« West Wing Actress York Shares Her Passion for Music on Debut CD | Main | Saunders: 'West Wing' election delivers a winner »
April 08, 2006
'West Wing' calls election on Sunday
By JILL VEJNOSKA
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
ATLANTA — And the next president of the United States is ...
You won't see the secret spilled here. But bless their "orderly transfer of power"-obsessed little hearts at "The West Wing" for not leaving us hanging Sunday (8 p.m.). Other shows might have been tempted to make a cliffhanger out of the Election Day face-off between Democrat Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Republican Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda). But as this simultaneously bare-knuckled and bittersweet episode reminds us, "Wing" isn't just another show.
Where else but on the four-time Emmy winner for best drama would a vice-presidential candidate die on Election Day and it not feel emotionally manipulative? Yes, actor John Spencer's death last December meant his character, Leo McGarry, would likely have to go, too. But other than on the real Capitol Hill, it's rare to find people so capable of, uh, working through their grief so quickly.
"I know he's your friend; he's my friend, too," media guru Louise Thornton (Janeane Garofalo) growls at Santos. "But we can't be sentimental about this or we will have a Republican president."
So cold. So absolutely dead-on.
Here's a few other interesting tidbits from Sunday's episode:
Every vote counts? Try telling them that in Rhode Island: Forget hanging chads. For electoral suspense, nothing beats candidates hailing from the country's two most populous states (California for Vinick, Texas for Santos). We're talking final results well past the last commercial break.
First, kill all the lawyers: Better yet, send 'em all to Eugene, Ore. When it appears the entire race might come down to two late-reporting states, Santos campaign manager Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) knows to wait for all the votes to be counted. Ha, ha, just kidding. "Every lawyer we got, get 'em on planes to Oregon and Nevada!" he shrieks.
Seriously, wouldn't Michigan look better in mauve?: Maps get even more screen time than Alda and Smits, as numerous scenes feature campaign reps coloring "called" states in red or blue. Who knew scripted TV was as boring as the real thing?
The father-in-law from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.: Vinick-Santos isn't the only game. There's also a congressional race involving the son-in-law of President Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen), who clearly isn't his fellow Democrat's best stumper: "If the Republicans end up with a one-vote majority in Congress, we can chalk it up to my eldest daughter's lousy taste in men."
Posted by Jo at April 8, 2006 06:19 PM