OTH: The West Wing- "Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics" / "What Kind of Day Has It Been"

Plus final thoughts on season 1!

Season 1, Episode 21

Aired May 20, 2000

Directed by Don Scardino

Written by Aaron Sorkin

Synopsis: Following the previous episode, the White House is anticipating the results of President Bartlet’s recent poll, hoping to see if his approval rating will stay at 42 or either rise or fall. As the staff goes about their day before results are shared, Toby advises that Sam skips his plans of going to Laurie the Call Girl’s law school graduation, fearing that there will be insiders waiting to take a photo of him. He agrees and calls Laurie, the Call Girl to tell her what’s going on. Leo, meanwhile, has to meet with Barry Haskel, a member on the FEC who has shared anonymous quotes to newspapers in favor of soft money bans. While Haskel isn’t happy about having his anonymity revealed, Leo recalls that his anonymity as a recovering drug addict has been unmasked, and he uses the power of the President to intimidate Haskel.

The next day, C.J. is outlining her press junket for drug reform and is checking her notes with the President before going to the press room. President Bartlet insists that they’re sticking to the same memo that the White House has authorized over the past thirty years, whether it will remain popular or not. Toby and Sam then enter the Oval Office and suggest that to solve their problem with the ambassador of Bulgaria, who is having an affair with the prime minister’s daughter, they’ll promote the ambassador of Paraguay to Bulgaria, and to fill his spot, they’ll promote the ambassador of Micronesia to Paraguay, and hope that Bulgaria’s ambassador will accept the terms to his resignation. Meanwhile, in the press room, C.J. continues to give Danny the cold shoulder and responds with scorn to a question he has about the President’s agenda on drug reform. Danny won’t stop until he confronts C.J. and asks why she’s still brushing him off, recalling that the memo has come and gone to the public. According to C.J., it’s still a point of discussion at the White House, and she’s still blamed for not discovering and destroying it earlier. After hours, Sam meets outside Laurie the Call Girl’s apartment, where he catches her and a friend offering her a graduation gift. As the two embrace, we see a photo being taken and someone jetting off into their black car. Sam notices the car but doesn’t have any concrete evidence that they’re in trouble.

That morning, a furious Leo barges into C.J.’s office, asking what she knows. C.J. reveals that Sam called her immediately after noticing the car, but neither of them contacted him as they didn’t have proof of any interference at the time. Well, now they do, as she’s spent hours digging and found that a London tabloid has a photo. Apparently, Laurie the Call Girl’s friend, Janeane, dropped the information for $50K. Leo asks C.J. to work with American press before the London tabloid hits our coast. Before he can see Sam and Toby, though, the two meet with President Bartlet, who remains as cool as he possibly can under the circumstances. Sam has expected Toby to ring his neck and the President to ask for his resignation, but both stand by him, with Bartlet telling Sam that he’ll spend the next few hours wit the White House Counsel to check if he broke any laws. The President also advises Sam to call Laurie the Call Girl and apologize for any inconvenience that is coming her way, and assure her that if she passes the bar, the Attorney General will personally approve her. The President has his own agenda to take care of, as he’s going to meet with the Bulgarian ambassador, Ken Cochran, who he’s about to lay off for reasons stated above. This leads to a game of telephone, and it’s revealed that Charlie has a history with the soon-to-be-former ambassador, as he worked at an exclusive country club Cochran was a part of. This leads to an awkward meeting, and when Bartlet comes in and recognizes his tone, this makes his job of firing Cochran all the easier, even with his friendly wife. The President then meets with FEC commissioner Lobell, who despite totally different ideology shares one viewpoint with the President- their interest in campaign finance reform. Bartlet asks for Lobell’s help to earn the votes needed to get his FED candidates in, offering the commissioner his gratitude, which surprisingly is enough. The episode then ends with the staff meeting in the Oval Office, waiting for the results of Bartlet’s approval ratings. Some members of the staff think they will stay steady, while Toby believes that they’ll decrease. C.J., meanwhile, suggests that they will increase by five points. She’s wrong- they’re up by nine points, to 51% percent. Now it’s time to get back to work.

Mark Twain was quoted with the statement that there three kinds of lies- “lies, damn lies, and statistics”. While he claims that this line came from elsewhere, the exact origin remains unknown. It’s a useful mantra to keep in mind for this particular episode, where the facts are blinded by scandal.

Granted, which scandal you’re thinking of may vary regarding its relevance. Mandy’s memo has been written off by the general public, with the recent rise in President Bartlet’s approval ratings proving that he’s able to weather that storm. That doesn’t mean that it’s forgotten inside the White House, though, as C.J. points out. Nothing Mandy said was false at the time, although Bartlet is doing everything he can to prove that he’s capable of change.

What kind of change he’s capable of, though, remains to be seen, although his attempt to woo Lobell without reaching across the aisle shows potential. All the President needed was his word and his kudos to get a figure with totally opposing views to give him the victory he needs, and that’s pretty impressive. But even more impressive is how President Bartlet, in between a stacked game of telephone he’s in control of, stands up for Charlie as he reunites with a racist customer from his past. While I don’t love that nearly every story Charlie has had since the show started has involved the color of his skin, it is cathartic to see Jed dismiss the former ambassador for the sake of his excellent aide.

Now Sam and Laurie the Call Girl, I could see why this is an issue to an extent. With sex work continually chastised in the public eye, any contact with someone who engages in promiscuous behavior for money is going to be a bad look for one of the White House’s chief staff members. Or maybe it won’t, as like Leo’s drug addiction or Mandy’s memo, Sam being an idiot and being friends with a sex worker can easily be forgotten. We don’t see the aftermath of Sam and Laurie the Call Girl’s friendship with this or the next episode, so it remains to be seen. I wish this story wasn’t seen in the next season.

Don Scardino takes on directing credits this week, who has an impressive legacy for television, which includes two consecutive Emmys for producing 30 Rock, but is most relevant here for handling directorial duties for the original run of A Few Good Men. I don’t think his work is especially impressive compared to other directors we’ve sampled before on The West Wing, but he at least knows his way with working a cast. And that’s just enough to make “Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics” a solid penultimate episode. Some stories work better than others, but I was seldom annoyed when Sam wasn’t on screen, which is just enough.

Season 1, Episode 22

Aired May 17, 2000

Directed by Thomas Schlamme

Written by Aaron Sorkin

Synopsis: President Bartlet is giving a town hall meeting, with Zoey in the audience. You can tell she’s there, because she’s sinking into her seat when he namedrops her. It goes over well, even when we see his staff melt down in between, but hey, that’s their job. It isn’t their job to anticipate what happens next, though, as Gina, Zoey’s Secret Service Agent, notices a young bald fellow looking intently at Charlie, who is walking with his girlfriend in tow. He’s looking suspicious, but we don’t see what happens next.

Instead, we cut back to twelve hours earlier, where Leo meets with Admiral Fitzwallace in the Situation Room. Fitzwallace shares the unfortunate news that a plane has been shot down in Iraq. Before the President can be informed, however, they need to uncover more information, but President Bartlet is currently concerned with a shuttle that didn’t go off as planned the previous night, noting that Toby’s brother was supposed to be on that mission. Toby doesn’t know what’s going on, and his reasoning as to why he isn’t up to date with his brother’s details is interrupted by the President’s need to enter the Situation Room, where he learns that the Iraqi government has put a 14K bounty out for any American captured, making their rescue mission tricky. Bartlet tells Fitzwallace to go on with the mission as planned. While the day continues, the staff create a signal to let the President know that the pilot lost in Iraq has been found, while Zoe and Charlie are having a fight in the White House halls (really, outside of Josh’s office). Charlie has found some information relevant to the President’s townhall that evening, but he’s reluctant to share, which his girlfriend, aka the President’s daughter, is not happy with. He doesn’t get a chance to share, either, but we do get good news- the pilot has been found.

Back to that evening, Gina keeps her eye on the skinhead, but there’s more to the story than what we saw earlier- a couple of snipers are waiting in windows across from the press. Not even snipers, they have pistols. The skinhead walks away, but the wannabe snipers aim a few shots from the top of their window. We don’t see anyone get shot, most of the staff either stands down or is pushed to the side, but at least one soundbite of someone having a bullet run through their body is dropped before the episode cuts to black.

Sports Night, Aaron Sorkin’s other show, also ended its first season with the title “What Kind of Day Has It Been?”, a very literary-minded title. He’ll use this for his later series finales for Studio 60 in the Sunset Strip and The Newsroom.

Consider this another hallmark of Sorkin’s writing. One final swing, a reminder of what he’s done before, what can happen next time, and what will be. The title fits his ethics to a tee, and it helps that “What Kind of Day Has It Been” is a solid finale in its own right.

That said, while much of the episode is engaging, what really sticks out for audiences is the cliffhanger ending, which is admittedly a bit of a 180 for the series. The West Wing has its tense moments, but violence is a new kind of flavor to the series. The looming threat of a Presidential assassination shouldn’t be too much of a shock, however, as this makes for exciting storytelling. Of course the highest-ranking position in the free world is subject to certain death on a daily basis, and Bartlet wouldn’t be the first (nor probably the last) if he was shot, whether he survives or not.

At the same time, as we’ve deduced over the previous few episodes, this may not be about the President’s policies, but rather his willingness to let his daughter, a white woman, date his personal aide, a Black man. In fact, we’ve seen these boys before, when they were aiming for Charlie back in California. Chances are likely that they are more interested in him than the President, and while Charlie is a strong-minded guy, he’s still just a person, one who is likely freaked out to be the subject of an assassination attempt.

Some detractors consider it manipulative to end the episode with a cliffhanger, and I can see it as a crutch to ensure that the network renews the show, hoping that executives will need to know what happens next. I don’t think that would be entirely fair, though, as by this point, it should have been clear that The West Wing was safe for renewal, as its critical and commercial success should have more than cemented as much. I do see this as more of a storytelling crutch for Sorkin, who needed to come up with some kind of explosive event to bookend chapters in his story. In the commentary, he admits that he didn’t even know who would be shot during the writing of the episode.

And I won’t lie, that touch of violence is enticing, more than enough so to keep the show going. Besides factoring in the element of dread, trying to figure out who got hit and who survived, it’s a well-shot sequence, with Schlamme proving that he can handle outside scenes as well as he’s got the coordinates of the White House in tow. It’s not paced quite like a Hitchcockian thriller, but rather a more contemporary political strife, not meant to be sexy but pulsating and real. It still looks like broadcast television, but gets the job done.

That’s true for the rest of “What a Day It Has Been”, which is solid West Wing material, taking us through another day with a international conflict, keeping our characters in place as they move closer to Sorkin’s mental chessboard (Mandy remains inactive, but C.J. is about to checkmate Danny, while he mistakenly thinks he’s ahead), with everyone put in rest before the explosive finish. There are enough memorable moments, like Leo chastising Josh for considering the lost pilot as a political victory for the White House, that lead to great payoff, such as Josh’s awkward attempt to hug Leo. This makes for another entertaining and refreshing episode, reminding audiences why they’ve tuned in without alienating.

Editor Tina Hirsch’s work for “What a Day It Has Been” was nominated for an Emmy, but alongside Bill Johnson’s work for “In Excelsis Deo”, they both lost in favor of another win for ER, although Hirsch won an Eddie for this same episode. It’s a deserved win for Hirsch, whose cuts during the ending sell the sequence.

Season 1 Final Thoughts:

The West Wing won a total of nine Emmys for its first season, a very impressive number. Those nine Emmys went to:

• Outstanding Directing in a Drama to Thomas Schlamme for his work on the pilot

• Outstanding Writing in a Drama to Aaron Sorkin and Rick Cleveland for “In Excelsis Deo”

• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama to Richard Schiff

• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama to Allison Janey

• Outstanding Main Title Music (not sure if it’s earned, but whatever)

• Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Series to Thomas Del Ruth

• Outstanding Art Direction for a Single Camera Series

• Outstanding Casting for a Drama

• And the big one, Outstanding Drama Series

In addition, Martin Sheen was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor, John Spencer for Outstanding Supporting Actor, and Stockard Channing for Outstanding Supporting Actress, as well as an additional Writing nomination for Sorkin’s work on the pilot. A pretty damn impressive stack, the show nearly dominated the Emmys that year, with Once and Again and upcoming OTH series The Sopranos being the only other major winners in the drama categories.

Between the impressive stack of accolades, the show was a solid commercial success, ranking as the 27th highest rated show on television, with a 13 million average viewers. In comparison, The Simpsons, which was airing its eleventh season, ranked 41st with 8.8 million, while Buffy the Vampire Slayer ranked a paltry 133rd place with 5.1 mill. This still paled in comparison to ER’s sixth season, which had nearly 30 million regular viewers make it rank in fourth place, or Friends, which made it to fifth with 20.7 million (that’s a nine-million difference between fourth and fifth place, on the same night, no less!), but for a first season on a night that had it compete with The Drew Carrey Show and Spin City on ABC and CBS’ Wednesday Night Movie, that’s not bad at all. Even before Emmy season, it should have been clear that we were not done with the Bartlet administration.

But how do I feel about it? I was a little too young to watch and appreciate The West Wing as it aired and didn’t catch up to the show until well after its run, when it hit Netflix. As a drama, I think that it’s pretty good stuff, a series that definitely works when it swings big as opposed to sticking to familiar melodrama. Episodes like “In Excelsis Deo” and “Take This Sabbath Day” stand up with some of the best scripted and directed television of its era for a reason. While Sorkin’s weakness are easy to detect, like his difficulty with handling women or his self-serious demeanor, he knows his way around the written word, while Thomas Schlamme has been able to construct a crew who can bring his material to life, finding the best cast who can possibly do it. Whenever I fault the series, it’s almost never because of the acting.

Because who can fault a cast with Martin Sheen, Allison Janey and Bradley Whitford? Everybody brings their all to the show and makes their quirks instantly recognizable… aside from Mandy Hampton. Early on, it was mutually agreed by Moira Kelly and Sorkin that her character wasn’t quite working out, which explains why her roles have become minimal over the course of the season. The character won’t return in the following season, but don’t feel too bad for Kelly, who’s had an impressive resume over the years, including a recurring role on One Tree Hill and plenty of work for Disney as the voice of Nala from The Lion King (yes, that’s probably why she sounded so familiar to you).

Even with one weak character, the show can’t be faulted too heavily. I think that, overall, season 1 of The West Wing deserves a B. This is the best first season we’ve hit to date, a more confident endeavor than Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s initial run, with a crew who had a better idea of what they wanted to do than we saw at the beginning of The Simpsons’ run. Will this stick? I’m not sure, since we’re starting The Sopranos on here very soon, and I recall that being quite good.

Season 2 will resolve much of what was left dangling here, and in my memories is even stronger than the first year. Between you and me, I can’t wait to get to it.

Presidential Records:

• Do I think that General Hospital can outlast Medicare? In 2000, sure, but honestly, I think we’re doing a not-terrible job fighting for healthcare, while soap operas remain more fragile than ever.

• I didn’t really have room to talk about it in the review, but one of my favorite moments for the latter episode is during Josh and Vice President Hoynes’ jog, where Hoynes reveals that Josh offered to help him run for President, stating that if he took Josh’s advice and had him for support, he might have won. Josh has the right response- there’s no maybe about it.

• Danny’s credentials include The New York Times, The Washington Post, Time, and The Dallas Morning News. I can see why he’s so acclaimed, that’s a pretty impressive resume… but I wouldn’t have delivered the last one as haughty as he did.

• Is Bartlet a liberal, a populist, or a socialist? I think he wants to be a socialist, but doesn’t have the backbone for it

• Next Week: Season 2 begins with a two-parter, which reveals who got shot, along with some flashbacks to the start of the Bartlet campaign!