West Wing's cast split

[deird1]

I am currently rewatching West Wing, in the traditional way I do season 6: watch all episodes that include Josh, and skip all the rest.

You may recall that seasons 6 and 7 are both pretty much split between episodes set in the current White House and episodes about Matt Santos running for President. But there's a big difference between the way I watch season 6 and the way I watch season 7. (I skip in season 6; I watch all of season 7.) This is not because of a difference in quality, but a difference in cast.

In season 6 we have this:

Bartlet as President
starring Jed Bartlet
Leo McGarry
Toby Ziegler
CJ Cregg

Santos for President
starring Josh Lyman
Will Bailey
Donna Moss


And in season 7:

Bartlett as President
starring Jed Bartlett
Will Bailey
CJ Cregg

Santos for President
starring Josh Lyman
Donna Moss
Leo McGarry
Toby Ziegler


You see the difference. I find Leo and Toby very entertaining – when they're snarking at Josh. By themselves, being angsty, I find them deathly boring. So I skip all the episodes about them in the White House sans Josh. But as soon as Will is back in the White House and Toby is stuck in an apartment being snidely sarcastic to Josh, I am once again very interested in watching.