"The West Wing" In Excelsis Deo (1999)

User Rating:

8.6/10   

Director:

Alex Graves

Writers:

Aaron Sorkin (creator)
Aaron Sorkin (writer) ...

TV Series:

"The West Wing" (1999)

Original Air Date:

15 December 1999 (Season 1, Episode 10)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

When a homeless veteran dies on the National Mall and his body remains uncollected for hours, Toby becomes fixated on getting him a proper burial. |

Plot Keywords:

Homeless | National Mall | Veteran | Drug Abuse | Military Funeral

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Nov. 12

8:00 AM

BRAVO

In Excelsis Deo

#1.10

Cast

Rob Lowe	...	Sam Seaborn
Moira Kelly	...	Mandy Hampton
Dulé Hill	...	Charlie Young
Allison Janney	...	Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg
Richard Schiff	...	Toby Ziegler
John Spencer	...	Leo McGarry
Bradley Whitford	...	Josh Lyman
Martin Sheen	...	President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet
Lisa Edelstein	...	Brittany 'Laurie' Rollins
Timothy Busfield	...	Danny Concannon
Paul Austin	...	George Huffnagle
Janel Moloney	...	Donna Moss
Tom Quinn	...	John Noonan
Renée Estevez	...	Nancy
Raynor Scheine	...	Homeless Man

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Company:

thinkfilm

Trivia:

The story line for Lowell Lydell was taken from real life. A gay college student named Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, was beaten, pistol whipped and hung on a fence post and left overnight. He died and the country cried out for more Hate Crime Legislation. (see also the Laramie Project)

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: Dolores Landingham, the President's secretary, mentions that her twin sons had a low draft number in the lottery. Her sons died in Vietnam on December 24, 1970. The first lottery drawing was held December 1, 1969; with a low lottery number, they would easily be in the field by December 1970.

Quotes:

President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet: [Toby has just arranged for an honor guard at the funeral of a homeless vet] Toby, If we start pulling strings like this don't you think every homeless veteran will come out of the woodwork?
Toby Ziegler: I can only hope so, sir.

Soundtrack:

Little Drummer Boy

I agree with the previous poster.

I am a very conservative guy, and not a big fan of West Wing, BUT I happened to catch this episode in a hospital waiting room one day. I think this episode is the best thing I have ever seen on TV, period. The montage between the Arlington funeral and the children's choir in the White House was some of the best production I have ever seen anywhere. Pure genius! If it weren't for the show's generally liberal bias I would have become a big fan based on this episode alone. I have to give my props to the creative writers. I wish they had left out the political commentary and had been more balanced (over the entirety of the series). It wouldn't have hurt the quality of the series and this episode shows what they were capable of, if they would just entertain and not try to preach.