"The West Wing" (1999)TV series 1999-2006

Creator:

Aaron Sorkin

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Release Date:

22 SZEPTEMBER 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Right place. Right time. right man.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Politician | Political Drama | Male Female Relationship | First Family | Work Ethic

Awards:

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 87 wins & 176 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Aug. 28	8:00 AM	BRAVO	Talking Points	#5.19
Thur. Aug. 28	9:00 AM	BRAVO	No Exit	#5.20

Cast

Allison Janney	...	Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg (155 episodes, 1999-2006)
Martin Sheen	...	President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet / ... (154 episodes, 1999-2006)
John Spencer	...	Leo McGarry (153 episodes, 1999-2006)
Bradley Whitford	...	Josh Lyman (153 episodes, 1999-2006)
Janel Moloney	...	Donna Moss (148 episodes, 1999-2006)
Richard Schiff	...	Toby Ziegler (145 episodes, 1999-2006)
Dulé Hill	...	Charlie Young (132 episodes, 1999-2006)
NiCole Robinson	...	Margaret Hooper (105 episodes, 1999-2006)
Melissa Fitzgerald	...	Carol Fitzpatrick / ... (99 episodes, 1999-2006)
Rob Lowe	...	Sam Seaborn (82 episodes, 1999-2006)
Joshua Malina	...	Will Bailey (77 episodes, 2002-2006)
Stockard Channing	...	Abbey Bartlet / ... (63 episodes, 1999-2006)

Also Known As:

West Wing (USA) (working title)
Elnök emberei, Az (Hungary) [hu]

Runtime:

42 min | USA:60 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

New Zealand:M (season 2) | New Zealand:M (season 4) | Singapore:NC-16 (season 7) | New Zealand:PG (season 1) | New Zealand:PG (season 3) | New Zealand:PG (season 5) | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Company:

John Wells Productions

Trivia:

On the set of the series one day, Allison Janney was entertaining the cast and crew by lip-synching to an obscure spoken jazz piece called "The Jackal", by Ronnie Jordan. Aaron Sorkin liked it so much that he wrote it into the next episode of the show ("Six Meetings Before Lunch") as a ritual of C.J.'s.

Goofs:

Factual errors: During much of the series, characters refer to "battle carrier groups" as the group of ships that are grouped with an aircraft carrier. The real term for this is "carrier battle group".

Quotes:

[still new to the White House, Josh can't find his desk]
Josh Lyman: I'll just walk around some more and see if I can get into a pick-up meeting.

Movie Connections:

Featured in 11th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards (2005) (TV)

Making real drama out of politics

So much political reporting seems to be an attempt to fake a drama out of little material. I missed the West Wing when it started, but am catching up now, and find that it turns the specifics of politics into gripping human drama with a fast pace.

The camera seems to move as quickly as the people, following one conversation, then picking up another as two corridors intersect, and going off after that conversation instead. It's a remarkably effective dramatic device, that helps generate a sense of many topics, issues and personalities all being constantly on the move in response to events.

The acting is uniformly good, and often not on screen, Martin Sheen's president remains a constant presence shaping every story.