Review of Holy Night
Written by Toniann
Despite having bombed out in the Oval Office -- or rather, just outside of
it -- Will Bailey is obviously here to stay: Joshua Malina was in the
credits this week. I read recently that they were negotiating a contract for
him, and it looks like that came to pass. Rather a rocky beginning, and I'm
not sure what I think about that test they planted on him (personally, I
think he passed it in every way that counts, except for nerves), but Toby
likes him. That means he'll be fine. Bicycles notithstanding.
But not only did Will Bailey get bombarded with bicycles, he also got huge
glossy colored campaign posters of Sam plastered on his windows. Those were
mighty snazzy -- none of the Congressmen in my area had anything that looked
remotely like that.
I thought the Whiffenpoofs were just great. I don't know if I'd go so far
as to take any of them back to my room to, um, sing, but it was lovely. Even
"Girl from Ipanema", which I can't spell. Anyone know if that was actually
the group? I'm not so familiar with the a capella groups from Yale that I
know their names, but they sure sounded like the real thing.
Note from TK: yep, those were the real Whiffs. Would you believe that I'm a Yalie myself? I was in a much cooler Yale singing group called Shades.
OT moment, but not really: Al Gore's hosting SNL? This I have to see. Was
the bit with Martin just for commercials, I assume?
Stanley continues to charm me -- I even share his pissed-off-ness over the
whole SAT rescoring thing (but I've rambled about that before). Once again,
though, I felt Bartlet cut him off before their session was really done. I
think Stanley thought so too.
There was so much crammed into this one episode, and so much of it was, I
thought, extraordinarily good. But the story of Julie Zieegler and his son,
Tobias, surely stood out. What a complex backstory -- and I loved the moment
where Toby said, "We don't have to do this all in one night." Also a
wonderful moment when Josh explained why he'd done what he had, granting
Julie a pass to the West Wing. What I *don't* get is what Josh specifically
said: "I'd give anything to have a living father and a sister with a past."
A sister with a past? What did that mean? Why mention sisters there? Toby
has always spoken well of his sisters, in the past; Josh's died when he was
young. What are they leaving out?
I also loved the deposition scene, when Toby spoke of his children. Toby
as a father is, well, something I enjoy the idea of. But I basically enjoy
Toby, so that's no real surprise.
Speaking of Josh, well, Leo said it all there at the end... get it
together. His feelings for Donna are as transparent as a pane of glass
in this episode -- I don't even think Josh is fooling himself into thinking
that anyone hasn't noticed. What I'm thinking, though I could be wrong,
though, is that we're just on a parabolic upswing in his direction this time
around. Awhile ago it was Donna whose feelings were right at the surface,
and Joey Lucas was the one who saw through the evasions. Now, it's Josh's
turn. And yet I suspect that their relationship storyline will fade in a
couple of episodes as it always does, with no real resolution. Which may be
for the best. On the other hand, this season -- specifically the past few
episodes -- has seemed more "personal" to me than the show has been in the
past. We're dwelling more on the private lives of the main cast, though I
haven't noticed the issues taking a back seat as of yet. So maybe I'm wrong
and this time's the charm for these two... but I'd be prety surprised if
they go anywhere with this. Yet.
On perhaps a lighter note, Charlie Young, you are my personal hero.
Confronted with his ex and her new French royalty boyfriend -- who needs a
haircut, by the way -- he came off as pithy, cool, and had all the snappy
lines in their conversation. This is a talent I envy, not that 've
encountered the French royalty aspect of this situation.
The goldfish pin wasn't a big enough hint for her? Danny, I missed you
like lost luggage.
And, happy holidays, everyone. We've got a slew of reruns ahead of us
until after the New Year. Enjoy.
"How the hell would you know, you got 1400."
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