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I am - Hercules!!
I take it all back! Looks like the second-best show in production has turned in an especially good installment as it heads into sweeps. (Leave it to Sorkin to make an estate tax veto more exciting than the return of the Andorians!)
The Day Before The drama over the Estate tax is coming to a head this week, as Congress up a vote to over ride the President's veto. The staff is hustling like a big dog to keep this from passing, working congressmen, schmoozing at a state dinner. Also, Donna (Janel Maloney) is trying to talk to Josh about her impending romance with a member of one of the departments involved in the investigation of the Presidents MS, and the cover-up afterward. (Describing the events on this show is actually harder than covering a real President, You know?) Maloney is just a gem, I can't say enough about this actress, and how she really is the heart and soul of the show. She's the "every woman", the normal person who is working at her top capacity. Every other character on the show is extra ordinary, brilliant, the best of the best. Donna's excellence isn't because She is so much smarter, but because She is so much more dedicated. Every moment with her shines, as she takes care of Josh (Bradley Whitford) I think that this year, Maloney has stepped into the "Mom" role that Mrs. Landingham had last year. In the midst of all the wrangling, a suicide bomb goes off in Jerusalem, killing two Americans. I'm wracking my memory to tell me if this is an actual bombing from real life, or if it's just eerily familiar. I can't for the life of me remember, or tell. It sickens me, I just don't know. Suddenly a vote over the Estate Tax is just. I said it last week and I'll say it every week, because it bears saying. I miss pissing matches between Democrats and Republicans over estate taxes, over spotted owls, and over the destruction of jobs. I can't wait to be utterly disgusted over dangling chads and pregnant ballots, for the days when, to paraphrase Jon Stewart, sublimnable is a punch line again. CJ (Allison Janney) goes into FULL press secretary mode, a mode Janney plays so brilliantly, I sometimes think Ari Fleishcer could take a lesson or two on running a press conference. Dealing with the media is becoming a challenge, as one network has their fashion correspondent at the state dinner, when the bombing in Jerusalem happens, that correspondent ends up doing a hatchet piece on CJ. Again, we get to see CJ be a badass, she is SO good at that. I tend to not even remember this is an actress playing a part, Janney is simply the White House Press Secretary. Not that CJ is the only bad ass this week. Leo (John Spencer), via Toby (Richard Schiff) and Sam (Rob Lowe) decides to "Throw an elbow" into the Democrats threatening to over ride the President's veto. This is a way to give the moderate Republican viewpoint. This is a voice we haven't heard, but a big one in the country. Josh has a sit down after the state dinner, sitting with the Democratic Governor of Indiana (Kevin Tighe), who may in fact be considering a run against the President in the Democratic primary. The governor is a former Heisman Trophy winner, who still runs the New York City Marathon, and health is a very big concern. I personally don't like this, the character is WAY too close to Bill Bradley, and that was just a mess. That said, Josh handles the whole affair with diplomacy, and without getting medieval on the Governor. Just a bit of back room haggling, and it's all good. Later on, they know who did the bombing, and then it becomes a question of what to do with him. In the end, all they can do is "put the pin back in the grenade for today". This rings through me in a way that nothing could, back on September 10. Watching President Bartlett (Martin Sheen) and his advisors working with the president on what he should say to the parents of the two young American men killed. Sheen is never the focus of the episode, he only provides a truly excellent punctuation mark on it. Also, Charlie (Dule Hill) can't talk about it, trust me, he just cant. The superb cast, and continued amazing writing provides a West Wing episode is a shade better than the excellence this series normally does. Dmann's rating for “The West Wing” 3.4? ****1/2 The Hercules T. Strong Rating System: - ***** better than we deserve
- **** better than most motion pictures
- *** actually worth your valuable time
- ** as horrible as most stuff on TV
- * makes you quietly pray for bulletins
DMANN OUT!!! "The West Wing" airs 9 p.m. Wednesdays on NBC. I warn you not to defy me!! Mmm!! Cookies!! I am -- Hercules!!
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