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Which introduced characters didn't work for you?

posted 8 years ago by frosted_one
22 replies | jump to latest

Which characters came into the show that you thought lowered the great quality it kicked off with? For me:

Will Bailey, could be that he was the replacement Sam of sorts but I just found him to dry especially in scenes with Toby it's like the same character talking to himself at times. At least they shipped him over to Bob. I do like the actor in Big Bang Theory though.

Deborah Fiderer, not so much that I had an issue with her just that Mrs. Landingham was a tough act to follow.

Tinkerbell, ARGH fingernails down a blackboard! Not really sure what the hell her job was? Was she CJ's replacement as press secretary? Toby still seemed to cover some of that job. If CJ were qualified to become CoS would Carol have been qualified enough to move up to press secretary?

I also though the first lady taking on a bigger role was a problem. OK in small doses only.

[–] gavin_70 8 years ago

I'm a big fan of Kristen Chenoweth (who came in as Toby's assistant? after CJ's promotion) but her character really didn't work for me. Also I wasn't a fan of Kate who came in as national security advisor or something like that. Will Bailey was a big let-down after Sam, but I suspect anyone following Rob Lowe would have struggled to live up to the standard he set.

[–] Ithilfaen 8 years ago

I'm a big fan of Kristen Chenoweth

You probably should learn how to spell her name then. It's KristIn

(who came in as Toby's assistant? after CJ's promotion)

Yeah. She was Press Secretary. Were you sleeping or texting during the show?

but I suspect anyone following Rob Lowe would have struggled to live up to the standard he set.

LMAO. He was so bad, it's cringe-worthy in most episodes.

For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco

[–] smoko 8 years ago

@Ithilfaen

Yeah. She was Press Secretary. Were you sleeping or texting during the show?

To be fair, Annabeth Schott was Deputy Press Secretary - she coached Toby on how to brief the press, rather than doing it herself. I don't think we ever see her behind the lectern [insert height joke here].

You didn't like Rob Lowe as Sam? I thought he did a great job. Fun fact: Sam was initially the main character of The West Wing before it became an ensemble show.

[–] gavin_70 8 years ago

You probably should learn how to spell her name then. It's KristIn

Please accept my most humble apologies for this completely unacceptable spelling error.

Yeah. She was Press Secretary.

Yeah. It was made pretty clear during the episode she was hired that she wasn't Press Secretary. She came in while they were interviewing for Press Secretary but she made it clear that she didn't want that job and her intention was to coach Toby to be able to cover the Press Secretary role better.

Were you sleeping or texting during the show?

Probably during at least one of my rewatches. I've seen the series a few times now.

[–] Painbow 8 years ago

Will Bailey was as good as you could expect after Sam but no, he didn't dazzle.

I hated Amy -- just too irritating.

Loved Matthew Perry -- should have become a regular.

[–] The_Furry_Menace 8 years ago

I have no real problems with Will Bailey as a character, but the part that annoyed me was how it felt like he was shoe-horned into a lot of episodes in season 5. He would just sort of pop up, but there was often no logical reason for him to be in the west wing at the time.

I think I'm in the minority here, but I can't really stand Andi Wyatt. She is extremely unlikable for me, and I just can never wrap my head around what Toby loves about her.

I totally agree about Abbey Bartlet. She had some great moments in the series, but the more she is on screen in a given episode the less I tend to like her.

The increased focus on CJ as the show went on wasn't my favorite thing in the world, either.

If there is a bit of a left-field pick for a character that I think could've been interesting if they had kept him around longer, it would be Ryan Pierce. It would have been a fine line, because he also could have gotten annoying in a hurry. But there was something I liked about that character.

I could write shorter sermons but when I get started I'm too lazy to stop. - Lincoln

[–] SaliceMcD 8 years ago

We're a minority of at least two re Andi Wyatt. I found her to be very hard-edged.

[–] segsig 8 years ago

I never thought I'd see someone say CJ in this thread! Thank you. I also did not appreciate the increased focus, first of all and I've said this a ton - her being COS was just plain stupid (she needed the census explained to her, she was never going to see the big picture). But, also earlier CJ-centric episodes like Access and the one where she goes to visit her dad and the reunion - hated them.

[–] mcigloo 8 years ago

Agree with you on a couple points.

While it's VERY hard for me to be critical in any way of this show (it's my absolute favorite TV show ever by a mile) I also did have an extremely hard time trying to talk myself into believing that CJ as Chief of Staff was in anyway plausible. I won't go into all the details why that's such a stretch as there are numerous threads on here where people have very eloquently and unabashedly listed a lot of the points I would make.

Also, I binge watch the entire series from beginning to end at least 2-3 times a year and while there are, of course, some episodes I can't wait to get to and some that just serve as background noise while I'm doing some work on my laptop etc, there is only one episode that I absolutely skip every time and that's the CJ going home for dad/reunion you mentioned.

[–] Information-Police (4889) 2 years ago

They did inconsistent things with CJ. Sometimes she was a ditz but others a supergenius.
Sometimes she was clumsy, yet she was supposedly the Ohio HS gurls basketball player of the year.

I guess it's a testament to the show that I expected better consistency.

[–] garry-r-richards 8 years ago

Angela Blake. Even worse than the appalling Mandy

[–] buildersent 8 years ago

Will Bailey - the absolute worst character ever in the WW.

If wanting illegals deported makes me a bigot - then wanting a rapist jailed makes you a sexist!

[–] LMayberry-2 8 years ago

I liked Will Bailey when written by Aaron Sorkin, but after Sorkin left the show, he was sent to the dark side of the Force. Josh Malina saved Sorkin's life (he was choking on a hot dog) so I think John Wells was taking revenge.

Mandy was so annoying, I almost gave up on the show after watching the Pilot. I hated Amy and Angela Blake.

But more often, there were characters I would have liked to have seen more of.

All the world is a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.

[–] JGandB 8 years ago

Absolute least favorite was Donna...she was my "nails on a chalkboard" character...Good thing I can FF past her on Netflix.

[–] jonathan-m-stone 8 years ago

I loathed Kate Harper. Actress who played her was good; just hated the character. Can't really articulate why..... a bit too perfect I suppose. I like a character to have flaws.

[–] laughran17 8 years ago

Ditto.

It's a great day for America everybody!