A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote

Good evening. I'm Bradley Whitford.

And in 1999,

I walked onto Stage 17 on the Warner Bros. lot

to shoot the first episode of "The West Wing."

21 years later, we've gotten the band back together

here at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Los Angeles...

And under the strictest COVID protocol...

To benefit a non-profit, non-partisan organization

called When We All Vote.

We went to When We All Vote and said,

"You guys are a great organization.

You're helping to get out the vote

and combat voter suppression.

What can we, the People's Choice Award-nominated

cast of 'The West Wing, ' do to help?"

They thought about it a moment and said, "Nothing.

You have no skills or experience that can help us in any way.

Why don't you go put on one of your little shows

where everything works out in the end?"

And so, forgetting to factor for sarcasm, we said, "Sure!"

We're going to do a staged reading

of an episode called "Hartsfield's Landing,"

and in the act breaks, you'll hear from cast members,

friends, and special guests.

We understand that some people don't fully appreciate

the benefit of unsolicited advice from actors.

We do know that.

And if HBO was willing to point a camera

at the 10 smartest people in America,

we'd gladly clear the stage for them.

But the camera's pointed at us,

and we feel, at a time like this,

that the risk of appearing obnoxious

is too small a reason to stay quiet

if we can get even one new voter to vote.

Finally, as many of you know,

during the final season of our show, John Spencer died.

John was a revered and beloved member of the company

who can't be replaced.

Tonight, to read the role

of White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry,

we borrowed an actor we know John would have admired.

For the last few years, he's been starring

in a little TV show called The Emmy Awards.

We welcome Sterling K. Brown, and we have no intention

of sabotaging his performance every chance we get.

I'm a little scared to stop talking,

because I don't know what's going to happen once I do.

I guess we'll all find out together.

Here is "Hartsfield's Landing."

"Teaser. Exterior tarmac... night.

The lights from the waiting motorcade flash

as Air Force One glows in the background.

A small press corps waits behind a rope line,

and the plane's main cabin door opens.

Bartlet emerges.

Andrews Air Force Base,

8:40 p.m. Eastern Standard Time."

- Welcome home, Mr. President. - Welcome back, Mr. President.

- How was your trip to India? - Question, please.

Welcome home, Mr. President, sir. Thank you, what'd I miss?

Any further follow-up after New Delhi?

I'm sorry? Any follow-up after New Delhi?

We spoke several times about Kashmir. She assured me

they're seeking a peaceful resolution.

We also had a very spirited conversation about chess.

The Prime Minister plays chess?

Chess was invented in India. Somewhere around 600 A.D.

A gigantic chessboard was constructed at Fatephur Sikri,

which was the capital a long time ago,

and human figures were used as chess pieces

and moved at the Emperor's will.

It's what I like to call the good old days.

The Prime Minister presented me with four different chess sets,

a minaret set...

C.J.? Hey, Leo.

What's he doing? The History of Chess

by Dr. Josiah Bartlet.

Get him in the car. What's goin' on?

And get the press pool back here, too.

What's goin' on? China.

Okay.

...and a lacquered classic Staunton in boxwood.

Thank you, everybody.

Hey, don't forget, Hartsfield votes

in 3 hours, 21 minutes,

we're gonna find out who the next President is.

- Yes, sir. - Thank you, sir.

I'm gonna give some of the chess sets out as gifts,

did you see them? Leo needs you in the car.

Did he say... China.

Yeah.

Good evening, Mr. President.

What's goin' on?

Intel says that Taiwan's getting ready

to test fire three Patriots. Where?

A base on an island in the Pingdong region.

What's China's reaction?

An acceleration of integrated military exercises.

Big. Yeah.

How big?

Unprecedented.

Should we tell Taiwan not to test the missiles?

Sir?

No. I mean, we could try, but they're not gonna go for it.

They might.

What kind of area?

A 6,600-mile rectangle.

What are they asking for?

They want us to put some hardware in the Taiwan Strait.

Tonight. Yes, sir.

I'm assuming Nancy and Fitzwallace and the Chiefs...

Everyone concurs, Mr. President.

You? Yes, sir.

We have a pretty good sense of the worst-case scenario?

We end up sending he largest U.S. Naval armada

to Southeast Asia since the end of Vietnam.

That sounds right.

Sir?

I was just thinking how much things change in 60 seconds.

We're gonna assemble in the Sit Room.

She gave me these beautiful chess sets.

The Prime Minister?

Yeah.

I'm on my way.

Let Fitzwallace know I'm gonna order the 7th Fleet

into the Taiwan Strait.

Yes, sir.

Let's go.

I'm Michelle Obama, and I want to thank the cast and crew

of "The West Wing" for supporting When We All Vote.

And I want to urge every single one of you

to vote as early as you can,

in person or by mail.

Just vote. And don't stop there.

Reach out to everyone you know to make sure they're registered

and they've made a plan to cast their ballots,

because every vote will make a difference in this election.

Thanks again, everyone.

Enjoy the rest of the show.

I'm Rob Lowe. And I'm Allison Janney,

and we'll get back to "Hartsfield's Landing"

in just a second. So, tonight,

the cast members and some guests are gonna talk about voting.

We're going to try to clear up some confusion,

provide some information,

and who knows, maybe possibly some inspiration.

But we'll happily take the first two.

But we should definitely go for inspiration.

Okay, but information and clearing up confusion

are the priorities.

And inspiration. Fine.

For instance, we're going to tell you

that if you're not registered to vote,

don't know where your polling place is,

The whole process takes 30 seconds.

Yeah, just half the time it takes to make a TikTok video.

How would you know that? I don't want to talk about it.

Alright, so we'll go back to "Hartsfield's Landing" now,

with a reminder that we're stronger,

we're freer, we're fairer and we're better when we all vote.

What was that? Inspiration.

Thank you.

"Act One. Interior situation room... night.

Bartlet and Leo walk in as we hear a quiet, 'Ten-hut.'"

Good evening.

- Good evening, Mr. President. - Evening, sir.

Listen, they start voting in Hartsfield's Landing

in about 2 1/2 hours,

so this may end up being somebody else's problem.

The scale of the war games are unprecedented?

It's a simulation of an invasion of the Penghu Islands,

and it includes battles against intervention

from foreign aircraft carriers.

What's the Taiwanese reaction so far?

All armed forces are on heightened alert.

The war minister has called for an emergency cabinet meeting.

What about equipment movement?

Keyhole shows 10 AH-1W helicopters...

Supercobras? Yeah, on the tarmac

at Ching Chuang Kang. The Nimitz?

About two hours away.

The Independence? Also two hours away.

What other assets can be moved in?

There's a battle carrier group,

the Carl Vinson, that's on its way

to relieve the Constellation in the Arabian Gulf.

Alright, lemme backtrack a second.

What's C.J. facing in the press room right now?

Well, Xinhua's reporting the live-fire exercises.

Is the Carl Vinson close enough to make a detour

into the South China Sea?

We think that's our next move.

Sir?

That's our next move.

And after that?

After our next move comes their next move.

- C.J.! - C.J.!

Is the President going to ask the Taiwanese

to hold off testing the Patriots?