List of The West Wing episodes

The following is an episode list for the NBC serial drama television series "The West Wing". The series ran from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006 airing 155 regular season episodes and one special episode.

DVD releases

eason 3: 2001–2002

"Cast: Rob Lowe, Stockard Channing, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford and Martin Sheen"

The third season, which covers the administration's third and fourth years in office, starts off with Bartlet announcing his intention to run for reelection and is heavily devoted to the upcoming presidential election. Other prominent plotlines include Congressional investigations into whether Bartlet committed electoral fraud by concealing his MS, a death threat against C.J. and the ensuing relationship she develops with a Secret Service agent assigned to her, the Qumari defense minister Abdul Shareef plotting terrorist attacks against the US, and a troubling meeting between Toby and the President that leaves Bartlet with a bout of insomnia in "Night Five." The season finale, "Posse Comitatus" closes several of these storylines as Bartlet meets his opponent in the elections and reaffirms his commitment to beat him. The episode ends with the president finally deciding to order Shareef's assassination (a legally questionable act) and C.J.'s agent's murder, just after the man threatening C.J. was caught.

From a critical perspective, series creator Aaron Sorkin acknowledged in October 2002 that the terrorism-related plots designed to keep the series relevant after the real-life 9/11 attacks were awkward at times, saying "from week to week, you felt like you were writing the show handcuffed, a little bit. I didn't know how to write it anymore. It was a constant search for what I wasn't doing that used to make the show work. [...] Maybe there was a way to make it work; there probably was. I wasn't able to find it in twenty-two episodes." [http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7767241978049390163&q=charlie+rose+sorkin] Nonetheless, the show went on to win its third "Outstanding Drama" Emmy in a row.

eason 6: 2004–2005

"Cast: Alan Alda, Stockard Channing, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Joshua Malina, Mary McCormack, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, with Jimmy Smits and Martin Sheen"
The sixth season starts with the president negotiating an Israeli-Palestinian peace accord, Leo having a heart attack and leaving the staff, and the president trying to fund peacekeepers for the accord. Josh is pondering whether he will stay with Bartlet or support a presidential candidate. Three events shape his decision: Santos not running again for Congress, Vinick running for president and Donna leaving the White House to work for the Russell campaign (further fraying Josh and Donna's relationship). The later parts of the season center heavily around the primaries for the 2006 presidential election (in which Bartlet cannot run). Josh leaves with Santos, a Congressman from Texas whom Josh convinced to run for President, on the campaign trail. Leo returns near the end of the season to refocus the Bartlet administration (in a similar style to Season One's "Let Bartlet Be Bartlet") in "365 Days." Russell is the consistent leader for the Democratic nomination with former Vice President Hoynes a close second and Santos a distant third. After another sex scandal, Hoynes is forced into the third position, and Santos ends up winning a closely contested Convention (and announces Leo as his running mate). The final episode also features a leak from the White House about a classified military space shuttle to the press (similar to the real-life Plame affair), which is heavily investigated in Season Seven.

eason 7: 2005–2006

"Cast: Alan Alda, Stockard Channing, Kristin Chenoweth, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Joshua Malina, Mary McCormack, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, with Jimmy Smits and Martin Sheen"
The seventh and final season mainly follows Santos and Vinick on the campaign trail, whilst also addressing the aftermath of the shuttle leak investigation. The Bartlet administration's last year in office is featured, but not prominently. Toby admits to leaking the story about a military spacecraft and President Bartlet is forced to fire him. Later, he refuses to name his recently deceased brother as the source of the classified information, despite being urged to by both his lawyer and a federal prosecutor, as he feels it would be wrong to dishonor his memory. Also, C.J.'s tenure as Chief of Staff becomes more stressful as she deals with the war between Russia and China over Kazakhstan. The presidential race tightens up when Vinick makes a number of mistakes on the campaign trail. Leo suffers a heart attack, and dies on the night of the election, which Santos eventually wins. The last few episodes show the last days of the Bartlet administration and the Santos' transition; in the series finale, Santos is sworn in as President.

External links

* [http://www.westwingepguide.com/ The West Wing Episode Guide]
* [http://b4a.healthyinterest.net/epguide.html Bartlet4America.org] Episode Guide
* [http://westwing.bewarne.com/episodes.html The West Wing Unofficial Continuity Guide] Episode Guide
* [http://www.political-affairs.net/ Political-Affairs.net] Complete transcripts of every Josh & Donna scene throughout the entire series