THE WEST WING's season 4 cliffhanger resolved the Sorkin way
Dawnie
his comments on Facebook:
"Yes, I knew how I was going to resolve the cliff hanger at the end of
Season 4. Nancy McNally (Anna Deveara Smith) would have turned out to
be right in her prediction that Zoey's kidnapping had nothing to do
with international terrorism and that "we're gonna find her in the
back of a muffler shop". The kidnapping was the work of Rapturists
(true believers who want to hasten the end of the world so that Jesus
will return and transport them to Heaven as prophesized in
Revelations.) The whole thing was going to be over in 24 hours but in
the meantime we'd see how Bartlet--who'd stripped himself of
power--tries to exercise power from his self-imposed exile in the East
Wing. And Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) would have come back.
But I made it clear to John Wells that he should make it clear to the
new writing staff that was coming in that the show was theirs now and
they should take the story in whatever direction they chose. I
understand they did a very good job. My goal was to give them a good
"leave". (In other words I didn't want them coming to work the first
day in the middle of nowhere--I wanted them to be in the middle of a
story. I'm not sure if I did them a favor or made them run with a
piano strapped to their back.)" -- Aaron Sorkin, Post #498,
<http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=33807262256&topic=5060>
[*]Did he say the same thing in the DVD commentary? I expect he did
one for this episode.
For good measure, some good ol' Sorkin one-liners:
"Now that's a thought that's gonna fester."
"As I look out over this magnificent vista..."
"Well, this is bad on so many levels."
"Are you telling me that not only did you invent a secret plan to
fight inflation, but now you don't support it?"
"If The Oscars were like that, I'd watch."
"Uh... post, after hoc, ergo, therefore... After hoc, therefore
something else hoc.."
"It's not plenty of hay. It's plenty of sunshine _heading my way_."
"I told many, many people."
"Sometimes you just stand there, hip-deep in pie."
Any more you can think of?
Brett A. Pasternack
> But I made it clear to John Wells that he should make it clear to the
> new writing staff that was coming in that the show was theirs now and
> they should take the story in whatever direction they chose. I
> understand they did a very good job.
This relates to something else he's mentioned on Facebook...he never
watched the later seasons of TWW. He said that someone told him that he
couldn't watch the rest, because he'd feel bad if they did something
good (because he wasn't part of it) and he'd feel bad if they did
something bad (because it was his creation). He said he didn't believe
it, but when he sat down to watch the season 5 premiere, he realized it
was true and stopped watching.
> For good measure, some good ol' Sorkin one-liners:
>
> "Now that's a thought that's gonna fester."
>
> "As I look out over this magnificent vista..."
>
> "Well, this is bad on so many levels."
>
> "Are you telling me that not only did you invent a secret plan to
> fight inflation, but now you don't support it?"
>
> "If The Oscars were like that, I'd watch."
>
> "Uh... post, after hoc, ergo, therefore... After hoc, therefore
> something else hoc.."
>
> "It's not plenty of hay. It's plenty of sunshine _heading my way_."
>
> "I told many, many people."
>
> "Sometimes you just stand there, hip-deep in pie."
>
> Any more you can think of?
"That's what makes it so vicious. And a circle."
"Precedent: the mother's milk of, you know, making your point and being
right."
"Unless you think the White House Counsel would say that was a bad
idea."
"...and not, as many believe, on the island of Yap." (OK, that one's a
bit random, but I always liked it.)
"I'm saying he had the heart of a champion." "And I'm saying he had the
heart of a horse."
"I also dabble in a little English."
Patty Winter
In article <4B3132...@gmail.com>,
Brett A. Pasternack <bret...@gmail.com> wrote:
>Dawnie wrote:
>
>> For good measure, some good ol' Sorkin one-liners:
"I'm just sayin'...."
Patty