Review of The Leadership Breakfast
Written by Rachel
I don't know if it was the appearance of Felicity Huffman or Sam and Josh's antics in the Mural room, but this episode has made quite a few people think about Aaron Sorkin's other TV show, "Sports Night."
Ann Stark
Felicity Huffman is amazing in this new role. Hopefully this character is going to show up again and soon. First of all, Huffman is an amazing actor. Second, clearly something has happened with Tobey. I want to know what that story is!
This plot allows Tobey to shine again. His quiet power is used, while also exposing his trusting side. His interaction with CJ as he forces her to change the location of the press conference is fairly atypical. I think even CJ is surprised, telling him that she will not go down to the Capitol and he's going to have to order her to move it. His exposure at the leak is so shocking that I don't even think she has the wherewithal to give him an "I told you so."
The Briefing Room
I think Sam might need more to do. Now that he has Ainsley to do his scut work (invisibly in the basement) he seems to have way too much time on his hands. This week we see him nearly burn down the West Wing and start an insurrection in the Press Corps by intimating they might be moved to the OEOB (Old Executive Office Building). The fact that a member of the corps gets called by a pollster is hilarious.
As an aside, the OEOB is not actually across the street. It's actually right next door to the West Wing. It houses the offices of many White House staffers and is the location of the Vice President's ceremonial office. You can go on a special tour on Saturday mornings (you need to call ahead). They completely redid the building about five years ago and it's definitely worth it to take the tour.
Karen Cahill
Okay, this plot was a little stupid. I like seeing these people are human, but the panties was a bit much. FYI: Karen Cahill is code word for Maureen Dowd of the New York Times, but more importantly, Ben and Sally are Ben Bradlee, the former editor of the Washington Post and his wife, Sally Quinn, the editor of the Style section. That part was cool.
All in all, this was a timely episode. As the folks in Washington keep talking about "uniting, not dividing" this look at partisanship seems very appropriate and it sets up very nicely for the re-election that we should see in seasons 3 and 4.
©2001 by Rachel Vagts. All rights reserved.
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