Enderw23, its been said on other shows that President Jeb has other children, not just the one that goes to Georgetown. They’re all growed up.
Also (and I hate nitpicking my favorite show), did anyone notice the first and only guest appearance of a New England accent outside the Nashua townhall when Bartlett and the CoS were talking? I think it was a flashback to Sheen’s “All the President’s Men” days.
It was a reference to Alfred Hitchcock, who had Jessie Royce Landis do it in “To Catch a Thief.” Hitchcock did it to make the audience dislike the character, so that was probably a secondary reason. The scene is quite well known (do a search on “alfred hitchcock egg cigarette” and you get quite a few hits) and Sorkin was probably aware of it.
The client even said something like “This is what I get for $20,000 a month?” so Laura Palmer’s mom fired an employee she was willing to pay twice as much to appease that client? It just doens’t make any sense.
Other possible gaffes - There was a quote last season in which Leo said “Without me you’d be the most popular econ professor at the University of Wisconsin”, this left me with the impression that Leo had overseen Bartlett’s entire political career. Last night I was left with the impression that this was the first time they hooked up.
Also Bartlett is supposed to be a Nobel prize winning economist - With 6 years in congress an 8 in New Hampshire, where did he find time, at his age, to produce a Nobel prize worthy body of work?
What happened to the consultant? I know she was ill used last year, and was virtually written out mid season, but wasn’t she on the Hoynes campaign when she and Josh had an affair?
In terms of the source of the continuity errors, hasn’t Aaron Sorkin had his hand (if not written) all the scripts thus far? Fewer excuses then.
Still one of the best two or three shows on TV right now.
I know I must be really anal retentive to nitpick about a post in a nitpicking thread, but according to both the IMDB and NBC’s site, Martin Sheen’s character is named Josiah “Jed” Bartlet, not Jebediah. Carry on. 
Whoops. That’s what it sounded like.
Indy, I also was wondering where Moriah Kelly was. But she worked for the GOP, I believe, not Hoynes. And I believe that she and Josh were married, no?
And Leo and Jed (yeah, that sounds better) have been friends for a LONG time, apparent in the episode featuring Leo’s addictions. Where did you get the impression last night that they had just?
Again in regards to CJ getting fired, I completely think it makes sense. Here’s a guy that may be paying $240,000 a year for services. If he’s in the Top 10 in Hollywood, this company is getting a lot of exposure for having this guy. If he leaves, the company loses a lot of credibility, client relations wise.
And don’t forget, Aaron Sorkin had been doing a LOT of cocaine while writting the first few episodes. I imagine he’d “forget” a few minor details.
For CJ to be paid $500k per year, she must be bringing in, or at the very least servicing clients worth 2-3 times that much, so unless this was a final straw and all her clients hated her, they have alienated over a million dollars in business to save that $240. Your scenario, while possible, just doesn’t strike me as likely.
I guess my impressions on Leo could be wrong, something said, left me with the impression that the Presidential campaign was the first Bartlett campaign Leo was involved with. Now even if this is the case, it doesn’t preclude the long term friendship. Aw, you’re probably right.
If Sorkin was doing all that blow, then between West Wing and Sports Night, he was a helluva lot better at handling it than anybody I’ve ever known. Kudos.
I think Moira Kelly was with the GOP before going to work for Bartlett, but I had assumed that she and Josh were on the same campaign at some point. But the GOP thing makes sense if for no other reason than to parallel the Carville/Matalin thing.
Finally, did anybody pick up on the fact that Sam Seaborn was engaged in the Flashback. Apparently him dumping the cozy partnership, or putting the campaign first blew up his relationship. Nice way to add some depth with just a line of what could have been throwaway dialog.
Indy, You’ve got your fictional presidents mixed up. That line you quoted is from The American President starring Michael Douglas as the Prez. It was, however, Martin Sheen as Mike’s cheif-of-staff who uttered the line. That’s probably why you got them mashed together in your brain.
Here’s a link to the quote on IMDB, if you’re interested.
She’s gone. Not returning, her character has been written out entirely.
And, she was on the Bartlett campaign when she and Josh were together (not married). When that campaign ended, she got a job at a major firm (don’t remember which, but they named it in the pilot), then left the firm to strike out on her own. In the pilot she was working for/dating the democrat in Congress who was most likely to try to make a run at the presidency at the next election.
-amarinth
(Seen the pilot way too many times.)
but stretches credibility to the snapping point.
Bartlett bops down to hospital after winning the Illinois primary? I don’t care how “good” a man he is, he’s a politician, and though my heart was warmed, it was ridiculous.
It is such a delightful fantasy…wouldn’t it be great to have such really good, righteous, warm, lovable, honest people running our country? Keep dreaming…
stoid
You of course mean “airport” when you say “hospital”. Yeah, it did seem a little incredible, but up to that point, Leo and Ms. Bartlett had been saying how he wasn’t quite ready yet, or into it yet, and right after talking to Josh, said to Leo, “I’m ready.”
Yeah, Sorkin’s the man. Two solid shows, and he didn’t take any assistant writers until well into the season. Admitted that the cocaine was the only thing keeping him going.
Stuyguy sez: Hey this thread is doin’ pretty good! (and pats himself on the back for having started it).
Since I’ve got all your attention, I’ve got a little Q that has me and another WW pal puzzled. Who was the tallish, woman with the long, straight, blonde hair that showed up in Toby’s office after she “heard the news on tv and though she should come [to the White House]”? Is she new, or some earlier character that my friend and I didn’t recognize? Thanks all.
I love The West Wing. In addition to being a very intelligent and often informative drama, it stars three people from my hometown of Dayton, OH. (Sheen, who even went to my high school, Lowe and Janney)
My response to some of the nitpicks:
Catching the signal man. That bothered me at first, too. I suspect there was a subplot that ended up on the cutting room floor where Gina picks the fellow out of the crowd in footage taken by one of the many cameras rolling. Or else out of one of those lineup books of known members of hate groups that she had been seen looking through in other episodes. Just a little too slow, and probably couldn’t fit it in.
Grandchildren. In one of the episodes, Pres. Bartlett and his wife refer to older daughters than Zoe. We have not met them, and maybe they will be ignored/forgotten, however that was where the presumed grandchildren came from in the early episodes.
PR inexperience. I noticed the inconsistency as well. I imagine somebody (possibly even the actor who would be more likely to remember character traits) pointed out during filming that CJ was uncomfortable/unfamiliar with the Hollywood scene. They didn’t have time to rewrite, so they threw in the line about “Don’t understand TV/Film anyway.” to try and keep some consistency.
As for the Verizon thing, or the UWisc. minors, I’ll cut them some slack. There is only so much a TV show can research for 22 hours of plot in a year.
Let’s notice some of the things they did get right. We get a payoff on Josh’s line last season that his father died on the night of the Illinois primary. Similarly for Hoynes line, “If I had listened to you, would I be President now?”.
[hijack] Can someone with more medical knowledge that me explain why it was important for the anaesthesiologist to know about the multiple sclerosis, but not the chief surgeon? [/hijack]
I personally thought CJ was just BSing Tobey(sp?) when she mentioned the 500K figure, as she had just fallen in the pool (that was funny BTW), and was in a petulant mood. But I have no idea what those Hollywood PR types make, so I could be wrong.
Also, I was surprised when Jeds wife told that doctor he was free to tell the public that Jed has a form of MS. I guess she wants him to face up to it. Could yield some interesting storylines like: Opposition questions his fitness to serve after a bad decision, etc.
Whoops, none too swift am I, hey it’s all Aaron Sorkin right? And I think the White House sets are the same ones used for the American president. I would now guess that Leo and Bartlett met while Bartlett was in the house of representatives. Leo served as a cabinet secretary at some point, probably in whatever the analog for the Carter administration is.
I also think it clever that the election cycles are offset two years. In the West Wing world, they are facing mid term elections.
Really random observation - The china used is West Wing (the pattern my wife and I have) is the same pattern used for the Nazi plate in American Beauty. (almost the same, the basic design is identical, with blue on white used for the American President and Black on Bone used for the Nazi Plate)
Why were you surprised by Ms. Bartlett’s telling the doctor he could or could not tell? The point of that line was that it was much more imporatant to her to keep her husband alive than keeping the MS a secret. Notice that she did heavily stress the fact that he was one of a very select group of people who had all kept the secret. If it were put to me that way, I would understand the importance of keeping it a secret.
As for telling the anaesthesiologist (that’s not fun to spell) and not the chief surgeon, going under anaesthisia always carries a risk of death, no matter your health. I’m no doctor, but I would imagine that any margin of error for this is even narrower for an MS patient. Again, just a WAG.
Indy, ain’t no thang but a chicken wang.
But I screwed up as well. The movie in question is entitled An (not the) American President.
Tell you the truth, I was thinking the same thing. Something about it just didn’t feel right, so right off to IMDB I went. I love that site.
It is “The” - not “An.” I think you must have read the IMDB wrong, Jack.
Dang it all…you beat me to that one!!
Is there a different girl playing Zoe this year? She did not look the same to me. I agree that the reaction of the assistant when they told him he was the target, not the prez. He was just kind of like, “Oh, OK…see ya later”. I thought that was sort of a strange reaction. Maybe he was in shock or something.
I thought it strange how Josh’s assistant just barged in and started answering phones and he just thought it was cute or ambitious, etc. She is about the only character on the show that I don’t really care for all that much.
This show has really grown on me, and this first ep of the year has made me a definite fan. It’s great!! I love the relationship between the prez and Leo. And I hope they show more storyline with the evil Vice Prez (at least he seems evil to me in a way–Tim Matheson can really play good slimy characters).
Great Googly Moogly, you’re right.