TiVo Community Forums Archives - West Wing 2/11 SPOILERS

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West Wing 2/11 SPOILERS
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Posted by: RGM1138

Very interesting episode. Inspiring and thought-provoking. And anything that snaps Josh out of his blasé., above-it-all attitude is a bonus.

I enjoyed the editing, too. Josh's dialog and the blues riffs under the shots of the Sit Room were a nice touch.

Am I the only one still watching this show?

Bob

Posted by: sonnik

No, I watch it. I kind of like the new direction this season.

To me, there's more substance that draws on the cast and writing more.

Think back about how much of the show previously was filled by power meetings during endless wandering around the halls of the West Wing.

While there's still plenty of wit, I think toning down on some of the wackiness and keeping it more subdued was the right thing to do.

Posted by: efilippi

Right at the end, we see the President watching a nuclear explosion. My wife says "they did another one!" and I said, nah, he just tivoed it and is rerunning.

Any thoughts on which of us is right?

Posted by: sieglinde

I vote for the "TiVo". It looked identical to what they were watching before.

Posted by: cpalma

I also thought at first it was another one.

This show always makes me think. While I'm the first to admit I'm not politically savvy, when Bartlett was talking to the Jewish prime minister, it did get me to thinking.

A lot of the problems we have with other nations is the fact that we help Israel and stand behind it politically/financially, etc. The prime minister's line..."We're a country of 6 million surrounded by 20 million that want to annihilate us" made me ask, Why? Since time began, why is the world so set against a nation that just wants to "be"?

Posted by: Kevdog

quote:
Originally posted by cpalma
I also thought at first it was another one.

This show always makes me think. While I'm the first to admit I'm not politically savvy, when Bartlett was talking to the Jewish prime minister, it did get me to thinking.

A lot of the problems we have with other nations is the fact that we help Israel and stand behind it politically/financially, etc. The prime minister's line..."We're a country of 6 million surrounded by 20 million that want to annihilate us" made me ask, Why? Since time began, why is the world so set against a nation that just wants to "be"?

This isn't a criticism of Israel or a defense of the Arabs that want them gone, but the basic issue is that a lot of Arab's had also chosen to "be" in exactly the same place that Israel claims as their own. That the territory in dispute encompasses a lot of sites -- Jerusalem, for example -- that are absolutely essential to the core faiths of both Judaism and Islam makes it even more volatile. What's really interesting ... actually tragic is a better word ... is the cycle that seems to repeat itself. Before the state of Israel was formed, the Zionists (their own word) fought the British occupation of Palestine (which is what much of the current state of Israel used to be called) with many of the same terrorist tactics that are now being used by Palestinians -- suicide bombings, kidnappings, sniper attacks, etc. The British, in turn, cracked down by demolishing the homes of terrorists, assasinating or deporting them and limiting freedom of movement. Again, these tactics are now employed by Israel in response the attacks of Palestinians.

Posted by: holee

Why and how did the VP realize what was up? Did he even know about the blast?

Posted by: jsmeeker

quote:
Originally posted by holee
Why and how did the VP realize what was up? Did he even know about the blast?

Yes... Leo briefed him.. President Bartlett forgot about telling the VP until a little later.

Posted by: efilippi

Yes, he had a briefing by the chief of staff, well after the overnight meetings had ended.

Posted by: drew2k

Definitely one of the most thought provoking episodes of the new WW regime. And it was great to see Nancy McNally again.

I think it's good that they elevated Russell a couple of notches above "Bingo Bob" with his knowledge of nuclear weapons and uranium. Why? If there are any plans to continue with the West Wing beyond "Bartlett's Administration", and to keep some of the same popular cast members, they need to build up a successor who will be believable. (So far the only candidate is Russell, but of course, NBC could go The Practice route and replace the entire cast with a Republican administration when the time comes.)

So what's up with the running storylines with CJ? This is the second or third episode that mysterious Ben is calling, and we're getting just a little more info about Ben each time his name is mentioned. Now there's also the unresolved "bawk-bawk" chicken story, so I guess we have a talk-show confrontation coming up soon. At least, I hope we do. This had better go somewhere....

Posted by: randyf

Oh, great...

there's finally a new WW and I missed it ??

TiVo (Trib) showed it as a 2003 episode, so I let something else override it :mad:

Posted by: jsmeeker

quote:
Originally posted by randyf
Oh, great...

there's finally a new WW and I missed it ??

TiVo (Trib) showed it as a 2003 episode, so I let something else override it :mad:

hmmm... Weird. Showed up as a new episode with the proper description for me.

Posted by: wallace

Personally I am a little dissapointed with this season. After seeing this episode and the preview for the next one it is obvious they are doing all these war orriented issues in order to carry the series. The fun and unique interaction between the characters has been minimized, and I truly miss those moments I laugh out loud.

Posted by: devdogaz

I liked the episode. Not the best ever, but one of the better eps this season. The blast the pres was watching at the end was the same one. He was just reveiwing the tape and probably pondering how close he came to starting a major conflict.

I think the message this episode was trying to send was that we (the U.S.) is trying to keep other nations from getting, using nuclear weapons but yet we are not willing to get rid of our own. We feel we are on the moral high ground in that we would never use them as a first strike weapon but we need to keep them as a deterrent. However, other nations probably view this as disingenuous and don't see why we think we can have something while telling them they can't.

Posted by: robb

quote:
Originally posted by wallace
Personally I am a little dissapointed with this season. After seeing this episode and the preview for the next one it is obvious they are doing all these war orriented issues in order to carry the series. The fun and unique interaction between the characters has been minimized, and I truly miss those moments I laugh out loud.

I agree. West Wing was best when it took the small things and really got into them. Sorkin knew how to show us the characters first, plot lines second. I'm thinking of Thanksgiving, Big Block of Cheese Day, etc. This episode very much felt like it was trying too hard. Instead of showing the people, we're going to see more "thrilling" issues. I am pulling my SP the first time I see a promo tagged as "Ripped From The Headlines!" These are the tools of the hacks who have taken over, not the show I'm still loving all over again on Bravo.