Despite having watching the series about 74,000 times, I’m still bothered that the Netflix/DVD version of The West Wing‘s “Isaac and Ishmael” omits the intro that aired with it back in 2001. While I recognize that the message isn’t appropriate now, the context that’s lost is more-confusing for new viewers.
In particular, this bit from the end of the intro, delivered by the character Joshua Lyman, is important:
Now, don’t panic. We’re in show business and we’ll get back to tending our egos in short order, but tonight we offer a play–it’s called “Isaac and Ishmael.” We suggest you don’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out where this episode comes in in the timeline of the series; it doesn’t. It’s a story-telling aberration, if you’ll allow.
It is definitely confusing with how this is presented on Netflix without the intro. It is interesting how my reaction to this episode and the commentary presented has evolved since the time this first aired.