The West Wing season 5
| The West Wing | |
|---|---|
| Season 5 | |
 | |
| No. of episodes | 22 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 24, 2003 – May 19, 2004 |
| Season chronology | |
The fifth season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from September 24, 2003, to May 19, 2004, and consisted of 22 episodes. This was the first season with executive producer John Wells as showrunner after series creator Aaron Sorkin departed the series after the conclusion of the previous season.
Cast
The fifth season had star billing for nine major roles, all nine of these were filled by returning main cast members from the fourth season. Martin Sheen receives the "and" credit for his role as President Josiah Bartlet. The rest of the ensemble are credited alphabetically, while Channing is only credited for the episodes in which she appears
Main cast
- Stockard Channing as Abbey Bartlet
- Dulé Hill as Charlie Young
- Allison Janney as C. J. Cregg
- Joshua Malina as Will Bailey
- Janel Moloney as Donna Moss
- Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler
- John Spencer as Leo McGarry
- Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman
- Martin Sheen as Josiah Bartlet
Plot
The fifth season opens with US forces successfully rescuing Zoey Bartlet from her abductors. Bartlet takes the presidency back from Acting President Walken, but is forced back into a level of powerlessness. He comes to terms with his actions that led to his daughter's kidnapping, a new Republican Speaker of the House (Walken has had to resign in order to assume the presidency) who forces Bartlet into several decisions he doesn't want to make, including the nomination of an unimpressive Democrat, "Bingo Bob" Russell, for Vice President. The conflict with the new Speaker comes to a head in "Shutdown", when the Speaker tries to force Bartlet into cutting federal spending more than had been agreed to and Bartlet refuses to sign the budget, forcing the federal government into a shutdown. Bartlet regains some of his power, cutting a deal to get a liberal Chief Justice of the United States, and season five ends with a bombing in Gaza leading Bartlet to push for Israeli peace talks and Josh to be closer to Donna after she is critically wounded. The fifth season begins toward the end of Bartlet's first year of his second term (fifth year overall) in office. By the end of the season, however, over a year has elapsed.
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 89 | 1 | "7A WF 83429" | Alex Graves | John Wells | September 24, 2003 | 176051 |
| 90 | 2 | "The Dogs of War" | Christopher Misiano | John Wells | October 1, 2003 | 176052 |
| 91 | 3 | "Jefferson Lives" | Alex Graves | Teleplay: Carol Flint Story: Carol Flint & Debora Cahn | October 8, 2003 | 176053 |
| 92 | 4 | "Han" | Christopher Misiano | Teleplay: Peter Noah Story: Peter Noah & Mark Goffman and Paula Yoo | October 22, 2003 | 176054 |
| 93 | 5 | "Constituency of One" | Laura Innes | Teleplay: Eli Attie Story: Eli Attie and Michael Oates Palmer | October 29, 2003 | 176055 |
| 94 | 6 | "Disaster Relief" | Lesli Linka Glatter | Teleplay: Alexa Junge Story: Alexa Junge & Lauren Schmidt | November 5, 2003 | 176056 |
| 95 | 7 | "Separation of Powers" | Alex Graves | Paul Redford | November 12, 2003 | 176057 |
| 96 | 8 | "Shutdown" | Christopher Misiano | Mark Goffman | November 19, 2003 | 176058 |
| 97 | 9 | "Abu el Banat" | Lesli Linka Glatter | Debora Cahn | December 3, 2003 | 176059 |
| 98 | 10 | "The Stormy Present" | Alex Graves | Teleplay: John Sacret Young Story: John Sacret Young & Josh Singer | January 7, 2004 | 176060 |
| 99 | 11 | "The Benign Prerogative" | Christopher Misiano | Carol Flint | January 14, 2004 | 176061 |
| 100 | 12 | "Slow News Day" | Julie Hébert | Eli Attie | February 4, 2004 | 176062 |
| 101 | 13 | "The Warfare of Genghis Khan" | Bill D'Elia | Peter Noah | February 11, 2004 | 176063 |
| 102 | 14 | "An Khe" | Alex Graves | John Wells | February 18, 2004 | 176064 |
| 103 | 15 | "Full Disclosure" | Lesli Linka Glatter | Lawrence O'Donnell, Jr. | February 25, 2004 | 176065 |
| 104 | 16 | "Eppur Si Muove" | Llewellyn Wells | Alexa Junge | March 3, 2004 | 176066 |
| 105 | 17 | "The Supremes" | Jessica Yu | Debora Cahn | March 24, 2004 | 176067 |
| 106 | 18 | "Access" | Alex Graves | Lauren Schmidt | March 31, 2004 | 176068 |
| 107 | 19 | "Talking Points" | Richard Schiff | Eli Attie | April 21, 2004 | 176069 |
| 108 | 20 | "No Exit" | Julie Hébert | Teleplay: Carol Flint & Debora Cahn Story: Carol Flint & Mark Goffman | April 28, 2004 | 176072 |
| 109 | 21 | "Gaza" | Christopher Misiano | Peter Noah | May 12, 2004 | 176070 |
| 110 | 22 | "Memorial Day" | Christopher Misiano | John Sacret Young & Josh Singer | May 19, 2004 | 176071 |
Reception
The fifth season received 12 Emmy Award nominations for the 56th Primetime Emmy Awards, winning one award—Allison Janney for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, her fourth win. It was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series, the first year the series did not win the award. Acting nominations included Martin Sheen for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, John Spencer for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Stockard Channing and Janel Moloney for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, and Matthew Perry for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.[1]
Thomas Del Ruth received two nominations from the American Society of Cinematographers for the episodes "7A WF 83429" and "Gaza".[2]
Amazon.com called the episode "Access" "memorable" and described the episode as a "Frontline-type 'day-in-the-life' documentary". They said it was one of Allison Janney's (who plays C. J. Cregg) "showcase hours".[3]
References
- ^ "The West Wing". Emmys.com. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ "The ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography". American Society of Cinematographers. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
- ^ "The West Wing – The Complete Fifth Season (2003)". Amazon.com. Retrieved July 15, 2009.
- General references
- "The West Wing Episodes on NBC". TV Guide. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
- "Shows A-Z - west wing, the on nbc". the Futon Critic. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
- "The West Wing - Episode Guide". MSN TV. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
- "The West Wing: Episode Guide". Zap2it. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
- "The West Wing Episode Guides". NBC. Archived from the original on August 3, 2006. Retrieved January 7, 2012.