Bartlet4America News Archive

Channing Calls ‘West Wing’ Deal ‘Something for Nothing’

By BRILL BUNDY
Zap2it

LOS ANGELES — Last summer actress Stockard Channing said that she liked not being part of the regular cast of NBC's "The West Wing," preferring to stop by every so often as First Lady Abigail Bartlet.

"It's great writing and great to be a part of, but that's not what the show is about," she said. "The show is not about the personal life of the President of the United States."

This season that all changed when it was revealed that the President (Martin Sheen) is suffering from multiple sclerosis, a fact he had managed to keep secret since his wife was also his doctor. With his making clear his intentions to run for re-election this coming season, Channing's presence will be much more necessary.

Still, although she's signed on for three years, Channing says her schedule is as flexible as ever.

"I'm sort of an irregular regular, because my deal is such that I maintain the same flexibility I had before, which is that if my schedule permits and they have a story for me I show up," says the actress. "It's just financially it's a little nicer. And, in return, I can't go do a pilot for another network. Oh boo-hoo."

"Which is not the operating, organizing principle of my life, but there you go. Don't tell them that because they don't know they got something for nothing."

"West Wing" creator Aaron Sorkin is notorious for working on scripts right up until the wire, and Channing herself has no idea what will happen in episode three of this season. In fact, she calls the whole process "a function of Aaron's brain."

Channing's original appearance was slated to be a one-shot guest shot, so she came in during a five-day hiatus from a film she was shooting. After it aired, Sorkin took her out for lunch.

"And he said, 'Well, everybody thought that was great. And also our ratings went up a lot when you went on, which might have had something to do with it.' Then, he said, 'So I'm thinking, do you want to be a doctor? That's a good idea, because I have this thing — he has a really bad cold in the teaser, and I'm thinking he might have MS. And you could be his doctor.'"