November 02, 2005
'West Wing' goes live for debate episode
Scripted Alda-Smits debate will focus on issues
by Mike Duffy
Detroit Free Press
It's not politics as usual on "The West Wing" this Sunday.
With the presidential race between Democratic U.S. Rep. Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Republican Sen. Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) heating up, the White House political drama adds a bit of unpredictable zing to the campaign thing with a live debate between the two candidates at 8 p.m. on NBC.
The live telecast -- a showdown over the issues featuring two Emmy Award-winning actors -- is one of the most intriguing entertainment treats of the November sweeps ratings period that kicks off a month of new series episodes, movies, miniseries, awards shows and other specials.
The ratings achieved during a sweeps month -- February and May are others -- are used to help set future ad rates.
"Even to call our current presidential debates 'debates' is stretching the term," says John Wells, "The West Wing" executive producer. "They're so pre-negotiated: the questions, the way in which they're going to be done, the way they're going to be answered, the lack of spontaneity."
Throughout its six-year run, "The West Wing" has specialized in a more hopeful, idealistic portrait of the American political process.
"The show as a whole has always tried to say, 'What do we wish our politics was?' " notes Wells. "And so the whole idea of trying to do a debate is to do one in which there's actually a debate."
NBC has experimented with special live episodes of its series, including a live edition of "ER" and the live season premiere of "Will & Grace" this fall.
Both Smits and Alda, who have strong backgrounds in live stage productions, are excited about the opportunity to square off in a live debate between their political alter egos.
"I hope we arrive at something that's not a version of business as usual in terms of debates," says Alda, "but something that's more stimulating, something that says, 'It would be fun if a debate could be like this.' Where there's a real exchange of ideas."
Yes, there's a script. It's not improv. And there have been extensive rehearsals and briefings on the issues for the debate, which will be moderated by MSNBC anchor Forrest Sawyer.
But viewers have also been encouraged to submit questions for the debate at www.nbc.com. So there is the potential for some extra spontaneity.
"We're going to try to go out with a little bit of a net and riff a little bit too. Keep it topical and make sure ... that both points of view are strong," says Smits, who joined Alda and Wells in a recent conference call with reporters.
With limited commercial interruptions planned, the debate episode, which also features other characters from "The West Wing" political world, will have about 10 additional minutes of actual show than the typical 42-minute episode.
And they'll do it twice, once for the eastern half of the country and then for the West Coast.
"Jimmy and I are going head-to-head," says Alda. "There's something that can catch fire when two actors are connecting. This, I hope, will give us a chance to connect so that fire will happen. So then it won't just be fun for us."
