S1e6- Mr. Willis of Ohio (I want my money back.)

There is a long and glorious history of television episodes dedicated to the Census.  Besides the West Wing, there is also... um...

Yeah, this is the first television show that has ever tried to make the an episode out of the Census. What's more important and impressive: it's actually informative and entertaining.  Once again, this is an episode about the Census, and not only do we learn about the Census, but we learn about the arguments for and against sampling as an alternative to the door-to-door Census.  Sorkin presents both sides' points of view fairly- in fact, the strongest reservations against sampling are issued by the Toby, who was arguing for it.

This argument ends up being for the benefit of the titular character- Mr. Willis of Ohio, who has taken his deceased wife's seat in Congress.  Toby is greatly impacted by this man, because he walks into the meeting without having his mind made up, and makes his own decision, rather than just following along with what he was told to do.  This shouldn't be a rare occurrence, but turn on any news program on tv: Mr. Willis is the political version of a unicorn.  Read up on re-districting and voter I.D. laws and try to say the last line he delivers without choking: "Fair is fair.  This is who we are.  These are our numbers."

Aaron Sorkin is an incredible writer; truly, I think he's a master craftsman.  However, I'm just going to say right now that while he is able to create characters to argue in courts, presidents, news anchors and social media moguls, he has a blind spot in his writing- these three guys who would harass Zoey at the bar.  Here's an example:

CHARLIE: Yeah. I’m just saying, I’m looking out for you.
GUY 1: I understand what you’re saying. You just want me to be cool alright?
CHARLIE: Can I buy you guys a round?
GUY 3: Like LL Cool J man, like Ice Tea.
GUY 2: Ice cube, Ice tray man.

Didn't Josh say there would be graduate students at this bar?  Thankfully, after enduring the terrible writing and acting of these three dumbasses, Charlie got an opportunity to be a badass, protecting Zoey's virtue and delivering a killer walk-off line ("NOW I’m having a good time.").  Josh flips the panic button up in the air, and the crisis is averted.   Coming on the heels of a disturbed person hopping the White House fence with a gun to go after Zoey, the President decides to increase the Secret Service protection for her.  We also get to meet Ron Butterfield, who I actually think is a Secret Service agent.  I feel safer now that he's been introduced.

One more example to share from the script of this episode:

BARTLET: I would like unanimous consent to revise and extend my remarks.
LEO: Without objection.

Do the President and Leo always use Robert's Rules of Order to mend fences in their friendship?  Because I would love that.  Almost as much as I would love seeing the President play the role of the Stage Manager in "Our Town."

To liven up an episode about the Census with a side dish of harassment, Josh and Donna spend the episode arguing the merits of tax cuts vs. tax rebates.  It's wonderful- Donna gets to tell a little parable, and while she doesn't get her DVD player, she does keep the change from the sandwiches, and reminds Josh, over and over again, that she wants her money back.

What's Next? S1e7- The State Dinner

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S1e5- The Crackpots and These Women (Andrew Jackson, in the main foyer of his White House...)

First, it's worth noting that after episodes 2-4, with the terrible synthesized version, we finally have the actual West Wing opening credit music in place.  Composer W.G. Snuffy Walden (who would win an Emmy for this theme song) and producer John Wells negotiated with the Musicians Union to record at a great deal, so from this point forward, the shows soundtrack will feature both recorded music by a 50-piece orchestra.  

Now... on to the episode itself.  What is there to say that hasn't already been said by Mr. Leo Thomas McGary?

"Andrew Jackson, in the main foyer of his White House had a big block of cheese.  The block of cheese was huge--over two tons. And it was there for any and all who might be hungry.  Jackson wanted the White House to belong to the people, so from time to time, he opened his doors to those who wished an audience.  It is in the spirit of Andrew Jackson that I, from time to time, ask senior
staff to have face-to-face meetings with those people representing organizations who have a difficult time getting our attention.

I know the more jaded among you, see this as something rather beneath you. But I assure you that listening to the voices of passionate Americans is beneath no one, and surely not the peoples' servants."
                                                                                          - Leo McGary

Andrew Jackson, wearing a cheesehead, courtesy of the BBC.

For Big Block of Cheese day, Sam meets with Bob Engler, US Space Command (attempting to camouflage his nerdiness with his clothing, and whom you might recognize as lawyer Ted Buckland, from 'Scrubs').

Bob (and his not-nerdy clothing)

Bob would like the White House to pay a little more attention to UFO's.  Currently, they aren't paying any attention, and that's not likely to change any time soon.  

CJ meets with some scientists who would like to create a wolves-only highway.  The cost for this?  900 Million dollars.  

CJ's reaction?

Pretty sure that says it all.  When asked what a better use for $900 million dollars would be, CJ offers building the best nine schools in the world.  The scientists then move on to the grizzly bear.  For their sake, I hope CJ didn't see "The Revenant."

While both of these meetings provide wonderfully funny moments in this episode, it's important to note that both CJ and Sam are impacted by their meetings; Sam asks his secretary Cathy for updates on the unknown object Bob tells him about, and CJ wonders aloud why we can't build schools and protect the wildlife.  The point is, the Big Block of Cheese Day works; the smallest voices can have an impact on the most influential members of the government, and we are reminded that they are there to lead through service to others, not for themselves.

What's Josh up to during all this?  Yeesh.  Josh is worried that smallpox might come back.  Josh is full of guilt over having a card directing him to Air Force One in case of nuclear attack.  Josh's guilt revolves around the realization that he's the only one of his coworkers who has such a card, and CJ, Toby, Sam and Donna don't also have cards.   The idea for this plotline apparently came from two consultants to the show- George Stephanopoulos (Senior Advisor to Clinton) showed Sorkin his card, and Dee Dee Myers (Clinton's press secretary) told Sorkin that they didn't really exist; she only thought this because she wasn't given one.  It's endearing moment to watch Josh struggle with this, and we see the depth with which these characters care about one another.  As much as Josh is feeling terrible about this all day, CJ tries to bring him back to earth- reminding him that a Press Secretary wouldn't be very essential in a post-nuclear apocalyptic administration, and to come have chili with everyone else.  

We meet President Bartlet's daughter, Zoey, who's starting college in the spring (for some unknown reason, but I suppose if the leader of the free world wants a deferral for the first semester, he can get it)- she and Charlie conspire over the chili, and Charlie is charmingly formal with Zoey.  We also get a vintage Bartlet speech to end the episode; he wraps everything up, CJ is a Big Block of Cheese convert, we can cure smallpox again, we should make college affordable for everyone, and asks Toby (who has spent the majority of the episode challenging the president to be and do better) what the next challenge will be, before reminding us of "the time when our eyes looked towards the heavens, 

and with outstretched fingers, we touched the face of God."  Doesn't everyone start chili night with a speech like that?  I'm telling you, President Bartlet, if you keep making me tear up at the end of these episodes with touching speeches, we're going to have a problem.

Finally, for future reference-

Leo's List:

(retribution for snickering is forthcoming)

1.  Sam Seaborn

-End of Leo's List-

What's Next?  S1e6- Mr. Willis of Ohio

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S1e4- Five Votes Down (I'm so sick of Congress, I could vomit).

When Leo learns that five congressmen have changed their votes on their gun control legislation, he sets the stage with this killer line:

       "There are two things in the world you never want to let people see how you make 'em - laws and
         sausages."

Trying to get these votes back to pass the legislation, we get to watch four meetings with members of congress and hear why they planned to vote against this bill.

• Josh meets with Rep. Katzenmoyer, from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, who needs to raise 10k a week in order to get reelected, and if the NRA makes him a target in the next election, he loses. (PS: Thanks to my cheesehead wife, I knew how to spell Eau Claire without looking it up- I'm also contractually obligated to record all references to Wisconsin). 
• Josh also meets with Rep. Wick, a freshman congressman who actually whines because he has only had one photo-op with the President after a year in office He agrees to vote yes, only if he gets a second photo-op of him and the President drinking brandy and playing chess (Josh predicts a presidential beat-down, my points out he is probably a Millennial #burn).  
• Leo has a particularly bad meeting with Rep. Richardson, who accuses the White House of not trying hard enough and giving too many concessions.  In his words, "no, this is for show, and I think it's an unconscionable waste of the taxpayers money to have it printed, signed, and photocopied- to say nothing of enforced.  I want the guns, Leo- you write a law that can save some lives, I'll sign it."
• Finally, Vice President Hoynes has a meeting with Rep. Tillinghouse, who is voting his conscience, believing that you can't get guns off the streets, and "as long as they've got a gun, I want my wife to have a gun, I want my daughter to have a gun, and damn it, I want one too." Rep. Tillinghouse ends up voting for the bill, because he is reminded that Hoynes will be President one day (the insinuation being that he would owe Tillinghouse a favor).

Money and ego are what motivate Katzenmoyer and Wick to vote against the measure, and Tillinghouse votes against his conscience after a backroom deal is made.  It's Richardson who takes the moral stand and votes against a bill because it isn't worthy of his support.  This is a point of view Sorkin has used before in his movie script for "The American President,"  where after securing the necessary votes to pass his crime bill by shelving the environmental bill his love interest has been working on, President Andrew Sheppard realizes the error of his ways.  He admits the weakness of the crime bill, and shelves it instead.

Given the amount of blatant obstructionism, and partisan rancor (two words that now seem inseparable) in today's House and Senate, it's easy to relate with Josh's assessment of the situation: "I'm so sick of Congress, I could vomit."

Speaking of Josh, he has some fantastic moments in this episode (i.e. looking like a dandy in the $1189 Smoking Jacket and $345 scrimshaw cigarette holder from Sarah Wissinger), but nothing tops his sunglasses game he displays when meeting with Katzenmoyer (my wife wants me to remind you that he's from Wisconsin.  He's from Wisconsin).  It's at 18:27 in the episode- go watch it again.  Did you watch it?  That's right.  What a badass.

While Josh is having a great day, Leo is having a terrible, horrible, no-good very bad day.  Leo forgets about his wedding anniversary (not throwing Margaret under the bus here, but doesn't she seem like she would make sure that Leo had a gift for his wife on his anniversary?)- terrible.  Leo tries to make up for it with a Harry Winston necklace, Juillard string quartet, and nice dinner, but arrives to find his wife with a suitcase packed and leaving him- horrible.  His meeting with Richardson- no-good.  Things could easily become- very bad, but Hoynes is granted a rare moment of decency, and invites Leo to his private AA meeting.  Leo ends the episode walking in, and for that, we're all grateful.  

Some quick hits from the episode:

• From the speech that started the episode: Sam wrote two and a half paragraphs, Toby wrote 37 pages (Toby doesn't like that they get equal credit), the President got a little extemporaneous with the D section and blew it.
• President takes more of his back pills than he is prescribed, and attends a meeting... in body, if not in mind.  He thinks Sam is Toby (but thinks Toby is a nice name), and though he admits that his muscles aren't, you know (he never finishes this thought- are you getting the idea?), but he's focused.  The President is seriously considering getting a dog; maybe an Irish Setter(this is not related to anything).  Before Charlie finally comes to take the president back to the residence (the President thinks that Charlie is a nice name, too), he agrees to a plan that leaves Toby feeling, according to Toby: "screwed with his pants on."  

(Above, Toby gets a hug.  Because he's a great writer.)

Despite this terrific scene, the episode ends with the most hollow of victories.  The law passes- the crisis set forth at the start of the episode (we were, after all, five votes down) is resolved.  There should be celebration- but instead, it's Hoynes who emerges victorious.  He seems to be the most political animal in a show about politics, and his political maneuvering doesn't seem to be for the benefit of anyone but himself.  Thankfully, the Constitution states that the Vice President also serves as the president of the Senate- one of the two houses of Congress.  Which means that we can include Hoynes when we say that we're so sick of Congress, we could vomit.  

What's Next?  S1e5- The Crackpots and These Women (OHMYGODBIGBLOCKOFCHEESEDAYISHERE!!!)

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S1e3- A Proportional Response (It doesn't go away.)

Three days have passed since the events of the previous episode, and if the weather is any indication, there are some dark, foreboding clouds hanging over the White House.  Every time we see a door or window, there's rain- people come in with wet overcoats and umbrellas.  Why the bad mood and foul weather?

• The President is missing his glasses.
• The President is upset that there hasn't been a response to Morris Tolliver's plane being shot down.
• The President is dissatisfied with the idea of a Proportional Response.
• The President gets put in his place by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs.
• The President gets put in his place by his Chief of Staff.
• The President is still missing his glasses.

Also, I should mention that:

• CJ knows about Sam and his plan to remain friends with the call-girl, Laurie.  
• CJ is upset with Sam, Josh, or Toby for not telling them (thankfully, Josh gives her an opportunity to unload on him, and she calls him an "elitist, Harvard, fascist, missed-the-dean's-list-two-semesters-in-a-row Yankee jackass."  It's fantastic.).
• CJ has to deal with a reporter who knows about Sam and Laurie.

Now, that's a big list (which is why we also occasionally hear thunder in addition to the rain), but thankfully, there are some highlights in this episode, including the introduction of three new characters:

1. Admiral Percy Fitzwallace- unafraid to tell it like it is, but clearly has a sense of humor.  Also is curious about the new coffee in the Situation Room.
2. Danny Concannon- White House Press corps member for 7 years and wants CJ to understand what would happen if the person who knew about Sam and the call girl wasn't a good guy like he is.
3. Charles Young- prefers to be called Charlie, but deserves more than just a short blurb of introduction.

Charlie and Josh get the last line of dialogue of the episode before we hear the start of the President's televised address to the nation.  It's a terrific moment, and I think it also sums up how all of us West Wing fanatics feel whenever we watch the show-

Charlie: "I've never felt like this before."
Josh: "It doesn't go away."

What is that feeling, Charlie?  You had quite the introduction to the West Wing... applying for a job as a messenger, you've got a drivers license and your own bike, calling everyone sir, always standing up when you're told to sit down, encouraged to sue the White House by Sam, and barked at by the President- after you figured out where his glasses have been hiding all episode!  So why are you so full of the feels?

Well, thanks an attitude adjustment by Leo (it's clearly the Chief of Staff's job to tell the President to order flowers for his wife, put him in his place and make him laugh when he's in a foul mood), Pres. Bartlet re-introduces himself.  Charlie needs this job to take care of his sister; it's just the two of them after their mother, a DC cop was shot and killed in the line of duty 5 months prior.  A quick call to the Director of the FBI gives President Bartlet the details of the shooting, and he tells Charlie that "we have not had a whole lot of success yet in banning that weapon and those bullets off the streets, but we're planning on taking a big whack at it when Congress comes back from recess.  So what do you say?  Wanna come help us out?"

Charlie replies "yes, sir" and I can feel the tears starting to form for the second time this episode (the first being the pained way the President tells Leo that Morris had a 10-day old baby).  I might have actually said "yes, sir" out loud at the same time along with Charlie the first time I watched the episode, but that's a secret only my couch and I know, and my couch isn't telling.

While I cannot confirm or deny whether or not I still recite this line along with Charlie, this is the point where this show moves beyond just an entertaining way for me to spend 43 minutes.  Deep down, the reason so many of us love (and obsessively quote) this show is that we wish we could get a personal invitation from President Bartlet to roll up our sleeves, join their team and make this country a better place.  We want to help CJ get the President ready to address the nation, and then help Toby and Sam write the speech.  If Josh doesn't have anything to do, maybe we can find something for him to do.  We would love to be the ones who figured out where the President's glasses are.   Pretty impressive for only the first three episodes; and Josh is right...

"It doesn't go away."

What's Next? S1e4- Five Votes Down

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S1e2- Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc ("I drink from the keg of glory, Donna. Bring me the finest muffins and bagels in all the land.")

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc- translated from Latin, it means: "after it, therefore, because of it (according to Leo, anyways)".  The title of this episode is a logical fallacy that remains a key part of the political landscape today, especially when you're arguing against something.  

For example:

           Since out-of-pocket costs has risen for health insurance since the Affordable Care Act was 

           enacted, it must be because of the Affordable Care Act.  

This seems incontrovertible, but in reality, it is trickery under the guise of simplifying a complex issue.  The truth is that out-of-pocket costs had been rising for many years before the ACA was signed into law, and also put into place limits on the amount of out-of-pocket expenses; something that didn't previously exist.  Take a listen in the debates, watch commercials for candidates, and read mailers- these logical fallacies don't just exist to explain how President Bartlet's joke about not looking good in big hats led to him not taking Texas in the election (he lost the election long before that- as CJ put it- when he learned Latin).

Picking a favorite line from this episode is a true challenge- Mrs. Landingham has some terrific lines, including a wonderfully sarcastic comment that the President has so much free time, he is watching Regis and Kathie Lee while eating Cheerios.  More on my love for Mrs. Landingham soon, I promise- but my pick for this episode's best, most quote-able dialogue is:

Josh Lyman: Victory is mine, victory is mine. Great day in the morning, people, victory is mine.

Donna Moss: Morning, Josh.

Josh Lyman: I drink from the keg of glory, Donna. Bring me the finest muffins and bagels in all the land.

Donna Moss: It's going to be an unbearable day.

Yes, that's Josh in the background beating his chest.  In moments like this, you really do remember that Bradley Whitford (who plays Josh Lyman) was in "Billy Madison."  I don't see much from his work in "Robocop 3" or "Revenge of the Nerds 2: Nerds in Paradise," but I might just be missing the nuance.  Nevertheless, I encourage everyone to celebrate like this. Request the finest baked goods in the land, pound your chest, and ask if there any rivers that need forging or serpents that need slaying. You deserve it.

Josh's victory leaves Mandy a consultant without any clients, but she gets hired by the White House to consult on media matters, despite Josh's protests (his reasoned argument why she shouldn't work at the White House?  She used to be his girlfriend.  Well argued, Josh).  If you're wondering, she answers to Josh, and she answers to Toby.  Josh is having some instructional charts drawn up for Mandy, to provide clarity.

In this episode, we meet John Hoynes, the Vice President for the first time.  I might dislike him because he's speaking french in this initial onscreen appearance, but it's probably because he clearly doesn't like the President, and that means I clearly won't like him.  He tries to go toe to toe with Leo, and while Leo puts Hoynes in his place, it's clear that this isn't the first or last time he will be making things difficult for the Bartlet administration, and is a frontrunner for arch-nemesis of the show.

Quick update on Sam and Laurie (the call girl from "Pilot"- Sam likes Laurie, and dislikes the notion that he can't be friends with Laurie because he works in a profession where "adults aren't given the benefit of the doubt."  A neat opportunity for Sorkin to chime in on the dangers inherent in the unrealistic standards we hold political figures to (well, some of them).  Sam hasn't broken any laws, and isn't doing anything wrong, but it's made clear that he is bringing risk to the administration by continuing his friendship with Laurie.

President Bartlet's doctor plays a prominent role in this episode- they have a touching interaction, during which the President shares his discomfort with violence and concern over his ability to lead the Joint Chiefs.  I love this doctor, Morris Tolliver- his clear eagerness to share pictures of his newborn and pride in his family are two things that every new parent feels, and I continue to feel as our son nears his first birthday.  I'm reminded in this episode that the President believes that both the future and the past of a family should be sources of pride, and that a good father will teach their child to whistle.  Morris is a picture of selflessness; taking a break from his job (Captain, MD in the Navy) serving the president to work in a teaching hospital in the Middle East.  When his plane is shot down en route to Jordan, we see a transformation to a President who is visibly shaken by his death, and promises to "blow them off the face of the earth with the fury of God's own thunder."  This doctor serves as the spark for a larger conflict within the President, but at the heart of it, he is angry that a new father has been taken away from his wife and ten day old child.  The question is, how much room is there for Bartlet's humanity in the Office of the President?

My wife teared up two separate times in this episode- both at the beginning and the end of this transformation.   Wouldn't it be amazing if we had politicians who could move us so deeply, and who wouldn't stoop to oversimplification and false logic to prove their point rather than the truth?  Who could convince us of the purity of their intentions like Sam?  Who would surround themselves with people who would challenge their decisions to achieve new heights of compassion, justice and service like President Bartlet has?

Ask yourself those questions, and then look around at the reality of our political landscape- now, maybe you see why I'm watching this show instead of whole-heartedly diving headfirst into all the messy reality of our own electoral process.

What's Next? S1e3- Proportional Response

S1e1- Pilot ("The President, while riding his bicycle, came to a sudden arboreal stop".)

Every time I re-watch "The West Wing," I'm always amazed about how much is in the first season, and the pilot is no exception.  Aaron Sorkin, the writer and creator of "The West Wing," has a long history of big-impact pilot episodes.  On "Sports Night" and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," he took on the industries that those shows would focus on with long diatribes against television and entertainment.  "The Newsroom" had an incredibly brave start- fueled no doubt by the creative freedom offered by paid cable.  WARNING- the following clip has some language that is Not Safe For Work.

So what happens in the pilot episode for "The West Wing?"

• Sam sleeps with a hooker very high-priced call girl, switches pagers with her (pagers! it's like we're opening a time capsule and rediscovering technology of old...), and tells his boss's daughter about it.  He also gives one hell of a White House tour (the Roosevelt room named for our 18th President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and features chairs made from a pirate ship).
• Leo spends the morning fighting with the NYT Crossword people over the spelling of Ghaddafi (sp?), and being generally fantastic; wise, caring, insightful, funny, etc.
• Josh wakes up at his desk after spending the night there, and we spend the episode wondering if he's going to be fired.  He makes time for lunch with Mandy, let's us know he's from Connecticut, and isn't fired.
• CJ falls off the treadmill while trying to read her pager- dispelling some of the coolness she was trying to communicate to the handsome runner on the next treadmill over.  After that, she's shown as competent and in control.  Sorkin may get a lot of flak for how he portrays women, but CJ is an incredibly strong character who is introduced as an equal member of the team.
• Donna yells at Josh, brings him coffee for the first time in a year and a half, and convinces Josh to wear a fresh shirt by telling him that all the girls think he looks hot in it.  Donna might only be credited as a guest star, but she separates herself from Leo and Sam's assistant from the start, and will soon make the transition to one of the main cast members.
• Toby is introduced as a difficult airplane passenger, refusing to put away his phone and computer during a flight.  He is also introduced as the moral authority of the show, and unafraid to remind everyone about it.  
• And, finally, 36 minutes into the pilot episode, we meet POTUS (President Of The United States).  Martin Sheen was only supposed to be in every fourth episode, but after watching his performance in the last 8 minutes of the show is proof enough as to why he was in all but one episode by the series' end.  His entrance, quoting the First Commandment, is epic.  It's also  an interesting bit of foreshadowing that he is using a cane the first time we see him- having sprained his ankle while riding his bike into a tree.  He provides a focus for all the staffers, frames the discussion about Cuban refugees with eloquence and compassion- a combination we'll have the pleasure of watching for another 154 episodes.

We are also introduced to Mandy, with her annoying music, silver BMW with the top down, ridiculous beret, and a failure to comply with traffic signal devices. Her worst line of the episode: "Josh, take me seriously."  She is the outsider, and Sorkin's biggest struggle.  Or, he just wanted to have a character that was a Democrat that everyone hated.  If so- Mission Accomplished, Mr. Sorkin.  Mission Accomplished.  

When people go on first dates, the get dressed up; remember their manners, shove old McDonalds french fries under the mats on the floor of the passenger seat, and always eat in moderation with utensils.  In other words, they present the best possible version of themselves, in the hope that they will capture the affection of the other person before they realize the distance between this version and every other day's realities.  This pilot episode, on the other hand, shows the characters in their workout clothes, embarrassing themselves, losing their cool, and being obsessively quirky.  Despite all of this, though- it's the beginning of an incredible relationship.

What's Next?  S1e2- Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

Prologue

During my semester of student teaching, Bravo showed several episodes of "The West Wing" back to back in sequential order; while I would seldom get to watch all of them, and certainly didn't start from the beginning, I was entranced.  Student teaching is very idealistic work (how much more idealistic can you get than unpaid?), and everything about the show resonated with me.  Eventually growing frustrated with Bravo's unwillingness to alter their schedule to match mine and too  embarrassed to start programming a VCR to record a show that was already in syndication, I went to Best Buy and purchased the first season on DVD.  For several years, I would receive the gift of a season of "The West Wing" for Christmas, a gift given begrudgingly and usually with some small measure of ridicule from a father who owned Ann Coulter books (in fairness to him, I never saw him read them- I think they were purchased from the liberal-leaning bookstore for purposes of intimidation).  

I hit "The West Wing" pretty hard during the 2004 election when our votes were counted but didn't count.  I watched the entire series from start to finish, all the while believing in the change that was promised in the 2008 election while moving and starting a new job.  I decided to watch it all again during the 2012 election when the change seemed to be slow moving but a change in leadership didn't seem reasonable to accept, and invited my fiancé to join me for her first time through the West Wing. 

Today, with 259 days until the general election, I need "The West Wing."  Badly.  I've never started this early in the election cycle, but the vitriol, terror and disarray of the primary season is taking a toll on me; everyone is right except those who disagree with you, the truth doesn't matter, and Donald Trump.  I have a son who goes to bed at 8pm, a Netflix subscription, and a strong desire to live in another reality's political reality.  It isn't always perfect there- but I have more faith in it than I do our own reality, and that's enough to keep me occupied until November.

There are three ground rules for this blog (presented in no particular order):

• I will watch an episode, then write about it.
• I might connect to current events, I might not.  Same goes for providing historical background.
• I will say disparaging things about Mandy, almost all Vice-Presidents and Cliff Calley.  Not all the time, but certainly when they deserve it- which is usually always.  

So, off we go!

What's Next?  S1e1- Pilot