Hola and welcome to Tori’s West Wing column, where monthly she dribbles out reviews of the latest episodes. Enjoy the column and spoilers ahoy!

Please note: these reviews regularly contain information that could be considered ’spoilers’. Readers should proceed at their own risk.

Show: The West Wing

Network: NBC

Creator: Aaron Sorkin

Starring: Dule Hill, Allison Janney, Rob Lowe, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, Martin Sheen, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford

Website: The West Wing

Schedule: Wednesdays, 9p

Episodes: "NSF Thurmond", "The Birnam Woods", "Third-Day Story"

"NSF Thurmond"

John Wells: step away from the keyboard.

Please. For my own sanity. Just, don’t. Stop writing. You’re hurting my television show.

I’m not even sure where to start. But how about this: I miss it when this show had fictional countries like Qumar and Kundu. I used to rag on Sorkin for making up countries and making them such obvious parallels to actual places. I take it all back. My kingdom for this arc to be about Bajor and Cardassia instead of an actual place.

Maybe it would be one thing if this show was just so arrogant as to believe it had even a fictional solution for the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Unfortunately, it’s also really boring. The reason it’s really boring is not that Israel/Palestine isn’t ripe for conflict Â- ’cause, obviously, that’s not true. It’s that at almost no point in this episode does any of this stuff become internalized for these characters.

So we have Toby and Will baying for blood. Now, Toby’s been established as not the world’s biggest fan of the Arab people, and is also Jewish, so I can sort of pull some reasoning for this out of the air. And Will is a military brat, so if you can get over the fact that he’s in the room at all, I guess you can get behind a reason for that too. Unfortunately, at no point does Toby, even in private, discuss how he feels about being a liberal American Jew in the Oval Office while the President decides to run into walls attempting to forge a Middle-Eastern Peace.

Which is too bad, because that would be interesting. Interesting character plus situation causing said character to reexamine or struggle with presumptions and prejudice. Ultimately, I don’t watch this show because I want to see gripping political intrigue of both the foreign and domestic kindÂ- although I do. I watch because I want to see what happens to CJ and Josh and Toby because of it.

Of all of them, only CJ seems to be expressing any concerns at all about being the ones making these calls. And I love her for that, and the cute scene with Toby and the crackers. It’s been a long time since they threw the CJ/Toby shippers a bone, it feels like. It also feels like CJ’s burning out, which I find not at all surprising.

I would also like to know when Will became a racist. "If the kaffia fits?" "That’s only because we haven’t interrogated him yet?" Will’s always been a military guy, but ... god, seriously? That was the kind of crap that came out of Leo’s mouth in "Isaac and Ishmael", which isn’t canon, but did have Leo recognizing later how horribly wrong he had been and attempting to make amends. Back when Leo was still Leo, ah, those were the days.

Leo continues to show no signs of being restored to sanity any time soon. Does anyone really think the guy who used to talk about how he wished he could have stopped Vietnam, who saw the horrors first hand, would be advocating getting militarily involved without an exit strategy? I’m criminally frustrated by this storyline. It makes no sense, and should have been done half a season ago.

Likewise, I’m frustrated by Bartlet’s inability to sit his staff down and get them on the same page with him. Remember when all these guys needed to fire them up was a heartfelt speech by the President of the United States, extolling some greater virtue? For example, peace in our times? And then, energized, the staff would storm off to fight a potentially hopeless cause. What happened to that Bartlet? What happened to all of them?

The honest answer, of course, was that Aaron Sorkin believed in writing stories in which the theme was optimism. And John Wells writes stories in which the theme is division. Neither is necessarily better than the other, but one is infinitely more rare. The other truth in this is that because for four years the characters were optimistic they no longer resemble themselves in their new, divisive state of mind.

It also doesn’t help that the symbolism is just bad. A lot of my friends liked Jed’s little tangent on Iran, how he wasn’t going to bomb just because he could and worry about the justification later. They said these things pre-election, and I really should call them up and see what they think now, because I believe their own justification was that it was nice to see a Presidential figure in opposition. Whereas I just thought it was lame, and beg of them, beg for them to keep the real life commentary out of the show. (Although, post-election, I have to say, a President who wants to give peace a chance is something worth clinging to. Even if he’s fictional.)

More bad symbolism? That cut, where they slammed the door in Leo’s face three times. Hahaha, thrice betrayed. I get it. Or how about Jed quoting The Sermon on the Mount at Fitz’s funeral? It’s terribly arrogant for Jed to get up on a lectern at a funeral and lay down a line making himself look better. Or how about General ’I will never be as cool as Fitzwallace’ Alexander telling Leo that he "hopes the President knows how lucky he is to have you." Ohnoes! Do you think maybe Leo’s going to go somewhere? Or maybe die? Hahaha, who will laugh then, Jed? (Maybe me.)

Stupid, stupid foreshadowing. Even if I wasn’t so spoilered that I know what’s happening in episode twelve, I would have gotten that.

Before we get to what really matters in this episode (Josh and Donna!), I must voice my very strong objections to them adding Mary McCormack to the cast. And not just ’cause she has bad hair.

For starters, it’s criminal to have an episode where Lily Tomlin shows up for thirty seconds and has no line. And what about poor Dule Hill? The last time Charlie had a decent storyline ... was ... uh ... well, remember when he was trying to woo Zoey back and she was kidnapped? Yeah! And poor Will Â- they shuffled you off to the VP’s office and gave you a frontal lobotomy, and now you suck and sometimes don’t show up at all. At least Abbey’s done very well in this episode Â- her scenes with Jed are great, and for the first time in a while, I buy that their marriage is gonna survive the Presidency.

No, what sucks most about you, Kate Harper, is that you are the most pointless mouthpiece plot device character ever. In order to further the Jed and Leo hate each other’s guts plot, there needed to be a wedge, and so you were born, like the Stinky Cheese Man version of Athena. And less fully formed, because we know nothing about you, except that you are good at this foreign policy stuff, and you used to be Fitz’s mentoree. Also, you get airsick. And now you are in the credits for the show, a show that already has a gigantic, underused cast whom I like much more, so far.

And that is all I have to say to you, Kate Harper. Hopefully, the better hair you are sporting in the credits will arrive soon.

Over in Germany, where we last set our scene, two gentlemen were going at it for the hand of the fairest maiden Donnatella, who was so cruelly and pointlessly blown up by terrorists. It’s a shame there wasn’t actually a cat (dog?) fight between the two boys. With shirt ripping. That would have been hot. But that’s okay, because we got to see Bradley Whitford make his puppy face - a lot. And let me tell you, if you can watch this episode and not tear up at Bradley’s big shiny sparkly eyes of sadness, you are a stronger person than I. Please give Bradley Whitford’s eyes a special Emmy all their own.

Mentioning how hot the cat fight would have been, it occurs to me that I need to outline exactly my expectation for this season: Josh and Donna must have sex. That is really all I have to say. In particular, I call this my "Hot Tub" plan. I have based it off of my feelings for the sixth season of Buffy. Sure, Buffy sucked that year. But James Marsters and Sarah Michelle Gellar got naked a lot, so it really doesn’t matter that it sucked. Thus, the "Hot Tub" plan. If John Wells gets Josh and Donna in a hot tub together Â- or really, any sex at all, I will choose not to bitch for that entire episode. Further, attempts by the show to provide alternate forms of fan service will also get hot tub points from yours truly.

They totally missed out on the cat fight between Josh and Colin Malfoy, but that’s okay, because they had Bartlet swimming in a pool, and Will’s pasty but otherwise nice looking arms. Also, Margaret is sporting a very cute hairdo.

So, last time we saw Donna, she was in the middle of getting her chest cracked open for emergency surgery. Yet, this time, Donna has time to have a scene with Josh’s big shiny sparkly eyes of sadness. Neither of them says "I love you", and Josh goes out into the hall to spend the rest of what little screentime he has bitching with Colin. They trade witty riposte about if being Jewish is worse than being from Northern Ireland.

I’m mildly impressed that they remembered that some of the characters are Jewish and thus might have feelings about Israel’s existence. Too bad it was the character who should have been having a mental breakdown and not the one in the Oval Office, eh? I did like the line about citizen soldiers protecting their sisters on buses. They remembered Josh’s dead sister! The death that started his guilt complex and PTSD which are mysteriously absent from this episode! Josh, welcome to being abruptly sane.

Much later, Colin asks if Josh and Donna were a relationship gone tragically bad, or one that has never been consummated. He then proceeds to tell Josh a story about the one he let get away, and finishes up with, "And that’s how I’ve spent every day since then. Chasing Amy." Not really, which is a shame, because the monologue from Chasing Amy is much better than what we’re given here. I don’t know about you all, but I don’t think Josh needs Colin of all people telling him to get his ass in gear, considering Donna almost died. This whole stupid plot is so utterly pointless.

What pisses me off is that they cast Donna’s mother, and there was a breakdown scene in the spoilers. Mysteriously absent from the episode, and it was absolutely necessary. Instead, there’s all this stuff, and it’s just kind of hanging out there ... waiting ... waiting to not suck.

Anyhow. Donna lives, and there might be brain damage, only there isn’t actually any brain damage. She wakes up and asks for Josh. Bradley makes another awesome puppy face. She says, "You’re still here." And he agrees, that yep, still there. And this would be a delightful little turning point if maybe there had been more of Josh’s guilt complex. He’s afraid he’s going to leave people and they’re going to die, well, he did not leave this time. I do love that, I just wish it had been backed up with better stuff for Josh to be doing.

Overall, not the most stunning debut episode, particularly in the most critical season for this show’s survival it’s probably ever faced. Hopefully, there will be a Deborah Cahn episode soon, and John Wells will stop writing. I can only pray.

The Birnim Woods

Let’s engage in a little game of pretend, shall we?

Let’s pretend that the last five minutes of this episode do not happen, at least for the purposes of this review for the time being. Close your eyes, count back to five. Take a deep breath. Thinks soothing thoughts about tropical beaches and starry skies.

There. I feel much better about this episode now.

Of the four episodes we’ve now spent dealing with the Israeli/Palestinian conflict, I like this one best of all. It helps a lot that we have two pretty talented actors playing the Israeli Prime Minister and Palestinian Chairman.

I wasn’t a big fan of the Israeli Prime Minister’s angry shouty scene at President Bartlet, but I’m sold on that scene with Kate Harper and Chairman Farad, discussing the concept of home. I can’t remember ever seeing the Palestinian cause treated so sympathetically on television. It feels so very 90s shiny optimism, which is both how The West Wing should feel, and enough to make me nostalgic for the last decade. I miss the 90s.

It’s too bad that Kate Harper still has no function on this show, except to be Deus Ex Machina girl. Mary McCormick is playing her with such gusto that I really would like to throw open my arms and give her a big ’welcome to the cast’ hug. Except that I have yet to see her display any character purpose beyond plot device.

I have no idea what motivates her as a person to do good Â- and I could write pages and pages about what motivates the others. She doesn’t have to have a darkly bitter sense of right and wrong, or a dead sister and a drive to fix the world, but there should be something more going on there. I’ll give them a little leeway, because they have a lot of plot balls in the air to be juggling. I just hope they get to it soon.

This said, you gotta love anyone who can single handedly solve the Mideast Crisis while sporting bangs of death.

The dual Shabbat and Saalat montage was done very well, I think. Chock me up as a sucker for that interfaith dialogue stuff, especially in a time when Arabs are the new movie Nazi. It’s interesting to see that even though the men of the West Wing seem to be intent on blowing the heck out of the entire Middle East, the actual politics of the show seem to be a little more even handed. Good for them.

And for the record, I don’t think it matters that the average American viewer probably doesn’t know the significance of the challah or which direction the Palestinians are facing in. What matters is that the rituals were shown as things of beauty and worth respect.

I do have a few objections. Just a few. The major one is that I don’t think the President or his staff should be attending Shabbat with the Israeli delegation when they’re presumably trying to appear to be as non-partisan as possible, so as to work out a peace accord. I also find that frustrating because Â- well, if you have two Jewish characters, at least one of whom is actually religious, why not stick that character in the Shabbat? At least then there would be a good reason for the staffers being there. I feel I’ve missed a chance to see Josh and Toby in yarmulkes.

The second is that I find Kate and Charlie watching the Palestinians to be a little ... eh, were they invited? I think spying on religious services is pretty offensive, particularly considering Islam has gender segregated worship. Also, while the outdoors and the setting sun is very pretty, wouldn’t the Camp David staff have set up a nice room somewhere?

Speaking of Toby and Josh, not more then five minutes after the montage, both of them are having version number 216 of their "I’m too frum for shul" argument. Any discussion where Toby says he’s the bigger Jew because he goes to temple is gonna just seem hilarious after neither of them went to Shabbat. Funny, I never would have pegged Josh as a supporter of Israel in the past, but I guess between having a grandfather who went to the Camps, getting shot by Neo-Nazis and his almost-quasi girlfriend getting blown up ... oh, who am I kidding? Josh has issues. He should probably call Stanley.

On the other hand, they’re throwing a football around and lookin’ pretty good. I like the aviator glasses, although I’m still sad about Bradley Whitford’s haircut. And the entire Senior Staff wears casual clothes! It’s sad that I think that’s memorable Â- I can’t remember the last time we had a casual clothes episode. Also, the Camp David set should win an award for being the prettiest set this show has ever had.

And if you can’t love Toby being cocky about firing a gun and then falling flat on his ass, well, boy, I don’t know. (And yes, they’ve done this gag before. But it was CJ, and CJ’s never said, "This is how we do it in Brooklyn." Heh.)

Speaking of ’hot tub’ qualities, I’m also really really big on the scene where the boys play basketball. Props to the wardrobe department for putting Toby in a Yankees shirt. I like it when they can remember that Toby’s a Yankees fan, but not that President Bartlet’s granddaughter is closer to seventeen than thirteen. (Come on guys, Annie was twelve in the pilot. That was five years ago. Hell, they had her stay home alone in "Abu el Banat", and that was the Christmas episode of S5.)

I’m not so big on the fact that Abbey and Kate were sitting on the sidelines in that one. Maybe they took a vote and decided Kate’s bangs would distract from the beefcake. I guess I could get behind that.

On a serious note, I like the parallel of Abbey being the one to ask Jed where Leo is, much like she did for Josh last season. I’m not exactly sure what the subtext is, but they’ve been very strong all season on using Abbey as Jed’s consciousness. And I can’t object to that, considering what a jackass Jed is in the final scenes of this episode. It’s a role she’s played in the past for Jed, so it seems like a welcome recovery from being PodAbbey. Her asshattyness is apparently in remission.

Lily Tomlin’s still being criminally underused, but there were some nice moments for Charlie. I’m upset that there’s no Donna in this episode, but I’ll live to see another day. I can’t object too hard Â- because the other shipper stuff was so delicious. I love CJ being the one to give Josh a big hug. Poor guy, he deserves it, and it was a nice note of the Josh and CJ friendship. I can’t remember the last time we got some of that Â- was it "The Supremes"? And also? Josh called Colin a ’wanker’. Let it be known, John Wells, that I would not disapprove if Josh were to use more British slang in the future.

Also great was Josh trying to call Donna in Germany at two in the morning, even if it was a framing device for Kate Harper’s epiphany. There was a nice note when Kate, new to the staff, called Donna his assistant. No one else on the staff would ever just refer to her as Josh’s assistant at this point Â- so it was a nice bit of not just her still not quite being one of the gang, but also telling for the Josh/Donna relationship.

However, Donna should not be able to fly back next week, even if I want her back on the show. Dudes, they cracked her chest open! Twice, apparently. Remember when Josh got shot? I do. It was very traumatic and good television and he spent months recovering Â-albeit all in one episode. The entire purpose of blowing her up was to parallel that event, right? And, John Wells Â- your other show? It’s set in a hospital. You have medical researchers. Please, try harder.

Throughout "The Birnim Woods" we see Jed shutting Leo out of the process, and when the two do meet, it’s hardly the sunniest of meetings, leading to Bartlet asking for Leo’s resignation. It leaves me wondering what happened to the Jed who liked people who argued with him Â- although granted, Leo’s been far above and beyond polite disagreement. Ultimately, I am forced as a realist to agree between the two sides; I do not believe Jed’s peace agreement has a chance in hell of real success, but I think it’s better than the alternative of blowing things up.

However, Leo brings up the League of Nations and Wilson, and that’s a fair analogy Â- although you can barely hear it, thanks to poor sound mixing. Turn down the rushing water sound next time, guys.

[History Geek] The League of Nations was a brilliant idea that killed Wilson in the process leading to Edith Gault, Wilson’s wife, secretly controlling the Presidency for a while before he finally died. Ultimately, the League of Nations was too weak to have any real lasting control on world peace, but the seeds of the idea were recycled after WW2 into the United Nations. [/History Geek]

It’ll be interesting to see if that was foreshadowing, and if we’re going to deal more with this situation throughout the season. I could see Bartlet’s MS playing interestingly into a scenario based on Wilson, and Bartlet’s always been a bit Wilsonian in their shared value on intellectualism. So, I’m sticking a pin in this idea. We’ll see how it goes.

Immediately after Bartlet fires Leo, Josh comes outside to ask if Leo’s feeling okay. Why exactly, when Leo looks like death warmed over and is having all the classic symptoms of a man about to have his chest implode, no one has thought to call 911 is beyond me. Nevertheless, Josh comes out, and there’s a perfect moment of caring and concern between these two characters. We never did get the Josh and Leo resolution I would have liked, but I’ll accept that because Josh is obviously willing to forgive his family all their sins, so long as they are still with him.

It kills me, though, that they have Josh ask if Leo’s okay, and Leo orders him away before having a massive coronary. If this doesn’t give Josh reason to call Stanley, I don’t know what will Â- as we are told, at least in the Sorkin years, that Josh’s big fear is that someone is going to die and it’s going to be his fault. Aww. I’m worried now.

Okay, now, for the white elephant in the room for this episode: Leo’s heart attack.

I can’t imagine a world in which that was done in a poorer way than the way they’ve handled it. As it stands, forcing a climax to the Jed and Leo conflict by using health reasons is cheap, soapy and artificial. Particularly after Jed, in possibly the most supreme moment of asshole behavior ever seen on this show, fires Leo for disagreeing with him on the Mideast peace plan they’ve hocked together.

But worse, so much worse, is having Leo wander off into the woods to presumably trick the audience into thinking he’s going to die alone and feeling unwanted, while the sad piano music plays softly in the background in a scene vaguely reminiscent of bad nature programs from my childhood. You know the type, don’t you? "Sadly separated from the herd, the elder statesman will not survive the night’s bitter cold." Where he remains for what seems like hours without being found, while the peace accord is all but signed on his chest.

That is not the way to treat a beloved character, especially since a majority of the audience is familiar with John Wells’ manipulative random death scenes and is convinced Leo’s a goner. I took a lot of pity on the unspoiled fans who remain, because as hard as it was to watch for me, I was confident that Leo was going to survive it.

(And again, I wonder why there seems to be no medical research on the show that is now practically ER’s adopted sibling. How likely is it that a man suffering a major heart attack will still be alive several hours later, unattended in the woodlands? Or that the Chief of Staff can disappear without anyone noticing and thinking to send out a search party Â- they let this guy sit in on Situation Room meetings! He has state secrets, guys. My guess is that if this were reality, Leo would be dead. But also my guess is that if this were reality, a Secret Service patrol would have found him, fifteen minutes tops.)

Oh, and as a final fuck you moment, apparently from John Wells to his audience, a helicopter flies over Leo’s prone and ailing body. I’m just thankful it didn’t fall and crush him while chopping his arm off with the blade. I have never hated him more, or missed Sorkin more, than this exact moment.

Third-Day Story

This episode has a serious case of toal manic depression. Listen, no one’s happier than me that John Wells and Co have not only realized that one of the show’s major post-Sorkin difficulties is that it’s not funny anymore. And I’m glad they’re taking steps to remedy this.

The only problem is ... that I in no way buy that CJ and Josh are making donut jokes while Leo McGarry fights for his life in the hospital.

Now, at least CJ gets scenes with Greg Brock, reporter boy, where she is offended that anyone is asking about the Chief of Staff job with Leo still on the operating table. But poor Joshua Lyman, his mentor and father figure suffered a major heart attack just minutes after he left him in the forest at Camp David, and the writers have him cracking jokes about pasty skin and entering a little turf war with Toby for the Chief of Staff job? That is so far out of character for Josh that I’m not even sure where to begin.

For starters, he should be at the very least expressing some form of guilt. As of at least season four, Josh was still having trouble with his PTSD, and in the final episode Sorkin penned, we were reminded that he feels responsible for all bad things that happen to those he loves. In Season Five, he proceeded to freak out after the Zoey kidnapping and his screwup with Carrick Â- including inviting the Capitol Building to a showdown at high noon. I see no evidence to suggest that Josh has gotten any more mentally stable since then.

Yet less than two weeks ago Â- from what I can gather, ’cause the timeline is all sorts of fucked up Â- Donna got blown up in Germany, and now Leo’s had a heart attack, and Josh is possibly saner than ever.

I find that really strange. Particularly since they go out of their way to show Josh as reckless, childish and criminally unsuited for the Chief of Staff job. This despite the fact that he has the title of Deputy Chief of Staff, which presumably makes him heir apparent, and the fact that he would be Chief of Staff if he hadn’t jumped camps to the Bartlet team in the first place. Listen, if you want to make a case that Josh isn’t suited for the job, his occasional lapses into acting like a twelve year old who badly needs some Ritalin is not where I’d start.

On the other hand, their case for not making Toby the Chief of Staff was cemented for me with one great line. Josh asks Toby to speak first, citing Toby’s special relationship with Bartlet. And Toby responds, "If by special, you mean bound for deportation."

In one quick little joke, we are reminded that Toby’s role in this administration is to challenge and confront Bartlet when no one else will. See "17 People", or "The Two Bartlets" for more examples. Toby couldn’t be his Chief of Staff because they wouldn’t last more than a week before the two characters started engaging in psychological warfare. Major, major kudos from me to Eli Attie Â- nothing impresses me more than when you show you get it, and you don’t make a big deal over getting it.

I was also majorly impressed with the earlier scene in which Toby confronts Bartlet about the need for an acting Chief of Staff. Bartlet is of course, reticent, because he’s feeling guilty about firing Leo last episode. (As he should, burn Jed burn.) In particular, I enjoyed Toby’s shock that they didn’t have a backup plan for this situation, and the note that of course Leo was high risk for a heart attack. It’s not just the stress, but his history with alcohol and pills. Lines like that make me so happy, I want to dance around the room. Backstory! Adding shading and depth to a new situation! That’s how it’s done, guys. Good work.

I find it worth noting the scene in the lobby with Josh and Toby, and Toby revealing that he would like Josh as Chief of Staff. If only because while Toby and Josh have an incredibly deep bond, I don’t think we’ve ever heard Toby compliment Josh’s abilities before.

Now, CJ as Chief of Staff. Frustratingly, I get the sense that most of the humor of this episode was intended to show Josh and Toby as idiots who can’t manage their own work. The joke always was, of course, that these characters have no ability to control their personal lives, but are in actuality some of the most important people in the Executive Branch and highly skilled and talented.

Now, I think you can make a case for CJ as Chief of Staff, however illogical it is, based on the fact that Toby and Bartlet can’t stand each other, Josh is clinically mentally unstable and Will is viewed as a deserter at best and a traitor at worst. I get the feeling that this wasn’t enough, that CJ had to be the first and best choice, not just the best of available options. And she’s not the best choice Â- she’s freaked out on quite a few occasions when the President had to make choices she disagreed with politically. (In particular, I’m thinking of her meltdown in "The Women of Qumar", which is a terrible episode we shall never speak of again.)

She has absolutely no foreign policy experience. And very little domestic policy experience. Her job is to make things look good, and on several occasions, they have shut her out of the decision making process because of it.

On the other hand, Leo’s job has always seemed to be navigator for the administration. He calls the plays, keeps an eye on all the departments and makes sure the work flows. He sorts the conflicts out. In a weird way, he’s the mother of the family; Leo’s the one who praises and the one who spanks when things go wrong.

Distinctly, I remember from "Access" last year, the pretty bad mockumentary episode about CJ, that she described her mother as having that same role in her family, and how it inspires how she functions as Press Secretary. So in a way, I can see her fitting into this role here now too, and doing well at it once she learns the ropes. We’ll see how it goes.

I’m not sure I have a lot to say about Bartlet’s actions in this episode. He spends much of it guilting in the hospital. Which he completely deserves Â- although, granted, Leo’s behavior was also atrocious. I am pleased that they remembered Abbey was a thoracic surgeon once upon a time, and also that Abbey was sympathetic, but also not willing to put up with Jed’s mental problems.

I actually found some of the hospital stuff to be gratuitous, especially the shots of Leo being wheeled into the hospital and in surgery. They seemed designed to reflect back on Josh’s surgery in "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen", but with a complete failure to actually make any parallels. What would have been nice is if they could have given Mallory, Leo’s only daughter, a scene with actual words. What is the point of getting the actress back if she’s only there as window dressing? Gah. Likewise, there’s quite a bit of the humorous subplots that could have been cut in exchange for a good Mallory scene.

Jed giving the motivational speech to his staff before encouraging them to visit with the "outgoing Chief of Staff", however? That was classic West Wing. After so many episodes where Jed has utterly failed to show any ability to explain himself to his staff, it’s good to see him actually talking to them.

Speaking of the injured, there was some development of the Josh and Donna romantic ... friendship ... coworker ... whatever it is thing. I continue to be shocked that Donna, less than a week after having her chest cracked open, can be back at work. And Josh needs to be smacked upside the head for expecting her to do so. God. I wish someone had taken pruning shears to that plot; the whole thing should never have happened, but at the very least they should have cut the dumb extra surgery.

I’m also really confused by what the CJ and Donna relationship is supposed to be, exactly. I hope we get some follow-up on "No Exit" soon, even though I still disagree with CJ’s assessment of the situation. I did like the one serious scene CJ and Josh had this week, not coincidentally about Donna. I loved the reticence of Josh to admit where he was going, for fear of being told it was inappropriate, and of CJ’s acceptance and even encouragement.

Actually, CJ and Josh were kind of very flirty this episode. That would be cute and I would encourage it, except that I’ve been strung out on this Josh/Donna ship for a few years, and I crave resolution. Hot Tub or bust, John Wells!

Speaking of randomly combusting ships, but CJ has a great vibe with Greg Brock. Now, it would kind of be a rehash of the Danny plot, and I like Danny more, but now that she’s Chief of Staff, couldn’t she date a reporter? That would be hot. Anything that gets Allison Janney doing thirties starlet banter? Mmm, hot tub points.

But seriously, back in Josh and Donna land, Josh gets Donna a pen from the peace accord signing as a gift and a promise that he wants to stop taking people for granted. Which is nice, because it’s the only moment in which Josh seemed to be his old self, but also great because ... it fits so beautifully in with Josh’s tradition of giving very non-traditional tokens of love and affection. He thinks old books, moose meat, and muffins he no longer wants are symbols of his love. (And given what happened with the roses last year, I have to say he might be right.)

Later, Donna is gooing over the pen and Charlie shows up to say hello. He mentions Zoey! Ah, I hope we get some Charlie and Zoey stuff this season, and name dropping is always a start. The great thing about the Charlie and Donna scene here is that it moves both characters forward. We learn that Charlie’s going to be finally graduating from Georgetown, and that the President made him promise not to stay in the bodyman job, to pursue his own career. So Charlie’s hoping to delay the inevitable Â- and finally having a plot of his own! Yay Charlie.

Meanwhile, the college stuff plays into Donna’s big insecurity, which is that she dropped out, and this has limited her career options as well as her self-esteem. And from yet another source she’s hearing that moving on is sometimes necessary. I’m anxious and hopeful that when she does leave her job as Josh’s assistant, these two crazy lovebirds will finally kiss and I can stop mocking the show for its lameass attempts to string out UST for ratings.

So overall, this was a much better episode than the last two. The humor was actually very well done, but rather too much and too screwball for what should have been the content and focus of the episode. Hopefully they’ll get a handle on the right proportion soon. I also hope they’ll return to the format established by the show in its first seasons, of showing time shift by placing an establishing shot and some white text telling us what time it is. That would clear up a lot of confusion about time in this script.