 |
 |
 |
|
         |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
path: Home/Information for Third Season Episodes
- How does the Bartlet Censure Resolution Read?
- "Whereas in his conduct in the office of the President of the United States, Josiah Bartlet has engaged in a course of deceitful and dishonest conduct designed to impede and deny the disclosure of vital matters of public concern, the United States Congress hereby condemns him for acting in a manner contrary to his trust as President, and to great prejudice to the cause of justice, and to the manifest injury of the American people." House Secretary reading it.
- Is it possible to see a copy of that 1709 map of the Holy Land?
- Sharon Templeton posted to MightyBigTV that she had tracked down the map and she sent us a link to it. She says, "When Charlie brings out the map for Bartlet, he explains that it was drawn in 1709 and that it was entitled -- 'Canaan, Palestine or The Holy Land'. That's the title and date I used in my search.
Charlie and Bartlet rolled-out the map onto the desk. It is clearly the map that was produced by Herman Moll and which you'll find at the above link. The complete title of the map is -- 'Canaan, Palestine or The Holy Land & Co. Divided into the twelve tribes of Israel'.
- How many words are there in The Ten Commandments? Government Regulations?
- Luna Azul posted a link on MightyBigTV's Forum to a website that debunked an old myth about the length of government regulations including one about cabbages. Their example has the following list: Urban Legends Reference Pages - Of Cabbages and Kingmakers
Then the page goes on to say:
- Pythagorean theorem: 24 words
- The Lord's Prayer: 66 words
- Archimedes' Principle: 67 words
- The Ten Commandments: 179 words
- The Gettysburg Address: 286 words
- The Declaration of Independence: 1,300 words
- The US government regulations on the sale of cabbage: 26,911 words
"Versions of the showcased list have been around for at least a half a century, with earlier ones decrying a memo by the government of France specifying the price of duck eggs, a British one referring to "shell eggs," and an American one (from 1953) about fresh fruits. While not all accounts agree on the precise number of words used in the various religious and patriotic texts pointed to as effective models of brevity, the 26,911 words expended in the cabbage tome eerily remains almost constant."In addition Government Executive Magazine's "West Wing" Watch: A guide for the discriminating viewer describes Donna referring to how regulations ". . . take 6,000 words to describe how to arrange air travel." and then the page says, "Travel regulations have recently been rewritten in plain English to deal with the problem."
On the other hand The Ten Commandments, in most English versions of Exodus, is a lot more than 173 or 179 words.
- Who are Ed and Larry?
- Ed and Larry have been West Wing staffers since the first episode. They don't appear in every episode but they appear on a semi-regular basis like when there is a staff meeting. In the pilot, they argued with Sam about using stats on gun control. They alternated speaking and we do not believe it was ever revealed in this scene which one was Ed and which Larry:
"Don't use those stats. . . . The assault stats. . . . The assault stats are wrong," they say, alternating back and forth and reinforcing each other.
"We got them from your office," Sam says.
"And we got them from HUD."
"And they're wrong?"
"Even if they were right, don't use 'em."
"Well, A) Let's make 'em right, and B) Why can't I use 'em?
"The 76 year old grandmother. . . . Every time we use those assault stats, Carr and Gilmore come back ---"
"Who's the 76 year old ---" Sam asks.
"'Every day, 17,000 Americans defend themselves with a gun, including ---"
"That's flat-out not true."
"--- including a 76 year old grandmother in Chicago who defended herself against an intruder in the middle of the night. . . . Just don't use the stats."
In #11 "Lord John Marbury" Ed and Larry briefed C.J.,Toby and Sam on India and Pakistan with information they acquired from the Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Neither has ever appeared in a scene without the other and until episode #54 there has been little that told the viewers which one was which. This was mentioned in forums where fans discuss the show like the West Wing Forum at Mighty Big TV to which Aaron Sorkin has sometimes posted. So, it seems, Sorkin decided to have some fun with these two and their appearances so far.- Jeremy Templeton created "a rough transcription of those portions of the State of the Union that were not entirely buried beneath the central dialogue." His transcription was posted on Mighty Big TV's West Wing Forum and "includes notes taken from the overhead monitors which displayed the blue-red-green lines that marked audience response to Bartlet's speech."
Where Mr. Templeton was uncertain of the words, he placed the words in brackets with a question mark. He is interested in getting corrections and additions if anyone wants to use this as a starting point to go back over the speech.
By the way, Mr. Templeton thinks "there may have been a few nonsense lines and jokes planted in the text that Bartlet read. Perhaps someone with sharp ears can verify these little oddities:"
- [Applause]
"For the upcoming year, let us prepare to pledge to support (that?) every child in America will enter our educational system prepared to learn and graduate prepared to succeed. No child will be raised in poverty. And no senior citizen will (age?). We will meet the challenge of ensuring long (?) and affordable healthcare for all Americans. And we will leave a safer cleaner planet for future generations.
[Applause] Not all of our goals are reachable in our time but I have the utmost confidence in the American government and the American people that whether it be two years or twenty years this great nation will achieve its goals."
[Speech grows silent while Joey and Sam explain the dial readings to Lisa. Joey said, "When we say something is liberal like..." Sam helps out, "Death is bad." Joey continued, "Right..."] [The volume of audible background noise.]
"...that is under perpetual construction."
[Mild Applause]
"Thankfully we are fortunate enough to have (free and accomplished states?)..."
[Bartlet's voice is now front and center as the camera pans to the overhead monitors which display the response of the dial group.]
[Time - 37:00] [R - 30, D - 65, I - 50] [Time 37:20] [R - 45, D -65, I - 50]
"...capable of leading that march. I have abiding respect for the Speaker of the House and the Majority Leader. They are men of fundamental decency and public servants of purpose."
[Time - 37:42] [R - 53, D - 42, I - 44] [Applause]
"And I would like to extend my gratitude to the men and women of both chambers who have labored to shed the weight of partisanship and don the cloak of progress."
[Time - 38:00] [R - 55, D - 60, I - 50]
"It may be said that in the last half century America won the Cold War and modelled freedom for a waiting world."
[Sam grows silent and stares expectantly at the monitor]
"Today we are faced with a new challenge. Now in a new century when we meet and master new forms of aggression and hatred, ignorance and evil, our vigilance in the face of oppression and global terror
[Sam doesn't breath as he hangs on every word] will be unequalled by any moment in human history."
[Standing ovation] [Time - 40:48] [R - 90, D - 80, I - 70] [Lisa nods and says, "Now you're cooking."]
"And to the enemies of freedom, the enemies of democracy, the enemies of America, the enemies of humanity itself we say here tonight with one voice:
[Sam stiffens his posture and stares steely-eyed with pride.]
There is no corner of this earth so remote, no cave so dark, that you will not be found.
[Time - 41:10] [R - 60, D - 66, I - 62]
and brought to light and ended."
[Standing ovation] [The reaction of the dial group is not shown to us but Lisa exclaims: That's a number spike. Sam orders: Crank that up. Lisa: You broke 65 on all the lines.]- The display on the overhead monitors indicated that the reaction of the dial group "broke" 65 after Bartlet spoke about global terrorism. In Joey's announcement at the end of the episode, she said that something had happened at the half-hour mark. Based on this partial transcription it looks like we saw the "turning point" of Bartlet's speech.
SiteMap | About Us | Home
