The West Wing (1999–2006)

Inside the lives of staffers in the west wing of the White House.

Creator:

Aaron Sorkin

Stars:

Allison Janney, John Spencer, Martin Sheen

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 89 wins & 177 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Allison Janney	...	C.J. Cregg (154 episodes, 1999-2006)
John Spencer	...	Leo McGarry (154 episodes, 1999-2006)
Bradley Whitford	...	Josh Lyman (154 episodes, 1999-2006)
Martin Sheen	...	President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet (154 episodes, 1999-2006)
Janel Moloney	...	Donna Moss (149 episodes, 1999-2006)
Richard Schiff	...	Toby Ziegler (144 episodes, 1999-2006)
Dulé Hill	...	Charlie Young (136 episodes, 1999-2006)
NiCole Robinson	...	Margaret Hooper (105 episodes, 1999-2006)
Melissa Fitzgerald	...	Carol Fitzpatrick (100 episodes, 1999-2006)
Rob Lowe	...	Sam Seaborn (84 episodes, 1999-2006)
Joshua Malina	...	Will Bailey (79 episodes, 2002-2006)
Stockard Channing	...	Abbey Bartlet (68 episodes, 1999-2006)

Storyline

When the erudite Democrat Josiah "Jed" Bartlet is elected U.S. president, he installs his administration. He places confidants from his electoral campaigns in the White House. Each of these people play a significant role in the Washington power game: the Chief of Staff (Leo McGarry), his deputy (Josh Lyman), Communications Director (Toby Zeigler), deputy (Sam Seaborn, and later, Will Bailey), and press secretary (CJ Cregg). Also in key positions are the assistants of each of the power players. We follow these people through many political battles, as well as some personal ones. Also playing roles are the First Lady (Abigail Bartlet), the President's daughters (Elizabeth, Eleanor, and Zoey), and the personal aide to the President (Charlie Young). All make this series, which supposedly follows the political events (often paraphrasing historical reality) almost day by day, more than merely a political soap. The demands of office on each character show the personal sacrifice and the ...

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Plot Keywords:

president | white house | democrat | u.s. president | politics | 

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Taglines:

Jimmy Smits goes to Washington.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

NBC [us] Warner Bros. [uk] (Flash only)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 September 1999 (USA)

Also Known As:

West Wing

Filming Locations:

Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$2,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

John Wells Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

42 min 60 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In a 2006 LA Times article, real-life former White House press secretary Dee Dee Myers (a consultant on the show), revealed that the relationship between press secretary C.J. Cregg and reporter Danny Concannon was based upon her own relationship with and eventual marriage to former New York Times White House correspondent Todd Purdum, although unlike C.J. and Danny, Meyers and Purdum never dated until after Myers left the White House. The same article also revealed that Josh and Donna's relationship was also based upon real White House staffers, albeit ones who never dated.

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Goofs

In a couple of instances, Secret Service agents are seen holding an umbrella for a protectee. In reality, Secret Service agents must keep their hands free at all times.

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Quotes

President Josiah Bartlet: [Before the State of the Union, Bartlet is counseling a cabinet member on what to do in the event of a terrorist attack] You got a best friend?
Roger: Yes, sir.
President Josiah Bartlet: Is he smarter than you?
Roger: Yes, sir.
President Josiah Bartlet: Would you trust him with your life?
Roger: Yes, sir.
President Josiah Bartlet: That's your Chief of Staff.

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Crazy Credits

The special post-9/11 episode was broadcast without the regular opening credits. Instead, the episode began with the cast, out of character, speaking about the episode, followed by credits on a black screen.

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Connections

Referenced in Family Guy Presents: Seth & Alex's Almost Live Comedy Show (2009)

User Reviews

Sorkin or no Sorkin, still the best show on TV!

I first caught "The West Wing" for two reasons: 1) our school was AGAIN on strike and 2) I had a crush on Annabeth Gish from "The X-Files", and I'd heard she was going to be in the Season 5 premiere. I watched a few eps on Bravo to get a little background so I wouldn't come in completely cold (my very first ep was "Let Bartlet Be Bartlet", which is still in my top ten). It took me awhile to get used to Aaron Sorkin's writing style, but by this point, it's my absolute favorite show.

I think that the idiot Republicans who b**** about the "liberal bias" are, well, idiots. The show is written by a very openly liberal guy, so why are you surprised? It's not like AS is a Republican, and NBC forced him to write a "liberal" show. THEN you might have a case for complaining. Besides, very few Republican characters are presented as "evil". Besides the obvious (Ainsley Hayes and Cliff Calley), most of the other guys are presented as against the president's agenda, which DOES NOT EQUATE WITH EVIL, unless maybe you are an intolerant far-right Republican who thinks people against the war in Iraq like Martin Sheen are "evil" and "un-American" (I was for the war personally, and I'm not saying ALL Republicans). There are a few guys, like John Diehl's Claypool, or the congressman from "Bartlet For America", or Bruce Weitz and Paul Provenza, who are portrayed as rather unlikeable, but they are an aberration on this show. And most Republican view points are given a fair airing, at least.

That said, there's not a whole lot I can say about this show that hasn't already been said a hundred times over. The writing, acting, and direction is arguably the best in television history, and I now prefer it to "The X-Files". Besides the marvelous starring cast (save Moira Kelly and Joshua Malina), there's also an excellent supporting cast as well, and fantastic guest casting. Tim Matheson is my favorite non-regular character as the egotistical, self-serving yet intelligent and likable Vice President Hoynes. Then there Timothy Busfield, Anna Deveare Smith, Marlee Matlin, Roger Rees, Emily Procter, and John Amos, and many other very memorable characters. My favorite one-shot guest star has to Karl Malden's Father Cavanaugh from "Take This Sabbath Day" (the death penalty episode).

I think that all of the main characters do outstanding jobs. Martin Sheen is really the glue that holds the show together, so I'm glad they decided to make him a regular. He isn't THE star, but he is simply wonderful, and his interaction with the cast is a focal point of the show.

The whole cast, indeed, provides us with one of the best ensembles in television history. Rob Lowe did a much better job than I expected he would with his role as Sam, the deputy communications director. Stockard Channing simply blows the doors off the place as the First Lady. Dule Hill never has a whole lot of screen time as Charlie, Bartlet's personal aide, but he usually injects a fun shot in the arm. Janel Moloney is really cute and side-splittingly hilarious as Donna, Josh eager-beaver assistant. Allison Janney as CJ, the press secretary, is a bit of a sore spot for me, however. In the first few seasons she was great, a character with intelligence and a great sense of humor. However, in recent years (and this I blame on the writing) her character has devolved into a whiny feminazi (see "The Women of Qumar"), just a notch above Mary-Louise Parker's Amy Gardner (a character I like, but most people don't). However, Janney is a talented enough actress to largely overcome this. Richard Schiff is fantastic as Toby Ziegler, the prickly, mumbly Communications Director. And then there's John Spencer as my favorite character, chief of staff Leo McGarry, a recovering alcholic, drug addict, and Vietnam vet who represses his emotions very well, but has a very deep sense of loyalty to all his friends and employees. Spencer gives a bravura performance week after week, and he is totally believable in the role. His greatest moments were his dialogue with the fired White House staffer in "Take Out The Trash Day", and the very end of "Bartlet For America" (of course). Wonderful actor. And then there's Bradley Whitford, as the egotistical but good-natured Josh Lyman, Leo's deputy, who is as every bit as loyalistic as Leo. (BTW, I hope that Josh and Donna NEVER get together; remember Mulder and Scully on "The X-Files", anyone?) Whitford starred one of the best episodes ever, "Noel", where he overcame his bout with PTSD. And of course, Martin Sheen I've already commented on. Moira Kelly and Joshua Malina are fine actors, but they were given rather poor characters to work with, and just didn't fit in to the fabric of the show.

As to the departure of Sorkin: certainly the show has declined in quality, is less humorous, and there have been a good amount of stinky episodes this past year ("Access", anyone?), but Season Five of "The West Wing" is still almost infinitely better than anything else on TV. "7A WF 83429", "The Stormy Present", "The Warfare of Genghis Khan", "An Khe", the rightfully well-loved, Sorkinesque "The Supremes", "Gaza", and "Memorial Day". BTW, quit ragging on Gary Cole as the new VPOTUS, guys, just because he was in "Office Space". Tim Matheson was Otter in "Animal House", and I didn't any of you bring that up when he first showed up.

My favorite episodes are "Take This Sabbath Day", "And It's Surely To Their Credit", "Lord John Marbury", "A Proportional Response", and "Noel". I'm sorry I didn't too much deeper, but really, what could I say about this show that everyone else here hasn't already.

A bazillion stars for the greatest show in television history IMO.