Ten Stand-Out Scenes - The West Wing [V]

5 hours ago, Only Zola said:

This may have been done to death under different guises here, but I hope you'll play along again.

We all know what a great show TWW is (and I realise there is quite a lot of dissension for the Post-Sorkin seasons). Nevertheless, can you pick out up to 10 scenes that really stand out in your opinion? (They don't necessarily have to be season cliff-hangers either)

Great idea, Only Zola. This was a fun challenge. Here's my top 10. I also tried to go for underrated scenes. 

1.       Jed and Abbey fighting. “YOU’RE PISSED AT ME. I don’t believe this. I don’t believe you. You go from ‘I’ve got a lot to say’ to ‘I can’t say it right now because I’ve got so much to say’ to ‘I’ve gotta read about agriculture and you’re not with me and go to hell…NOW THAT’S AN EXTRAORDINARY EVOLUTION.” (Manchester)- I think it was truly skillful in how the writing backed up how Abbey was truly betrayed and jerked around by Jed when he ran for a second term…even the whole damn mythos of the show to root for Jed to be president as long as constitutionally allowed. 

2.       “Mandy thought it was pretty accurate analysis and you know it. You know she was working for Russell, and you knew why. You knew she had to have written the memo. Why wasn’t it the first thing you asked her for when you hired her? ‘Mandy, tell us everything you think we’re doing wrong.’ ‘Cause you knew what she was going to say. You knew she was right. You knew there was nothing you could do about it. You guys are stuck in mud around here and NONE of it is the fault of the press. I know you’re frustrated. But it ain’t nothing compared to the frustration of the people who voted for you so don’t come in here and question my…’We’ll have a comment for you by the end of the day???’ CJ, when I want the White House to comment on a story of mine, I’ll ask for it!” (Let Bartlet be Bartlet)- Danny’s finest moment. Tim Busfield really nailed this monologue. He’s the voice of the frustrated, betrayed voter, the reporter who’s close to all of the dysfunction and his closeness just breeds contempt, also the reporter who’s excited that he got a scoop to write about it to raise his profile, a friend/romantic interest of many of the people in the administration so he’s empathetic to their frustration all rolled into one. 

3.       (After Leo learns that Jed had MS). “Why didn’t you tell me?” “Because I wanted to be President.” (He Shall From Time to Time). It’s such a raw, tender scene about how Jed’s and Leo’s friendship and political allyship, their embarrassments and their triumphs are inextricably linked.  

4.       “A milking goat. It’ll seem like a parody of foreign aid”. “I don’t know everybody. CJ wants to cancel the goat picture. Half of the world’s people live on less than $2 a day. 130 million will never step inside a schoolhouse. Ingredients for bombs can be purchased at hardware stores and we’ve just given the Third World what the doctor ordered: rollbacks. Heifer International…they give free cows and goats to people who need milk?” “Yes, sir” “Well, then, I don’t think we’re in any position to be snotty. Let’s do it.” (Guns, not Butter). This scene is such a great use of the ensemble and the conclusion about a very tightly told A-plot about securing a foreign aid vote and C-plot comedy plot about Abbey tricking CJ into a goat picture. The payoff is a very sweet but melancholy final scene that still brings the funny. 

5.       “I changed my clothes because I didn’t think it was appropriate to talk about the death of two teenagers while wearing a ballgown and you knew that. Because you’re stupid. But you’re not stupid- you know what I’m saying.” (On the Day Before) Sherri Wexler’s back-biting remark about CJ changing clothes is a very sly sexist microaggression. A lot modern politicos/celebrities still don’t know to beat back this kind of virtue signaling side-swipe. See the 2016 American presidential election. It’s such a subtle issue that it’s impressive that such a believable story was told about it. “And the chemical abbreviation for salt is NaCl.”

6.       “I was wrong. I was…I was just...I was wrong. Come on, you know that. Lots of times we don’t what right or wrong is but lots of times we do and come on, this is one. I may not have had sinister intent at the outset but there were plenty of opportunities for me to make it right. No one in government takes responsibility for anything anymore. We foster, we obfuscate, we rationalize. “Everybody does it.” That’s what we say. So we come to occupy a moral safe house where everyone’s to blame so no one’s guilty. I’m to blame. I was wrong.”(HCON172)- I think this is a particularly elegant speech about taking responsibility. We can debate on whether accepting a joint censure for Congress was adequate penance for Jed after lying about MS (I kind of think so)- but it was a great twist to show the end to the show’s usual tac of fighting political set-backs because that just wasn’t appropriate anymore. 

7.       “We were all so smart. Russia’s hobbled. Next conflict is going to be in the Middle East. Turns out it is in the Middle East. With the Russians.” (Enemies, Foreign and Domestic) I think TWW is surprisingly prescient at a bunch of points about the future, for a fictional network show predicting a particularly dark, unpredictable future. I don’t think that’s an accident. Whether it was Sorkin or the real-life politicians consulting on the show, incredibly deep minds were crafting these storylines. Also RL irony from the same ep, “Aha. Time to teach these Stoli-drinking Tchaikovsky’s a thing about free press American style! You don’t ban those who supported your opponent. You make them wallow in their loserdom by covering their victory. You sit them in the front row! You give them a hat! I will save Ludmilla Koss, for I am Toby, and in doing so...why am I going on like this?” 

8.       This is cheating a little bit but a lot of the beauty is in the parallels. 

Jed: I want to tell you, a couple of years ago in Iowa, I really admired the way you hung in there on the ethanol tax credit. You went out to Iowa and said the same things you’d been saying in the Senate for the last 8 years, even though you knew it wasn’t going to play. My confession is, you and I agree on ethanol, but you were the only one to say it. You stood in there even though you knew you were going to lose Iowa and who knows what after that. Anyway, I just wanted to say that you had a good day, John.” (20 Hours in LA)

Vinick: You're not an ethanol fan?

Santos: Not till today. 

I don’t know if Bartlet/Hoynes were deliberately paralleled with Santos/Vinnick- so much as both the early-season and later-seasons writers wanted to tell a story about selling out with the ethanol pledge because it’s so uniquely a small issue that only benefits a few states, but notably it benefits Iowa at the pivotal start of the presidential race. However, they both benefit from a great similar twist. The series focused on the romance of dark-horse neophyte candidates like Jed Bartlet or Matt Santos jumping into a presidential race and then, winning against all of the odds. However, there’s a similar dark lining that these dark-horse candidates end up selling out at key points because they’re trying to overcome such insurmountable odds. 

9. "They want to hear what I have to say as the representative for every Latino man, woman, and child in the United States. And let me tell you something. I'm getting very tired of being responsible for every Jose Miguel Rodrigo Garcia Martinez de Lopez in America." (Undecideds). A very real moment from the Santos's. I wish I had more to describe it- but a lot of identity politics from a token member of a minority feels shoe-horned in. Not this one- very organic. 

10. The DNC convention seen live for the entire episode turns into the TV airing the DNC episode. Camera pans to Vinick watching with his staff. "OK, let's go win this thing." Camera flashes back to the TV with the DNC. AND THAT'S THE END OF S6. It was absolutely worth paying Alan Alada to be in an episode for literally 3 seconds for such an epic joke crossed with cliff-hanger!