Fireworks promised on ‘West Wing’ live debate

< Prev | 1 | 2

Television video

SyFy reimagines ‘Alice in Wonderland’
Dec. 5: Caterina Scorsone, who plays Alice in the network’s modern adaptation of the classic novel, joins NBC’s Lester Holt and Amy Robach to discuss the series.

Stage star Chenoweth on new gig

‘Monk’ actor on show finale

Will LL Cool J show off his abs?

‘Chuck’ actor on ‘Chipmunks’ role

The producers are claiming they have yet to decide whether Vinick or Santos prevails; maybe Sunday’s show will offer clues.

“The West Wing” featured a debate before, between President Bartlet (Martin Sheen) and Republican opponent Robert Ritchie (James Brolin). But that fourth-season show switched between behind-the-scene machinations and the debate itself.

This time, the producers decided to really stretch TV’s boundaries. Scenes typically last scant moments; the debate episode will offer two 25-minute blocks of uninterrupted drama, most of it focused on the candidates.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

“We’re letting two great actors really go at each other and try to defeat each other for basically an hour, nonstop,” O’Donnell said, with the chance to go “deeper and deeper and slug each other harder and harder.”

Issues include taxes, health care and U.S. border security. (The topic of abortion was explored in the previous week’s episode.)

The challenges are “more exciting than daunting,” said Alda, who, like Smits, has worked on the stage. The “M*A*S*H” star also can claim live on-air experience: In the early days of TV and his career, Alda appeared on shows including “The U.S. Steel Hour.”

He likes his character — Vinick “seems unusual in that the positions he takes have some connection to the values he holds,” Alda notes dryly — and is rooting for him.

“It makes it fun. When an actor plays a character, you want what that character wants. Otherwise it doesn’t look authentic. So I really want to defeat Jimmy — I mean Jimmy as the character,” Alda said.

“No, he wants to win,” is the retort from Smits when told of Alda’s remark.

The actors and producers agree there’s significant room for error on a live episode, especially given how infrequently it’s done (an “ER” episode and the recent “Will & Grace” episode among the few examples).

Ever the strategist, O’Donnell suggests that missteps could prove as rewarding for viewers as a flawless hour.

“We could get it completely wrong. You might be able to only hear Alan Alda and not hear Jimmy because the mikes don’t work (or) the camera goes out; some crazy thing happens with the equipment. Certainly, the actors can lose their way.”

“There’s just nothing more fun to watch than that kind of train wreck. If I wasn’t involved with the show I’d be turning it on just to see: OK, how do they screw up,” he said.

< Prev | 1 | 2