Though Allison Janney played White House press secretary C.J. Cregg for seven seasons on “The West Wing,” she was so busy filming that she rarely had time to watch the show during its run. And, like many actors, found herself being overly critical of her own work. When Variety asked her to pick some favorite moments, she recalled many fond memories. And now she says: “I think I’m at a place where I’m going to enjoy watching that show and will not have any problem looking at anything I did.”

“There are some funny moments I love. There’s a Thanksgiving episode that has a scene where CJ’s in her office with two turkeys trying to figure out which one is going to get pardoned. I just love that I got to do something like going into the Oval Office. Then convincing the president that he needed to pardon two turkeys is even more hilarious. I also love the episode where Toby comes and drafts C.J. for the team and she falls in the pool. Or the episode where C.J. and Charlie prank each other, that’s a fun one.

“One of my favorites is where C.J. gets to dress down a four-star general. [Season two, episode five, ‘And It’s Surely to Their Credit.’] She stands up to him after he calls her ‘kitten’ and tries to belittle her. I love when she stands up with all her power and all her smarts, and watching it, I get chills. I think, ‘That is a woman I wish I were like.’ She inspires me to be a better person.”

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