The State Dinner

"The State Dinner"
The West Wing episode
Episode no.	Season 1 Episode 7
Directed by	Thomas Schlamme
Written by	Aaron Sorkin and Paul Redford
Production code	225906
Original air date	November 10 1999
Guest stars
Stockard Channing Lisa Edelstein Timothy Busfield Janel Moloney David Rasche John Kapelos William Lucking
Season 1 episodes
September 22, 1999 – May 17, 2000 Pilot Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc A Proportional Response Five Votes Down The Crackpots and These Women Mr. Willis of Ohio The State Dinner Enemies The Short List In Excelsis Deo Lord John Marbury He Shall, from Time to Time... Take out the Trash Day Take This Sabbath Day Celestial Navigation 20 Hours in L.A. The White House Pro-Am Six Meetings Before Lunch Let Bartlet Be Bartlet Mandatory Minimums Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics What Kind of Day Has It Been
List of The West Wing episodes

"The State Dinner" is the 7th episode of The West Wing. It is the first time that First Lady Abigail Bartlet (Stockard Channing) appears.

Plot

The President tries to focus on key problems—a hostage standoff, a hurricane, and an impending truckers' union strike—all while trying to prepare for an important state dinner with the Indonesian President. While the dinner is going on, Toby and Josh attempt to work out a deal with one of the Indonesian President's aides to release a friend of Toby's from custody, a French national who was working for democratic reforms. The Indonesian President's aide is angry and insulted because Toby's welcoming speech was critical of Indonesian non-democracy, and tells Toby to go to hell. Mandy Hampton argues for a negotiating stance in the hostage standoff in Idaho, because she thinks the FBI entrapped the white separatist suspects on gun charges before it began, but the negotiating plan has devastating results. Leo tries to bridge the labor-management differences with the truckers, which center around a "two-tiered" plan that withholds pay and benefits from truckers who end up working nearly full-time hours at a significant deficit to their colleagues. The two sides make no headway, but President Bartlet has some choice words that might change their tune.

The hurricane is bearing down on Georgia, and Josh helps Charlie get his relatives out of harm's way, but then changes course and is going to slam into the USS John F. Kennedy carrier group, with about 12,000 men aboard, that was recalled from a port for protective reasons only to end up in a catastrophic situation. Sam is hurt personally when his friend Laurie "Brittany" Rollins (Lisa Edelstein), a call girl, turns up at the reception on the arm of Carl Everett, a huge Democratic Party backer. Laurie is overwhelmed when First Lady Abbey Bartlet introduces herself after interrupting her conversation with Sam; afterward, he ends up offering Laurie $10,000 not to go home with Everett, but she does not accept. President Bartlet ends the busy day by talking to a young sailor who is in the middle of the hurricane.

Emmy Awards

Nominated

• Outstanding Costumes for a Series (nominees: Lyn Elizabeth Paolo, Alice Daniels)
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (nominee: Stockard Channing) (submitted along with He Shall, from Time to Time...)

External links

• The West Wing Episode Guide