Hartsfield's Landing
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| “Hartsfield's Landing” | |
|---|---|
| The West Wing episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 58 |
| Written by | Aaron Sorkin |
| Directed by | Vincent Misiano |
| Guest stars | Anna Deavere Smith James Hong NiCole Robinson James Keane Gregalan Williams Thomas Kopache Dennis Cockrum |
| Production no. | 227215 |
| Original airdate | February 27, 2002 |
| Season 3 episodes | |
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| List of The West Wing episodes | |
"Hartsfield's Landing" is episode 58 of The West Wing.
[edit] Plot
Bartlet engages both Sam and Toby in intricate chess matches that mirror the wily game of brinksmanship that Bartlet is playing with the Chinese, who are conducting war games in the Taiwan Strait. The Chinese threaten real war if Taiwan begins test firing its new U.S.-made Patriot defense missiles, so a Navy group is ordered to be sent into the area. Leo laments how dangerous the area is (second only to Kashmir for global risk) and Josh wonders about the price of supporting Taiwan against such pressure. President Bartlet has just returned from a successful trip to India and the chess sets were a gift from the Indian Prime Minister. During the game with Sam, he is subtly but clearly giving Sam more information about the international crisis and testing his younger staffer's instincts in the process; during Toby's game, he is ending his estrangement from Toby that began during "The Two Bartlets" and grappling with the issue of how to win an election versus the Republicans and their anti-intellectual campaign. Toby pitches an idea about education and "qualified versus un-qualified" that the President likes. Sam figures out that the President put together an arms deal that would save face for China and give Taiwan room to test a few Patriots, and is in awe of this. President Bartlet tells Sam he'll run for President one day and that he can get the job done.
Meanwhile, Josh is nervous about the 42 votes in a remote New Hampshire town called Hartsfield's Landing, which are counted immediately and always predict the winner of the presidential election. He send Donna outside into the February night's chill to make phone calls, and they both are surprised by a couple who campaigned for Bartlet before but are now supporting the Republican candidate. When Josh learns the issue is salmon fishing rights, he first tries to strong-arm the couple, then finally tells them to vote the way they feel is right.
A mischievous C.J. tries to upset Charlie by hiding his copy of the President's private daily schedule—prompting a spat of playful tricks that start funny (Charlie swaps C.J.'s ID with his so she gets frisked by the Secret Service after a pizza run) and turn kind of mean (C.J. refiles a key brief where Charlie can't find it). The prank war ends when Leo tells them to knock it off, but Charlie had a final gag set up: he makes C.J.'s desk collapse.
[edit] Trivia
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- Dulé Hill, who plays Charlie Young, was nominated for an Emmy in 2002 for his performances in this and the Enemies Foreign and Domestic episodes.[1]
- The fictional town of Hartsfield's Landing is loosely based on the true communities of Hart's Location and Dixville Notch.
- The actual community of Hart's Location, which declares its primary results early, is very close to a town called Bartlett.
- The Taiwan Strait crisis depicted in this episode exhibits many similarities with the Third Taiwan Strait Crisis of 1996.
