Tag Archive for: The West Wing

To Err is Human, To Forgive Divine

/in /by

By Evelyn David

Let’s be honest from the get-go. I am quick to forgive and
forget, except for someone who has hurt my child. I’m still holding a grudge
against Eddie, who from age 6 to 12, made my kid’s life a living Hell. I can
tell you all the reasons why Eddie was a terror – and I don’t care one whit.
Meantimes, my son can barely remember the kid’s name and probably wouldn’t
describe the time period as Hell.

But I digress. Most times I forgive, forget, and move on. Except
for fictional characters that have been misused by their creators – or when I
believe an author or actor playing a favorite character has abused my
commitment to the show. Spoilers ahead.

I loved the mini-series Flambards .
Lusciously filmed, perfectly acted, I adored the story of Christina, a
high-spirited, wealthy young woman and the choices and sacrifices she makes to
find true love. The star-crossed lovers were from different “classes”
(this was British, after all) – but in the end, love triumphs and Christina and
Dick, formerly the quiet, poor stablehand who has a core of decency, ride off
into the virtual sunset.

I must have watched the series a dozen times and though I
was well past the Young Adult age, I read and re-read K.M. Peyton’s YA books on
which the mini-series was set.

Happy ending for all….except, two years after the
mini-series aired and fourteen years after the books were originally published
, Ms. Peyton wrote a sequel in which she completely reversed the happy ending
of the original. She had Christina discover that she really loved her wealthy
cousin (don’t ask) – and that poor Dick was never really comfortable being
wealthy.

Ms. Peyton became persona non grata in my house. I’ve never
read another word she has written.

One more example, which doesn’t reflect well on me, but…

I loved The West Wing, the incredibly ambitious, cleverly
written story about the inner workings of the White House. Or let me amend
that: I loved the first two seasons of the show. Sure I liked the
behind-the-scenes political maneuvering, the patriotic, stirring speeches of
President Jed Bartlet, but the truth is, and I’m the first to admit how shallow
this is, but the truth is I watched for the burgeoning love affair between
bold, but sensitive political operative Josh Lyman, and his smart, sassy
assistant Donna Moss. I understood that it couldn’t, even shouldn’t, be the
main storyline – but I was given glimpses of their unspoken devotion to each other over the first two seasons that I became a
total Josh/Donna Shipper. Honestly, the kids who are devoted to the Twilight
pairing had nothing on me — and I hadn’t seen adolescence in decades.

And then Aaron Sorkin got arrested for drugs, 9/11 happened,
and the next thing I knew, a new love interest was introduced (I won’t mention
her name because I’m still so bitter). UGH. And not until the last four
episodes of season 7 did the new team of writers (Sorkin left after Season 4)
return to the love story of Josh and Donna, reuniting them for eternity (at
least in my world).

But on the day that the last show aired, probably said in
jest but stinging nonetheless, Bradley Whitford, the actor who played Josh,
declared in an interview that the character should have ended up with
“that other woman.”

Hmmm. Now I could tell you that I won’t watch anything that
Aaron Sorkin writes because I don’t agree with his view of women (and I don’t).
And I could tell you that I won’t watch anything that features Bradley Whitford
because I don’t think he’s a good actor (but that isn’t true, he actually is a
very good actor). But let me say that if I can avoid it, I skip both Sorkin and
Whitford’s subsequent work because they toyed with and made fun of my
affections. Not cool.

So to return to the beginning. It is after all a (Jewish) New
Year and forgiveness is indeed divine. So I’ll turn over a new leaf and declare that I
forgive them all.
 
But forget?? Not so fast.

Are you holding any literary grudges?

Evelyn David

 

 

 

Sullivan Investigations Mystery
Murder Off the Books Kindle – Nook – Smashwords – Trade Paperback
Murder Takes the Cake Kindle – Trade Paperback (exclusive to Amazon)
Riley Come Home (short story)- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Moonlighting at the Mall (short story) – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords

 


Brianna Sullivan Mysteries – e-book series
I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries– Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
The Dog Days of Summer in Lottawatah– Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
The Holiday Spirit(s) of Lottawatah– Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Undying Love in Lottawatah- Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
A Haunting in Lottawatah – Kindle (exclusive to Amazon this month)
Lottawatah Twister – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Missing in Lottawatah – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Good Grief in Lottawatah – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords
Summer Lightning in Lottawatah – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords

The Ghosts of Lottawatah – trade paperback collection of the Brianna e-books
Book 1 – I Try Not to Drive Past Cemeteries (includes the first four Brianna e-books)
Book 2 – A Haunting in Lottawatah (includes the 5th, 6th, and 7th Brianna e-books)

Romances
Love Lessons – Kindle – Nook – Smashwords

I ♥ Geeks

/in /by

Sigh. I still crush on the geeky ones. I think pocket protectors can be sexy.

My newest heartthrob is Richard Wolffe, a Newsweek columnist and commentator on Countdown with Keith Olbermann (who I could crush on a little too). Wolffe is British and has a little lisp, but he’s so damn smart, with a particularly dry English sense of humor, that I can’t help but gush and blush a little when he appears on my screen.

Or how about Chuck Todd? Political director for MSNBC. Slightly overweight, weird goatee, same haircut that he had in his high school graduation picture, but with a brain that can crunch numbers faster than NASA engineers. But here’s what makes him swoon-worthy. He has the ability to explain in words I can understand just what all those exit polls really mean (if anything at all). Plus he seems to have the patience of a saint. He has yet to reach through the screen and throttle Chris Matthews, the pundit who won’t let anyone finish a sentence. See, that’s what makes Wolffe, Olbermann, and Todd my homeboys. They know they’re smarter, even if Matthews is louder.

I’ve always liked the ones who could walk, talk, and chew gum at the same time. Forget the World Wrestling Federation. I envision caged verbal matches. Let me see my boy Richard versus Bill O’Reilly. Let me tell you who’d be wearing that gold, championship belt.

It’s why I’d choose Hugh Laurie over Brad Pitt; Han Solo over Luke Skywalker. I loved a short-lived tv show: Beauty and The Beast, and had no trouble figuring out why the heroine would opt for the sewers and the hairy monster over all the studs walking the streets above. For West Wing fans, I hearted Josh Lyman over Sam Seaborn, and always preferred Toby Ziegler, the dark, brooding, but balding speechwriter over all the pretty boys.

It’s not an either-or proposition. You can get brains and good looks (ahem, I married one of those). But to quote that great philosopher Judge Judy, beauty fades, but dumb is forever.