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Isaac and Ishmael

 
TV Episode:

The West Wing: Isaac and Ishmael

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  • Genre: Drama
  • Movie Type: Prime-Time Drama, Political Drama
  • Themes: Heads of State
  • Director: Christopher Misiano
  • Release Year: 2001
  • Run Time: 60 minutes

Plot

The West Wing launches its third season with this special stand-alone episode, designed to address the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Producer Aaron Sorkin briefly interrupts the series' continuity (involving possible impeachment charges against President Jed Bartlett [Martin Sheen]) with a poignant hour-long glimpse behind the doors of the White House during an emergency lockdown in the wake of a 9/11-style disaster. Among those sequestered in the building are a group of gifted high-school students, for whom Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) is conducting a guided tour. In the course of a very tense evening, Josh and the students come in contact with several other staffers, each one offering an opinion or reflection on the national crisis. Much to the students' surprise, President Bartlet himself shows up to field their questions and to mollify their fears (though ostensibly he is wandering the halls in search of a baked apple!). In a pointed reference to possible repercussions following the "real" 9/11 tragedy, one of Bartlet's aides finds his security clearance in question because of his Islamic background. Its title referring to a parable found in the pages of both the Bible and the Koran, "Isaac and Ishmael" was one of the most controversial -- and most memorable -- episodes of the 2001-2002 season. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Wikipedia: Isaac and Ishmael
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"Isaac and Ishmael"
The West Wing episode
Episode no. Season 3
Episode 0
Written by Aaron Sorkin
Directed by Christopher Misiano
Production no. 227206
Original airdate October 3, 2001
Guest stars

Ajay Naidu
Michael O'Neill
Jonathan Nichols
Jeanette Brox
Season 3 episodes
  1. Manchester Part I
  2. Manchester Part II
  3. Ways and Means
  4. On the Day Before
  5. War Crimes
  6. Gone Quiet
  7. The Indians in the Lobby
  8. The Women of Qumar
  9. Bartlet for America
  10. H. Con-172
  11. 100,000 Airplanes
  12. The Two Bartlets
  13. Night Five
  14. Hartsfield's Landing
  15. Dead Irish Writers
  16. The U.S. Poet Laureate
  17. Stirred
  18. Enemies Foreign and Domestic
  19. The Black Vera Wang
  20. We Killed Yamamoto
  21. Posse Comitatus
List of The West Wing episodes

"Isaac and Ishmael" is a non-sequential episode of The West Wing which unofficially launched the third season in 2001. The episode was a response to the 9/11 attacks and was written and filmed within two weeks of that event and aired before the third season officially began.

Plot

The main cast introduces the episode out of character by paying tribute to those affected by the September 11 terrorist attacks and informing viewers about what to expect from the delayed premiere of the third season. The cast also makes it clear that this episode doesn't fall in the West Wing continuity. However, some characters make reference to events that occurred within the true continuity of the series.

In the episode, the White House is "crashed" due to a staff member having the same name as a known alias of a person on a terrorist watch list. The lock-down leaves a group of students selected for Presidential classroom stuck in the mess hall with Josh as well as other staffers—and the President and First Lady—drop in to join the discussion about terrorism. Meanwhile, Leo and Ron Butterfield confront a potential threat from within. The episode tackles issues of race and intolerance.

The episode's title stems from the story the First Lady tells at its end. It is the classic tale of Abraham and his two sons Isaac and Ishmael in the Book of Genesis, and explains how the source of conflict between Arabic and Jewish descendants first appeared in the world.

Mistakes and Errors

When special agent Ron Butterfield is briefing Leo on a suspected terrorist, he claims that he was caught crossing "from Ontario into Vermont". Ontario and Vermont do not border each other. Vermont shares a border with Quebec.

External links

This West Wing-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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TV Episode. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Movie Guide ® , a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
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