1x22 What Kind of Day Has It Been? - The West Wing Episode Guide

The West Wing

- Episode 01x22

Episode: 01x22
Title: What Kind of Day Has It Been?
Type: Regular Episode
Production Code: 225921
First Aired: May. 17, 2000

Season 1 » Episode #22 - What Kind of Day Has It Been?

The West Wing - 01x22 What Kind of Day Has It Been?

Summary: Bartlet and the staff prepare for a town meeting with college students while dealing with getting an American pilot, who was shot down in Iraqi territory, home before he’s captured. Toby’s brother is involved in a potential disaster on an orbiting space shuttle. Josh works to convince the Vice President to change his stance on campaign finance reform. Later, as Bartlet and the staff leave the meeting, bullets begin to fly.

Who appeared in this episode?

Guest Stars:

Mandy Hampton	played by Moira Kelly
President Josiah 'Jed' Bartlet	played by Martin Sheen
Danny Concannon	played by Timothy Busfield
Agent Gina Toscano	played by Jorja Fox
Zoey Bartlet	played by Elisabeth Moss
Cathy	played by Suzy Nakamura
Secret Service Agent Ron Butterfield	played by Michael O'Neill
Percy Fitzwallace	played by John Amos
Vice President John Hoynes	played by Tim Matheson

Season 1 / Episode 22: - What Kind of Day Has It Been?

Percy Fitzwallace: The eagle... on the seal in the carpet. In one talon he's holding arrows and in the other an olive branch. Most of the time, the eagle is facing the olive branch, but when congress declares war, the eagle faces the arrows. How do they do that? Do you think they've got a second carpet sitting around in the basement someplace?

Season 1 / Episode 22: - What Kind of Day Has It Been?

President Josiah Bartlet: "We hold these truths to be self-evident," they said, "that all men are created equal." Strange as it may seem, that was the first time in history that anyone had ever bothered to write that down. Decisions are made by those who show up.

[More Quotes]

MISTAKES/GOOFS

FACT: When the F-117 pilot is rescued in Iraq, President Bartlet is told he is safe and on his way to Tel Aviv, Israel. An American military member under those circumstances would have either been taken to a U.S. military location in the region, either a base or a U.S. Navy ship. If he had been evacuated to Israel, he would not have gone to Tel Aviv but to Haifa, which is Israel's largest port and (unlike TA) often hosts U.S. vessels.
FAIR: At the town hall meeting, President Bartlet claims that his great-grandfather's great-grandfather, Josiah Bartlett, signed the Declaration of Independence. His name is spelled differently from the character on the show, but it's common for names to shift slightly in spelling over so many generations.
FACT: A major storyline involves an F-117 plane being shot down over Iraq. While the F-117 was an active part of the USAF in 2000 and has been used in Iraq in real life, the show says that the plane was conducting routine surveillance and wasn't combat-equipped when it was shot down. The F-117 was a fighter/bomber plane that A) would always have been equipped with bombs and missiles and B) would never have been used for ordinary surveillance, especially with numerous other USAF planes that could fill that function.
CONT: In the opening teaser, President Bartlet says that "a guy on my staff showed me a report...". When the same scene is shown near the end of the episode, he says "a guy on my staff named Charles Young showed me a report..."
FACT: Admiral Fitzwallace observes that. The Presidential Seal, has a shield bearing bald eagle clutching olive branches in its right talons and arrows in its left. The eagle's head is turned toward the olive branches. The show mentions that in times of war, the Presidential Seals are replaced with an eagle whose head is turned toward the arrows. This is not true at all. Prior to 1945, the eagle on the Presidential seal pointed to its left, and the arrows. In 1945 it was redesigned to point to its right and the olive branch. The reasoning for the change was that in heraldry, left pointing items were considered dishonorable. In order to "sell" the new seal to the general public, the press release stated that in the time of peace following WWII the eagle would now point to the olive branch of peace.

TRIVIA

During the taping of the final scene, Jorja Fox's foot was run over by one of the limousines. She continued working on the scene until Aaron Sorkin was informed by the driver of the car that her foot had been run over. She was taken to the hospital and treated for a broken foot before returning to work. According to Sorkin, Fox apologized and said that it was her fault for missing her mark.
The last episode of the first season of all three of Aaron Sorkin's TV shows ("The West Wing" (1999), "Sports Night" (1998), and "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip" (2006)) is entitled "What Kind of Day Has It Been?"