An Khe (The West Wing)

Infobox Television episode
Title = An Khe
Series = The West Wing


Caption = Leo meets Ken by the Jefferson Memorial.
Season = 5
Episode = 102
Airdate = February 18, 2004
Production = 176064
Writer = John Wells
Director = Alex Graves
Guests = Jesse Bradford
Jay Mohr
Lily Tomlin
Jeffrey DeMunn
Terry O'Quinn
Ron Canada
Brian Kerwin
Carlos Gomez
NiCole Robinson
Allan Kolman
Philip Baker Hall
Episode list = List of "The West Wing" episodes
Season list = Infobox The West Wing season 5 episode list
Prev =
Next ="An Khe" is the 102nd "The West Wing" episode and 14th of the fifth season. It originally aired on NBC February 18, 2004.cite web|url=http://www.nbc.com/The_West_Wing/episode_guide/106.shtml|title=An Khe|accessdate=2007-05-24|publisher=NBC.com] Events circle around the rescue of five US pilots shot down over North Korea. Written by John Wells and directed by Alex Graves, the episode contains guest appearances by Philip Baker Hall, Jeffrey DeMunn and Jay Mohr.cite web|url=http://www.westwingepguide.com/S5/Episodes/104_AK.html|title=An Khe|accessdate=2007-05-24|publisher=The West Wing Episode Guide] It also earned John Spencer an Emmy nomination.cite web|url=http://www.tv.com/the-west-wing/an-khe/episode/291428/summary.html|title=An Khe|accessdate=2007-05-24|publisher=TV.com]

Plot

A US E-2 Hawkeye AEW aircraft goes down over North Korea, and five crew members are lost in enemy territory. President Bartlet, faced with the choice between negotiations with the North Korean government and attempting a rescue operation, chooses the latter. The operation is successful in retrieving the crewmembers, but one of the SEALs dies due to complications from the jump-in. The event brings back memories for Leo about his own time serving in the Vietnam War, when his life was saved by his good friend Kenneth Sean "Ken" O'Neal (DeMunn). Ken, now a successful defense contractor for a company Leo also used to work for, is currently having difficulties with the Senate over a helicopter project. Leo, in Chicago to present Ken with a humanitarian award, says he will look into it. Confronting Senator Hunt (Hall) about the issue, the senator suggests there might be cause for an investigation. Infuriated, Leo says that if there is an investigation he will testify himself.

Josh and Toby realize the potential scandal if a White House Chief of Staff should testify in a case concerning a company he used to work for, and take the case before the president. Bartlet tells Leo he cannot testify, but Leo refuses to back down. At this point Senator Hunt personally contacts Josh to prevent Leo from taking the stand, revealing that O'Neal circumvented a compulsory AoA (Analysis of Alternatives) in order to get the contract. Josh tries to contact Leo, but Leo has already gone to meet with Ken privately. Ken now comes clean on his transgressions, and says he will take the Fifth Amendment. Leo, devastated, returns to the White House, where he expresses to the president his terrible disappointment with the man he looked up to, and to whom he owes his life. Leo says that many men died saving their lives in Vietnam and they owed it to them to live good and decent lives. Bartlet commiserates, adding that the corruption of the best is always the hardest to take, and that Leo's own life honors the men who died saving him many times over.

In parallel storylines, C.J. finally gives in to the on-air taunts of news show-host Taylor Reid (Mohr), and agrees to do an appearance on his show. After a poor start, she comes back stronger after the commercial break. Reid claims the First Lady violates the terms of the presidential censure by volunteering at an inner-city medical clinic, but C.J. turns the tables by accusing Reid himself of being in the pocket of the pharmaceutical industry. Returning to her office, she learns that she has just missed her college boyfriend Ben Dryer (Brian Kerwin), who came to call on her. Meanwhile, Josh lets intern Ryan Pierce (Jesse Bradford) prepare a presidential briefing on a congressional proposal of a tax cut for stay-at-home moms, but comes off looking bad when he lies about the material and Pierce corrects and contradicts him in front of the president. Also, in a short scene at the very beginning, it becomes clear that the president is less than enthusiastic about the notion of a presidential portrait.cite web|url=http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a2236/|title=An Khe|accessdate=2007-05-24|publisher=Television Without Pity]

ocial and cultural references

Very little is revealed about the title of the episode – "An Khe". The only reference to the name is in the opening scene, when Leo, as a Vietnam War fighter pilot, tells ground control that he is approaching An Khe. An Khe was an actual base camp in Vietnam during the war. [cite web | url = http://westwing.bewarne.com/questions/5military.html#ankhe | title = Questions about the Military | publisher = The West Wing Continuity Guide | accessdate = 2007-05-24] [cite web | url = http://1-22infantry.org/pics/aopagefour.htm | title = 1st Battalion 22nd Infantry, Area of Operations, Republic of Vietnam 1966-1972, Page Three (photos from An Khe) | accessdate = 2007-05-24]

The plot line about the defense contracting controversy is apparently based on a real-life incident. A 2003 lease agreement of 100 Boeing K-767 tankers by the US Air Force led to the imprisonment of a Pentagon staffer and the forced resignation of Boeing CEO Phil Condit. The main opponent of the deal was Senator John McCain – from Arizona like the fictional Senator Hunt. McCain, when informed about the "West Wing" episode, was amused. [cite web | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A63131-2004Feb22? | title = 'West Wing' Takes On Tanker-Plane Scandal | publisher = Washington Post | date = 2004-02-23 | accessdate = 2007-05-24]

Bartlet's quote at the end: "Corruptio optimi pessima", which he then translates "Corruption of the best is the worst" is an old Latin maxim. It can be found in David Hume's "Of Superstition and Enthusiasm" (1741). [cite web | url = http://www.bartleby.com/66/95/29595.html | title = The Columbia World of Quotations | publisher = Bartleby.com | accessdate = 2007-05-24] Other cultural references include Josh calling Ryan "Eve Harrington" after his perceived betrayal. This is a reference to the self-serving protagonist of the 1950 movie All About Eve. [cite web | url = http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042192/ | title = All About Eve | publisher = IMDb | accessdate = 2007-05-24] At the end of the episode, Bartlet is playing a tape given to him by Crosby Stills & Nash, visiting the White House to receive the National Medal for the Arts. The song "My Country 'Tis of Thee" was in fact recorded by Crosby & Nash and can be heard on the album . [cite web | url = http://westwing.bewarne.com/questions/moremusic.html#crosby | title = Music Played on the Show | publisher = The West Wing Continuity Guide | accessdate = 2007-05-24]

Reception

The episode is not considered among the best in the series. TV.com gives it a rating of 7.8; only three of the twenty-two episodes from that season received a poorer rating. [cite web | url = http://www.tv.com/the-west-wing/show/189/episode_guide.html?season=5&tag=season_dropdown;dropdown;4 | title = Season 5 | publisher = TV.com | accessdate = 2007-05-24 The three episodes were episode 93, Constituency of One (7.4); episode 106, Access (7.0); and episode 107, Talking Points (7.6). Episode 104, Eppur Si Muove, also received 7.8.] On Television Without Pity it has been given a grade "B".

On the other hand it was for this episode – along with Memorial Day – that John Spencer was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series this year. It was also nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series.

References

External links

* [http://www.nbc.com/The_West_Wing/episode_guide/106.shtml An Khe] at NBC.com
* [http://www.westwingepguide.com/S5/Episodes/104_AK.html An Khe] at The West Wing Episode Guide
* [http://westwing.bewarne.com/fifth/514ankhe.html An Khe] at The West Wing Continuity Guide
* [http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/articles/content/a2236/ An Khe] recap at Television Without Pity
* [http://www.tv.com/the-west-wing/an-khe/episode/291428/summary.html An Khe] at TV.com
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0745594/ An Khe] at the Internet Movie Database