The West Wing

Angel Maintenance - S4-E19

Factual error: The fighter jet alongside Air Force One has "NY" tail markings which designate it's with the 174th fighter wing, with a home base of Syracuse, New York. Surely, in this emergency over Washington, DC, jets from a more local base (like the 113th's F-16s at Andrews AFB) would have been dispatched to aid the President's plane. (00:13:05)

johnrosa

Angel Maintenance - S4-E19

Factual error: At the end of the episode, the pilot says their runway has been changed to "runway 39." Runway headings are multiples of 10° from 01 up to 36. There cannot be a "runway 39."

Pilot - S1-E1

Factual error: The Lockheed 1011 was only produced until 1984. There's no way that in 1999 Toby would be flying on one that "just came off the line 20 months ago."

More mistakes in The West WingMore quotes from The West Wing

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

More trivia for The West Wing

In Excelsis Deo - S1-E10

Question: This is as good a place to ask as any. In various US TV shows (including this one, and this episode), someone says "I could care less", when they always seem to mean "I couldn't care less", ie. they have no interest in what's going on. Surely if they COULD care less that means they actually care a reasonable amount? Is there any logic to this, or is it just a really annoying innate lack of sense?

Jon Sandys

Chosen answer: A really annoying innate lack of sense. My friends and family say the same thing all the time, and I'm endlessly trying to correct them. I think people just don't know any better and (ironically) couldn't care less that they're speaking incorrectly.

Answer: It's an endlessly annoying dropped negative, and it's been a common colloquialism for far too long. I believe it comes from an original (and now omitted and merely implied) "As if" preceding the statement. "As if I could care less." (Meaning "As if it were possible that I could care even less than I do.") But there's really no way to know.

More questions & answers from The West Wing

Join the mailing list

Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.