RAILforum: NBC's The West Wing

This is topic NBC's The West Wing in forum Amtrak at RAILforum.

To visit this topic, use this URL:
http://www.railforum.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi/topic/11/766.html

Posted by Ken V (Member # 1466) on :

I watched last night's season premiere episode of The West Wing and found it very entertaining. There was much more than the usual amount of humor which I hope they keep up this season.

One of the subplots of the show involved the encounters and misadventures of three White House Staff members (Josh, Donna, and Toby)as they tried to catch up to the Presidential campaign tour after missing the motorcade to the airport in a small town in Indiana. They were helped by many of the locals as they went from one town to the next just missing their connections again and again.

At one point they boarded a train just as it was about to leave the station only to discover it was going the wrong way. They then arranged to get off at the next stop and catch the next train back which was scheduled to depart shortly after that. Now this train was supposed to be a regularly scheduled inter-city passenger train but it looked like something out of the 1950's and nothing like today's Amtrak trains.

One of the messages that this episode was trying to say was how out of touch the bureaucrats in Washington were with the grass roots public in the heartland of America. Another message turned out to be how out of touch Hollywood television writers are with passenger rail travel.

Posted by dilly (Member # 1427) on :

First "*** and the City." Now "The West Wing." Can Tony Danza's next project be far behind?

On that note, I just caught the latest episode of "Enterprise," the newest Star Trek series (yeah, I confess, I watch it).

I won't bore you with the plot. But the great-great grandmother of the Vulcan character (played by "babe in space" Jolene Blalock)is briefly shown traveling on an unidentifiable passenger train circa 1957.

Those TV people might not have the railroad hardware right, but they're at least putting their main characters on trains.

The best promotion is free promotion.

Posted by dilly (Member # 1427) on :

Ha! Can you believe that everyone's favorite three-letter word was automatically "sanitized for your protection" in the above post?

Very bizarre.

Posted by irish1 (Member # 222) on :

talking about t.v. shows i remember watching and episode of happys days and fonzy was stuck on the train tracks and the lights started flashing and sure enough there was a train coming. they flashed to the train just as the fonz got out of the way and it was an amtrak train. pretty good considering amtrak was about 15 years from being invented.

Posted by kjkober (Member # 1423) on :

I for some unremarkable reason was watching a "Coach" rerun...and same misconceptions, a buffoon attendant, everyone in coach (pun, I guess) got a sleeper...the recurring joke was something like "it's all part of riding the rails." Again, out of touch.

Then again, I've taken the Pennsylvanian...maybe the buffoon coach attendant isn't that far fetched.

Posted by MPALMER (Member # 125) on :

I recall in the late 70s there was a detective show based in 1940s Los Angeles. There was one episode where the detective was in Arizona and hopped a freight train back to LA. They were clever enough to not show the engines, but the cars were modern grain hoppers that did not exist 'back then'.

Posted by Gilbert B Norman (Member # 1541) on :

The interior scenes of President Sheen's "staffers" enroute would suggest that the cars were of Canadian National heritage, as the style of seats were used by the CN or rebuilt equipment during thei 1960's passenger train initiative.

Posted by Ken V (Member # 1466) on :

In case anyone's interested NBC will be rerunning the first half of this episode tonight.

[Note to those west of Eastern/Central time zones: The only thing in tonight's show is the line "Let's get to the train station". The train scenes will be in next week's show. Still, it's a good episode and recommended viewing]

[This message has been edited by Ken V (edited 03-05-2003).]

Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :

Does anyone remember the TV show "Supertrain" which was on back in the late 70's or early 80's? It starred Dick van Dyke, and was a pretty good show, but it only lasted for about 3 episodes before it was canceled.

Posted by mr williams (Member # 1928) on :

Dilly mentions the "S/E/X in the City" episode where Carrie takes a trip on Amtrak. Well, that episode was only shown over here in the UK about a fortnight ago and watching it, I didn't know where to begin at spotting factual errors.

For instance, how do you go from New York to San Francisco a) all the way in a Viewliner b) without changing trains and c) via OKLAHOMA!!!

Also, they walked into the restaurant car for dinner without reservations (and in brilliant sunshine) when they were "somewhere west of Pittsberg" when,of course, it would have been the middle of the night on the LSL.

OK, OK, so I'm being pedantic and somewhat anorak-ish, and we can have a smile at it, but what I really thought damning about the portrayal was that the characters were so disappointed by the facilities on the train especially the "so-called deluxe sleeper" ("er...you're meant to shower over the toilet?") and "tacky restaurant" that they flew back to New York vowing never to do a train trip again. Ouch!

Posted by trainman1 (Member # 1392) on :

quote:
Originally posted by RRRICH:
Does anyone remember the TV show "Supertrain" which was on back in the late 70's or early 80's? It starred Dick van Dyke, and was a pretty good show, but it only lasted for about 3 episodes before it was canceled.

I think Dick Van Dyke was only a celebrity guest on one of the episodes. "Supertrain" was NBC's attempt to rip off ABC's "The Love Boat," and it's generally regarded as one of the biggest, most expensive failures in the history of television.

Posted by RRRICH (Member # 1418) on :

trainman1 - ah, yes, now I remember -- I think you are correct! I had forgotten about the "Love Boat" connection. Oh well -- the 2 or 3 episodes I watched I did enjoy...

Posted by coach34135 (Member # 1979) on :

quote:
Originally posted by dilly:
First "*** and the City." Now "The West Wing." Can Tony Danza's next project be far behind?
On that note, I just caught the latest episode of "Enterprise," the newest Star Trek series (yeah, I confess, I watch it).
I won't bore you with the plot. But the great-great grandmother of the Vulcan character (played by "babe in space" Jolene Blalock)is briefly shown traveling on an unidentifiable passenger train circa 1957.
Those TV people might not have the railroad hardware right, but they're at least putting their main characters on trains.
The best promotion is free promotion.

Posted by coach34135 (Member # 1979) on :

quote:
Originally posted by dilly:
First "*** and the City." Now "The West Wing." Can Tony Danza's next project be far behind?
On that note, I just caught the latest episode of "Enterprise," the newest Star Trek series (yeah, I confess, I watch it).
I won't bore you with the plot. But the great-great grandmother of the Vulcan character (played by "babe in space" Jolene Blalock)is briefly shown traveling on an unidentifiable passenger train circa 1957.
Those TV people might not have the railroad hardware right, but they're at least putting their main characters on trains.
The best promotion is free promotion.

and whats wrong with Enterprise????????

I like that show, I like all the Treks xcpt Voyager