In tonight’s series finale, a guitarist plays the national anthem during the inauguration.
The camera pans over the crowd during song. It seemed that Aaron Sorkin was in the crowd, and that the camera paused on him for a tic or two.
Anyone else see that?
Was he the blondish guy with glasses?
I wondered who that guy was!
Yes…so it wasn’t me 
Funny, I thought it looked like Sorkin too.
I must admit I wouldn’t know Aaron Sorkin if I fell over him, but I had to do a double and then triple take at your user name. How apropos 
I was right after all…
http://www.zap2it.com/tv/news/zap-aaronsorkinonwestwingfinale,0,291494.story?coll=zap-tv-headlines
Very odd. I didn’t notice that. Good catch.
I did notice that the Chief Justice wasn’t Glenn Close. In fact, it was probably the worst imitation of Glenn Close ever.
Hitchcock’s appearances were a lot more inconspicuous though. Hitchcock would be in the background as a porter on a train, or a bellhop, or a guy at a newstand. He never put the camera on only his own mug.
Yeah, I was disappointed that after the episode in which she was chosen as Chief Justice (one of the better post-Sorkin episodes IMO) she couldn’t spare one day for the sake of continuity an full-circle-ness.
There was something I realized when Mallory was talking to CJ. Who from the original cast was Sam seen with in his two episodes this year? Josh and Donna. That’s it. His return was mentioned by CJ (once to Mallory, and maybe once to Toby or Bartlet) but I don’t remember him being onscreen with anyone else. I would think at least that Will Bailey would have gotten at least a hello - Sam did save his bacon all those years ago out in the California election (and gave him the world’s shortest effective recommendation so he could get his White House job.)
Certainly he did. In North by Northwest, for instance, he is shown in single shot missing a bus. And he was quite prominent in Strangers on a Train (carrying a double bass), Frenzy (a close-up of him listening to a speaker – very similar to Sorkin’s), and The Birds (walking his dogs).
Hitchcock’s appearences were in three phases.
I also wondered who that was; good to know. I think the White House staffer to whom Bartlet expressed his best wishes for her mom was, in fact, Martin Sheen’s daughter.
A fine episode, all in all, with a quiet, contemplative tone that seemed quite fitting. All of the major characters were left in good places, or sent on their way satisfactorily, and it didn’t feel rushed. I, too, missed having Glenn Close return as the Chief Justice of the United States (not “of the Supreme Court,” as the Speaker said - a common mistake) for the swearing-in. The pardon for Toby was handled just right - Bartlet obviously had some real mixed feelings about that. Lily Tomlin’s advice to her successor was funny and pungent. Sounds like Baker will be VP and Vinick will be SecState, as expected. I liked Bartlet’s reference to the Marine Band playing Semper Fidelis, and the Marine honor guard presenting arms at the Capitol - Santos is a Marine reservist, after all. Nice to see the framed cocktail napkin with “Bartlet for America,” and a brief appearance by Sam Seaborn in the Oval Office near the end.
I have to admit, I was disappointed not to hear even a little of Santos’s Inaugural Address, or to find out what Bartlet wrote to him in that private letter. And Bartlet would know better than to blame the Framers for January 20 being Inauguration Day; before 1937, it was on March 4. Still, I’m glad he got the last word: “Tomorrow.”
Hail and farewell, West Wing. I’m really going to miss you guys.
I was disappointed that they couldn’t work Richard Schiff in somewhere, especially after Bartlet signed the pardon.
From the looks of Sam’s appearance, they had Rob Lowe for a day and that was it. 2 scenes with very little to do.
I was glad they gave Charlie a real sendoff. I sort of imagined he might go to law school, and having Bartlet give him the copy of the Constitution was a great moment. It looked like Martin and Dule were both really holding back tears during that scene.
If Danny’s already in Los Angeles, can we assume that he’s retiring to be Mr. C.J. Cregg, and that she did take the charity job?
I’m gonna miss this show.
Regarding Charlie Young attending law school, it seems like the appropriate thing for him to do, but did they ever explain how he attended college while working as the president’s personal assistant? It seems like a job with at least twelve-hour days, and a lot of travel.
The copy of the constitution was a nice gift for Charlie, and previously Jed gave him the Bartlett family carving knife, which had been in the family for 200 years and was made by Paul Revere. I imagine he’d have to store that in a bank vault.
And as for C.J., I assume that she did take the foundation job ($10 billion to solve a major world problem) as that was the only one she seemed interested in. I don’t think we met the guy who made the offer previously, although I gathered that he was supposed to be a fictional version of Bill Gates.
He had a lot of night and summer school classes. Plus a lot of AP credit, and probably a few CLEPs. He and Sam talked about it once. From the IMDB quote section:
Sam Seaborn: You’re telling me that you’ve never been to college and after taking two classes this summer you’re going to be like, a junior?
Charlie Young: With a pretty decent G.P.A.
Sam Seaborn: Charlie, just how smart are you?
Charlie Young: I’ve got some game.
We did see the guy in “Institutional Memory” when he made the offer.
I think Bartlet probably made some accomodations for Charlie’s classes, considering how highly he valued education (and the deal about Charlie quitting.)
No, I meant before Institutional Memory. The way that the White House staff swooned over this guy was weird considering whom they work with every day and the number of important visitors they see on a regular basis.
Pretty sure it was Carol, Assistant to the Press Secretary, played by Melissa Fitzpatrick.
Renee Estevez (Sheen’s RL daughter) played Nancy, the President’s secretarial assistant.
Don’t feel bad, I didn’t know who they were either.
http://westwing.bewarne.com/characters/secondary.html
No, I meant before Institutional Memory. The way that the White House staff swooned over this guy was weird considering whom they work with every day and the number of important visitors they see on a regular basis.