Hey, applegrove. Can you give us an update on your "West Wing" experience?

[Aristus]

Looking forward to hearing your views...

[applegrove]

1. I'm still really bad with names but I like the banter between CJ and the reporter very much.

(She likes goldfish LOL!). Was he the guy from 30 Something? Charlie and Zoe together seem so familiar to me that I must have seen the show at least once way back in 2000. I can see how much solace the show would have given you all when George W. Bush was in power. Bartlett always does the right thing for Americans, pushing people to be better in and outside of the WH, in complicated situations and Bush always diminished the country with his decisions. Bartlett staff don't always do the predictable but I do find so much of it familiar because I grew up in a political family (my great grandfather was a Liberal politician for 25 years and the family has kept up with politics over the last century, my dad was a lobbyist for the trucking industry & we live in Ottawa). I kind of feel like I am at the family dinner table when they argue over the intricacies of policy. I don't get all the drums and ceremony, we don't stand on ceremony in Canada or expect to revere our Prime Ministers as you do. I don't have much of an auditory memory but can follow the arc of each story which is a relief because when I watched the second show I thought oh no - I'm going to miss so much - it is all dialogue. The banter is really witty. I like the way they show something tender and a little deeper about a few of the characters each show. Like Toby organizing and Mrs Langdringham going to the homeless vets' funeral. The characters are slowly revealing themselves to me 10 shows in. I look forward to knowing all these characters in 3D. The press makes for a great foe: you never know when there will be an inopportune leak so the tension is high all along. Martin Sheen is perfectly cast. It is nice to see the private human side of a politician. These people are all so brilliant and in many ways saints, way above my pay grade, but that doesn't mean I cannot enjoy them. I figure it will take me 2 months to watch the whole thing. I can't wait.

[elleng]

2. Happy you're enjoying it; knew you would!

I'm in my third-or so go around!

[Aristus]

3. "In Excelsis Deo" is my all-time favorite WW episode.

Bartlet: "Don't you think every veteran is now going to come out of the woodwork?"

Toby: "I can only hope."

I always tear up at that line.

Yeah, Danny Concannon is the guy from "Thirty-Something".

And during the early years of the B*sh maladministration. I called 'The West Wing' my "weekly dose of democracy."

I'm excited for you, applegrove!

[applegrove]

4. Well you are making me even more excited. It is a virus of the mind/heart!

[Aristus]

5. The Christmas episode for each of the first four seasons always has a stunning "...WOW..." quality.

I hope you'll keep me posted on your experiences with the series.

[applegrove]

6. My recall is not so great. But I'll try.

[elleng]

7. Yes indeed they do, Aristus!

'Tobias?'

[fizzgig]

8. that episode always gets the waterworks going for me

[Aristus]

9. Hey there, fizz!...

The funeral scene with "The Little Drummer Boy" as musical accompaniment just about slays me every time.

[fizzgig]

10. they were so good at killing me

hope your saturday night is treating you well

[sarge43]

11. You ain't seen nothin' yet

Wait until you see The Two Cathedrals episode. Sheen is absolutely brilliant and recommend you have some kleenex nearby.

The bells and whistles stuff for the president: PMs are chief executives. POTUS is that and head of state and commander-in-chief, so a lot of drill and ceremony comes with the job.

[Aristus]

12. You got that right, sarge.

'Two Cathedrals' is one of the finest hours of television ever broadcast, in my opinion. Astonishing.

[sarge43]

13. Unforgettable

The Long March to Brothers in Arms -- stunning