freedom to dither

some of my friends having been having a discussion on facebook about their ten favourite episodes of the west wing, so i thought i’d sit down and compile my list.

here are some honourable mentions (by season): a proportional response, mr. willis of ohio, take out the trash day, 20 hours in la, let bartlet be bartlet (season 1); shibboleth, noël, the stackhouse filibuster, 17 people, 18th and potomac (season 2); h. con-172, the two bartlets, hartsfield’s landing, we killed yamamoto, posse comitatus (season 3); 20 hours in america, part 1 and part 2, arctic radar, the california 47th, life on mars, twenty five (season 4); separation of powers, full disclosure (season 5); the birnam wood, the hubbert peak, in the room, king corn, the wake up call, In god we trust (season 6); here today, the al smith dinner, running mates, two weeks out, transition (season 7).

10. game on (season 4) - barlett prepares for the debate and we get introduced to will bailey.

9. bartlett for america (season 3) - as leo tesifies before a house committee probing the ms matter, the episode flashes back to the bartlett campaign.

8. freedonia (season 6) - santos becomes a serious candidate, with a live to air tv plea to be included in the new hampshire debate.

7. election day (season 7) - as everyone prepares themselves for the election, donna and josh finally sleep together.

6. 2162 votes (season 6) - great behind the scenes moments at the democratic convention, santos wins the nomination, and vinick

5. the us poet laureate (season 3) - so much great stuff goes on in this episode, but i love the lemonlyman storyline.

4. celestial navigation (season 1) - sam and toby get mendoza out of jail, while josh recounts his disastrous and short lived stint as acting press secretary, this episode moves easily between drama and comedy.

3. shutdown (season 5) - who can forget bartlett marching to the capitol? plus it is great to see josh get a win after being on the outer for a while.

2. the supremes (season 5) - the lawyer in me just loves the behind the scenes politicking over the supreme court.  plus, the performances of glenn close and william fichtner are pitch perfect.

1. two cathedrals (season 2) - as bartlett goes public with his ms while mourning the death of mrs laningham, the episode flashes back to bartlett’s high school days, all building to a powerful and brilliant final five minutes set to “brothers in arms” by dire straits.  this episode isn’t just cinematic, it is operatic. it is as good as tv gets.