In reviewing the upcoming episode guide for reruns of The West Wing on the Bravo network, I see that two episodes are being withheld from the normal rerun schedule (which shows episodes in order) until 2005. Those episodes are “The Supremes” (a conservative SCOTUS justice dies and the Bartlet White House looks for a replacement, with Glenn Close guest-starring as the frontrunner) and “No Exit” (The WH is in a crash lockdown situation with President Bartlet, Charlie and Debbie Fiderer possibly exposed to a dangerous substance.)
There is no explanation on the Bravo website as to why these episodes have been pulled from the sequence until the fifth season episodes rerun again sometime after the new year. The remainder of the fifth season shows have and/or will air, in order, as they were originally shown on NBC.
Anyone have any insight as to why reruns of these two particular episodes won’t occur until next year?
Somebody realized that the storyline in “The Supremes” episode was so divorced from reality and felt it had to be kept from the general public except on a need to know basis.
I think that’s the episode that made me stop watching…but I’m definitely not going to go back and make sure. I stopped for a reason.
Anyway, that usually happens when the first run network (NBC) wishes to show the rerun before the syndicator does. My guess is that there’s going to be a new episode(s) dealing with the subject matter in those two episodes. So, you’ll see “The Supremes” on NBC in a rerun week, and then the new episode that has many scenes from “The Supremes” in the “previously on West Wing.” Ditto for “No Exit”
