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

Creator:

Aaron Sorkin

Seasons:

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

Release Date:

22 September 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:

President | Political | Secretary | White House | First Lady

Awards:

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 86 wins & 177 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. Dec. 28	8:00 AM	BRAVO	Enemies Foreign and Domestic	#3.19
Mon. Dec. 28	9:00 AM	BRAVO	The Black Vera Wang	#3.20

Cast

Allison Janney	...	Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg (154 episodes, 1999-2006)
Martin Sheen	...	President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet (153 episodes, 1999-2006)
John Spencer	...	Leo McGarry (152 episodes, 1999-2006)
Bradley Whitford	...	Josh Lyman (152 episodes, 1999-2006)
Janel Moloney	...	Donna Moss (147 episodes, 1999-2006)
Richard Schiff	...	Toby Ziegler (145 episodes, 1999-2006)
Dulé Hill	...	Charlie Young (134 episodes, 1999-2006)
NiCole Robinson	...	Margaret Hooper (105 episodes, 1999-2006)
Melissa Fitzgerald	...	Carol Fitzpatrick / ... (99 episodes, 1999-2006)
Rob Lowe	...	Sam Seaborn (81 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)

Runtime:

42 min | USA:60 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

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

Filming Locations:

Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Company:

John Wells Productions

Trivia:

Aaron Sorkin resigned from his job as writer and executive producer after the fourth season following a protracted dispute with NBC executive Jeff Zucker.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Whenever President Barlett exits a limo, a secret service agent can be seen closing the door behind him. In actuality, the door is kept open to allow the president to re-enter quickly in case of an emergency.

Quotes:

Representative Matthew Santos: I don't care if it's three Bosnians, an Armenian, and a bus full of party clowns!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Family Guy Presents Stewie Griffin: The Untold Story (2005) (V)

The Best. Period

This is the finest show ever produced for TV. Each episode is a triumph. The casting, the writing, the timing are all second to none. This cast performs miracles.

The secret to this show is that it is, at heart, a comedy, even when tragic things are happening. That gives Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, Richard Schiff et al. the room to work. And do they ever.

It works because it is deep, the characters are well-drawn. Early in the first season, CJ gets a root canal and walks around for the rest of the episode with cotton stuffed in her mouth, yelling things like" The Pwesident must be bweefed!" This has to be seen to be believed. It had me literally on the floor, laughing until I feared I would hurt myself. I don't know how many shows have tried cheap stunts like that and they are just that, cheap. On "The West Wing" it works because we know CJ, we know how unlike her, and yet like her, that moment is.

Bravo.