Eppur Si Muove (The West Wing)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Eppur Si Muove" is the 104th episode of '' The West Wing'', and sixteenth of its fifth season. It originally aired on NBC on March 3, 2004. Events center on a controversy relating to the National Institutes of Health, involving President Bartlet’s middle daughter Ellie. Written by
Alexa Junge Alexa Junge is an American television writer, producer and screenwriter. Her work on ''Friends'', from 1994 to 1999, earned her nominations for three Emmy Awards. Personal life Junge grew up in Los Angeles and attended Barnard College, where she ...
and directed by Llewellyn Wells, the episode contains guest appearances by Michael Gaston, Deirdre Lovejoy, and Cherry Jones, as well as the Muppet characters from '' Sesame Street''.


Plot

Republican Congresswoman Barbara Layton (Cherry Jones) starts a campaign against publicly funded NIH projects into sexually transmitted infections. The attack is based on a list of seemingly useless projects, but by association, her real target becomes the president's daughter Ellie, who is working on a study into the human papillomavirus that researched conditions for sex workers in Puerto Rico. The President is infuriated at having a family member dragged into political battles, and Toby tries to discredit the attack by finding its source. At first the list seems to originate from a
far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
group called the "Traditional Values Alliance", but Toby's assistant Rina uncovers an updated list that shows it came from within the administration. Toby immediately suspects the Vice President's office. When confronted, Will takes full responsibility, and assures that the list was compiled purely for internal use and not leaked on purpose. Will suspects that his boss might have leaked the material on purpose, however, and Russell in private agrees he has ties to the Republicans on health issues and notes that having some distance from the President isn't a bad thing for him. Will is left utterly disgusted with the Vice President. Meanwhile, President Bartlet tries to persuade Ellie to speak to the press to contain the incidence, but Ellie insists she is not as comfortable with the spotlight as the other members of the family. She later watches her mother make an airy appearance on '' Sesame Street'' to defend her right to practice medicine even after voluntarily giving up her
license A license (or licence) is an official permission or permit to do, use, or own something (as well as the document of that permission or permit). A license is granted by a party (licensor) to another party (licensee) as an element of an agreeme ...
. This inspires her to follow her father's advice, and give a passionate public statement about the necessity of a politically independent scientific community. In parallel storylines,
Josh Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J * "Josh", an early pseudonym of S ...
tries to end a deadlock on the appointment of a Sixth Circuit judge. His old friend Eric Hayden (Gaston) has been waiting for a year for confirmation from the Republican-led Congress, and is offered the position of dean of Georgetown's law school. But Josh suggests making a temporary recess appointment that will at least put the issue on the agenda and Hayden agrees. When Josh goes to suggest this to
Leo Leo or Léo may refer to: Acronyms * Law enforcement officer * Law enforcement organisation * ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', a free weekly newspaper in Louisville, Kentucky * Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity Arts an ...
he is told that the issue will have to wait, as one of the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
justices has died. Having assumed the ailing Chief Justice, Roy Ashland, was the fatality, Josh is surprised to learn that the dead Justice is 52-year-old Owen Brady, who suffered a heart attack. C. J., meanwhile, tries to reconcile with her boyfriend from college, Ben, whom she has been forced to ignore due to her workload. Based on Ben's reaction at the end of their very brief conversation, C. J. regrets her approach and fears that she may have caused things with Ben to end before they could even begin. Upon voicing this concern to Toby, he advises her to go to Ben and fix it. Ryan Pierce, the intern working for Josh, uncharacteristically fails to show up for work. Josh has failed to notice until
Donna Donna may refer to the short form of the honorific ''nobildonna'', the female form of Don (honorific) in Italian. People *Donna (given name); includes name origin and list of people and characters with the name * Roberto Di Donna (born 1968), Ita ...
voices her concern as she tries, unsuccessfully, to contact Ryan.


Social and cultural references

The title of the episode refers to the president quoting Galileo Galilei, leaving the Roman Inquisition after having recanted his heliocentric theory of the universe. "
Eppur si muove ''And Yet It Moves'' is a puzzle-platform game developed by independent developer Broken Rules. The game was released for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux on April 2, 2009, and for Wii as a WiiWare title in August 2010. ''And Yet It Mov ...
" – "And yet it moves". The story – as Ellie points out – is probably apocryphal, but evidence shows that it was current as early as a decade after Galileo’s trial. The advocacy group "Traditional Values Alliance" is a thinly veiled version of the real-life " Traditional Values Coalition" (TVC). TVC sent a letter of protest to NBC producers, reacting to their portrayal on the show. In particular it was the association with a group stating that "The Lord Hates Homosexuals" that provoked the coalition, reading in this an allusion to the controversial anti-gay pastor Fred Phelps. TVC, the group pointed out in its letter, had clearly distanced itself from Phelps and his methods. The restaurant, "1789", that Ben and C.J. planned lunch at is a real restaurant in Washington.


References


External links


"Eppur Si Muove"
at NBC.com
"Eppur Si Muove"
at The West Wing Episode Guide

at The West Wing Continuity Guide * {{The West Wing The West Wing (season 5) episodes 2004 American television episodes