#the two bartlets

Welcome back to the Weekly Press Briefing, where we bring you highlights from The West Wing fandom each week, including new fics, ongoing challenges, and more! This briefing covers all things posted from January 28 – February 3. Did we miss something? Let us know; you can find our contact info at the bottom of this briefing! 

• Josh taking the coffee grounds out of the trash eeewww 🤢

• haha aww Josh is wearing the too big pajamas CJ gave him ☺️

• “Josh I’m gonna stop you right there okay?”

“....Leo?”

“Yeah.”

“Is anyone else in the office?”

“Hey, Josh.”

“Hey, Margaret.”

Lmao

• is this the episode where they talk about affirmative action and CJs against it cause it denied her father the ability to move up in his job?

• “I don’t get it how could you not wanna see the butter cow?”

• “Butter butter butter butter”

• “The dada of dada.”

• Sam trying to guess where the plane is what a nerd

• “I’m a little tired today.”

“From the lovemaking?”

Lmao I never noticed that. Margaret obviously blabbed to Donna

• “What do you have against Henry?”

lol Amy really thought Josh hated her dog and wanted to get rid of him

• I love how Donna’s trying to get out of jury duty and when she tells Sam her answers he’s like “Yeah the judge is gonna throw you in jail.” Lmao

• “Bob.”

“Sam.”

Lol

• wow I feel like another outdated plot is gonna be the “haha this crazy guy believes in aliens and thinks the government is covering it up” plot cause the pentagon literally just confirmed that ufo video that was leaked is authentic

• this has to be the episode where Toby and Bartlet have that tense conversation in the oval at the end where he asks “Your father used to hit you didn’t he Mr. President?”

• “Soup?” lol CJ

• lol Toby messing with Sam

“I wouldn’t ask a lot of questions, Sam.”

*laughs nervously* “What do you mean?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

• I think this is the only time Josh put his personal life before work (the inviting Amy over to his Tahitian apartment and refusing to turn on the TV to watch the Iowa numbers)

• wait just kidding he goes to Hawaii with Donna, but that’s also kinda cause he’s forced to? (I mean forced to take a vacation, not forced to bring Donna lol)

• I wonder if Toby could hear Bartlet tell Charlie he didn’t want to see him

• god this scene is so cringy and horrifying to watch!! why did Toby decide to be an armchair psychologist and bring up Bartlet’s past abuse!?! like what the fuck it’s so crazy to me

Episode:

• ...why...does Josh keep coffee grounds in the fridge? lmao

• aw, is he wearing the too big pajamas that CJ gave him?? I love it

• Josh telling Leo about his sexy intimate time with Amy lol

“Anybody else in the office?”

“Hey Josh.”

“Heeey, Margaret.”

Lmao I’m dead

• the secret service dude was about to go catch CJ if she fell

• “The dada of dada”

“It’s like there’s nothing you can do about that joke. It’s coming and you just have to stand there.”

• also Allison Janney really can go from drama to comedy like *snaps fingers* that. CJ went from having a discussion with her dementia riddled father who keeps asking where she is, to cracking jokes about butter with Toby.

• in what world is a “less qualified black woman” getting promoted over a qualified white man?

• “Bob?”

“Sam.”

Actually the guy that played Bob passed away a few days ago.

• at least Amy has a cute dog

• I know Sorkin doesn’t plan ahead and pretty much writes things last minute, but this subplot with CJ and her dad really sets things up for The Long Goodbye

• “What are we keeping in the bullion depository?”

“Soup?”

“I wouldn’t ask a lot of questions Sam.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Lmao

• Rewatching this episode made me like Josh’s plot more than I remember. I love that he wanted to stay behind to help his friend, despite Leo telling him to go on vacation. (I love that Leo told him to go. He understands that the staffers don’t have a lot of free time for personal relationships. He has a failed marriage because of it.) And as much as I don’t like him and Amy together, I love that he decorated the apartment to make up for not going to Tahiti.

• “Your father used to hit you didn’t he, Mr. President?”

oh godddddd sjsososks nooo I cant watch

Podcast:

• guest star: Blanche Sindelar (property master)

• Bradley Whitford was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for this episode and the series won an Emmy for best drama partly based on this episode.

• “CJs PJs” haha

• They wish Toby argued with CJ more on affirmative action, but I think Toby probably didn’t push CJ on it cause he could see her viewpoint was coming from a personal place, and just wanted to give her space.

• According to Alex Graves, Richard Schiff had a hard time saying “Uncle Fluffy” without laughing.

• the Uncle Fluffy stuff was based on Al Gore. Sorkin was annoyed watching Gore try hard not to appear smart.

• The Bartlet for America napkin wasn’t hard to duplicate since it was simple lettering, but it bugs me that I can tell the difference between the one in Bartlet for America and the one in the finale.

• Aaron and Tommy both have Bartlet for America napkins.

• There were three Gail’s throughout the series. Blanche took Gail home on the summer/holiday breaks.

• Tommy thought putting stuff in the fishbowl was “breaking the fourth wall.”

• Blanche’s favorite decoration she made was in S2 E1: In the Shadow of Two Gunmen.

“After Bartlet got shot, I made this fishbowl with a bullet hole through it, and I had the White House, and I had red gravel.”

They don’t think it ever showed up on camera but holy crap that’s like...intense and amazing.

• The hardest prop to recreate was the bill signing. They had to recreate the bill itself and the box it came in, so Blanche contacted the White House for help.

• Paul Revere’s knife was from eBay or History for Hire.