2 posts tagged “west wing”
I started watching West Wing from Series 1 again recently as I've mentioned before. After having a break from it for a few weeks while other tasks commanded my time, I returned to watching Series 3 where I discovered one of my favourite episodes; the one where Toby has a crush on a poet, and another episode that I feel sounds familiar.
The episode starts with President Bartlett being interviewed on the US Morning shows. After each interview he exchanges a few words with each interviewer. While 'live' there is a red light on the camera which becomes green when they are no longer recording. During one of the post interview exchanges the President makes a comment about his opponent that questions his intelligence. I apologise to those who don't want to hear the outcome of the episode but basically C.J. eventually confronts the President with the notion that he knew the red light was still on when he made the comment.
I feel this sounds familiar because this week a government minister walked into No 10 this week with a memo 'accidently' on display for the waiting reporters. Is it just me who thinks that this was planned as a way of leaking the news without making an official unpopular statement?
A long time ago I lent my West Wing Series 1 & 2 DVDs to a friend and this weekend I got them back. I've anticipated their return for a long time and so tonight I sat down to watch the entire 7 seasons from the first episode. Obviously this isn't a one night plan especially since it's 154 episodes.
Having watched the first few episodes I can see how this got commisioned and I totally remember why I loved it so much. The dialogue, especially in these Aaron Sorkin penned episodes, was fantastically crafted and include some of my favourite lines. Here's a few examples with apologies for reprinting without permission:
Sam: About a week ago I accidentally slept with a prostitute.
Toby: Really?
Sam: Yes.
Toby: You accidentally slept with a prostitute.
Sam: Call girl.
Toby: Accidentally.
Sam: Yes.
Toby: I don't understand, did you trip over something?
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Van Dyke: If our children can buy pornography on any street corner for five dollars, isn’t that too high a price to pay for free speech?
Bartlet: No.
Van Dyke: Really?
Bartlet: On the other hand, I do think that five dollars is too high a price to pay for pornography.
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C.J.: Is there anything I can say except 'The President rode his bicycle into a tree.'?
Leo: He hopes never to do it again?
C.J.: Seriously, they're laughing pretty hard
Leo: He rode his bicycle into a tree, CJ. What do you want me... 'The President, while riding a bicycle on his vacation in Jackson Hole, came to a sudden arboreal stop.' What do you want from me?
C.J.: A little love, Leo.
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Leo: He was swerving to avoid a tree.
Donna: What happened?
Leo: He was unsuccessful.
