From Creator Aaron Sorkin and Director Thomas Schlamme (Sports Night) and Executive Producer John Wells (ER, Third Watch), and featuring one of the most talented ensemble casts ever to star in a drama series, The West Wing's Fall 1999 debut on NBC immediately received an extraordinary reception from viewers and television critics alike. The high-profile drama series uniquely documents the daily activities of fictitious U.S. President Josiah "Jed" Bartlett's (Martin Sheen) highly talented administration including his aide Charlie Young (Dulé Hill), Press Secretary C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney), Media Consultant Mandy Hampton (Moira Kelly), White House Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn (Rob Lowe), White House Director of Communications Toby Ziegler (Richard Schiff), White House Chief of Staff Leo McGarry (John Spencer) and Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford). Also starring in the award-winning series is Stockard Channing as First Lady Abigail Bartlet and Janel Moloney as Assistant to Deputy Chief of Staff Donna Moss. Both went on to become regulars on the show. Guest stars during The West Wing's first season include Timothy Busfield (Thirtysomething), Tim Matheson (Martha Inc.) and John Amos ("Coming to America").
Quickly establishing a strong mandate among audiences, The West Wing burst onto the American entertainment and political arenas as one of the finest portrayals in entertainment of The Oval Office's inner sanctum. In addition to generating impressive ratings, The West Wing's historic first season resulted in securing 18 Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning in nine categories. Emmy's The West Wing received for its first season include Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Schiff), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Janney), Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (Sorkin and Rick Cleveland for "In Excelsis Deo"), Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series (Schlamme for the "Pilot") and Outstanding Main Title Theme Music (W.G. Snuffy Walden), among others.
Special bonus features in the DVD set include:
The Primaries featurette
The West Wing Inauguration featurette
Episode commentaries on "Pilot", "What Kind of Day Has It Been" and "Take the Sabbath Day" by Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme
Episode commentary on "In Excelsis Deo" by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme and Director Alex Graves
Episode commentary on "Celestial Navigation" by Aaron Sorkin, Thomas Schlamme and Director Chris Misiano
Behind-the-scenes footage from The West Wing's first season
"Off the Record" - Outtakes from various cast and producer interviews
