Jed Must Fill a Supreme Court Vacancy | The West Wing

[@christoffermonikander2200]

"I'm voting for what's his name, married to Abby Bartlet."🤣

[@Jazz41173]

Even better would have been if he said, "Dr Abbey Barlett".

[@jonnnyren6245]

His name's Josiah Jed. I wish Abbey came in and said that to him

[@marjar.5978]

Righ now, I wish we could

[@Tanman007]

“Who is gonna protect this particular right” Shame that the actual woman on the bench Justice Amy turned out to be the complete opposite

[@bobosmith8012]

The best bit about this episode is the banter between Lang and Judge Mulreedy. This is my favourite West Wing episode by far.

[@Lovebug06901]

And Mulreedy and Charlie. Shirt but sweet.

[@anthonybanchero3072]

Just what they were looking for to replace both judges.

[@rabbit251]

If you ever got the DVDs there's a commentary section for this one. There was one scene they filming Toby with Mulreedy (William Fichtner). But the scene was rather "dead." So they told Fichtner that his character is brighter than Toby which changed the tone and we get a wonderful TV show. Too bad this is just a show and reality couldn't be like this.

[@GABISNAIL]

My fave episode 😍

[@yvonnemiller9144]

So agree but always forgotten is the US senator who out drinks Josh and CJ in this episode. For more funCJ and the senator singing.

[@Plutor]

"We discarding anyone else for legal activities?" Yes Mister President, lots of them

[@melissamarsh2219]

Glenn Close was so good in this.

[@cranapple3367]

The word is "poise".

[@vikingjnixed]

The way she was watching when they announced it on tv, holding her hands to her face like an excited child -/ loved that

[@joemckim1183]

Glenn Close is great in almost everything she does. She was also great on The Shield and Damages and also as the Vice President in Air Force One.

[@CoDWiiPS3Gameplay]

Don't forget she played the VP in Air Force One in 1997. Was incredible in that as well.

[@daveburns3886]

She’s great in everything! She could play the good girl/ mother/ wife- ‘the natural’, ‘the big chill’ and the evilest- fatal attraction , 101 Dalmatians !

[@viewfromthehighchair9391]

One of my favourite WW episodes in the entire series. The back and forth between Glenn Close's and William Fichtner's characters was one of my top 10 highlights of a series that had hundreds of highlights. The West Wing is my favourite TV show of all time, far and away.

[@terrygracy8345]

That scene could have gone on for the whole show and I would t have argued at all

[@MrStephenLast]

When Josh puts his hand on his chin while listening to Judge Lang, you can tell is the moment he fell in love with her.

[@belvert1]

I love her mind, i love her shoes

[@mindya1799]

A fan of D. H. Lawrence.

[@votemonty1815]

Robert Picardo & William Fichter were phenomenal in these roles.

[@andrewgundy3045]

Agreed!

[@aussiejed1]

I love Close in this episode. Such perfect casting - a giant of acting playing a giant of judiciary.

[@laurihalderman6242]

I loved the two characters played by Glenn Close and Finchner. I wish those characters were on the Court.

[@elohra2013]

Omg 😢yessssssssss

[@ScottGammans]

I wish literally almost anyone else was on the Court besides six persons I can think of.

[@katetallentpcconsultant]

"I love this woman, I love her mind, I love her shoes."

[@red2977]

I thought the two of them were going to do a happy dance in the hallway

[@swyxTV]

best writing ever

[@elenaverde7356]

Best post-Sorkin episode, bar none.

[@woodwyrm]

yes

[@johndub3866]

Certainly the best guest stars, Close and Finctner

[@francisburgess5239]

La Palabra or 2261 Votes for me, but this is up there for sure

[@nocoolnamejimxx5084]

Actually, dumbest and most unrealistic one. One of the parties is just going to GIVE AWAY a Supreme Court seat to the other? Uhhhhh....no. The ending to this episode still makes me angry whenever I see it.

[@woodwyrm]

@@nocoolnamejimxx5084 well you are a dunce and a fool to boot; yes, SCOTUS, by this episode in the West Wing, is expanded by one seat, which is realistic as there has never been an outright limit on how many judges may be appointed Justices at SCOTUS, it's the price for being able to nominate Evelyn Barker Lang as head of SCOTUS and by god Fichtner does a brilliant job portraying a conservative, genius level judge.

[@RRTNZ]

If only judges were this clever and articulate in real life.

[@Carlos-wy4on]

Oh stop it. Judges in real life are just as articulate as this fake character. There is an exception to that, but the majority are just as eloquent and thoughtful in their writings. If you've ever heard them at conferences they are brilliant. Have you ever read an official brief from the justices? If this character on the west wing was so "clever", she would have recognized that Roe v. Wade was always a terrible legal decision with no textual foundation to create the right to abortion. Even people who are pro-choice have argued this in the past.

[@RRTNZ]

@Carlos-wy4on I've read a lot of judgments & briefs and met a lot of judges, and I stand by my comments - this is not to disparage the intellect of most judges, but in terms of being articulate, there's still only one Lord Denning, one Learned Hand. Many judges will still use twenty words, when two would suffice. Let's make a distinction here, this scene depicts a jurist speaking off the cuff. Judges reading meticulously drafted speeches is a very different thing, you would hope that they come across as brilliant.

[@Mimi-cq4bg]

Watching this after roe fell is just…. Extra heartbreaking

[@elohra2013]

Beyond 😢when tv is breathtakingly perfect.

[@stephenmason9527]

It never should've stood

[@Swarm509]

Fucking democrats had decades to make it stick around forever and didn't. Sucks it was lost now someone else will have to fight to get it back.

[@Johnston212]

An interesting thing that I heard about after RGB died is that she was in the process of bringing a potentially stronger case to SCOTUS when Roe was decided. It involved a female military officer who was, essentially, being required to get one for her position. Had that been the case to change establish that right, it would have been a little bit harder for the current SCOTUS to justify getting rid of it

[@highside2020]

@@Swarm509it won’t come back

[@tmoore4075]

One of the best episodes they ever had.

[@bluejaysforever3627]

This was one of my favorite episodes in West Wing

[@blackhawkswincup2010]

everybody who says the show lost a step when Sorkin left needs to consider this episode. Best one in 7 years.

[@suminshizzles6951]

Ive been watching clips for the last hour. I might as well just watch the show again :)

[@mtk52983]

One of the best post-Sorkin episodes

[@woodwyrm]

*THE* best

[@ericsniper9843]

I missed this show were smart and passionate people argued about how they could support the American people.

[@mjedge808]

“Josh Lyman is gesticulating wildly.” is my favorite line.

[@jarrertfan1988]

The commentary for this episode is excellent!

[@OpenPodBayDoor]

Rewatching this episode post-Dobbs is crazy because they were all worried about how litmus tests in confirmation hearings were going to fill the court with boring centrists with no strong ideologies and never considered the far simpler possibility that people might just lie.

[@KYExtemper]

Confirmation hearings are a joke. They are all about allowing politicians to grandstand and nominees learned from Robert Bork that they should be as vague as possible and not ruffle feathers.

[@dec9164]

One of many GREAT scenes. This show is simply amazing, IMHO

[@riversweet]

And now look what we have today.

[@KristineMaitland]

Testify.

[@MyCleverHandle]

I'd rather not.

[@ScorpiusZA.]

I love this episode so much.

[@Devyn89]

After today I’ve never wanted this fictional woman on the Supreme Court more

[@trevornott2488]

Yes, the men that wrote this character and the lines, did a great job

[@travislogan1482]

Sure, the wet dream of the leftest fictional universe is your idol.

[@MrTree421]

@@trevornott2488 If she wasn't modelled after Ruth Bader Ginsburg I don't know what the hell. So let's dial down the "she is so unrealistic for a woman"

[@Black_Caucus]

I KNOW RIGHT

[@mariegarside8830]

Perfect character that we need now.

[@extranoodles]

I love her shoes hahaha

[@moogie42069]

THIS is my favorite episode of the series!

[@thatrhynoguy]

Never knew Dr Glassman worked for the president before working at St Bonaventure

[@googoo-gjoob]

The *GREATEST* show in the _History_ of television.

[@ThePhilGrimm]

I would agree but I doubt you'd get a majority on that.

[@Calmputer]

I'm glad he didn't get the job as a supreme court justice... it left him able to go lead the Atlantis expedition.

[@ScorpiusZA.]

It took me a long time to like him in that series.

[@doubtingthomas6146]

@@ScorpiusZA.I believe that was the idea! 😊

[@Calmputer]

@@ScorpiusZA. I think that was on purpose. The character was literally introduced as an antagonist in SG-1.

[@ScorpiusZA.]

@@Calmputer I know, but after following him for 7 years on Voyager, it created an odd dissonance for me.

[@thomasmcginnis3783]

I luv you guys. We b such a pack of nerds.

[@kokolasticot304]

Right there, there was passion in the west wing. Right there they understood the stake and it was not vapid hubris.

[@theaccidentalsenior]

We need this today.

[@apok1980]

West Wing = Masterpiece

[@wilson2455]

" judicial rulings should NOT be based on person ideology.. " Perhaps Alito, Barratt, Kavanaugh, Roberts & Thomas all missed this class in law school ?

[@c0nd0rd4myt]

To paraphrase Sorkin's other great work A Few Good Men, I think Kavanaugh was sick the day they taught LAW at law school.

[@robbkinnin1988]

That’s the beauty of SCOTUS.

[@unkannyunkanny9232]

They didn't miss it. They simply don't care. There is no 'originalism' argument for a 'President-turned-King' to have SEAL Team Six assassinate people the 'King' decided he doesn't like. 'Originalism' was just bad faith in a nice clothes. Now the bad faith is a little more naked. Because they don't care. Don't have to.

[@aaronjjacques]

The current ruling is 100% compatible with the Obama ruling. Sotomayor desent is the about face.

[@bobrichardson7174]

Sour grapes.

[@ongomaaduke5274]

Are we discarding anybody else for legal activities 😂😂

[@Whisper555]

This has to be one of the best West Wing episodes ever.

[@Carlalvaro]

Well I've been waiting for this one. Excellent episode... would have loved to see some of the interaction between Lang and Mulready.

[@anjaplushenka5995]

*This is one of my fave episodes in the whole series.*

[@mlcaron6550]

"I love her, I love her mind, I love her shoes..."

[@anthonybanchero3072]

Loved the way they worked it out.

[@terrygracy8345]

One of my favorite episodes

[@disneynerdcraig]

One of the best episodes ever.

[@finnellwilliam]

and now roe is over....and about to be fully illegal :(. makes me glad i was born a dude and sorry for so many women that have to go through this stuff now

[@aaronalvin3992]

It’s not illegal, it’s thrown back to the states. The legal argument was terrible for Roe v Wade.

[@megatron1384]

Would’ve been nice to have her on the court irl wouldn’t it have?!

[@elohra2013]

😢omg yes……..

[@TyberiusDe]

Great episode, loved it

[@AnntheTheatreFan]

"I live her mind, I love her shoes"😂😂

[@jamesmangiameli8337]

This is one of my favorite episodes. Glenn Close and William Fitchner knocked it out of the park, unsurprisingly. Their interplay was awesome. But I admit, I'm sad that there are pretty much no clips of Robert Picardo as Judge Brad Shelton. he shows up for about 15 seconds at the beginning of this clip, but that's about it. I think this was an injustice. First, Robert Picardo did a fine job. Second, I think it's worth remembering him as the other part of the debate. There's nothing wrong with the character of Judge Shelton. He's not evil, not a fool, not ambitious. There are merits to putting him on the bench. It wouldn't have been a horrible mistake; it just wasn't what they needed at this point. That edge of the debate deserved more memory.

[@fc4660]

There’s been nothing close to this since… and did we ever EVER think we’d be living in a time when Roe v. Wade was Overturned?!

[@BradyKaynee]

Who wouldn't want Cruella DeVille as a judge in the Supreme Court?

[@tomdarling-fernley3178]

I wonder if this small role for Close had anything to do with the creation and casting of Damages, which aired three years after ep5.17 of TWW. Close plays Patty Hewes, a powerful litigator. A formative part of Hewes' character is that she had an abortion in (or shortly after?) law school.

[@georgewhaley8951]

Abolishing Roe vs. Wade was stupid, short-sighted, and dangerous. It spits in the face of the 14th Amendment, where the right of choice for a woman to choose to have or not a baby is stripped away.

[@demiserofd]

Roe was never a strong ruling, and even Ginsburg knew it and said it. Privacy has never entailed a right to commit a crime. The truth is, they were hoping they could get legislation through before it got questioned. The problem is, states that allow abortions tend to have less kids, so they tend to neuter their own political power. Ultimately, it's a self-defeating issue. It doesn't matter how strongly the ruling is, if in two generations all the people in support of it had 1.8 kids and all the ones against it had 2.2. In 20 years, South Korea will get invaded by North Korea due to the massive population difference, Japan will stop being a major power, and suddenly we'll have a situation where everyone is terrified of where WE'LL be in a few more generations. And that's when abortion(and probably birth control) will be truly and seriously questioned.

[@goob1341]

Timely upload of this clip, given everything *gestures wildly around*

[@Bariom_dome]

If she were a real Supreme Court candidate IRL, i´d vote for her.

[@krobinson1617]

Two of my favourite quotes from the series: 'I love her. I love her mind. I love her shoes' & ' I'm voting for what's his name, married to Abby Bartlet'.

[@Feezec]

At the end of the clip Jed drinks from his water to give the staff a minute to regroup

[@augurseer]

So interesting the roe doesn't exist now. But was a solid part of life then.

[@greatgadzooks]

Please state the nature of the legal emergency.

[@johnprieto435]

This was him dangling his feet in the water

[@Bum_Hip]

Man this show makes me sad. It reminds me of a time when the electorate was not so radical, and toxic. At the time there’s no way I could be convinced the American people would become so nasty, and mean. I thought we were already too divided. Boy was I wrong. Never say that things can’t get worse.

[@bubbabear2758]

this all before the internet

[@jahanas22]

I wish I lived in this world.

[@Vesperitis]

As amazing as Glenn Close was in this episode, I was much more enamored by William Finctner as Christopher Mulready later in the episode. I hated his politics with every fiber of my being, but by god was he brilliant in the same way Evelyn Lang was. I’d work for that man and not feel like I sold my soul for it.

[@Hittingman]

I really liked that the writers took the time to find both sides to the argument and showed that Mulready could educate and inform both sides of the debate just by being the advocate for the other side. It would be great if someone like that actually existed.

[@woodwyrm]

I know right, it was like Sorkin's ghost was present when they wrote the episode! Two good, genius level judges that get positions on SCOTUS, damn me if the Supremes isn't the best episode of season 5.

[@leandroliberatolopes9720]

The best thing about Mulready, for me, was that we finally had someone who was smarter than the rest of the cast, and wasn't afraid to show it or being condescending about it. The episode with writer's commentary explicitly says this during the scene with Toby and Mulready, and you can actually see the visible confusion on Toby's whole demeanor during that discussion with Mulready, since by now they're much more used to dealing with stupid people spewing stupid arguments. William did a masterclass of a job during that scene, it always makes me smile.

[@Hittingman]

@@leandroliberatolopes9720 I also loved how everyone was clearly having to work to put aside how excited they were to work with him.

[@melissamarsh2219]

@@leandroliberatolopes9720 my favourite is when he’s talking to Charlie

[@annfrank8786]

"I love her shoes"

[@vtiger81]

Samuel Alito needs to see this.

[@trevornott2488]

Nah, you need to stop thinking TV shows are real life. Justice Alito is a great Justice, and President Trump will add more like him during the next 4 years Just as a reminder, your side has a Justice that can't define a woman (but has been told to support a woman to replace Biden) and another that admitted her job causes her to cry uncontrollably. She's also the one that doesn't believe citizens have the right to protect themselves, even though she has armed protection every time she goes outside. You belong to the party of stupid

[@michaelvidal1971]

What I found emightening she admitted to theft of a library book and supplying a marijuana plant to a roommate. I believe both would be illegal ad were moderately okay with. But having a legal abortion that was not okay.

[@jimmaynard]

this series needs a reboot

[@Albatross90125]

I love the concept but the reality will be different. Imagine the Kardasian of choice as Leo.

[@charlestwisted9890]

Just saying, but ALL THREE guest actors (the Judges) were UTTERLY PERFECT in their roles.

[@40950999]

How things have changed in 2024

[@JnEricsonx]

Yup....

[@pauldockree9915]

Love my shoes♥️🇫🇮🇬🇧🇺🇸🇺🇦🇯🇲🇨🇵

[@Kate-ui5kc]

And here we are. Dobbs decision formed around admittedly medieval moral arguments, approved by six ultra conservative "independent and impartial' justices...three of whom were put there by a monster to enforce his ruthless will.

[@librarian971]

The good old days before Dobbs, and when SCOTUS doesn't think presidentials can do whatever they like.

[@shannonsimmons1326]

Glenn Close was magnificent

[@ScootsFromNewCastle]

I don’t know why we just so caviller throwing ”Jed” instead of President Bartlett 😂

[@FutureReverberations]

No, Leo. We're not going with Brad Shelton.

[@johnreseigh4868]

Sadly, the current Supreme Court is not as ethical.

[@wilson2455]

" judicial rulings should NOT be based on person ideology.. ". Alito, Barratt, Kavanaugh, Roberts & Thomas missed this class in law school ?

[@thestateofohio9273]

@@wilson2455 On the contrary: Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan missed it in law school! Roe v Wade was decided by justices who wanted to legalize abortion because of their own ideologies, so they invented a "constitutional right" which did not exist anywhere in the Constitution. When purely going off the Constitution and not considering personal ideologies (which of course is impossible), you would arrive at the conclusion that the Constitution does NOT provide the right to abortion.

[@timarb5177]

Must have been tough interviewing somebody five times smarter than both of you put together.

[@Baelor-Breakspear]

What’s Roe vs wade? Is that something they had in the past??

[@mbbno]

I was always annoyed that they never brought Glen Close back and why they had someone else play her character in the episode where Santos gets inaugurated.

[@1031985]

I miss this show so much.

[@zerocoolcat]

Toby is so smitten...

[@KristineMaitland]

And then 2023...

[@agreb25]

How can we clone this fictional character and get 9 of her on the Supreme Court?

[@mindya1799]

Wow, how this has aged...

[@zentrino336]

What we could have had....vs what we got. 🤢

[@wchang9526]

I'm so looking forward to the bottom-feeders returning to power in a few months.

[@NSMike87]

This clip is frustrating because everyone who wrung their hands over the judge who had an abortion is exactly representative of everyone who got us where we are today. Jeb's hesitation is frustrating, too, when he advocates for her then says he's sticking with his first pick (but in classic West Wing style, changes his mind at the end). This is one of the major problems with The West Wing - it influenced a generation of political figures who felt the need to cleave to moderate appeasement. It landed us Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett. Don't worship this show too much. It's responsible for a lot of our current political reality, and I think most of us don't really like that.

[@hanscombe72]

There was this guy. He went on stage in a presidential debate and said some really weird things about when a pregnancy can be terminated.

[@aliharriman]

America needs to grow and catch up regarding reproductive rights. I don’t know how women there stand it. But I guess that’s what you get from a country founded on a Puritan theocracy.

[@trevornott2488]

LOL. You really should find out the US is way more ok with killing babies than any other 1st world country

[@lukerudolph880]

I understand the criticism. But as an American some women just see protecting the child to be an important issue. Also majority of Americans disagree with late term abortions. And everyone hates abortion in general. People support abortion for justifiable reasons. But we also want women and men to be accountable for their actions. Ie having the kid.

[@thestateofohio9273]

I hate to break it to you, but if you're still using the term 'reproductive rights' as a facade to prevent people from talking about what's really going on - the killing of the unborn - then it's you who needs to catch up. Also, the United States was not founded on "Puritan theocracy", but rather on freedom of religion.

[@justinchandler6045]

@@thestateofohio9273Does that unborn child count as a dependent or do we only consider it as a living thing when faced with the possibility of termination?

[@cjplay2]

Where is the Close/Finctner scene?? Of all the episodes from the worst season of my favorite show and you do pick the best episode, but you left out the best scene featuring Glenn freaking Close and William freaking Finctner that should be available during the June/July "major SCOTUS Stuff" season and I want it.

[@Pww642]

This episode is good but in typical West Wing fashion it also totally ignores character continuity. CJ was always the biggest advocate for women, the most outraged about abuses of Saudi women, and yet here she’s advocating AGAINST the feminist dream justice.

[@senatorhung]

uh, didn't you see the circus when Christine Blasy Ford stepped forward ? and she wasn't even a nominee for the Court. Harriet Miers got pummelled after her 2005 nomination which was only a year after this episode aired. there is being an advocate for women, but C.J. here is doing her job as press secretary in explaining how Evelyn Baker Lang would have been vilified if she had gone through the formal vetting process.

[@thesciguy4823]

Oh politics in the 90s was so gentle...

[@shahmask]

I remember watching this as a gay man in college. When Josh said i love her, i did too. I hate how much of the fictitious nightmare scenarios from this show Trump created.

[@trevornott2488]

Trump created? LOL. The next 4 years is going to be a hard time for you. Booming economy, world peace and a closed border. Everything you hate.

[@MattWatts-kv8rh]

This is a great scene and it's also where they lose me. She's brilliant. They know it. That makes her the nominee. Not to dangle her out there to put some milquetoast tight ass on the bench.

[@pauldockree9915]

20 years to get this world. Who decided that factoid? Oh without apology? We were all drafted press ganged 😮 ignored!🤬 Yup. Fatal Attraction😊

[@davidhealey3138]

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣This aged POORLY!

[@mikehart2555]

At 4:06 Bartlet makes the argument "are we discarding anybody else for legal activities?". This is a clever play, but is a strawman argument. He is conflating "legal" with "moral", which are certainly not always the same thing. The first is absolute. The latter varies person-to-person, is relative, and sometimes abandons logic. Assuming 'legal' is complied with, voters and people generally do very much take 'moral' into consideration, even if no law has been broken. If you're judging someone's character about anything of weight, 'legal' is a very low bar to get over. This is from Season 5, so is after Aaron Sorkin [creator and writer of seasons 1-4] had left the show. I'm convinced that Sorkin would have armed Jed with a better attack vector, and I can't help but wonder what it would be. In my opinion, Glenn Close [Evelyn Lang] plays the character absolutely superbly, and shows that she has earned her top-tier credentials with talent and hard work rather than mere 'celebrity'. I love this show.

[@joannejohnson7006]

Did they ever ask if the daddy was by her side? Then? It’s a woman situation

[@ronaldjones398]

Not one penny

[@Gredddfe]

RIP Roe v Wade.

[@fireball0762]

she didn't kill 15 million children, she killed one. That being said, would i stop her from getting a job from her past? Are we stopping everyone that has done something we don't like from working?

[@kadeshaderow]

This one didn't age well. lol

[@fayesouthall6604]

Sadly