The West Wing

[JHyde]

I think the main reason John Spencer and Donna were missing in that scene was that they were trying to leave it open about who won - that final shot before the credits only shows someone stepping out of the car, not who it was. Even with Josh coming in, it wasn't clear who the President of three years hence was. As you say, they lucked out too.

I actually remember reading press at the time that Vinick would win, but with Spencer's death they decided to let Josh and Santos win.

I loved Alda in his role that won him an Emmy so many years after Hawkeye. M*A*S*H was a huge source of inspiration both for Sorkin and for John Wells, so I'm not surprised that they tried (successfully) to get him on the show.

I think the reason they never had a scene between Sam and Toby in season 7 was because they had Rob Lowe for 3 days to shoot his scenes and Richard Schiff only on limited time too - he wasn't a regular that last season. I remember a lot of fans asking about it at the time. That scene in season 4 with them in the bar with Toby saying that he wants to stand next to Sam as people throw rocks at him - so beautiful. The Toby/Sam dynamic was very touching at times, despite it mostly being comedic.

The show got jerked around a lot out here too, nothingisasitseems. It jumped networks and timeslots multiple times and they took almost a full year to show the final season here after it aired in the States.

Debbie got the best line ever in the show - 'Does that come with tights and a cape?' in response to Bartlet waxing lyrical about some rubbish skill he 'possessed'. I ADORE Lily Tomlin. It's so funny how now she plays Kathryn Joosten's sister on Desperate Housewives. Strange how things work out.