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The West Wing
S6.E8
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IMDbPro

In the Room

  • Episode aired Dec 8, 2004
  • TV-14
  • 43m
IMDb RATING
8.2/10
764
YOUR RATING
Penn Jillette and Teller in The West Wing (1999)
Drama

At a Bartlet family birthday, magicians Penn and Teller burn the American flag in the White House, prompting a publicity nightmare. Aboard Air Force One, Bartlet is stricken by a paralyzing ... Read allAt a Bartlet family birthday, magicians Penn and Teller burn the American flag in the White House, prompting a publicity nightmare. Aboard Air Force One, Bartlet is stricken by a paralyzing episode of his multiple sclerosis.At a Bartlet family birthday, magicians Penn and Teller burn the American flag in the White House, prompting a publicity nightmare. Aboard Air Force One, Bartlet is stricken by a paralyzing episode of his multiple sclerosis.

  • Director
    • Alex Graves
  • Writers
    • Lawrence O'Donnell
    • Debora Cahn
    • Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
  • Stars
    • Stockard Channing
    • Dulé Hill
    • Allison Janney
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    8.2/10
    764
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Alex Graves
    • Writers
      • Lawrence O'Donnell
      • Debora Cahn
      • Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
    • Stars
      • Stockard Channing
      • Dulé Hill
      • Allison Janney
    • 2User reviews
    • 1Critic review
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos2

    View Poster
    View Poster

    Top Cast33

    Edit
    Stockard Channing
    Stockard Channing
    • Abbey Bartlet
    • (credit only)
    Dulé Hill
    Dulé Hill
    • Charlie Young
    Allison Janney
    Allison Janney
    • C.J. Cregg
    Joshua Malina
    Joshua Malina
    • Will Bailey
    Mary McCormack
    Mary McCormack
    • Kate Harper
    Janel Moloney
    Janel Moloney
    • Donna Moss
    Richard Schiff
    Richard Schiff
    • Toby Ziegler
    John Spencer
    John Spencer
    • Leo McGarry
    Bradley Whitford
    Bradley Whitford
    • Josh Lyman
    Martin Sheen
    Martin Sheen
    • President Josiah Bartlet
    Alan Alda
    Alan Alda
    • Senator Arnold Vinick
    Kristin Chenoweth
    Kristin Chenoweth
    • Annabeth Schott
    Gary Cole
    Gary Cole
    • Vice President Bob Russell
    Ed O'Neill
    Ed O'Neill
    • Governor Eric Baker D-PA
    Penn Jillette
    Penn Jillette
    • Penn Jilette
    • (as Penn & Teller)
    Teller
    Teller
    • Teller
    • (as Penn & Teller)
    Elisabeth Moss
    Elisabeth Moss
    • Zoey Bartlet
    Mary Kay Place
    Mary Kay Place
    • Surgeon General Millicent Griffith
    • Director
      • Alex Graves
    • Writers
      • Lawrence O'Donnell
      • Debora Cahn
      • Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews2

    8.2764
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    Featured reviews

    9Sonatine97

    We've Got No One Who Can Beat Him!

    This ranks as one of my favourite episodes for the rather uneven season 6. And what makes it special is the arrival of Senator Arnold Vinick as the presumptive Republican presidential candidate.

    Unlike the presidential campaign in season 3, where the Republican candidate (the right-wing Richie) was barely seen, seasons 6 & 7 change all that by giving some respectable airtime for the feared/revered Vinick character.

    The writers also made the senator as a far more appealing moderate conservative, which only makes him far more dangerous in the eyes of the White House, especially when Leo tells Josh how Vinick has such a broad appeal when on the lecture circuit that he could bring in wavering Democrats during the campaign, especially since their own candidates - VP Russell and untrustworthy Hoynes - are not particularly likable and certainly don't have the same intellectual gravitas as Vinick or Bartlet.

    Alan Alda, was a great choice as Vinick - tall, imposing, fatherly, self-aware and barely any malice in his observations of the Democratic party. So it was a pleasure to watch Leo & Josh visibly unsettled at how they were going to confront and challenge Vinick should he win the candidacy for the Republicans, and go on to challenge in the presidential campaign.

    Related interests

    Naomie Harris, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe, André Holland, Herman Caheej McGloun, Edson Jean, Alex R. Hibbert, and Tanisha Cidel in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In one of their most thoughtful and politically charged tricks, Penn and Teller (Penn Jillette) make a U.S. flag seem to disappear by wrapping it in a copy of the United States Bill of Rights, and apparently setting the flag on fire, so that "the flag is gone but the Bill of Rights remains." In the episode, the flag remains missing, unlike in the stage version. Penn is quick to point out that, as seen in their stage show, the flag-burning routine "is astonishingly patriotic." It includes his observations about the greatness of being able to perform such a trick in a free country, proceeding to do the same trick but with the "Chinese Bill of Rights" - a sheet of cellophane - and turning around to show what happens to the flag, and finally, the flag not only reappears unscathed, but "up on the flag pole where it started, waving in the breeze."
    • Goofs
      While Vinick is shining his shoes, he remarks that his committee would hold a hearing into "Margrudien" which was reference to "Chad Margrudien" who was fired from his job as advance man for the Vice President back in Season 1 ("Take Out the Trash Day"), which happened five years prior.
    • Quotes

      Leo McGarry: [to Josh on Arnie Vinick running for President] You ever see Arnie Vinick campaign up close? He'll go into those high school gymnasiums in Iowa and New Hampshire and blow them all away. He'll shake every hand in the joint, kiss every baby, hug every widow on Social Security, and sound smarter and more honest than any Republican they've ever seen. Because he is.

    • Connections
      Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 EXACT Moments That Saved TV Shows (2024)
    • Soundtracks
      West Wing Main Title
      (uncredited)

      Written by W.G. Snuffy Walden

      Performed by Pete Anthony

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 8, 2004 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Filming locations
      • Stage 23, Warner Brothers Burbank Studios - 4000 Warner Boulevard, Burbank, California, USA
    • Production companies
      • John Wells Productions
      • Warner Bros. Television
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 43m
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Stereo
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.78 : 1

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