The West Wing season 1
| The West Wing | |
|---|---|
| Season 1 | |
 | |
| No. of episodes | 22 |
| Release | |
| Original network | NBC |
| Original release | September 22, 1999 – May 17, 2000 |
| Season chronology | |
The first season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 17, 2000 and consisted of 22 episodes.
Cast
Main cast
- Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn, Deputy White House Communications Director (22 episodes)
- Moira Kelly as Mandy Hampton, Media Consultant (20 episodes)
- Dulé Hill as Charlie Young, Personal Aide to the President (19 episodes)
- Allison Janney as C. J. Cregg, White House Press Secretary (22 episodes)
- Richard Schiff as Toby Ziegler, White House Communications Director (22 episodes)
- John Spencer as Leo McGarry, White House Chief of Staff (22 episodes)
- Bradley Whitford as Josh Lyman, White House Deputy Chief of Staff (22 episodes)
- Martin Sheen as Josiah Bartlet, President of the United States (22 episodes)
Recurring cast
- Janel Moloney as Donna Moss, assistant to Josh Lyman (22 episodes)
- NiCole Robinson as Margaret Hooper, Assistant to Chief of Staff McGarry (18 episodes)
- Kathryn Joosten as Dolores Landingham, President Bartlet's executive secretary (17 episodes)
- Timothy Busfield as Danny Concannon, senior White House correspondent for The Washington Post (14 episodes)
- Elisabeth Moss as Zoey Bartlet, the third and youngest of the President's daughters (7 episodes)
- John Amos as Admiral Percy Fitzwallace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (5 episodes)
- Tim Matheson as John Hoynes, Vice President of the United States (5 episodes)
- Lisa Edelstein as Laurie, law student and part-time high priced call girl Sam sleeps with in the pilot (5 episodes)
- Marlee Matlin as Joey Lucas, a Democratic political consultant (4 episodes)
- Stockard Channing as Abbey Bartlet, First Lady of the United States (3 episodes)
- Kathleen York as Andrea Wyatt, Congresswoman from Maryland's 5th district and ex-wife of Toby Ziegler (3 episodes)
Plot
The first season, which begins in the middle of Bartlet's first year in office, is loaded with images of a West Wing "stuck in neutral" and powerless to govern. Several episodes (notably "Five Votes Down" and "Mr. Willis of Ohio") feature the White House desperately digging for a backdoor through which to pass a particular piece of legislation. This powerlessness ends in "Let Bartlet Be Bartlet" when Leo and the president finally agree to fight any battle they believe to be important, even if they are not sure they can win. The season ends with a cliffhanger assassination attempt with an ominous call over a Secret Service radio: "Who's been hit?! Who's been hit?!"
Episodes
| No. overall | No. in season | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | Prod. code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | "Pilot" | Thomas Schlamme | Aaron Sorkin | September 22, 1999 | 475151 |
| 2 | 2 | "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc" | Thomas Schlamme | Aaron Sorkin | September 29, 1999 | 225901 |
| 3 | 3 | "A Proportional Response" | Marc Buckland | Aaron Sorkin | October 6, 1999 | 225902 |
| 4 | 4 | "Five Votes Down" | Michael Lehmann | Story by : Lawrence O'Donnell, Jr. and Patrick Caddell Teleplay by : Aaron Sorkin | October 13, 1999 | 225903 |
| 5 | 5 | "The Crackpots and These Women" | Anthony Drazan | Aaron Sorkin | October 20, 1999 | 225904 |
| 6 | 6 | "Mr. Willis of Ohio" | Christopher Misiano | Aaron Sorkin | November 3, 1999 | 225905 |
| 7 | 7 | "The State Dinner" | Thomas Schlamme | Aaron Sorkin & Paul Redford | November 10, 1999 | 225906 |
| 8 | 8 | "Enemies" | Alan Taylor | Story by : Rick Cleveland, Lawrence O'Donnell, Jr. & Patrick Caddell Teleplay by : Ron Osborn & Jeff Reno | November 17, 1999 | 225907 |
| 9 | 9 | "The Short List" | Bill D'Elia | Story by : Aaron Sorkin & Dee Dee Myers Teleplay by : Aaron Sorkin & Patrick Caddell | November 24, 1999 | 225908 |
| 10 | 10 | "In Excelsis Deo" | Alex Graves | Aaron Sorkin & Rick Cleveland | December 15, 1999 | 225909 |
| 11 | 11 | "Lord John Marbury" | Kevin Rodney Sullivan | Story by : Patrick Caddell & Lawrence O'Donnell, Jr. Teleplay by : Aaron Sorkin & Patrick Caddell | January 5, 2000 | 225910 |
| 12 | 12 | "He Shall, from Time to Time..." | Arlene Sanford | Aaron Sorkin | January 12, 2000 | 225911 |
| 13 | 13 | "Take out the Trash Day" | Ken Olin | Aaron Sorkin | January 26, 2000 | 225912 |
| 14 | 14 | "Take This Sabbath Day" | Thomas Schlamme | Story by : Lawrence O'Donnell, Jr. & Paul Redford and Aaron Sorkin Teleplay by : Aaron Sorkin | February 9, 2000 | 225913 |
| 15 | 15 | "Celestial Navigation" | Christopher Misiano | Story by : Dee Dee Myers & Lawrence O'Donnell, Jr. Teleplay by : Aaron Sorkin | February 16, 2000 | 225914 |
| 16 | 16 | "20 Hours in L.A." | Alan Taylor | Aaron Sorkin | February 23, 2000 | 225915 |
| 17 | 17 | "The White House Pro-Am" | Ken Olin | Lawrence O'Donnell, Jr. & Paul Redford and Aaron Sorkin | March 22, 2000 | 225916 |
| 18 | 18 | "Six Meetings Before Lunch" | Clark Johnson | Aaron Sorkin | April 5, 2000 | 225917 |
| 19 | 19 | "Let Bartlet Be Bartlet" | Laura Innes | Story by : Peter Parnell and Patrick Caddell Teleplay by : Aaron Sorkin | April 26, 2000 | 225918 |
| 20 | 20 | "Mandatory Minimums" | Robert Berlinger | Aaron Sorkin | May 3, 2000 | 225919 |
| 21 | 21 | "Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics" | Don Scardino | Aaron Sorkin | May 10, 2000 | 225920 |
| 22 | 22 | "What Kind of Day Has It Been" | Thomas Schlamme | Aaron Sorkin | May 17, 2000 | 225921 |
Reception
Critical response
The first season of The West Wing received positive reviews, and scored a Metacritic rating of 79 out of 100, based on 23 reviews.[1]
Accolades
The first season received 18 Emmy Award nominations for the 52nd Primetime Emmy Awards, winning a total of 9 awards. It won for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Richard Schiff), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Allison Janney), Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (Aaron Sorkin and Rick Cleveland for "In Excelsis Deo"), Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Thomas Schlamme for "Pilot"), Outstanding Main Title Theme Music (W. G. Snuffy Walden), Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Series (Thomas Del Ruth), Outstanding Art Direction for a Single Camera Series, and Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series. Notable nominations included Martin Sheen for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, John Spencer for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Stockard Channing for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, and Aaron Sorkin for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for "Pilot".[2]
Thomas Del Ruth received a nomination from the American Society of Cinematographers for the pilot episode.[3]
References
- ^ "The West Wing: Season 1". Metacritic. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ "The West Wing". Emmys.com. Retrieved September 4, 2013.
- ^ "The ASC Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography". American Society of Cinematographers. Archived from the original on November 12, 2010. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
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- 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.