A Man. And His Blog.

The second season of NBC's critically acclaimed drama aired during the TV season 2000/2001.

As the second season opens, we discover that, in the wake of the shooting, both President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) have been hit. While the President is not seriously injured, Josh is critically wounded.
He survives, and the staff go on to face a myriad of challenges that include the President’s hiring of a staunch Rebublican as an associate counsel, a trip to Portland, the discovery of Chinese refugees fleeing religious persecution, the loss of a costly Mars probe, Josh’s post-traumatic stress disorder, and Bartlet’s third State of the Union Address.
All of these challenges are rendered minor after the staff and the President are confronted with two serious events; the revelation of Bartlet’s concealed serious illness to the public, and the death of one of their own.

As the season closes, there is one question on nearly everyone lips: will Josiah Bartlet seek a second term?

Episode 01/02: In the Shadow of Two Gunmen
Very good season opener and a very good story involving the shooting with a very interesting twist during the second half. It was a good idea to tell the shooting story together with flashbacks in a two-parter. It was always interesting to know what happened before Jed became president and especially how the team got together. And together with all the drama in the present time we have an interesting double episode with lots of character drama, character development, some funny humor and thrill.
The flashback story was totally interesting. Lighting up the time, before Jed was president and getting all the people together was pretty interesting and definitely deserved the length of one full episode. And the present story with the shooter was good enough to let the episode have some thrill, but it wasn’t interesting enough for two full episodes (or, in this case, for a double episode), so it was almost genius to put the flashback scenes in.
I don’t know why Sam (Rob Lowe) didn’t tell C.J. (Allison Janney) about him saving her life and I definitely don’t understand why he kept her necklace, but these things were pretty much the only things I found awkward, the rest of the episode was just very good. C.J. in front of the press; the crew in the waiting room; the actual twist that Charlie (Dulé Hill) was the target and not Jed; and the whole discussion about the 25th and the President not signing a significant letter. And you can really feel with the characters. Best example was the scene in which Jed was sent into the exam room and Zoey (Elisabeth Moss) was with him. He tries to be funny for his daughter and he actually is, so his mission is accomplished (not to let his daughter panic over him). And Donna’s (Janel Moloney) face while learning about Josh was well acted.
Yes, I love this season opener. Almost “almost perfect”. 8,5/10

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When the erudite Democrat Josiah “Jed” Bartlet (Martin Sheen) is elected US president, he installs his administration. He places confidants from his electoral campaigns in the White House. Each of these people play a significant role in the Washington power game: the chief of staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer), his deputy Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford), Communications director Toby Zeigler (Richard Schiff), his deputy Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe), and press secretary CJ Cregg (Allison Janney). Also in key positions are the secretaries, or aids, of each of the power players. We follow these people through many political battles, as well as some personal ones.

Episode 01: Pilot
First episode, great episode. I watched that a few times already and it is still great. Excellent opener; the perfect way to introduce the characters and some of the season plots (Sam and Laurie [Lisa Edelstein]). Great dialogs; excellent characterization of the busy life of the White House staff. And for a pilot episode there are many topics to discuss. First the accident of the president, then the Miami storyline, Sam’s storyline with Laurie, Josh’s storyline and his crisis with religious right, Mandy’s (storyline… It is like the episode is too full of stories, but it isn’t – the stories are perfect dosed. Not too much, not too little. And that is why it is (almost) perfect. 9,5/10

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