They don't write TV like they used to

   I know...I know...NetFlix has been getting a bum rap lately...what with the raising of rates through the roof and all. But, I ask you...where else could I get my latest "fix" with such ease?

I'm speaking of "The West Wing"

   I used to watch this all...the...time! Except, of course, the last season or two when it just got a little too melodramatic for me!
   I ordered up Season 1: Disc 1 from NetFlix a few weeks ago and watched it...then promptly ordered several more, including a couple of my favorite episodes. I had almost forgotten how truly wonderful the dialogue was...Mr. Aaron Sorkin is a masterful writer! (I almost forgive him for his "hallucinogenic mushroom period!") Practically every episode is clever, witty, powerful, heart-touching. It's a television show where you HAVE to listen...like "Pushing Daisies" or "Psych"...because you almost can't catch all of the dialogue the first time around. The casting is terrific...Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe), Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff), Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford), CJ Craig (Allison Janney), Charlie Young (played by Dule Hill who went on to become Burton "Gus" Guster on "Psych"! ) Leo McGarry (John Spencer), the White House Chief of Staff, and of course, Jed Bartlett, aka POTUS (the President Of The United States) played by Martin Sheen (who played the White House Chief of Staff to Michael Douglas' president in "The American President"...screenplay by...yup...Aaron Sorkin!) 
   I watched "In Excelsis Dio" and bawled my eyes out...a homeless man dies near the Korean War memorial wearing Toby's coat that he donated to the Salvation Army. Toby, who is generally prickly and cold hearted, moves heaven and earth to give this homeless Vet a decent burial in Arlington Cemetery...with full military honors. Mrs. Landingham (a gem of a role for Kathryn Joosten, who is terrific in everything she's ever been in!) attends in honor of "her boys" who died in the Vietnam war. Tissues please!
   Next up is "Shibboleth"...Illegal Chinese immigrants stow away in container ships to reach the US and religious freedom. Throw in pardoning turkeys and looking for carving knives and it's a great episode. But the crowning jewel is when the President confronts the leader of the Chinese Christians and we get the line "faith is the true Shibboleth" (the pronunciation of the word was used to test for true believers in the Old Testament...see Judges 12:5-6)
   And the last episode I'll share is "Noel"...while most of the episode is OK...the best part comes when a woman on a White House tour sees a painting that was done by her Jewish father, which was taken by the Nazis and eventually ended up in the White House. The White House Protocol Chief, Bernard Thatch (played to full tilt snootiness by Paxton Whitehead) has the best lines. While talking to CJ Craig, he says that visitors always want to "touch things" whereupon she remarks snarkily..."they should be shot" and Bernard says, in all seriousness, "Yes, they should." And then he looks at CJ (Code Name: Flamingo!) and says "You're a freakishly tall woman." OK...You have to see it to get the whole effect.
   While watching "The West Wing" I kept thinking two things...1) Why Oh Why are there no shows like this on television now...you know, uplifting, thought-provoking, inspirational and 2) Wouldn't it be nice if the government today ran the way it did in the fictional 1999 White House!