Teleplay by: Aaron Sorkin (29)
Story by: Patrick H. Caddell (6)
Directed by: Laura Innes (2)
Synopsis
- It's Thanksgiving, and President Bartlet has to decide how to handle a group of Chinese stowaways asking for religious asylum. Toby wants to stir up a fight on school prayer by nominating Leo's sister, a fiery school superintendent, to a post in the Department of Education. Jed hands down a family heirloom to Charlie, and CJ deals with a pair of turkeys as she decides which one gets a Presidential pardon.
"Faith is the true shibboleth."
You may recall back in my discussion of In Excelsis Deo how much I appreciate holiday-themed episodes of television series, and how they often generate some of the strongest and fondest memories of those shows. Well, here's the first Thanksgiving episode of The West Wing (first aired the day before Thanksgiving, 2000), and sure enough, it's a classic. Just the scene of Jed handing down his family heirloom carving knife to Charlie, the strongest image yet of how Charlie has become the son Jed never had, is an all-time great. I mean, look at his face after the President says, "These were made for my family by a Boston silversmith named Paul Revere":
In keeping with the overall message of Thanksgiving, the overarching theme here is indeed faith: Faith of the Christian refugees from China, who endured weeks at sea to flee to America; faith of the President in trusting their motives; faith of a father in the son he never had; Toby's (somewhat misguided) faith in forcing a battle to right the wrongs of his past; and, if you want to stretch it a bit, CJ's faith in the power of the Presidency to save turkeys.
Our story begins somewhat differently from the typical scene-setting of The West Wing. We start in San Diego, with Coast Guard officers and immigration officials discussing the discovery of stowaways on a container ship from China. This is a bit odd - things like the Cuban refugee flotilla in Pilot or the Idaho hostage standoff in The State Dinner have always been off-screen, only discussed at a remove by our characters in Washington. So this is a different tack than what we're used to (apparently the Coast Guard was totally onboard with the scene, viewing it as a fantastic advertising opportunity). In any event, these stowaways are viewed as everyday illegal immigrants at first, as the government makes plans to send them back to China - until the refugees make a claim for religious asylum as persecuted Christians.
This puts the administration in a dilemma. Ignoring their claim and sending them back would anger the conservative Christian right, already not a fan of the Bartlet White House. Accepting them as escapees from persecution would upset the Chinese, and with plenty of sensitive negotiations on the table (as Leo says, the sale of Boeing 747s, a deal on protecting American copyrights, and a settlement with Tibet, among others) that move could dash a lot of foreign policy hopes. The President decides to talk with one of the stowaways, in an attempt to find out if their religious claim is genuine - and thus comes the title of the episode. A story in the Bible (Judges, chapter 12) indicates the word "shibboleth" was used as a kind of password; certain tribesmen trying to cross into enemy territory were asked to say the word aloud. Because of their tribal dialect, they would be unable to pronounce the "SH" sound, thereby proving they were foe, not friend. The President wants to sound out the refugees for himself, and get an indication of their true intent - a "shibboleth" of sorts.
The Chinese man invited to the White House, Jhin-Wei, knows what he's there for, and he quite eloquently makes his case - the President is going to have to take the refugees on faith:
Jhin-Wei: "Mr. President, Christianity is not demonstrated through a recitation of facts. You're seeking evidence of faith, a wholehearted acceptance of God's promise for a better world. 'For we hold that man is justified by faith alone' is what St. Paul said. 'Justified by faith alone.' Faith is the true ... uh, I'm trying to ... shibboleth. Faith is the true shibboleth."
So President Bartlet is confident in the true intent of these refugees, but he's still faced with the problems China will give him if he accepts their asylum request. He turns to some trickery, asking the governor of California to allow the National Guard troops guarding the Chinese to let them to slip away. That gives his government cover in their relations with China (not granting asylum and thereby confronting China on their persecution of Christians) and also gives China a bragging point for their internal use (even a bunch of weak men, women, and children from China can escape from the imperialist American military). I have to say, I don't know if this move would really placate the religious right (who are itching for the opportunity to call out China on their treatment of Christians), but it is better than sending the stowaways back.
Speaking of itching for a fight, Toby has sneaked an extra name into the list of recess appointments President Bartlet will make over the holidays (with the Senate not in session, the Constitution allows the President to make appointments to positions subject to Senate confirmation without their action, with such appointments lasting until the end of the current Congress - although wouldn't that just be the upcoming January, with midterm elections having just happened?). Toby wants to put Leo's sister Josephine McGarry into an Education Department post. While she's perfectly qualified, she's also been a stridently vocal opponent of school-sponsored prayer. Toby knows this move will generate a fight with conservatives, but it's a fight he wants to have (for his own reasons):
Toby: "It's the fourth-grader who gets his ass kicked at recess cause he sat out the voluntary prayer in homeroom. It's another way of making kids different from other kids when they're required by law to be there. That's why you want it front and center; fourth grader; that's the prize."
Leo (concerned) "What'd they do to you?"
It's a plan that probably would have worked as Toby intended (President Bartlet is willing to have that fight) until a small-town newspaper photo is revealed showing Dr. McGarry joining in the arrest of students trying to pray at a high school football game. The visuals are going to be public dynamite, and when Josephine admits to Leo that she tipped off the photographer to ensure there would be a picture, her appointment is kaput. But Leo is still on Toby's side:
Leo: "You're right about that part. That part needs to be talked about more."
Keeping with the holiday theme, President Bartlet has Charlie on a wild goose chase for a new carving knife. He's not easily satisfied (Mrs. Landingham tells Charlie, "He's very particular," with Charlie replying, "That's one word for it."), but, as Jed eventually tells Charlie, he wants a carving knife he can trust, one that can be passed down through the generations. At last Charlie asks the question - why are you looking for a new knife, don't you already have one? - and the truth becomes known. Jed is passing on his family carving knife, one made by Paul Revere, to none other than Charlie. We've certainly seen a growing appreciation of Charlie by the President over the past year, since he joined the White House in A Proportional Response, and the undercurrent of Jed treating him as his own son has been building. Now it's clear and in the open. Perhaps it's another way, too, of granting his blessing towards Charlie's relationship with Zoey (which we haven't heard much about since The Midterms five episodes ago, although by The West Wing calendar those elections happened only two weeks prior to this episode). In any event, the search for the carving knife capped by the passing down of the heirloom to Charlie is a classic storyline for West Wing viewers.
As is, to a certain extent, CJ's struggle with the turkeys. The traditional Presidential pardoning happens just before Thanksgiving, with two turkeys are usually sent to the White House with the Press Secretary deciding which one is more photogenic for the Rose Garden ceremony. They arrive here on the Sunday evening prior to Thanksgiving, and given that CJ has just scoffed at Toby, Sam, and Josh for goofing off during the holiday, they gleefully volunteer CJ's office as the place to store the turkeys. (Of course she's right, though, since they're developing Pilgrim detective sitcoms, flipping nickels, and making plans to watch football.) That prank gives us this moment on Monday morning when CJ comes to work:
Donna (rushing down the hallway): "The turkeys came."
CJ: "So Carol said."
CJ has to decide between Eric and Troy as to which turkey gets to be pardoned. After testing them with camera flashes in their faces (they both pass), she picks Eric and apologizes to Troy, leading her to reconsider her professional choices:
CJ: "I'll tell you what's of some concern to me, that I've been talking out loud this whole time, that's very unsettling."
After the pick is made, a farm employee returns to take Troy back to the farm, as he's been sold to a hungry customer - something CJ did not realize and doesn't want any part of:
Morton: "No. I gotta take a turkey back."
CJ: "I'm going to buy them from you. What's he, 30 bucks?"
Morton: "These turkeys are 275 dollars."
CJ: "For a turkey?"
Morton: "They're specially raised."
CJ: "At the Waldorf?"
(In reality, both turkeys provided are "pardoned" and typically live out their lives in a children's petting zoo.)
CJ goes for the only angle she can think of; a second pardon. Which only works if Morton believes the President can actually override the sale of poultry by using Constitutional powers:
President: "By the power vested in me by the Constitution of the United States, I hereby pardon you."
Morton: "Okay."
President; "No, it's not okay. Morton, I can't pardon a turkey. If you think I can pardon a turkey, then you have got to go back to your school and insist that you be better prepared to go out in the world."
Donna: "You can't pardon a turkey?"
(President stares at Donna)
The President ends up drafting Troy the turkey into the military and paying the farmer for the lost sale, so it all works out in the end.
A Thanksgiving tradition for many viewers, Shibboleth uses the examination of faith and how (or if) it can be determined as a throughline for the holiday week. Add on some political maneuvering with recess appointments, a Paul Revere carving knife, and two turkeys hanging out in CJ's office, and you have a classic.
Tales Of Interest!
- The recap shown here - usually scenes from previous weeks that pertain to this episode - is just clips of several of the characters introducing themselves and their job titles. The West Wing does this from time to time, either because there's not much to connect from previous episodes, or as a way to introduce new viewers to the show.
- Timelines, timelines - it's interesting how much the show runners have squeezed into the time frame between the elections in The Midterms (shown in the episode as November 7, the real Election Day in 2000) and this episode (which clearly begins the Sunday prior to Thanksgiving, which in 2000 was November 19). There's only been one full week in between, and that appeared to be covered by Ainsley's hiring in In This White House - yet there have been three additional episodes since that, including a weekend trip to Portland, Oregon. These guys are quite the busy little beavers.
- I know the real reason (cause it's funny) but it's tough to understand why CJ would allow the turkeys to stay in her office all week. Not only that, her office would quickly be covered in turkey droppings (you can't house-train a turkey). Without that, though, we wouldn't have such moments as Allison Janney reacting to a turkey flapping its wings in her back:
Or the sight of CJ and Donna trying to pick up a turkey, or shoo it around, or whatever they're trying to do here:
Donna: "The guy said to support him under his hindquarters."
CJ: "Well, I don't know where his hindquarters are and I'm not going to look that hard."Also, if the pardoning ceremony occurs on Wednesday, why are the turkeys still in CJ's office on Thanksgiving? Why is everybody here and working on Thanksgiving day (especially when Sam, Toby, and Josh said they were going to watch football all day)? Is the Presidential Thanksgiving proclamation typically not given until Thanksgiving day, or would it be given during the turkey pardoning ceremony the day before? So many questions ...
- When CJ is asking about the "Jamestown, Mayflower, Daughters of the American Revolution Society" and Toby responds with "Let's not torture American history to death," he follows up by saying Jamestown was the 16th century (with the Mayflower in the 17th century and the Revolutionary War in the 18th century). Turns out Jamestown was settled in 1607, which is pretty clearly the 17th century, not the 16th.
- This is Laura Innes' second time directing for The West Wing, and she received an Emmy nomination for this episode (Thomas Schlamme won the Emmy for In The Shadow Of Two Gunmen). She came up with a sort of hazy, filtered look here, which I think fits the Thanksgiving theme. In particular, the way scenes are shot gives kind of a "flare" look to light sources, specifically candelabra-like fixtures, but the kind-of "light dazzle" effect is seen throughout.
- We don't get a look at what's in Gail's fishbowl this time, but we do notice someone was nice enough to move her bowl off the desk and onto a bookshelf, trying to get Gail out of harm's way once the turkeys took over the office:
Quotes
Sam: "A small band of pilgrims sought out a place in the New World where they could worship according to their own beliefs ... and solve crimes."
Toby: "Sam -"
Sam: "It'd be good."
Toby: "Read the thing."
Sam: "By day, they churn butter and worship according to their own beliefs and by night, they solve crimes."
Toby: "Read the thing."
Sam: "Pilgrim detectives."
-----
Leo: "Now we have laws and they are difficult and they have to be enforced, and it's right that they're enforced - but we do not strut, ever!"
-----
Leo: "Did we get an interpreter?"
President: "He speaks English. He's a chemistry professor."
Leo: "Yeah?"
President: "There was a while there I wanted to be a chemistry professor."
Leo: "What happened?"
President: "I never actually studied chemistry."
-----
Toby: "Listen, I don't know what you're doing for dinner tonight, but Josh and Sam and I -"
CJ: "It's about damn time you asked me! I have been sitting here for two weeks turning down all kinds of very, frankly, glamorous invitations from people I like more than you. You can't ask a girl at the last minute -"
Toby: "Well, if you can't come ..."
CJ: "No, I can come, I can come, I can come."
Toby: "Good."
CJ: "Should I bring anything?"
Toby: "Yeah, do you, do you know how to, you know, cook food?"
-----
CJ: "They sent me two turkeys. The most photo-friendly of the two gets a Presidential pardon and a full life at a children's zoo. The runner-up gets eaten."
President: "If the Oscars were like that, I'd watch."
Story threads, callbacks, and familiar faces (Hey, it's that guy!)
- The fellow with Rev. Caldwell and Mary Marsh, John La Salle (what he's called in the script, he's never actually called by name during the episode), is played by very recognizable character actor Sam Anderson (many, many TV appearances, including significant runs on Perfect Strangers, ER, and Lost).
- Speaking of Rev. Al Caldwell and Mary Marsh, those characters were first seen in Pilot. It's good to see Marsh is the same old antagonistic harridan that nearly got Josh fired back then.
- Josh is back to tapping the top of Leo's doorway again, as we saw two episodes ago in The Lame Duck Congress:
- Another excellent view of Jed's jacket flip! As mentioned previously, Martin Sheen suffered an injury to his left arm when he was born, so he came up with a unique way to put on a jacket, basically starting with it backwards and flipping it over his head while he slips his arms inside:
- It's sort of a foreshadowing for a future Thanksgiving episode when President Bartlet says the people who bought Troy can use his check to buy themselves a Butterball instead. You'll see.
DC location shots
- No location shots in DC here, although the opening scene with the Coast Guard and the immigration official was filmed in San Pedro, California.
They Do Exist! It's The Real Person, or Thing
- President Bartlet refers to Josephine McGarry as "All About Eve," the 1950 Bette Davis movie about a conniving starlet who pretends to befriend another actress before stealing a role from her.
- Leo brings up the artist Norman Rockwell, known for his affectionate portraits of everyday Americana, while talking about the photo of his sister involved in arresting high school students.
- There appears to be a bust of John F. Kennedy in Leo's office. We've talked about real-life Presidents in The West Wing universe before (we know from The State Dinner there's an aircraft carrier named the Kennedy), but here's evidence JFK existed in this world.
- CJ asks if the turkeys were "specially raised" in the Waldorf, meaning the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York.
- And of course, Paul Revere was a Revolutionary War hero and real-life silversmith in Boston.
- Product placement: All the knives President Bartlet refers to are real: Chef's Choice knives were made by Edgecraft, although I'm unsure if they still make knives (the website shows only sharpeners and meat slicers); Messermeister is a German knife company, and the Meridian Elite 3000 series is among their products; and Komin Yamada is a Japanese designer who designed knives for Global. Also, the Butterball company (as mentioned above) sells turkeys to the public.
End credits freeze frame: Eric the turkey chilling out on CJ's sofa.
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