Another worthy entry in the WEST WING yule-a-thon! The presidential family gathers for Christmas dinner at the White House...sort of. Jed is stuck in a meeting, Ellie arrives even later, and people are coming and going from the table as family drama swirls, most of it over Liz and her husband Doug Westin (Steven Eckholdt - THE L WORD), who comes to Josh seeking the President's endorsement in a run for congress. The DNC has another candidate in mind, and Josh miserably and repeatedly tries to get this message across. Steven would do five episodes, and have some great moments. The most whopping scene in this one is between Jed and Liz, where a family's past and present come thudding together.
2 Reviews
Surprisingly one of my favorite episodes
stefanchikm-201819 November 2023
Abu El Banat, Father of Daughters in Arabic, is surprisingly one of my favorite West Wing episodes. The holiday episodes are generally the better ones in my opinion because the show does an excellent job of capturing the White House traditions and the opulent decorations, alongside the reality that government never takes a holiday. The reason it is surprising to me that I like this episode so much is that this is the season after Aaron Sorkin and Rob Lowe left. You can notice the difference but it is still an excellent show. So many of the themes endure two decades later. Also I appreciate the emphasis on the daughters in this particular episode, along with the separate storyline related to assisted suicide.
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