#12:
The West Wing: In Excelsis Deo
The first three seasons of The West Wing were some amazing
television. By the time the fourth season rolled around the show began to show
cracks, and after that it was all downhill. I suppose it might have been around
the time the show decided it was cute to supply commentary on current events
without presenting both sides views. Well, that and making the show more like a
cheesy soap opera rather than great television. It was such a pity, because, as
the early years of the show indicate, showing all sides, and transcending the
pitfalls of other shows fall into, was one of its many virtues.
However, I believe that the greatness of The West Wing in
its early years cannot be understated, and this was never more clear than in
that first season episode, In Excelsis Deo. The West Wing made many of its
Christmas themed episodes memorable, but I always return to this first one each
year. I suppose when the bar is set so high, it’s hard to overcome it.
The problem with including television shows (especially
modern, American television shows) on a list like this is that it’s hard to
just jump into the show without the benefit of those which preceded it. If you
weren’t familiar with the characters or the plot up till that point, there are
a few instances in this episode where you might be lost. Still though, it does
include some great moments.
The episode opens with the Bartlett White House getting
ready for Christmas and you see the walk and talk segments that were a staple
of The West Wing. During this, White House Communications Director Toby Ziegler
(Richard Schiff) gets a call from the DC police that a homeless man died at the
Korean War memorial. Toby doesn’t know why the cops are talking to him until he
goes to the memorial and finds out that this homeless man was wearing a coat he
gave to Goodwill and it had Toby’s business card in it. Toby is affected by
this, and throughout the whole episode he makes efforts to learn more about the
man.
Elsewhere, there are several subplots. President Bartlett
(Martin Sheen) meets with children who are visiting The White House, as well as
takes time to go shopping at a rare book store with no press in tow, much to
the chagrin of White House Media consultant Mandy Hampton (Moira Kelly). White
House Press Secretary C.J. Craig (Allison Janney) spends the episode fending
off advances from reporter Danny Concannon (Timothy Busfield) because he has a
crush on her. Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) and Deputy
Communications Director Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) are working on a strategy to
help Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer) from having to go public about
his past drug and alcohol addictions, and Bartlett’s personal secretary, Mrs.
Landingham reveals to Presidential Aid Charlie Young that her twin boys were both
killed on Christmas Eve during the Vietnam War.
Most of these events transpire in typical West Wing
fashion. Toby eventually learns that the homeless man was a veteran of the
Korean War, who won the Purple Heart. He cannot believe that in a country like
the United States, how someone who served with such distinction can end up like
this. He finds the man’s brother, who is also homeless, and, using the
President’s name, arranges it so that the man can have a military burial with
full honors at Arlington National Cemetery. The president is annoyed at first and
confronts Toby about it.
President
Bartlett: Toby, If we start pulling strings like this don't you
think every homeless veteran will come out of the woodwork?
Toby
Ziegler: I can only hope so, sir.
What follows can only be described as one of the most
powerful and moving moments in television up till that time.
The episode was filmed in corporation with Arlington
National Cemetery and was shot actually on location. The members of the honor
guard were all serving Marines whose job was to do what was portrayed on film
and the whole funeral was done as it actually is. You just don’t see this on
television these days, which is why this episode is so special.
This year, I’m reminded about it a bit more than usual
because my late grandfather’s birthday would have been on Monday. He was a
World War II veteran who served in India, and while I miss him, I appreciate the
significance of the ending all the more and how it treats veterans who pass on.
It’s not a perfect episode, and drags at times during the subplots, but still
the ending makes up for the rest. It is classic Christmas television.
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