Celestial Navigation is one of my top five eps of the series, for sure. And is one of my reasons for so often deploying my "this show was secretly a comedy" tag on tumblr.
Sam and CJ are ultra charming in this episode - CJ at her comedic best, as you said, and Sam doing his 'handsome nerd' schtick perfectly.
I also loved the vindication of CJ Cregg, Press Secretary after seeing the others (and it partly grates because they’re overwhelmingly men) criticise her over how she does her job, and, yes, we’ve seen her make mistakes, but enter Josh into the press room...
Seriously! I love Josh (he's my favorite character), but he can absolutely be an arrogant, smug, abrasive, know-it-all asshole, as he was here. And it's fantastic to see him get his comeuppance for that, with a side of vindication for CJ too. Just because she makes it look easy doesn't mean it actually is, guys!
Oh, and Charlie having to wake the Presdient was another comedy gem
"Who is this, and what could you possibly want right now?" is one of those lines that goes through my mind often in day to day life. Sorkin really was in peak form here.
The scene between the education Secretary and Leo had resonance, with her visibly struggling with her sense of who she was representing
CCH Pounder was amazing as Secretary O'Leary, and I wish we'd seen her return for more episodes. I wish they'd given more time to the way women and minorities are forced to bend over backwards to appeasing the sensibilities of the white male majority, even when they're in the right, but I'll take what I can get.
And that tied into the racism of Mendoza’s arrast. (Again, the podcast queried this and Sam and Toby ploughing in in a way I hadn’t.
I remember that podcast ep, and I'm pretty sure it was one of the first times (of many) that I rolled my eyes at Josh Malina. There's no reason shown onscreen to doubt that Mendoza's arrest was bogus - Mendoza refutes all the 'erratic driving' claims himself, and of course the drinking possibility is a non-starter. I don't think it's unusual for a show like this - which never makes a point of unreliable narrators or similar devices - to expect that we'll take our heroes' side without much convincing. It seemed like a silly thing to get hung up on, and I do think sometimes Josh had a tendency to look for things not to like, to provoke more discussion with Hrishi.
The genius was that it was about personal pride too and how he appeared before his son for Mendoza too, and that Toby was wise enough to see that, address it and find a way to redress it.
It's amazing that this very heavy, quietly emotional, serious scene appears in the same episode as "secwet pwan to fight infwation" and both work brilliantly.
I don't have nearly as much to say about 20 Hours in LA - as you say, it's fine but doesn't measure up to the previous ep - but I will agree with your point on Joey Lucas and Al Keifer. What the heck is up with that?? Obviously they're in the same space and the fact that he signs is a big plus, but surely Joey could do better, even for a fling. I mean, we know she can, since Josh is right there! Maybe Joey had already picked up on the Josh/Donna vibes and didn't want to get tangled up in that.
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Sam and CJ are ultra charming in this episode - CJ at her comedic best, as you said, and Sam doing his 'handsome nerd' schtick perfectly.
I also loved the vindication of CJ Cregg, Press Secretary after seeing the others (and it partly grates because they’re overwhelmingly men) criticise her over how she does her job, and, yes, we’ve seen her make mistakes, but enter Josh into the press room...
Seriously! I love Josh (he's my favorite character), but he can absolutely be an arrogant, smug, abrasive, know-it-all asshole, as he was here. And it's fantastic to see him get his comeuppance for that, with a side of vindication for CJ too. Just because she makes it look easy doesn't mean it actually is, guys!
Oh, and Charlie having to wake the Presdient was another comedy gem
"Who is this, and what could you possibly want right now?" is one of those lines that goes through my mind often in day to day life. Sorkin really was in peak form here.
The scene between the education Secretary and Leo had resonance, with her visibly struggling with her sense of who she was representing
CCH Pounder was amazing as Secretary O'Leary, and I wish we'd seen her return for more episodes. I wish they'd given more time to the way women and minorities are forced to bend over backwards to appeasing the sensibilities of the white male majority, even when they're in the right, but I'll take what I can get.
And that tied into the racism of Mendoza’s arrast. (Again, the podcast queried this and Sam and Toby ploughing in in a way I hadn’t.
I remember that podcast ep, and I'm pretty sure it was one of the first times (of many) that I rolled my eyes at Josh Malina. There's no reason shown onscreen to doubt that Mendoza's arrest was bogus - Mendoza refutes all the 'erratic driving' claims himself, and of course the drinking possibility is a non-starter. I don't think it's unusual for a show like this - which never makes a point of unreliable narrators or similar devices - to expect that we'll take our heroes' side without much convincing. It seemed like a silly thing to get hung up on, and I do think sometimes Josh had a tendency to look for things not to like, to provoke more discussion with Hrishi.
The genius was that it was about personal pride too and how he appeared before his son for Mendoza too, and that Toby was wise enough to see that, address it and find a way to redress it.
It's amazing that this very heavy, quietly emotional, serious scene appears in the same episode as "secwet pwan to fight infwation" and both work brilliantly.
I don't have nearly as much to say about 20 Hours in LA - as you say, it's fine but doesn't measure up to the previous ep - but I will agree with your point on Joey Lucas and Al Keifer. What the heck is up with that?? Obviously they're in the same space and the fact that he signs is a big plus, but surely Joey could do better, even for a fling. I mean, we know she can, since Josh is right there! Maybe Joey had already picked up on the Josh/Donna vibes and didn't want to get tangled up in that.