The West Wing

Season 7

The Ticket

1. This is the first episode that Kristin Chenoweth is listed in the main opening credits.
2. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by C.J. (Allison Janney).
3. Annabeth (Kristin Chenoweth) and Josh (Bradley Whitford) discuss a political cartoon using the Wizard of Oz, Kristin Chenoweth played Glinda in the Broadway musical Wicked, which is about the land of Oz before Dorothy got there.
4. This is Oliver Platt's first appearance on the show since the season 3 episode The West Wing: Gone Quiet (2001).
5. The first section of the episode was filmed entirely at the University of Southern California. President Bartlet (Martin Sheen)'s library is Doheny Library, starting in the Los Angeles Times reference rooms then moving into the lobby. Congressman Santos gives his speech across Alumni Park in Bovard Auditorium. It is possible to see the library from the first scene in the opening shots of the second.
6. In the opening scene C.J. jokes with the retired President Bartlet about Santa Monica being his "kind of town", then responds to his question with "not really". In fact actor Martin Sheen was a very politically involved resident of Santa Monica.
7. David Garrison has a small part as a television political analyses. During Season 2, Ted McGinley played the host of a political analysis show. Both Garrison and McGinley had previous played the husband of Marcy from Married with Children (1986). Furthermore, last season, Ed O'Neill had a role as a governor who was campaigning to be the Democratic Presidental nominatee.
8. In the opening scene, taking part three years in the future, Toby Zeigler (Richard Schiff) teaching at Columbia University, meaning the question that hung over most of the rest of the season, right up to the final minutes of the finale - whether Toby would go to jail or be pardoned - had already been answered.
9. A reporter asks Leo McGarry about his cardiac health, which he says is fine. At one point Leo also says that this could give him a second heart attack. Sadly and ironically, the actor, John Spencer would die from a massive heart attack less than three months after this episode aired.
10. When it seems that Leo McGarry (John Spencer) is getting cold feet about his role on the ticket, Santos (Jimmy Smits) says he can only get out of it by going back on the bottle or by having a heart attack. A few months later John Spencer, the actor playing McGarry, did die of a heart attack, forcing the producers to change the storyline. This scene thus becomes gruesomely prescient.

The Mommy Problem

1. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by Toby (Richard Schiff).
2. First episode since first season that Dule Hill wasn't on the opening credits.
3. From this episode forward, Dulé Hill, Joshua Malina and Janel Moloney are only shown in the title credits when they actually appear in the episode (as was already the case with Stockard Channing). Their places in the title sequence are filled with generic visuals when they do not appear.
4. There is an allusion to an address given by President John F. Kennedy to a group of Nobel Prize winners who were honoured with a dinner at the White House. President Kennedy said: "I think this is the most extraordinary collection of talent, of human knowledge, that has ever been gathered together at the White House, with the possible exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone." In the present episode, Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) says to a group of media consultants: "This is probably the greatest assemblage of Democratic talent since the last time Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen) dined alone."
5. This is Janeane Garofalo's first appearance as media consultant Louise "Lou" Thornton.
6. It is claimed that Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) has postponed his service 41% of the time. Later in the episode, Lou (Janeane Garofalo) says that he postponed it 5 out of 13 times. Postponing it 5 times out of 13 would be 38%, not 41%.

Message of the Week

1. Ron Silver, who played Bruno Gianelli, was a long-time Democrat. He switched sides and actually spoke at the 2004 RNC, mimicking his character (Bruno Gianelli), who switched sides from working with the Democratic Bartlett White House to working with the Presidential Republican Arnold Vinick Campaign.
2. At about the same time as this episode aired, a real-life news story developed that closely followed the plot. In the show, a religious conservative claims to have private assurances from Vinick that future Supreme Court appointments would be "anti-abortion". In real life, a conservative leader claimed that he had similar inside information about the President's most recent nominee for the Supreme Court. It's common for West Wing to develop plots loosely based on news stories, but unusual for a news story to develop at about the same time as a similar plot thread from the show.
3. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by C.J. (Allison Janney).
4. At this point in the series, the episode is tied with The West Wing: The Long Goodbye (2003) for fewest main cast members appearing in an episode at three. It was surpassed later in the season in The West Wing: The Debate (2005).
5. In this episode Bruno (Ron Silver) tells Shelia (Patricia Richardson) and Vinick (Alan Alda) that a senator hasn't been elected since 1960, referring to John F. Kennedy. Three years after this episode was aired, in the 2008 Presidential Election Senator Barack Obama was elected to become the 44th President. However, Obama's Republican opponent was fellow Senator John McCain.
6. Gov. Ray Sullivan (Brett Cullen) tells the pro-life representative that he always appointed pro-life judges while he was Governor of West Virginia and will have the same point of view when he becomes Vice President. But real judges in West Virginia are not appointed; they are elected.
7. Arnold Vinick states that he is not a veteran of a foreign war. Alan Alda, who actually did serve in the military, including a tour in Korea, is best known for playing Captain Hawkeye Pierce on the show M*A*S*H (1972).
8. Episode highlights guest appearance by Chris Matthews and his MSNBC show, Hardball with Chris Matthews (1997).
9. Episode co-stars William Russ and Ron Silver were each featured in different multi-episode story arcs on the series Wiseguy (1987).
10. This episode aired in 2005... Just 4 years before Ron Silver's death to esophageal cancer.

Mr. Frost

1. CJ's fishbowl: In this episode the fishbowl has what appears to be a crystal like Frost in reference to the person Mr. Frost. In the first scene in CJ's office there is coffee cup in front of the fishbowl, but when the cameras pan back, you can see the frost. The fishbowl is very clearly seen several times in this episode.
2. In this episode the French president's name is D'astier the same name the French President had in an American president in which Martin Sheen starred.
3. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by Leo (John Spencer).
4. This is the first episode in which we learn Margaret (NiCole Robinson)'s last name: Hooper.

Here Today

1. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by Toby (Richard Schiff).
2. Episode Title: "Here Today" The title "Here Today" refers the old saying "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow" highlighting the staffing changes that took place in both Bartlet's White House and the Santos/McGarry Campaign.
3. The plot was likely inspired by the CIA leak investigation and the Valerie Plame affair.
4. Richard Schiff disliked the shuttle leak story-line, as he felt that Toby would never betray the President in such a fashion. He justified the story by deciding that Toby was really covering for someone else.

The Al Smith Dinner

1. As the candidates are walking down the halls near the end, the lighting is reflective of their parties. Santos is walking down a hallway that has bluish lighting, and there are flashing red lights behind Vinick.
2. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by C.J. (Allison Janney).
3. This episode takes its title from the Annual Catholic charity dinner named in honor of Al Smith. Al Smith was born and raised an Irish Catholic in the 4th ward of New York City. A Democrat, he was the first Catholic elected governor of any state and was the first Catholic to run for president. Known as The Happy Warrior he was less than happy when he only carried 8 states in the election. He then went on to serve as the public head of the company that built the Empire State Building. Many of the programs started by Franklin D. Roosevelt in his first hundred days were copied directly from programs originated by Al Smith for New York State during his term as governor.
4. In this episode Alan Alda calls Donna Moss Tippi Hedren. In the episode "Life on Mars" She refers to herself as Tippi Hedren when she's being stalked by a bird

The Debate

1. The Debate was advertised as a "live presidential debate" and was actually telecast live twice, once for the East and West coasts, with limited commercial interruption. It was also one of the few times actors were allowed to go "off script."
2. This is the only episode of the series in which none of the original main cast appeared.
3. The heckler in the audience who calls Vinick a liar is executive producer Christopher Misiano.
4. The episode won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Multi-Camera Sound Mixing for a Series or Special.
5. Congressman Santos's defense of the term "liberal" is a paraphrase of Kennedy's 1960 NY acceptance speech.
6. The episode was shot "Live" so the TV-debate would have the same live debate "flavor" that the real debates have. This is most notable in the quality of the image on screen, which is more crisp, than the image of the other episodes, which is actually shot on 35mm film
7. Matt Santos mentions a quote he made about having voted for a bill before he voted against it. This is a reference to John Kerry's infamous gaffe in which he commented that he voted for a spending bill before he voted against it.
8. This is not the first time Alan Alda has ad-libbed as a TV character. When he played Hawkeye Pierce on M*A*S*H (1972), an episode called M*A*S*H: The Interview (1976) showed the characters being interviewed by a war correspondent. The questions were scripted, but most of the replies were spontaneous.
9. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by C.J. (Allison Janney).
10. Although the debate episode was done twice, only the West Coast version appears on the Season 7 DVD, and the parts with Ellen DeGeneres were edited out.
11. This episode contains the fewest main cast members of any episode at two. Before this episode, The West Wing: The Long Goodbye (2003) and The West Wing: Message of the Week (2005) have been tied with three. It also has the smallest overall cast for any episode at seven.

Undecideds

1. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by C.J. (Allison Janney).
2. Although credited, Alan Alda and Martin Sheen do not appear in this episode. Stockard Channing & Dulé Hill also do not appear in this episode and are therefore not credited.

The Wedding

1. The President teases Debbie Fiderer that one of the dignitaries at the wedding was the Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke of Edinburgh is Prince Phillip, husband to Queen Elizabeth II of the UK. The husband of the Queen of the UK would be more noticeable than an unfamiliar Duke, which is probably what makes the joke so funny. Next in line to be Duke of Edinburgh will be Prince Edward, the Queen's youngest son.
2. Kristin Chenoweth (Annabeth) appears in the church scenes towards the end of the episode, although she does not have a speaking role.
3. During the episode Ellie Bartlet (Nina Siemaszko) meets with and receives a wedding gift from the Bermudian Ambassador. Bermuda is not a sovereign nation, but rather a British Overseas Territory. Bermuda therefore does not and has never operated overseas diplomatic missions and sends no ambassadors to any country, not even to the United Nations. Bermuda's international foreign affairs and representation are handled by the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office by British ambassadors. Bermuda does however head a trade office in Washington D.C., headed by a 'Director', this is a non-diplomatic entity and is not covered by any diplomatic protections.
4. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by Leo (John Spencer).
5. At the end of Josh (Bradley Whitford)'s and Leo (John Spencer)'s scene when the wedding is about to start, the music heard is not "Sorge nel petto" as Will (Joshua Malina) explains at the briefing, but "Lascia ch'io panga" - from George Frideric Handel's 'Rinaldo' also, but a bit less appropriate (with words that translate as "Let me weep over my cruel fate, And that I long for freedom!") - unless the scriptwriter(s) had a gloomy view of marriage, that is.
6. President Bartlett: Russia and China are doing their little "Sharks and Jets" routine in Central Asia. The Sharks and the Jets were the rival gangs in the West Side Story (1961).
7. When Josh and Leo are discussing the idea of Leo taking over campaign strategy, Leo says, "You're all trying to kill me." This is a precursor to the real-life situation that takes place after episode 7:13.

Running Mates

1. This episode was shot before, but aired after, John Spencer's December 16, 2005, death.
2. This was the first episode to air shortly after the death of John Spencer. It began with a brief memorial presented by Martin Sheen to honor his cast mate and his friend.
3. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by C.J. (Allison Janney).
4. The story line of Leo's difficulties in preparing for the Vice Presidential debate was likely inspired by the real-life debate collapse of Ross Perot's running mate Vice Admiral James Stockdale in 1992. Stockdale was not a seasoned debater, and indeed didn't know he would be in the debate until one week before it was scheduled.
5. The Santos house features three different staircases in three different episodes. In the season 6 episode The West Wing: Impact Winter (2004), the staircase inside the front door to the house can be seen leading away from the door to the left of the hall. In season 7, in the episode The West Wing: Running Mates (2006), the staircase can be seen coming down from left to right behind the door in a number of scenes. Later in season 7, in the two The West Wing: Election Day: Part 1 (2006) episodes, the staircase has changed yet again, now curving upwards from the right of the door. Either Teri Polo has been doing some extensive remodelling, or different sets were used in each episode.

Internal Displacement

1. In this episode, Will says the line "I can't act. I'm a terrible actor." Bradley Whitford (who plays Josh) wrote the script for this episode. Along with the line, the stage directions read "Will waddles in. The actor playing Will struggles to be remotely honest. Toby ignores the insincere, one dimensional acting of the guy playing Will. Will enters- scene dies. Will does deep background cross that nobody believes and punctures the suspension of disbelief globally." Joshua Malina (who plays Will) said later "Hat tip to Whitford. This was a solid prank. . . I think they made him take [the stage directions] out of the final script, sadly. It was very mean and funny."
2. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by C.J. (Allison Janney).
3. Although credited, Alan Alda, Kristin Chenoweth, Janel Moloney & John Spencer do not appear. Stockard Channing, Dulé Hill & Richard Schiff also do not appear and are therefore uncredited.
4. After CJ (Allison Janney) talks to the president (Martin Sheen) in the Oval Office, he leaves through an outside door, which is opened and closed for him by a secret service agent. As the president and the trailing agent walk out of sight, the door, which hadn't latched properly, drifts open slightly.

Duck and Cover

1. The title refers to a 1951 Civil Defense movie, that advocates finding shelter close to the ground in the event of a nuclear flash, in order to reduce the effects of the following blast wave on casualty rates.
2. In a scene set in the situation room, a world day/night map shows that it is pre-dawn early morning in North America even though it has just been established to be shortly after 10:40 PM Washington DC time and early morning Kazakhstan time.
3. The title is derived from the Cold War-era "civil defense" film, designed to inform citizens, particularly schoolchildren, how to react in the event of an alert indicating an impending nuclear strike. As neither walls nor tables would provide any meaningful protection in such circumstances, the phrase has come to represent a futile but instinctive self-defense response.
4. Final appearance of recurring reporter Mark O'Donnell (Timothy Davis-Reed).
5. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by C.J. (Allison Janney).
6. In this story it is mentioned that Arnold Vinnick has been a US Senator for 25 years. This suggests the character may be inspired by Pete Wilson, a real-world moderate Republican from California elected to the US Senate in 1983. Wilson is only a couple years older than Alan Alda, and had he remained in the Senate would have been there for 22 years. However Wilson went on to become Governor. Interestingly, Wilson's Lt Governor was a Democrat named Leo T. McCarthy.
7. This episode is eerily similar to the the plotline of the 1979 movie The China Syndrome starring Jane Fonda, Jack Lemmon and Michael Douglas.

The Cold

1. When Annabeth (Kristin Chenoweth) proposes the slogan "Santos: Right All Along" she incorrectly pronounces the Congressman's name "Sah-ntos". This is despite the fact that she very deliberately corrected Leo McGarry (John Spencer) when he made the exact same mistake in the episode The West Wing: The Ticket (2005).
2. At just before 20 minutes, when Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) is asking who he's talking to, you can see him holding the phone to his ear backwards with the screen facing outwards.
3. The title has a double meaning, referring to both the risk to Senator Vinnick's health image as he develops a cold, and President Bartlet's worries over the possibility of sending U.S. troops into a conflict in an extremely cold region.
4. John Spencer's final appearance is in this episode (Leo McGarry) before he unexpectedly died of a heart attack at the age of 59. His character's sudden passing was dealt with in the episodes The West Wing: Election Day: Part 1 (2006) and The West Wing: Election Day: Part 2 (2006).

Two Weeks Out

1. While watching Santos' press conference at the Philadelphia hotel, Bruno says "Saint Santos." Santos means saints in Spanish.
2. Although credited Kristin Chenoweth, Allison Janney, Joshua Malina, Mary McCormack, Janel Moloney, John Spencer and Martin Sheen do not appear in this episode. Stockard Channing and Dulé Hill also do not appear and are therefore uncredited.

Welcome to Wherever You Are

1. Welcome To Wherever You Are The episode title is a reference to the song of the same name by Jon Bon Jovi from his album Have a Nice Day. Bon Jovi also makes a guest appearance in this episode.
2. Toby (Richard Schiff) meets with the U.S. Attorney in a building identified as the U.S. Attorney's Office, but the building pictured is not the U.S. Attorney's Office.
3. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by C.J. (Allison Janney).
4. Toby (Richard Schiff) says he got two Mars Bars while trick-or-treating. Mars Bars were discontinued in the US in 2002. They were relaunched in January 2010.
5. When Santos was in St Louis, he said they should hit the town and get some of that fresh frozen custard. This is a reference to Ted Drewes Frozen Custard which is a St Louis local favorite.
6. Toby, who is charged with leaking classified information, quips to his ex-wife that he thought about dressing up as Julius Rosenberg for Halloween. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were tried, convicted and executed in 1953 for revealing highly classified information to the Soviet Union.
7. Though Mars Bars were discontinued in the US between 2002 and 2010, the British Mars bar (a different candy) was still sold during this period, and would have been available to the sort of upscale household where Toby and his children would be likely to trick-or-treat.

Election Day: Part 1

1. Josh talks about people going to the polls in Oregon but the entire state votes by mail.
2. John Spencer (Leo McGarry) died of a heart attack on December 16, 2005, about a year after his character experienced a nearly fatal heart attack on the show. Martin Sheen gave a brief memorial message before "The West Wing: Running Mates (2006)", the first new episode that aired after Spencer's death. The loss of John Spencer's character was addressed beginning with the episode "The West Wing: Election Day: Part 1 (2006)", which aired on April 2, 2006.
3. Despite the fact that Josh (Bradley Whitford) was shot and had extensive open-heart surgery in the second season, when Josh and Donna (Janel Moloney) are in bed there is no scarring on his chest. Likewise, Donna has no scars from the bombing of the CODEL in the end of the fifth/start of the sixth season.
4. At one point, Bob (Gary Cole) says to Bruno (Ron Silver) that North Dakota has gone Republican for the last 40 years (approximately 1966), yet Bartlet (Martin Sheen) won both of the Dakota's four years prior.
5. When Josh (Bradley Whitford) goes out to get fresh air, it is completely dark, even though it shouldn't be.
6. It is visible that none of the campaign staff seems to have voted as through out the day they seems to have stayed in the hotel monitoring the situation of the election, especially Josh (Bradley Whitford) noting how cold it is in Texas after the death of Leo (John Spencer), which means he has not yet stepped outside apart from going to the hospital.
7. This episode marks the death of Leo McGarry on the eve of the Election Day. The actor who portrayed him, John Spencer, died of a heart attack on December 16, 2005.

Election Day: Part 2

1. Louise Thornton (Janeane Garofalo) mispronounces "Oregon" several times. This is consistent with the character having spent her childhood, education and career in the Northeast, and thus being unfamiliar with Western place names.
2. The Santos house features three different staircases in three different episodes. In The West Wing: Impact Winter (2004), the staircase inside the front door to the house can be seen leading away from the door to the left of the hall. In The West Wing: Running Mates (2006), the staircase can be seen coming down from left to right behind the door in a number of scenes, In The West Wing: Election Day: Part 1 (2006) and The West Wing: Election Day: Part 2 (2006), the staircase has changed yet again, now curving upwards from the right of the door. Either Helen Santos has been doing some extensive remodeling, or different sets were used in each episode.
3. Bruno says he's going home to Essex County, New York, where he has a big house on the Hudson River. That likely puts him in Newcomb, New York, where the Hudson River resembles more a brook than a river.
4. The Santos house features three different staircases in three different episodes. In the season 6 episode "The West Wing: Impact Winter (2004)", the staircase inside the front door to the house can be seen leading away from the door to the left of the hall. In season 7, in the episode "The West Wing: Running Mates (2006)", the staircase can be seen coming down from left to right behind the door in a number of scenes. Later in these two episodes, the staircase has changed yet again, now curving upwards from the right of the door. Either Helen Santos (Teri Polo) has been doing some extensive remodelling, or different sets were used in each episode.
5. According to Lawrence O'Donnell, he and the other writers intended for Arnold Vinick to win the election, but changed the result after the death of John Spencer, as they felt that would be too emotionally taxing for the viewers for Santos to lose both his running mate and the election. However, this has been disputed by other writers, who claim that their intention even before Spencer passed away was for Santos to win.

Requiem

1. This is only the third episode to feature all three of President Bartlet's daughters. The other two are The West Wing: The Dogs of War (2003) and The West Wing: Abu el Banat (2003).
2. CJ Cregg offered Donna Moss her spare room but she had a secret service agent sleeping in that room
3. This is the only episode of the 7th season where all thirteen of the main cast appear in the opening credits. Despite this, Mary McCormack does not appear.
4. The only three members of the main cast, both past and present, missing from Leo (John Spencer)'s funeral service are Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe), Kate Harper (Mary McCormack) and Mandy Hampton (Moira Kelly).
5. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by C.J. (Allison Janney).

Transition

1. Josh interrupts Sam in a meeting at a law firm, asking him to leave his job and come to work for the President. This is a direct reference to when he's in flashback Josh interrupting Sam at a similar meeting to leave a law firm and join the first Bartlet campaign in second season episode In the Shadow of The West Wing: In the Shadow of Two Gunmen: Part I (2000).
2. This episode marks Rob Lowe's first appearance on the show since the seventeenth episode of Season Four.
3. An aide tells President-elect Santos (Jimmy Smits), overwhelmed with the calls he needs to make to foreign heads of state, that the "Surinames of the world" can be handled by his chief foreign policy adviser. In real life, Smits' father was from Suriname.
4. When Josh (Bradley Whitford) is looking for his blackberry phone in office, you can vaguely hear him say, "Sh!t", which is slightly masked by noise. The captions/subtitles confirms that he does say, "Sh!t" despite this being a Television show that would usually not allow such profanity.
5. When Josh (Bradley Whitford) comes back into the transistion offices after seeing CJ (Allison Janney) about the Santos call to China he has folders under his arms. He did not leave with this folder and was not holding them when he called Sam (Rob Lowe).
6. In the captions when Josh is looking for his Blackberry, he says "shit" which I think they masked with noise.
7. The exterior of the hotel where the Santoses are staying is the Joseph Smith Memorial Building in Salt Lake City (as can be seen above the door). Though it was originally the Hotel Utah, it is now an administrative building and library owned by the Mormon Church.

The Last Hurrah

1. Directed by Tim Matheson who played Vice President John Hoynes in the show.

Institutional Memory

1. Toby tells C.J. that he thinks that he has found a typo in the Constitution, specifically in the Takings Clause. The passage he was referring to is as follows and the comma in question is bracketed:"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use[,] without just compensation."He states that he is going to talk to Tom Merrill about it. Tom Merrill is a real person, who is a Professor at Columbia Law School and is a co-author of the book Property: Takings.
2. This episode takes place in January 2007.
3. Bo Billingsley plays a secret service agent in this episode he was also a member of the Secret Service in the American president with Martin Sheen
4. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by C.J. (Allison Janney).
5. C.J. (Allison Janney) and Danny (Timothy Busfield) are discussing schedules and C.J. says it is 6:45 am. She also says this craziness will all be over in two weeks so it must be around January 6. The sun is shining brightly in the windows, but in Washington, DC in early January the sun doesn't rise until approximately 7:25 am.

Tomorrow

1. President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet does a final walk through the West Wing thanking all his staff. At one point he stops and talks with Nancy and, asking about her mother, says, "I hope to see her real soon." Nancy is played by Renée Estevez, Martin Sheen's daughter; Renée Estevez's mother is Martin Sheen's wife, Janet, to whom Sheen has been married since 1961.
2. As the Bartlets prepare to return to "normal" life, Abby asks President Bartlet "When's the last time you drove a car?" to which he replies "It's just like riding a bike, except with more horsepower, right?" The very first episode of "The West Wing" opened with the staff having to react to news of President Bartlet falling off a bicycle.
3. Both the season premiere and series finale have the current President asking "What's next?" at or near the end of the episode. President Bartlet to Mrs. Landingham in the premiere and President Santos to Josh Lyman in the finale. The premiere ended with the question, but the finale had one more scene; President and Mrs. Bartlet on the plane.
4. Along with The West Wing: Undecideds (2005), this is one of only two episodes that show the episode's title in black lettering on a white background, instead of the opposite way, signifying the change in power and a brighter future.
5. One of the names announced while the President-elect and Mrs. Santos are waiting to go out is William Clinton.
6. When the President (Martin Sheen) and Abbey (Stockard Channing) discuss who picked January 20th as the date of the inauguration, he wrongly blames the founding fathers. Originally, the drafters of the Constitution chose March 4th. It was changed to January 20th by the 20th Amendment which was ratified January 23, 1933.
7. The action for the swearing in was actually shot on a small replica of the capitol platform built on a parking lot at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank.
8. This episode reveals that Presidents Harrison, Kennedy, and Clinton existed in the West Wing universe.
9. This episode takes place on January 20, 2007.
10. Allison Smith guest-stars in this episode in her recurring role as Mallory McGarry O'Brien. Smith started in show business at age ten by playing the title role in the Broadway Musical "Annie," in which she performed the song "Tomorrow"; this episode is also called "Tomorrow."
11. The First Lady's suite at the end of the episode is a redress of the Santos transition offices in the OEOB. Donna's new office is the same office used by the President Elect during the transition, with new furniture and a change of orientation. It's unclear whether it's intended to be the same room.
12. The series creator, Aaron Sorkin, is one of the distinguished guests at the Inauguration. In addition, Nora Paradiso and Schuster Vance provide cameos.
13. Glenn Close did not reprise her role as Evelyn Baker Lang for the Inauguration scene. The Chief Justice is played by actress, Ann Ryerson.
14. The letter of pardon for Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff) reads, in part, "His trial is pending." In the previous episode, Institutional Memory, Toby told C.J. (Allison Janney) that he was reporting to minimum security prison on the 26th, and Andi Wyatt also referred to his sentencing in that episode.
15. "Previously on the West Wing" spoken by C.J. (Allison Janney).
16. When President elect Santos is being sworn in, the Chief Justice is introduced as "Chief Justice Eveleyn..." and then the rest of the name is obscured by noises. Following the events of "The Supremes" it is fairly certain that the Chief Justice would be Evelyn Baker Lang, played originally by Glen Close. It is clearly not Glen Close in this scene, so presumably the name was obscured to avoid "officially" recasting the role.
17. Aaron Sorkin: one of the White House aides sitting in the stands in the Inauguration scene.
18. Just before President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) signs Toby Ziegler's (Richard Schiff) letter of pardon, there is a glimpse of the text of the letter. The final paragraph ends with 'In this District of Columbia, on this twentieth day of January, in the year of Our Lord.'. The year is missing to help keep the continuation of this fictional presidency 'correct' right up to the end of this episode.