Comments on: Take 10: Our Favorite Moments from THE WEST WING

By: James

James — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 20:11:38 +0000

I agree with Scott to the fact that if Two Cathedrals is not your favourite then something is wrong with you. The speech in Latin and the final scene combined with Brothers In Arms – Dire Straits, makes for the the best single episode television has ever seen.

By: Atty4kids

Atty4kids — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 02:47:52 +0000

AHH! You are all killing me. You can't be a West Wing fan & not know that it's “Bartlet” & not “Bartlett”!

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 01:05:54 +0000

of course one of the main reasons that The West Wing was so popular, was the horrible White House in real life that in was contrasted against! For my vote Two Cathederals in right up their at the top! Josh waking up at the start of season Two with “what’s next?” has to count a bit high as well…..I am with the person who wished they would restart the show in the Santos administration…..how many fear factors….crap reality shows do we need…when we can have shows that talk and address real wold isuues!!!

By: John K.

John K. — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 18:09:21 +0000

As the foremost WW expert on the whole Internet, allow me to present the real 10 best moments of the show (in no particular order):
-Mrs. Landingham’s speech about her dead sons, In Excelsis Deo

-CJ meets Marion Cotesworth-Hay, Privateers

-Ainsley and Leo first meet and play verbal Cat and Mouse, In This White House

-Josh has an attack while Yo-Yo Ma plays, Noel

-Leo talks about not understanding people who can only have one drink, Bartlet for America

-The President calls the Butterball hotline, The Indians in the Lobby

-Abby has the band play O Canada for Donna, Dead Irish Writers

-CJ meets with the Cartographers for Social Equality, Somebody’s Going to Emergency, Somebody’s Going to Jail

-Sam says it right, Galileo

-Bartlet kicks ass in the debate, Game On

By: Kelly

Kelly — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:21:08 +0000

I don’t know how you could do it…so many great moments.

CJ to Nancy McNally: “they kill their women, Nancy!” so touching, and then she has to go out to the press conference…

CJ realizing Sam has her necklace, therefore had pushed her down to protect her during the shooting.

Donna reading the card Josh wrote her for Christmas and her smile.

So many, many, many more!!

By: Kate

Kate — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:56:02 +0000

The Bartlett for America napkin scene gets me every time. So touching. We need more TV shows like the West Wing.

By: nctodc

nctodc — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 02:13:05 +0000

The fact that the two greatest episodes of the show–18th & Potomac and Two Cathedrals–were unmentioned is criminal.

Best. Show. Ever.

By: Todd W in NC

Todd W in NC — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 01:37:14 +0000

Same China episode… I love the symmetry between Josh & Donna. As soon as she quits, he stops hesitating, goes to Texas, and enlists Santos as a presidential candidate. He wasn’t just holding her back; they were keeping each other in place. As soon as one broke free, they both did. Nice!

By: Todd W in NC

Todd W in NC — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 00:37:28 +0000

Right now, I’m watching the episode in which Bartlett is partially paralyzed from an MS episode on Air Force One en route to China. I love how, while everyone else is fussing over the hydraulic elevator, the President enlists Charlie’s replacement Curtis to “stage a prison break.”

By: Todd W in NC

Todd W in NC — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 23:57:16 +0000

I only vaguely remember the shots that KDD is talking about, but I do remember Bartlett being concerned about Charlie in that scene and Charlie running into the room. I agree that’s a great moment and a great relationship.

I also really like the passing on of the Thanksgiving knife to Charlie I also like when Charlie gets into a confrontation with his girlfriend over her not revealing to him her new job in the press corps, and Charlie exclaims his loyalty to Bartlett, “He’s not just the President,” basically implying that Bartlett is like a surrogate father (or potential future father-in-law if he and Zoey ever got back together).

I also like the episode in which Bartlett’s Multiple Sclerosis (sp?) is first revealed, particularly the confrontation between Toby & Bartlett, some of which I almost have memorized.

When Donna is in the explosion in Gaza and then transfered to Germany for surgery, Josh goes out of his mind. Leo tells Josh, “If there’s some place else you’d rather be, everyone would understand.” He says he’s okay, changes his mind 2 seconds later, grabs his backpack & laptop, and he’s — gone. For the rest of the episode, no one even asks where Josh is. They just all know. Josh & Donna, another great relationship.

They just showed these repeats recently on Bravo, but I like all the episodes regarding Bartlett’s Israel-Palestine peace talks, Leo’s heart attack, and C.J. becoming Chief of Staff.

Zoey’s kidnapping was a little hokey, but I like how it gave Bartlett the excuse to use the 25th Amendment and temporarily turn the Presidency over to House Speaker Glenallen Walken (John Goodman), since he hadn’t found a V.P. replacement for Hoynes yet.

I also like the flashback to Bartlett’s campaign in which he openly & honestly admits to a dairy farmer that a policy of his hurt his farm. “Yeah, I screwed ya. You got rogered but good.” He then followed up saying he took the action he did so that the price of milk wouldn’t be too high for parents to buy for their kids.

One of the best stand-alone episodes was the one in which Toby figures out how to fix Social Security.

I wish I remembered more details about it, but I remember Two Cathedrals, the season two finale, being a major episode.