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The West Wing

The Debate (West Coast)

Season 7, Episode 7, Aired Nov 06, 2005

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8.5

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A "live" debate episode! This episode will feature a live debate between Santos and Vinick. Two versions will air. One for the East Coast of the U.S. and one for the West Coast of the U.S. Because of this there will be two episode guides but both will carry the same production number and the same episode numbers. When contributing please make sure you have to right episode guide. If you'd like to elaborate on the summary or recap just add a .5 at the end of the episode numbers on the submission form. Example: 7.5 or 139.5moreless

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Cast & Crew

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GUEST STAR
Forrest Sawyer

HImself/Moderator

Jimmy Smits

Matthew Santos (Episodes 114-)
Alan Alda

Senator Arnold Vinick (Episodes 123-)

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Fan Episode Reviews (6)

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Det var okej, men kunde ha varit s mycket mer. Live-avsnitt gjordes bttre i ER 4.01., debattavsnitt gjordes lngt mycket bttre i WW 4.06: Game On (som jag drmed tnker se om nu fr att gra en direkt jmfrelse).moreless

5.8

"Mediocre"

By caffeineaddict_, Apr 15, 2011

Det var okej, men kunde ha varit s mycket mer. Live-avsnitt gjordes bttre i ER 4.01., debattavsnitt gjordes lngt mycket bttre i WW 4.06: Game On (som jag drmed tnker se om nu fr att gra en direkt jmfrelse).

Faktum var att det inte blev mycket mer spnnande n de flesta verkliga debatter, och det knns som att man hade kunnat ta ut svngarna betydligt mer. Visst hjlper det fr att ka WW-universumets trovrdighet, men var det det som behvdes? Ingen av de hr kandidaterna verkar vara vrdiga att flja i Jed Bartlets fotspr, och enda gngen som serien verkade komma ihg sitt eget frflutet istllet fr att fastna i fejkad politisk debatt var nr hans namn kom upp. Det hr skulle mjligen ha varit intressant som en DVD-extra, men inte som ett helt avsnitt, definitivt inte utan klipp till vad som pgick bakom scenerna. Och Ellen DeGeneres? Jag har inga ord... och det menar jag inte positivt.

Positivt: rent tekniskt snyggt, liveaspekten gr det lite spnnande (vet inte om den versionen som dk upp p ntet var West Coast eller East Coast-versionen), och bda skdisarna sktte sig vl, frmst Alda. Realismen var hg och kndes trovrdig. Men det hettade aldrig riktigt till. Helt enkelt, det pminde fr mycket om verkligheten fr att vara bra drama och bra TV.

Och sorgen i att se de frtexterna utan Richard Schiffs namn? Jag kan inte riktigt frklara det...moreless
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El debate entre Santos y Vinick rumbo a las elecciones presidenciales toma un rumbo inesperado cuando ambos candidatos optan por la opcion de "no reglas" y asi exponer mejor sus posiciones ante el publico.moreless

9.5

"Superb"

By ltorress, Feb 12, 2006

Santos y Vinick, en el capitulo anterior, acordaron un debate dominical, y asi poner fin a la serie de especulaciones sobre si debatirian o no. Con un moderador optimo, ambos presidenciables exponen los principales temas como son: Problema migratorio en la frontera; impuestos; educacion; salud; seguridad laboral; fuentes alternas de energia. Los dimes y diretes estuvieron a la orden de la presentacion. Ambos personajes representaron bien sus papeles, al grado de iniciar un debate propio para ganar la confianza y aceptacion del publico.
***
Despues de ver este episodio, me di cuenta que hacer television es ver The West Wing. La idea del debate "en vivo" y "sin reglas" no es habitual para que un publico lo asimile en primera instancia. No solo por la calidad del formato televisivo (fondo de la escenografia, iluminacion, maquillaje, vestimenta...) sino tambien por el contenido del guion. Asi como se ha mencionado los temas debatidos, tambin es bueno apuntar que la actuacion del "publico" sobretodo cuando el debate se encandila y es necesario echar a uno de ellos por alterar la tranquilidad del mismo.
Dentro de la saga de TWW, este episodio saltara a la historia debido a que fue realizado en vivo y en directo, una estrategia que se va dando este ao dentro de la cadena NBC con sus programas lideres.
No sabemos quien ganara las elecciones, pero es casi seguro saber que el gran beneficiado es el publico luego de ver este episodio.moreless
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Its the debate between Senator Arnold Vinick and Representative Matthew Santos in the POTUS campaign.

9.6

"Superb"

By jackslevin, Nov 11, 2005

Excellent episode. The only reason I gave it a 9.6 is because Ellen DeGeneres in the filler parts was so incredibly annoying. My West Wing "jumped the shark" moment. However, the "debate without rules" was an excellent idea. We truly saw Vinick as a conservative and Santos as a liberal even though they hope to be painted as otherwise (liberal-moderate w/i their party for both). I thought that Forrest Sawyer did a good job. And this episode had a first in which no original cast members that remain on the show (Allison Janney, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, and Martin Sheen) appear. Only Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits in additon to should be regular Janeane Garofalo. So...enjoy...excellent debate. Far outshines the 4th season debate between Bartlett and Ritchie in which we didn't see much of the debate.moreless
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I normally hate gimiky TV. That said, I have to say that this was an excellent episode of the West Wing. Felt more like I was watching a play than TV and is a perfect example of why the West Wing is such a great show.moreless

8.8

"Great"

By silkshadows, Nov 07, 2005

The essence of the West Wing is that, every week, we get a fantasy picture of what we wish American Presidential politics would be like. Whether we agree or disagree with the issues (I frequent disagree) its nice to fantasize that our politcs could be as rosy and noble as portrayed on the West Wing.

\"Debate\" is one of those golden West Wing episodes that allows us a glimpse of what could be. A glimpse of the potential each Presidential debate actually has. A glimpse of something that could be if, you know, we had honest politicians. That fact is, I wish a real Presidential debate could be done without \"rules\" and, I bet, most people do. In that format the truth has a much better chance come out of the spin, rehtoric and blather the recent Presidential debates produce. Of course, we all know that will never happen. At least the West Wing lets us experience the fantasy for an hour every week.moreless
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This episode was of the live debate. It was amazing! The candidates were amazing. There comments almost always was about the other person saying something that was bad. The candidates agreed on NO rules. so they got up walked around while talking and themoreless

9.8

"Superb"

By mtbakerrooneys, Nov 07, 2005

I thought this episode was one of the best. I am serious it was amazing. Everything was just perfect. I loved it. The shows can't get better than this. The candidates played their parts perfectly. If there is a episode better than this i will be amazed. If you did not watch this episode than you seriously missed something. WEST WING ROCKS!!
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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (2)
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- This version is the one used for all the repeats in syndication and on Bravo.
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- 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. It would have been nice to have both versions on the set, just for curiosity sake.
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QUOTES (0)
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NOTES (4)
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- This is the only episode of the entire series in which none of the show's original cast members appear. In fact, with the exception of Bruno Gianelli (Ron Silver), none of the characters from this episode appeared on the show prior to Season 6.
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- The poll on the NBC.com website asks "Who do you think won the debate?" and shows results Santos 71% Vinick 29%.
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- Vinick's reference to a school voucher program for Washington D.C. refers to Episode 103, "Full Disclosure" in season 5, when it was passed into law.
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- Kristin Chenoweth, Allison Janney, Mary McCormack, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford, and Martin Sheen do not appear in this episode. Stockard Channing, Dulé Hill, Joshua Malina, Richard Schiff also do not appear and are therefore uncredited.
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