Access was a triumph. The documentary-makers-follow-characters idea has been around for years, and has been done to varying degrees of success on everything from ER to Babylon 5. The West Wing, not surprisingly, has raised the bar by quite a distance with last night’s episode.
CJ Craig was the focus of the episode, set three years after the end of the Bartlet Administration, and the pseudo-documentary covered her day as the press secretary, during a rather stressful, Waco-inspired situation. Aside from providing three-time Emmy award winner Allison Janney with yet another chance to show off her magnificent abilities, it also offered another glimpse into the little people that power the machinery of the White House.
The West Wing is very good at showcasing the small but vital contributions of those that toil in the trenches…so much so that they have risen to the upper echelons of the cast (most notably Donna, Josh’s assistant). Access was a beautiful showcase of the press department — and the fact that CJ does not do her job alone. There are names to these faces, there are hurt feelings, and there are personal issues that must be put aside. A telling line comes from CJ, who wonders aloud about the phrase “you can’t serve two masters”…and yet she realizes that is exactly what she must do in order to be successful at her job.
The icing on the cake is the breathtaking, epic scope of the episode…it DID feel like a PBS documentary, and it DID make the hairs on the back of my neck stand at attention, as it usually does during moments of historical importance. Great television is separated from mediocre television because it can do this time and time again…unfortunately, shows such as The West Wing are very rare…perhaps a dying breed.
So enjoy episodes like Access while you can….
