Season 1[]
# | EPISODE | AIRDATE | WRITTEN BY |
---|---|---|---|
1 | Pilot | 22 SEPTEMBER 1999 | Aaron Sorkin |
There are no ordinary events in the life of the nation's Chief Executive. A minor bicycle mishap becomes a mini-crisis for his staff, while a remark Josh made on TV may get him bounced from his job. | |||
2 | Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc | 29 SEPTEMBER 1999 | Aaron Sorkin |
The President and the Vice President may have been on the same ticket, but they're not on the same page over a particular legislative bill. News of a terrorist attack comes to the White House. | |||
3 | A Proportional Response | 6 OCTOBER 1999 | Aaron Sorkin |
C.J. strikes a deal that may save the staff from national political embarrassment. On the international front, an increasingly on-edge President weighs potential responses to the recent terrorist attack. | |||
4 | Five Votes Down | 13 OCTOBER 1999 | Aaron Sorkin |
Presidential chief of staff Leo McGarry needs five more House votes to pass a bill restricting the sale of automatic firearms -- but the cost might be too high, especially if he has to go to the unpredictable Vice President to help put them over the top. | |||
5 | The Crackpots and These Women | 20 OCTOBER 1999 | Aaron Sorkin |
Leo instructs the senior staff to meet with various special interest groups. Toby voices strong opposition to many of President Bartlet's plans for an upcoming California trip. Meanwhile, the President virtually orders his staff to sample his prized chili when he arranges a reception for his Georgetown-bound daughter. | |||
6 | Mr. Willis of Ohio | 3 NOVEMBER 1999 | Aaron Sorkin |
Toby and Mandy work to convince some congressmen to approve a commerce bill that includes a vital census-counting provision. Elsewhere, C.J. swallows her pride and asks Sam for help to understand the basic components of the administration's stance on random census-taking in 2000. | |||
7 | The State Dinner | 10 NOVEMBER 1999 | Aaron Sorkin & Paul Redford |
As that night's stylish state dinner honoring the Indonesian president looms in the background, President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) keeps his eye on a spate of potentially explosive problems. | |||
8 | Enemies | 17 NOVEMBER 1999 | Ron Osborn & Jeff Reno |
A crucial banking bill is at risk when political rivals of environmentally sensitive President Bartlet attach a land-use rider to it that would allow strip-mining some of the Montana wilderness while C.J. tries to kill a story that the Chief Executive chastised the Vice President during a cabinet meeting. | |||
9 | The Short List | 24 NOVEMBER 1999 | Aaron Sorkin Patrick Caddell |
When a Supreme Court justice retires, President Bartlet has a golden opportunity to impact the court's composition by nominating a favorite judge. In addition, a headline-seeking congressman (guest star Holmes Osborne) on the House Government Oversight Committee accuses the White House staff of substance abuse. | |||
10 | In Excelsis Deo | 15 DECEMBER 1999 | Aaron Sorkin Rick Cleveland |
As Christmas Eve approaches, President Bartlet eagerly sneaks out of the White House for some last-minute Christmas shopping, while a haunted Toby learns more about a forgotten Korean War hero who died alone on the district's cold streets while wearing a coat that Toby once donated to charity. | |||
11 | Lord John Marbury | 5 JANUARY 2000 | Aaron Sorkin Patrick Caddell |
The Kashmir border powderkeg becomes more explosive when the Indian army invades Pakistani-held territory, making the threat of a nuclear confrontation frighteningly real to President Bartlet (Martin Sheen), who calls in Lord Marbury (guest star Roger Rees, "Cheers"), an eccentric British diplomat with ties to both warring nations -- and a weakness for booze. | |||
12 | He Shall, from Time to Time... | 12 JANUARY 2000 | Aaron Sorkin |
The White House staff is in full crisis mode when President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) is found unconscious as he prepares for the State of the Union speech while the India-Pakistan border skirmish flares again when a fearful Pakistan gives its field commanders control of its nuclear arsenal. | |||
13 | Take Out the Trash Day | 26 JANUARY 2000 | Aaron Sorkin |
While President Bartlet and his staff debate the appropriate response to a controversial new sex education study, there are concerns that the parents of a murdered gay teenager should not attend the signing of a hate crimes bill because the father might be hateful against people who are LGBTQIAP+. | |||
14 | Take This Sabbath Day | 9 FEBRUARY 2000 | Aaron Sorkin |
After the Supreme Court refuses to stay the execution of a Federal prisoner convicted of killing two drug kingpins, President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) must decide whether or not to commute his sentence in less than 48 hours. Elsewhere, a deaf, combative campaign manager (guest star and Oscar winner Marlee Matlin) adamantly seeks an audience with the President on behalf of her Democratic congressional candidate. | |||
15 | Celestial Navigation | 16 FEBRUARY 2000 | Aaron Sorkin |
Sam and Toby are dispatched to Connecticut for some damage control and to secure the secret release of President Bartlet's primary choice (guest star and Emmy Award winner Edward James Olmos, "Miami Vice") for the Supreme Court, who has been jailed for alleged drunk driving and resisting arrest. | |||
16 | 20 Hours in L.A. | 23 FEBRUARY 2000 | Aaron Sorkin |
President Bartlet and several of his staff head to Los Angeles for a whirlwind visit that is topped off by a star-studded fundraiser hosted by a wealthy film honcho (guest star Bob Balaban, "Seinfeld") who threatens to cancel the bash unless Bartlet announces his opposition to a congressional bill banning gays in the military. | |||
17 | The White House Pro-Am | 22 MARCH 2000 | Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. Paul Redford Aaron Sorkin |
The President's and First Lady's (guest star Stockard Channing) staffs feud over rival agendas when her public statements about foreign child-labor abuse inspires a Congresswoman (guest star Amy Aquino) to attach an amendment that will surely torpedo a long-delayed international tariff bill favored by the President. | |||
18 | Six Meetings Before Lunch | 5 APRIL 2000 | Aaron Sorkin |
An uncomfortable Josh is assigned to talk with the administration's nominee for assistant attorney general for civil rights (guest star Carl Lumbly, "Cagney & Lacey," "EZ Streets") who advocates that African-Americans receive financial reparations for slavery. Elsewhere, Sam crosses swords with Mallory (guest star Allison Smith) over the issue of private school vouchers. | |||
19 | Let Bartlet Be Bartlet | 26 APRIL 2000 | Peter Parnell Patrick Caddell |
Rumors percolate about a scathing memo that outlines the weaknesses of President Bartlet's administration for his political rival and grip the White House until C.J. learns it came from one of the trusted staff. Meanwhile, Sam and Toby meet with opposing military officers and congressmen to discuss amending the current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy towards LGBTQIAP+ in the armed forces. | |||
20 | Mandatory Minimums | 3 MAY 2000 | Aaron Sorkin |
A newly energized President Bartlet bucks tradition and throws down the gauntlet when he names two Democrats -- both campaign finance reformers -- to the Federal Election Commission despite threats from his political opponents to introduce embarrassing legislation that would dare him not to sign. | |||
21 | Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics | 10 MAY 2000 | Aaron Sorkin |
While President Bartlet and his staff nervously await the results of a poll to determine his favorability rating, he begins a heady transfer of ambassadors and members of the Federal Election Committee designed to kickstart campaign finance reform and defuse a embarrassing incident overseas. | |||
22 | What Kind of Day Has It Been? | 17 MAY 2000 | Aaron Sorkin |
President Bartlet prepares for a town hall meeting with college students while the U.S. military races to find a downed American pilot in the Iraqi desert before the Iraqi military captures him. C.J. doesn't relish the notion of misleading the press over rescue preparations. Likewise, Toby tries to ignore updates from the distressed orbiting space shuttle which includes his brother. |
Season 2[]
# | EPISODE | AIRDATE | WRITTEN BY |
---|---|---|---|
1 | In the Shadow of Two Gunmen (Part I) | 4 OCTOBER 2000 | Aaron Sorkin |
All the President's men and women scramble in the chaotic wake of an assassination attempt that leaves some victims fighting for their lives. Meanwhile, as a manhunt continues, the wounded drift in and out of surgery recalling how Bartlet's team came together during the dark months of his long-shot primary campaign. | |||
2 | In the Shadow of Two Gunmen (Part II) | 4 OCTOBER 2000 | Aaron Sorkin |
All the President's men and women scramble in the chaotic wake of an assassination attempt that leaves some victims fighting for their lives. Meanwhile, as a manhunt continues, the wounded drift in and out of surgery recalling how Bartlet's team came together during the dark months of his long-shot primary campaign. | |||
3 | The Midterms | 18 OCTOBER 2000 | Aaron Sorkin |
As one of the President's staff recovers from bullet wounds, the rest of the team pushes on to the "mid-term" congressional elections in November -- but as C.J. deflects press requests on how the assassination attempt has affected the mood in the White House, she knows that nearly everyone bears psychological scars in its aftermath. | |||
4 | In This White House | 25 OCTOBER 2000 | Aaron Sorkin |
When a confident Sam is outmatched by a novice Republican advisor on a political point-counterpoint television program, an impressed President Bartlet offers to hire her as assistant White House counsel despite her party affiliation-- a bold move that sends shock waves through the resentful staff. | |||
5 | And It's Surely to Their Credit | 1 NOVEMBER 2000 | Aaron Sorkin Kevin Falls & Laura Glasser |
President Bartlet's controversial -- and conservative -- new choice for associate White House counsel has rough sledding on her first day when she suffers the wrath of her hostile boss (Emmy-winning guest star John Larroquette, "Night Court," "The Practice"), gets a chilly reception from her co-workers and is humiliated by two other staffers. | |||
6 | The Lame Duck Congress | 8 NOVEMBER 2000 | Aaron Sorkin Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. |
A wily President Bartlet considers the extraordinary option of recalling the Senate from a winter holiday to push through a ratification of a new nuclear test-ban treaty -- despite the lame-duck status of many Senators who will not return in the next session -- while the drunken Ukrainian leader (guest star Eugene Lazarev) thunders through the White House demanding to see the President. | |||
7 | The Portland Trip | 15 NOVEMBER 2000 | Aaron Sorkin Paul Redford |
While President Bartlet and some of the staff are en route overnight to Portland for a major education speech, Leo remains behind to monitor a tense situation in the Persian Gulf when a foreign tanker is suspected of smuggling contraband oil and fires on U.S. Navy helicopters sent to investigate. | |||
8 | Shibboleth | 22 NOVEMBER 2000 | Aaron Sorkin Patrick H. Caddell |
As Thanksgiving nears, President Bartlet has his own hot-potato issue when a boatload of persecuted Chinese evangelical Christians arrives in California seeking asylum, while a perplexed C.J. must choose between two turkeys for the Presidential pardon ceremony -- with the other destined for the chopping block. | |||
9 | Galileo | 29 NOVEMBER 2000 | Kevin Falls & Aaron Sorkin |
President Bartlet prepares to address thousands of elementary students nationwide as a NASA space probe descends on Mars, but a host of thorny problems suddenly land on his doorstep, including a fire in a Russian nuclear missile silo and a last-minute loss of communication with the Mars spacecraft. | |||
10 | Noël | 20 DECEMBER 2000 | Aaron Sorkin Peter Parnell |
Christmas draws near as Josh is ordered by Leo to consult with a doctor who specializes in analyzing trauma victims. Elsewhere: the President wants to personally sign all of his Christmas cards; Sam confronts a representative of the Energy Secretary who publicly advocates release of federal oil reserves. | |||
11 | The Leadership Breakfast | 10 JANUARY 2001 | Aaron Sorkin Paul Redford |
As a bi-partisan friendship breakfast with members of Congress nears, President Bartlet's staff vigorously debates the merits of including a patient's bill of rights and minimum wage increase among the incendiary topics while C.J. jousts with the new chief of staff of the House Majority leader (guest star Felicity Huffman) over the press conference's agenda and location. | |||
12 | The Drop-In | 24 JANUARY 2001 | Aaron Sorkin Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. |
Leo tries to convince an unenthusiastic President Bartlet about the merits of an expensive and errant missile defense system while the chief executive ponders the political benefits of chiding hard-core environmentalists over the actions of eco-terrorists when he addresses their convention. | |||
13 | Bartlet's Third State of the Union | 7 FEBRUARY 2001 | Aaron Sorkin Allison Abner & Dee Dee Myers |
There's electricity in the air as the President addresses the Congress for his third State of the Union address -- which was intricately composed by Toby -- and while Josh anxiously tracks public response via a phone poll, a crisis looms when five American drug agents are taken hostage by Colombian rebels. | |||
14 | The War at Home | 14 FEBRUARY 2001 | Aaron Sorkin |
After his State of the Union speech, Bartlet boldly greenlights a daring military mission to rescue five federal drug agents taken hostage by Colombian terrorist commandos -- until complications arise -- while Toby is confronted by an angry, liberal Senator (guest star Ed Begley, Jr., "St. Elsewhere") who threatens to launch a third-party run for President. | |||
15 | Ellie | 21 FEBRUARY 2001 | Aaron Sorkin Kevin Falls & Laura Glasser |
As the President wings back from a Tokyo trade summit, a firestorm of controversy awaits him when Surgeon General Griffith (guest star Mary Kay Place, "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman") hints that marijuana should be decriminalized -- but Bartlet is even more incensed over his middle daughter Ellie's (guest star Nina Siemaszko) public assurances that her father would never fire Griffith. | |||
16 | Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail | 28 FEBRUARY 2001 | Paul Redford & Aaron Sorkin |
While a contemptuous Toby is assigned to meet with a noisy, unruly mob protesting the World Trade Organization, Donna asks Sam to consider fronting an executive pardon for the grandfather of her friend (guest star Jolie Jenkris) who was imprisoned for espionage in the 1940s. | |||
17 | The Stackhouse Filibuster | 14 MARCH 2001 | Aaron Sorkin Pete McCabe |
The President's staff waits impatiently for an elderly but stubborn Senator (guest star George Coe) to yield the floor as he stages a marathon filibuster hoping to stave off a vote on Bartlet's Family Wellness Act bill while Toby is leery of the Vice President's (guest star Tim Matheson) sudden interest in supporting another bill tightening fuel-emission standards. | |||
18 | 17 People | 4 APRIL 2001 | Aaron Sorkin |
After a foreign terrorist is caught at the border with explosives, Bartlet ponders the impact of ordering a heightened security alert for the nation's airports while an exasperated Toby is shocked to learn of the President's secret affliction with multiple sclerosis -- and he details its political and legal ramifications. | |||
19 | Bad Moon Rising | 25 APRIL 2001 | Aaron Sorkin Felicia Willson |
The President's vaunted administration could be brought down by the tiniest oversight as Bartlet secretly summons chief counsel Barash (guest star Oliver Platt, "Bulworth) to discuss how his failure to divulge his multiple sclerosis condition could be a criminal violation of full disclosure -- which would give his enemies enough ammo to destroy him. | |||
20 | The Fall's Gonna Kill You | 2 MAY 2001 | Aaron Sorkin Patrick Caddell |
Sam is happy to learn of a lowered surplus estimate that will reinforce the administration's case for a revised tax cut and Josh seeks more funds to support the overwhelmed Justice Department in its prosecution of tobacco companies. | |||
21 | 18th and Potomac | 9 MAY 2001 | Aaron Sorkin Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. |
The newly elected president of Haiti flees for his life and asks for sanctuary in the U.S. embassy -- which would place the compound under army attack. Elsewhere, a frustrated Josh needs more money from a Senate committee to continue the Justice Department's case against Big Tobacco companies. | |||
22 | Two Cathedrals | 16 MAY 2001 | Aaron Sorkin |
The Haitian army besieges the American Embassy there and Bartlet continues his campaign to sufficiently fund the Justice Department's case against Big Tobacco. Additionally, Toby gets a surprising job offer and the President gets some sage advice from an unexpected corner. |
Season 3[]
# | EPISODE | AIRDATE | WRITTEN BY |
---|---|---|---|
0 | Isaac and Ishmael | 3 OCTOBER 2001 | Aaron Sorkin |
A special episode dealing with some of the questions and issues currently facing the world in the wake of the recent terrorist attacks on the United States. "The West Wing" creator and executive producer Aaron Sorkin wrote the script. | |||
1 | Manchester (Part I) | 10 OCTOBER 2001 | Aaron Sorkin |
In the season premiere, flashbacks reveal how the President will officially announce his plans to run for re-election, which sends his staff into disarray as they work on the speech. But two problems dog them when Sam realizes that Bartlet never apologized for not disclosing his multiple sclerosis while C.J. makes a crucial gaffe during a press conference. | |||
2 | Manchester (Part II) | 17 OCTOBER 2001 | Aaron Sorkin |
Flashbacks reveal the President as he refines his speech for a major re-election announcement while his staff works uneasily with a heavyweight political strategist (guest star Ron Silver) over whether Bartlet should include a public apology in his remarks. | |||
3 | Ways and Means | 24 OCTOBER 2001 | Aaron Sorkin S | E. Attie & G. Sperling |
When a fearless special prosecutor (guest star Nicholas Pryor) begins investigating the President's (Martin Sheen) non-disclosure of his illness and issues subpoenas to the White House staff, C.J. (Allison Janney) cannily tries to light a backfire by dropping clues to the press that might ultimately force the replacement of the prosecutor with someone more favorable to the Administration. | |||
4 | On the Day Before | 31 OCTOBER 2001 | Aaron Sorkin S | P. Redford & N. Chitre |
As a State Department dinner nears, President Bartlet boldly vetoes the "death tax" bill but his staff must hustle when they are surprised to learn that the House of Representatives have enough votes to immediately override the veto. Charlie is strongly urged by his fellow White House teammates to ask for immunity in his upcoming testimony into the President's non-disclosure of his illness. | |||
5 | War Crimes | 7 NOVEMBER 2001 | Aaron Sorkin S | A. Abner |
The President asks the reluctant Vice President (guest star Tim Matheson) to speak at an anti-gun rally in Texas after a church shooting but the uneasy allies have a starkly candid showdown. Leo debates an old friend and Air Force officer (guest star Gerald McRaney, "Major Dad") about the United States' future stance regarding the War Crimes Tribunal | |||
6 | Gone Quiet | 14 NOVEMBER 2001 | Aaron Sorkin S | J. Dahl & L. Glasser |
When an American spy submarine suddenly goes silent in hostile North Korean waters, an angry President receives advice from the Assistant Secretary of State (Emmy Award-winning guest star Hal Holbrook, "The Bold Ones") and must decide whether he should notify the enemy or attempt a risky, secret rescue. | |||
7 | The Indians in the Lobby | 21 NOVEMBER 2001 | A. Abner • K. Falls • Sorkin |
While President Bartlet frets about where to spend Thanksgiving -- and how to best cook a gourmet turkey -- C.J. powwows with two Native Americans (guest stars Gary Farmer, "The Score," and Georgina Lightning) who are camped in the lobby and promise to cause a media dustup if they can't meet with a bigwig about receiving better public health projects on their reservation. | |||
8 | The Women of Qumar | 28 NOVEMBER 2001 | Aaron Sorkin S | Willson • Glasser • Dahl |
At the First Lady's urging, Josh meets with a powerful women's caucus over the proposed language of a U.N. treaty banning prostitution while the President grapples with the possibility of a Mad Cow epidemic and ponders how much the public should know. | |||
9 | Bartlet for America | 12 DECEMBER 2001 | Aaron Sorkin |
While the White House is festooned with Christmas finery, Leo fears the worst when he testifies in the Congressional investigation into the President's possible lack of public disclosure about his illness while flashbacks reveal the background leading to Bartlet's decision as governor to not come forward with the damaging information. | |||
10 | H.Con - 172 | 9 JANUARY 2002 | Aaron Sorkin S | Eli Attie |
A defiant Leo rejects the Congressional Oversight Committee's offer of a presidential public censure that would finally end its investigation of Bartlet's concealment of his illness -- and spare Leo of any possible personal repercussions -- while the staff reacts to an insider's tell-all book published by a fired White House photographer. | |||
11 | 100,000 Airplanes | 16 JANUARY 2002 | Aaron Sorkin |
While the staff furiously labors over the President's crucial State of the Union speech, Bartlet suddenly demands to include a passage that ambitiously promises a crusade to cure cancer within 10 years while Sam is interviewed for a Vanity Fair profile by a woman (as Lisa, guest star Traylor Howard) whom once was his fiancée. | |||
12 | The Two Bartlets | 30 JANUARY 2002 | Falls & Sorkin S | Sperling |
While the President and his staff ponder whether to counter a verbal assault on affirmative action by a fast-rising Republican presidential candidate, Josh must postpone his tropical vacation with a women's rights advocate (guest star Mary Louise Parker) to defuse a risky powderkeg on an island that serves as the Navy's firing range. | |||
13 | Night Five | 6 FEBRUARY 2002 | Aaron Sorkin |
President Bartlet consults a a psychiatrist (guest star Adam Arkin, "Chicago Hope") for a troubling sleep disorder -- and gets a sobering personal assessment -- while C.J. lobbies hard to help secure the release of a White House reporter who's been taken hostage on assignment in the Congo. | |||
14 | Hartsfield's Landing | 27 FEBRUARY 2002 | Aaron Sorkin |
The President engages both Sam and Toby in intricate chess matches that underscore the wily game of brinkmanship Bartlet is playing with the Chinese, who threaten to turn their war games in the Taiwan Strait into the real thing if Taiwan begins test-firing their new U.S. Patriot defense missiles. | |||
15 | Dead Irish Writers | 6 MARCH 2002 | Aaron Sorkin S | Paul Redford |
Many issues are in play during a White House party to celebrate the argumentative First Lady's (Stockard Channing) birthday as she contemplates the likely loss of her medical license the next day while the President (Martin Sheen) is visited by proper British Ambassador Marbury (guest star Roger Rees) who argues against Bartlet's meeting with a murderous Irish terrorist. | |||
16 | The U.S. Poet Laureate | 27 MARCH 2002 | Aaron Sorkin |
When the President is overheard making a disparaging comment on an open-mike about the potential Republican nominee, C.J. does damage control for days after while Toby tries to finesse the newly named poet laureate (guest star Laura Dern, "Jurassic Park") from spealing out against the United States' lack of support for a land-mines treaty. | |||
17 | Stirred | 3 APRIL 2002 | Aaron Sorkin & Eli Attie S | Dee Dee Myers |
The President's staff reacts to the crash of a heavy rig bearing uranium fuel rods in a remote Idaho tunnel that could pose an environmental -- or terrorist -- crisis, while in another room, electoral strategy is stealthily mapped out that could include jettisoning Vice President Hoynes (guest star Tim Matheson) from the next ticket. | |||
18 | Enemies Foreign and Domestic | 1 MAY 2002 | Paul Redford & Sorkin |
As Sam works out the President's final maddening details of an important upcoming summit with the Russian president, satellite photos reveal an Iranian nuclear bomb facility built with Russian technology -- a revelation that could torpedo the leaders' meeting. | |||
19 | The Black Vera Wang | 8 MAY 2002 | Aaron Sorkin |
The President and his staff scramble to head off a predicted terrorist attack over a broad area while C.J. chafes under the protective collar provided by a handsome but capable Secret Service agent (guest star Mark Harmon, "St. Elsewhere"). Also, Toby plays hardball with network executives over future political convention TV coverage. | |||
20 | We Killed Yamamoto | 15 MAY 2002 | Aaron Sorkin |
The President is torn over forfeiting the principle of diplomatic immunity for an important Middle Eastern official known to be plotting terrorism while Josh duels with his feminist activist/lover (guest star Mary Louise Parker) over a key welfare reform bill. | |||
21 | Posse Comitatus | 22 MAY 2002 | Aaron Sorkin |
In the season finale, President Bartlet encounters Ritchie (guest star James Brolin, "Pensacola: Wings of Gold") -- his Republican presidential rival -- when they attend a Broadway play while the President faces a terrorist threat after he discovers that a high-ranking Middle Eastern official has been supporting terrorism. |