Timeline skew theories for The West Wing

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In the American serial drama The West Wing, the timeline of the show differs from that of the real world, leading to many timeline skew theories for The West Wing.

The passage of time on the show relative to that of the real world has always been somewhat ambiguous. Sorkin, the show's creator, has noted in a DVD commentary track for the second season episode "18th and Potomac" that he has tried to avoid tying The West Wing to a specific period of time.^[1] Despite this, real years are occasionally mentioned, usually in the context of elections and President Bartlet's two-term administration. When The West Wing premiered in late 1999, the Bartlet administration was said to have been in office for a little less than a year, implying that President Jed Bartlet was initially elected in 1998. ^[2] In real life, U.S. presidential elections are held in years divisible by four, that is, 1996, 2000, and 2004. To date, the program has never discussed how the election cycle was altered by two years from reality. Although, at one point, the timeline in The West Wing matched up with that of the real world, it appears that in the middle of the fifth season a year was lost. For example, the filing deadline for the New Hampshire primary, which would normally fall in January 2006, appeared in an episode airing in January 2005.^[3]

Contents 1 Creative intent 2 Comparison with the real world 3 Twenty-Fifth Amendment 4 References 5 See also

[edit] Creative intent

In interviews, John Wells, the show's producer, stated that the series began one and a half years into Bartlet's first term and that the election to replace Bartlet is being held at the correct time.^[4] His view is supported by the fictional campaign blogs for Matthew Santos and Arnold Vinick that are available at the official NBC website. There was one blog entry dated Tuesday, October 4, which was a Tuesday in 2005, not in 2006 ^[5].

In an interview with The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Aaron Sorkin stated:

Well, in fact, the universe of "The West Wing" is two years off of reality. So we have midterm elections [in the second] season, and they are eager to win the House back. In the season opening two-part episode, we go into extended flashback sequences to three years ago the original primary campaign, showing how all of these people came together in the first place. But hopefully we'll be on the air long enough so that he can run for election again.^[6]

There is still evidence against Sorkin and Wells's claim. At the end of series six in the episode "2162 votes" when the Santos and Josh Lyman walk into the convention centre a banner saying "Democratic Convention 2006" can be seen.^[7] Also in the series seven episode "The Last Hurrah" when the Santos are looking at a school a display behind saying "our last year 2006" can be seen. ^[8]

The other major flaw in the Wells's theory is the missing 2004 midterm elections. Later in the 2004 season, they are spoken of in the past tense and as happening a year ago, but they are never seen on screen.^[9] The shutdown of the government which happened in 2003 in season five is said to have taken place "two years ago", just a year later in season six. These comments are totally at odds with the Wells's theory.^[10]

[edit] Comparison with the real world

Several former U.S. presidents and federal officers have been mentioned in the show including Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Donald Rumsfeld.^[11] Executive Order 11905 is also mentioned; it was signed by President Ford in 1976.^[12] President Ronald Reagan's name appears on the George Washington University Hospital where President Bartlet and Josh Lyman were treated for gunshot wounds, as can be seen during exterior shots, as seen to the right.^[13]

In a scene in the White House Situation Room at the start of the first-season finale, "What Kind of Day Has It Been," photographs of four real-life Presidents can be seen: Nixon, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton, then the real-life incumbents.^[14] The West Wing presidents following Nixon include Democrat D. Wire Newman (James Cromwell) and Republican Owen Lassiter. The show has stated that there were four Republican presidents in the last thirty years.^[15] Nixon and Lassiter are two of these.

In The West Wing universe, the Republican candidate for president has twice won 49 out of 50 states in the last thirty years, as mentioned in seasons six and seven several times by political consultant Bruno Gianelli (Ron Silver)^[15]- a reference to the real world victories of Richard Nixon in the 1972 election and Ronald Reagan in the 1984 election. As in the real world, no Senator has won a Presidential election since 1960, meaning that D. Wire Newman and Owen Lassiter were not Senators when they ran for President.

[edit] Twenty-Fifth Amendment

An article in an issue of the British magazine TV Zone has put forward a reason for the change in the election cycle. It suggests that the 25th Amendment, passed in 1967 in the real world, was not passed in The West Wing universe, and therefore the office of Vice-President was left unfilled when Spiro Agnew resigned. Following the resignation of President Richard Nixon,Speaker of the House Carl Albert (D-OK) would have become president. The article suggests that Albert was reluctant to reverse the mandate of the 1972 Republican landslide victory and served only until a special presidential election could be called for Tuesday, November 5, 1974. In order for Ford to have served as president, he would have had to run in this special election and win.^[16]

This theory was rebutted in the second season's premiere, in which press inquiries center around provisions in the 25th Amendment regarding Presidential succession and President Bartlet's not having ceded power to Vice President John Hoynes when he went under anaesthesia, and in the fourth season's final episode, "Twenty-Five," when Bartlet invokes the 25th Amendment to temporarily resign the presidency in the wake of his daughter's kidnapping.^[13] The amendment is invoked again the next season, with the appointment of Rep. Bob Russell as vice president.^[17] The sixth-season episode "A Good Day" mentions that the 26th Amendment was ratified, as in reality, in 1971.^[18] This means that the 25th Amendment was already in place when Agnew resigned, negating the specific explanation given by TV Zone.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of characters on The West Wing
• List of politicians on The West Wing
• List of episodes of The West Wing