Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

The West Wing, Season 5, Episode 8 (Patreon)

Published:
2024-08-05 21:18:36
Imported:
2026-06
haven't archived this post yet. have a subscription? use the importer!

Downloads

  • 337409195.txt

Missing 1 file, as this post has not yet been imported.

Content

Shutdown

Comments

Joy M

Deputy Director of Regulatory Intrusion is my new title.

Imagine Nat

Yes there was a shut down during the Obama administration because it was when I was visiting DC! And my tour of the White House got cancelled! Still salty. What are the odds.

Pam Nail

Easily one of the best episodes of the season -- it's my second favorite of S5 and it's in my top 20 for the series overall. Love how Russell's line about "a guy taking a walk" becomes foreshadowing. And that walk to the Capitol is a move that only Josh seemed primed to make. I also love that Donna got to make a big save too. I also love that they brought Abby back, even if things still aren't okay between her and Jed yet. I feel like she came back at least partly out of a sense of duty as the First Lady -- separate from the marriage issues. The Chief Justice hasn't resigned. The last thing we saw from him was him saying he couldn't take the chance because Bartlet couldn't get a decent nominee confirmed.

ScarlettMi

This is one of my favourite season five episodes.

Yannick Denis-Trudel

Wait.... WHAT???? Rounders is MUST SEE! Definitely, put it to a vote I'm confident. Excellent poker movie, very well depicting the times it was shot (so before the ESPN craze on Chris Moneymaker and the live WSOP feedback on live tv) Now, for this episode, I've always felt that the blunder Hafley does by not seeing the President when he was at his door is a Deus Ex Machina IMO. He's that good with image and PR, he knows that he's got Bartlet in his grasp and could milk it much more than what he got. And because of that, Hafley folds on EVERYTHING and signs the Budget?? Come on, waaaaay too easy to end this conundrum.

Michelle Taylor

The Government Employee Fair Treatment Act, signed into law in 2019, guarantees that furloughed government employees receive backpay once a shutdown ends. However, federal contractors impacted are not guaranteed backpay. What is the impact on U.S. military personnel and federal law enforcement? I believe that when Congress decides to shut down the government, its members should forfeit their pay and medical benefits, without the option of back pay. Here is a thought. Tax the wealthy and corporations!!!!

Weird Magic

Do this in your best Chandler Bing voice... "Could she BE any more like Monica Lewinsky?" Kind of hit us over the head with a sledgehammer on her casting in this episode. For those that don't know, Monica Lewinsky was an intern that...ahem..."got close" with President Clinton during the November 1995 shutdown. Originally airing on November 19, 2003, 'Shutdown' is Episode 8 of Season 5 of The West Wing. It is the 97th episode overall and has an IMDB rating of 8.7, placing it as the #2 ranked episode of this season and #20 out of all the episodes shown so far. One of my favs of the entire Series, this one (and the #1 for Season 5) both land top 10 overall for me.

Cosmic Slice

I have always loved this episode. After the whole kidnapping and reprecussions after the fact, this is the episode where everything gets back on track. When Josh finally gets his redemption and he and Bartlett are on the same page...those are the moments I kinda enjoy. :)

Michelle Taylor

During the COVID-19 pandemic, *The West Wing* produced a live stage episode to support the actors' guild. This episode was a recreation of the Season 3 installment "Hartsfield's Landing" and was filmed at the Orpheum Theatre in Los Angeles, California. It premiered on October 15, 2020, on HBO Max.

D Gyre

This is the arc where I feel the new staff really find themselves and how they want to do the show. This is a great episode, not just for the events and Josh's redemption, but the importance of Abby to the president and the show. They'd (too much in my opinion) kept her absent for most of the previous episodes leading up to this, and we do get that one line "we miss you" that helps us as the audience realize her absence has more than just a personal impact. The whole sequence, her return, prompting the president to take action, bring Josh off the bench, all of it, was brilliant. I'm sure others might disagree, but I think this mostly ends the run of 'less good' episodes. Not saying there aren't ups and downs, but you still have regular hits, so its just a few less exciting episodes here and there until.... ....well you'll find out the until in good time.

D Gyre
>>145730476

Oddly enough I never caught this until I finally got tired of being confused by this side character's arc and googled it online. Just because she dresses/acts a little different? It never made sense to me.

Yannick Denis-Trudel

Post watch comment: The Chief Justice did NOT resign last episode. He instead said to Bartlet that he couldn't because of the weak hand Bartlet has and he couldn't propose a qualified candidate to replace him. I agree that Joshua Malina is doing a great job, and his character declared his independence and not too boy scout demeanor quite early on through his arc in season 4 when he answered to Toby "Not your FedEx guy" in regards to not giving him Sam's note about Will being one of them...

Mithroch

I can't get behind the take Josh Malina is a better actor than Rob Lowe. Malina is a solid actor... but there are times where he simply over acts. I think this is a product of, at the time, being a more experienced stage actor than film. Rob Lowe is natural and reserved in his process.

Jeff

The government shutdown of 1995-96, upon which this story is generally based, involved Bill Clinton and Newt Gingrich. Gingrich greatly underestimated Clinton's resolve during the negotiations and was blindsided when Clinton didn't back down. It was reported that Clinton said he didn't care how low his approval numbers dropped, he was not cutting Medicare. That shutdown lasted for five days in November, then another twenty-one days over the holidays. According to The West Wing Weekly podcast, Obama's shutdown of 2013 involved a "life-imitating-art-imitating-life" moment. During a stressful point in the negotiations, Obama reportedly said, "Why don't we just pull a Bartlet and walk down there?"

MrRuss50
>>145729853

Rounders is THE poker movie. Any and every poker enthusiast knows the movie word for word. Edward Norton is especially good but excellent performances all around. I can however already hear Kevin complaining about Malkovich's Russian accent :)

Cristy

Great episode! Rina was highly entertaining. I also think Donna needs to be promoted to at least special assistant so if there's another shutdown she's not sidelined. I mean the fact she's not considered special already is a crime lol.

Youtalkingtome
>>145738858

I think for me it's all just technicality. Malina has stage training and as far as overacting goes, maybe he is more inclined to be on the stage and that's why it seems so big. I LOVE Rob Lowe, I was just comparing the two.

Youtalkingtome
>>145733653

Well I can't wait to get there. Loved all the storylines in this episode. Abby, Josh, Jed, everyone was fantastic.

Youtalkingtome
>>145728639

Yes, we flubbed on The Chief Justice resignation. I need more Jed and Abby scenes. Very strong episode, if not the best of the season so far

Youtalkingtome
>>145749364

It was great. Everyone has been down this season (from the kidnapping on for obvious reasons), and this felt like the official bounce-back for the administration and the characters.

Youtalkingtome
>>145738858

Kevin here. This is a point on which Joe and I disagree. Both are skilled actors (roles on this show weren't handed out lightly), but I do think Rob Lowe as Sam Seaborn was a standout and the stronger performance of the two.

Joy M
>>145729853

I haven’t heard a good Deus Ex Machina reference in a while. Merci, Yannick.

Joy M
>>145730184

The military are under orders and are not covered by the GEFT Act of 2019. During a shutdown, we civilians are usually given a couple of days notice that it could happen as the current fiscal year ends on Sept 30 or that a CR is ending at midnight on X date. We are told if there’s a shutdown that all leave is canceled and who is essential and non essential. We also receive instructions on how to sign our furlough papers. In the old days we’d drive to work and physically sign them with our supervisors, get a copy and leave. Now it’s all electronic and we do it from our laptops at home.

Joy M
>>145730184

Most of the time it’s just a couple of days and people just stay home, watch the news, and do some chores they’ve been putting off. I’ve never been to a shutdown party. My mom was a federal employee back in the Clinton/Gingrich era and they would file for unemployment and then get the back pay and have to pay their states back and it was a mess.

Paul T Hewes
>>145748195

Rina was another one of the "lets throw this on the wall and see if it sticks" characters the writers tried. I dont know what their plans were for her were, but it looked like she was a Randi-esque character from "ER" (another John Wells production). Smart, sassy, tight clothes.

Paul T Hewes
>>145738858

Malina is an actor, but not a lot else. He (by his own admission on the West Wing Weekly Podcast multiple times) does not go outside of what is on the page written for him. He didnt improve or deviate. He has no real interest in his character's motivations outside of what the writers tell him the motivations are.

Kelsey Krehbiel

One of the biggest effects of a government shutdown that doesn't get touched on in this episode is on the actual city of Washington. A lot of people forget, but because DC isn't a state, the budget is overseen and operated by the federal government. One of the first things that has to happen in a shutdown is an agreement of an operating budget for DC, otherwise city employees--police officers, trash collectors, teachers, etc. won't get paid. I worked for the public schools in DC during the shutdown in 2013. Conversations in the breakroom turned to what we would do if we weren't going to get paid (which was what would have happened if the shutdown continued a few days longer than it did). Would teachers just be expected to keep showing up regardless? And frankly--how few of us would be able to afford to.

James B.

The Haffley Time cover seems like foreshadowing. It was Josh's cover story that presaged his downfall.

Daniel Lydford

I don't know how many times I've seen this episode, and never noticed the peanut butter lid continuity error.

Daniel Lydford

The whole scene with President Bartlet walking to the Capitol works politically for the Administration because the Republican leadership don't know that he's coming. With the shutdown the Republicans don't have any staffers, and no one is watching TV to tell them what's happening.