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You are here: Home / Open Threads / Open Thread: West Wing as 2020

Open Thread: West Wing as 2020

by TaMara|  December 28, 20202:35 pm| 75 Comments

This post is in: Open Threads

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Welcome to the last Monday of 2020.

This about sums things up:

https://twitter.com/nocontxtww/status/1343377015978807302?s=20

Open thread

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Previous Post: « Let’s Talk About Section 230 of the CDA (Or: Why You’re Allowed to Comment on This Post)
Next Post: Rasmussen Goes Full Wingnut »

Reader Interactions

75Comments

  1. 1.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 28, 2020 at 2:39 pm

    I like West Wing but that montage was too cutesy. 2020 was anything but. YMMV.

  2. 2.

    VeniceRiley

    December 28, 2020 at 2:45 pm

    Josh Malina follows me on Twitter. That’s my one connection to TWW. Don’t tell him Stockard Channing was my fave <3

  3. 3.

    TaMara (HFG)

    December 28, 2020 at 2:45 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Heaven forbid we have some fun to get through the last week of this awful year.

  4. 4.

    rikyrah

    December 28, 2020 at 2:49 pm

    I have never ever liked New Years Eve. Even as a kid. I don’t know why, but, I never did.

    Until this year. I cannot wait to be rid of this year. Just a rotten year.

  5. 5.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 28, 2020 at 2:51 pm

    @TaMara (HFG): How have I stopped you from having fun? Humor is subjective I didn’t find it funny.

  6. 6.

    zhena gogolia

    December 28, 2020 at 2:52 pm

    I’m not having fun because somehow without my intending it, my laptop shifted all my Word documents onto the cloud, and now my internet is slow and my documents are weird and I have no tech support until 1/11.

  7. 7.

    trollhattan

    December 28, 2020 at 2:54 pm

    @rikyrah:

    If ever a year rated a “Dear John” letter, this is it.

  8. 8.

    mali muso

    December 28, 2020 at 2:55 pm

    I have spent the past few evenings bingeing Bridgerton on Netflix and enjoying the TV equivalent of a giant box of chocolates and/or a warm cozy hug.  For me, it was a great way to detox from the hellscape that is 2020.

  9. 9.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 28, 2020 at 2:56 pm

    @mali muso: I have been watching the 2004 reboot of BattleStar Galactica, so far I love it.

  10. 10.

    Dorothy A. Winsor

    December 28, 2020 at 2:57 pm

    @mali muso: I just read a really interesting article about that show this morning.  If you’re a fan, you may like it.

  11. 11.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 28, 2020 at 2:58 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Did you set up Google Drive or Microsoft ‘s cloud drive to back up your desktop? That will slow everything to a crawl.

  12. 12.

    zhena gogolia

    December 28, 2020 at 3:00 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I didn’t set up anything. There was some kind of popup last night and I thought I was ignoring it by clicking “continue” (I never agreed to anything), and this morning when I turned on the laptop all my Word documents were on iCloud and my internet is crawling.

  13. 13.

    jackmac

    December 28, 2020 at 3:01 pm

    Kentucky is struggling?  Who knew?  File this under “You Get What You Vote For”

    https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/business/economy/kentucky-economy.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage

  14. 14.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 28, 2020 at 3:02 pm

    @mali muso: @schrodingers_cat: I’ve been rewatching Fringe (don’t remember too much of it) and it’s enjoyable. I’ve noticed a lot of those “pre-prestige” shows, with 22 episodes per season, have… a lot of filler, lol. I happen to like monster of the week shows and procedurals, so it’s totally fine, but…

  15. 15.

    Spanky

    December 28, 2020 at 3:02 pm

    2020 does not end until noon on January 20. Then it shall be flushed like the turd that it is.

  16. 16.

    Lyrebird

    December 28, 2020 at 3:03 pm

    @zhena gogolia: Sympathy!!!  Wishes of swift resolution!

  17. 17.

    trollhattan

    December 28, 2020 at 3:03 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Best reboot in television history (not a high bar since the original was unwatchable dreck). Love BSG II.

  18. 18.

    Baud

    December 28, 2020 at 3:03 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    Clicking “continue” is like selling your soul.

  19. 19.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 28, 2020 at 3:04 pm

    @zhena gogolia: I accidentally turned on “sync my desktop to icloud” on my work laptop. Had a hard time figuring out why my iCloud storage had like 40gb less space (I keep machine learning models on the desktop…)

  20. 20.

    Kristine

    December 28, 2020 at 3:05 pm

    Bingeing Dr Who on BBC America in between errands and work on a short story due on the 31st. Looking forward to the His Dark Materials finale tonight.

    A friend is arranging a New Year’s Eve Zoom. I’ve never been a NY party person, but I’m looking forward to raising a glass ? with these folks.

  21. 21.

    zhena gogolia

    December 28, 2020 at 3:05 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    But I didn’t click anything like that. I don’t understand what happened. I hope it’s reversible. I see all sorts of advice on the internet but I’m afraid to do any of it myself.

  22. 22.

    zhena gogolia

    December 28, 2020 at 3:05 pm

    @Baud:

    There wasn’t anything else to click to get rid of it!

  23. 23.

    SaltWaterCleanse

    December 28, 2020 at 3:05 pm

    Today is my wife’s 50th Bday. We started talking about average age (which for her is now obviously 25) compared to what I’m calling “life median age.” I’m 56, but I consider my median age 40. In other words, I did half of my “living” from birth to 40, and the other half from 40 to 56 (i.e. lots of impactful stuff, learning, growth, changes from 40 to 56, equal to the growth from birth to 40. Whereas my wife says her median age, 22, is actually younger than her average age. Anyway, something fun to think about.

  24. 24.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 28, 2020 at 3:07 pm

    @zhena gogolia: When I unchecked the ‘sync desktop’ option it actually deleted my entire desktop, so yeah, whatever your issue might be, caution is advised!

  25. 25.

    Geminid

    December 28, 2020 at 3:07 pm

         The Apartment with Shirley MacLain and Jack Lemon is a good New Year’s movie, if you can get it.

  26. 26.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 28, 2020 at 3:09 pm

    @trollhattan: I am watching it for the first time. Almost to the end of season 1 now. Waiting to watch the season 1 finale with husband kitteh. He still has to submit his final grades.

  27. 27.

    mali muso

    December 28, 2020 at 3:12 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:  BSG is one of those shows that I have on my “need to watch this sometime” list, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet.  Given how much time I anticipate we will be spending at home even in 2021, that may change…

    @Dorothy A. Winsor: Thanks for the link, I shall check it out!  I’m an avid romance reader (read the Bridgerton series back in the early aughts when they came out), so I’m pretty chuffed to see the genre start to get the care and attention that I think it deserves when it comes to translating it to the screen.

    @Major Major Major Major: Fringe!  Hubby and I went down a rabbit hole of watching that one a few years back.  Super entertaining, with the action and adventure that he likes but with enough human interest and quirkiness to keep me engaged.

  28. 28.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 28, 2020 at 3:12 pm

    @zhena gogolia: You can pause the syncing.   That should speed things up a little bit.

  29. 29.

    zhena gogolia

    December 28, 2020 at 3:14 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:
    I think I’m going to have to wait until 1/11 when the tech people come back. Gah.

    For people like me, the period between Christmas and New Year’s is prime work time, but our entire support staff is gone.

  30. 30.

    zhena gogolia

    December 28, 2020 at 3:15 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    How do you do that? I never asked for syncing, so I don’t know how to stop it, and as M4 says, it might make everything go poof.

  31. 31.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 28, 2020 at 3:15 pm

    @mali muso: I would watch John Noble watch paint dry.

  32. 32.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 28, 2020 at 3:15 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: I have been meaning to ask how is your pen display working out for you. Remind me again which one do you have, X-pen or Wacom?

  33. 33.

    Roger Moore

    December 28, 2020 at 3:20 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    I’ve noticed a lot of those “pre-prestige” shows, with 22 episodes per season, have… a lot of filler, lol.

    Way back when, shows were all “filler”.  Most scripted TV shows couldn’t make money in their initial run and would only be profitable if they made it into syndication.  When that happened, it was expected they’d be shown in more or less random order, so each episode had to stand on its own as a story.  It wasn’t until DVD sales replaced syndication as the post-run cash cow that it became common for shows to have season-long stories.

    That said, I think the quality of the filler episodes is the key difference between an OK show (or an OK season) and a great one.  In an OK series, the filler episodes are pretty forgettable.  In a great one, they can be some of the most memorable.  To pick a couple of personal favorites, “Hush” and “Tales of Ba Sing Se” aren’t important parts of their respective series’ main story lines, but they remain some of the most memorable.

  34. 34.

    debbie

    December 28, 2020 at 3:20 pm

    @zhena gogolia:

    Are you sure this wasn’t something your network admins set up?

  35. 35.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 28, 2020 at 3:22 pm

    @zhena gogolia:What cloud drive/s are you using?

  36. 36.

    Miss Bianca

    December 28, 2020 at 3:23 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: 

    Just finished Season 7 of Elementary, where JN plays Sherlock Holmes’s father. I was shocked how thin he looked at the end of Seasons 6 and 7 – wondering, “is he ill, or did he just lose a bunch of weight?”

    Thought about starting Fringe just because I like him, but I keep getting Fringe mixed up with Lost – those one-word monosyllabic titles throw me, I guess – and haven’t seen either yet.

  37. 37.

    Citizen Alan

    December 28, 2020 at 3:23 pm

    @jackmac: I am a bad person, I think. Because I take vicious satisfaction from this.

  38. 38.

    zhena gogolia

    December 28, 2020 at 3:25 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:

    I have no idea.

  39. 39.

    Mary G

    December 28, 2020 at 3:26 pm

    ???‍♂️????????

    The Trump Hotel in Washington DC has conceded the election. They’ve unblocked all the rooms they had reserved for Inauguration Week, and have made them available to anyone, at a 25% discount. pic.twitter.com/6Zvb1GLrZM— Mike Sington (@MikeSington) December 28, 2020

  40. 40.

    Miss Bianca

    December 28, 2020 at 3:28 pm

    @Roger Moore: Yeah, but for me, “Hush” didn’t strike me as memorable at all except for its storytelling gimmick until I had seen the rest of Buffy the Vampire Slayer up to that point. My friends who were huge fans made the mistake of presuming that their favorite episode was a great way to introduce me to the series. My response being, “well, ok, that was…interesting? I guess?”

    Later, when I was watching the series and invested and becoming a fan, I finally understood what the fuss was about. Because I finally understood what the stakes (so to speak) and relationships were like for the characters.

  41. 41.

    Doug R

    December 28, 2020 at 3:28 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: As a resident of BC I enjoyed watching Fringe with the addition of recognizing local landmarks plus if you accept it’s X-Files 2.0 with a twist it’s good fun. Plus Leonard Nimoy, even in cartoon form.

  42. 42.

    Citizen Alan

    December 28, 2020 at 3:29 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    To pick a couple of personal favorites, “Hush” and “Tales of Ba Sing Se” aren’t important parts of their respective series’ main story lines, but they remain some of the most memorable.

    Pardon my fan-wanking, but if you’re referring to “Hush” from BtVS, it was the episode where Buffy and Riley Finn found out about each other’s secret lives and it was the start of Willow/Tara, so I would characterize it as very important to the main story line, as well as being one of the most memorable episodes. Certainly, it was the highlight of S4, IMO.

  43. 43.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 28, 2020 at 3:30 pm

    @Roger Moore: Yeah, I know, should have clarified that pre-prestige serial dramas tend to be more drama than serial.

    @schrodingers_cat: XP-Pen, it’s great.

    @Miss Bianca: The first few seasons of Lost are actually pretty great. But Fringe is better for casual viewing, and of course the final seasons of Lost are… not actually pretty great.

    @Doug R: He’s not a cartoon…

  44. 44.

    Doug R

    December 28, 2020 at 3:31 pm

    @trollhattan: First season of BSG reboot was good, got a little hopeless with all the Cylon reveals.

    That episode about bombing really brought out the parallels to Iraq, helped to see the other side.

  45. 45.

    dmsilev

    December 28, 2020 at 3:32 pm

    @Mary G: Aren’t the Trump kids nominally in charge of the hotels and everything? I guess even they have bailed on dear old Dad…

  46. 46.

    debbie

    December 28, 2020 at 3:35 pm

    @dmsilev:

    I think Eric runs the hotels; he’s probably afraid to tell his father about this.

  47. 47.

    Doug R

    December 28, 2020 at 3:35 pm

    @Miss Bianca: @Major Major Major Major: John Noble plays Billy Butcher’s dad in The Boys. He’s in one episode of Season 2 and it helps explain how Billy got so toxic.

  48. 48.

    schrodingers_cat

    December 28, 2020 at 3:35 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: Which one if you don’t mind me asking?

  49. 49.

    Mary G

    December 28, 2020 at 3:37 pm

    @dmsilev: Yes, but I can’t see them daring to do this on their own. They probably showed Twitler the lousy bookings, and after the tantrum, he decided to get what he could.

  50. 50.

    Doug R

    December 28, 2020 at 3:37 pm

    @Major Major Major Major: youtube.com/watch?v=scSWQpGDcl8

  51. 51.

    Al Z.

    December 28, 2020 at 3:38 pm

    I get the whole fuck 2020 thing but Pandemic fatigue is going to really get dialed up to eleven after the New Year and that ain’t going to be a good thing.

  52. 52.

    Roger Moore

    December 28, 2020 at 3:38 pm

    @Citizen Alan:

    There was some secondary stuff in “Hush”, but it was mostly a monster of the week episode.  It had a couple of important character moments in it, but those aren’t the reason it’s memorable and a fan favorite.

  53. 53.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 28, 2020 at 3:39 pm

    @schrodingers_cat: Artist Pro but I’m sure the Artist is also good.

    @Doug R: ah, see, a lot I don’t remember.

  54. 54.

    BC in Illinois

    December 28, 2020 at 3:40 pm

    @Mary G:

    The Trump Hotel in Washington DC has conceded the election. They’ve unblocked all the rooms they had reserved for Inauguration Week, and have made them available to anyone, at a 25% discount.

    All the people on Tik-Tok should proceed to book all the rooms.

  55. 55.

    tinare

    December 28, 2020 at 3:42 pm

    @mali muso: Me too. I love a good costume drama.

    I had resisted watching Broadchurch despite having it highly recommended to me, but I binged it recently. So good, but damn the British and their restraint with letting shows go too many seasons. I didn’t want it to end.

  56. 56.

    LuciaMia

    December 28, 2020 at 3:43 pm

    Welcome to the last Monday of 2020

    Hard to believe, ain’t it ?!?

  57. 57.

    FelonyGovt

    December 28, 2020 at 3:43 pm

    @Mary G: Can’t imagine a lot of Biden people are going to want to stay at a Trump hotel.

  58. 58.

    CarolDuhart2

    December 28, 2020 at 3:47 pm

    @Spanky:  But watching the calendar turn into 2021 lets me know that the transition is really getting started.  The low gray clouds hanging over my life will start to move a bit.

    Watching out for when I will get my vaccine.  Fairly high up on the list and hoping to hang on until I get it.

  59. 59.

    mali muso

    December 28, 2020 at 3:53 pm

    @tinare: Broadchurch was so so good.  Almost too dark for me, but I’m still glad I watched it.  David Tennant and Olivia Colman are treasures.

  60. 60.

    Joe Falco

    December 28, 2020 at 3:54 pm

    @Mary G:

    Never have I ever felt a desire to take as many towels from a hotel until now, but then I would have to actively give the Trumps money to do it so forget that.

  61. 61.

    pamelabrown53

    December 28, 2020 at 4:03 pm

    @mali muso:

    Me too re: Bridgerton. In fact I overbinged (is that a contradiction of terms?) and plan to watch the last 2 or 3 episodes again.

    Loved Shondaland’s interpretation of trashy Regency romance! Too much fun: just like dark chocolates with caramel centers and nuts.

  62. 62.

    pamelabrown53

    December 28, 2020 at 4:07 pm

    @Dorothy A. Winsor:

    Really enjoyed that link! Kudos for sharing it.

    P.S. Have you ever experienced a modern day “rake”?

  63. 63.

    Miss Bianca

    December 28, 2020 at 4:16 pm

    @pamelabrown53: I just had a friend tell me about this one the other day – as a confirmed Regency romance fan (both trashy *and* good!) it sounded like it would be right up my alley!

  64. 64.

    pamelabrown53

    December 28, 2020 at 4:18 pm

    @Mary G:

    It kills me to see a pic. of that gorgeous landmark building with a trashy trump sign in front.

  65. 65.

    rikyrah

    December 28, 2020 at 4:18 pm

    @mali muso:

     

    I was going to ask if anyone had watched Bridgerton

  66. 66.

    Major Major Major Major

    December 28, 2020 at 4:20 pm

    @pamelabrown53:

    P.S. Have you ever experienced a modern day “rake”?

    I think I tend to run into scallywags and scoundrels more often.

  67. 67.

    cain

    December 28, 2020 at 4:26 pm

    @mali muso:

    oh man, I have never yelled at the tv so much.

  68. 68.

    pamelabrown53

    December 28, 2020 at 4:42 pm

    @Major Major Major Major:

    LOL. I thought that Richard Roxbourgh’s “Cleaver Greene” was an apt portrayal of a “Rake” except for one major flaw: he rarely got away with it. Guess that makes him more a scallywag?!

  69. 69.

    zhena gogolia

    December 28, 2020 at 4:44 pm

    @mali muso:

    So you’re telling me I have to subscribe to Netflix too in addition to 50 different Prime things?

  70. 70.

    mali muso

    December 28, 2020 at 4:58 pm

    @rikyrah: I quite enjoyed it.  Particularly struck by (new to me) leading man Rege-Jean Page who is not only gorgeous but a very gifted actor.  Link here to interesting interview.

    When it comes to representation of people of color, he says, “If we’ve endured white Jesus for this long, then folks can endure a Black Duke.”

  71. 71.

    Miss Bianca

    December 28, 2020 at 5:04 pm

    @mali muso: Oh, is that whose photo I’m seeing? He’s pretty dashing, I have to say. Dunno about the beard shadow – doesn’t strike me as period.  ; ) The sideburns, however, definitely a good look.

  72. 72.

    UncleEbeneezer

    December 28, 2020 at 5:17 pm

    @mali muso: We’ve only watched one episode so far but loved it.  My wife loves Brittish, period stuff and it’s nice to see one with some actual diversity and a self-awareness (almost self-mocking) about the genre.

  73. 73.

    zhena gogolia

    December 28, 2020 at 5:44 pm

    @UncleEbeneezer:

    I thought Rhimes had a good point. They treat Jane Austen like romance novels anyway, so why not just do romance novels instead of redoing the same Austen novels over and over?

  74. 74.

    EmbraceYourInnerCrone

    December 28, 2020 at 8:44 pm

    @schrodingers_cat:  I loved the first couple of seasons. Watching the Expanse now but have to stop for a while. It’s reached the really upsetting part ( I read all the books so far so I knew it was coming) and I can t watch that right now. Hope you are doing ok.

  75. 75.

    Darkrose

    December 29, 2020 at 2:51 am

    @rikyrah: I started watching it today, and I’m totally hooked. I love the idea of Queen Charlotte being Black and embracing it as the basis for a Regency romance with a diverse cast. Also, Regé-Jean Page is insanely hot.

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