Comments on: TV Urban Legends Revealed #11

By: Looking In

Looking In — Sat, 04 Dec 2010 01:50:41 +0000

Sorkin got a second jab in at Cleveland during the fourth season- in the episode “Process Stories” a campaign adviser claims credit for work that the staff had done and gets called out on it by press secretary CJ(Allison Janney)…

Way too coincidental to not be connected to the Cleveland situation even if Sorkin didn’t write the episode

By: Stephen

Stephen — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:14:06 +0000

“Well, my take on the election was that the live debate episode skewed so badly against Vinick that it could have accounted for Santos winning.”

Maybe, but Santos was so far behind that even winning the debate wouldn’t have done anything (the electoral math just doesn’t work for a Democrat who can’t win California, even if he does win Texas). That’s why they had the nuclear accident episode – to get things close, they needed to hit Vinick badly with an October Surprise.

By: sean

sean — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 23:21:23 +0000

“I did not follow Sorkin’s take on message boards for his next series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, but I can’t imagine, if he had any dealings at all, that they would be pleasant ones.”

I don’t remember it exactly, but I believe that ‘Studio 60′ took some potshots at Internet posters, for sure. I believe they did at least an episode, if not a plotline, based on the Cleveland situation.

The reason I’m pretty sure is that reading up on those episodes at TWOP was why I had heard of these stories already.

By: David A. Spitzley

David A. Spitzley — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:23:41 +0000

Well, my take on the election was that the live debate episode skewed so badly against Vinick that it could have accounted for Santos winning. I really expected more from the writers, but it seemed like they handed Santos every question (and this is someone who was rooting for Santos).

By: Darren Ellis

Darren Ellis — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 22:55:57 +0000

In a future Legend about The West Wing, you might want to cover the fact that the show was initially intended to be a show solely about the staff. The president wasn’t even supposed to be seen except the back of the head. I don’t know, maybe that is too “well known” for it to be much of a Legend.

By: David Markham

David Markham — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:43:20 +0000

I knew that was what had happened with that election. Not a huge fan of the show, I was taken in by the election process and watched for much of that storyline. It seemed clear that the Alda character would win. The preposterous notion that the American people would allow the death of a VP candidate affect their decision *in favor* of said ticket felt wrong at the time. I can see people (on Election Night, mind you) wanting to *avoid* the ticket because you no longer know what you’re getting. But surging *towards* a situation like that which will inevitably lead to a big fight for the new VP? No, it rang false.

I also thought it was a mistake from the perspective of a production trying to extend the life of the show. By giving the election to Santos, they basically said “Here’s some more of the same stuff you’ve kind of gotten tired of watching!” A political shift would have truly breathed life into the show. Instead they went with sentimental claptrap and nailed shut the coffin.

By: Brian Cronin

Brian Cronin — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:48:59 +0000

Oh, good call, Aito! Thanks!

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 12:21:02 +0000

The “LemonLyman.com” bit is still one of my favorite bits from the show. It’s freaking dead-on about Internet message boards, especially when fan-pro interactions turn ugly.

By: Aito Simpson Steele

Aito Simpson Steele — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 11:42:44 +0000

Another great entry.
The statuses for the first set of legends seem to be reversed, however.