I love how D'Isiah T. Billings-Clyde didn't get a chyron or a real verse, but you could tell it was him from the way he said "D'Marcus plays guitaaaar."

The story vs. character distinction isn't all that helpful, maybe. And it's unfair to generalize, as obviously there are some characters Sorkin treated with deep reverence and reasonable consistency. But I found Jed, Toby, Josh, and Leo pretty unrecognizable by the end of his years on TWW, because they'd been twisted…

Maybe not coincidentally, one of the few post-Sorkin episodes I genuinely like and have rewatched several times. It doesn't hurt that they actually did a strong job on the legal debates. "The center will be well tended" is such a solid line.

This. In a way, all the characters blessed with "passion" were acting as Sorkin's mouthpiece, and it was such an enduring letdown whenever a character not in that passionate club would come on screen. They were almost uniformly derided, dismissed, thinly written, smug, etc. Think how rare it is for someone to get the…

Donna - Thanks for the excellent reviews. First time commenting, but I read all the SN, Newsradio, HIMYM reviews, etc.