Trivia / The West Wing S 01 E 01 Pilot

• Genius Bonus: Leo's argument with the New York Times staffer about the spelling of Qaddafi's name is likely a nod to the fact that there never was any standardized westernized spelling of his name. The Library of Congress is claimed to have a list of 72 recognized spellings of his name, with various news agencies using dozens more. A 2009 ABC News article claimed that there were at least 112 different ways to spell his name.
• Production Posse: Lisa Edelstein and Janel Moloney had both guest-starred on Sports Night, Aaron Sorkin's previous series, while Martin Sheen had appeared in The American President (which The West Wing is a Spiritual Successor to) and Bradley Whitford had appeared in the original stage version of A Few Good Men.
• What Could Have Been:
  • In an early draft of the script, Mandy's first scene was going to be with her assistant Daisy, and they would be unpacking all of their boxes and trying to find the box that told them what was in all of their other boxes (Sorkin would use the gag for Donna in "Ways And Means").
  • Charlie Young was included in early drafts of the script with a slightly different backstory. He was originally meant to be a 19-year-old Georgetown student taking a year off studies to work for the President. Charlie was eventually reintroduced in "A Proportional Response", after the show received criticism for its Monochrome Casting.

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