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The West Wing Season 5 Episode 8

Shutdown

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AIRED: 11/19/03

Jed's decision not to be held hostage by Haffley shuts down the federal government; unable to get through to Jed and fearing the worst, Leo calls in the reinforcements, and Abbey returns to Washington to deliver a message and provide her husband with a little perspective; after being benched from the staff meetings, Josh gets put back in the game by Jed and sets the stage for victory; disregarding the advice of more seasoned colleagues, Haffley makes a major misstep and loses his advantage over the White House; Jed and Haffley meet and reach an accord on the budget.moreless

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SUBMIT REVIEW

The President shuts down the federal government.

10

By amfarley84, Aug 17, 2011

I thought that this was a great episode of The West Wing. It was great that the President ordered that federal government be shutdown until they can work out a budget. I can not believe that the speaker that he was going to pull a fast one on the President by incresing the precentage rate on another CR. I thought that it was wrong that Josh was not in the war room but maybe that is why they were not getting anywhere. I liked how the brought in Mrs. Bartlet to help the situation get settled. I thought that it was a good idea for the President to walk to the Capital building to speak to the speaker. I was glad to see the President get the budget he wanted.moreless
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Shutdown of the government

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By Parricida, Jun 25, 2011

Bartlet decides to have his way with the budget and stand his ground, show who really had the leadership and a power. And I most say, I loved the episode. i loved the way they managed to brilliant writing with it. There were very few chars incolved and few people but it still played out nice. I think my favorite part was the walk to the Hill. The way Josh just started to have those amazing ideas - first the idea to go, then to walk and then to leave.. I can only imagine the buzz it would create if something like that happens in real.. and what kind of power those few steps gave for them in their endless hole.

So, brilliant writing, amazing acting and great episode.moreless
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Cast & Crew: STARS

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Martin Sheen	President Jed Bartlet
Dule Hill	Charlie Young
Allison Janney	Claudia Jean "C.J." Cregg
Richard Schiff	Toby Ziegler
John Spencer	Leo McGarry
Bradley Whitford	Josh Lyman

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Cast & Crew: RECURRING AND GUESTS

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Steven Pierce	OMB Director	Guest Star
Paul Mendoza	Rep. Ramirez	Guest Star
Andrew A. Rolfes	Republican Pundit	Guest Star
Michael Hyatt	Angela Blake	Recurring Role
Steven Culp	Jeff Haffley	Recurring Role
Gary Cole	Bob Russell	Recurring Role

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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TRIVIA (3)
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- Goof: On Day 3 of Shutdown, the team are eating pizza in the "war room". CJ takes a large bite but in the next shot over her shoulder we see a complete piece of pizza.
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- Jed talks about a basketball game between Providence and Notre Dame, but both teams are in the Big East conference where conference matchups rarely occur this early in the season.
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- Jed replaces the lid on the peanut butter jar and the camera pans to Abbey. When the camera pans back to Jed, the lid is no longer on the jar.
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QUOTES (1)
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- President Bartlet: I'm not going to negotiate with anyone who holds a gun to my head. We had a deal! I don't care if my approval ratings drop into the single digits. I am the President of the United States and I will leave this government shut down until we reach an EQUITABLE agreement!
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NOTES (1)
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- Although this episode and the previous one are not viewed as a two-parter, it picks up where the previous one left off, with the last lines of the previous episode appearing as this episode's first.
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ALLUSIONS (0)
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