Situational Similarities

The Doubleheader The Name Game --- Recycled Dialogue --- Familiar Faces

Sports Night	The West Wing
Dan:  "I have a younger brother named Sam.... And there's no doubt that he'd be living a great life right now, except for that he's dead. Because when you're fourteen years old, all you ever really want to be is your sixteen year old brother. And in my case, that meant smoking a lot of dope. The day I went off to college was the day Sam got his driver's license. And he celebrated by going for a drive with some of his friends. Drunk and high as a paper kite. He never saw the red light that he ran. And he probably never saw the eighteen-wheel truck that put him into the side of a brick bank, either... I just wanted to say I'm sorry, Sam. You deserved better in my hands." Dan's younger brother, Sam, died in a car accident when he was young, which lead to Dan developing a condition he terms "hit and run Danny," whereby he can only stay with a group of people for a few minutes, and he needs people to like him (The Apology).	Stanley (the first), to Josh: "The house caught on fire... while your sister, Joanie, was babysitting for you?" Josh: "Yeah." Stanley: "Why aren't you dead?" Josh: "I ran out of the house." Stanley: "You were just a little boy, Josh.  That's what you were supposed to do." Josh's older sister, Joanie, died in a fire when they were young, which lead to Josh's survivor guilt, which may have played into his struggle with PTSD after the shooting (The Crackpots and These Women).
Dan, to Casey: "When you didn't get it, you were stuck doing a little sports show with me in Dallas." Isaac, of Dan:  "He feels like a consolation prize." After a few rounds of bickering about their anniversary (Casey, to Dan: "I was gonna buy you some flowers on the way back from the control room, but..."), Casey finally levels with Dan and admits that he passed on Conan's late night show to work with Dan on Lone Star Sports (Thespis).	Donna, to Josh: "You feel, I believe, because you are quite addle-minded, that this job was my second choice." Josh: "Hey, I'm just grateful we were your last choice." After a few rounds of fighting about their anniversary, Donna finally levels with Josh ("I'm going to give you a little gift right now, which you don't deserve") and explains that she chose her job willingly, not as a consolation prize after her relationship with an old boyfriend failed (17 People).
Isaac: "What?" Casey: "I was gonna hug you." Isaac: "Please don't." After Isaac gives Casey some sound advice, he gives Isaac a hug as "a gesture" (Thespis).	Leo: "What are you doing?" Josh: "It looked like you wanted to hug me." Leo: "Oh, man, did you read that wrong." After Leo gives Josh a stern talking to, he attempts to give Leo a conciliatory hug (What Kind of Day Has it Been).
Jeremy: "Like Bishop to Queen's Rook Seven.... I lost 32 moves later, but I was never even in it." Jeremy, on being outmaneuvered by Natalie (Shoe Money Tonight).	Jed: "It was the Queen's Rook, that's why I couldn't trade the Bishop.  It was over six moves ago." Jed, on being outmaneuvered by "a damn street gang with ham radios" (The War at Home).
Jeremy: "My intention is simply to take your mind off things with some Tales from Sports Night."  Jeremy regularly writes to his sister, Louise, to entertain her with amusing stories about the denizens of Sports Night (How Are Things in Glocca Morra?).	Sam: "CJ Cregg's writing an email to her father to kill time during the filibuster and it reminded me I haven't told you any Tales from the White House in the last few weeks."  Sam regularly writes to his father to entertain him with amusing stories about the occupants of the West Wing (The Stackhouse Filibuster).
Rebecca: "What happens if they win?" Dan: "The Orioles?" Rebecca: "Yes." Dan: "Nothing." Rebecca: "They don't go to the championship?" Dan: "No, actually the season hasn't started yet.  It's called an exhibition game...." Rebecca: "Then why does everybody care who wins?" [The Sword of Orion]	Donna: "I thought they weren't playing yet." Josh: "It's an exhibition game." Donna: "You're flying to Florida to see the Mets play another team in a game that doesn't count?" Josh: "Actually, it's an intra-squad game. Donna: "So you're flying to Florida to see the Mets play each other in a game that doesn't count?" [The Stackhouse Filibuster]
Jeremy: "My father's been having an affair with another woman for 27 years." Natalie: "I know that." Jeremy: "That's since before I was born... Nothing's the same anymore." Jeremy is thrown to learn that his father has had a long-standing affair, of which his mother just learned.  He obsesses over a yachting accident, which turns out to be a metaphor for his family--how something so perfect could end so badly (Ordnance Tactics).	Sam: "My father didn't pick up a cocktail waitress, Leo. He's had a woman in an apartment in Santa Monica." Leo: "Yeah?" Sam: "For 28 years." Sam is thrown to learn that his father has had a long-standing affair, of which his mother just learned.  He obsesses over Daniel Gault, a former White House staffer accused of espionage in the forties, which turns out to be a metaphor for his father (Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail).
Casey, to Dana: "I am not jealous of you and Gordon."  Casey, to Kim, just after Dana walks away: "Kim, make a note:  I need to ruin Dana's date with Gordon." Though Casey tries to hide it, he is envious of Dana's relationship with Gordon (The Sword of Orion).	Sam, about Donna: "She goes out with guys, are you jealous?" Josh: "No... I don't get jealous... I don't like it and usually do everything within my considerable capabilities to sabotage it." Though Josh tries to hide it, he is envious of Donna's relationships with other men (The War at Home).
Casey: "I'm not a ranting lunatic, this is honest outrage.  Somebody made a bomb threat because a radio DJ did a sketch where Jesus was gay.  In the name of religion, this man threatened the lives of about 700 people, and the absence of admonishment from the church is totally bizarre." Though a week has elapsed, Casey finds it hard to get over the disturbing bomb threat by a so-called Christian (Ten Wickets).	Sam, to Mary Marsh: "A guy writes a play called Apostles in which Jesus Christ is gay and you protest, fine.  When a guy threatens to blow up the theatre, you guys are nowhere to be heard from.." Though their meeting is about Christian refuges, Sam finds it hard to ignore the disturbing bomb threat by a so-called Christian (Shibboleth).
Dan: "Someone had clearly briefed her on my stuff with the public schools and I told her about my opposition to secular programs that are publicly funded.  I really spoke up and she seemed to listen." Casey: "You mean non-secular." Dan: "What do you mean?" Casey: "....Non-secular means bound by religious guidelines.  Secular means free of religion." Dan: "Okay.  I'm sure I got it right at breakfast..... I didn't get it right... Hillary Clinton thinks I'm an idiot.... Well, clearly I have to get in touch with her." Hours after the conversation, Dan realizes he's mixed up secular and non-secular in front of Hillary Clinton, whom he was trying to impress.  He decides he must get in touch with her, so she'll know he's not an idiot (When Something Wicked This Way Comes).	Sam "I had to talk to Karen Cahill last night... We were talking about the stability of former Soviet Republics and their fear of Islamic extremism.  And I have to say I made some very scholarly points regarding the remaining nuclear weapons in Kyrgystan, and I have to believe--" Josh: "Kazahkstan.  The nuclear weapons are in Kazakhstan." Sam: "I said Kyrgystan?" Josh: "Yeah." Sam: "Yeah, Kyrgystan has no nuclear weapons..." Donna: "I'm sure you got it right last night." Sam: "Yes.  I'm sure.  Okay." Hours after the conversation, Sam realizes he's mixed up Kyrgystan and Kazahkstan in front of Karen Cahill, whom he was trying to impress.  He decides to send Donna to talk to her so she'll know he's not an idiot (The Leadership Breakfast).
Dana: "You can't get the computers back?" Jeremy: "No." Dana: "Why?" Jeremy: "Do you see anything that runs on electricity working right now?" Jeremy runs a Y2K test on the show's computers, only to accidentally cause an office-wide blackout.  The staffers are left at loose ends, while Dana frets over the fact that they have a show to do in only a few hours (Kafelnikov).	Josh: "Are we going to be able to make the west coast calls?" Joey: "That depends on when the power comes back on." Josh: "When's that gonna be?" Joey: "Do I look like Electricity Girl?" Josh runs a post-State of the Union poll with Joey Lucas, only to be foiled by a neighborhood-wide blackout.  The pollsters are at loose ends, while Donna cracks jokes and Josh frets over the numbers in the computer (Bartlet's Third State of the Union).
Dana: "I'm giddy as a schoolgirl, Casey.  I'm a cat with kittens!"   After Sports Night get exclusive tape of a brand new Yankee talking smack about New York City, Dana retreats to her office to do her Dance of Joy to Katrina and the Waves' Walkin' on Sunshine (Shane).	Ainsley: "I'm blaming it on the bossa nova!" After an exhilarating turn on Capital Beat, Ainsley retreats to her office to dance around to Eydie Gorme's Blame It on the Bossa Nova (The War at Home).
Abbey: "You're a nice guy and you're a smart guy." Dan: "Thank you." Abbey: "So why doesn't your father like you?" Dan: "What?" Dan Rydell, whose brother died at age 16, is having what he terms a breakdown of some sort and begins to see a therapist, who, to his annoyance, ties his problems back to his father (Kafelnikov), though he himself says that "[my father] thinks I'm a jackass" (The Cut Man Cometh).	Toby: "There's always been a concern about the two Bartlets.  The absent-minded professor... and the Nobel Laureate... whose father never liked him because he was too smart."  Jed: "This stopped being fun for me a little while ago." Toby: "...He didn't like you, sir, that's why he hit you.  That's why people hit each other.  He didn't like you." Jed Bartlet is having trouble, in Toby's eyes, running for President by virtue of being smart and competent, a reluctance Toby, to Jed's annoyance, ties back to Jed's father (The Two Bartlets).