Sloppy "West Wing" Closer
LittleWinki
Wing? I don't think this sloppiness would have happened early in its
tenure. I caught two glaring ones.
(1) In an early scene, Abbey Bartlet asks the President who to blame
for having the inauguration on January 20 (it was a cold day in "fake"
DC). He said, Jefferson, Adams, et al.
CORRECT INFORMATION: the 23rd Amendment changed the date of
Inaugurtion from March 4 to January 20. Passed Congress March 2, 1932.
Ratified January 23, 1933. "Blame" FDR, not Jefferson.
(2) Noting his "Biblical verse" for the Inaugural, President-Elect Matt
Santos says, "Kings 3:9-11".
CORRECT INFORMATION: Kings in the Bible is I Kings and II Kings.
True, the verse (Jeb quotes it) is from I Kings 3:9, but in actuality
it should have been identified as "First Kings ....". A church-going
Matt Santos would have known that.
Disappoointing that such a previously well-written show was sloppy even
on these small items. The date of the inaugural was particularly
glaring, though I doubt that many of today's younger generation (anyone
under 35) would even know that January 20 is the current date and that
it takes place in Washington, DC!
Thomas Allen Heald
No spoiler space?
Paul Murray
one, but would not have caught it. Bartlet would not have made either
one.
When I saw at the beginning that John Wells wrote it, my heart sank;
while I didn't see it all yet (I have it taped), what I did see struck
me as just ok.
Was that a Sorkin cameo as a guest for the swearing in? The TV was
small and there were distractions, but it sure looked like it to me.
_________________________
Paul Murray
http://www.paulmurray.net
Paul Murray
agree with your point about the sloppiness.
__________________________
Paul Murray
http://www.paulmurray.net
PGage
(1) In an early scene, Abbey Bartlet asks the President who to blame
(2) Noting his "Biblical verse" for the Inaugural, President-Elect Matt
Santos says, "Kings 3:9-11".
CORRECT INFORMATION: Kings in the Bible is I Kings and II Kings.
True, the verse (Jeb quotes it) is from I Kings 3:9, but in actuality
it should have been identified as "First Kings ....". A church-going
Matt Santos would have known that.
Disappoointing that such a previously well-written show was sloppy even
on these small items
PGage writes...
The inauguration error was so obvious that I half suspect they did it
on purpose for some reason; I doubt there were many real WW fans who
did not notice it. If it really was unintentional then it was a
whopper, as it was so directly inconsistent with Bartlett's character.
I think you are a bit harsh with the Kings quote. I have sat through
many a scripture-quoting session, and it is not unheard of to omit the
number of the book in such a case - with the number it is assumed to
be the first. For example, the famous chapter on love from Paul's
letter is not infrequently cited simply as "Corinthians 13" as opposed
to the more complete "1 Corinthians 13".
I will nominate something else to take the place of your second
mistake - though it is also a little fuzzy. Near the end Charlie
suggests to a few other Bartlett graduates that they go see a movie.
When they realize that they do have the time someone asks Charlie if
there is even a movie theater near here (The White House) and Charlie
says he doesn't know. If there is anyone on the show who would know
the answer to that question you might think it would be Charlie, who
was a regular local teenager before taking his job at the WH.
I am always an easy audience for the WW, but I liked the final
episode. Of the two I would rather have seen what Bartlett wrote to
Santos than what Leo's daughter put in the box for Jed (since we knew
what that was going to be) but I like not knowing also.
Is it too much to ask for one or two West Wing made-for-TV movies next
year just to check in on the Santos administration from time to time?
Karla S. Robinson
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I found the fact that they didn't show any of Santos' speech--or of
Bartlett's letter to Santos--to be typical of the lazier writing we saw in
recent seasons past. And I was hoping for a cameo from Glenn Close as Chief
Justice Evelyn Baker Lang, but at least they got a stand-in with blonde hair
and used the proper name.
I especially liked Donna Moss getting the big office--she's a lovely actress
and it will be interesting to see what else she does with her career....
Bryan
The best & the worst
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/ent_radio/story/416539p-351920c.html
Janel Moloney, Bradley Whitford and Rob Lowe in 'West Wing,' which ends Sun.
With "West Wing" sailing off into history Sunday night, it's time for the old Ave
atque vale, which President Jeb Bartlet would immediately recognize as a phrase
from the Roman poet Catullus that translates roughly to "Hail and farewell."
"West Wing" lasted seven years, not all of them perfect. But Bartlet's team had a
better batting average than any real-life President in recent memory, so let's take
a quick last stroll through a few high and low moments:
Best episode: Toby (Richard Schiff) tramples red tape to arrange a military burial,
with honor guard, for a homeless veteran. This is the essence of the show's
idealism: government used for good in a very imperfect world.
Worst episode: The 9/11 special in which the whole cast explains to a captive
audience of students the complexities of this imperfect world. Preachy and forced.
Most wasted opportunity: Ainsley Hayes (Emily Procter), a smart Republican who
could deflate the Bartlet team when they started getting pretentious, which was
not infrequent. She also could have lured Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) away from
hookers. Alas, the writers seemed to lose interest, trivialized her and she left for
"CSI: Miami."
Best seized opportunity: Bruno Gianelli (Ron Silver) was brilliant as a shark of
a campaign manager - for both sides.
Worst major cameo: We'd never seen John Goodman before. Suddenly he was
President. Four episodes later, he was gone, barely to be seen again. He was
a good character, well-played, but that describes Spider-Man, not a President.
Best major cameo: Bingo Bob Russell (Gary Cole), a hack congressman from
Colorado who becomes vice president. "West Wing" was consistently on target
about vice presidents. Most of the time it didn't remember they existed, or if
they did, who they were.
Best character arc: Donna (Janel Moloney) finally bagging Josh (Bradley Whitford),
with only weeks to spare. We knew it was going to happen from Moment One,
but the writers never rushed it, knowing that once it started for Donna and Josh,
it was over for us.
Worst character arc: C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney). Everyone loves C.J. But you
don't go from press secretary to chief of staff. It doesn't happen. C.J. was smart,
but a press secretary is a publicist. A publicist.
Best character: My wife likes Donna and, of course, no one could dislike Leo
(the late John Spencer), who was the show's nerve center. I vote for Toby,
unpleasant and maddening as he could be. Even when there was no choice
except to cut a deal, he reminded us there used to be a principle here.
Worst character: Through no fault of her own, Amy Gardner (Mary Louise
Parker). The writers had no idea what to do with her, so for whole episodes
she looked like a glib Moonie on heavy prescription drugs.
Best presidential moment not on his official calendar for that day: Jeb meets
Charlie (Dule Hill) coming out of his daughter's bedroom in a state of partial
dress.
Worst reminders that this is television and television demands action: Jeb's
daughter Zoey (Elisabeth Moss) gets kidnapped. His secretary Mrs.
Landingham (Kathryn Joosten) is killed in a car crash. Josh gets shot, Donna
almost gets blown up, Toby's going to jail, Leo has a massive heart attack.
Memo to writers: His name was Jeb, not Job.
Originally published on May 11, 2006
Pollak, Melissa F.
First, it depends on what your definition of "near" is. The closest movie theaters to the White House would be those at Dupont circle, not that "near," but within walking distance.
Second, there's been so much construction in that part of DC (actually, there's construction everywhere, all the time) that I'm not even sure what's there and what isn't. For example, I'm pretty sure that Dupont Circle has lost some of its movie theaters. Until I went to a movie there late last year, I would not have been able to say that the theater I went to was still there. So, for me, Charlie's lack of knowledge didn't strike me as unbelievable.
I, too, have wondered about TV movies -- and am surprised there hasn't been any mention of that possibility. Or, maybe there has been, and I just haven't seen it.
Melissa P.
-----Original Message-----
From: tvb...@googlegroups.com [mailto:tvb...@googlegroups.com]On
Behalf Of PGage
Sent: Monday, May 15, 2006 2:58 AM
To: tvb...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: Sloppy "West Wing" Closer
PGage writes...
PGage
Second, there's been so much construction in that part of DC
(actually, there's construction everywhere, all the time) that I'm not
even sure what's there and what isn't. For example, I'm pretty sure
that Dupont Circle has lost some of its movie theaters. Until I went
to a movie there late last year, I would not have been able to say
that the theater I went to was still there. So, for me, Charlie's
lack of knowledge didn't strike me as unbelievable.
PGage writes...
Well, that's why I said it was a fuzzy mistake. Still, Charlie did not
give the kind of answer that you gave ("there used to be one a couple
of miles from here but since I've been working like a maniac for more
than 7 years and they keep tearing things down and building them back
around here I have no idea if its still there") he said something like
"Movie theatres? In the District of Columbia? Gee, I have no idea if
they have anything like that here" (well, that may be a slight
embellishment). I guess my point is that of all the characters Charlie
is a real local, and they could have reflected that somehow in his
exit from the show, as it was in his entrance. OTOH, while I'm sure
many found it corny, I did like the Constitution scene which bookended
nicely with the knife scene.
The article from the Daily News illustrates how wildly West Wing fans
have always differed about what they like and do not like about the
show. I hated Goodman and loved the Amy Gardner character, and thought
the copulation of Josh and Donna was pandering to the chicks in the
audience. OTOH I agree about Ainsely and Bruno, and of course the
worst and best episodes. I agree that the CJ arc lacked credibility
(though it didn't have to, some press secretaries have been more than
publicists, though not very recently). Indeed, I have always found the
enchantment that CJ has held over the cast of WW and much of its
audience to be something of a mystery. I like CJ fine, but she would
not crack the top 5 of my list of best or most interesting characters.
Ed Dravecky
> When they realize that they do have the time someone asks Charlie if
> there is even a movie theater near here (The White House) and Charlie
> says he doesn't know. If there is anyone on the show who would know
> the answer to that question you might think it would be Charlie, who
> was a regular local teenager before taking his job at the WH.
I find it entirely plausible that Charlie doesn't know for sure where
the nearest movie theater might be since for the last seven years he's
been watching all his movies right there at the White House. A lot
can change in that time.
Absolutely every movie theater that was open near my home in the early
1990s has been torn down, converted to a church, turned into a night
club, or simply shut down. AMC Glen Lakes 8 was the last holdout,
finally closing when the AMC Northpark 16 opened across the highway
two weeks ago. The Northpark 16 was built to replace the
semi-legendary General Cinemas Northpark 1 & 2 which were torn down to
build a Foley's.
No, wait, the GC Prestonwood has re-opened as a Studio Movie Grill and
the Inwood arthouse (which is not all that near me, frankly) is open
(again) under new management (again) but the list of the departed is
quite formidable.
--
Ed Dravecky III
Allen, Texas USA
Bob in Jersey
> No spoiler space?
Maybe that's why it got kicked back to the mgrs. for approval...
--
BOB
Kowen
said he was going to miss the Marine Corps band,
while I think it is just referred to as the Marine band.
David Bruggeman
- I think one of the ushers, though if true she's
wearing a different coat (or an overcoat) from the
previous scence she was in.
The last cutaway before Keb'Mo starts singing is Mr.
Sorkin. He's the bespectacled brown haired man - no
one else in frame.
Overall, pretty meh, and typical of post-Sorkin WW -
the lyrical speechifying (or obnoxious prattling -
YMMV) is strongly diminished, if not absent.
David
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M-D November
- I think one of the ushers, though if true she's
wearing a different coat (or an overcoat) from the
previous scence she was in.
Doesn't it stand to reason that the "mysterious redhead" was Mallory,
Leo's daughter (who we had previously seen in the episode)?
David Bruggeman
shoulder length. Mallory's was not so long.
David