Capital Beat is a political debate show hosted by Mark Gottfried. At first, the show is called Capitol Beat.
Format[]
Gottfried hosts the show with two guests, representing the two major parties, as well as a correspondent in New York and a representative from the Pentagon.[1] It's uncertain whether this is the precise format for each debate, but it seems likely.
History[]
In Autumn 1999, Josh Lyman appears on the show debating right-wing Christian extremist, Mary Marsh. Josh gets annoyed with Marsh and insults her faith on the air, which nearly costs him his job.[2]
A year later, Sam Seaborn appears on the show and gets filleted by lawyer Ainsley Hayes, a Republican who has never appeared on television before. Ainsley's performance catches the eye of the Senior Staff as well as the President, who decides to hire Ainsley as an Associate White House Counsel.
During the 2000 State of the Union address, a special is filmed and broadcast live from White House.[3]
Trivia[]
- It was closely modeled on the regular Sunday morning political shows like Meet the Press, Face the Nation, and This Week.
- The signature tune used for the programme was that of the real-life News at Ten from the ITV network in the UK.