“The West Wing,” Isaac and Ishmael
When 9/11 happened, the fall season of “The West Wing” had already been written and shot. Aaron Sorkin, however, felt that his political show about America should have something to say about the country’s greatest national tragedy. He created ‘Isaac and Ishmael’ as a response. It was quickly written and shot as a standalone episode, and it feels that way. Not only does it not track with any of the other stories in the season, but the characters do things that seem wildly out-of-character, like Toby suddenly being racist. Instead of adding compelling drama, the hour feels like Sorkin’s personal musings on what happened, spoken through his characters, and feels much more suited to an op-ed than an hour of television.