S2e15-Ellie (Charlie, please don't say the word "erotic" in the Oval Office.)

There are things that, if you're watching the West Wing for the first time, you might not realize when a major theme is introduced.  In this episode, Toby introduces his best friend and partner in thought:

That's Toby, with his hands full of thoughts: The Pink Rubber Bouncy Ball.

(Follow Toby Ziegler's Ball on twitter HERE)

(The symbol of wisdom and truth.)

Think I'm making this up?  Think again, Pink Rubber Bouncy Ball denier!  There's hard bouncy science that backs this up, and this is hardly Aaron Sorkin's first time promoting this truth of sphere-based intelligence.

Behold- evidence:

("The American President")

("A Few Good Men")

("Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip")

("Sports Night"-Josh Malina is in so much Aaron Sorkin, he's graduated to being able to just use an imaginary ball)

Sorkin isn't the only one.  Clearly, the opinion of scriptwriters is that genius is associated with spheres.

("House, M.D.")

(Sheldon from "The Big Bang Theory")

Aaaand, I just spent 30 minutes trying to find a picture of Doogie Howser throwing a ball while typing on his computer, to no avail.  Curse you Internet!

So, what's there to share from this episode besides Toby's new prop?  We meet our second Bartlet daughter- Ellie, and realize that she's the black sheep of the family.  What does that mean?  She goes to medical school at Johns Hopkins, isn't terribly involved in the politics of the Bartlet Presidency, and regularly allows her hair to fall over her face.  She also provides the groundwork for one of the most touching lines in the show.  After she told the President that she doesn't know how to make him happy like Zoey and Liz (the so-far-never-pictured Bartlet daughter), he responds by saying:

"The only thing you ever had to do to make me happy was come home at the end of the day."

As a 20-year old watching for the first time, I called my mom and dad.  As a 34 year old father of a one-year old, I cried.  Is this what life is like?  Increasingly unable to manage your emotions with anything sentimental?  It would seem so.  I teared up watching a life insurance commercial the other day, but I think that's only partly my fault, since the industry seems intent on guilting you into purchasing their product, and have hired the people who created the ASPCA ads that had Sarah McLachlan songs playing in the background.  Yeesh.

Also, there's some heavy statistics regarding the legalization of marijuana in this episode that do demonstrate some shifts in public opinion to today's political landscape, but I'd rather talk about Sorkin's connection between genius and spheres, because he's got science on his side.  There's quite a lot of research on the connection between hand-eye coordination and brain development, but this article  highlights my favorite bit of info: "the cerebellum also controls the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) which is a reflex eye movement that stabilizes images during head movement by producing an eye movement in the direction opposite to head movement, which keeps the image in the center of your visual field." That's why you can read this while shaking your head in disbelief that I'm spending so much time on Toby and a pink bouncy ball.  Pretty cool, right?

Ok, stop shaking your head, I don't want you to get sick!

What's Next?  S2e16- Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail

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