The Great West Wing Rewatch: 1.5 "The Crackpots and These Women"

Joel:  It’s big block of cheese day! What I love about these episode is that these are issues that Sorkin is clearly fascinated with. Not necessarily issues that he feels passionate about, but issues that he’s interested in and is fascinated that other people can feel such passion about these issues. The West Wing is a show that constantly focuses on military issues, civil rights, gun control, and other big issues the government has to deal with, but sometimes it’s great to see that same show put the focus on the possibility of UFOs or how maps look (more on that later in the series) and other offbeat passion issues like that. Can we also take a moment to talk about the end speech of this episode? Every now and then an episode of this show will end with an Aaron Sorkin speech that will make you want to cry, cheer, punch the air, hug your wife, and feel incredibly patriotic all at the same time. This is the first of such speeches but it very much won’t be the last.

Alexa: When I think of essential episodes of The West Wing, Big Block of Cheese Day is chief among them. Big Block of Cheese Day is so seminal in the West Wing canon that it inspired a real-life virtual Big Block of Cheese Day, during which the Obama administration has fielded people’s questions on social media for the past two years (You can watch that video here). Big Block of Cheese Day is a pet project of Leo’s, named for a two-ton block of cheese Andrew Jackson received as a gift and shared in the White House foyer with the American people. On this most joyous of days, Leo enlists our favorite White House staffers to hear presentations from organizations that typically don’t receive the government’s attention. We see Ted from Scrubs request an increased focus on UFOs, and Ron Effing Swanson himself pitch a $900 million wolves-only highway. The ideas are often laughable, but something about the earnestness of the presenters makes their message stick with C.J. and Sam, and thus Big Block of Cheese Day is a success – their voices have been heard. A subplot also gives us an emotional glimpse into Josh’s past. He feels uneasy when he’s given a card that details where to go in the event of a nuclear attack but realizes that his friends on staff didn’t receive such instructions. We learn his guilt stems from his childhood, when his sister died in a house fire while babysitting him but he escaped. It’s a moving showcase of Bradley Whitford’s talent, and that storyline juxtaposed with Big Block of Cheese Day is a prime example of how The West Wing so expertly toes the line between humor and sincerity. And President Bartlet’s rousing monologue at the end of the episode is the perfect coda.

Chris: I’d be lying if I told you that I didn’t get a giant smile on my face when I realized that this episode featured the very first edition of Leo’s “Andrew Jackson’s big block of cheese” days. For the uninitiated, these will pop up every so often and will feature a slew of guest stars that you should recognize. And yes, the Andrew Jackson big block of cheese thing actually happened and the best way to hear all of it’s weird details (as well as some super strange stuff about Andrew Jackson, himself) is to listen this episode of The Dollop Podcast...history is so much weirder than you’d think.

We also get a little more emotional depth out of Josh with his internal struggle over whether or not he really wants to be included in the presidential bunker in the event of a nuclear attack. I understand that he doesn’t want to be included if his friends and co-workers aren’t but the argument was never made that maybe the surviving society after a nuclear attack would need someone like Josh. Also, telling CJ was probably some sort of breach of protocol and honestly, I’d like to hear the conversation between him and the special agents when he tried to hand them the card back. I’m pretty sure they would laugh at him and sternly give the card back to Josh.

And what’s not to love about the end? Barlett being in awe of the strong-willed females he was smart enough to establish around him. That moment made me laugh at the irony when I remembered how Sorkin unjustly took heat for how his script portrayed women in The Social Network a few years ago. But that’s a whole different article that I’m sure John wrote on IBA back when it originally happened.

The “Oh Hey, I know that person” award: Nick Offerman, Sam Lloyd and former NBA player Juwan Howard

A Good President is an economics professor with a big ol’ stick up his butt.