DVD Adventure: The Minister of Qumar

SPOILER ALERT: All of my posts in this series will be replete with spoilers. As all of these, save for a few movies, are past the one year moratorium, I really shouldn't need to include this warning. However, I feel it is a courteous thing to do. You have been warned.

The season finales and premieres of The West Wing were always the most anticipated episodes of their respective seasons. This was especially true for seasons 1-2 and 2-3, which combined cliffhangers with two part episodes at the beginning of the next season.

However, season 3 did not end with a cliffhanger. "We Killed Yamamoto" and "Posse Comitatus", the two season 3 episodes included in this viewing, wrap up several storylines. Josh wins a vote at the expense of Amy's job, Simon Donovan is killed before his romance with C.J. can even begin, and the President makes a very tough choice that may (or may not) have consequences later on. It is a season ending less about a buzzworthy cliffhanger, and more about setting up the election year of season 4.

I enjoyed the first two episodes, although they certainly aren't at top of my favorites list. The choice that the President has to make is one of the toughest a man like Jed has to make, a decision where moral absolutes are in short supply. I do think he made the right call in assassinating the Qumari official. They had reliable, rock-solid information that he was the mastermind of a terrorist plot on U.S. soil, and certain factors prevented prosecuting him in court. This was not a decision made lightly, nor without great trepidation on the part of the President. If every President showed this much thought and restraint, our nation's casualties of war would be significantly less.

In addition to this situation, it is an election year. Bartlet is in for a tough fight against a Dubya caricature played by James Brolin. Although I think Gov. Ritchie was far too much of a straw man to put up against Bartlet (Alan Alda's Vinick would have been awesome here), I do love the scene at the play between the two candidates.

As for the other stories, one is closed, as another is started. With one big exception, the budding relationship between C.J. and Simon Donovan is abruptly closed when he is gunned down. The President opens up the search for a new assistant, and Charlie's favorite has a rough first interview with Jed. Why is she so hesitant to apply for the job at the White House? You'll just have see in part two of this post, starting....now.

The second part of this "movie" is one of my favorite episodes of the entire series. Set over a 20 hour period, it is jam-packed with a lot of wonderful stuff. The main story is based around the journey of Toby, Josh, and Donna from Indiana back to D.C. I love this storyline for so many reasons. The trials and tribulations they go through in getting to Indianapolis International Airport is hilarious. I especially love their reaction to the whole Indiana policy on Daylight Savings.* Watching that scene cracks me up every time, especially if I imagine it being part of an Indiana tourism video.

Like every great episode of The West Wing, "20 Hours in America" mixes the poignant with the humorous. I must admit the speech by Bartlet after the tragedy at the university in Iowa isn't for everyone, but I certainly loved it. I'm a sucker for those kind of speeches, however, so take that with a grain of salt.

There is just too much I love about this episode to go into detail. Whether it is Charlie showing how a man should act, or the continued eccentric meetings between the President and Debbie Fiderer, it all just works well for me.

However, my favorite scene of the episode, and quite possibly the series, is the last one. Finally within sight of the White House, our intrepid voyagers ask the airport shuttle to drop them so they can walk to work. In the shadows of the Lincoln Memorial, Toby explains why intelligence, gravitas, and inspiration matters when choosing our President. If you want to find a better argument towards why I support Barack Obama, be my guest.

Factoid of almost no importance to either me or my readers: Despite having watched the episode several times, I never noticed Amy feeding her dog at the beginning of "We Killed Yamamoto". I'm not sure how I missed it, but I did.

Next Tuesday: "Pilots"-The first episodes of The Simpsons, Futurama, The West Wing, Arrested Development, and 30 Rock

Then: "Bender: Great supporting character: Bad Star"-Four episodes of Futurama starring Bender that are merely "good", and four that disprove the thesis.

*-In defense of the Hoosiers, this policy has been changed. Although the state still is split between Central and Eastern time zones, depending on which county you are in.

Let's try that one again.

After much thought, I have decided to change my project. I made this decision after starting the project with four straight tv show discs. The reason I decided to do this was to put together my thoughts on my collection of DVDs. With over 75 discs just between The West Wing and The Simpsons, the thought of trying to slog through one of the lesser post-Sorkin discs just didn't sound fun.

On that note, I'm switching the format around. The new rules are:

1. All of my movies will continue to be played in a random order, with the exception of Star Wars.
2. As for Star Wars, I am saving that for a marathon weekend, a new feature I'm adding as well.
3. The TV shows aren't being ignored, but are being themed
1. 30 Rock, Arrested Development, and Band of Brothers will be pushed to marathon weekends.
2. Futurama will be have four positions in the rotation. Each position will include eight episodes, three based around a theme, and one set of great and significant episodes that don't fit the themes. The themes are:
1. Fry & Leela
2. The Why of Fry
3. Bender: Great Sidekick/Horrible Star
4. The Best of the Rest
3. The Simpsons (Seasons 1-10) follows the same rules as Futurama. The themes for the Simpsons:
1. Sideshow Bob
2. Lisa vs. My DVD Player
3. Guest Star Bonanza
4. Worst. Episodes. Ever. (Not at all true)
4. The West Wing will be established as 7 distinct "movies", i.e. storylines that have distinct arcs. The list includes:
1. What Kind of a Day Has It Been/In the Shadow of Two Gunmen
2. The MS storyline: "17 People" to "Manchester Part Two"
3. The Minister of Qumar: "We Killed Yamamoto" to "20 Hours in America"
4. Twenty-Five: "Commencment" to "Dogs of War"
5. A John Wells Hacktacular: "Gaza" to "Third Day Story"
6. Santos for President: "Faith Based Initiative", "Opposition Research", "King Corn", "Freedonia", "La Palabra", "In God We Trust", "Things Fall Apart", "2162 Votes"
7. A Peaceful Succession: "Election Day" to "Tomorrow"
5. In addition to the theme sets, we'll also include two all-inclusive themed sets
1. Pilots: The first episode of every show I own.
2. Oddities and Innovations: Well, you will just have to see...
4. Due to the lower workload, I'll only be posting twice a week, every Tuesday and Thursday.
   

The fun begins anew with "The Minister of Qumar": Four episodes (okay, two episodes a double-length season premiere) that include some of my favorite moments from the series. Next after that will be "Pilots", then "Bender: Great Sidekick/Horrible Star".

Looks like I won't be watching ESPN the next two weeks

Well, what looked inevitable in September finally happened. The Patriots are in the Super Bowl. That in and of itself would be enough to make me avoid the coverage over the next two weeks, but their opponent being a NY team just compounds the annoyance level of this situation. I guess its slightly better than if the Cheeseland Favres had made it, but #4 made sure that wouldn't happen.

Oh well, its not like I watch ESPN very often these days anyways.

I just feel overjoyed for those poor New England fans. Can you believe its been three whole months since the region celebrated a title?

My Year of DVDs: The Simpsons Season 8, Disc 3

Series: The Simpsons
Season: 8
Disc: 3
Episodes: "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show", "Homer's Phobia", "Brother From Another Series", "My Sister, My Sitter", "Homer vs. the 18th Amendment", "Grade School Confidential", "The Canine Mutiny"

If someone who had never seen The Simpsons sat down and watched the show in its current form, they might find it funny, but would be puzzled as to why it had lasted 19 seasons. To give them a proper answer, you could lecture for hours upon hours about the history, acclaim, and cultural significance of the show. Or you could just show them some old episodes, and hope they would get all they needed from that.

If you were limited to only pick one disc from an existing DVD set, this disc would be a strong contender. Most of the episodes on this disc showcase why The Simpsons has been going strong since 1989. From the cutting social satire, to the wacky humor, to the zany characters both major and minor, this is a very enjoyable disc.

I must admit I really wasn't in a mood to do this. The first five discs of this feature are from TV shows, which makes it harder to pull together a theme for the post. However, once I realized what the episodes were on this disc, it didn't really matter any more.

"Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie" is probably my favorite episode of all time. The best thing about it is that it has only gotten better as time goes on. We are multiple generations of crap away from the original XXtreme to the MAXXXXX!!!!! craze, and Poochie still is an excellent piece of satire on the soulless, focus-group built characters that dominate our entertainment. Even discounting all the other greatness of that episode, it would still be notable for the birth of "Worst. Episode. Ever.".

I have a feeling that as this feature rolls on, some of The Simpsons and The West Wing discs are going to feel like slogging through a muddy cornfield. Considering there are 17 combined seasons worth of discs between the two, that is a lot of the same stuff to wade through. However, the first disc I delved into about the famous family of five from Springfield was certainly a treat.

Year of DVDs: West Wing, Season 1, Disc 2B

Series: The West Wing
Season: 1
Disc: 2, side B
Episodes: "Take Out the Trash Day", "Take This Sabbath Day", "Celestial Navigation", "20 Hours in L.A."

Although I often take a rather bitter and cynical attitude towards things, deep down I'm an idealist. I truly want to see things better, and am always on the lookout for the "real thing" in politics. It's why I love the filibuster scene in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, why The American President and Dave are two of my favorite movies, and why The West Wing is my favorite TV show of all time.

Being an idealist often means you end up disappointed. This is true of even the Bartlet administration. The show tends to fluctuate like a sine wave between failure and success, and the four episodes on this disc are part of the first downward trend of the series. Little is being accomplished, morale is starting to sink, and the President is starting to feel restless about it all. And to top it all off, Bartlet's daughter is receiving death threats, and a potential Supreme Court justice is doing his damnest to lose his nomination fight.

Fortunately, the mood of these episodes isn't nearly as somber as some of the later down cycles (See: Early Season Five). There is the hilarious first appearance by Joey Lucas, proving once again why it is a bad idea to take an early meeting with a hangover. Leo finds it in his heart to give a poor girl a second chance, despite her almost ruining his career. And above all, Josh not only creates a "secret plan to fight inflation", he is also opposed to it.

In the end, not everything goes as intended. Sometimes you have to take babysteps, and sometimes you just mark time in the mud. There is always another day, and another battle to fight. And eventually, you just gotta let Bartlet be Bartlet.

Start the Parade Now!

Fear not, you fans of the woebegone North Side Nine, your World Series Title drought will end in double digits. How do I know this? Jon Lieber is back in town!

/cue "Stars and Stripes Forever" and the dancing elephants

Better get the champagne on ice!

My year of DVDs

So it has come to this. My Opus, my grand triumph in blogging. From this Thursday to next December, I'll be watching and writing about one of my DVDs. Eventually, almost every disc I own will be covered.

Before I start, here are the rules:

1. Special Features Discs are not counted.
2. As The Simpsons Season 1, Disc 3 is one episode, and the rest special features, "Some Enchanted Evening" will be watched at the same time as Disc 2.
3. For The West Wing Seasons 1-3, Each side counts as one disc.
4. Discs will be watched on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday normally, although there is no formal pattern other than three posts a week.
5. Gettysburg and Gods & Generals each count as one disc, even though both are double sided.
6. The order has been chosen by random, except for two exceptions:
a. Primary Colors will be watched on Feb 4, Ahead of Super-Duper Tuesday. Unless Amazon doesn't get it here by then. In that case, it will take its place in the rotation.
b. Due to their length, Gods & Generals and Gettysburg will be moved to the nearest Saturday to their random position.
7. TV Shows that will be included: The West Wing, Futurama, The Simpsons (Seasons 1-10), 30 Rock (Season 1), Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Vol. 1), Arrested Development, Band of Brothers
8. Movies that will be included: Star Wars: I-VI, Star Trek II, Star Trek: First Contact, Network, Letters from Iwo Jima, Superbad, Ratatouille, Little Miss Sunshine, Syriana, Good Night & Good Luck, Glory, Gettysburg, Gods & Generals, The Simpsons Movie, Futurama: Bender's Big Score, The Big Lebowski, Hudsucker Proxy, Fargo, Raising Arizona, Idiocracy, Office Space, South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut, Team America: World Police, Jurassic Park 1-3

The fun begins on Thursday with Disc 2, Side B of The West Wing: Season One.

Let's Move that last post below the fold

Well, today is my first day back at work. Despite spending over 50 hours on trains the past two weeks, I feel pretty good and ready to start 2008 with a bang.

My holiday vacation at home was very enjoyable, even if Illinois laid an egg at the Rose Bowl. Hey, at least the Bears won two meaningless games.

I apologize for not doing my year-in-review post. I guess I was too full on cookies, or too busy celebrating my Ridge Farm Fantasy Football League Championship. As the premise of doing those lists really are relevant only to the end of the year, I won't be making a belated YIR post. I'm sure you all are heartbroken.

However, I will be making a forward looking 2008 post, as well as a review of what I liked (and didn't) at the theaters in 2007. The only reason this is not that post is that I have a few more movies to watch (Walk Hard, There will Be Blood, Sweeny Todd, and Atonement) before I can issue my final report. I'll probably catch three of the four sometime this week, and catch There Will Be Blood whenever the hell the theaters in this area decide to show it.

Until next time...