Thu, November 20, 2003

Is the post-Sorkin West Wing finally finding its footing, or am I just gradually becoming accustomed to a substandard product? I really liked it this week. I've been bristling at the smug Speaker of the House Haffley played by Robert Kennedy (oh, sorry Steven Culp – like there's a difference) for a few weeks and it was really fun to see Bartlet turn the tables around. It reminded me a lot of that time he supposedly slipped up and said something to a local reporter which caused a big fuss about whether he was disparaging the intelligence of his opponent, but at the end he revealed to CJ that it was his plan all along. Man, that was a good episode! They're never going to make an episode that good without Sorkin, but at least they can make an episode that reminds me of how good that one was.

I really like the fact that things aren't going so well for the West Wing gang right now. I mean, up until this week's episode. The Josh Lyman funk was a nice touch. Conflict equals drama. It's more interesting to see them battling and root for them than it is to watch them dancing in eternal victory. Plus, Sorkin said of his writing style that he writes best when people are arguing, so he just sets characters in a room together and starts them fighting. All of this defeat has certainly made them snippy.

And you'll never hear me complain about a little extra Gary Cole.

I mean, seriously. I tuned in to two episodes of last year's abysmal Family Affair on the WB, just because he was headlining. I think that's one episode short of the series's entire run, and it's definitely one episode more than any other person watched.

What appeals to me most about The West Wing is when it's sassy. Sassy with a capital "Sassy!" It jets along at its breakneck pace, everyone at each other's throats, not worrying if the audience is keeping up. Smart and sassy. I like that they're stringing us along about the Donna/Josh romance angle, although I wish they'd be less obvious about it while they were doing it. I hope Jesse Bradford will be back, though. He added some fun to that whole side of the show, and besides, you can't spell "Bradley Whitford" without "Bradford!"

Most of all, though, I like President Bartlet. It's no secret that I would have voted for him in the 2000 election if I could've. I like that in many ways he's eerily similar to Howard Dean. I love the way he puts his jacket on by swinging it over his head. I don't look nearly as cool when I try it, and he's three times my age! I like how intelligent and passionate he is. More than any elected official could really afford to be in the real world, but it works on TV. Every time Bobby Kennedy tried to nail him on this whole budget thing, I couldn't help yelling at the screen, "He's an economist, you smug punk! They gave him a Nobel Prize for it!" (Meanwhile, on another channel, his son is making a pass at Angus Jones's teacher.)

***

It was a pretty good Ed, too. Not perfect, but damn good. I liked the extravagant proposal, because I like to think it's what I'd do. Hell, it is what I'll do. Maybe it's too much, but that's what I like about Ed. He thinks like me – when it comes to grand romantic gestures, there's no such thing as too much. The only part of that scene that didn't sit well with me was how surprised Carol was by each new item on the list. Once he brought out the list and the strawberries, she could pretty much assume that it was going to follow suit. The sunset was adorable, but nothing else should have been a surprise. Still, a great show. They're moving a little quickly, probably out of a justifiable concern that this might be the show's last season, but I like it because it's time to explore Carol & Ed as a couple and what that means now that we've taken the courtship story as far as we can. Their struggle can take a back seat to other parts of the show now. Like Dr. Burton. Oh, how I loved him this week: "The Appalachian Hawk is an overbearing ass."

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