West Wing News Blog: 04/25/06

Leaks From "The West Wing" - The Spoiler Issue

From the Los Angeles' Times Calendar Live: "Among fans of NBC's 'The West Wing,' the question of who might get a pardon from outgoing President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) in the series finale May 14 is a subject of intense speculation.

But the network and studio aren't preparing any pardons for some show enthusiasts, who've been crowding blogs and discussion groups with plot 'spoilers' and commentary about how executive producer John Wells and his team will wind down the final three episodes of the White House drama.

The website Television Without Pity has separate threads devoted to spoilers in its 'West Wing' forum: one for tips and raw information, another for discussion and a third for pure, uninformed speculation. The site westwing.bewarne.com has a blog entirely devoted to spoilers and contains a disclaimer that such information often comes from 'first drafts of scripts' and that the plot is often changed during production or editing.

The sites can also contain some useful non-plot-related intelligence, such as (and here a spoiler warning really isn't necessary) gossip that former regular cast member Rob Lowe and series creator Aaron Sorkin, among others, may appear in cameos for the finale.

Of course, the Internet has made it virtually impossible to police this kind of data flow, and that creates a thorny issue for networks and studios. Although it's obviously better to be spoiled than ignored, spoilers probably do little to expand viewership for a series such as 'West Wing,' which has had a dwindling fan base for the last several seasons. That may explain why the studio takes a dim view of such websites.

'We'd prefer not to have that out there, but it happens on all our shows,' says Sharan Magnuson, a spokeswoman for Warner Bros. Television, which produces 'West Wing,' adding: 'We never confirm any of it.'"

"West Wing" Ratings Week 19

From NBC:
"On Sunday, April 23 at 8 p.m. ET, "The West Wing" (2.3/6 in 18-49, 8.4 million viewers overall) earned its second-highest 18-49 rating and highest overall viewership since Nov. 6. "The West Wing" built by 77 percent in adults 18-49 and by 3.2 million total viewers on its lead-in -- a 1.3/4 in 18-49 and 5.2 million viewers overall for "Dateline NBC" from 7-8 p.m. ET. "

From Zap2It:
""Cold Case," 8.2/13, kept CBS in the lead at 8 p.m. ABC stayed in second with an "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" repeat. "The West Wing," 5.5/9, kept NBC in third. "The Simpsons," 4.4/7, and "The War at Home," 4.0/6, were fourth for FOX. "Charmed" averaged 2.0/3 for The WB."

From Media Life:
"At 8 p.m. ABC led again with a 3.5 for a repeat of “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” just edging Fox’s 3.4 for “The Simpsons” (3.5) and “The War at Home” (3.3). CBS was third that hour with a 2.8 for a “Cold Case” rerun, NBC fourth with a 2.3 for “The West Wing,” Univision fifth with a 1.7 for the first hour of “Bailando por un Sueño” and WB sixth with a 1.4 for “Charmed."

From the New York Times:
"Earlier in the night, Rob Lowe returned to "The West Wing" (8.42 million) as the likely deputy chief of staff in the Santos administration, and forced the unhinged Josh (Bradley Whitford) to take a vacation. KATE AURTHUR"

According to the Los Angeles Times' Calendar Live, "The West Wing" was in the 35th place of most watched TV shows this week.

Guide to TV Ratings here.

Last Week's Ratings

Promo for Next Week's "West Wing" Episode

On Youtube.

In WindowsMedia Format

Comments and Recaps of "West Wing" Episode Transition

Discuss the episode at Television Without Pity.

Commentary from TV Squad.
Commentary from TV Guide.
Commentary from the San Jose Mercury News
Personal Comment from Alan Sepinwall
Roger Catlin from the Hartford Courant
Comment from Matt Roush at TV Guide.
From the Deseret News:
"During the transition to his new administration, President Matthew Santos (Jimmy Smits) has been staying in the former Hotel Utah while he's waiting to move into "The West Wing." Really.
You know, the downtown Salt Lake City structure now known as the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.
Seems like a bit of a commute to Santos' office in the old Executive Office Building next to the White House, doesn't it?
In Sunday's episode, the first lady-elect, Helen Santos (Teri Polo), was dealing with various millionaires offering their Washington, D.C.-area estates for the family's use until the inauguration. (Still pretty much a normal wife and mother, Helen balked and the family ended up in Blair House across from their future abode at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.)
In the meantime, however, the president-elect has been staying in a D.C. hotel. And a brief exterior shot of that unnamed hostelry revealed it to be ... the former Hotel Utah, now the Joseph Smith Memorial Building.
There was no question about it. You could even see a bit of the church administration building next door.
It was simply a case of using a stock shot of a cool-looking hotel to establish the scene. And it was odd only to those of us who live here, were watching the show and were paying attention to minutiae.
Which is sort of my job description. ..."

From the San Jose Mercury News:
"This isn't the first time I've tossed incendiary devices at the promotion departments of the major networks. Nor am I the only one who goes nuts when the promo departments run amuck. Some series producers have gone so far as to keep key scenes in upcoming episodes under lock and key so the promo guys can't use them. (One year, John Wells -- producer of "ER'' -- keep a surprise cameo appearance by George Clooney in his refrigerator until just before the episode was to air.)

But despite all the complaining, the promo folks keep churning out those infuriating spots -- as witness the ones that accompanied "The West Wing'' on Sunday and "Prison Break'' (above) on Monday.

The former was a two-fer. It gave away the fact that Matt Santos makes a job offer to Arnold Vinick, his opponent in the presidential election. But it also inferred that the job was the vice-presidency which -- if my sources and spoilers making the online rounds are accurate -- may or may not be true. NBC is notorious for "juicing'' its promos by suggesting things are going to happen that actually don't and, occasionally, by including scenes that aren't even in the next week's episode. Ugly."

Fromt the New York Daily News:
"Blind items aside, how are fictional "secret lovers" Donna (Janel Moloney) and Josh (Bradley Whitford) going to tell the rest of "The West Wing" that they've finally given in to their highly charged attraction?

When you're involved with a co-worker, coming out of the closet with your affair can be brutal."

West Wing News Blog

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Leaks From "The West Wing" - The Spoiler Issue

"West Wing" Ratings Week 19

Promo for Next Week's "West Wing" Episode

Comments and Recaps of "West Wing" Episode Transition

Links

Blog Archive