West Wing 6×06: The Dover Test

[Writer: Carol Flint | Director: Laura Innes | Aired: 11/24/2004 ]

“You don’t work here anymore.” – Debbie

It’s unfortunately telling that the two most interesting characters in “The Dover Test” do not have any direct affiliation with the Bartlet White House. In fact, it’s unfortunate, period – most of the main characters spend this episode looking out of their element, wandering from one hallowed room to another in search of a direction.

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West Wing 6×05: The Hubbert Peak

[Writer: Peter Noah | Director: Julie Hébert | Aired: 11/17/2004 ]

“We didn’t have the votes.” – Josh

The Toyota Prius is one of the most fuel-efficient and environmentally-friendly cars ever made. Not only will it get you where you need to go, but it’ll do so without polluting the air with unwanted carbon emissions. You can look good while driving, and you’ll save a dozen friendly seagulls with each trip. Go green – go Prius!

West Wing 6×04: Liftoff

[Writer: Debora Cahn | Director: Alex Graves | Aired: 11/10/2004 ]

“I don’t think this is gonna work out.” – CJ

Network television is built on status quo – individual episodes may play around with character dynamics, but in the long run, nothing can change. Yet the longer a show stays on the air, the more difficult status quo is to maintain. Even the most reliable formula will eventually grow stale, at which point fans will begin hungering for change.

West Wing 6×03: Third-Day Story

[Writer: Eli Attie | Director: Christopher Misiano | Aired: 11/3/2004 ]

“It’s that little burst of warmth before you freeze to death.” – CJ

“Third-Day Story” is a step up from the first two episodes of The West Wing’s sixth season. That’s not saying a great deal, but it’s worth acknowledging. As the show shucks off the effects of the wrong-headed Israel/Palestine arc, it tries to return to its baseline status quo – but the results, especially in the early going, are mixed.

West Wing 6×02: The Birnam Wood

[Writer: John Wells | Director: Alex Graves | Aired: 10/27/2004 ]

“Sir, should we be here?” – Josh

About the best thing that can be said about “The Birnam Wood” is that it’s not nearly as self-aggrandizing as it could have been. The episode could have been an exercise in pompous polemic, the sort of all-too-important speechifying that doomed the worst of the Sorkin episodes. But John Wells (who wrote this episode, in addition to the preceding “Memorial Day” and “NSF Thurmont”) keeps the drama toned-down and evenly moderated. Attempts at political grandstanding are few and far between.

West Wing 6×01: NSF Thurmont

[Writer: John Wells | Director: Alex Graves | Aired: 10/20/2004 ]

“Everyone disagrees with your assessment.” – Leo

When trying to persuade someone to watch the post-Sorkin seasons of The West Wing, I typically offer some standby words of encouragement: “Season Five is pretty rough. But stick with it. The show gets back on its feet in Season Six.”

And it does! The sixth season of The West Wing returns the show to its revered status as one of television’s most complex and riveting dramas. Except… it doesn’t do it right away.

West Wing 5×22: Memorial Day

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: John Sacret Young & Josh Singer | Director: Christopher Misiano | Aired: 5/19/2004 ]

“Today’s priority is not world peace.” – Leo

Since John Wells took the reins from Aaron Sorkin at the start of this season, we’ve watched him tug them this way and that. At various points in Season Five, The West Wing has been a bipartisan political drama, a romantic soap opera, an examination of Bush-era policies, a pulp novel, and even (shudder) a documentary. There hasn’t been a consistent tone, or even a consistent arc for the show to use as a guidepost. The season wanted to be too many things, and ultimately, it didn’t succeed at very many of them.

West Wing 5×21: Gaza

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Peter Noah | Director: Christopher Misiano | Aired: 5/12/2004 ]

“The only dishonor might be not to try.” – Kate

Most folks don’t watch The West Wing for half-baked operatic romances. Most folks don’t watch it for thin, didactic exploration of Middle Eastern conflicts. And most folks certainly don’t watch it for confusing, poorly-told stories about half-baked operatic romances and thin, didactic exploration of Middle Eastern conflicts.

And yet… “Gaza.”

West Wing 5×20: No Exit

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Carol Flint, Debora Cahn, Mark Goffman | Director: Julie Hébert | Aired: 4/28/2004 ]

“On a need-to-know basis, who needs to know this much.” – Bartlet

“No Exit” deserved better.

Coming near the end of The West Wing’s most troubled season, it is designed as an antidote to the year’s earlier missteps. It clearly wants to take the show in a fresh new direction. And it wants to tell a compelling story at the same time.

West Wing 5×19: Talking Points

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Eli Attie | Director: Richard Schiff | Aired: 4/21/2004 ]

“It’d be nice to roll back that tide, wouldn’t it?” – Bartlet

Writing in the Wall Street Journal in December 2013, Peggy Noonan referred to something she called “West Wing Disease.”

“Young staffers grew up watching that show,” she said, “and getting a very romantic and specific sense of how government works.” The show’s tight focus on the White House, she theorized, made it seem that the White House was the government, and disregarded the various complex and interconnecting agencies that surrounded it.

West Wing 5×18: Access

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Lauren Schmidt | Director: Alex Graves | Aired: 3/31/2004 ]

“ZZZZZZZZZZZZ” – Me

You love CJ Cregg, right? I mean, of course you do. Everyone loves CJ Cregg. She’s wonderful. She may well be The West Wing’s most popular character, and is easily one of its most likable.

But this raises a question: Why are CJ-centric episodes so consistently bad?

West Wing 5×17: The Supremes

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Debora Cahn | Director: Jessica Yu | Aired: 3/24/2004 ]

“Oh, my God. You’re putting my mother’s cats on the Supreme Court.” – Donna

“The Supremes” is the standard by which every post-Sorkin episode is measured. It’s a Season Five episode that’s liked even by Season Five’s biggest detractors. In terms of fan favoritism, it’s among the most popular episodes in the entire series.

So, is it ironic that I find it a little overrated?

West Wing 5×16: Eppur Si Muove

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Alexa Junge | Director: Llewellyn Wells | Aired: 3/3/2004 ]

“No, no, no. Not one of the daughters.” – Leo

Near the end of “Eppur Si Muove,” Debbie Fiderer is shown speaking to Ellie Bartlet.

West Wing 5×15: Full Disclosure

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Lawrence O’Donnell, Jr. | Director: Lesli Linka Glatter | Aired: 2/25/2004 ]

“If I could take back one moment of my life…” – CJ

I don’t want to do this.

Seriously, I really don’t want to do this.

I mean, it’s not like I need to do this, right? There are 155 episodes of The West Wing. Skipping one won’t matter in the long run.

So, no review today. Come back next time.

West Wing 5×14: An Khe

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: John Wells | Director: Alex Graves | Aired: 2/18/2004 ]

“I’ll take it from here.” – Leo

Leo McGarry is simultaneously The West Wing’s simplest and most complicated character. He seems easy to define – the well-meaning, wryly humorous conduit between the President and his staffers. But the actual Leo is more difficult to pin than that.

West Wing 5×13: The Warfare of Genghis Khan

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Peter Noah | Director: Bill D’Elia | Aired: 2/11/2004 ]

“But his music just left the solar system.” – Josh

The whole concept of Season Five is entirely at odds with itself. Wells was tasked with honoring Sorkin’s vision, while also branding The West Wing in his own style. So much of the season’s messiness comes from the inability to reconcile these two goals – idealism clashes with pragmatism; politics clash with soap opera; and characters constantly clash with each other.

West Wing 5×12: Slow News Day

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Eli Attie | Director: Julie Hébert | Aired: 02/04/2004]

“It’s the greatest sin in politics to be bad on television.” – Josh

Ask a fellow West Wing fan what they think the worst episode of Season Five is, and they’ll probably say… um, “Access.” But ask them what they think the other worst episode of Season Five is, and they’ll probably name “Slow News Day.”

West Wing 5×11: The Benign Prerogative

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Carol Flint | Director: Christopher Misiano | Aired: 01/14/2004]

“Plenty of lemons we can’t make a thing out of.” – CJ

West Wing 5×10: The Stormy Present

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: John Sacret Young & Josh Singer | Director: Alex Graves | Aired: 01/07/2004]

“Trust the people, Jed.” – Newman

West Wing 5×09: Abu el Banat

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Debora Cahn | Director: Lesli Linka Glatter | Aired: 12/03/2003]

“We seem to have lost our quorum.” – Abbey

West Wing 5×08: Shutdown

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Mark Goffman | Director: Christopher Misiano | Aired: 11/19/2003]

“Secret Service’s gonna love this.” – Josh

West Wing 5×07: Separation of Powers

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Paul Redford | Director: Alex Graves | Aired: 11/12/2003]

“There’s something going around.” – Bartlet

West Wing 5×06: Disaster Relief

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Alexa Junge and Lauren Schmidt | Director: Lesli Linka Glatter | Aired: 11/05/2003]

“What are we doing here, sir?” – CJ

West Wing 5×05: Constituency of One

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Eli Attie and Michael Oates Palmer | Director: Laura Innes | Aired: 10/29/2003]

“We don’t glorify ourselves.” – Josh

West Wing 5×04: Han

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Peter Noah, Mark Goffman, and Paula Yoo | Director: Christopher Misiano | Aired: 10/22/2003]

“Wake me when we have a consensus.” – Bartlet

West Wing 5×03: Jefferson Lives

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Carol Flint & Debora Cahn | Director: Alex Graves | Aired: 10/08/2003]

“It appeals to Dad. You know, hope and irony.” – Zoey

West Wing 5×02: The Dogs of War

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: John Wells | Director: Christopher Misiano | Aired: 10/01/2003]

“A truly self-sacrificing act usually involves some sacrifice.” – Atwood

West Wing 5×01: 7A WF 83429

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: John Wells | Director: Alex Graves | Aired: 09/24/2003]

“You know, I’m not the enemy.” – Walken

West Wing 4×23: Twenty Five

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Aaron Sorkin | Director: Christopher Misiano | Aired: 05/14/2003]

“It’s… just a political reality.” – Josh

West Wing 4×22: Commencement

[Review by Jeremy Grayson]

[Writer: Aaron Sorkin | Director: Alex Graves | Aired: 05/07/2003]

“What kind of day has it been?” – Leo