The West Wing has proven to be a touchstone for many of us interested in politics, television, good writing, or just entertainment in general. And some of us (yes, me included) can really go down the rabbit holes of the storylines and the scripts and the overall universe of the show.
So come along with me, won't you, as I nerd out about exactly when and where this show is set! It'll be fun, I promise.
The Origin, Seasons 1-4
In general, the first four seasons were set pretty much exactly when they aired on those Wednesday nights on NBC, with a few exceptions we'll get to. Thanksgiving episodes aired in November, Christmas episodes in December, State of the Union episodes in January or February, election episodes around actual elections ... you get the picture.
When does it all start? In Pilot there's not any specific time setting other than Donna's remark of having worked for Josh for "a year and a half." Since we later discover she started during the New Hampshire primary campaign in late January or early February (or, after going back to Wisconsin, coming back for good in April), we are in early fall, most likely - and this episode aired September 22, 1999.
We get confirmation of the upcoming 2000 census in Mr. Willis Of Ohio, and In Excelsis Deo (December 15, 1999) firmly anchors us in Christmas of 1999 with all the talk of the approaching millennium. The season continues with a State of the Union episode around the time of the actual SOTU, and talk of college softball games in the mid-May season finale. So right from the start, Season 1, we know the events we are watching are set right around the same time they're being aired - this administration began with an election in 1998, and we watched the year play out from fall 1999 through spring 2000.
The following seasons continue with the timeline (mostly) aligning with the calendar. The resolution of season-ending cliffhangers means the events of the opening two-parters of the next season in the fall are set in the spring, immediately after those finales, throws things off a bit, but typically by the third episode of each season things are back to the actual calendar. The Midterms in Season 2 is a bit wonky, compressing things between August and November (and telling us the Rosslyn shooting was in August instead of May), but that's all for dramatic effect.
Season 2 has Thanksgiving, Christmas, and State of the Union episodes broadcast at around the times those events happened in reality. The finale is set in May (given the mention of the unusual tropical storm) and we also get another confirmation of the election timeline in 17 People, with Toby's remark about the upcoming 2002 Presidential race, so the series occurring in 2001 is verified.
Season 3 is the same: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and SOTU episodes in the right places, plus a New Hampshire primary set in early February. We also get another hard-wired confirmation of the date and year in Enemies Foreign And Domestic (airing May 1, 2002) that shows us CJ's emails from the day before dated 04-30-02. I mean, you can't get more exact with the actual calendar than that.
Season 4 has a few wobbles. There's an episode set at the beginning of the Supreme Court term in early October, which is correct; the election episode and the Christmas episode are in the appropriate places. As we move into 2003, things get a bit off track. CJ's high school reunion is in February (she mentions the month while fishing with her dad), which is weird for a high school reunion in the first place, but that also was broadcast before the inauguration episodes, which would have to be, of course, January 20. The California special election doesn't seem placed quite right, and the spring equinox in Evidence Of Things Not Seen airs a month late, but by Zoey's Georgetown graduation in mid-May we are close to to the actual calendar once again.
In general, Seasons 1 through 4 match up very closely with the actual calendar of those of us watching the original broadcast. The series begins with events in the fall of 1999, with the year confirmed in In Excelsis Deo, right as it's airing. The big holidays and elections and SOTUs and graduations of 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2003 all are broadcast pretty close to their actual dates. The millennium discussions of Season 1 and Toby's remark in 17 People verify that the Presidential elections came in 1998 and 2002 (and, by extension, the next one will be in 2006). There's no doubt at all that these four seasons play out over close to real time.
That doesn't continue.The Post-Sorkin Timeline: Season 5
Season 5, the first post-Sorkin season, tries to do some different things character-wise and plot-wise; mostly unsuccessful things, I think many viewers would agree, but the John Wells-led writing room took a while to find its footing and its voice. The season also partially unhooked itself from the actual calendar for the first time, at least in the early episodes.
The first two episodes of the fall wrap up the cliffhanger of Zoey's kidnapping and President Bartlet's stepping aside at the end of Season 4, so they occur in the spring. Okay, that's not unusual ... but then we get our one-and-only episode set on the Fourth of July (Jefferson Lives, airing October 8, 2003) and Disaster Relief, with a devastating tornado in Oklahoma, aired in November, which is well past tornado season in the Midwest. We do get wrenched back into the actual calendar with a Christmas episode in December and another SOTU episode in January. By the end of the season we know exactly where we are at, Memorial Day, 2004, with President Bartlet throwing out the first pitch at an Orioles game after the fatal roadside bombing in Gaza a few days before.
And with that bit of knowledge, with the show (generally) continuing to track from fall 1999 to spring 2004 over the first five seasons, things really start to fragment as we move into the following season. Timelines aren't going to make a lot of sense from here on.
The Time-Skip: Season 6
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The Compressed Campaign: Season 7
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Episode by Episode: Season 1
Pilot (September 22, 1999)
Fall of 1999
The only timeline-setting information we get here is Donna's remark that she's worked for Josh for "a year and half," when she joined the campaign. We will later discover (In The Shadow Of Two Gunmen) that she first showed up in New Hampshire just before the Bartlet staff decided to skip his home state and move on to South Carolina. Donna confirms that as February in 17 People. We also learned in 17 People that she left the campaign shortly after that to go back to her boyfriend in Wisconsin, but then came back to the campaign to stay in April of 1998. Rounding off "a year and a half" puts us somewhere between August and October - and this episode aired in late September. Pretty spot on.
"Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc" (September 29, 1999)
"About a week" after Pilot
Sam says he slept with Laurie "about a week ago," so this episode is about a week after Pilot. So still the fall of 1999.
A Proportional Response (October 6, 1999)
Begins 72 hours after the end of "Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc"
This episode begins 72 hours after the military medical transport was shot down over Syria, at the end of the previous episode, and ends the next day - so a week and a half after Pilot. There's a college football pool mentioned, and the college football season runs from the beginning of September into late November.
Five Votes Down (October 13, 1999)
No specific time reference
There's nothing definitive in the script about the setting of this episode. The Washington, DC, location scenes (Josh and Rep. Katzenmoyer, Leo and Rep. Richardson) appear to be warm and sunny with green leaves on the trees, and we know we're in the fall. That's about it.
The Crackpots And These Women (October 20, 1999)
A few days after the gun bill passed at the end of Five Votes Down
An upcoming press conference is expected to have questions over the just-passed gun control bill from Five Votes Down so it's not long after that episode.
The "Big Block Of Cheese" day is referred to as happening the first of each month; the first of October? (They also say they've only done it "twice in 12 months," but the administration has only been in office 9 1/2 months by the first of October, so ...)
Mr. Willis Of Ohio (November 3, 1999)
Two weeks after Five Votes Down
The upcoming census (which occurs every ten years) is a topic, and Sam actually confirms it as "the 2000 census." We also get "tomorrow's the start of a three-day weekend": we already know we're in the fall of 1999, so the only relevant Monday holidays could be Labor Day (September 6, seems a little late for that, given that college football was happening before Five Votes Down) or Columbus Day (October 11, about three weeks before this episode aired). Veterans' Day was on a Thursday in 1999, and Thanksgiving would be a four-day weekend, not three.
Leo tells the President that his wife left him "two weeks ago," which means this episode is two weeks after Five Votes Down.
Zoey says she's "starting college in a month," which would be the semester starting in January, 2000 (President Bartlet says it'll be "after the first" in The Crackpots And These Women). That would place this in December, but perhaps she was being approximate.
The State Dinner (November 10, 1999)
No specific time reference, but during football season
We know it's NFL season, as Josh makes a crack about the Redskins. Hurricane Sarah is in the Atlantic, but as hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30 and hurricanes can occur outside those times, that doesn't narrow anything down.
Enemies (November 17, 1999)
No specific time reference, but a Monday during football season
It's the third Cabinet meeting of the administration, and the first in six months. Still football season, as Sam mentions watching Monday Night Football that night.
The Short List (November 24, 1999)
Starts on a Monday (4 days until Thursday announcement), cold weather; confirmed as November 21, 1999 in Take Out The Trash Day (although Nov. 21 was actually a Sunday)
A Republican was President five years ago (Justice Crouch waited 5 years); three years until next Presidential election. It's chilly, as coats and gloves are seen outside the Supreme Court. Leo was in rehab "six years ago" (1993).
In Excelsis Deo (December 15, 1999)
Wednesday, December 23 and Thursday, December 24, 1999
Christmas trees and decorations, talk of carolers and Santa hats and Dickensian costumes; it's also 1999 coming up on 2000 ("It is not the new millennium. The year 2000 is the last year of the millennium. It's not the first one of the next"; "technically the millennium is still a year away?"). Confirmed that Leo was Secretary of Labor "six years ago" (1993). Zoey is starting Georgetown "in two weeks" - Georgetown spring semester generally starts the second week of January.
Lord John Marbury (January 5, 2000)
In January 2000, 12 days before the State of the Union
Donna and Josh are talking about golf, Donna asks "You play in the winter?" Josh says in his deposition "President Bartlet was sworn in 12 months ago." Zoey asks Charlie out for the first time.
He Shall, From Time To Time ... (January 12, 2000)
Early 2000, 10 days after previous episode, begins two days before State of the Union (actual 2000 date was January 27); verified as January in The Fall's Gonna Kill You
Mention of 106th Congress (Jan. 1999 to Jan. 2001). CJ says Danny gave her the fish "a few weeks ago." Leo says he went to Sierra Tucson "in June of 1993."
Take Out The Trash Day (January 26, 2000)
Still winter, ends on a Friday; February?
"22 degrees" in the Rose Garden. Nine months before midterm elections.
Take This Sabbath Day (February 9, 2000)
Begins on a Friday evening, continues over the weekend; still winter, it snows
Celestial Navigation (February 16, 2000)
Still winter, Sam obviously cold getting a cab; a Friday; eight weeks after The Short List (which would be late January, if that was around November 21)
"Eight weeks" after Mendoza's nomination, which would mean January 21-ish, before Take Out The Trash Day and around He Shall, From Time To Time ...
20 Hours In L.A. (February 23, 2000)
No specific time mentioned, but it's snowy in DC, so still winter
The White House Pro-Am (March 22, 2000)
No specific time mentioned
Six Meetings Before Lunch (April 5, 2000)
Starts on a Thursday, apparently in April, 2000
Toby says Mendoza on his radar for "three months" (which would mean late February or early March, perhaps, as Mendoza was nominated at the end of November). Toby also says they've been in office 15 months, which makes it April. Specific mentions of Ling-Ling and Hsing-Hsing, actual pandas at the National Zoo - Mandy says Hsing-Hsing died "earlier this year," in reality died in November 1999.
Let Bartlet Be Bartlet (April 26, 2000)
Starts on a Monday leading up to Easter (Easter in 2000 was April 23)
Josh says he's been on the job "14 months," which makes this March, but doesn't agree with the Easter timing or the 15 months reference in the previous episode.
Mandatory Minimums (May 3, 2000)
One week after previous episode
Leo's January press conference announcing his 1993 rehab is referred to as "two months" ago, which makes this March, but that doesn't fit with being after Easter
Lies, Damn Lies And Statistics (May 10, 2000)
Monday through Wednesday, three weeks after Let Bartlet Be Bartlet
Remarks of pulling poll numbers up over the past three weeks; Tuesday is 13 hours into the polling process; Laurie's graduation from GW Law is supposedly that Tuesday (was actually Sunday, May 28, 2000); Sam's first contact with Laurie "nine months ago" (from late May, makes that late August or so)
What Kind Of Day Has It Been (May 17, 2000)
May, 2000 (NCAA softball on TV, also confirmed by Toby in 17 People)
President Bartlet says he wants to watch Sacramento State vs. Pacific softball on TV that night (those schools did actually play a series April 21-22 in 2000; NCAA softball regular seasons end in early May with tournament play wrapping up on May 29, 2000); polling bump from Lies, Damn Lies And Statistics referred to as recent in Josh's conversation with Hoynes.
Episode by Episode: Season 2
In The Shadow Of Two Gunmen, Parts I and II (October 4, 2000)
Immediately following What Kind Of Day Has It Been, so May, 2000
We are officially told it's a Monday night in the cold open. The Dixie Pig capture of the skinhead happens early on a Tuesday. Josh comes out of anesthesia Tuesday morning. Josh's flashback to Hoynes is titled three years earlier, so sometime in 1997 - Hoynes says it's "13 weeks before the New Hampshire primary" which would be early November. Leo says it's October, though. The flashback to the New Hampshire campaign headquarters and Donna answering phones for Josh had to be before the primary, so probably January 1998.
The Midterms (October 18, 2000)
From a few days before August 14 to election day, November 7, 2000
We learn of Grant Samuels' death in the cold open, when Josh is still in the hospital. On August 14 we learn that happened "a few days ago." We are also told the Rosslyn shooting was "a week ago." Charlie and Zoey have been dating for nine months; their first date was around Lord John Marbury in January (making this September or October). Charlie says his mother was shot and killed "a year ago June." Josh is still recuperating at home on election day, saying he's stayed inside "for three months" (early August).
In This White House (October 25, 2000)
An undefined week during the NFL season
Sam made a bet with a crewmember on Capital Beat about the Redskins. On Tuesday we hear Capital Beat aired the night before; Leo later says it was Sunday night, but corrects himself to Monday night in a later scene. Episode ends on a Saturday morning with news of Nimbala's assassination.
And It's Surely To Their Credit (November 1, 2000)
Friday and Saturday in the fall
Weekly radio address is on leaf-peeping, and is referred to being recorded on a Friday. Ainsley has to have had the job for at least one week (hired on a Friday night). Another reference to Josh being out "the last three months." Bartlet says it's been "14 weeks" when Abbey says they can have sex (if we're going with the early August timeframe that's still the week of the election, which can't be since we had election/the week of Ainsley's hiring/this week).
The Lame Duck Congress (November 8, 2000)
No specific time mentioned, but after the midterms and after hiring Ainsley
106th Congress adjourned (so it is 2000); Toby says "a month from now" for a new Congress, so it may be early December. Marino says he's a Senator for "another ten weeks" which, counting back from January 3, puts this the last week of October which is before the election and therefore impossible (if Sorkin was using January 20 instead because he didn't know better, then it's the week after the midterms in November).
The Portland Trip (November 15, 2000)
A Friday night in the fall (Notre Dame playing Michigan the next day)
Notre Dame and Michigan actually did not play each other in football in 2000 (or 2001, for that matter). Seeing as they are not conference mates, their games are always in the non-conference part of the schedule, which between 1978 and 2018 was always in September.
Shibboleth (November 22, 2000)
Nov. 19-23, 2000: Cold open the Sunday night before Thanksgiving; ends on Thanksgiving morning
We're told it's Monday when CJ arrives to find the turkeys in her office; the final scene with the turkey pardoning and the Rose Garden ceremony is set on Thanksgiving itself (in real life that happens before Thanksgiving day).
Galileo (November 29, 2000)
No specific time mentioned
Charlie says he has been working in the White House for 18 months, which would actually be early 2001.
Noël (December 20, 2000)
Meeting with Stanley Keyworth is Christmas Eve; flashbacks begin three weeks earlier, then five days ago (Dec. 19) - date of Christmas party with Yo Yo Ma unspecified, but not long before Dec. 24
Josh's blowup in the Oval Office is the day of the party, the Yo Yo Ma concert is that night, followed by Josh breaking his window - that day (sometime after Dec. 19) is unspecified, but comes not long before the December 24 meeting with Stanley.
The Leadership Breakfast (January 10, 2001)
Early January 2001
In January, as the meeting is for the "new year" and Congress isn't seated until January 3 (and Bartlet complains about being forced to stand outside in January after the smoke alarms). It's cold, as seen with Josh and Sam building a fire in the Mural Room and the outdoor congressional press conference. "The year is one week old. The legislative session hasn't begun." The breakfast occurs on a Wednesday.
The Drop-In (January 24, 2001)
No specific time mentioned; early in 2001, not long after the previous episode
A year and a half after Pilot (reference to taking Al Caldwell's head off). There's a reference to the leadership breakfast (so recent).
Bartlet's Third State Of The Union (February 7, 2001)
A Tuesday in early February
George Bush's joint address in 2001 (not technically a State of the Union after his election) was on February 27. Going back to 1970 States of the Union were given in late January or (a few times) in early February (Feb. 17 is the latest). Ainsley has been "working here three months"; hired in November, makes this early February perhaps.
The War At Home (February 14, 2001)
From midnight following the State of the Union through early morning Thursday
The day is verified as a Wednesday, putting the State of the Union on a Tuesday night.
Ellie (February 21, 2001)
Wednesday night through a Friday night, sometime after the State of the Union
Surgeon General's online chat on a Wednesday night. Talk of the Blue Ribbon Commission on entitlements announced in the State of the Union.
Somebody's Going To Emergency, Somebody's Going To Jail (February 28, 2001)
A Friday, but no specific time mentioned
Starts on a Friday. Big Block of Cheese Day 2 (first one we saw was sometime in the fall of 1999).
The Stackhouse Filibuster (March 14, 2001)
A Friday night in March
A Friday night in March. Flashbacks begin on the previous Monday.
17 People (April 4, 2001)
A Thursday night following the previous episode
Cold open begins immediately after the previous episode, on a Friday night in March. We go through "Two nights later" (Sunday), "Two nights after that" (Tuesday), "The next night" (Wednesday), "The next morning" and then "That night" (Thursday) ... so it happens the Thursday night following the events of The Stackhouse Filibuster (which had to be in March considering there was exhibition baseball in Florida). It's some kind of holiday weekend - the only possible one at that time would be Easter, which was April 15 in 2001. Toby verifies the Presidential election is coming in 2002 and that the Rosslyn shooting happened in May.
Bad Moon Rising (April 25, 2001)
Monday following the previous episode
A Monday, following the events of 17 People (although Bartlet says it was "this past Friday night" instead of Thursday).
The Fall's Gonna Kill You (May 2, 2001)
Saturday; six days after Bad Moon Rising
Babish tells CJ he found out six days ago; Josh was told two days later (Wednesday). Babish verifies being there three months (since January). Josh tells Joey she has 96 hours to complete her poll (four days, so Wednesday).
18th And Potomac (May 9, 2001)
Sunday night and Monday during "May sweeps"
Initial meeting with Joey has to be after the Wednesday/96-hour deadline Josh gave her. Discussion of when to have the Bartlets go on TV lands on a Wednesday during May sweeps, and that discussion is on a Monday ("night after tomorrow"). Same day as Mrs. Landingham picking up her car (Monday). Say they just got Joey's numbers "in the middle of the night. Give him the day" so that apparently was Sunday. Abbey says "almost four years ago" she put Jed on Betaseron, so that would have been late 1997, maybe? Abbey earlier told CJ she was injecting Jed with Betaseron in Wichita during the campaign, so that seems to fit. In Manchester flashbacks to CJ's Thursday press conference on Haiti where she has her gaffe, we are told multiple times that the staff has "had a week" with the news of the MS ... there's no way that works with the polling timeline, the TV appearance, and the days of the week we are given (it has to be two weeks at least).
Two Cathedrals (May 16, 2001)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
Confirmed as "the middle of May" with discussion of the tropical storm.
Episode by Episode: Season 3
Isaac And Ishmael (October 3, 2001)
This one is clearly non-canonical and doesn't fit into the timeline of The West Wing universe.
Manchester, Parts I and II (October 10 and 17, 2001)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
Begins at the Wednesday night May press conference. Trip to New Hampshire begins "four weeks later" (say, mid-June) with the announcement speech planned for a Monday. Bruno and his team brought in "two weeks ago" (end of May/early June). CJ's press conference where she loses it (addressing the fly-by after the rescue from the embassy) was probably on the Thursday after the Wednesday events. It's repeatedly mentioned that the staff has "had a week" of knowing about the MS ... given the timeline for the polling, the TV appearance and the days of the week we are expressly given, that can't be right, it has to be at least two weeks. The scene with discussion of bringing Bruno in happens "a week" after the Haiti thing, I guess, like that next Thursday maybe. The actual meeting with Bruno is apparently "two weeks from Monday" of the announcement speech. When Toby argues against the New Hampshire announcement speech "two weeks" after the State Department appearance, Bruno says "this subject was closed on Tuesday." Josh says he has "30 months" as deputy chief of staff, which would actually be July 2001, but June is pretty close.
Ways And Means (October 24, 2001)
Tuesday through Thursday, during NBA season
During basketball season, which began at the end of October in 2001 - Bruno mentions an Indiana-Cleveland NBA game, where Victor Campos sat with Buckland. It's a Tuesday (CJ tells the press "Thursday, day after tomorrow"). Later scene, so next day, is labeled "Wednesday." Episode ends on Thursday. Dates must be October 2-4 going by Donna's diary in War Crimes.
On The Day Before (October 31, 2001)
Friday night into Saturday morning, not long after Ways And Means
The estate tax repeal discussed in the previous episode is vetoed, Gov. Buckland (who took Campos to the basketball game in the previous episode) is called in, and it's "a few nights" after Donna had two dates with Cliff Calley.
War Crimes (November 7, 2001)
Sunday
Begins on a Sunday (church shooting, NFL football)
Gone Quiet (November 14, 2001)
Probably mid-November (filing deadline for New Hampshire primary, nine weeks before spending on Iowa caucuses)
Filing deadline for New Hampshire (for the 2000 election the deadline was November 19, 1999). "Nine weeks" before Iowa caucuses (or at least spending money for Iowa caucuses).
The Indians In The Lobby (November 21, 2001)
The day before Thanksgiving (Nov. 21)
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The Women Of Qumar (November 28, 2001)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
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Bartlet For America (December 12, 2001)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
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H. Con-172 (January 9, 2002)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
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100,000 Airplanes (January 16, 2002)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
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The Two Bartlets (January 30, 2002)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
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Night Five (February 6, 2002)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
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Hartsfield's Landing (February 27, 2002)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
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Dead Irish Writers (March 6, 2002)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
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The U.S. Poet Laureate (March 27, 2002)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
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Stirred (April 3, 2002)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
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Enemies Foreign And Domestic (May 1, 2002)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
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The Black Vera Wang (May 8, 2002)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
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We Killed Yamamoto (May 15, 2002)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
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Posse Comitatus (May 22, 2002)
Wednesday following 18th And Potomac
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Episode by Episode: Season 4
20 Hours In America, Part I and II (September 25, 2002)
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College Kids (October 2, 2002)
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The Red Mass (October 9, 2002)
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Debate Camp (October 16, 2002)
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Game On (October 30, 2002)
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Election Night (November 6, 2002)
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Process Stories (November 13, 2002)
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Swiss Diplomacy (November 20, 2002)
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Arctic Radar (November 27, 2002)
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Holy Night (December 11, 2002)
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Guns Not Butter (January 8, 2003)
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The Long Goodbye (January 15, 2003)
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Inauguration, Part 1 (February 5, 2003)
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Inauguration: Over There (February 12, 2003)
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The California 47th (February 19, 2003)
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Red Haven's On Fire (February 26, 2003)
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Privateers (March 26, 2003)
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Angel Maintenance (April 2, 2003)
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Evidence Of Things Not Seen (April 23, 2003)
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Life On Mars (April 30, 2003)
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Commencement (May 7, 2003)
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Twenty Five (May 14, 2003)
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Episode by Episode: Season 5
7A WF 83429 (September 24, 2003)
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The Dogs Of War (October 1, 2003)
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Jefferson Lives (October 8, 2003)
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Han (October 22, 2003)
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Constituency Of One (October 29, 2003)
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Disaster Relief (November 5, 2003)
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Separation Of Powers (November 12, 2003)
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Shutdown (November 19, 2003)
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Abu el Banat (December 3, 2003)
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The Stormy Present (January 7, 2004)
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The Benign Prerogative (January 14, 2004)
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Slow News Day (February 4, 2004)
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The Warfare Of Genghis Khan (February 11, 2004)
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An Khe (February 18, 2004)
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Full Disclosure (February 25, 2004)
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Eppur Si Muove (March 3, 2004)
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The Supremes (March 24, 2004)
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Access (March 31, 2004)
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Talking Points (April 21, 2004)
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No Exit (April 28, 2004)
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Gaza (May 12, 2004)
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Memorial Day (May 19, 2004)
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Episode by Episode: Season 6
NSF Thurmont (October 20, 2004)
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The Birnam Wood (October 27, 2004)
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Third-Day Story (November 3, 2004)
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Liftoff (November 10, 2004)
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The Hubbert Peak (November 17, 2004)
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The Dover Test (November 24, 2004)
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A Change Is Gonna Come (December 1, 2004)
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In The Room (December 8, 2004)
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Impact Winter (December 15, 2004)
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Faith Based Initiative (January 5, 2005)
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Opposition Research (January 12, 2005)
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365 Days (January 19, 2005)
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King Corn (January 26, 2005)
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The Wake Up Call (February 9, 2005)
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Freedonia (February 16, 2005)
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Drought Conditions (February 23, 2005)
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A Good Day (March 2, 2005)
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La Palabra (March 9, 2005)
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Ninety Miles Away (March 16, 2005)
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In God We Trust (March 23, 2005)
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Things Fall Apart (March 30, 2005)
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2162 Votes (April 6, 2005)
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Episode by Episode: Season 7
The Ticket (September 25, 2005)
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The Mommy Problem (October 2, 2005)
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Message Of The Week (October 9, 2005)
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Mr. Frost (October 16, 2005)
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Here Today (October 23, 2005)
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The Al Smith Dinner (October 30, 2005)
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The Debate (November 6, 2005)
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Undecideds (December 4, 2005)
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The Wedding (December 11, 2005)
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Running Mates (January 8, 2006)
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Internal Displacement (January 15, 2006)
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Duck And Cover (January 22, 2006)
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The Cold (March 12, 2006)
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Two Weeks Out (March 19, 2006)
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Welcome To Wherever You Are (March 26, 2006)
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Election Day: Part 1 (April 2, 2006)
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Election Day: Part 2 (April 9, 2006)
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Requiem (April 16, 2006)
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Transition (April 23, 2006)
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The Last Hurrah (April 30, 2006)
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Institutional Memory (May 7, 2006)
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Tomorrow (May 14, 2006)
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In addition, we can pinpoint the events of the first season as 1999-2000, the same year as when it aired, which also implies the Presidential election cycle here is two years offset from real life and President Bartlet won his first election in November 1998; In Excelsis Deo, the first Christmastime episode that debuted December 15, 1999, had the characters discussing the upcoming millennium of January 1, 2000, so we know without a doubt what year we're in. From that defined starting point, we progress through President Bartlet's State of the Union address in January, 2000 (He Shall, From Time To Time ..., airing January 12, 2000) up through the spring of 2000 in What Kind Of Day Has It Been (which aired on May 17, 2000, and we hear President Bartlet talking about watching college softball on television, which is a spring sport that ends in mid-May).
Season 2 starts immediately in the aftermath of the end of Season 1 with In The Shadow Of Two Gunmen, also featuring flashbacks to how the Bartlet campaign staff got started sometime before the 1998 New Hampshire primaries - but of course those episodes are still set in the spring of 2000. The Midterms (aired October 18, 2000) takes us back to the fall of 2000, all the way to the November elections, so we actually go a couple of weeks ahead of "real time," but there are more problems than that with this episode.
"The Midterms" Exception
As we said, the Rosslyn shooting in What Kind Of Day Has It Been definitely happened in the spring of 2000. At the end of In The Shadow Of Two Gunmen Josh is coming out of surgery and we know he's going to survive. At the beginning of The Midterms we see Josh is still in the hospital, recovering, as we also hear that a Congressman had died the night before - but suddenly we see an onscreen graphic saying it's August 12, and Congressman Samuels died just a few days before that. Having Josh still in the hospital three months after his surgery seems excessive - and when we later hear CJ saying how the President's approval ratings have gone up because of the assassination attempt ("A week ago the job approval's at 51, we get shot it's 81") we are somehow supposed to believe the Rosslyn shooting happened in early August instead of May.
That conceit continues through the episode, with the President telling Toby on election night in November that he's wanted to send the FBI after the group behind the shooting "every night for the last 12 weeks." Twelve weeks before election night would be, again, early August and not sometime in May. And having Josh still recuperating at home in November complaining about being cooped up for "three months" puts his surgery in August and not May (which would be six months ago, not three).
It's obviously a dramatic choice by Sorkin to compress the timeline and tie the midterm elections more directly into the dramatic events of What Kind Of Day Has It Been, but it breaks the timeline set in Season 1. And it's also just a one-off that's ignored later on, as in 17 People Toby puts the shooting right back in May when he tells the President, "Not last May, he didn't, he didn't last May when you were under general anesthesia."
So ... The Midterms doesn't exactly fit into our timeline, but it does bring us definitely to the elections in November 2000. And that, by extension, also confirms that President Bartlet's first election victory came in 1998.
Back To The Timeline
We know the November elections have happened, so onward we go through the end of 2000 and the beginning of 2001. The Lame Duck Congress (airing November 8, 2000) has a little hiccup; while President Bartlet considers calling Congress back into session after they've adjourned but before the new Congress begins in January 2001, we hear Senator Marino tell Toby he's still a Senator for 10 more weeks. New Congresses begin on January 3; ten weeks before that would be October, which is actually before the election even happened. So that's wrong, but we're still between November and January with this episode.
Our first Thanksgiving episode, Shibboleth, aired November 22, 2000, the night before the actual Thanksgiving, so we're right back on track. It is interesting, though, that The Midterms took us up through November 7, and then there were four more episodes in between that episode and Shibboleth (including basically a full week of Ainsley's hiring and onboarding) that we are supposed to think happened all in just those two weeks. Oh, well.
Our next Christmas episode, Noël, aired on December 20, 2000. Bartlet's Third State Of The Union aired on February 7, 2001 - although technically that wouldn't be his third SOTU, it would have been his second; a newly elected President's first address to a joint session of Congress isn't actually a "State of the Union," but it's sometimes referred to as such. President Bush's address to Congress after his 2000 election came on February 27, so not far off from this airing.
The rest of Season 2 isn't really all that tied to the actual calendar - we do get a mention of spring training baseball in The Stackhouse Filibuster (airing March 14, 2001). 17 People (airing April 4, 2001) is explicitly set in April, given Josh's recognition of Donna's work anniversary - but it can't really be April if it's also six days after the events of The Stackhouse Filibuster (given how long it took Toby to figure out what Hoynes was up to) and we consider the baseball regular season started April 1, and President Bartlet refers to a "holiday weekend" (which has to mean Easter, which was April 15 in 2001). But those are mere quibbles over days: the important timeline part of 17 People is Toby expressly putting us right in the spring of 2001 with the upcoming Presidential election coming in 2002, when he says, "Leo, has there been a discussion in some room, someplace - anywhere, on any level, about Hoynes being dropped from the ticket in 2002?"
18th And Potomac and Two Cathedrals (the events of which are only 36 hours apart) are clearly set in May, given the discussion about the unusual tropical storm hitting Washington, DC, in May. So those episodes, airing May 9 and May 16, 2001, are right in the timeline of the series.
Season 3 and Manchester (airing October 10 and 17, 2001) picks up right where we left off with Two Cathedrals (well, after Isaac And Ishmael, which is self-defined as non-canonical), but we then move forward "four weeks" as we are shown in an onscreen graphic. So the scenes at the Bartlet farm and the big announcement must be happening in June. The Indians In The Lobby is at Thanksgiving, and aired November 21, 2001 (again, the night before actual Thanksgiving). Bartlet For America is set at Christmas, airing December 12, 2001. 100,000 Airplanes is the State of the Union episode, airing January 16, 2002 (the actual 2002 SOTU was on January 29). Hartfield's Landing (airing February 27, 2002) is set the day before the New Hampshire primary, which in 2000 was February 1.
The rest of Season 3 plays out with the Shareef assassination storyline, and isn't specifically tied to the calendar - but again, we've been pretty much seeing episodes set at about the time they've aired, so there's no reason to think anything has changed. We also can see the dates of emails in CJ's inbox in Enemies Foreign And Domestic, which shows the most current ones being received April 30, 2002 - which was the day before that episode aired on May 1, 2002.
Season 4 kicks off with 20 Hours In America, and we hear Bruno telling President Bartlet the "election's in six weeks." That episode aired September 25, 2002, just about six weeks before the midterm election date of November 5, so ... we are right on target again. The Red Mass aired October 9, and with the actual "red mass" including the Supreme Court justices occurring on the day before the court session begins on the first Monday of October (October 7 in 2002), we are still generally sticking with the calendar. Election Night aired on November 6, 2002, which was the day after the actual election day that year. Holy Night was that season's Christmas episode, and aired December 11, 2002.
A little hiccup happens early in 2003; while the inauguration episodes aired on February 5 and 12 (a few weeks after the actual inauguration on January 20), The Long Goodbye which aired before those episodes on January 15, is clearly set in February (CJ says as much to her dad). So that one comes out of order, and also makes us wonder what kind of high school holds its reunions in Ohio in February. There's also the hiccup in Inauguration Day: Part One of the onscreen graphic that says January 20 was a Sunday; January 20, 2003, was a Monday. Plus, should January 20 actually fall on a Sunday, while the President is sworn in at noon that day in accordance with the Constitution, the actual inaugural events aren't held until the following Monday, the 21st, including a second ceremonial swearing-in at the Capitol. I have no earthly idea why Sorkin made that day a Sunday here.
There's also the little hiccup of the special election for Horton Wilde's seat in California. In Game On Will tells us a special election has to be held in no more than 90 days, which means no later than February 3, 2003 (90 days after November 5). In The California 47th we get President Bartlet's appearance in California to support Sam over a weekend, which in 2003 would have had to have been February 1 and 2, yet we are told it's still a week until the election. So it was definitely more than 90 days.
Evidence Of Things Not Seen is set at the spring equinox, with CJ balancing an egg at midnight. That episode aired April 23, 2003, but the spring equinox was actually March 20. Not a huge deal, I suppose - but then Charlie also says Zoey will be graduating from Georgetown in two weeks. Georgetown's 2003 graduation was May 17, which is three and a half weeks from when this episode aired and more than two months after the spring equinox. Commencement, of course, is graduation day, so (again) May 17 or so - given it aired May 7, 2003, not too far off.
So to wrap up the first four Sorkin-led seasons - the episodes pretty much lined up with when they actually aired, from the fall of 1999 to the spring of 2003. There were a few instances of things not quite being exactly aligned, but by and large ... we are shown events happening roughly at the same time we are watching them occur.
That doesn't continue.
So to wrap up the first four Sorkin-led seasons - the episodes pretty much lined up with when they actually aired, from the fall of 1999 to the spring of 2003. There were a few instances of things not quite being exactly aligned, but by and large ... we are shown events happening roughly at the same time we are watching them occur.
