"Seventeen People," "Two Cathedrals" and one "Newsroom"

Yesterday, I read about "Seventeen People," a website developed by Jon White to analyze his favorite hour of television ever ... the episode of the same name from "The West Wing."

It has actually been a while since I watched "The West Wing," the DVDs long since completed and Bravo no longer showing marathons on pretty much every national holiday. But after I told my wife about it, we cracked open the second season DVD to compare "17 People" to what I believe is considered the show's finest episode, the season-ending "Two Cathedrals."

Without a doubt, "17 People" is astonishing television. Among all the things going on (and one thing White points out is that there were five different stories), to me the standouts are being able to watch Toby think on his way to the realizing that Bartlet wasn't going to run for re-election (the always-brilliant Richard Schiff truly at his best) and the exchange between Donna and Josh where she tells him that, contrary to popular belief, she broke up with her boyfriend and not the other way around.


"If you were in an accident, I wouldn't stop for red lights" ... what a line, what a way to express unyielding devotion. Speaking of lines ... "You get Hoynes."   Once, I thought that meant Bartlet was telling God that he was done with Him, but I have since read that was Bartlet's way of saying he wasn't going to run again. Either way, this is a man who, between publicly acknowledging his MS in the context of deciding on a re-election bid all while dealing with the death of his beloved Mrs. Landingham, is at the end of his rope. And he's at the end of his rope to the point where he would stand in the National Cathedral and curse out God ... in Latin. I didn't know what he was saying at the time, and didn't until I read a translation, but you don't need to be a scholar of Latin to know this devout Catholic, a lifelong follower of the faith, could get so angry that he would question God's motivation and could do so in the church's own language. Then he goes to the press conference, ignores the medical reporter who C.J. had told him would start with a relatively friendly question about his health, gets a question instead about his plans for a second term and proceeds to stuff his hands in his pockets, turn away and smile slightly ... which thanks to a flashback with Mrs. Landingham means we know, without Bartlet saying a word, that he's going to run again. End scene. End "Two Cathedrals." End season. So which way do I fall? As great as "17 People" was, I've always been a "Two Cathedrals" guy, and a "Two Cathedrals" guy I remain. But if you go the other way, I'm not going to fight you. Yet as I was watching, I started thinking about another show, "The Newsroom." I am a huge fan of "The Newsroom." I am aware that many people hold the opposite opinion. There are people I know who like the show and have problems with it. I have heard the Aaron Sorkin misogyny arguments; I don't necessarily notice, but then again, I'm a guy. I freely admit to perhaps needing to check my male privilege at the door.  (The best argument on this front is one I heard from a female co-worker, which was basically that the women in our office don't run off screaming or crying whenever anything bad happens to them. She one of the ones who likes the show, but with reservations.)  So why do I like it? I like that, particularly in the first season, and yes, with the benefit of hindsight, they do cover how journalists often do their job terribly. And you'll never convince me that at least some of the vitriol wasn't because journalists, especially Washington political journalists, really don't like to be told their doing a bad job. (Stephen Colbert's White House Correspondents Dinner routine says hi.) Even in a limited amount of time, far less than he had for "The West Wing," Sorkin, the actors and the actresses have created characters I care about. If you watched it, tell me you didn't love when Sloan absolutely planted one on Don (by the way, "The Newsroom" earns kudos if only for giving me a reason to be a fan of Olivia Munn), and then when Don says, "What I have, can't be taught" ... priceless.
However, right about in the middle of "17 People," the thought hit me ...
... "The Newsroom," as much as I like it, is Sorkin's junior varsity stuff. Not only can he do better, but he has done better, a lot better, and it was on my television that very moment.