In Excelsis Deo

I am a very conservative guy, and not a big fan of West Wing, BUT I happened to catch this episode in a hospital waiting room one day. I think this episode is the best thing I have ever seen on TV, period. The montage between the Arlington funeral and the children's choir in the White House was some of the best production I have ever seen anywhere. Pure genius! If it weren't for the show's generally liberal bias I would have become a big fan based on this episode alone. I have to give my props to the creative writers. I wish they had left out the political commentary and had been more balanced (over the entirety of the series). It wouldn't have hurt the quality of the series and this episode shows what they were capable of, if they would just entertain and not try to preach.

This is some of the best writing ever put forward in a dramatic series. Toby is at the center of much of it. He is called to a bench to identify a homeless man who has died of exposure (I assume). It turns out there is a business card of Toby's in the pocket of a jacket that had been donated to Good Will. Toby comes to realize that the guy was a veteran of Korea and yet no one mourns him. The scene at the end is about as touching as anything I have seen. We also find out that Mrs Lannigham has faced a horrible event in her life which makes Christmas a lot to handle.

Just rewatched this on streaming. I'm an older viewer with lots of life experience and consider myself a pretty tough old nut, but I was weeping unrestrained in the third act.

This is probably the single greatest episode in the history of TV series, any series at all, and I've seen a lot in lots of genres.

Every single aspect works seamlessly, but the scripting and editing are just superlative.

As for "Ziegler" no words can do him justice here. The human drama at the centre is just so uplifting.

Sorkin the great. This stuff is twenty years old and it's still viewing as fresh as a daisy and indeed leagues above most of the garbage that passes for TV these days.

Exceptional, outstanding work.

Great writing, in this instance by Aaron Sorkin and Rick Cleveland, is the not-so secret weapon behind the enduring success of "The West Wing".

In this Christmas show of the series, the sarcastic wit of the principal cast's dialogue is extremely effective, and serves a secondary purpose by counterpointing the heartfelt sentiment of several subplots. So instead of the often saccharine approach of so many Xmas-themed TV dramas, one comes away with a more powerful message.

Another striking element here is that despite the show's well-earned liberal stance on politics, there is serious attention to a more conservative point of view, where relevant. In this case it has to do with the horrendous beating of a gay teen by even younger kids that brings up the issue of potential hate crimes legislation. As a liberal myself I expected this to lead to a strong plea for such laws (which Allison Janney's character indeed makes), but instead the show emphasizes the opposing view that legislating against thought is a slippery matter and that existing laws about relevant crimes should suffice.

The strongest message here is the importance of honoring our nation's veterans, powerfully expressed by Toby going the extra mile when he becomes aware of the death of a homeless vet who no one seems to care about.

This is the episode that made me fall in love with The West Wing. It's just exceptional, especially the final scene. The writing, the acting, the direction, perfection.