OTH: The West Wing- "Manchester" Parts I & II
Season 3 starts in earnest.
Season 3, Episode 1
Aired October 10, 2001
Directed by Thomas Schlamme
Written by Aaron Sorkin
Synopsis: We return to the press conference President Bartlet has walked into just after his television program revealing his multiple sclerosis diagnosis. To answer the question on everyone’s mind- will he run for reelection- Jed Bartlet has this to say- “Yeah. And I’m going to win.”
We are not out of the woods yet by any stretch, mind you. For one thing, the hostage crisis in Haiti is still ongoing, and while his crew have a plan to rescue them, this is still as rough as a time as it can be for the President. He also has to deal with an agitated First Lady, who’s unhappy with her husband’s decision to run for reelection. Meanwhile, the senior staff meet with Joey Lucas and Kenny, who all agree that another poll is necessary. The governor of Michigan is not the President, and they think a wider sample base will offer different results. Surprisingly, they come to this conclusion before Leo, who approves the poll, but his attention turns to Haiti after entering the Situation Room and seeing the helicopter sent to return the American hostages being shot down by Haitian rebels. Before things get worse, though, a second helicopter comes down and shoots out the rebels.
Four weeks later, the staff are on Air Force One as they fly over to the President’s home in Manchester. After landing and spending time at a pub near their hotel, Toby learns that the President has never apologized for keeping his MS diagnosis a secret for so long, and he tries to run through his head whether the President should or not. And he’s not the only person with something on his mind at the pub, and he knows it, as Leo has told Toby about C.J.’s intent to resign, something she’s not comfortable with discussing, but after a recent press statement where she absent-mindedly stated that she believes the President is “relieved to have something that matters” on his mind like Haiti, it’s understandable why she’s thinking of leaving. Charlie also has a lot on his plate, as a recent meeting with Oliver Babish puts in his head that he may need to hire a pricey lawyer for future counsel, one who will help him recall every conversation he’s had with both the President and Zoey. In better news, the poll Joey worked on suggests that 41% of the American people will vote for President Bartlet for reelection vs. 37% against and 22% unsure- 40% is the minimum requirement for victory. Part one ends with Leo meeting up with President Bartlet at his family’s ranch, where he clarifies his intent to run for reelection.
Season 3, Episode 2
Aired October 17, 2001
Directed by Thomas Schlamme
Written by Aaron Sorkin
Synopsis: The senior staff are now in Manchester alongside the crew hired to help President Bartlet with his reelection campaign as Toby struggles over the President’s speech, with seemingly everyone poking holes at it. He recognizes that he needs to get back to work, but he and the rest of the senior staff are already going weary of adviser Bruno Gianelli’s advice than anything. But life goes on. When the First Lady arrives, on a separate flight than the President, C.J. meets with her to suggest that the two of them take photos together with their daughters, a notion Abbey isn’t as offended by as she is by C.J.’s marital advice. The thing is, Jed wasn’t expecting his wife to come down, but she intends to introduce him for his reelection bid, even though this continues to remain a sore subject for the two of them, causing them to go through bitter arguments. Abbey has cooled down enough to support her husband, but a tinge of animosity lingers in the air.
Returning to four weeks earlier, the President and his Situation Room crew decide that the only way to allow President Bazon to stop his troops is to allow him asylum in Venezuela, an uncomfortable compromise but the only one in play. After making the decision, Leo meets with Nancy, part of their team, and asks her to give a release to the press rather than C.J., but insists that she will not be punished. Leo also makes the decision to call Bruno and his team in after their recent polling numbers haven’t risen from their last, which the senior staff isn’t happy with but has no other option. As Bruno prepares his duties after receiving most of his demands from Leo, he meets with Josh after learning his plans to leak the press release involving big tobacco (remember that plotline from last season?) was a mistake, something Joey Lucas already told him before planning it. Josh remains undeterred and goes through with his plan.
Back in Manchester, Toby and Sam debate over adding an apology into the President’s speech. Sam is in favor of it, especially after an earlier conversation with Connie, one of Bruno’s top advisers, while Toby is adamant about not caving in, although he can’t articulate why. Bruno can hash this out later when meeting with him, as he correctly deduces that Toby, more than anyone, is pissed about the President lying about his health. Meanwhile, President Bartlet asks C.J. to meet with her and chastises her for trying to play marriage counselor. While he insists this is it, C.J. knows that isn’t the case and stands up for her decision to resign, a notion he dismisses, as Jed personally tells C.J. that he needs her and apologizes for benching her earlier. The President and First Lady are driven to the press release together and have a smoother meeting than before, and before meeting with his staff, Jed promises a new beginning for them and everyone as they walk up to formally announce his reelection.
As mentioned last week, “Isaac and Ishmael” was a last-minute cue by Sorkin et al who recognized that it was the show’s responsibility to address the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001. Whether a television series, even the most overtly political around, needs to address real-world concerns of this level is up for debate, but considering how 9/11 had and continues to dominate the cultural conversation, I understand why this had to happen.
Luckily, season 3’s premiere focuses on something with real-world parallels of a different matter- political unrest in Haiti, not far removed from President Aristide’s return to power early in the Clinton administration. While the crisis in Haiti doesn’t dominate the episode, its frequent callbacks are a reminder that despite whatever is going on with the staff or even the President, the world doesn’t revolve around any one person- there’s always something bigger than any of us going on at any given time.
Still, to say that the President should be “relieved” to “focus on something that actually matters” is absurd, especially when recognizing the context C.J. is referring to, and I think both parts of “Manchester” do a good job of addressing the fatigue she and the rest of the crew are dealing with.
“Manchester” resembles the previous season’s two-part premiere in its non-linear storytelling, although instead of taking us back to the start of the Bartlet campaign, or even further back like in “Two Cathedrals”, the episode is concerned with the immediate aftermath of President Bartlet’s MS confession and his official second election bid, emphasizing his crew’s reactions to the affair and how (or if) they choose to stand by their boss.
Personally, I don’t find the “Manchester” episodes to be as riveting as “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen'“ were, although I do appreciate some of the new characters we’re introduced to- Ron Silver fits right in as Bruno Gianelli, while Connie Britton’s Connie Tate is just as well-equipped for Sorkin’s layered dialogue as they attempt to guide Bartlet and his crew through what’s meant to be a rough reelection cycle. The West Wing often does well to add new side players to its crew when a shakeup is needed.
Maybe it’s the lack of urgency which comes from switching over to the quaint-looking nature of the Bartlet’s hometown in Manchester, NH, or the flashbacks not having the same impact as the previous premiere’s nor “Two Cathedrals”, but “Manchester” often comes off as less exciting than anticipated. It doesn’t help that the stakes that we see from the senior staff aren’t that big. Charlie needing to invest in a big-name attorney or Toby still feeling pissed that he didn’t learn sooner isn’t exactly riveting material.
C.J. possibly stepping down from her position has a little more potential, especially given her bad day on the job. She’s given hundreds of press briefings before but hasn’t made as big of a gaffe as she did earlier in the episode, which couldn’t be more notable after the bombshell her boss dropped on the world recently. This of course goes nowhere- there was never the slightest hint of a notification that Janney would leave the series nor would C.J. have a change of occupation- but this still feels real and leads to a memorable scene between her and Bartlet, who succinctly tells her that he needs her around. The audience does, too.
The third season will largely focus on President Bartlet’s reelection and the fallout from hiding his MS diagnosis, both of which are promising enough arcs. There’s still plenty of highs to hit, but will this match the second season’s wealth of quality storylines and sharply-laced wit? This remains to be seen, but while I wasn’t especially blown away with the premiere, there’s still a lot of show to dig through.
The second part was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Art Direction for a Single-Camera Series, losing the award to Alias.
Presidential Records:
As implied by last week, Stockard Channing has indeed been added to the main cast. She won’t appear in every episode, but do expect more of the First Lady.
“Hey, redheaded girl.” That’s kind of a forward way to address the Chief of Staff’s secretary.
Despite taking place in New Hampshire, they never actually shoot in the state, instead doing exterior shots in Virginia while keeping the cast in California. Supposedly this was disappointing to the people of New Hampshire, but that wasn’t doable.
I’d like to check that poll about America not wanting Dr. Kervorkian running the country. I think he would make for an interesting change of pace.
In New Hampshire, it’s hard to find a Starbucks, but I think it’s less because the people there won’t pay $4 for a cup of coffee, and more that New England is Dunkin territory.
You’ll see Josh wearing a Wesleyan shirt in his hotel room even though the character went to Harvard and Yale- Bradley Whitford is the one who went to Wesleyan, and this isn’t the first time he broke character to remind the audience.
Next Week: The senior begin working with the special prosecutor and a Nobel Prize winners banquet is loaded with chaos from all corners.