Charlie running to the President after the gunfire is my favorite moment on The West Wing. Long after the show ended this was still the first moment I thought of. It again showed that these two no longer have an employer/employee relationship but a Father/Son one. It is my favorite relationship on the show.
Friends wasn't over at that point. Friends ended in May 2004, this episode aired in April 2003. Funny detail: West Wing takes place in a world where the actor Matthew Perry exists. In season 1 (episode 16 "20 hours in L.A.") Donna was starstruck at the fundraising party in California and left Josh standing in the middle of a conversation because she saw Matthew Perry and had to stalk him.
With Mathew Perry's arrival, now is a good point to talk about Sorkins other big work: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, where he co-starred along side Bradley Whitford. a great show (with numerous West Wing connections) which sadly only got a single season due to the high cost and relatively low viewership numbers vs similarly premised 30 rock.
Perry and Whitford were outstanding in this show. Most shows don't find their footing until their sophomore season. It's a shame Studio 60 was scrapped.
One of my favorite lines of Matthew Perry in this show (and he has a great storyline in the next episode) is after the callback to the PTSD, when he says: “You know, not for nothing, but the people I talk to don't believe that story, and the people you'd like don't care.” That’s the closest we get to knowing how many people on the outside actually are familiar with what happened in Noel. I really enjoyed your reaction to him!
Yeah, it’s a great line, but they were confused by it on the _West Wing Weekly_ podcast. They thought Joe was insulting Josh, but it was quite the opposite. Clearly there were rumors about Josh’s mental health issues, and Joe Quincy was telling him that even if it is true, it’s OK. It was a very generous thing to say.
I never remember which episode comes next in the series, but as soon as I saw the opening scene I got excited. I love this episode! All of it. Each storyline is great. All the acting is great. The President and Leo. The poker game and the egg. Zoey & Charlie. The gun shot and them crashing the West Wing…! Awesome! My favorite part is Bartlett predicting Charlie and Ms. Fidderer getting past secret service and them proving him right! “Will, how many fingers am I holding up?” “Whose Will sir?”😂😂😂 I just wish you could’ve shown more.
possibly my favorite episode. Sorkin knew he was leaving and wanted to give this to his cast as a love letter. You've got Josh Malina's Will essentially defending the guys at the beginning of War Games (and one of those guys was John Spencer!). You have strong moments with Toby and CJ, and Josh and Donna, and obviously Charlie and the President. You have the idealism of Bartlet leveling with Chigorin. You have Leo... fondling bread. I think it gets even better on rewatches. Eggs can be balanced on end without too much difficulty per wikipedia's article on egg balancing.
From what I recall, Warner Bros was sinking a lot of money into the show and studio execs wanted Aaron to scale back a bit. Aaron thought it would negatively impact the quality of the show, which by the way was winning many awards every year. WB kept pressuring him until he finally said he'd had enough and it was time to move on. EP Tommy Schlamme left with him. Rob Lowe had been promised the starring role in the series. That's why he's listed first in the opening credits and the pilot is primarily centered on his character. The show was supposed to be about the lives of WH staffers. Then Martin came on and everything changed. Lowe's role lessened and he was getting frustrated. So he made the decision to leave. Too bad. I really liked the character Sam.
I don't think people realize what a huge deal it is in DC to 'switch parties', even just as a low level employee. I interned in the senate and while I ended up going a different direction career wise, back then it was made VERY clear to me that once you start your career with one party, it is very, very hard to work for someone with a different party. It's not a situation where you can bounce back and forth to wherever the best opportunity is. In real life, Ainsley and Joe would have a hard time staying in the government after their white house jobs. Maybe it's different today than it was 15 years ago, but I'm guessing not with how both parties even more separated/extreme.
Hope you guys are strapped in, because there is some excellent material coming up. Well, okay, as you're ahead on Patreon, you've gotten to some of it, but IMO there's a lot of great moments still to come in season 5, Sorkin or no Sorkin.
So, you guys were asking a number of questions regarding Sorkin's departure from the show. I'll cover a couple of points, none of which will spoil anything for the show itself. #1 Sorkin's departure was after this season was written, so he was not aware he would not be returning as he wrote these episodes. #2 His departure was NOT his choice. During the hiatus he was "celebrating" in Las Vegas and was caught with some illicit drugs (I believe it was mushrooms) and due to the controversy, NBC felt it was best for the show for him to step away. #3 He did do the lions share of the writing season 1 to 4, but did in fact have a staff that were very capable to step in and cover for his sudden departure.
you can always stand an egg on end if you have the right egg and surface. the equinox has nothing to do with it. As wikipedia's article on egg balancing notes: "Although the irregular shape of eggs makes this somewhat difficult, eggshells typically have many imperfections such that the vast majority can be balanced on their broad ends with"
I read a few articles on the subject. Apparently, it is possible to stand an egg on end at any time if you have the skill to do so, but it has nothing to do with the equinox.
I thought there could have been more time in 19 and 20 spent advancing towards the overarching political issues in the next few episodes. No spoilers, but next episode feels rushed
