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Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone.
IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: May 3, 1975
WHY IT’S IMPORTANT: Dulé Hill was not in the first episode of The West Wing. His character, Charlie Young, didn’t arrive until the series’ third episode, and not a moment too soon given the backlash to the show’s lily-white cast. Charlie’s first episode actually comments on things like diversity in the workplace and tokenism, albeit in a fairly speaking-from-privilege kind of way. Aaron Sorkin’s not as bad on race stuff as he is on gender stuff, but there’s something about the way Josh Lyman nods towards the optics of a black man opening doors for the President that feels perfunctory.
Regardless, Charlie was an invaluable addition to the Bartlet White House. For one thing, he brought out Jed’s fatherly instincts, which were always some of the President’s better qualities.
He was also able to serve as a kind of inquisitive everyman, allowing the storytellers to find a space in the show to explain a particularly tangled or wonky political concept. In this regard, he fared much better than, say, Donna.
Also, not for nothing, but Charlie and Zoey were also the single best romantic storyline on the show, all due apologies to CJ/Danny and Josh/Donna shippers (not like Josh/Donna shippers will ever be placated).
So happiest of birthdays, Dulé Hill. May you one day delver a prank to C.J. that she will never get you back for.
[You can stream The West Wing on Twitter.]
