Celestial Navigation (The West Wing)

:"See celestial navigation for the navigation-related article." Infobox Television episode
Title = Celestial Navigation
Series = The West Wing


Caption =
Season = 1
Episode = 15
Airdate = February 162000
Production = 225914
Writer = Aaron Sorkin (teleplay)
Dee Dee Myers & Lawrence O'Donnell Jr. (story)
Director = Christopher Misiano
Guests = CCH Pounder
Timothy Busfield
Janel Moloney
Robert David Hall
Vaughn Armstrong
Edward James Olmos
Episode list = List of "The West Wing" episodes
Season list = Infobox The West Wing season 1 episode list
Prev =
Next ="Celestial Navigation" is the 15th episode of "The West Wing".

Plot

Sam and Toby have to go to Connecticut to get the President's Supreme Court nominee, Roberto Mendoza, out of jail after he is wrongfully arrested on suspicion of drunk driving. Matters are complicated by Sam's less-than-stellar sense of direction in driving himself and Toby there, Mendoza's refusal to bite his tongue on policy matters that then cause headaches for the Bartlet administration, and the shame and humiliaton felt by Mendoza when he refused a breathalyzer and was arrested in front of his wife and young son. Mendoza wants to speak out about the fact that he was unfairly targeted because of his race, and is willing to spend the night in jail in order to underscore the point. Toby tells Mendoza if he refuses to leave jail with him, his nomination is finished, and then tells the cops pointedly that they have apologies to make.

Josh relates this and other stories during a speech to a group of university students about a typical day at the White House. His other stories include a clash between the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and an abrasive Republican Congressman, an emergency root canal for C.J. Cregg, and a gaffed press conference by Josh himself. (Josh, covering for a post-root-canal C.J., manages to completely bungle the daily press briefing: in a span of a few minutes, he comes up with a non-existent plan to fight inflation, calls the White House Press Corps stupid, and lets them know that the President has started smoking cigarettes again.) The President returns from a trip to let Josh know that under no circumstances will he ever do a press briefing again. Despite the gaffes, everything works out in the end.

Emmy Awards

;Won:
* Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (recipient: Allison Janney) (submitted along with "Lies, Damn Lies and Statistics").

External links

* [http://epguides.com/WestWing/ The West Wing Episode Guide]