The West Wing

Manchester: Part I - S3-E2

Continuity mistake: Pres. Bartlet is at his farm in New Hampshire, talking to Leo. In one shot he has an arm on the rail fence and the other hand on his hip. The next shot shows him with both arms on the rail fence even though he had no time to shift position. (00:41:25)

Manchester: Part II - S3-E3

Continuity mistake: Sam and Doug are talking about the President's speech and Doug is holding his notepad, which he shifts to his right hand and starts to put to his side - but the next shot shows it back in his left hand. (00:14:00)

Manchester: Part II - S3-E3

Continuity mistake: When Margaret goes into Leo's office to announce the arrival of Gianelli, he puts his glasses down on a bare portion of the desk. The next shot from behind him shows the glasses lying on top of books/papers. He'd had no time to move them. (00:15:40)

Ways and Means - S3-E4

Continuity mistake: When Doug, Toby, and Sam are talking to the President about how to handle the attempted repeal of the estate tax, they mention several times that it will be the President's first veto, and that it is something that he has never done before. However, in episode four of season two, "In This White House", in the scene where Sam is debating Ainsley Hayes on Capital Beat, the moderator asks why the President's education bill is different from the Republican proposed bill "which the President vetoed." So, the veto of the estate tax repeal was not the president's first.

The Indians in the Lobby - S3-E8

Continuity mistake: When Josh is drinking water from a bottle he starts screwing the lid back on as he moves it down towards his desk. In the very next shot, however, not only is the bottle suddenly on the desk without Josh's hands anywhere near it, it also doesn't have its lid on. (00:10:05)

We Killed Yamamoto - S3-E21

Continuity mistake: Josh is getting coffee and talking to another guy about a Shakespeare production Bartlet is supposed to attend. When he goes to the coffee machine, his backpack is over his shoulder and the strap is near his collar but not covering it. When he walks away from the coffee machine, most of his collar is covered and quite dishevelled from the backpack strap. At no time did Josh adjust the backpack.

We Killed Yamamoto - S3-E21

Continuity mistake: When Josh is walking down the White House hallway in the office area, he is talking to someone, and at first there is nothing in his shirt pocket, but as the scene progresses, we can see his glasses in the pocket. He did not put them there during the scene.

Posse Comitatus - S3-E22

Continuity mistake: Josh and Amy are in a restaurant having breakfast and talking about the vote - the sugar dispenser can be seen next to some yellow flowers. In subsequent shots the flowers are still there but the dispenser has disappeared, even though no one touched it.

20 Hours in America: Part I - S4-E1

Continuity mistake: Bruno and C.J. sit down in a meeting and are talking about women voters. When the shot is on Bruno, we can see C.J. is holding a black folder that is partially open. When the shot goes to her, though, she has her hands on the folder, which is opened on the table.

The Red Mass - S4-E4

Continuity mistake: Near the beginning of the show, Josh is talking about baseball while looking at some stapled political papers - the top one is folded back over the second one. As Donna asks "what is it?", the first page is falling free and Josh is only holding the second one, but he had no time to adjust them.

Debate Camp - S4-E5

Continuity mistake: In season one, CJ's office was right next to Josh's office, but from season two on, it was at the opposite end of a long walkway that runs between several glass cubicles (one of which Donna uses). The later location for CJ was the press room for season one. The differences are not furniture, etc, but wall and door locations have been revised. This season four episode features a flashback where Donna visits the White House prior to Bartlet's inauguration, and she is led to her future cubicle. In this scene, we see the floorplan is not the earlier version, but the newer version. While the between-season changes can be excused as 'remodeling' that took place off-screen, this episode's arrangement can't make sense. (00:09:20)

johnrosa

Game On - S4-E6

Continuity mistake: Sam is at the bar with Will Bailey. Will picks up his glass and tips it up to his mouth. The next shot from the other side shows him tipping it up to his mouth again.

Election Night - S4-E7

Continuity mistake: Early in the show, Toby, Sam, and C.J. are at a conference table, talking about a concession speech. C.J. is holding a mug and scratching her hand, but as she turns and says "ooh, Mr. Lyman", her mug is suddenly sitting on the table. In the next shot, as she is talking to Josh, her hand is around the mug. None of these changes happen in natural time.

Process Stories - S4-E8

Continuity mistake: While Sam and Donna are listening to a TV report that Sam may be heading for Congress, the woman behind him has a phone receiver to her ear, with both hands on the phone. The shot changes and suddenly her right arm is down by her side, but in the next shot it is back in the first position.

Process Stories - S4-E8

Continuity mistake: While Amy is talking to Toby, the piece of shrimp in her hand gets larger and the level of champagne in her glass does down, even though she never drinks from it.

Arctic Radar - S4-E10

Continuity mistake: When Josh is recapping his conversation with Jack to Donna, as he is walking towards the coffee pot he his putting a pen in his shirt pocket. When they turn to walk back to his office the pen has disappeared. (00:24:50 - 00:25:50)

Arctic Radar - S4-E10

Continuity mistake: Josh is wishing Donna a Happy Thanksgiving - he is eating something out of his hand and has a blue book tucked under his arm, which flips from front to back from one shot to the next. When he starts talking to the Trekkie, it flips back again.

Guns Not Butter - S4-E12

Continuity mistake: Bartlet agrees to have a photo op with a goat and says "let's do it right now" - as C.J. turns to her assistant, we can see the Pres is already half way down the hall, even though this would be impossible in real time.

Guns Not Butter - S4-E12

Continuity mistake: When Donna is in Josh's office, picking up folders, she puts a blue one on top of the pile; the next split-second shot from behind her shows a brown folder on top of the pile - then she places a blue one on top of that.

Inauguration: Over There - S4-E15

Continuity mistake: When the guys arrive outside Donna's building, Josh wears a tux and a long black coat with a white scarf. After Josh says, "The buzzer's not working", a few quick camera cuts occur, and as he says "Nah, I know women-" and turns, the scarf is missing. It is back as the cameras cut again and he says, "I know what they like." (00:33:30)

johnrosa

Season 5 generally

Continuity mistake: When the plan to kill the Qumari defense minister is being contemplated, several times in the last episodes of Season 3, and at least once in season 4, he 's referred to the Sultan's brother. In season 5, he is referred to as both his cousin and his brother.

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Trivia: Martin Sheen also played the President in the mini series "Kennedy" and in another character's vision in 1983's The Dead Zone.

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The Dogs of War - S5-E2

Question: How did they find Zoe and who kidnapped her? At first they said that the Bahii were taking responsibility for it, then Leo tells Will that they never found the Bahii sleepers. Also, the man on the helicopter tells the President and the First Lady that Zoe was dropped off on the side of a road and she called 911 on her cell phone, then, later, on the ground, another man tells the Bartletts that they found her tied up in a closet. What really happened?

Answer: One of the kidnappers was having an argument with his girlfriend and dumped her. She called 911 about Zoe.

No, some woman had an argument with her boyfriend, and he kicked her out of the car in the rain. She tried to take shelter in an abandoned farmhouse and noticed the kidnappers holed up in there, and called 911.

Brian Katcher

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