I’m Not Handing Them C.J. Cregg | The West Wing

[@noahbrown6970]

"I'm vamping, I brought the wrong folder" I didn't think an Oliver Babish line could make me laugh more than when he smashed that dictaphone, but here we are 😂😂😂

[@steverichardson5051]

It was so good it almost felt improvised :)

[@Bazookatone1]

Oliver Platt just elevates any scene he is in.

[@Meatwad650]

He's crushing it in The Bear.

[@GroovyShelly]

Watching the simple intelligence, integrity, patriotism & commitment shown by the characters this series makes it seem, in 2024, like some sort of surreal Science Fiction

[@charlesenfield2192]

I loved this show, but it seemed pretty unrealistic during the Clinton and Bush administrations too. I'm a sucker for shows and movies about ultra-competent, highly patriotic civil servants, but I'm keenly aware that they are fictional. It's not that no such people exist, but there ain't enough of them to make a show about. What I think is best about the show is that it demonstrates how even in the fictional world, good people have to do undesirable things. Not every political decision we don't like is evil.

[@cewils05]

I'm with you. Of course it was fanciful back then, but today it seems downright inconceivable.

[@noahrutan6673]

I know it isn't relevant to the scene but Martin Sheen is truly a master at dramatically removing his glasses.

[@MatthewKearney69]

So true. Reading w/ glasses, then off to talk to someone, then on to read, then off again 😪

[@martinw2235]

It's him and Caruso, then a big drop to the next tier.

[@JB-xl2jc]

The true secret is to frequently put them on, so that you can remove them dramatically just as frequently! In fact, on my best days, I take my reading glasses off an entire extra time more than the amount I put 'em on!

[@LennyCole96]

Very subtle ways of saying, "This meeting ain't over."

[@heddalee]

Subtle?

[@VincentVonDudler]

Martin Sheen takes his glasses off, puts them on, takes them off, puts them on....takes them off....puts them on.

[@janetkriegl6720]

It's such a pain sometimes, but READING glasses make ALL the difference! Ah, to be young and dumb, with 20/20!

[@seanwebb605]

I take my reading glasses on and off all of the time. I'm trying to get good at letting them sit low on my nose so that I can see things far away then peek down at what I'm reading without taking them on and off so much.

[@cz2165]

@@seanwebb605 Ya but then you have turned into Chuck Shumer and they will make fun of you for that. So taking them on and off looks so presidential.

[@cmj0929]

Last time I was this early Bartlett hadn’t told them he had MS yet

[@garryharriman7349]

The story should not be critiized too much. It was actually very intense to watch all those years aga! The only issue that I pondered over was the fact that out of all those privy to this clasified info' within the WW, Toby was the one person who would have been suspected quite soon by vitrue of his brother being a. NASA astronaught!

[@simonbridges3835]

What's an ' Astronaught'?

[@gordon1545]

This is the worst plotline in 7 seasons of The West Wing. There is no way, absolutely no way, Toby would be the leak. It was a bad idea, executed poorly, that damaged a major character.

[@eldersprig]

but was it actually CJ, instead of Toby? I remember CJ telling Toby about the extra space shuttle but...

[@jamiestewart48]

@@eldersprig Watching this one clip it look like Toby realises they're going to go after CJ with the call logs to reporter and that she knew, and Toby takes the fall to protect her. Which is why CJ is the one who keeps bringing up Toby's pardon.

[@JoshuaVogel79]

​@@jamiestewart48if it had been CJ, she would have confessed to save Toby

[@motokojtw]

I read somewhere that Schiff (who also hated the shuttle plotline) decided it was Toby's brother David, an astronaut, who was actually the source of the leak and Toby took the blame to cover him. David committed suicide earlier in the same season so we'd have to allow enough time for David to have leaked it and for the reporter to have sat on it until it was 'in the public interest' which I guess is possible. No idea if that's ever been accepted as canon but it makes Toby's actions a little more understandable. And why he's forgiven so easily when they flash forward to a few years later.

[@ianboyle1026]

@@eldersprig There is no way on earth that CJ would have let Toby take the blame, and go to jail, to save herself. If Toby didn't do it, he was covering for someone else.

[@Dolemite5194]

The misplaced comma in the video title unnerves me.

[@saoirsevicteoiria2759]

I don't think it's delibrate clickbait, but it is about 85% of the reason why I clicked.

[@ericnewman2727]

@@saoirsevicteoiria2759 and "delibrate" got me to respond ;-)

[@jbuster9]

Omg, I missed that at first and now I am twitching uncontrollably

[@ameliapond1916]

Toby's gonna deal with it

[@fishbone3333]

Thanks a lot! Now, I cannot think of anything else.

[@thekid8832]

"The AG hates us we hate him" The same goes for VP Hoynes and SecDef Hutchinson. Did no one tell Jed he could choose whoever he wanted for those positions?

[@JTSurly]

Well, he needed Hoynes to win southern states. The SecDef. . . yeah he coulda got a person they actually liked for that one.

[@alannunez]

CIA Director too. Plus Jean-Claude, the White House chef. 😂

[@lionsjourney29]

@@JTSurlyas the show goes on you realize, for the charm, wit and incredible intellect. Bartlett has another quality that earns him the occasional hate/enemy. He is an arrogant bastard. The DEMs were always happy with him in New Hampshire governorship and his stint in the House. Leo propelled him to a huuge office based on his integrity. Problem is mix Intellect, integrity, and arrogance with a bit of that absent minded professor vibe. It makes for a very interesting person.

[@tomscott4438]

I always thought this storyline was a little weak and lazy, like they'd run out of ideas. Did CJ do it, didn't she, who did... seemed artificially suspenseful and dragged out. The writing on this show was the foundation of its greatness, but here it's the acting that's doing all the heavy lifting.

[@machtmer]

This would be the hallmark of the post-Sorkin seasons. S5 really drags for fairly half the entire season.

[@fooman2108]

No one speaks to the National Security Advisor (who is a USN Commander, in this case). LIKE THAT, TOBY IS LUCKY SHE DIDN'T RIP HIS LIPS OFF!

[@alannunez]

She wasn’t the NSA.

[@CommanderOshawott]

Nancy McNally was the NSA for the whole Bartlett Administration until she was named UN ambassador by the Santos Admin. Kate was her deputy, and Kate also wasn't navy, she was CIA

[@NamLe-pn3dy]

Minor correction, she is the deputy National security advisor. But your point still stands.

[@JB-xl2jc]

I have a feeling behind closed doors a lot of the top level WH staff act a loooot differently than you might expect

[@DaWon-cb4nb]

AG hates us, we hate the AG? Who then appointed the AG?

[@jasonkoch3182]

The president. That doesn’t mean he’s a fan. There’s an old saying: keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

[@ClarinoI]

Headcanon: Babish is Margaret's babydaddy.

[@carlrosenzweig1867]

lol. I don't know how you got there, I never would have, but now it's stuck in my head. Thanks for that.

[@ClarinoI]

@@carlrosenzweig1867 My pleasure!

[@joen0411]

All these years and no one has figured out who it really was that leaked the story. It was the goldfish. Why did Toby admit to it? Why did he not reveal his source? He’s got two kids and that goldfish does not make idle threats.

[@MatthewKearney69]

This was the time between west wing and e.r. they all suddenly had dark brown hair .. cj till now had lighter shorter hair, plus most of er cast went dark brown.. light haired blonde nurse / dr on er suddenly dark brown., 😂

[@leonkernan]

Everyone sees SpaceX launch from Vandenberg. You wouldn’t need a telescope to spot it.

[@FlameKoRn]

Oliver Platt is great but this storyline is infuriating

[@jacobduncan2142]

It's sad Toby is the leak. So out of character for him.

[@daenerysdivine1906]

I don't think he was. I think he said he was because he knew CJ's career was everything to her. He didn't want her name/reputation dragged through the mud with an investigation/accusation. I think he fell on that sword so to speak.

[@JB-xl2jc]

He wasn't above breaking the rules to save lives, especially one important to him... and given how everything had turned out with his brother, can you really blame him?

[@winstonwolf6791]

The show makes it crystal clear it was not CJ in multiple scenes. Toby found out from his brother and leaked it.

[@Serai3]

No comma in that headline, guys. Bartlet would give you a cold stare.

[@MarkLewis...]

It could have been C.J., it could have been Toby, it could have been Toby's brother. It's a writing method to hide flaws in the body of the plot. People tend to miss a weak storyline when they're given ambiguity and a mystery to solve. When you don't have a story, play to the egos of the viewership.

[@winstonwolf6791]

Except the show gave us the answers. It wasn't CJ. It was Toby. He found out from his brother before he died and leaked it.

[@MarkLewis...]

@@winstonwolf6791 Believe whatever you think is true.

[@winstonwolf6791]

@MarkLewis... Has nothing to do with "Belief". If you actually watched the show, they made it crystal clear. It isn't a mystery at all. It was not CJ. It was Toby who leaked info he got from his brother before he died. Not sure why people don't remember them literally spelling it out.

[@seanwebb605]

You don't win friends with salad.

[@TheBroz]

I’ll never tire of the tedious comments about how rubbish The West Wing was rubbish after Sorkin left…. Even at its worst TWW is still a brilliant show and I adore it from start to finish.

[@LFCtvUSA]

Terrible grammar on the title.

[@adambois570]

It immediately made me think of Toby later finding the inconsistent comma in the Takings Clause.

[@squireob]

Brought to, you by AI.

[@AlexTurpin]

I love that this channel is posting new content, but it constantly cuts scenes right before the best part and has the most moronic titles

[@henrybutchy3242]

So how did Toby Z learn about the military space shuttle?

[@roughrider6129]

From his Brother who was a Mission Specialist for the Shuttle program

[@FriscoCatshark]

Love the actor, but this is such a weird form of Babish compared to previous appearances. He looks weird without his facial hair, but it's more than that. The weirdly playful body language, sprawled on her couch and making exaggerated thinking faces. The constant over-expressing on his face. The immense lack of professional air. It's like they wanted someone other than Babish but didn't want to hire a twentieth White House Counsel.

[@marsspacex6065]

Vandenberg is for polar launch’s. There are currently no space stations in polar orbit. Also a military space shuttle would be pretty obvious the first time it launch’s.

[@firstname4337]

"There are currently no space stations in polar orbit. " -- that you know of

[@RobotMetalhead]

Unpopular opinion, but I always thought making CJ the SoS after Leo's heart attack was a bad move, politically. It was obvious that she was way over her head, and this storyline was one of the examples.

[@seanwebb605]

The White House chief of staff, communications director and press secretary positions see quite a bit of turn over in eight years. They actually did something rather clever keeping characters on the show while showing them shift to working on the campaigns of the emerging characters and filling new roles. At this point the administration was in its lame duck period where their legislative agenda would have less support. The candidates to replace the president were trying to distance themselves in some areas and congress takes a wait and see approach knowing they have their own legislative agenda, re-election campaigns and they want to see who the next administration will be before committing to some positions. At this point in the second term the president would still have many issues brought to their attention each day, but much of his staff would have left for other things at this point.

[@wanderingfido]

Does it feel like any actors portraying or espousing left-wing prospensities gets blackballed out of high-budget productions? Look what happened to Alec Baldwin after the SNL skits as Trump. And none of these West Wing actors found anything lucrative after this series.

[@jons2614]

Really? Allison Janney went on to be the lead role in the CBS sitcom 'Mom' which ran for 8 years and 170 episodes - and won 2 more Emmys as well. Most notably, she won the Oscar for best supporting actress in the 2017 movie 'I, Tonya'. Richard Schiff had a regular role in the drama 'The Good Doctor' which ran for 7 years. Most of the remaining cast has maintained active careers as well - some on front of the camera and some behind the camera as directors or producers.

[@TheBroz]

‘None of these west wing actors found anything lucrative after this series’ Just about the most bone headed dumb ignorant thing I’ve seen on the internet for a while.