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The West Wing Season 5 Episodes
Season 5 Episode Guide
22 Episodes 2003 - 2004
The fifth series of The West Wing begins with US forces successfully rescuing Zoey Bartlet from her abductors, and President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) comes to terms with his actions that led to his daughter's kidnapping. Although he has taken his presidency back from Acting President Walken, he is in fact forced into a level of powerlessness. Season five ends with a bombing in Gaza, pushing Bartlet to attempt Israeli peace talks.
Episode 1
7A WF 83429
Wed, Sep 24, 2003 60 mins
As the fifth season opens, it is seven hours after Zoey Bartlet's kidnapping and the President has temporarily relinquished his office to Republican House Speaker Glenallen Walken (John Goodman), who reviews military options upon receiving a ransom note demanding the release of Pakistani terrorists and a pullout of U.S. troops from Saudi Arabia and Qumar. Meanwhile, Danny Concannon (Timothy Busfield) tells C.J. he's going to post his story on the Shareef assassination.
Episode 2
The Dogs of War
Tue, Sep 30, 2003 60 mins
Conclusion. As the Zoey Bartlet kidnapping crisis enters its second day, President Walken bombs terrorist training camps in Qumar. Meanwhile, Josh is certain that Walken's aides are plotting to ram their conservative agenda through Congress. Josh must also contend with an unwanted new intern, a freshly minted Harvard grad from an established political family named Ryan Pierce. And Will and Toby struggle to write two speeches for Bartlet to deliver once the crisis is resolved.
Episode 3
Jefferson Lives
Wed, Oct 8, 2003 60 mins
With Bartlet back in the Oval Office attention is turned to the choice for a new vice president. But the new house speaker has his own ideas. Gary Cole joins the cast as "Bingo Bob" Russell, a folksy Colorado representative who's on a short list (not the president's). Upstairs at the White House, meanwhile, the residence is not a happy home in the wake of Zoey's kidnapping. Says Abbey: "I blame Jed." Berryhill: William Devane. Amy Gardner: Mary-Louise Parker.
Episode 4
Han
Wed, Oct 22, 2003 60 mins
On the day that Rep. "Bingo Bob" Russell (Gary Cole) is confirmed as vice president, a North Korean pianist visiting the White House tells the president he wants to defect. His timing could be better: the State Department is holding secret nuclear-arms talks with the Koreans and the defection could upset them. Meanwhile, the staffers search for "language" to describe the softening economy and Will (Joshua Malina) is at a loss for words as he tries to write remarks praising Bingo Bob.
Episode 5
Constituency of One
Wed, Oct 29, 2003 60 mins
It's Josh's birthday, but Will receives what could be a gift: an offer to be the new VP's top aide. "You can shape the next presidency from the ground up," Russell tells him. Meanwhile, Toby's determined to push his "message calendar"; Amy does some skillful (perhaps too skillful) lobbying on appropriations for domestic-violence prevention; a conservative Democratic senator is holding up military promotions and Josh is having difficulty getting him to change his mind; CJ and Leo clash over coal.
Episode 6
Disaster Relief
Wed, Nov 5, 2003 60 mins
Josh isn't exactly the toast of the town after his miscalculation causes a conservative Democratic senator to switch parties. And C.J. prevails on the president to visit tornado victims in Oklahoma, leaving Leo to confront various crises (involving the capital-gains tax, the chancellor of Germany and hostilities between Greece and Albania) that need Bartlet's attention.
Episode 7
Separation of Powers
Wed, Nov 12, 2003 60 mins
Matthew Perry returns as deputy counsel Joe Quincy, a former clerk to the chief justice of the Supreme Court, who's tabbed by Toby to try to persuade the aging jurist (Milo O'Shea) to retire following a collapse. Meanwhile, Josh is on the sidelines as budget negotiations with Congressional Republican leaders reach a critical stage; and C.J.'s worried about Zoey's impending TV interview.
Episode 8
Shutdown
Wed, Nov 19, 2003 60 mins
A budget impasse with Speaker Haffley (Steven Culp) leads to a government shutdown (taking Charlie and Donna, among 940,000 others, off the job). "If we don't end it now," Toby warns Leo, "it'll become a referendum on the Bartlet presidency." That's just what Bartlet seems to want, even though the Republicans are clearly winning it.
Episode 9
Abu El Banat
Wed, Dec 3, 2003 60 mins
As the entire Bartlet clan gathers for the White House Christmas tree lighting ceremony (though Ellie's late, as usual), Christian missionaries are arrested in Sudan for proselytizing. Meanwhile, the DEA has suspended the license of a doctor who assisted with the suicide of a terminally ill patient in Oregon (where it's legal), and Bartlet's attorney general is siding with the DEA; and Bartlet's son-in-law, Doug Westin, has decided to run for Congress. He won't get White House backing.
Episode 10
The Stormy Present
Wed, Jan 7, 2004 60 mins
While pro-democracy demonstrations (or are they pro-theocracy protests?) wrack Saudi Arabia, an ex-President dies, giving Bartlet a chance to talk shop with two ex-Presidents aboard Air Force One. Meanwhile, Josh and Angela Blake referee a dispute between North Carolina and Connecticut over a copy of the Bill of Rights stolen (or was it "liberated"?) from the North Carolina statehouse at the end of the Civil War; and C.J. investigates rumors of Defense Department mind-control experiments.
Episode 11
The Benign Prerogative
Wed, Jan 14, 2004 60 mins
In the run-up to the State of the Union address, Bartlet weighs vetoing a crime bill because of sentencing guidelines it imposes. He also considers issuing pardons. Meanwhile, Toby and Joey Lucas (Marlee Matlin) "mall test" the speech in Michigan and Florida; and Charlie meets a young woman (Gabrielle Union) at a New Year's Eve party.
Episode 12
Slow News Day
Wed, Feb 4, 2004 60 mins
A late-night brainstorm sets Toby on a hush-hush mission to "save" Social Security. But touching that "political third rail" is always risky, particularly on a slow news day, when reporters are scrounging for stories. Meanwhile, Ryan (Jesse Bradford) hits on a method to wrangle initiatives from the policy staff. Senator Gaines: Josef Sommer. Senator Brainerd: Kate Burton. Senator Turner: Michael Nouri.
Episode 13
The Warfare of Genghis Khan
Wed, Feb 11, 2004 60 mins
A nuclear device explodes in the Indian Ocean and no one in official Washington seems to know who set it off. Meanwhile, Josh goes stargazing with a NASA administrator (Christina Chang) after blowing off the space agency at a meeting; Will lobbies for a "policy focus" for Vice President Russell (Gary Cole); and a cable newscaster (Jay Mohr) brands C.J. as his "chicken of the week."
Episode 14
An Khe
Wed, Feb 18, 2004 60 mins
A Navy fighter collides with a North Korean jet, and the U.S. crew is missing. And a defense contractor who saved Leo's life runs into trouble with his latest helicopter project. Meanwhile, a conservative congressman proposes a tax break for stay-at-home moms, which makes Josh apoplectic; Abbey wants to volunteer at an inner-city medical clinic; Barlet reluctantly sits for an official portrait; and C.J. decides to confront the cable-news talker who branded her "chicken of the week."
Episode 15
Full Disclosure
Wed, Feb 25, 2004 60 mins
John Hoynes is back in the news, claiming Bartlet and Leo tried to talk him out of resigning after his sex scandal broke. This is political dynamite, and C.J. learns of it from cable talker Taylor Reid on-air. Meanwhile, Toby spars with union representatives over Chinese trade policy; Josh reluctantly leaves a meeting on military-base closings to the mercies of Ryan Pierce; and the mayor of Washington, D.C., decides he wants a school-voucher program congressional Republicans are forcing on him.
Episode 16
Eppur si muove
Wed, Mar 3, 2004 60 mins
Abbey plays doctor on "Sesame Street," giving Elmo a checkup in an effort to soften up her public image. But the other medical news isn't so good: a conservative congresswoman (Cherry Jones) is going after the "below the belt" NIH project that Dr. Ellie Bartlet (Nina Siemaszko) is working on. Meanwhile, the judicial nomination of a law-school friend of Josh's (Michael Gaston) is being held up in committee; and C.J. has a lunch date with her old flame Ben (Brian Kerwin).
Episode 17
The Supremes
Wed, Mar 24, 2004 60 mins
Glenn Close guest stars as a federal judge whom Josh is pushing to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the sudden death of a conservative justice. Trouble is, she's too liberal to be confirmed (and she has a poetically just skeleton in her closet). Meanwhile, Andy Wyatt is joining a congressional fact-finding mission to the Middle East that troubles the White House. Chief Justice Ashland: Milo O'Shea. Bradford Shelton: Robert Picardo. Christopher Mulready: William Fichtner.
Episode 18
Access
Wed, Mar 31, 2004 60 mins
A day-in-the-life episode finds a documentary crew following C.J. as she copes with an FBI-standoff crisis in Washington State. Making the situation dicier: The fact that a similar crisis early in Bartlet's first term ended tragically. C.J.'s office must also deal with an advance team from the Vatican planning a meeting between the president and the pope, and questions from a reporter alleging that it was unethical of the first lady to accept a gown.
Episode 19
Talking Points
Wed, Apr 21, 2004 60 mins
On a day the president is to travel to Brussels to sign a trade pact, Josh learns that a U.S. tech firm will outsource 17,000 jobs to India. Meanwhile, C.J. tries to get reluctant reporters to write about an FCC media-consolidation ruling that smells fishy to her; Josh and Donna are feuding; and Bartlet has an awkward discussion about U.S.-French relations with a new NSC deputy (Mary McCormack). Richard Schiff directed.
Episode 20
No Exit
Wed, Apr 28, 2004 60 mins
Resentments fester when the White House is locked down after a suspicious substance is found near the Oval Office. Staffers must remain where they are---and with whomever they're with. This is bad news for Toby and Will, whose already-unraveling relationship is spiraling downward faster in the wake of a speech (written by Will) that Toby feels undercut Bartlet. Meanwhile, C.J. has career advice for Donna; Leo and Abbey spar over health issues; and Josh gets to know new NSC staffer Kate Harper.
Episode 21
Gaza
Wed, May 12, 2004 60 mins
Donna is seriously injured in a terrorist car bombing while on a congressional fact-finding mission in Gaza. Three Americans are killed. And as the president and staffers struggle to deal with the tragedy emotionally, they must also craft a response. In flashbacks, Donna learns firsthand why the conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is, as Toby puts it, "a 50-year sinkhole of hopelessness and despair." She also meets a dashing British photojournalist.
Episode 22
Memorial Day
Wed, May 19, 2004 60 mins
The fifth season concludes with Donna in a military hospital in Germany and Bartlet facing a decision about the U.S. response to the terror attack in Gaza. The country (and Leo and Congressional Republicans in particular) wants a firm military response, but new NSC aide Kate Harper (Mary McCormack) offers different counsel. Later the president warms up unenthusiastically for first-ball duty at Camden Yards, while flashbacks recall his uneasy first meeting with Fitz (John Amos).
