Seven reasons why Josh Lyman is my favorite TV character ever

“It’s the characters, stupid!” I know you’ve heard me say it before: the most important piece of any good drama — be it television, film, literature, or theater — is having good characters. On my favorite show, it’s easy to identify my favorite: Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman … sure he has a different title by show’s end, but this one kind of defines him.

Josh is my favorite because I identify with him the most. I think, from a personality perspective, we are pretty similar (my father always says I’m more like Sam, but lets be honest: is there anyone out there that could compare Sam’s optimism with my … well … me-ism)? So, I’ve put together a list of reasons why Josh would totally be, like, my BFF. Forever.

1. The problem with the whole brain-mouth filter. Josh always has a habit of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, all the way back to the pilot. From alienating religious people, to “causing” a prominent Senator to switch sides, Josh’s mouth was always getting him into trouble. And there’s always that secret plan to fight inflation.
2. Saying the right thing at the right time. For all of the times that Josh got himself into trouble, he said it right just as often. Telling the President that [paraphrasing] “he would want to be a comfort to his friends in tragedy, and celebrate in triumph, and for the times in between to just be able to look them in the eye,” is one of the more noble things ever said on the show. And believe me, that’s saying something.
3. He’s kind of, well … broken. The guy has had two separate therapists named Stanley. Before he ever had to deal with the horror that was being shot, he was still unable to forgive himself for his sister’s passing (or his father’s death, or picking Hoynes, or anything, really). It’s only after he suffers a final great loss (Leo) that he’s able to lean on his one true love and grow past it.
4. He is fiercely loyal to his friends. No better example then when he was willing to throw his morals out the window to protect Leo — via a trip to see Sam’s “friend” — “You’re Leo McGarry; You won’t be taken down by this small fraction of a man. I won’t permit it.”
5. He’s a brilliant political mind. My favorite line in all of season five was when Abigail busted her husband’s chops by asking, “Where’s Josh?” Within 15 minutes of TV time, Josh had pulled off the best political maneuver the show had ever seen, having the President walk to Congress, take advantage of the situation by having him sit outside the Speaker’s office, and then leave after waiting too long. I’m sure it played brilliantly on faux-MSNBC.
6. He has no idea how the Internet works. “CJ, it’s a crazy place.  See, it’s got this dictatorial leader who I’m sure wears a muumuu and chain-smokes Parliaments.”
7. Let’s face it … he’s obviously clueless when it comes to women. I mean, sure, he and Amy were never meant to be, but (and this is done as Piven from Grosse Pointe Blank) SEVEN YEARS, man, SEVEN YEARS. Not only is Janel Maloney an unbelievable beauty, but if you can’t see that you and Donna are made for each other, well, then you just don’t deserve it.

Believe me, I love all of the characters that Aaron Sorkin (and John Wells, Chris Misiano, Alex Graves, and anyone else) wrote into this show. Josh stands out though. If you take a step back and look at the series as a whole, his is the character that changed the most, that grew the most from the first episode to the last. That kind of growth defines a great character, and Josh was no exception.

Clacked by Ivey West
on Oct 01, 2009 @ 17:00 EST5EDT