I think the sense of futility is pretty well done. What I am less keen on is how overdetermined the absence of possibility is. It's psychologically and maybe even physiologically impossible because of family history, the mob makes it impossible to leave, life is in its essence absurd, and the characters are too…

I think the sense of futility is pretty well done. What I am less keen on is how overdetermined the absence of possibility is. It's psychologically and maybe even physiologically impossible because of family history, the mob makes it impossible to leave, life is in its essence absurd, and the characters are too…

Really loved these reviews too. You're easier on Nate and harder on Brenda than me but I enjoy very much the different perspective. For me the problem of Nate's self-exploration is that it is more often than not an exploration of others' faults rather than his own. He is an idealist and he does want meaning but I…

Really loved these reviews too. You're easier on Nate and harder on Brenda than me but I enjoy very much the different perspective. For me the problem of Nate's self-exploration is that it is more often than not an exploration of others' faults rather than his own. He is an idealist and he does want meaning but I…

I am a huge fan of the show and if I could only have one season it would be season four because it has for me the two best episodes - The Oath and Blood on the Scales - which are exhilarating and deep and the utter transcendence of the Roslin and Adama relationship at its height. That was just incredible television. I…

He doesn't want to be the smartest guy in the room'

But why in what we see from Two Bartlets on is there any reason at all why Bartlet can't choose smart over uncle fluffy. The Shareef thing is different and very well done precisely because there is a genuine struggle for him between clearly articulated positions and it involves his morality against the fact he won.…

But the problem is that if Ritchie is not a serious antagonist then there is no internal drama for Bartlet either. Where is the dramatic tension if Bartlet risks nothing by going smart rather than uncle fluffy. And it's the fact that Sorkin falls back time and time again on making characters he wants to knock down…

In total agreement Wallflower. I think in some ways it is the best bit of dialogue over the whole 7 seasons. It gets at something that Sorkin's more poetic flights of fancy get nowhere near.

I think this is generally a pretty good episode just because it deals with the central issue of Bartlet and Leo ordering a murder so well. Having it play against the war of the roses and the shooting of Simon brings into full focus what it is but at the same time we do understand why they have chosen as they have and…

But for every time Sorkin corrects himself by calling the characters on it there are more examples of things that go unchallenged on his basic outlook. He comes back to it repeatedly in seasons 3 and 4. Just one example is very telling because it comes in the middle of what the story suggests is truth-telling from…

But for every time Sorkin corrects himself by calling the characters on it there are more examples of things that go unchallenged on his basic outlook. He comes back to it repeatedly in seasons 3 and 4. Just one example is very telling because it comes in the middle of what the story suggests is truth-telling from…

I am not suggesting for a moment it is. The problem is Sorkin uses that as an argument to shut down points of view that are not his own. He labels them dumb, makes the people who make the argument he wants to knock down stupid, not Ivy League educated, from middle America and generally deficient in character. That…

I am not suggesting for a moment it is. The problem is Sorkin uses that as an argument to shut down points of view that are not his own. He labels them dumb, makes the people who make the argument he wants to knock down stupid, not Ivy League educated, from middle America and generally deficient in character. That…

More problems with Sorkin's smart meme <br>I really don't see how Bartlett is raising the quality of the debate with truth-telling with what is going on in Poet Laureate. We dont' have Bartlett articulating his own position more intelligently or persuasively but rather saying Ritchie shouldn't be in the race because…

More problems with Sorkin's smart meme
I really don't see how Bartlett is raising the quality of the debate with truth-telling with what is going on in Poet Laureate. We dont' have Bartlett articulating his own position more intelligently or persuasively but rather saying Ritchie shouldn't be in the race because he is…

I am not sure Colby. I see your point as the words come out of the speech but the episode feels to me like a lament for that. It's like it is saying why can't it now be like it was with the 100 000 airplanes. And its realities that Sam and Bartlett want to transcend, and think politics is about transcending that get…

It's not just with Sam
There's quite a few episodes that put the written or spoken word on an impossibly high pedestal. The whole election story when it begins in this season through to it end rests on a premise that was is sacred and best in politics is the articulated word. It's one of the weird things in Sorkin…

The second season is much better than the first. The first worked for me in the ones that made the city an important part of the story. I like Ghost Machine the best of the early episodes. Countrycide which doesn't fall into that category is definitely worth watching although it doesn't stand up so well to repeat…

@Turd Ferguson