The West Wing (TV series)
The West Wing is a popular and widely acclaimed
American television serial drama created by
Aaron Sorkin that ran from
1999 to
2006. It was produced and, in its later years, co-written by
John Wells after Sorkin left the show at the end of its fourth season. The series is set in the
West Wing of a fictionalized
White House, the location of the
Oval Office and offices of presidential senior staff, during the
Democratic administration of
Josiah Bartlet (
Martin Sheen).
The West Wing was produced by
Warner Bros. It first aired on
NBC in 1999, and has been broadcast by many
networks in
dozens of other countries. The series ended its seven year run on
May 14,
2006.
[Bauder, David. "NBC Cancels 'West Wing' After 7 Seasons." ABC News. 22 January 2006. Accessed 12 February 2006.]The show received positive reviews from critics,
political science professors, and former White House staffers. Overall,
The West Wing has won two
Golden Globe Awards and 24
Emmy Awards — winning the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series four times consecutively.
["Awards for The West Wing" IMDB.com. Accessed 10 December 2005.] The show's popularity waned in later years, but it remained popular among high-income viewers, a key demographic for the show and its advertisers.
[Byrne, Bridget. "Will NBC Reelect West Wing?" Originally printed in E!Online. 10 October 2002. Reprinted at Bartlet4America. Accessed 12 December 2005.]The West Wing employed a broad
ensemble cast to portray the many positions involved in the daily work of the federal government. The President, the First Lady, and the President's senior staff and advisors form the core of this cast. Numerous secondary characters, appearing intermittently, complement storylines that generally revolve around this core group.
The following table summarizes the main cast. The position listed is the job that the character held in the first season, before any changes took place.
Additions to the cast following the first season include
Joshua Malina as speech writer and campaign guru
Will Bailey,
Mary McCormack as deputy National Security Advisor
Kate Harper,
Kristin Chenoweth as communications advisor
Annabeth Schott,
Jimmy Smits as
Texas Congressman Matt Santos, and
Alan Alda as
Senator Arnold Vinick of
California.
Each of the principal actors made approximately $75,000 an episode, with Sheen's most recently confirmed salary being $300,000.
[ Errico, Marcus. "Détente on West Wing Set." E!Online. 21 July 2001. Accessed 12 December 2005.]["Biography of Martin Sheen." IMDB.com Accessed 13 December 2005.] Rob Lowe also had a six-figure salary, reported to be $100,000, because his character originally was supposed to have a more central role.
["Biography of Rob Lowe." IMDB.com Accessed 13 December 2005.] Disparities in cast salaries led to very public contract disputes, particularly by Janney, Schiff, Spencer, and Whitford. During contract negotiations in 2001, the four were threatened with breach-of-contract suits by Warner Bros. However, by banding together, they were able to convince the studio to more than double their salaries.
Two years later, the four again demanded a doubling of their salaries, a few months after Warner Bros. had signed new licensing deals with NBC and
Bravo.
[Haberman, Lia. "West Wing Salarygate." 28 July 2003. Accessed 16 December 2005.]The show suffered an unexpected loss by the death of John Spencer, who played Leo McGarry. Spencer experienced a fatal heart attack on
December 16,
2005 â€" about a year after his character experienced a nearly fatal heart attack. There was a memorial message from Martin Sheen before "
Running Mates", the first new episode after Spencer's death. The loss of Spencer's character, McGarry, was addressed by the series beginning with the episode "
Election Day" which aired on April 2, 2006.
Different performers had been originally considered for many of the roles. Bradley Whitford originally auditioned for the role of Sam and Janel Moloney for the role of C.J.. Other actors who had been seriously considered were
Sidney Poitier for the President,
Judd Hirsch for Leo,
Eugene Levy for Toby, and
CCH Pounder for C.J.
[Sassone, Bob. "A look back at The West Wing: Entertainment Weekly in 60 seconds" tvsquad.com. 7 May 2006. Accessed 19 May 2006.]The West Wing, like many serial dramas, stretches storylines over several episodes or entire seasons. In addition to these larger storylines, each episode also contains smaller arcs which usually begin and end within an episode. Plot synopses, both for individual episodes and overall seasons, are included with a
list of The West Wing episodes.
Most episodes follow President Bartlet and his staff through particular legislative or political issues. Plots can range from behind-closed-doors negotiating with Congress ("Five Votes Down") to personal issues like sex ("Pilot", "Take Out The Trash Day") and drugs (a major plotline throughout the first and second seasons). The typical episode loosely follow the president and his staff through their day. A large, fully connected set of the White House allows the producers to create shots with very few cuts and long continuous
master shots of staff members walking and talking through the hallways, a show trademark.
In the first season, the administration is entering its second year and is still having issues settling in and making ground on legislative issues. The second season brings scandal as the White House is rocked by allegations of criminal conduct and the President must decide whether he will run again. The third and fourth seasons take an in-depth look at the campaign trail and the specter of terrorism, foreign and domestic. In the fifth season, the president begins to see more issues on the foreign front, while at home he must face off with the newly elected
Speaker of the House over the future of the federal budget. The sixth season chronicles the quest to replace Bartlet in the next election, following the primary campaign of several candidates from both parties. In the seventh season, the president must face a leak of confidential information from inside the White House, while the Democratic and Republican candidates battle to replace him in the general election.
The series developed from the 1995 theatrical film
The American President, for which
Aaron Sorkin wrote the screenplay. Unused plot elements from the film inspired Sorkin to create
The West Wing.
Sorkin intended to center on Sam Seaborn, Bartlet's deputy communications director, with the president in an unseen or a secondary role. However, Bartlet's screen time gradually increased, and his role expanded as the series progressed. Positive critical and public reaction to Sheen's sometimes
Clintonesque performance raised his character's profile, decreasing Lowe's perceived significance. This shift is one of the reasons for Lowe's eventual departure from the show.
["Lowe confirms West Wing exit." BBC News. 25 July 2002.]For the first four seasons, Sorkin wrote almost every episode of the series, occasionally reusing plot elements, character names, and actors from his previous work,
Sports Night, a
sitcom in which he began to develop his signature dialogue style of rhythmic, snappy, and intellectual banter. Fellow executive producer and director
Thomas Schlamme developed the "walk and talk," a continuous shot tracking in front of the characters as they walk from one place to another that has became part of
The West Wing's signature visual style.
[Overlaps between West Wing & Other Sorkin Writings. West Wing Continuity Guide.] Sorkin's hectic writing schedule often led to cost overruns and schedule slips
[Carter, Bill. "The West Wing Comes to Terms With the G.O.P." New York Times. 23 September 2003. Reprinted at Bartlet 4 America. Accessed 12 December 2005.], and he opted to leave the show after the fourth season, following increasing personal problems, including a very public arrest for possession of illegal drugs.
Thomas Schlamme also left the show after the fourth season. Following their departure, many expected the show to shift from a liberal to more bipartisan footing.
The perceived switch of emphasis from Sorkin's dialogue-centric style of writing to John Wells' focus on plot-driven drama angered some of the show's fan base. Some disliked the switch so passionately that they actively campaigned for the series to be cancelled, citing Sorkin's departure as the sole cause of its "decline".
[Don't Save Our Show archived at The Wayback Machine. Accessed July 23 2006.] However, many viewers continued to tune into
The West Wing regularly, with the show consistently averaging eight million viewers a week at the close of its run.
[Keveney, Bill. "'West Wing' to end with new president". USA TODAY.com. 22 January 2006. Accessed 20 March 2006.]The show aired its series finale on Sunday, May 14, 2006.
 |
Former Vice President Al Gore appeared in a Saturday Night Live skit with The West Wing cast members, on the show's Oval Office set. |
The West Wing offers a rare glimpse into the inner workings of
America's most powerful address,
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Many criticisms have been written concerning the show's legitimacy, political slant, and film merits.
Realism
The West Wing is not completely accurate in its portrayal of the actual West Wing because of the certain amount of melodrama that must be added to each episode to captivate viewers.
[Levine, Myron A. "The West Wing and the West Wing." Reprinted in The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama. Edited by Peter C. Rollins and John E. Connor. 2003.] However, former White House staffers agree that the show "captures the feel [of the West Wing], shorn of a thousand undramatic details."
[Miller, Matthew. "The Real White House." Brill's Content. Reprinted at Bartlet4America. 1 March 2000.]Former
White House Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers as well as expert pollster
Patrick Caddell have served as consultants for the show since the beginning, helping writers and actors depict the West Wing accurately. Other former White House staffers, such as
Peggy Noonan and
Gene Sperling, have served as consultants for brief periods.
A documentary special in the third season attempts to lend legitimacy to the show's depiction of the real West Wing. Many former West Wing denizens applauded the show's depiction of the real West Wing, including advisor
David Gergen, Press Secretary Dee Dee Myers,
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, Chief of Staff
Leon Panetta, Deputy Chief of Staff
Karl Rove, and former Presidents
Gerald Ford,
Jimmy Carter, and
Bill Clinton.
Social impact
Despite acclaim for the veracity of the series, Sorkin believes, "My obligation isn't to the truth ... my obligation is to captivate you for however long I've asked for your attention." Former White House aide Matthew Miller notes that Sorkin "captivates viewers by making the human side of politics more real than life â€" or at least more real than the picture we get from the news." Miller also notes that by portraying politicians with empathy, the show has created a "subversive competitor" to the cynical views of politics in media.
In the essay
"The West Wing and the West Wing", author Myron Levine agrees, stating that the series "presents an essentially positive view of public service and a healthy corrective to anti-Washington stereotypes and public cynicism."
Dr. Staci L. Beavers, associate professor of
political science at
California State University, San Marcos, wrote a short essay,
The West Wing as a Pedagogical Tool, concerning the viability of
The West Wing as a teaching tool. She concludes, "While the series' purpose is for-profit entertainment,
The West Wing presents great pedagogical potential."
The West Wing, in her opinion, gives greater depth to the political process usually espoused only in stilted
talking points on shows like
Face the Nation and
Meet the Press. However, the merits of a particular argument may be obscured by the viewer's opinion of the character. Beavers also notes that characters with opposing viewpoints are often set up to be "bad people" in the viewer's eyes. These characters are assigned undesirable characteristics having nothing to do with their political opinions, such as being romantically involved with a main character's love interest. In Beavers's opinion, a critical analysis of the show's political views can present a worthwhile learning experience to the viewer.
[Beavers, Staci L. "The West Wing as a Pedagogical Tool." PS: Political Science & Politics. 24 December 2001. Reprinted in The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama. Edited by Peter C. Rollins and John E. Connor. 2003.]One of the stranger impacts of the show occurred on
January 31,
2006, when
The West Wing was said to have played a hand in defeating
Tony Blair's government in the
British House of Commons, during the so called
"West Wing Plot".
["West Wing Plot" The Daily Telegraph. 2 February 2006.] The plan was allegedly hatched after a
Conservative Member of Parliament watched the episode, "
A Good Day".
The Left Wing
The West Wing is sometimes called
The Left Wing by detractors because of its portrayal of the ideal
liberal administration. Some view the show as a
revisionist look at the Clinton presidency: an attempt to solidify the Clinton legacy and to make America forget the
Whitewater and
Lewinsky scandals.
[Lehman, Chris. "The Feel-Good Presidency: The Pseudo-Politics of The West Wing." Reprinted in The West Wing: The American Presidency as Television Drama. Edited by Peter C. Rollins and John E. Connor. 2003.] On the other hand, some Republicans have admired the show since its inception, regardless of the departure of Sorkin and the show's resulting shift toward the center.
["‘West Wing' goes more bipartisan" MSNBC.com. September 18 2003.] In his 2001 article "Real Liberals versus the
West Wing", Mackubin Owens pointed out,
Some praise the show for helping to bridge the gap between the left and the
right in America. By showing Democratic views on issues and the debate surrounding them, the series has provided many Republicans with a useful insight to the views of the left.
Film criticism
In its first season,
The West Wing attracted critical attention in the film community with a record nine
Emmy wins. The show has been praised for its high production values and continuously recognized for its
cinematic achievements.
With a budget of $6 million per episode, many consider each week's show to be a small feature film.
[Richmond, Ray. "West Wing 100th episode." JoshLyman.com. 7 January 2004. Accessed 12 December 2005.] However, many in the film community believe that the true genius of the show was Sorkin's rapid-fire and witty scripts.
["Next week on The West Wing ... erm " Guardian Unlimited. Accessed 10 December 2005.]The West Wing is noted for its
Steadicam tracking shots, long sequences showing staff members walking down hallways. In a typical tracking shot, the camera follows two characters down the halls as they converse, often referred to as pedeconferencing. One of these characters generally breaks off and the remaining character is joined by another character who initiates another conversation as they continue walking. These long shots allow the show to make long eloquent statements through many characters, despite the scripts' fractured dialogue.
[Smith, Greg M. "The Left Takes Back the Flag." Accessed 10 December 2005.]While some critics often praise
The West Wing for its writing, others fault the show for its unrealistic optimism in the face of all odds.
[Millman, Joyce. "Don't blame me, I voted for Martin Sheen!". Salon.com. 11 September 2000. Accessed 10 December 2005.] A large part of this criticism rises from the perceived naiveté of the characters. Television critic Heather Havrilesky asks "... how do you go from innocent
millipede to White House staffer without becoming soiled or disillusioned by the dirty realities of politics along the way?"
[Havrilesky, Heather. "Will The West Wing go south?". 14 May 2003. Accessed 10 December 2005.] However, many fans believe that the show's scripts have changed since Sorkin left the show in 2003.
Awards
In its first season,
The West Wing garnered nine Emmys, a record for most won by a series in a single season. In addition the series has received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Drama Series in
2000,
2001,
2002, and
2003, tying
Hill Street Blues and
L.A. Law for most won in this category. Each of its seven seasons earned a nomination for the award.
As of 2006,
The West Wing ranks 8th all-time in number of Emmy Awards won by a series.
Nineteen individual Emmys have been awarded to writers, actors, and crew members. Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, and Stockard Channing have each received six Emmy nominations for their roles. Allison Janney is the record holder for most wins by a cast member, with a total of four Emmys.
In addition to its Emmys, the show has won two
Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, in
2000 and
2001, Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series. Martin Sheen is the only cast member to have won a Golden Globe.
The following table summarizes award wins by cast members.
| Actor | Awards won | | Stockard Channing | Emmy, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (2002) |
| Allison Janney | Emmy, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (2000, 2001) |
| Emmy, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2002, 2004) |
| SAG Award, Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series (2000, 2001) |
| Richard Schiff | Emmy, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2000) |
| Martin Sheen | Golden Globe, Best Actor in a TV Series - Drama (2001) |
| SAG Award, Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series (2000, 2001) |
| John Spencer | Emmy, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2002) |
| Bradley Whitford | Emmy, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (2001) |
W.G. "Snuffy" Walden received an
Emmy Award for Main Title Design in 2000 for
"The West Wing Opening Theme".
Many cast members have been Emmy-nominated for their work on
The West Wing but have not won, including Martin Sheen, Alan Alda, Dulé Hill, Rob Lowe, Janel Moloney and
Mary-Louise Parker. Several people have also received Emmy nominations for guest starring on the show:
Matthew Perry,
Oliver Platt,
Ron Silver,
Tim Matheson, and
Mark Harmon.
The West Wing often features extensive discussion of current or recent political issues. After the real-world election of Republican President
George W. Bush in 2000, many wondered whether the liberal show could retain its relevance and topicality. However, by exploring many of the same issues facing the Bush administration from a Democratic point of view, the show continued to appeal to a broad audience of both Democrats and Republicans.
In its second season President Bartlet admonished fictional radio host Dr. Jenna Jacobs for her views regarding
homosexuality at a private gathering at the White House. Dr. Jacobs is a caricature of radio personality
Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who strongly disapproves of homosexuality. Many of the president's
biblical references in his comments to Dr. Jacobs, which can be heard
here, are thought to have come from a letter circulated online in early May 2000.
[Mikkelson, Barbara "Letter to Dr. Laura." Snopes.com. 2004.]The Bartlet administration experienced a scandal during the second and third seasons that has been compared to the
Monica Lewinsky affair.
[Sepinwall, Alan "Exit poll: West Wing is sinking. Why?" NJ.com. Reprinted at Bartlet4America. 6 November 2002.] President Bartlet was diagnosed with
relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (MS) in 1992. The scandal centered around President Bartlet's nondisclosure of his illness to the electorate during the election. He is investigated by an opposition
Congress for defrauding the public and eventually accepted a Congressional
censure. Multiple sclerosis advocacy groups have praised the show for its accurate portrayal of the symptoms of MS and stressing that it is not fatal. The National MS Society commented:
Following the
September 11, 2001 attacks, the start of the third season was postponed for a week, as were most American television premieres that year. A script for a special episode was quickly written and began filming on
September 21. The episode "Isaac and Ishmael" aired on
October 3 and addressed the sobering reality of
terrorism in America and the wider world, albeit with no specific reference to
September 11. While "Isaac and Ishmael" received mixed critical reviews, it illustrated the show's flexibility in addressing current events. The episode is not part of
The West Wing continuity.
In the sixth and seventh seasons,
The West Wing explores a leak of top-secret information by a senior staffer at the White House. This leak has been compared to the events surrounding the
Valerie Plame affair.
[Clabby, Consuela. "Leaky Politics: The West Wing versus The Bush Administration." SMRT-TV. 31 October 2005.]["'The Ticket': Leak Investigation" FootnoteTV. 25 September 2005.] In the storyline, the
International Space Station is damaged and can no longer produce
oxygen for the
astronauts to breathe. With other methods of rescue unavailable, the president is reminded of the existence of a top-secret military space shuttle. Following the president's inaction, the shuttle story is leaked to a White House reporter, Greg Brock (analogous to
Judith Miller), who prints the story in the
New York Times. Brock will not reveal his source and goes to jail for failing to do so, as did Miller. In order to stop the investigation, in which authorities suspect Chief of Staff C.J. Cregg, Toby Ziegler admits to leaking the information, and the President is forced to dismiss him. In comparison, the Plame affair is still under investigation, but charges have been brought against
Lewis Libby, the vice president's chief of staff, who has since resigned.
Other issues explored in
The West Wing include:
*
North Korean and
Iranian nuclear ambitions
*Strained relations and a state of
brinksmanship between
India and
Pakistan *Legislation of the
Central American Free Trade Agreement*The formation of the
Minuteman Project*Peacemaking and terrorism in
Israel,
West Bank and the
Gaza Strip, including a peace negotiation at
Camp David, similar to the
Camp David 2000 Summit.
*The
genocide in
Darfur,
Sudan*
AIDS in
Sub-Saharan AfricaDomestic
All domestic government officials in The West Wing universe have been fictional. President Bartlet has made three appointments to the fictional Supreme Court and maintains a full cabinet, although the names and terms of all members have not been revealed. Some cabinet members, such as the
Secretary of Defense, appear more often than others. Many other government officials, such as mayors, governors, judges, representatives, and senators, have been mentioned and seen as well.
Foreign
While several real-world leaders exist in the show's universe, most foreign countries have fictional rulers. Some real persons mentioned in
The West Wing include
Muammar al-Qaddafi,
Yasser Arafat,
Fidel Castro,
Queen Elizabeth II, and
Osama bin Laden. However, when a peace accord was worked out between
Israel and the
Palestinian Authority at the start of the show's sixth season, the
Chairman of the Palestinian Authority was the fictional Nizar Farad, not Arafat.
Entire countries are invented as composite pictures that epitomize many of the problems that plague real nations in certain areas of the world.
Qumar, an oil-rich, terrorist-sponsoring
Middle Eastern state is repeatedly a source of trouble for the Bartlet administration. According to maps on the show, Qumar appears to consist of a small part of southern
Iran, including the important
Strait of Hormuz. Elsewhere,
Equatorial Kundu is an
African nation blighted by
AIDS and a civil war resembling the 1994
Rwandan genocide.
The September 11th attacks did not occur in
The West Wing, but the country entered into a variation of the
War on Terrorism. The war began in the show's third season, when a plot to blow up the
Golden Gate Bridge was uncovered; in response, the President ordered the assassination of terrorist leader Abdul Shareef. At the end of the fourth season, the conflict escalated when
Zoey Bartlet (
Elisabeth Moss), the president's youngest daughter, was kidnapped by Qumari extremists. The result of this kidnapping was the bombing of Qumar. This storyline drew similarities to the real-world
U.S. invasion of Afghanistan as well as U.S. relations with
Saudi Arabia, as it brought the Middle East to the forefront of U.S. foreign relations and elevated terrorism as a serious threat in
The West Wing universe.
Other recent historical events from the real world that are mentioned in
The West Wing include the U.S. invasion of
Grenada in 1983, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the wreck of the
Exxon Valdez, the
Gulf War,
U.S. military operations in
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the signing of the
Kyoto Protocol, and the 1998
Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement. Also mentioned is the 1986 bombing of
Tripoli in
Libya. Also on three separate ocassions are the events of
Tiananmen Square in
China in 1989.
Timeline skew
The last real president that is known to have existed in the show's universe is
Richard Nixon. Presidents who served between Nixon and Bartlet include Democrat D. Wire Newman (
James Cromwell) and Republican Owen Lassiter (now deceased). It was not disclosed whether Newman and Lassiter served directly before President Bartlet. It is clear however that Newman (vaguely based on
Jimmy Carter) lost an election to Lassiter (based on
Ronald Reagan) who then proceded to serve for two full terms. In an episode centering around Lassiter's funeral, Bartlet and Newman were shown to be the only two surviving former Presidents who had served full terms (President Walken also having technically become a serving President).
The passage of time on the show relative to that of the real world has always been somewhat ambiguous when marked by events of smaller duration (e.g., votes, campaigns). Sorkin, the show's creator, has noted in a
DVD commentary track for the second season episode "18th and Potomac" that he has tried to avoid tying
The West Wing to a specific period of time. Despite this, real years are occasionally mentioned, usually in the context of elections and President Bartlet's two-term administration.
The show's presidential elections have been held in 2002 and 2006, setting them off by two years from actual presidential elections in the United States (e.g., 1996, 2000, 2004, etc.). Although, at one point, the timeline in
The West Wing matched up with that of the real world, it appears that in the middle of the fifth season a year was lost. For example, the filing deadline for the
New Hampshire primary, which would normally fall in January 2006, appeared in an episode airing in January 2005.
In interviews John Wells stated that the series began one and a half years into Bartlet's first term and that the election to replace Bartlet was being held at the correct time.
[Elber, Lynn. "West Wing Eyes Successor for Bartlet." Yahoo! Entertainment. 13 October 2004.] There is evidence against this claim, which is discussed further in the
main article.
1998 presidential election
Bartlet's first campaign for president is never significantly explained in the series. Bartlet won the election with 48% of the popular vote, 48 million votes, and a 303–235 margin in the
Electoral College. Bartlet faced three debates with his
Republican opponent. It is mentioned that Bartlet won the third and final debate, which was held on
October 30,
1998, in
St Louis,
Missouri, and that this helped swing a close election in his favor.
The campaign for the Democratic nomination was extensively addressed. In the episodes "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen" and "Bartlet for America", flashbacks are used to tell how Bartlet defeated Texas Senator
John Hoynes (
Tim Matheson) and
Washington Senator William Wiley for the Democratic nomination. The flashbacks also revealed how Leo McGarry persuaded Bartlet, who was then governor of
New Hampshire, to run for president and how Bartlet ultimately selected John Hoynes as his choice as running mate.
2002 presidential election
The West Wing's 2002 presidential election pitted Bartlet and Vice President John Hoynes against Florida Governor
Robert Ritchie (
James Brolin) and his running mate, Jeff Heston. Bartlet was unopposed for renomination, while Ritchie, not originally expected to contend for the nomination, emerged from a field of seven other Republican candidates by appealing to the party's conservative base with simple, homey sound bites.
Bartlet's staff contemplated replacing Vice President John Hoynes on the ticket with
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Percy Fitzwallace (
John Amos), among others. After it was clear that Ritchie would be the Republican nominee, Bartlet dismissed the idea, declaring that he wanted Hoynes in the number two spot, "Because I could die."
Throughout the season it was anticipated that the race would be close, but a stellar performance by Bartlet in the sole debate between the candidates gave Bartlet a landslide victory in both the popular and electoral vote.
2006 presidential election
A speed-up in
The West Wing's timeline, in part due to the expiration of many cast members' contracts and a desire to continue the program with lower production costs, has resulted in the omission of the 2004 midterm elections and an election during the seventh season. The sixth season extensively detailed the Democratic and Republican primaries. The seventh season covers the lead-up to the general election, the election, and the transition to a new administration. The timeline will slow down to concentrate on the general election race. The election, normally held in November, took place across two episodes originally broadcast on
April 2 and
April 9, 2006.
Congressman
Matt Santos (D-
TX) was nominated on the fourth ballot at the
Democratic National Convention, staged as the sixth season finale. Santos was planning to leave
Congress before being recruited to run for the presidency by Josh Lyman. Santos polled in the low single digits in the
Iowa caucus and was virtually out of the running in the
New Hampshire primary before a last-ditch direct television appeal vaulted him to a third-place finish with 19% of the vote. Following allusions during the Bartlet administration, Josh Lyman, Santos's campaign manager, convinced Leo McGarry to become Santos's running mate. However,
John Spencer, the actor portraying Leo McGarry, died on December 16, 2005.
Senator
Arnold Vinick (R-
CA) (
Alan Alda) secured the Republican nomination, defeating
Glen Allen Walken (
John Goodman) and the
Reverend Don Butler (
Don S. Davis), among others. Initially, Vinick wanted Butler to become his running mate. However, Butler did not want to be considered, citing the differences in their
abortion rights views. Instead,
West Virginia Governor
Ray Sullivan (
Brett Cullen) was chosen as Vinick's running mate. Vinick was portrayed throughout the sixth season as virtually unbeatable because of his popularity in
California, a typically Democratic state, his moderate views, and his wide crossover appeal. Vinick, however, has faced difficulty with the
pro-life members of his party as a
pro-choice candidate, and criticism for his support of nuclear power.
On the evening of the election, Leo McGarry suffered a massive
heart attack and was pronounced dead at the hospital, with the polls still open on the
West Coast. The Santos campaign released the information immediately, while
Arnold Vinick refused to use Leo's death as a "stepstool" to the presidency. Santos emerged as the winner in his homestate of
Texas, while Vinick won his homestate of
California. The election came down to
Nevada, where both candidates needed a victory to secure the presidency. Vinick had told his staff repeatedly that he would not allow his campaign to demand a recount of the votes if Santos was declared the winner. Josh Lyman was seen giving Santos the same advice, although the Santos campaign did send a team of lawyers down to Nevada. Matthew Vincente Santos was pronounced the winner of the election, having won Nevada by 30,000 votes, with an electoral margin of 272–266.
Santos organizes his administration, choosing Josh Lyman as Chief of Staff, who in turn called on former colleague Sam Seaborn for Deputy Chief. In need of experienced cabinet members, Santos tapped Arnold Vinick as
Secretary of State, believing the senior statesman to be one of the best strategists available and respected by foreign leaders.
President Bartlet's final act as President of the United States was to pardon Toby Ziegler.The series ends with Bartlet returning to New Hampshire. Having said his good-byes to his closest staff, former President Bartlet tells President Santos "Make me proud, Mr. President", to which Santos responds, "I'll do my best, Mr. President."
It was recently revealed that Vinick was originally slated to win the election. According to executive producer Lawrence O'Donnell, the death of Spencer forced him and his colleagues to consider the taxing of emotions that would come from having Santos lose both his running mate, and the election. It was eventually decided that the last episodes would be rescripted by
John Wells, executive producer of
ER and
The West Wing. [Steinberg, Jacques. "''West Wing' Writers' Novel Way of Picking the President.'" NY Times. Accessed 10 April 2006.]*
List of The West Wing broadcasters and home video releases*
Big Block of Cheese DayCommander in Chief, an
ABC series about a female President that has drawn comparisons to
The West WingSports Night, Aaron Sorkin's first television series. Many of its storylines were recycled in
The West Wing.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Aaron Sorkin and
Thomas Schlamme's newest television series collaboration
Yes, Minister, 1980s satire of
British government
;Official websites
*United States:
NBC,
Bravo, and
Warner Bros*United Kingdom:
More4 (Channel Four) and
Warner Bros*Japan: NHK Official Homepage of
The West Wing -
Season 1,
Season 2,
Season 3, and
Season 4*Canada:
CTV*Sweden:
SVT;General
*
The West Wing Transcripts or
Fan Transcribed Scripts*
The West Wing Episode Guide*
The West Wing Episode Guide with consumer ratings*
The West Wing Wiki;Major fansites
*
The West Wing Continuity Guide includes
directory of other
West Wing related websites.
*
Television Without Pity Discussion thought to be the inspiration for lemonlyman.com storyline.
Aaron Sorkin posted on this forum in 2001 under the user name
Benjamin.
;Articles
*
PBS Newshour Special Report on The West Wing*
National MS Society's The West Wing page
