The West Wing season 6

From The Right Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
"Opposition Research" redirects here. For the political practice, see opposition research.

The West Wing
Season 6
File:West Wing s6.jpg
DVD box cover. Cast from left to right:
Sen. Vinick, President Bartlet, and Rep. Santos.
Starring
No. of episodes22
Release
Original networkNBC
Original releaseOctober 20, 2004 (2004-10-20) –
April 6, 2005 (2005-04-06)
Season chronology
← Previous
Season 5
Next →
Season 7
List of episodes

The sixth season of the American political drama television series The West Wing aired in the United States on NBC from October 20, 2004, to April 6, 2005, and consisted of 22 episodes.[1][2]

Plot

The sixth season opens with the Israeli and Palestinian delegations arriving at Camp David for peace talks. Despite problems at the summit, a deal is thrashed out by President Bartlet, but not before he fires Leo as chief of staff. Leo suffers a heart attack in the aftermath, leading to a re-shuffle of the White House staff. CJ Cregg becomes chief of staff but she finds it difficult to adapt, a fact not helped by the President's worsening multiple sclerosis and consequent interference from the First Lady in an effort to conserve his energy. Away from the White House, Josh convinces Texas Congressman Matt Santos to run for president, and after a shaky start, Santos finds himself in a three-way race for the Democratic nomination with Vice President Russell and former Vice President Hoynes. While the Republican primaries provide a clear winner in California Senator Arnold Vinick, a moderate, the Democratic ticket is not finalized until the Democratic National Convention, at which Santos is chosen as the presidential nominee, with Leo as his running mate. Meanwhile, someone at the White House has leaked national security information to reporter Greg Brock.

Cast

The sixth season had star billing for twelve major roles, with nine of these filled by returning main cast members from the fifth season. The main cast members are credited alphabetically except for Jimmy Smits and Martin Sheen, who receive the "with" and "and" credits, respectively. Smits, Alda and Channing are only credited for the episodes in which they appear.

Main cast

Recurring cast

Characters that returned in recurring roles were Gary Cole as Vice President Bob Russell, Tim Matheson as former Vice President John Hoynes and Mark Feuerstein as Senate Majority Counsel Clifford Calley.[3][4] Roger Rees as British ambassador Lord John Marbury also returned for one episode.[3] Kristin Chenoweth joined the recurring cast as Annabeth Schott, a former feature writer who becomes Deputy Press Secretary.[3][5] Recurring guest-star Ed O'Neill played Governor Eric Baker with Mel Harris (as Senator Rafferty) and Christopher Lloyd (portraying Lawrence Lessig) also guest-starring in one episode each.[3] Actors who left the cast include John Amos as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Percy Fitzwallace who was killed in the penultimate episode of the previous season,[6] Jesse Bradford as intern Ryan Pierce[7] and Michael Hyatt as legislative affairs advisor Angela Blake.[8]

Episodes

No.
overall		No. in
season		TitleDirected byWritten byOriginal air dateProd.
code		US viewers
(millions)
1111"NSF Thurmont"Alex GravesJohn WellsOctober 20, 2004 (2004-10-20)2T500112.27[9]

The world watches the aftermath of the Gaza attack on U.S. officials. The President learns that 82% of the American people, almost all of Congress, the Vice President and Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs, and all of his staff aside from C.J. Cregg and Kate Harper want him to launch retaliatory military strikes immediately. Meanwhile, he tries to arrange peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians at Camp David. Finally, he strikes one of three suggested targets and readies for the peace talks. Meanwhile, in Germany, Josh anxiously waits for Donna's recovery, leading to his feelings about her being questioned by Colin.

Note: The episode title refers to the official military name of Camp David.
1122"The Birnam Wood"Alex GravesJohn WellsOctober 27, 2004 (2004-10-27)2T500212.07[11]

Josh returns to the US as Israeli-Palestinian peace talks at Camp David result in a momentous peace accord. President Bartlet fires White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry, who was strongly against the talks. Moments later, Leo suffers a massive heart attack.

Note: The episode title refers to the warning given to Macbeth in the Shakespeare play of the same name, in which he is warned that "Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until / Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill / Shall come against him.") Submitted as Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Drama Series.[10]
1133"Third-Day Story"Christopher MisianoEli AttieNovember 3, 2004 (2004-11-03)2T500313.82[12]

The senior staff clash with Congressional leaders on how to fund US peacekeepers destined for the Middle East following the peace accord signed by Israel and the Palestinians. Donna returns to Washington as her injuries slowly heal. As Leo recovers from his heart attack, the Cabinet secretaries and senior staff members continually make missteps without a Chief of Staff. Bartlet eventually asks C.J. to become the new Chief of Staff.

Note: Stockard Channing submitted this episode as an Emmy nominee for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.[10]
1144"Liftoff"Alex GravesDebora CahnNovember 10, 2004 (2004-11-10)2T500415.26[13]

C.J. Cregg begins her tenure as White House Chief of Staff, as Toby and Donna begin searching for a new Press Secretary. The Republic of Georgia offers to give the United States its stockpile of weapons-grade uranium. Josh meets with Representative Matthew Santos of Texas, who is retiring from Congress despite having only recently been re-elected to his seat. Santos will become a recurring character this season, as he begins a campaign for the Presidency.

Note: Submitted as Emmy Nominee for Outstanding Drama Series.[10]
1155"The Hubbert Peak"Julie HébertPeter NoahNovember 17, 2004 (2004-11-17)2T500512.41[14]

Josh crashes an SUV into a hybrid vehicle, causing a public relations disaster. He meets with environmental supporters who berate the White House for doing too little to beef up laws in this area, including raising fuel emissions standards; Josh points out that they have had seven years of a hostile Congress. Annabeth Schott decides she can coach Toby to do the White House's press briefings. Kate confronts Donna about her experiences in Gaza.

Note: The episode title refers to the Hubbert peak theory, one of the primary theories behind the concept of peak oil.
1166"The Dover Test"Laura InnesCarol FlintNovember 24, 2004 (2004-11-24)2T500611.76[15]

Santos gets friendly with Republicans over a Patients' Bill of Rights, and the first American soldier dies in the Gaza peacekeeping mission, upsetting Donna.

Note: The episode title refers to an informal test of public support for military action based on coverage of returning casualties.
1177"A Change Is Gonna Come"Vincent MisianoStory by : John Sacret Young
Teleplay by : John Sacret Young & Josh Singer		December 1, 2004 (2004-12-01)2T500713.28[16]

While preparing for the upcoming China summit, the Chinese are insulted by President Bartlet's acceptance of a Taiwanese independence movement flag at a prayer breakfast. Charlie must try and return the flag, which proves difficult. Meanwhile, C.J. has to agree to stipulations the Chinese are making in order to mend fences. Eventually at a performance by James Taylor that evening paying tribute to Sam Cooke, Jed confides to Abby that he did not see the flag. He could not tie his bow tie, has not been able to focus for over a day, and has lost the sight in his right eye. Meanwhile, former Vice President John Hoynes asks Josh to run his presidential campaign.

Note: The episode title refers to the song "A Change Is Gonna Come" by Sam Cooke.
1188"In the Room"Alex GravesLawrence O'Donnell, Jr.December 8, 2004 (2004-12-08)2T500812.33[17]
At Zoey Bartlet's birthday party, magicians Penn and Teller appear to burn an American flag in the White House, prompting a publicity nightmare. Aboard Air Force One, Bartlet is stricken by a paralyzing MS episode, while Josh is approached to run Vice President Russell's presidential campaign. The Bartlet Administration offers Republican California Senator Arnold Vinick the position of US Ambassador to the UN, but he turns it down and announces his candidacy for the Presidency instead. Governor Baker drops out of the Democratic nomination race, making Russell the clear front-runner.
1199"Impact Winter"Lesli Linka GlatterDebora CahnDecember 15, 2004 (2004-12-15)2T500912.53[18]

In China, an impaired Bartlet is having trouble sitting through meetings following his MS attack. In Washington, a NASA functionary warns that an asteroid could strike Earth, while Josh wonders who should be the next guy to occupy the Oval Office and puts off a talk with Donna about her future until she finally quits her job.

Note: The episode title refers to a hypothesized period of extreme cold weather in the event of an asteroid or comet striking the surface of the Earth.
12010"Faith Based Initiative"Christopher MisianoBradley WhitfordJanuary 5, 2005 (2005-01-05)2T501011.74[19]

Crew

The season was produced by John Wells Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.[20] The executive producers were the production company's namesake and founder John Wells, Christopher Misiano and Alex Graves – Llewellyn Wells (who left the show), Misiano and Graves had previously been co-executive producers in season five.[21] Carol Flint, Peter Noah and John Sacret Young were supervising producers, and Eli Attie, Kristin Harms, Michael Hissrich and Andrew Stearn were producers.[20][21] For the sixth season, regular staff writers were Wells, Flint, Noah, Young, Attie, Debora Cahn, Josh Singer, and former Democratic chief of staff on the Senate Committee on Finance, Lawrence O'Donnell.[22] Cast member Bradley Whitford wrote his first episode of the series. The regular directors were Misiano and Graves, while cast member Richard Schiff directed his second episode of the series.

Reception

Critical response

On Rotten Tomatoes, the season has an approval rating of 64% with an average score of 9.4 out of 10 based on 14 reviews.[23]

Accolades

The season was nominated for five Primetime Emmy Awards in 2005 without any wins. The show was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series for the sixth year running. Alan Alda, as Senator Vinick, and Stockard Channing, as Abigail Bartlet were nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series respectively.[21] Alex Graves was nominated for Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series and production sound mixer Patrick Hanson and re-recording mixers Dan Hiland and Gary D. Rogers were nominated in the Outstanding Single-Camera Sound Mixing for a Series category, both for the episode "2162 Votes".[21][24] "2162 Votes" also got Hanson, Hiland and Rogers a Cinema Audio Society Awards nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Sound Mixing for a Television Series.[25] The show received a nomination in the Dramatic Series category and Carol Flint received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination in the Episodic Drama category for "A Good Day".[26] Allison Janney, as C. J. Cregg, was nominated at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series and the whole ensemble for the Outstanding Performance in a Drama Series award.[27] John Wells won the Humanitas Prize in the 60-minute category for "NSF Thurmont".[28] At the Producers Guild of America Awards ceremony in 2005, the show was nominated for the Norman Felton Producer of the Year Award – Episodic Drama.[29] Seth Adkins, as Cody Zucker, was nominated for a Young Artist Award in the Best Performance in a Television Series (Comedy or Drama) – Guest Starring Young Actor category.[30] Composer W. G. "Snuffy" Walden was awarded a BMI Television Award for his work on the show.[31] The season won two Imagen Awards, a Latino awards ceremony, with the submitted work "La Palabra". Executive producers John Wells, Christopher Misiano, Alex Graves, Director Jason Ensler, writer Eli Attie, and the executive producers won Best Primetime Series and Jimmy Smits (as Matt Santos) won Best Actor in Television.[32]

DVD release

The DVD release of season six was released by Warner Bros. first in the UK on September 26, 2005, and then in the US on May 9, 2006, after the season had completed broadcasting on television. As well as every episode from the season, the DVD release features bonus material including audio commentary on three episodes from directors and writers, and a documentary on Allison Janney's portrayal of C. J. Cregg.[33][34]

The West Wing: The Complete Sixth Season
Set details[33] Special features[34]
  • Audio Commentary:
    • "King Corn" by John Wells and Alex Graves
    • "In God We Trust" by Lawrence O'Donnell, Jr. and Christopher Misiano
    • "2162 Votes" by John Wells and Alex Graves
  • Featurettes:
    • C. J. Cregg: From Press Secretary to Chief of Staff
    • Easter Egg – A Conversation with John Spencer
Release dates[33][35][36]
File:Flag of the United States.svg United States File:Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Canada File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom File:Flag of Australia (converted).svg Australia
May 9, 2006 September 26, 2005 May 2, 2007

All episodes from the season are available to purchase and download through Warner Bros. Studio online store,[33] to registered users of iTunes Stores in certain countries,[37][38][39][40] and in the US through Amazon Video on Demand.[41] In Canada, the sixth season was simulcast on CTV.[2] In the United Kingdom the series was moved from E4 to Fridays at 9:00 p.m. on sister-station More4 with the season premiering in October 2005.[42]

References

  1. ↑ "2004 Prime-time TV Lineup". Ebony. 59 (12). Johnson Publishing Company: 132. October 2004. ISSN 0012-9011.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Canadian Television's 2004–2005 Fall Season Preview: Premiere Dates". Channel Canada. Archived from the original on October 9, 2004. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 "Download The West Wing: The Complete Sixth Season". WBShop.com. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  4. ↑ Beck, Marilyn; Smith, Stacy Jenel (June 21, 2009). "Ask Stacey: Chris Noth, Mark Feuerstein..." The Jacksonville Observer. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  5. ↑ Shister, Gail (August 28, 2004). "Alan Alda will join cast of 'West Wing'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  6. ↑ Pennington, Gail (October 20, 2004). "Critic's Picks". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. F06. Retrieved October 14, 2010. (subscription required)
  7. ↑ "Breaking News – Development Update". The Futon Critic. August 11, 2003. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  8. ↑ "ABC TV Guide". ABC Online. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  9. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings Report". ABC Medianet. October 26, 2004. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 10.5 10.6 10.7 https://web.archive.org/web/20190404095246/http://westwingepguide.com/S6/S6Awards.html
  11. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings Report". ABC Medianet. November 2, 2004. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  12. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings Report". ABC Medianet. November 9, 2004. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  13. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings Report". ABC Medianet. November 16, 2004. Archived from the original on October 10, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  14. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings Report". ABC Medianet. November 23, 2004. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  15. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings Report". ABC Medianet. November 30, 2004. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  16. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings Report". ABC Medianet. December 7, 2004. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  17. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings Report". ABC Medianet. December 14, 2004. Archived from the original on December 21, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  18. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings Report". ABC Medianet. December 21, 2004. Archived from the original on December 21, 2008. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  19. ↑ "Weekly Program Rankings Report". ABC Medianet. January 11, 2005. Archived from the original on December 15, 2014. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 NBC: Press release (July 14, 2005). "NBC Universal Television Group scores big at Emmy nominations". The Futon Critic. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  21. ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 21.3 "The West Wing". Primetime Emmy Awards. Retrieved September 18, 2010.
  22. ↑ "O'Donnell weighs in on White House woes". MSNBC. October 21, 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
  23. ↑ "The West Wing: Season 6". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved November 11, 2021.
  24. ↑ Academy of Television Arts & Sciences: Press release (July 14, 2005). "57th Annual Primetime Emmy Nominees". The Futon Critic. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  25. ↑ "42nd CAS Award Winners and Nominees for 2005". Cinema Audio Society. Archived from the original on July 23, 2008. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  26. ↑ "2006 Writers Guild Awards Television and Radio Nominees Announced". Writers Guild of America. December 14, 2005. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  27. ↑ "The 11th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  28. ↑ Bannon, Anne Louise (July 8, 2005). "Humanitas awards human values" (PDF). The Tidings. Humanitas Prize. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  29. ↑ Producers Guild of America: Press release (January 1, 2005). "Producers Guild Awards Honorees". The Futon Critic. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  30. ↑ "27th Annual Young Artist Awards – Nominations / Special Awards". Young Artist Award. Archived from the original on July 4, 2010. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  31. ↑ "2005 BMI Film/TV Awards". Broadcast Music Incorporated. May 18, 2005. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  32. ↑ "The 20th Annual Imagen Awards Winners". Imagen Foundation. Retrieved September 21, 2010.
  33. ↑ 33.0 33.1 33.2 33.3 "The West Wing: The Complete Sixth Season". Warner Bros. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 "The West Wing: The Complete Sixth Season". Warner Bros. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  35. ↑ "The West Wing - Complete Season 6 [DVD] [2001]". Amazon.co.uk. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  36. ↑ "The West Wing Season 6 DVD". dvdorchard Pty Limited. Retrieved October 11, 2010.
  37. ↑ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. "The West Wing, Season 6" (note: Requires iTunes software with US iTunes Store). Fox. iTunes Store. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  38. ↑ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. "The West Wing, Season 6" (note: Requires iTunes software with French iTunes Store). Fox. iTunes Store. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  39. ↑ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. "The West Wing, Season 6" (note: Requires iTunes software with German iTunes Store). Fox. iTunes Store. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  40. ↑ Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. "The West Wing, Season 6" (note: Requires iTunes software with UK iTunes Store). Fox. iTunes Store. Retrieved October 12, 2010.
  41. ↑ "Amazon Video on Demand – The West Wing". Amazon Video on Demand. Retrieved September 19, 2010.
  42. ↑ Deans, Jason (February 21, 2006). "Channel 4 streamlines West Wing schedule". The Guardian. Retrieved September 17, 2010.
General references

External links

Retrieved from "https://rightwiki.org/index.php?title=The_West_Wing_season_6&oldid=21353066#Impact_Winter"