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