Comments on: West Wing lessons

By: Olov

Olov — Thu, 24 Feb 2005 11:30:31 +0000

On the subject of real people on the show:

How does CJ's scene sitting on a bench with big bird fit in? that's a cameo if ever I saw one, but big bird isn't a real person. On the other hand she and the rest of the cast of sesame street are kind of visitors from the real world. I'm confused.

Sorry for not discussing intellectual property rights etc, I gather that's what you're supposed to do here?

By: a&w

a&w — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 14:48:39 +0000

Let me assure you, Zennie, that Josh is plenty talented. A little cheesy perhaps, but with a redeeming ironic streak. See, e.g., the West Wing (portraying Lessig as a stuffed shirt).

By: birtelcom

birtelcom — Tue, 22 Feb 2005 15:09:20 +0000

Perhaps the most flattering aspect of the episode for Prof. Lessig is the character’s role not in the subplot regarding former Soviet Republic constitutionalism, but the character’s role in the main plot. The primary conflict of the episode revolves around issues of how to allocate President Bartlett’s limited work hours given his illness — a conflict set up by Bartlett’s inability to turn down the opportunity to stay up late into the night talking with “Professor Lessig” about the professor’s ideas. Although Bartlett’s staff and his wife clearly think the late night bull session with this law professor was an irresponsible use of Bartlett’s time and energy (as compared to, say, dealing with a major Persian Gulf crisis), many of us who follow this blog, and the real Prof. Lessig’s work, can understand President Bartlett’s priorites.

By: azeem

azeem — Tue, 22 Feb 2005 14:05:40 +0000

but lessig is young and pretty funky. and he was played as a pipe-smoking oxford don stuck in the 19th century. far cry from the 21st century real one

By: Zennie Abraham

Zennie Abraham — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 10:51:01 +0000

Hmm...
I disagree that this is a case of your teaching talented people at Harvard. Such developments can occur in any fashion. For example, you could have been talking about the matter to someone continuously over lunch, and they tell someone else.

But I think the overall point for everyone to remember is that anything you do or say is always grist for someone else's mill.

As an example, visit Sports Business Simulations

By: Michelle Aden

Michelle Aden — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 00:21:21 +0000

Anne - Larry's inspiring a new generation: My 15 year-old son Christopher attended Larry's presentation and book signing of "Free Culture". After Larry's usual excellent talk, he decided a career in Law and CS was for him. His signed book reads: '...hope to see you in my con law class".
Michelle

By: Anne P. Mitchell

Anne P. Mitchell — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 00:03:28 +0000

Larry - you wrote: "First, that it showed that at least some law students escape the trap that the top law schools have created -- the path to a tedious and unrewarding practice that few seem capable of avoiding."

You do what you have to do. And with apologies to Nike, just do it.

Anne

By: Dashiell

Dashiell — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 14:26:13 +0000

I stand corrected in that there are quite a few mentions of "real" people who I missed or forgot about. But my point still stands, because every time a real person has been mentioned either they never appeared on the show, or they appeared on the show as themselves, and of those who did, none played a significant role in the plot of the episode. (The only other (possible) instance that I could find of a real person being played by an actor is Lawrence Altman, who is a real medical reporter, but was only on screen for one shot and had no lines. And had I known of the real Dr. Altman at the time, I would have complained then too.)

In addition, there have been several instances were a character was clearly modeled on a real person and played an big role in the episode, and in each case, the "person" was given a new name. (The Dr. Laura-like talk show host, the CEO of a software company who looked suspiciously like Bill Gates; there are many others and not all of them were unfavorable portraits.) I feel this is the correct approach, because too many complications arise when you have fictional characters interact with real people. (There are many reasons for this, which space and boredom don't allow me to elaborate on, but if you want to know why you can email me.)

I've since learned that the script was written by a former student of Dr. Lessig's and that's how he came to be in the show. I was just wondering why they didn't change his name, as has been the practice in the past. Since the appearance of "Dr. Lessig" was pretty innocuous (and again, I have nothing against the real Dr. Lessig, and don't mean to criticize him in any way) they probably figured it didn't matter one way or the other. (Although if that's the case, why go to the trouble to hire Christopher Lloyd?)

Yes, it's not that big a deal, but as a viewer I found it distracting, as I do any time a real person is mentioned on the show, even if they don't appear. If you're going to do it, there should be a good reason.

By: neuro

neuro — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 11:23:19 +0000

"Off the top of my head Jay Leno was on one episode playing himself and Justice Blackmun was mentioned. I'm sure there are others."

Queen Elizabeth II has been mentioned, as has Colonel Gadaffi - see http://westwing.bewarne.com/worldleaders.html for more.

By: PJ

PJ — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 10:37:49 +0000

Regarding the subject of "real" people on the show. In the last episode of season 2, a guy played a real medical reporter. The one Bartlet is supposed to point to first.