Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
Weird
There’s no hard science on the matter, but I bet if you took an informal poll of West Wing fans and asked them who their favorite character is, C.J. Cregg would be incredibly tough to beat. Played by Allison Janney — who won four Emmy Awards for her performance — C.J. was the lone female voice in President Bartlet’s inner circle, and especially in the early seasons, hers was a struggle for the respect of her co-workers and of the president himself.
C.J.’s evolution across The West Wing‘s seven seasons was dramatic. She had the show’s most prominent love stories (Danny; Simon), she graduated from press secretary to chief of staff in season 6, and she ushered the Bartlet administration through its final months seemingly all on her own. Along the way, she had dozens of memorable episodes and dozens more where she had memorable scenes.
It pained me to leave out, for example, C.J.’s two stellar Big Block of Cheese day episodes, where she was schooled on the topics of wolf highways (“The Crackpots and These Women”) and accuracy in mapmaking (“Somebody’s Going to Emergency, Somebody’s Going to Jail”). I wished I’d have been able to include all the times she hollered at Josh (“A Proportional Response,” “Celestial Navigation,” “The U.S. Poet Laureate”) or convinces the president of her argument (“Galileo”) or tells Donna the truth she needs to hear (“No Exit”). And it really pained me to leave out “Here Today,” the episode where C.J. finds out that Toby was the leak of the classified military shuttle information.
One episode it didn’t pain me to leave out was season 4’s “The Long Goodbye,” which might seem strange for a C.J.-centric list given that the episode is a massive showcase for the character. She returns to her hometown, deals with her Alzheimer’s-afflicted father, and has a quick fling with Matthew Modine. Janney is typically fantastic in the episode, but taking any one West Wing character outside the realm of the White House and the other members of the ensemble just doesn’t add up to a very rewarding West Wing episode. Put an asterisk next to that one if you like, but we’ve got ten episodes that fare even better.
"Six Meetings Before Lunch" (Season 1, Episode 18)
The flashiest part of this episode is when Bartlet staffers gather in C.J.’s office to watch her lip sync (for her life!) to “The Jackal.” It was a great early indicator of the hidden depths of Janney’s talent and charisma. But what’s really the best part of the episode is when C.J. has to get incredibly assertive with the President to make sure he doesn’t charge into the press room and turn a non-story about his daughter into a big story. “You’re gonna have to get in [the President’s] face,” Sam tells her, and as crazy as that sounds to C.J., that’s exactly what she does.
"Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics" (Season 1, Episode 21)
C.J.’s insecurity in the first season’s episodes were a running concern. She’d be iced out of important information on India/Pakistan, she got the side eye for keeping too close a relationship to Danny. In this episode, C.J. aired out her frustrations to Josh after a week of nobody believing her when she predicted they’d go up five points in the polling. The restrained joy and satisfaction on her face when she tells the group that they went up nine points is such a wonderful moment of triumph.
"Shibboleth" (Season 2, Episode 8)
In an otherwise somber and thoughtful episode (Bartlet deals with a group of Chinese Catholics seeking asylum in the States), C.J. gets the comic relief, dealing with the annual pardoning of the Thanksgiving turkeys. After showing up to find them free-ranging in her office, C.J. puts dear Eric and Troy through a series of camera tests, then later arranges to have both turkeys pardoned out of guilt. Janney is a brilliantly talented comedic actress, so C.J. was a great choice to do lighter fare.
"Manchester" (Season 3, Episodes 2/3)
The two-part kick-off to season 3 saw C.J. at her professional low, with flashbacks to her disastrous press briefing after the MS reveal. Claiming that the President would be “relieved” to be focusing on a military crisis in Haiti, C.J. ended up majorly in the dog house, to the point where she spent the bulk of the present timeline in “Manchester” strategizing for how she was going to resign. The two standout scenes of the episode — C.J. screwing up in the press briefing and C.J. attempting to resign to Bartlet in the barn — are two of the best-acted scenes in the history of the show.
"On the Day Before" (Season 3, Episode 5)
In this episode, C.J. finds herself under spiteful assault by lightweight reporter Sherri Wexler, who puts C.J. on blast for being ill-informed about two American teens who were murdered in Israel. C.J.’s revenge on Sherri is classic Aaron Sorkin (shaming someone by exposing their ignorance), but it’s also wildly satisfying to watch.
"The Women of Qumar" (Season 3, Episode 9)
This was the episode that won the Emmy for Allison Janney the year she leveled up to lead actress after winning two supporting actress trophies. It makes sense; C.J. is the whole show here, reacting to the Bartlet administration selling arms to the fictional Islamic fundamentalist nation of Qumar. Aaron Sorkin’s reactionary response to 9/11 aside, Janney plays C.J. anger and frustration so well, boiling over in a hallway argument with Nancy McNally (Anna Deavere Smith), and in an ongoing cold war with Toby. Watching her pull it all together in a meeting about a possible Mad Cow outbreak is a triumph in its own way.
"Enemies, Foreign and Domestic" (Season 3, Episode 20)
After C.J. communicates harsh words about Saudi Arabia in a briefing, she begins to get death threats. They’re serious enough that she’s assigned a Secret Service detail, in the person of Simon Donovan (Mark Harmon). The mini-arc between C.J. and Simon lasted fewer episodes than you maybe remember, if only because the relationship loomed so large for the show. Their first meeting has some great static-y chemistry and ranks up there with some of the best romantic diversions in the series. Three episodes later, Simon would be killed in a convenience store robbery, but the beginning of this arc was really sweet.
"Privateers" (Season 4, Episode 18)
This makes the list for one scene, but it’s SUCH a great scene. C.J. gets Will Bailey and Amy Gardner to help her deal with a possible bit of bad press having to do with a Daughters of the American Revolution event that might shun the First Lady. But when faced with one Marion Coatesworth-Hay of Marblehead, C.J. completely lost her composure. The greatest giggle fit on television? Maybe!
"Liftoff" (Season 6, Episode 4)
After Leo’s heart attack, the question was who would take over his position as Bartlet’s chief of staff. C.J. seemed perhaps a rung or two below Josh or Toby, but in terms of the TV show, C.J. was the obvious choice. On her first day on the job, we see how much of a bumpy road it is, particularly when she starts having to give orders to someone like Toby. There’s also the moment when the guys on staff all hand in their resignations — revealed to be a prank — is probably the last moment of camaraderie among the staff, considering later on in that episode, Josh meets with Santos and gets the ball rolling on the series endgame.
"Institutional Memory" (Season 7, Episode 21)
In the penultimate episode of the series, we get a great swan song episode where C.J. preps for her final days in the White House by fielding various job offers — one from a billionaire philanthropist; one from President-Elect Santos —and tries to navigate a relationship with Danny. Even with the show ending, there’s a temptation in the viewer to want to see C.J. continue on working at the White House — back with Josh, back with Sam — but the implication that she’ll be going on to save the world with $10 billion dollars is enough to make you want to see a spinioff.
