Flashback review – The West Wing 2×21-2×22: ‘18th and Potomac’ and ‘Two Cathedrals’

Courtesy of NBC via leavemethewhite.com

You know you’ve got a great finale if your protagonist stands in the middle of church and calls God a “feckless thug” and that isn’t even its most memorable moment. The end of the exemplary second season is upon us, and these episodes bring out the best The West Wing has to offer.

“What’s next?” Find out after the jump…

Flashback review – The West Wing 2×19-2×20: ‘Bad Moon Rising’ and ‘The Fall’s Gonna Kill You’

Courtesy of leavemethewhite.com

There’s a reason why the ninth circle of hell is reserved for those who betray. Bartlet (Martin Sheen), who’s been the champion of moral leadership, has been outed to the staffers who’ve trusted him most all these years, and I put it lightly when I say that they aren’t taking it well. But on the upside, it makes for fantastic television for us viewers.

“What’s next?” Find out after the jump…

Flashback review – The West Wing 2×17-2×18: ‘The Stackhouse Filibuster’ and ’17 People’

Courtesy of leavemethewhite.com

Welcome to the show people! With one little tip of the hand by Veep John Hoynes, the election changes course entirely and Toby’s whole world seems to crumble around him.

“What’s next?” Find out after the jump…

Flashback review – The West Wing 2×13-2×14: ‘Bartlet’s Third State of the Union’ and ‘The War at Home’

Courtesy of NBC

Oh Stockard Channing, you coy seductress! These episodes are supposed to be about affairs of state and the re-election campaign, but with just one tearful smile as Abbey Bartlet ,you own these episodes!

“What’s next?”

Find out after the jump…

Flashback review – The West Wing 2×11-2×12: ‘The Leadership Breakfast’ and ‘The Drop-In’

Courtesy of leavemethewhite.com

Anyone with any internet or television connection can attest to the fact that elections tend to bring out the worst in people. And now that Toby has felt the tremors of the upcoming presidential election earthquake, the ‘Wing is quickly becoming a less than pleasant place to work.

“What’s next?” Find out after the jump…

Flashback review – The West Wing 2×10: ‘Noel’

Courtesy of leavemethewhite.com

Nothing says “Merry Christmas!” quite like bundled-up carolers singing outside, tinsel adorning the trees, and… PTSD run amok?

In this episode, one of the series’ best, Sorkin confounds expectations of what a Christmas episode is supposed to be and gives to his viewers an intimate exploration of a man in crisis and his family that comes together to help him.

“What’s next?” Find out after the jump…

Flashback review – The West Wing 2×08: ‘Shibboleth’

Courtesy of leavemethewhite.com

Happy Fourth of July, dear readers! It’s a nice afternoon for grabbing a drink and setting off some fireworks. But if you’d like to join me in fictional D.C., we can pardon a turkey or two, discuss the history of the yam in Latin and review the series’ best Thanksgiving episode.

“What’s next?” Find out after the jump…

Flashback review – The West Wing 2×04-2×05: ‘In This White House’ and ‘And It’s Surely to Their Credit’

Courtesy of leavemethewhite.com

You know you’ve got a special heroine when she recognizes quotes from Gilbert and Sullivan musicals and speaks in iambic pentameter when nervous. This week The West Wing welcomes Emily Procter’s Ainsley Hayes, one of the series’ most memorable guest stars.

“What’s next?” Find out after the jump…

Flashback recap – The West Wing 2×03: ‘The Midterms’

Courtesy of leavemethewhile.com

As the President predicted in the premiere, the weeks and months following the attack at Roslin leaves more victims in its wake than just those with the bullet holes. Our flashback recap of the second season of The West Wing continues this week with “The Midterms,” and not everyone is holding it together as well as they seem.

“What’s next?” Let’s bitch it out after the jump…

Flashback recap – The West Wing 2×01-2×02: ‘In the Shadow of Two Gunmen’ Parts I and II

Courtesy of NBC VIA AV Club

So this summer is quickly becoming the Summer of Sorkin here at Bitch Stole My Remote. In addition to covering his new HBO series The Newsroom (starting Sunday June 24^th at 10 EST), I will be diving back into the second season Aaron Sorkin’s little man-behind-the-White-House-curtain drama The West Wing. Every Wednesday (the same night it aired back in 2000-2001 on NBC!), I’ll be posting a flashback recap of the next episode of Season 2. So if you’d like to join me, watch one episode each week and visit here on Wednesdays so we can bitch it out. How well does the season, which is arguably the meatiest and best written of the series, hold up twelve years later? Is Sorkin’s optimism regarding the federal government still relevant? Is CJ’s hair still somewhere between atrocious and sad? Let’s find out!

So as our fictional POTUS loves to ask, “What’s next?” Find out after the jump…