The West Wing

Show generally

Corrected entry: There are occasional references throughout the show to the Bartlet family owning a farm in Manchester, NH. Manchester is the largest city in that state, and not in a rural area: saying they "have a farm in Manchester" would be like saying they "have a farm in Baltimore" (or Glasgow, for the UK readers among us). No one with roots in New Hampshire as deep as the fictional Pres. Bartlet's are supposed to be would ever be so inaccurate as to refer to the agricultural parts of the state as being Manchester.

Correction: Many people that live in the outskirts or suburbs of a large city say that they live in the actual city so that people not from that area know where they live. They may have meant the outskirts, or just outside of Manchester, rather than directly in the middle of it.

Show generally

Corrected entry: Political consultant Mandy Hampton disappeared completely with absolutely no explanation between the first and second seasons. She was in the last episode of the first season and not in the first episode of the second (which took place only a few minutes later) and no one ever explained where she went.

Correction: Her departure is not explicitly explained to the viewer, but the fact that the show's characters are not similarly confused suggests they are aware of when and why she left, and have moved on. The actress' departure as well as the choice to not specifically explain it 'in-show' were both intentional, and are not mistakes. (Humorously, the writers could easily have killed her with the season-ending shooting, nice and smooth)

johnrosa

Show generally

Corrected entry: In the first season, every employee in the west wing (except the president) is wearing an ID badge. Since then, only a few people are seen wearing them, but surely the policy of the White House hasn't changed since then?

Correction: After a while, the guards and Secret Service would come to recognize the "big players" - Leo, Josh, Toby. They wouldn't be required to wear their badges, although others might be.

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.

More mistakes in The West Wing
More quotes from The West Wing
More trivia for The West Wing

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

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.