West Wing Wiki
Register
West Wing Wiki
(At least get the beginnings of a structure)
Line 12: Line 12:
 
In the season finale, President Bartlet prepares for a town hall meeting with college students while the U.S. military races to find a downed American pilot in the Iraqi desert before the Iraqi military captures him. C.J. doesn't relish the notion of misleading the press over rescue preparations. Likewise, Toby tries to ignore updates from the distressed orbiting space shuttle which includes his brother, a payload specialist aboard the craft which cannot close its cargo doors. Meanwhile, a huffing Josh is dispatched to run down and convince the wayward vice president to re-think his position on campaign finance reform.
 
In the season finale, President Bartlet prepares for a town hall meeting with college students while the U.S. military races to find a downed American pilot in the Iraqi desert before the Iraqi military captures him. C.J. doesn't relish the notion of misleading the press over rescue preparations. Likewise, Toby tries to ignore updates from the distressed orbiting space shuttle which includes his brother, a payload specialist aboard the craft which cannot close its cargo doors. Meanwhile, a huffing Josh is dispatched to run down and convince the wayward vice president to re-think his position on campaign finance reform.
 
== Summary ==
 
== Summary ==
  +
== Summary ==
  +
  +
===Teaser===
  +
''LIVE TOWN HALL MEETING
  +
THE NEWSEUM
  +
ROSSLYN, VIRGINA''
  +
  +
[[File:Bartlet_town_hall.jpg|thumb|Decisions are made by those who show up...]]
  +
  +
[[Jed_Bartlet|President Bartlet]] is on-stage at a "town hall" meeting, while the staff continues to move behind the scenes to make everything flow smoothly: Charlie is pleased that the President used some material that he had shared with the President, and thanks Josh for encouraging him to share the information; Sam takes a phone call from a man named Peter Jobson intended to for Toby, which results in the staff passing a mysterious signal around, ending with Leo relaying the signal to the President while he's still on-stage; CJ shares a tip with Danny ahead of the rest of the press, telling him to contact his Science Editor about the Space Shuttle Columbia. The Secret Service prepare for the President's exit from the meeting, and Agent Toscano realizes that something is amiss.
  +
  +
===Act One===
  +
'' 12 HOURS EARLIER ''
  +
[[File:Saving_Captain_Hotchkiss.jpg|thumb|left|It's a matter of who gets there first...]]
  +
  +
In the Situation Room, General Fitzwallace tells Leo that a plane has gone down in Iraq, but he needs 10 minutes to confirm the details before they involve the President. President Barlet discusses with Charlie his desire to watch a woman's softball game when he returns from the town hall meeting later that night, then goes into the Press Room to rehearse for the Town Hall meeting. The President asks Sam to find out why the Columbia shuttle didn't land the previous night, suggesting that Toby would know because his brother is on the shuttle flight. When Sam asks Toby about his brother, Toby shrugs the question off, asking Sam to focus on a critical question he expects will come up during the Town Hall meeting instead.
  +
  +
Josh prepares for a meeting with the Vice-President, which will be held while they go jogging together, much to Josh's consternation. Leo interrupts the Town Hall preparation to inform the President they need to head to the Situation Room, where the National Security Council explains that it will be race between the rescue team they're sending in and the Iraqi National Guard, and the President mentions that the Iraqi government has put out a bounty of $14,000 USD for any American soldier captured, and instructs General Fitzwallace to proceed with the rescue operation.
  +
  +
  +
===Act Two===
  +
[[File:Josh_could_have_made_Hoynes_President.jpg|thumb|No, Sir. I know it for sure...]]
  +
  +
Leo tells CJ about the downed airplane and the pending rescue mission. Leo gives Josh some advice about his meeting with the Vice-President, while various staffers wonder about how a stealth fighter was shot down. Sam informs Toby that the Columbia hasn't landed yet because there is a technical problem with one of the payload doors, and tells Toby that he's been in contact with Peter Jobson, and we learn that he's the Mission Commander at NASA for the Columbia mission.
  +
  +
Josh and Vice-President Hoynes are jogging while Josh discusses the issue of "soft money", revealing that the West Wing is concerned that Hoynes is coming down on the wrong side of campaign finance reform. Hoynes reveals that two years ago, Josh had tried to advise him on his campaign to become President, expressing regret and the belief that perhaps - if he had listened to Josh - he might be the President, and Josh agrees. As Leo watches, CJ briefs the press about the downed airplane, deliberately misleading the press about the rescue operations.
  +
  +
===Act Three===
  +
  +
Zoe comes to visit and expresses some concern over the President's health, noting that he's sweating, but the President brushes it off. She mentions that Charlie has something he'd like to mention, and the President agrees to hear him out, and asks Zoe to come to the meeting, to which she reluctantly agrees. Sam suggests they introduce some kind of signal so they can inform the President in case the pilot is safely recovered while he's on stage, and they agree on the signal seen during the teaser.
  +
  +
[[File:Josh_tries_to_hug_Leo.jpg|thumb|left|Oh, man, did you read THAT wrong...]]
  +
  +
Leo expresses outrage that Josh suggested that recovering the downed pilot might be a political victory, and Josh apologizes, then misreads Leo's body language as wanting a hug, creating a brief moment of awkwardness between the two. Josh overhears Charlie and Zoe having an argument in his office about Zoe mentioning Charlie's idea to the President, and he asks her not to do it anymore. Sam informs Toby that there is another problem with the shuttle, causing a failure in the engines. Toby tells Sam that his earlier reticence was because he had forgotten that his brother was even on this mission, and takes the call from Mission Director Jobson.
  +
  +
  +
===Act Four===
  +
  +
[[File:Sam_tells_Toby_about_shuttle_problems.jpg|thumb|The OMS engines are failing...]]
  +
  +
The President confronts Charlie about Zoe's comments, and Charlie reveals that he read a report that has some material relevant to topics they expect to hear in the Town Hall meeting, but before Charlie can get out the details, they are interrupted by General Fitzwallace who wants to wait for a call informing them that the pilot has been recovered, which impresses the President. CJ informs the press about the recovery, and has a bit of a row with Danny about her misleading the press, and CJ defends her decision. The President has a brief conversation with Toby about the Columbia mission, telling him to get over his pride and talk to his brother, but Toby appears to remain discomforted.
  +
  +
  +
===Act Five===
  +
  +
[[File:Agents_protect_the_President.jpg|thumb|left|We've got people down...who's been hit?]]
  +
  +
We return to the scene of the Town Hall meeting, and we see the staff spreading the same signal discussed earlier, even though the pilot has long been recovered. We see Agent Toscano scanning the crowd, and we see a view from inside an office with a window facing the President's exit where a man is loading a gun. At the last moment, Agent Toscano realizes sees the shooters and knocks Charlie to the ground. Shots ring out from both sides, and - as the episode ends - we hear a voice crying out "Who's been hit?"
  +
  +
== Cast ==
  +
 
===Starring===
 
===Starring===
 
*[[Rob Lowe]] as [[Sam Seaborn]]
 
*[[Rob Lowe]] as [[Sam Seaborn]]
Line 20: Line 71:
 
*[[John Spencer]] as [[Leo McGarry]]
 
*[[John Spencer]] as [[Leo McGarry]]
 
*[[Bradley Whitford]] as [[Josh Lyman]]
 
*[[Bradley Whitford]] as [[Josh Lyman]]
*and [[Martin Sheen]] as President [[Jed Bartlet]]
+
*and [[Martin Sheen]] as President [[Jed Bartlet]]
  +
 
===Guest Starring===
 
===Guest Starring===
 
*[[Timothy Busfield]] as [[Danny Concannon]]
 
*[[Timothy Busfield]] as [[Danny Concannon]]

Revision as of 08:09, 12 March 2010

Template:EpisodeNewTitle In the season finale, President Bartlet prepares for a town hall meeting with college students while the U.S. military races to find a downed American pilot in the Iraqi desert before the Iraqi military captures him. C.J. doesn't relish the notion of misleading the press over rescue preparations. Likewise, Toby tries to ignore updates from the distressed orbiting space shuttle which includes his brother, a payload specialist aboard the craft which cannot close its cargo doors. Meanwhile, a huffing Josh is dispatched to run down and convince the wayward vice president to re-think his position on campaign finance reform.

Summary

Summary

Teaser

LIVE TOWN HALL MEETING THE NEWSEUM ROSSLYN, VIRGINA

Bartlet town hall

Decisions are made by those who show up...

President Bartlet is on-stage at a "town hall" meeting, while the staff continues to move behind the scenes to make everything flow smoothly: Charlie is pleased that the President used some material that he had shared with the President, and thanks Josh for encouraging him to share the information; Sam takes a phone call from a man named Peter Jobson intended to for Toby, which results in the staff passing a mysterious signal around, ending with Leo relaying the signal to the President while he's still on-stage; CJ shares a tip with Danny ahead of the rest of the press, telling him to contact his Science Editor about the Space Shuttle Columbia. The Secret Service prepare for the President's exit from the meeting, and Agent Toscano realizes that something is amiss.

Act One

12 HOURS EARLIER

Saving Captain Hotchkiss

It's a matter of who gets there first...

In the Situation Room, General Fitzwallace tells Leo that a plane has gone down in Iraq, but he needs 10 minutes to confirm the details before they involve the President. President Barlet discusses with Charlie his desire to watch a woman's softball game when he returns from the town hall meeting later that night, then goes into the Press Room to rehearse for the Town Hall meeting. The President asks Sam to find out why the Columbia shuttle didn't land the previous night, suggesting that Toby would know because his brother is on the shuttle flight. When Sam asks Toby about his brother, Toby shrugs the question off, asking Sam to focus on a critical question he expects will come up during the Town Hall meeting instead.

Josh prepares for a meeting with the Vice-President, which will be held while they go jogging together, much to Josh's consternation. Leo interrupts the Town Hall preparation to inform the President they need to head to the Situation Room, where the National Security Council explains that it will be race between the rescue team they're sending in and the Iraqi National Guard, and the President mentions that the Iraqi government has put out a bounty of $14,000 USD for any American soldier captured, and instructs General Fitzwallace to proceed with the rescue operation.


Act Two

Josh could have made Hoynes President

No, Sir. I know it for sure...

Leo tells CJ about the downed airplane and the pending rescue mission. Leo gives Josh some advice about his meeting with the Vice-President, while various staffers wonder about how a stealth fighter was shot down. Sam informs Toby that the Columbia hasn't landed yet because there is a technical problem with one of the payload doors, and tells Toby that he's been in contact with Peter Jobson, and we learn that he's the Mission Commander at NASA for the Columbia mission.

Josh and Vice-President Hoynes are jogging while Josh discusses the issue of "soft money", revealing that the West Wing is concerned that Hoynes is coming down on the wrong side of campaign finance reform. Hoynes reveals that two years ago, Josh had tried to advise him on his campaign to become President, expressing regret and the belief that perhaps - if he had listened to Josh - he might be the President, and Josh agrees. As Leo watches, CJ briefs the press about the downed airplane, deliberately misleading the press about the rescue operations.

Act Three

Zoe comes to visit and expresses some concern over the President's health, noting that he's sweating, but the President brushes it off. She mentions that Charlie has something he'd like to mention, and the President agrees to hear him out, and asks Zoe to come to the meeting, to which she reluctantly agrees. Sam suggests they introduce some kind of signal so they can inform the President in case the pilot is safely recovered while he's on stage, and they agree on the signal seen during the teaser.

Josh tries to hug Leo

Oh, man, did you read THAT wrong...

Leo expresses outrage that Josh suggested that recovering the downed pilot might be a political victory, and Josh apologizes, then misreads Leo's body language as wanting a hug, creating a brief moment of awkwardness between the two. Josh overhears Charlie and Zoe having an argument in his office about Zoe mentioning Charlie's idea to the President, and he asks her not to do it anymore. Sam informs Toby that there is another problem with the shuttle, causing a failure in the engines. Toby tells Sam that his earlier reticence was because he had forgotten that his brother was even on this mission, and takes the call from Mission Director Jobson.


Act Four

Sam tells Toby about shuttle problems

The OMS engines are failing...

The President confronts Charlie about Zoe's comments, and Charlie reveals that he read a report that has some material relevant to topics they expect to hear in the Town Hall meeting, but before Charlie can get out the details, they are interrupted by General Fitzwallace who wants to wait for a call informing them that the pilot has been recovered, which impresses the President. CJ informs the press about the recovery, and has a bit of a row with Danny about her misleading the press, and CJ defends her decision. The President has a brief conversation with Toby about the Columbia mission, telling him to get over his pride and talk to his brother, but Toby appears to remain discomforted.


Act Five

Agents protect the President

We've got people down...who's been hit?

We return to the scene of the Town Hall meeting, and we see the staff spreading the same signal discussed earlier, even though the pilot has long been recovered. We see Agent Toscano scanning the crowd, and we see a view from inside an office with a window facing the President's exit where a man is loading a gun. At the last moment, Agent Toscano realizes sees the shooters and knocks Charlie to the ground. Shots ring out from both sides, and - as the episode ends - we hear a voice crying out "Who's been hit?"

Cast

Starring

Guest Starring

Special Guest Stars

Co-Starring

Trivia

President Bartlet mentions the 1972 Presidential Election, which means the change in election years must have happened sometime after this.

This is the last we see Mandy Hampton during the prep with the President. She never appears or is even mentioned again.

Aaron Sorkin took the title for this episode from the Sports Night finale, he aslo later used it on the finale of Studio 60.

Goofs

Quotes

C.J. Cregg: I wasn't lying to the press on Pakistan India, I was lied to by you which made me look like an idiot.
Leo McGarry: Well, I'm not lying to you now.
C.J. Cregg: We're going to pay a price for misleading the press.

References

"The West Wing" What Kind of Day Has It Been? (2000)