Below, find my top ten episodes from the first four seasons of "The West Wing." I don't plan to finish the series, but after nearly 100 hours with the show, there are several episodes that I need to spotlight before parting ways.
Episodes are unranked and ordered by airdate. And I will totally cheat and count two-parters as single entries.
"Pilot" - As everyone knows by now, Sorkin set up President Bartlett to have one of the best entrances ever, holding the appearance of Martin Sheen until nearly the end of the hour. In the meantime, we get our little introductions to the rest of the show's roster as they rush to respond to Bartlett's biking mishap and several other issues. And whatever you want to say about the character of Mandy Hampton, this was definitely her best episode.
"In Excelsis Deo" - The show's first Christmas episode sees the White House fully decked out for the season, and the President sneaking out on a shopping trip. However, the episode is really about giving Richard Schiff one of his best hours as Toby, who is prompted to do some holiday soul searching as he gets more and more invested in the death of a local homeless man. It's also one of the best hours for Mrs. Landingham, the President's beloved secretary.
"Celestial Navigation" - I really appreciate the show's first season for its great sense of humor. This is the episode where everything goes wrong, but Josh manages to turn it into a series of funny anecdotes as he's delivering a lecture at Georgetown. There are some fantastic laugh lines and exchanges of dialogue here, culminating in Toby and Sam getting lost in Connecticut, and Josh having to deliver a press briefing and secretly creating a "secret plan to fight inflation."
"In the Shadow of Two Gunmen" - The second season opener makes for a fantastically entertaining depiction of a major crisis. Watching the cops and secret service rushing around, the hospital and surgery scenes, and the aftermath - you might not even notice that Sorkin is busy setting up the rest of the season by revealing that the President has multiple sclerosis. The flashbacks to everyone joining up with the first Bartlett campaign are also a lot of fun.
"And It's Surely to Their Credit" - Ainsley Hayes is one of my favorite characters in the show, because she offered a different viewpoint. Here, she joins the White House as a Republican and gets a terrible office and the cold shoulder for the bulk of the episode. It's in stark contrast to the romanticized view that the show often has toward public service. However, in the end, Sam fires people, and Ainsley gets the welcome she deserves - totally unrealistic, but satisfying.
"Two Cathedrals" - It's the big showcase for Martin Sheen, who delivers a powerhouse monologue in a cathedral while battling through the worst crises of his administration - the oncoming scandal about his health that he's primarily responsible for, and the death of Mrs. Landingham. The big press conference at the end of the episode is built up wonderfully, but of course we all know he's going to run again. There are five more seasons of this show to fill.
"Dead Irish Writers" - It's another big shindig at the White House, this one in honor of Abby's birthday, but she's not in the mood. The episode is really an excuse to toss some guest stars into the mix and get all of the show's female characters together for a drunken chat in eveningwear I love the subplot with Donna realizing she might be Canadian. I love that Lord Marbury calls Leo an "old sock." And I really do enjoy Stockard Channing getting a great hour as Abby Bartlett.
"20 Hours in America" - Josh, Toby, and Donna get left behind by the Presidential motorcade and are stranded in Indiana. Their journey across the hostile territory of the American heartland takes up two episodes full of hijinks, and leads to Donna delivering a very satisfying dressing down to her bosses. Also, Admiral Fitzwallace and Dr. McNally are some of my favorite minor characters, and they get some killer lines here while dealing with the Qumari situation.
"Angel Maintenance" - Probably best remembered as the one where everyone is stuck on Air Force One. It's one of the funnier episodes of the season, with a small technical glitch turning into a lengthy ordeal, CJ wrangling a cabin full of reporters, and Will Bailey still finding his footing in the group dynamics. I also really appreciate the subplot with Josh trying to put together an environmental bill with a Republican ally - torpedoed, alas, solely because of party politics.
"Life on Mars" - I always liked Vice President Hoynes episodes, and it was a little disappointing to see him go out on such a tawdry scandal. On the other hand, the way this episode is structured, with the flashback framing, and Joe Quincy's first day on the job, and everyone putting together the clues from the newspaper stories is such riveting stuff. I like this far, far more than all the high stakes craziness of the season's finale episodes, which "Life on Mars" sets up.
Honorable Mentions: "The State Dinner," "17 People," "Hartsfield Landing," "Stirred," "Posse Comitatus," and "The Long Goodbye."
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