The Birnam Wood 

Josh returns from Germany in time to voice concerns about Leo; the Israelis and Palenstinians meet at Camp David with little chance of an agreement; the President and Leo's differences over the Middle East crisis reach a breaking point.

Director:

Alex Graves

Writers:

Aaron Sorkin (created by), John Wells

Stars:

Stockard Channing, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Stockard Channing	...	Abbey Bartlet
Dulé Hill	...	Charlie Young
Allison Janney	...	C.J. Cregg
Joshua Malina	...	Will Bailey
Mary McCormack	...	Kate Harper
Janel Moloney	...	Donna Moss (credit only)
Richard Schiff	...	Toby Ziegler
John Spencer	...	Leo McGarry
Bradley Whitford	...	Josh Lyman
Martin Sheen	...	President Josiah Bartlet
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Israeli Prime Minister Efraim 'Eli' Zahavy
Makram Khoury	...	Palestinian Chairman Nizar Farad (as Makram J. Khoury)
Lily Tomlin	...	Deborah Fiderer
Terry O'Quinn	...	General Nicholas Alexander
Steven Culp	...	Speaker of the House Jeff Haffley

Storyline

The Israelis and Palestinians have agreed to meet at Camp David, but an agreement appears unlikely due to a long history of failure and mistrust. With his reputation and political future on the line, Bartlet desperately tries to get keep both sides from leaving, let along talking. Josh returns from visiting Donna in Germany and notices a difference in Leo, who appears to have reached a critical level of disagreement with the President over the administration's handling of the latest Middle East crisis.

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Plot Keywords:

kiddush | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

TV-14

Did You Know?

Trivia

A running gag amongst The West Wing is that senior staffers fly backwards when firing a gun. This happens to Toby when trying to shoot a shotgun, and CJ with a pistol in an earlier season.

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Goofs

General Alexander says that the U.S. has bombed a terrorist training camp "in the Kingdom of Syria". Syria is not a kingdom; it is a republic (nominally a democratic one).

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Quotes

Leo McGarry: You, me, the Assistant Deputy Secretary for Fishery Exploitation; I don't care. We've got to get our message out.
C.J. Cregg: And what is our message?
Leo McGarry: "Shut up while we're trying to get them to stop killing each other."

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Connections

References Meet the Press (1947)

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Soundtracks

West Wing Main Title
(uncredited)
Written by W.G. Snuffy Walden
Performed by Pete Anthony

User Reviews

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 October 2004 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Stage 23, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

John Wells Productions, Warner Bros. Television

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1