What Kind of Day Has It Been
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| The West Wing episode | |
| "What Kind of Day Has It Been" | |
| Episode no. | 22 |
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| Prod. code | 225921 |
| Orig. airdate | May 7, 2000 |
| Writer(s) | Aaron Sorkin |
| Director | Thomas Schlamme |
| Guest star(s) | Timothy Busfield Jorja Fox Janel Moloney Elisabeth Moss Suzy Nakamura Michael O'Neill John Amos Tim Matheson |
| Season 1 September 22 1999 – May 17 2000 |
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| List of all West Wing episodes... | |
"What Kind of Day Has It Been" is the 22nd episode of The West Wing, the season finale of the show's first season. It's also the name of the 23rd episode of the series Sports Night, by the same creators (Thomas Schlamme & Aaron Sorkin).
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[edit] Plot
"What Kind of Day Has it Been?" begins in dramatic fashion, with Secret Service Agent Gina Toscano catching sight of shooters in the window of a building and yelling a warning. The story is then told in retrospect, going back to the start of the day, with President Bartlet preparing for a question and answer session that evening in the Press Room. Meanwhile, the Secret Service are becoming increasingly concerned about threats on the life of the President's youngest daughter, Zoey, and her black boyfriend, the President's personal aide, Charlie, from White Supremacist groups. In addition to this, the military are performing a delicate rescue mission of an American pilot, stranded in Iraq, with Iraqi security forces trying to find him. And Toby is worried, because his brother is in a space shuttle orbiting the Earth but unable to land due to some technical problems.
The evening is a great success for the whole Bartlet administration. The pilot was saved without any bloodshed and while Bartlet is answering questions, the news comes through that the shuttle carrying Toby's brother is safe. As the senior staff come out of the building laughing and joking, Gina tells Zoey to get in the car, made nervous by the sight of a skinhead who doesn't seem to fit with the crowd. Suddenly, he looks up to a window and removes his hat, before disappearing. As Gina turns around, she spots the shooters in a window (as she did at the very start of the episode) and yells a warning. Suddenly shots ring out. Scenes show each member of the senior staff being thrown to the ground by agents and chaos erupting. As the scene pans out to show the carnage, a police radio can be heard saying 'Who's been hit?!! Who's been hit?!!'
[edit] Critical Reaction
Critics were raving about the first season of "the West Wing". However, there was a negative response to "What Kind of Day Has It Been", because critics felt the cliffhanger was a cliché.
The cast defended the season's finale:
"It's not about who's coming back and who's not, ... but a kind of convention that he's [Aaron Sorkin] interested in exploring." - John Spencer
"The fact that he's [Aaron Sorkin] using it now when we don't need it is further evidence that it's not part of [a audience-grabbing] plan." - Richard Schiff
"There were complaints about the last scene, ... That was interesting to me that people were upset about that, just because assassination attempts are something that happened three times in my lifetime ... somebody has shot at the president. A lot of the appeal for the show is what goes on behind the castle walls. ... And to see what happens at a White House when shots are fired at the president is fascinating." - Bradley Whitford
[edit] Awards
The West Wing's first season finale was nominated for one Emmy award: Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Series - Tina Hirsch (for episode "What Kind Of Day Has It Been".) "The West Wing" had two nominations for the 2000 Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Series Emmy. Bill Johnson (IV); was also nominated for the episode "In Excelsis Deo". ER has won the award though.
"What Kind of Day Has It Been" is one of eight episodes that were submitted for the Outstanding Drama Series Emmy, which the first season won. The other seven episodes were: The Pilot, The Crackpots and These Women, In Excelsis Deo, Take This Sabbath Day, Celestial Navigation, The White House Pro-Am, and Let Bartlet Be Bartlet.
The first season of the West Wing won a total of 9 Emmys.
Best Edited One-Hour Series for Television Win for Tina Hirsch, A.C.E.
[edit] Sports Night
The creator of the series The West Wing, Aaron Sorkin, is also the creator of the series Sports Night. "What Kind of Day Has It Been", the title of the "The West Wing" season finale, is also the title of the season 1 finale of Sports Night. Both episodes were written by Aaron Sorkin and directed by Thomas Schlamme, an executive producer on both series.
Speaking of season finales, we're all in D.C. filming TWW's first. You're right, that I took the same title at the 1st SN [Sports Night] finale. There was just something that felt right about doing that. - Aaron Sorkin
Also in the Sports Night "What Kind of Day Has It Been" episode, Casey tells his son that "the only thing you have to do to make me and your mom happy is to come home at the end of the night", a line President Bartlet paraphrases to his daughter Ellie (played by Nina Siemaszko) in The West Wing. Nina Siemaszko also guest-stars in this episode.
Timothy Busfield, who directed Sports Night episodes 39 and 44, guest-stars in The West Wing "What Kind of Day Has It Been" as White House reporter Danny Concannon
[edit] Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Some sources have reported that Sorkin's third television series, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, will include an episode - also to be shown as the finale of the first season - entitled "What Kind of Day Has It Been?"
[edit] External links
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