r/thewestwing • • Apr 14 '26

Revision of Revision to r/TheWestWing rules

463 Upvotes

Hello all,

As you may have spotted if you've been browsing the subreddit over the past 24 hours, we've had a *slightly* contentious time after introducing a rule change forbidding discussions of current politics.

As a new mod team, we've also had a steep learning curve, both about modding a relatively large subreddit linked to politics in the current era, and about how to respond to user concerns.

In short:

  1. We are revoking the rule change and instead, in keeping with the good intentions of the original rule change, reminding everybody of Rule 6 (play nice) and Rule 8 (don't post content completely off-topic to the show). What this means is that users are welcome to post, for instance, about the Supreme Court justices in the show and compare that to the appointment process in the current era. However, in that instance, straight up posting 'The appointment process for Supreme Court justices sucks in the modern era' and not tying that in to the West Wing is not allowed.

  2. One of the moderators, who was responding to multiple subreddit users antagonistically, has been removed.

We would also like to clarify that there are no 'top mods' and that we, as a bunch of volunteers who in many cases are modding for the first time, had good intentions when introducing this rule as a response to some abusive content on the subreddit.

We are sorry, and hope you can understand that we're a bunch of newbies learning the ropes!

Finally; yes, CJ may have threatened us with a couple of motherboards.

Edit:

Removed the link to the original rule change as [u/lefromagepuant](u/lefromagepuant) deleted the post, given that it was defunct.

I can see there’s some consternation about rules in the sidebar in the comments; please rest assure that it’s just us working out the technical stuff and not us trying to pull a fast one.

Edit 2:

Aw jeez. I’ve woken up properly and it seems I messed up. To explain as succinctly as possible; I live in the UK and was going to bed as I made the edit to remove the link to the OG post. I did this on mobile half-asleep. I must have accidentally affected the formatting of the post which has resulted in the literal worst edit possible being made. That’s on me, I’ve edited the post to put it back in. All I can say is sorry and that it really wasn’t intentional.


r/thewestwing • • Mar 24 '26

What's Next? Hello from your new mod team!

289 Upvotes

The shutdown is over, normal posting can resume, and finest muffins and bagels in all the land are once again available. Please bear with us as we learn the ropes.

Your new mod team consists of:

u/colocop

u/MeetingOfTheMars

u/hobrosexual23

u/johnacraft

u/Dangerous_Prize_4545

u/le_fromage_puant

u/WarderWannabe

u/srm79

u/NYY15TM

u/LAMA207

Mods can be removed by 25th amendment should 2/3rds of the subreddit and the vice-president agree.

Break's over. What's next?


r/thewestwing • • 5h ago

I finally got around to watching the West Wing

68 Upvotes

I never watched West Wing when it first came out, but must say I've enjoyed binge watching it. The show has aged well. The technology may have changed, but the core issues remain much the same, the characters were very well written and the acting was excellent. I say all this as a rather conservative fellow. Once in awhile I found myself yelling at the tv, but usually the opposing viewpoints were presented fairly and the arguments were thought provoking.😆

Observations:

i wish they had kept Ainsley for the full length of the show. Her character provided some nice counter arguments.

The Josh character was rather obnoxious - I didn't know whether to be happy for Donna finally getting her man or feel pity that she did.

It was nice to see the cast reunited at the end of the show.

Leo was my favorite character. I could disagree with a man like that, but still respect and like him. I wish we had real politicians like him.


r/thewestwing • • 2h ago

Big Block of Cheese Day Mysterious series regular / reverse mandyville?

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25 Upvotes

So on my last rewatch, I sort of casually tracked this guy. He plays a secret service agent who seems to be on Bartlet's detail. As far as I can tell, he only speaks once in the whole series - in the second scene of season 2 episode 1. But he appears in most of the episodes of the series. Pretty interesting to have a background actor have close proximity with the series lead for 7 years and only speak once. One wonders if he became friends with Sheen or others!

Anyways, I can't really figure out who he is despite the fact that a bunch of agents are listed and you assume he would be credited since he spoke: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0745639/fullcredits/?ref_=tt_cst_sm


r/thewestwing • • 7h ago

What's Next? Is Jed Bartlet a good man?

44 Upvotes

What I love about this scene is - CJ asks if Jed Bartlet knew about CJ and instantly found out Toby was lying but her face lit up when she says - McGary wants me?

I am guessing Leo was very well known in the party and everyone knew him for the great principled man he was?

What a scene!


r/thewestwing • • 23h ago

Real life imitating Art.

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767 Upvotes

r/thewestwing • • 1h ago

What are your favorite sets of contiguous episodes?

• Upvotes

I'm not talking specifically about story arcs (though there are some great multi-episode arcs) but more just about a grouping of episodes that are all just downright excellent on their own! A few of mine just from the first few seasons:

S01E10-12: In Excelsis Deo, Lord John Marbury, He Shall from Time to Time

S02E08-10: Shibboleth, Galileo, Noel

S02E16-18: Somebody's Going to Emergency..., The Stackhouse Filibuster, 17 People

S03E08-09: The Women of Qumar, Bartlet for America

I intentionally tried to exclude a lot of the "lead up to the season finale" groupings... although there are some great ones, some of them (like the end of S02, S05, S06) are focused on a single story arc for the purposes of this question.


r/thewestwing • • 48m ago

Walk ‘n Talk How did Sam and Josh became acquainted / friends?

• Upvotes

Hey so, I have watched the show like several times . I know in the flashback Josh goes to Sam’s office at Gage Whitney on the way to Nashua.

I know both studied law but Josh went to Harvard and Sam went to Duke. Did they get acquainted in their college days via inter college fest / moot court competitions and went onto become good friends as they shared common values and ideologies?

There is also the age gap. Josh is senior ( I don’t know by how much ) to Sam so I am not sure about my inter college meet up theory :)

Or was it at annual conventions held by the Democratic Party ?

I am genuinely curious !

Please don’t get too serious and start fighting in the comments ! This is all made up! None of this happened in real life . This is a fictional show . Let’s remember that :)


r/thewestwing • • 3h ago

The Stackhouse Filibuster

8 Upvotes

"The Steakhouse Filibuster" is a different story when you have a child having problems because they're on the spectrum


r/thewestwing • • 3h ago

The Abstinence+ campaign S1E03

6 Upvotes

Was it spelled "Everything But" or "Everything Butt"? They both make sense.

Thought it was one of the cleverest moments.


r/thewestwing • • 22h ago

A “minor work” showed up on my background today! Cleverly titled.

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100 Upvotes

r/thewestwing • • 21h ago

“Stirred” Moment

23 Upvotes

I was watching “Stirred” tonight and in the subplot, Hoynes takes his name off a bill so that it can pass. Leo tells him that he deserves his name on the bill and Hoynes says “I got my name on other stuff.”

I think of the times we live in and how some people refuse to do anything unless they get their name on it. Man, the number of times I wish that we lived in this. Best fantasy TV Series ever.


r/thewestwing • • 22h ago

Its wild how accurate this episode ended up being

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24 Upvotes

“How come we don’t have anyone as funny as you back home?” “Because you killed them all.”

Feels like Sorkin could see into the future lol


r/thewestwing • • 19h ago

What kind of day has it been?

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11 Upvotes

r/thewestwing • • 1d ago

I Appreciate This Community So Much!

33 Upvotes

Hey everyone! I just have to say that I appreciate you all so much. A lot of times I'll come on to Reddit and see something funny that one of you wrote and it brightens my day. I also love that we can all quote the show; that one of us can type a quote from a scene, and so many others jump in and add the next line after a quote. You're my people and I love you all!


r/thewestwing • • 1d ago

You’re going to open your mouth and you’re going to lift houses off the ground. Whole houses clear off the ground.

20 Upvotes

r/thewestwing • • 8h ago

The shooting scene

0 Upvotes

Is it just me, or does anyone else, on their seventh rewatch of this series in a single year, still skip the shooting episode, or at least the final few scenes, because it’s just too heart-wrenching to watch?


r/thewestwing • • 19h ago

Relax everyone. Breathe regular.

7 Upvotes

r/thewestwing • • 1d ago

Allison Janney has spoken out multiple times to say what a privilege it is to hear how many women saw her as CJ, and were inspired to enter government and public service

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466 Upvotes

I think such statements will now come with an asterisk and a disclaimer.


r/thewestwing • • 1d ago

Martin Sheen & Richard Schiff will be at Motor City Comic Con next month!

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148 Upvotes

r/thewestwing • • 1d ago

Tribute to John Spencer - The West Wing

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6 Upvotes

r/thewestwing • • 1d ago

Take Out the Trash Day Take Out the Trash Day

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23 Upvotes

Our current admin thinking they're slick burying casualty updates in the trash.


r/thewestwing • • 2d ago

Let me as you something, which Plantagenet do I most remind you of?

38 Upvotes

There's no other series in the history of TV that would include that line of dialogue.

God, I'm sorry, I love this show!


r/thewestwing • • 1d ago

From The President’s Science Advisor and Psychics at Caltech Does Katie Zacharia Have a Purse?

14 Upvotes

She goin to Riyadh or Tehran?


r/thewestwing • • 2d ago

Continuity I just noticed: Ben Yosef in Season 2 (maybe?)

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39 Upvotes

Ben Yosef, Israeli Foreign Minister, is first introduced in S4.E4, "The Red Mass", and his character is significant to the plot arc of season 4. On my current rewatch, I just noticed this though in S2.E17, "The Stackhouse Filibuster": When eating dinner with the president, Leo is on the phone discussing a G-8 meeting in Tel Aviv with someone named "Ben". Same person? Just a coincidence? Who's to say.