I love going back and watching old television shows (by old, I don’t mean older than me old, but just shows I love that are no longer on the air). Also, I’ve been in a bit of a nostalgic mood recently, and it would unfair to say that it hasn’t affected my TV viewing. Nothing feeds that feeling, however, more than a good sappy plot arc. One of my favorite showrunners/writers, Aaron Sorkin, could bring the sap better than no other. One of my all time favorite instances, though, was on the third season episode of The West Wing, “Stirred,” and I was excited to see this episode pop up on the DVR this week.
There’s a lot of cool stuff going on in this episode, especially for a political junkie like I am (or, more truthfully, was, a couple of years ago). The discussion of booting the Vice President from the ticket in the upcoming election, Charlie’s tax fun and Bartlet’s opinion of James Bond’s drink selection, and the VP’s self sacrifice to save a good bill. The sap, though, came from the President and Josh looking out for one Donnatella Moss.
Donna spent most of the episode talking Josh into supporting a “Proclamation” for a retiring teacher that helped shape her formative years. I would hope that we have all had a teacher like that who has influenced our lives…. I certainly did, and mine, the brilliant Mrs. Scherer (Who developed my love for politics) had recently passed away when this episode aired. Because of that, the arc held then (and still does now) a particular reverence with me.
This was just one of many moments Sorkin has wrote over the years. Sports Night had some classics: “Ntozake Nelson has something to say about a world record,” Dan’s apology, and Casey & Dan’s Christmas shout-outs to the cast (real and on-screen) were all classics in the early episodes. The West Wing had set the pace very early on with “In Excelsis Deo” and just carried that tradition through all four seasons of Sorkin’s presence. (Studio 60 also had its fair share, but the collective internet dislike of Harriet Hayes, and well, storylines that insulted half the country, pretty much drown out any of the other good work there … though, the New Orleans musicians were impressive).
A good, sappy storyline is an important piece to a television season. Writers can definitely overuse the convention, and more importantly, can ham the whole thing up. Sorkin walked the line well, and in my opinion, rarely, if ever, crossed it. Knowing his tendency later to include autobiographical information into his writing, I wonder who Molly Morello was, and if she was in the same ballpark as Mrs. Scherer.
Did you have a teacher like that, or is there a popular sappy storyline you love (or hate)?
Clacked by Ivey West 
on Aug 15, 2009 @ 13:00 EST5EDT
Please don’t write about the west wing. I beg you. It just makes me sad that this brilliance is no longer on the air.
Bravo has been airing two episodes of the show each weekday morning, which means I’ve been DVR’ing them like crazy. There in season three now and should be up to that episode quickly.
You’re right about the sap — Sorkin is the king of that category. Even a show like 7th Heaven didn’t have as much sugary, sweet goodness coming out of each episode.