Couldn't believe this wasn't on RU-vid! One of my favorite moments between Bartlet and Toby and one of the few moments that Toby is truly vulnerable in front of someone else. Powerful delivery by Martin Sheen as usual.
@@knivez786 Not just yet. When those three animals are rotting in a Georgia state prison, with daily sessions of having their pants around their ankles as the predominantly black general population turns them into sexual slaves.....then maybe, just maybe justice will be served.
@@JnEricsonx I hear you, way back when Barack Obama nominated, my friend became part of his election team, I commented to them that they shouldn’t become too attached, because odds were he would be assassinated. My friend cynically said he wouldn’t be assassinated because Presidents no longer have any power, it’s the money that has the power.
Because candidates have to RUN for president. Good statesmen/women don't magically get nominated and elected. They have to go through the brutal election process to get the job. Furthermore, it may sound unfeeling, but I don't want a president who governs with his feelings. I want presidents who govern with cold, hard logic. Presidents who do things that will work, rather than doubling down on failed policies of the past because they're letting their feelings get in the way of doing what actually works.
Although not quite on par with the West Wing as that is something truly special, have you watched The Newsroom? Also created by Aaron Sorkin and worth a look if you haven't :)
@@thatdrewrivers I liked that show too and really don't know why it didn't last. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip was good too and the same thing, it got cut.
@@liman42 At least unlike many-a-show, it had an ending. Too many times they'll cancel a show, leave you hanging and you're left with that feeling of... "Oi... I was watching that!!"
The reason we miss the series is not because of the acting, which was excellent. It is not because of the personalities, which were deep and real. It was because we hoped this was or is the way our lives are being directed by the powers elected....even if we did not agree with their views. Intelligence and thoughtful based on information and not fear should be what guides us.
That acting.. that g'damn acting.. Here i am, browsing youtube, and all of a sudden WW pops up in the great algorythm RU-vid has. 2 minutes, 41 seconds. And i am in awe (again) by the quality of the writing, the actors, the tone of voice and the message it sends. 'I know my West Wing from cover to cover' but it got me again. I have never seen this quality in any show - ever. Think i'll do another 7 series run bingewatch.. It has been to long :)
Possibly the finest show ever put on TV ever. Especially if you consider the consider the consistent quality over 7 seasons...The most powerful episode for me was the one where the bury the homeless Marine in Arlington.. That was actually a genuine USMC burial detail. When they heard about the episode they refused to have it done by actors....That is very very special....
@@theolamp5312 There is an episode of NCIS where something similar happened and once again the Marines refused to allow actors to do the burial routine. To them that job is sacred. Find the RU-vid video on the Burial detail Marines. And watch a movie called “Taking Chance”. Both are about a sacred duty done right.
That episode at Arlington was titled "The Little Drummer Boy", I believe. Brought tears to my eyes. I was born in '62. I had friends who had brothers killed in Viet Nam. Bad memories. Never forgotten.
Toby has never been vulnerable or shown weakness. But when it came to this shooting. He broke down and became so emotionally weak and vulnerable. It was rough to watch.
Only Aaron Sorkin can convince Alan Alda to portray a Republican Senator. Granted, he's an old school western state Republican. But still. If you've watched any of the post Larry Linville MASH episodes, then you know just how 'liberal, left wing, Democrat Alan Alda is/was in his politics.
I doubt Aaron Sorkin had anything to do with Alan Alda joining the cast because Sorkin was long gone from the show by the time they debuted Senator Vinick. If I remember correctly, Sorkin stated that apart from 1 or 2 episodes after the start of season 5, he didn't watch the show after he left.
During the debates between Vinick and Santos, Vinick is seen smiling when Santos refutes his points about liberals being the ones making improvements to America. Some people have speculated that Vinick is embarrassed that his arguments were being refuted, but some people have also speculated that it's because Alda genuinely agrees with those statements.
Vinnick, in many ways, was NOT the typical Republican Senator. The show was careful to not cast Republicans in a truly bad light. There were contrasts, yes, and there were definite party lines, and some who stepped over the lines - on both sides.
Just for a moment, it seems like Bartlett is poo-pooing Toby's reaction. He isn't, though. "What was Josh Lyman, a warning shot? That was my SON ... " They were all his sons, including Charlie and Toby.
This is one of the greatest moments in TV. You see how the characters really struggle with what happened. You feel the impact of Sheena's words 'it was a lynching." And that is why everyone was reacting the way that they did. For those of you who aren't as familiar with the show, when Toby said "I've seen shootings before" his father was in Murder Inc (The Jewish mob).
So many little things in this show resonated deep within me. So many things. I’m black, 73 and have been a viracious reader all my life. We lived in some old houses and I found so many old books. When I was a very young teen I would go to my uncles home to pick up at his yard on week ends. He had no kids. He had an awesome library in one room. After doing my Saturday clean up work, I would be given lunch, be paid nd be allowed to pick/borrow three books from his home library. I read a couple of histories of the gangs of Chicago, New York and Boston. Stuff they did’t teach is school. The lines about Murder Inc and Jewish Mob hit me hard. It gave me another facet of the American experience that was more important than I had realized up until that until them.
Well said, couldn't agree more... It's a shame there aren't more Republicans like another one of Aaron Sorkin's characters... Will McAvoy from the show Newsroom played by Jeff Daniels...amazing show, excellent writing and acting.
Seriously, I’ve watched this entire show twice. Think I’ll start my third tonight. I almost wish I never saw any episodes so I could start it all over again!!!
Right? Two years after a violent mob of right-wing lunatics attacked the US capitol, and the ringleaders are still at large. "Well I'm waiting for the director of the FBI to behave like the director of the FBI. I'm waiting for the justice dept, I'm waiting for Congress, I'm WAITING FOR THE WHITE HOUSE TO BEHAVE THAT WAY!" - Toby
Saddest part of this entire series of episodes is that they keep referring to "West Virginia White Pride" and referencing Blacksburg and points in Virginia. I love this show but I wonder if they were referring to the western part of Virginia and not my home state of West Virginia. It is a common mistake but I would hope that they would have researched it a bit more before they filmed it.
I wonder if they deliberately muddled the details like that in an effort to not actually paint any specific place as a white pride breeding ground. Sort of like how in Fight Club when they talked about chemical reactions and explosives, they deliberately got facts wrong or omitted key details so they wouldn't be responsible for someone actually trying to make bombs following what they were saying. Or in Breaking Bad, they never actually give you a step-by-step guide to making meth, they show enough to let the audience know that this is what goes on, but don't share all the pertinent details, or they'll deliberately get a few things "wrong" for the reasons mentioned above. Seems like the actual town of Blacksburg would not care to be known as an HQ for white pride domestic terrorists, hence the muddying of the details in the script.
Great show but they failed to check their geography. Blacksburg is in Virginia, not West Virginia. It is doubtful that some racist group called West Virginia White Pride would have their headquarters in a liberal college town in Virginia.
@@bigbrowntau It is seltzer. I've never known why it's called an egg cream: there's no egg, and not even cream. Milk, yes, but SKIM milk. That's Brooklyn for you.
So not being American, not being familiar with American brands, I spent a solid 10 years thinking that he made that "Egg Cream" with Chololate Syrup, Cold Milk and *Salsa*.
I’m still in a combination of great writing and acting can stir our souls, reminding us that the fight is still worth finishing and winning. That despite the deluge of despair that forces bent on our destruction rain down upon us, we will continue to stand, to fight, to win. November is coming.
I thought I knew my WW - but I don't have the full series available to me I am doing it from memory from original runs. That said - what was happening when this happened? I do not remember this!
This was right after the assassination attempt at the end of season 1. Bartlett and Josh both got shot but the Secret Service found out Bartlett wasn't the target, Charlie was. The shooters were white supremacists angry that the president's daughter was dating a black man and tried to kill (lynch) him by shooting him. They missed but he was the target.
The president was shot in the season 1 finale by white supremacists. It was revealed in the beginning of the second season that their target was actually Charlie, whom they wanted to kill because he was dating the president's daughter.
@@watsonsd1 Bartlet says that he has intended to call the Attorney General about it for 12 weeks so we can assume it has at least been 12 weeks since then. In the episode with the initial shooting, Bartlet isn't shot anywhere important. He likely would have been fine to work within a couple days after his surgery.
While I agree the writing was awesome it was also very....heavy. Honestly I remember getting very lost in the dialogue first time I watched the series. It also makes the show feel kinda unrealistic.
All dialogue is unrealistic. Realistic conversation is messy, meandering, poorly paced. It doesn't have rhythm or meter. Dialogue needs to have all of these things, and it needs to communicate the point of the scene in an efficient but entertaining way. The brilliance of Sorkin's writing is that he's able to make these qualities seem more natural than they really are.
I had a thought. Those Keyhole photos.... Toby probably wasn't cleared to view Keyhole imagery. Jed held on to those photos forn12 weeks knowing Toby would come ri see him. It's the same as Santos offering SecState to Vinnick in Season 7, that classified sata wasn't just there, both knew it would be useful.
Yes, Charlie's attempted murder by those racists really was so terrible for Toby. Poor thing, I don't know how he coped with the bullet in Josh's lung or Bartlett's visible entry and exit wound. 🤡
Did we not learn anything from history? There should have been gatling guns at the Capitol, screaming spinning and mowing them down. You want to send a message? Don't bring a knife to a gun fight.
It wouldn't have mattered if there were Tanks and BFVs at the Capitol. Who was the Commander & Chief on that dreadful day? The very man who was desperate to stay in power at any cost, and who fomented the violent mob. The order to fire would not have been given.
Actually being from Connecticut, I can tell you that New York is NOT part of New England. Comprised of six states, New England consists of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. A common misconception that New York is part of New England!
What comes from Brooklyn doesn't necessarily come from everywhere else around it. Also, regardless of whether or not NY is a part of New England, New Hampshire and New York are two very unique places.
The guy who was storming up and down the White House demanding vengeance on the group that shot and injured the president and his co-worker/friend Josh, and who knows what other civilians who just happened to be in the crowd, to the point where he was neglecting work and getting into arguments with co-workers was...wishy washy? It literally took the president, his boss, to get Toby to calm down and realize that as much as he would love to strike back at the racist assholes, it just wasn't worth it. But, okay, sure. Also, not sure where you've been, but President Bartlett was a democrat, so it makes sense his cabinet would follow suit.
