In “Inside the Episode,” writers and directors reflect on the making of their Emmy-winning episodes. Just as with real-life assassination attempts, to really understand the power of “The West Wing’s” two-part Season 2 premiere, “In the Shadow of Two Gunmen,” requires a look back at the actions before the attack. In this case, it would be the NBC show’s Season 1 finale, “What Kind of Day Has It Been,” a cliffhanger that, in the nascent days of prestige-TV watching and analysis from fan sites like Television Without Pity, meant so-called Wingnuts spent a summer obsessing over their VCR recordings like they were the Zapruder film.
Who of President Bartlet’s (Martin Sheen) employees was taken down by surprise gunfire? Was it the commander in chief himself? His daughter Zoey (Elisabeth Moss)? Her boyfriend, Charlie (Dulé Hill)? What about the footage of deputy communications director Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe) rushing as press secretary C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney) is pushed to the ground? And where is communications director Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff)? “West Wing” executive producer Thomas Schlamme helmed all three episodes, winning the Emmy for directing for a drama series for the Season 2 doubleheader.
He’d also share in the show’s drama series win that year, which would end up being its second of four consecutive victories in the category. But directing both the closing and opening episodes didn’t necessarily make his job any easier. “When we .