"The West Wing" Tomorrow (2006)

Director:

Chris Misiano

Writers:

Aaron Sorkin (creator) and
John Wells (written by)

TV Series:

"The West Wing" (1999)

Original Air Date:

14 May 2006 (Season 7, Episode 22)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Santos and his staff prepare for the inauguration as Bartlet and his team look back on their years in the White House. Series Finale. |

Plot Keywords:

Inauguration | Unemployment | Train Derailment | Ice Storm | Transition

Cast

Alan Alda	...	Senator Arnold Vinick
Stockard Channing	...	Abbey Bartlet
Kristin Chenoweth	...	Annabeth Schott
Dulé Hill	...	Charlie Young
Allison Janney	...	Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg
Joshua Malina	...	Will Bailey
Mary McCormack	...	Kate Harper
Janel Moloney	...	Donna Moss
John Spencer	...	Leo McGarry (credit only)
Bradley Whitford	...	Josh Lyman
Jimmy Smits	...	President Matthew Santos
Martin Sheen	...	President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet
Teri Polo	...	Helen Santos
Lily Tomlin	...	Deborah Fiderer
Michael O'Neill	...	Secret Service Agent Ron Butterfield

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

USA:TV-PG

Company:

John Wells Productions

Trivia:

The action for the swearing in was actually shot on a small replica of the capitol platform built on a parking lot at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When the President and Abbey discuss who picked January 20th as the date of the inauguration, he wrongly blames the founding fathers. Originally, the drafters of the Constitution chose March 4th. It was changed to January 20th by the 22nd Amendment which was ratified January 23, 1933.

Quotes:

[after the inaugeration, Bartlet's staff is getting ready to leave the West Wing]
Charlie Young: What about see a movie?
Will Bailey: It's two o'clock in the afternoon.
Charlie Young: Got anything better to do?
Kate Harper: No, I guess, we don't.
Will Bailey: Is there a movie theater around here?
Charlie Young: I have no idea.

A Fitting Exit For a Superb Show

My only regret and disappointment on the finale was that NBC did not pay the proper homage to this landmark show. A winner of three Emmy's for Best Dramatic Show, and countless other Emmy statues for individual and group excellence The West Wing showed us the inner workings, frailties of character, and gut wrenching decisions that go on every day. I am sure many Republicans and Conservatives are none too upset at the end of this Democratic administration. I'm sure their collective scorn reached epic heights when the underdog Democrat, Mathew Santos, edged out stalwart Republican Senator Arnold Vinick in the general election. However, an objective viewer such as myself found purity, brilliance, hope, and yes...sometimes a different slant on things as this show developed over the years.

I thought the writers showed remarkable restraint from doing the typical Hollywood ending which would have had us seeing Josh and Donna getting married, Charley and Zoe together, Will and Kate hand in hand, Sam in a reunion with Mallory etc. etc. etc. Realism won the day and for that I was glad. Even when Bartlett took his final goodbye walk through the staff he made it personal but dignified. There were no screams and tears, no excessive hugging, just stoic thanks to a staff that served him well for two terms.

What NBC did not do, and my only regret, was a show such as this deserved a two hour finale. As we all know a one hour show is but a mere 42-43 minutes and that was not a long enough goodbye. Many more things could have been embellished in the storyline with some flashback scenes thrown in for the characters there throughout. I would have also liked to have seen a small brief tribute to John Spencer for the style in which he brought two great NBC characters to the screen.(Leo McGarry & Tommy Mullaney-LA Law).