The West Wing is probably one of the most highly regarded television dramas ever. The programme focuses on the operations of a fictional US Democratic president, Josiah Bartlet, through his eyes and those of some of his administration’s staff as they juggle major international crises and smaller problems like persuading Senators to vote for a bill, all with liberal doses of humour mixed with drama. The staff and President are intelligent, decent people, working hard to do what they think is right. Most of the events of the programme take place in the West Wing of the White House, which is where the offices and work areas of the staff are located, and from which the programme takes its name.

On several occasions, the programme has used flashback sequences to tell stories, such as how the staff came to join the campaign, which adds to the backstory of the show. One of the flashbacks revealed the origins of a particularly idiosyncratic feature of the programme - the 'walk-and-talk' (or 'pedeconferencing'), where instead of sitting down for meetings, the staff discuss things as they walk. The flashback showed this practice began because the staff couldn't find the rooms they were meant to be using for meetings! Also, in series three, a special The West Wing documentary was aired, talking to Presidents Ford, Carter and Clinton as well as former White House staffers.

The West Wing has wrestled with problems ranging from foreign aid, drugs, Hollywood, and education to terrorism, diplomacy and foreign policy and the census.

Readers should note that this entry will include minor spoilers up to and including the end of Series Four.

Background

The West Wing was created by Aaron Sorkin, who wrote many of its episodes as well as the film The American President¹. Sorkin saysThe West Wing developed from all the stories he didn't have time to tell in The American President. When John Wells asked Sorkin if he was interested in writing a TV programme, Sorkin decided to give these stories an airing - this is the basis for The West Wing. Sorkin also wrote the original play A Few Good Men and the TV programme, Sports Night². However, Sorkin left after Series Four, at which point a team of writers was employed³. Thomas Schlamme, a major director for the programme, and (along with Sorkin and John Wells) one of the Executive Producers, left at the same time. The West Wing is produced by John Wells, who also produced ER and Third Watch. The West Wing also has several consultants from the real-life political arena, including Dee Dee Myers (press secretary to President Clinton's White House), Patrick Caddell (policy and strategy advisor to President Carter) and Lawrence O'Donnell (a former advisor to senator Patrick Moynihan).

The pilot episode aired in the US on 22 September, 1999. It was orignially going to air in the autumn of 1998, but was delayed due to the Monica Lewinsky scandal - network bosses were concerned that a political drama would not be well-received in that climate.

Awards and TV Ratings

The show has been critically acclaimed since its beginning and has won the most Emmy awards ever for a single series (nine awards, in its first series). These included awards for writing, casting, direction, theme music and best supporting actor and actress awards for Richard Schiff and Allison Janney. Most of the principle actors have been nominated for, or have won, awards at some stage for their acting on the programme. The West Wing also received four consecutive Emmy awards for Best Drama. This is a record held jointly with Hill Street Blues, which also won four in a row.

The West Wing's ratings have never been enormous, but are fairly respectable, though they did drop after Aaron Sorkin left at the end of Series Four. Here are the viewing figures for the first four series in the USA⁴:

Series One 1990-2000 - Average viewers - 13 million

Series Two 2000-2001 - Average viewers - 17 million

Series Three 2001-2002 - Average viewers - 17.1 million

Series Four 2002-2003 - Average viewers - 13.5 million

The highest rated programmes in the USA have about 25-30 million viewers a week, though lower double-digit figures are still good. The West Wing's highest rated episode was Isaac and Ishamel at the beginning of Series Three, which was Aaron Sorkin's response to 9/11 and took place outside of the series' timeline. This episode earned 25.2 million US viewers. Additionally, the programme's viewers are attractive to advertisers because they tend to have considerable disposal income.

Characters

President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet (Martin Sheen)

Bartlet is a Catholic, Democratic president from Manchester in New Hampshire, where he served as Governor (elected with 61% of the vote) and a Congressman. His ancestor, also called Josiah Bartlet, was a signatory of the Declaration of Independence, so politics is in his blood. He attended Notre Dame University (because he was considering becoming a Catholic priest) where he studied Economics, and later to the London School of Economics. He is also a winner of the Nobel Prize for Economics.

Bartlet is in his late fifties or early sixties. He is married to Abbey, a doctor (see below), and has three daughters, Elizabeth⁵, Eleanor and Zoey. His brother Jonathon is head of the Bartlet Presidential Library Commission. He has never lost an election in his life. His secert service codename has been both 'Eagle' and 'Liberty'. As the first series begins, he is in his first term as President (beginning in the second year of the term, though some of the first year is occasionally seen in flashback), and was elected with 48% of the vote.

Initially, the President was due to be a recurring character, appearing in about one-fifth of the episodes, and Martin Sheen was originally only signed to appear in four episodes, but production staff were so impressed with the actor's performance that they asked him to become a permanent cast member.

Leo McGarry (John Spencer)

Leo is the White House Chief of Staff, and the President’s best friend. It was Leo who persuaded Bartlet to run for President, and he is relied upon and respected in the White House. Leo is an old friend of Josh's father, and it was this connection which enable him to persuade Josh to join the 'Bartlet for America' presidential campaign.

Leo was a fighter pilot during the Vietnam War and later served as Secretary of Labour. He is a recovering alcoholic and is also addicted to Valium (he spent time in rehab and hasn't subsequently succumbed to temptation⁶). He has a daughter, Mallory, a teacher, who becomes friendly with Sam. Leo's assistant is called Margaret. She infuriates him sometimes, but they are close. Leo knows everything.

Charlie Young (Dulé Hill)

Charlie is the President’s personal aide (or 'body-man'), originally from Washington DC. His mother was a police officer killed on duty and he supports his younger sister, Deena. Charlie and the President have a father-son relationship, and Charlie dated Zoey Bartlet for a while. Charlie originally applied for a White House messenger job, but the personnel officer he spoke to suggested he be considered for the job. There are so many well-qualified applicants for the job as President's aide they are forced to choose on instinct, and Charlie passes the test.

Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford)

Josh is the White House Deputy Chief of Staff. He’s from Connecticut and attended Harvard and Yale. While he studied law and is a qualified lawyer, neither Donna nor Sam consider him to be a 'real' lawyer, which annoys Josh. Before working for Bartlet, Josh was floor manager for the House Minority Whip and Chief of Staff for Congressman Earl Brennan.

Josh is an old friend of Sam's and brought him to the Bartlet campaign. Josh is also close to Donna, his assistant. She likes to remind him that his watch 'sucks' and that he has a 'sensitive system'⁷. He is a non-practicing Jew (his grandfather was in Birkenau during World War Two. Josh used to work for Hoynes, but left to work for Jed Bartlet because he felt that Bartlet was 'the real thing' and Hoynes wasn't. Josh also has a fan club of female university students.

Originally, Bradley Whitford was going to play Sam, and Rob Lowe was going to play Josh, but they switched roles shortly before filming began.

Donna Moss (Janel Moloney)

Donna is Josh’s Senior Assistant, but likes to call herself the Deputy – Deputy Chief of Staff. She’s from Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin, but dropped out after two years to put her then boyfriend (Subsequently called ‘Dr Freeride’ by Josh) through medical school. She joined the Bartlet team during the presidential campaign. Donna and Josh have a very close relationship, with lots of entertaining banter. Many fans think the show’s writers should pair them up at some stage.

Donna began as a recurring character in Season One, but appeared in every episode. The writer's decided to make Moloney a series regular for Series Two. Interestingly, Moloney originally auditioned for the part of CJ.

Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff)

Toby is the White House Communications Director. He ‘crafts the message’ of the administration, including writing speeches. He’s from Brooklyn in New York, is Jewish (he regularly attends synagogue) and could best be described as a tad crotchety⁸. He seems to have attended CCNY (City College of New York). Toby has two older sisters, who took him on protest marches when he was younger, and a brother who is a payload specialist with NASA.

Toby has something of a big brother relationship with Sam, but rarely shows affection towards Sam or anyone else. It has been suggested several times on the programme that he was a soldier. Before joining the Bartlet team, Toby had never been on a winning campaign.

Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe)

Sam is the White House Deputy Communications Director, working with Toby. He is from California and attended Princeton, which is also used as his Secret Service codename. He also took a law degree at Duke University and worked as a top lawyer before being recruited onto the Bartlet team by Josh, a close friend. Sam is idealistic and occasionally naive.

Will Bailey (Joshua Malina)

Will took over from Sam as White House Deputy Communications Director. Will's father is Thomas Bailey, who in the world of The West Wing, was NATO's Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, and is therefore (according to Bartlet), the only man in the world with a better title than his. Will often works with his step-sister, Elsie Snuffin⁹.

Claudia Jean 'CJ' Cregg (Allison Janney¹⁰)

CJ is the White House Press Secretary, which involves giving briefings to the press corps. She attended Berkeley University and has a masters degree. Before being brought onto the Bartlet campaign by Toby, an old friend, CJ had worked for EMILY's List, an organisation helping pro-choice democratic women get funding for election campaigns, and for a film PR firm. Some staffers consider CJ too friendly with the press, especially Danny Concannon (see below). CJ has two brothers and her father is fighting Alzheimer’s disease. She is the most senior woman on the White House staff. Cj's assistant is Carol, who helps with the Press and is a bad speller! CJ is six feet tall and her Secret Service codename is 'Flamingo'.

First Lady Dr. Abigail (Abbey) Bartlet (Stockard Channing)

Abbey, Jed’s wife, is a well-respected doctor. She uses her position to support causes close to her heart, such as Medicare. She is also quite knowledgable about politics, and often goes on official trips, either within the US or abroad. This includes basic duties such as dedicating memorials or more complicated ones such as representing the President or the United States around the world. Abbey is knowledgabel about politics and understands what the President and his staff are doing.

Dr. Bartlet was a recurring character during the first three series but began to appear more regularly and was a main character during series four.

Mandy Hampton (Moira Kelly)

Mandy was the Media Director during Bartlet’s presidential campaign. She was Josh’s ex-girlfriend but the character vanished after Season One and has not been mentioned since! Aaron Sorkin admitted that he had trouble writing for Mandy, and it seems that because she was not directly invloved in the political side of White House affairs, it was hard to find the character anything to do which related to the story being told.

Other Characters

Vice President John Hoynes (Tim Matheson) - Hoynes has a complicated relationship with Bartlet. He was added to Bartlet’s campaign to make southern voters more likely to vote for the pair (he’s from Texas)¹¹. He, like Leo, is a recovering alcoholic.

Zoey Bartlet (Elisabeth Moss) - Zoey is the President and First Lady's youngest daughter, and the only one to appear with anything approaching regularity. She is in her mid-twenties and attended Georgetown University in Washington DC. She dated Charlie for a while, but her next boyfriend was a Frenchman named Jean Paul, a descendent of French royalty, and she rebuffs Charlie's attempts to get back together. Her Secret Service codename is 'Bookbag'.

Gina Toscano (Jorja Fox) - Gina was a member of Zoey's Secret Service detail for a while. She was formerly in the Military Police and was the first to sign up to Zoey's detail.

Ron Butterfield (Michael O'Neill) - Ron is the head of the President's Secret Service detail.

Admiral Percy Fitzwallace (John Amos) - Fitzwallace is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs. He has a good relationship with the President and Leo (who call him 'Fitz') and is well-respected.

Nancy McNally (Anna Deavere Smith) - Nancy is the National Security Advisor. Like Fitzwallace, she also has a good relationship with the President and Leo and is well-regarded.

Danny Concannon (Timothy Busfield) - Danny is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist. He and CJ are attracted to each other but cannot have a relationship as it would be unprofessional given their relative jobs. He works for The Washington Post and has previously worked for The New York Times and Time magazine.

Ainsley Hayes (Emily Proctor) – Ainsley is a Southern Republican, who wipes the floor with Sam on TV and is then hired by Leo as Associate White House Council. The idea to hire a Rebuplican was originally unpopular with the staff (it was Bartlet's idea), but they come to respect Ainsley. She really likes her food, and she and Sam seem to be attracted to each other.

Josephine 'Joey' Lucas (Marlee Matlin) - Joey is a professional pollster. She also happens to be deaf, and often needs to communicate through her interpreter, Kenny. She often works for the Bartlet administration, who trust her. She and Josh are attracted to each other.

Amy Gardner (Mary Loise Parker) - Amy knows Josh from Harvard, where she dated his roommate. Amy was heavily involved in women's issues in politics, then consulted for Senator Stackhouse, a Presidential candidate, before being made the First Lady's Chief of Staff.

Dolores Landingham: (Kathryn Joosten) - an old friend of the President's, she now serves as his Executive Secretary. Her two sons were killed in Vietnam. She makes sure bad language is kept out of the Oval Office, and is a motherly figure to the staff and to the President.

Lord John Marbury: (Roger Rees) - is the Earl of Sherbourne and an expert on the Indian subcontinent. He becomes the British Ambassador to the United States of America, which brings him into occasional contact with the President, who is an old friend. The President considers him 'colourful', while Josh and particularly Leo (who he fails to recognise despite them having met a dozen times) think he's a lunatic.

Quotes

Perhaps the astonishing quality of the writing can best be appreciate by a selection of quotes from the programme.

Josh Lyman: Where are you going?

President Josiah Bartlet: To a place called "Rare books." You know what they sell?

Josh Lyman: Fishing tackle?

Leo McGarry: I am making a mental list of those who are snickering, and even as I speak I'm preparing appropriate retribution.

Josh Lyman: Toby, come quick, Sam's getting his ass kicked by a girl.

Toby Ziegler: Ginger, get the popcorn.

President Josiah Bartlet: I was watching a television program before, with a kind of roving moderator who spoke to a seated panel of young women who were having some sort of problem with their boyfriends -- apparently, because the boyfriends had all slept with the girlfriends' mothers. And they brought the boyfriends out, and they fought, right there on television. Toby, tell me: these people don't vote, do they?

Donna Moss: It was like a meeting of the There But For The Grace of God Society.

Josh Lyman: Anybody ask you out?

Donna Moss: Shut up.

President Josiah Bartlet: Good. I like your show. I like how you call homosexuality an abomination.

Dr. Jenna Jacobs: I don't say homosexuality is an abomination, Mr. President. The Bible does.

President Josiah Bartlet: Yes it does. Leviticus.

Dr. Jenna Jacobs: 18:22.

President Josiah Bartlet: Chapter and verse. I wanted to ask you a couple of questions while I have you here. I'm interested in selling my youngest daughter into slavery as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. She's a Georgetown sophomore, speaks fluent Italian, always cleared the table when it was her turn. What would a good price for her be? While thinking about that, can I ask another? My Chief of Staff Leo McGarry insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly says he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself or is it okay to call the police? Here's one that's really important because we've got a lot of sports fans in this town: touching the skin of a dead pig makes one unclean. Leviticus 11:7. If they promise to wear gloves, can the Washington Redskins still play football? Can Notre Dame? Can West Point? Does the whole town really have to be together to stone my brother John for planting different crops side by side? Can I burn my mother in a small family gathering for wearing garments made from two different threads? Think about those questions, would you?¹²