The crisis facing President Bartlet was the investigation into the non-disclosure of his multiple scelorsis; the more pressing problem for creator Aaron Sorkin was the world post-9/11.
But after a very public gaffe (the sermonising Isaac And Ishmael episode), it was back to business as usual namely overlapping dialogue, a liberal agenda and witty comebacks about trade deficits.
Watched back-to-back, the dropped characters and abandoned story arcs that plague Sorkins deadline-day scripts become obvious but, even so, this remains the smartest, snappiest, most ambitious entertainment around, and features the most evenly matched ensemble on TV.
