underlying humor in Jed Bartlett's very nature...it all makes me laugh, while at the same time being so moved and touched that this group of people could create this incredible magic that the tears just start flowing.
This is a scene I always come back to. When someone asks what TWW is about, it’s just this: Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world. You know why? It’s the only thing that ever has.
But what if those citizens are completely and utterly mistaken or delusional? As are those, for example, that continued to vote for Nancy Pelosi, the most corrupt and disgusting "politician" that has ever existed?
I’ve watched this dozens of times and only just seen, the President gives Will the pen. He glances back as if to give it to Charlie, then looks at the pen, glances at Will, and hands it to him. You wonder if it was on the script, or just Martin Sheen being his usual brilliance 🤩🤩🤩
"Most of them quite recently." Having once taught at a college literally down the street from Ft. Bragg, this resonates for me quite powerfully. I know those folks, I know their spouses.
Reminds me of this from Toby: "You see what I did with 'lowers' and 'raises' there? It's called the science of listener attention. We did repetition, we did floating opposites, and now the one that's not like the others." (from s2e16)
The only time we saw a "senior counselor" on TWW was the latter part of season 6 and season 7 when Leo took on that role after giving up his duties as chief of staff, A "White House Senior Counselor" is a staffer without portfolio, whom answers directly to the President. Most Presidents have at least two.
@@gabrielabagala Ya, I think in the modern white house you ahve your job title and then also some sorta title like "special advisor to the president" if your on the senior staff
They are all nightmares compared to reality, Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden, are real flawed, corrupt, selfish people, who sometimes manage to do something good in doing aload of awful things. Tv presidents don't have to run for anything, they don't have to pay for anything, deal with 10000 conflicting desires the people want/need.
@@prospero4183 It's because most of them are establishment. Politics is not what the West Wing portrayed as this glorious way of promoting change because you want it, nor is it the bitter negotiating that House of Cards portrays, although HoC is closer to reality than the WW. Politics is a one party system where they play good cop bad cop and we the people are the ones who actually get f*cked by everyone.
A lot of the characterizations became shallower/more one-dimensional in Season 5 after Sorkin left the show, and was even more pronounced in the later seasons.
Michael Muldowney and as we all know, bob russel is the only person in the world (real and fictional) who has not even a code name from the secret service... 😊
Joshua Dworkin Agreed. Sorkin would have never written the storyline about Toby’s treason. Toby was a patriot and loyal servant of his country and his President.
Excellent song from Penzance ... though Lionel Tribbey would mistakenly claim it's from Pinafore. Sam, as the recording secretary of the Princeton G&S society, could set him straight.
I never understood why folks said that Joshua Malina was supposedly a bad actor and that he ruined the West Wing. There were no bad actors, any bad actors would have been given the boot after 2 episodes.
She looks pretty, but her hairstyle is downright silly. For me it detracts from the effect to have badly done Cindy Brady curls on a grown woman. No reflection on Janel, only on her stylist.
"Mothers standing in front of tanks." That came directly from Tiananmen Square in China. That ONE Chinese student standing in front of a LINE of tanks.
<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="117">1:57</a> ~ <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="128">2:08</a> - When I heard the line the first time, it was inspiring. Now it just sends chills in my bones. I wonder why that is.
Dan Smith ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TJ1qUG4ZKGE.html Then, I remembered it was a drama series written by two great screenwriters and produced by a team for the viewing pleasure of ours, yours, mine, and countless others, most of whom watched an episode once on Thursday nights and never gave it a second thought. As it should be.
I did and still do love this show and deeply appreciate the stories, the actors who gave their time and energy to its story’s execution. Thank you all…
I love it how every time Jed and Abbie kiss, she always wipes her lipstick off his lips or cheek or wherever, as if the President being seen with lipstick traces will affect the way people see him. Just great.
Until January of 2003, which would have been when Bartlet would have began his second term in the WestWingverse, there were two American Supreme Allied Commanders serving at one time. One was SACEUR and the other was SACLANT, Supreme Allied Commander Europe and Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic, respectively. The latter title was later abolished. SACEUR is usually also the Commander of U. S. European Command.
Iirc, SACEUR is also the Supreme Commader of all NATO forces, in particular, but not limited to, ground troops. By tradition, SACEUR has always been a three Star American General who reports directly to the Secretary General of NATO, as well as the Joint Chiefs. Also by tradition, his second i/c is a British officer one rank below, as ASACEUR, although memory fails if they are restricted to Army/Royal Marines, or whether that post is drawn from our four branches ...
While Will was no Sam, he was a pretty likable character in season 4. They butchered him in seasons 5 and 6 before he got back on track in season 7. I don't know why they completely turned the character on his head. The last thing Sam wrote to Toby about Will was that 'He's one of us' and then the writers basically showed the exact opposite in seasons 5 and 6.
THANK YOU. Perfectly summarized. Knowing how close he was to Sorkin, how he's essentially sorkin's lucky charm, I wonder if it was resentment on the part of the writing staff when they got stuck trying to make the show work after he left. Not saying AS was the indispensable genius HE thinks he is -- talented, yes, but with a lot of lazy writing habits/tics, a massive sexist chip on his shoulder, and an ego the size of Montana -- but it has to have been hard picking up the pieces after he left, especially given the bomb he dropped on the way out the door at the end of season 4 for them to defuse.
The West Wing is my favorite show of all time. My views have changed since it 1st aired, and I've learned; progressivism lends well to fiction. It is the most marvelous fiction though.
I was in this scene as one of the extras when they walk through the doors into the ballroom. I remember it being a long shoot day. From 10am tuesday morning to 4am wednesday the next morning. I had a lot of fun doing it. Martin Sheen and the guys on the show were pretty cool. The women not so much.
Which of the women were unfriendly ? Was that a typical length of time for the West Wing to shoot scenes ? Or was that particularly long for some reason ? Thanks for sharing your comment and experiences
What were the women like? Cranky for standing in high heels? Spill the beans! And wasn't Joshua simply wonderful? Although, he pulls pranks, so....stay away. Kate got a bug in her ear..
It should have been a Brigade of the 7th Infantry Division (Light), we were the first Light Infantry Division, & we were a Level 1 Combat Unit along with 82nd & 101st
It's actually neoliberalism. I mean I love this show, but in real life, it isn't nearly and black and white. This is just Sorkinizing the '92 Bosnian conflict.
@@stthomasaquarius - Correct president, wrong continent. It's wishful thinking about what they wish we would have done with regard to the Rwandan genocide. Watch the episodes again, and you will see it. Yes, there are tinges of Serbo-Croatia-Bosnia, but everything about the Equatorial Kundu storyline comes down to the essence of The West Wing. As one conservative critic correctly noted during the early seasons, it's the Clinton presidency as viewed by people envisioning what it would have been like without the Clinton sex scandal and his other failings. One of those is the failure to act regarding Rwanda, and the plot line seeks to correct that -- a fantasy world in which a president is confronted in the way they wish the real one had been and makes the right decision the real one did not.
And in contrast, the current occupier of the oval would insist on loyalty to him and him alone and then make you sign a nda. Then tell you, go break the law, I have your back until your caught.
@MikeJames6 that statement makes no sense whatsoever, the nations of the world in the past always respected the US until trump became president then we make a nation of liars, cheats, misogynistic, hate spreading people all thanks to trump, a president who was supposed to unite the people but instead divided us even further and hopefully President Biden can restore us to the dignified standing we were before and maybe even "like us again".
@MikeJames6 Wow "dementia Joe", how original, attacking him with a illness that affects individuals Worldwide, typical trump supporter. But when Bunkerboy is rotting in jail who will get the last laugh.
Why was Donna never made a special adviser she seemed to be doing a position somewhere in between a Senior Assistant and a Special Adviser. She was the only one of the Senior Assistants to have been invited to the ball.
because changing Donna's position would remove the pretext that keeps the tension with Josh ramped up to the nth degree. also, Josh Lyman wouldn't have been able to function without her.
because she's the Deputy Deputy Chief of Staff? really, because after the debacle with the Jack Reese quote, Josh wasn't going to let her out of his sight.
Only if Sorkin was behind the project. Anyone else then I'll pass on it. As for who should be the President the only logical choice would be Sam Seaborn. They practically foreshadowed it prior to Rob Lowe leaving the show. Have him come in as the current President in the pilot similar to how Bartlet was already President during the original pilot.
*It is a privilege to serve at the 'White House' regardless of whether by appointment by POTUS or working with a 'Grounds Staff' removing the occasional 'dog poo'* __________ *The 'White House' represents the 'Might & Majesty' of America and to 'serve our Country' there is an honor...not a 'job'*
The very end of this scene doesn't make sense. The president and his staff enter the ballroom, somehow a path opens for them to cross the room, and the people keep dancing?
I still say it's unlikely that they weren't announced. Look at the doormen at 4:02. They can't see the President because they are on the other side of the door, inside the room. Someone is in charge of that event, and there is no doubt in my mind that an announcement would have been made. I think it's simply an oversight in the writing.
You don't see them in the shot, but it's likely there were two Secret Service agents in front clearing the way - just like the two that blended in the end if the line at the edge of the crowd. And those two "doormen" were also agents. No President would be allowed to walk through a crowded ballroom without escort.
