"The West Wing" In the Shadow of Two Gunmen: Part 2 (2000)

User Rating:

8.9/10   

Director:

Thomas Schlamme

Writers:

Aaron Sorkin (creator)
Aaron Sorkin (written by)

TV Series:

"The West Wing" (1999)

Original Air Date:

4 October 2000 (Season 2, Episode 2)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A suspect in the presidential shooting is caught; staffers anxious await news on Bartlet and Josh's injuries; flashbacks show how C.J. and Donna joined Bartlet's campaign.

Plot Keywords:

Number In Title | President | Political | Secretary | White House

Cast

Rob Lowe	...	Sam Seaborn
Dulé Hill	...	Charlie Young
Allison Janney	...	Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg
Janel Moloney	...	Donna Moss
Richard Schiff	...	Toby Ziegler
John Spencer	...	Leo McGarry
Bradley Whitford	...	Josh Lyman
Martin Sheen	...	President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet
Stockard Channing	...	Abbey Bartlet
Timothy Busfield	...	Danny Concannon
Elisabeth Moss	...	Zoey Bartlet
Michael O'Neill	...	Secret Service Agent Ron Butterfield
NiCole Robinson	...	Margaret Hooper
Grace Zabriskie	...	Isabel
Allen Garfield	...	Roger Becker

Runtime:

Germany:41 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Certification:

Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Dixie Pig Restaurant - 1225 Powhatan Street, Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Company:

John Wells Productions

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): One of the crises in "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen" is the question of who is in command while President Bartlet is under general anesthesia. Several characters say that, under the 25th Amendment, the only circumstances in which the Vice-President can take charge is if the President is dead or if he signs a letter declaring himself incapacitated. This is not true. Under the same Amendment, the Vice-President and a majority of the Cabinet can declare the President incapacitated, transferring power to the Vice-President. (That provision exists specifically for situations like this.) However, a deleted scene between Danny Concannon and Leo McGarry clears this up later. Danny and Leo agree that they "did not want to invoke the 25th", meaning that they preferred to not go through the necessary measures to remove the president from power for the three hours that he was under anesthesia. This deleted scene can be found amongst the extras included on the DVDs of the second season.

Quotes:

[the President neglected a formality transferring executive power before going into surgery]
Margaret: Can - can I just say something, you know, for the future?
Leo McGarry: Yeah.
Margaret: *I* can sign the President's name. I have his signature down pretty good.
Leo McGarry: You can sign the President's name?
Margaret: Yeah.
Leo McGarry: On a document removing him from power and handing it to someone else?
Margaret: Yeah. Or, do you think the White House Counsel would say that was a bad idea?
Leo McGarry: I think the White House Counsel would say that's a coup d'etat.
Margaret: I'd probably end up doing some time for that.
[...]

Movie Connections:

References The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Soundtrack:

Celebration