"The West Wing" (1999) TV series 1999-2006

Creator:

Aaron Sorkin

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Release Date:

22 syyskuu 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Right place. Right time. right man.

Plot:

Inside the lives of staffers in the west wing of the White House.

Plot Keywords:

President | Political | Secretary | White House | First Lady

Awards:

Won 2 Golden Globes. Another 86 wins & 177 nominations

Cast

 (Series Cast Summary - 12 of 341)

Allison Janney	...	Claudia Jean 'C.J.' Cregg (154 episodes, 1999-2006)
Martin Sheen	...	President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet (153 episodes, 1999-2006)
John Spencer	...	Leo McGarry (152 episodes, 1999-2006)
Bradley Whitford	...	Josh Lyman (152 episodes, 1999-2006)
Janel Moloney	...	Donna Moss (147 episodes, 1999-2006)
Richard Schiff	...	Toby Ziegler (145 episodes, 1999-2006)
Dulé Hill	...	Charlie Young (134 episodes, 1999-2006)
NiCole Robinson	...	Margaret Hooper (105 episodes, 1999-2006)
Melissa Fitzgerald	...	Carol Fitzpatrick / ... (99 episodes, 1999-2006)
Rob Lowe	...	Sam Seaborn (81 episodes, 1999-2006)
Joshua Malina	...	Will Bailey (77 episodes, 2002-2006)
Stockard Channing	...	Abbey Bartlet (63 episodes, 1999-2006)

Also Known As:

West Wing (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

42 min | USA:60 min (including commercials)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:NC-16 (season 7) | New Zealand:M (season 2) | New Zealand:M (season 4) | New Zealand:PG (season 1) | New Zealand:PG (season 5) | New Zealand:PG (season 3) | Australia:M (some episodes) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG | UK:12 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Company:

John Wells Productions

Trivia:

The character of Josh Lyman, played by Bradley Whitford, often makes jokes about his assistant Donna being from Wisconsin. Bradley Whitford is actually from Wisconsin.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In several episodes they reference Myanmar. In fact, the US along with most western governments do not recognise the name change and still call it Burma. Various Government sites including the CIA Factbook confirm this.

Quotes:

Representative Matthew Santos: Who's that hugging Mommy?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Thick of It: (#3.3)" (2009)

Making real drama out of politics

So much political reporting seems to be an attempt to fake a drama out of little material. I missed the West Wing when it started, but am catching up now, and find that it turns the specifics of politics into gripping human drama with a fast pace.

The camera seems to move as quickly as the people, following one conversation, then picking up another as two corridors intersect, and going off after that conversation instead. It's a remarkably effective dramatic device, that helps generate a sense of many topics, issues and personalities all being constantly on the move in response to events.

The acting is uniformly good, and often not on screen, Martin Sheen's president remains a constant presence shaping every story.