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‘The West Wing’ 25 Best Episodes, Ranked From Great to Perfect


The 25 best episodes of "The West Wing," ranked from great to perfect.

“The West Wing” was the ideal TV show for adults who spent their childhood watching the “Schoolhouse Rock” segment “I’m Just a Bill” on repeat: It was a cultural phenomenon that made it cool to care about government, thanks to a likable cast of characters and a healthy dose of elegantly rendered soapy drama. Image Credit: Warner Bros. TV While still on “Friends,” the late Matthew Perry made an interesting detour from the West Village to the White House as Joe Quincy, a conservative lawyer who happens upon a scandalous bombshell: Vice President Hoynes (Tim Matheson) has been having an affair with a socialite that led to leaked classified information. Looking back, it really does have all the ingredients of a quintessential episode of “The West Wing.” The president corners Sam and Toby (Richard Schiff) into emotionally charged chess matches; an escalating international crisis unfolds in the Situation Room; and Josh and Donna (Janel Moloney) lead a preachy lesson in fictitious American political history that is so well written it feels like it should be real.

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