Who will win the 'West Wing' debate?

[DeepModem Mom]

CNN/AP: Who will win the 'West Wing' debate?
Show goes live for candidate showdown
Friday, November 4, 2005


(AP Photo)
Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) and Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) will face off in a debate on Sunday's "West Wing."


LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- The powers behind "The West Wing" are making this campaign promise: Sunday's live debate between presidential candidates Arnold Vinick and Matt Santos will be far from politics -- or television -- as usual.

Laurence O'Donnell, who balances work as a political analyst and a "West Wing" executive producer, said the hourlong episode (8 p.m. EDT on NBC) represents "my wish-fulfillment debate."

"We are using the accepted liturgy of presidential debates. It will look the same, it will be moderated by Forrest Sawyer, a real news person, it will have all that real feel to it," O'Donnell said.

"But I think it will be more satisfying in that the candidates end up really going into the issues in a way that they normally would not," he said. "They end up each forcing the other to get more honest as the debate wears on."

In other words, Republican Vinick, played by Alan Alda, and Democrat Santos, portrayed by Jimmy Smits, will listen and respond to each other -- as opposed to real-world debates that tend to excise substance or spontaneity....


http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/11/04/apontv.westwing.ap/index.html

[OldLeftieLawyer]

1. Just like in the real debates,

it will be totally scripted.

Should be fun, though. I can't imagine either one of those actors working with a big square transmitter taped to his back.

HOW DID THEY GET AWAY WITH THAT?

I'm still so pissed .................

[DeepModem Mom]

2. Oh, that would be good -- if Alan Alda turned around, and there it was! nt

[zalinda]

5. It won't be totally scripted

they have been given permission to go off script. So, the east coast debate could be quite different than the west coast debate.

zalinda

[OldLeftieLawyer]

7. They're not going to go very far off

That's just not going to happen. I'm glad to hear the actors have been given some latitude - Alan Alda's a really good writer, with lots of credits, so he should be all right, but I don't know about Smits - but they'll be sticking to a script, for the most part, believe me.

Yeah, two versions will be different, but they've both got to end up with the same narrative arc, the same conclusion, so that limits them.

But, that's nice to know, even that small margin given for creativity.

Thank you.

[William769]

3. Don't know which will win.

But I'll be in front of the tv to find out.

[Greyskye]

4. I actually hope...

...that Alda (the republican) wins; and that the show demonstrates how an ethical conservative republican could actually do a decent job.

But I suppose that would make The West Wing a fantasy show instead of a drama.

[retread]

6. "ethical conservative republican" Hahahahahaha! Stop! You're making

my side hurt!!

[OldLeftieLawyer]

8. I'm with you

But I'm a big Alda fan. His new autobiography, by the way, is great.

I would hope, seriously, that any potential candidates for 2008 are carefully studying this storyline and taking some cues from these fictional candidates.

[DeepModem Mom]

9. Don't forget to watch tonight! nt