"Lord John Marbury" | |
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The West Wing episode | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 11 |
Directed by | Kevin Rodney Sullivan |
Written by | Aaron Sorkin & Patrick Caddell (teleplay) Patrick Caddell & Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. (story) |
Production code | 225910 |
Original air date | January 5, 2000 |
Guest stars | |
Season 1 episodes | |
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List of The West Wing episodes |
"Lord John Marbury" is the 11th episode of The West Wing. Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was quoted in Time magazine as saying this episode had one of the best expositions on foreign policy she'd seen on TV.[1]
Contents |
The Kashmir border powderkeg becomes more explosive when the Indian army invades Pakistani-held territory, making the threat of a nuclear confrontation frighteningly real to President Bartlet, who calls in Lord John Marbury, an eccentric British diplomat with ties to both warring nations—and a weakness for booze and women. An angry Josh is subpoenaed to testify as the investigation into substance abuse among White House staffers grinds on towards its inevitable target: chief of staff Leo McGarry. Mandy floats a trial balloon among the staff to test their reaction to her notion of representing a liberal Republican. The President is surprised when Charlie asks him if he can date his daughter Zoey, but eventually consents.
Marbury is described as "former British Ambassador to India" but should be called the "former British High Commissioner to India", as both India and the United Kingdom are members of the Commonwealth of Nations; the diplomatic representative of one Commonwealth nation to another is called "High Commissioner", not "Ambassador".
During the opening sequence the Indian naval force is described as 'two CVEs, and four destroyers' Throughout the remainder of the show, these numbers are reversed. In addition, a "CVE" is the US Navy designation for an escort carrier from the WWII era. India has only had 2 aircraft carriers in service, the INS Vikrant (in service 1957-1997) and the INS Viraat (in service 1987–present), neither of them being escort carriers.
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