S3e14- Hartsfield's Landing ("Claudia's House of Useless Knowledge")

Yeesh.  So many weird little things to sort through in this episode, that I don't really want to deal with any of them.

So I'll just list them quickly:

1. If this ficticious Hartsfield's Landing is the first votes cast in the New Hampshire Primary, why are we worried about anyone voting for Ritchie, who is running for the GOP nomination?
2. I'm fairly sure that half of the chess references are wrong.  Not sure why Aaron Sorkin didn't just google up some chess facts, but if you, dear reader, google up this episode, you'll find all the chess things.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge nerd, on an "I can tell you the best order to watch the Star Wars movies in" level.  But not even I want to really talk about chess that much. 
3. Most of the time, I enjoy the parallel plotlines that exist in a good episode of the West Wing.  Unfortunately, the pervasiveness of chess throughout the episode feels very clunky to me.  But maybe that's just me not seeing the whole board.  
4. What's up with the President's posture when he start's playing chess with Toby?  
5. Nobody went to India with the President?

Whew.  Good to get that off my chest.  

And what the hell is in Gail's fishbowl?  ARGH!

Ok, now I'm done.

Chess aside, I really love this episode.  A lot.  Charlie v. CJ is an amazing one-sided butt-kicking, that culminates in Charlie managing to have CJ's desk fall apart.  Go back and watch it again, though- you'll see this reaction from CJ, which I absolutely love... 

I also want to point out that there's clearly been some progress made by the Cartographers for Social Equality, because there's a Gall-Peters Projection map in Donna's office...

...which makes me happy.

What also makes me happy is the strong sense of brinksmanship in this episode.  Obviously, the President sending the fleet only to turn it around in the last minute- but in his conversation with Toby, there's a few nice details.  I could be wrong, but I think that the President mirrors Toby's first three moves- chess's version of chicken.  Each of them take the conversation right up to the edge of the previous conversation- Toby's "He was an idiot," referring to the President's father, and the President's warning to Toby to not cheat, because he knows where all the pieces are on this board, a board in Sam's office and a board that presumably hasn't been played on for a long time.   Still, though- cooler heads prevail, and the conversation moves back to safer waters:campaign strategy.  

One last thing- a celebration of the details...

In the last 10 seconds of the episode, they show footage of the Hartsfield's Landing vote going on on one of the tv's... and it is amazing the level of detail achieved for something so quickly passing.  

Notice the sign in the background?  Go back and watch, because it's clearer when it's moving, for some reason....

Here's a picture from Dixville Notch, which is one of the inspiration for the fake Hartsfield's Landing:

They've created the exact same sign.  A part of the West Wing culture is that everyone is really passionate in their job, and has a desire to be excellent- from Martin Sheen to the person responsible for dressing a set used for b-roll on a fake news broadcast that's in the last 10 seconds of an episode.  Yes, I'd love it if I could believe that our government was this compassionate and driven to greatness for everyone- but I think the more you watch the West Wing, you start to create another ideal- the working environment where everyone clearly cares this much- and I love that about this show.

What's Next?  S3e15-Dead Irish Writers

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