The West Wing

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Corrected entry: There are occasional references throughout the show to the Bartlet family owning a farm in Manchester, NH. Manchester is the largest city in that state, and not in a rural area: saying they "have a farm in Manchester" would be like saying they "have a farm in Baltimore" (or Glasgow, for the UK readers among us). No one with roots in New Hampshire as deep as the fictional Pres. Bartlet's are supposed to be would ever be so inaccurate as to refer to the agricultural parts of the state as being Manchester.

Correction: Many people that live in the outskirts or suburbs of a large city say that they live in the actual city so that people not from that area know where they live. They may have meant the outskirts, or just outside of Manchester, rather than directly in the middle of it.

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Corrected entry: Political consultant Mandy Hampton disappeared completely with absolutely no explanation between the first and second seasons. She was in the last episode of the first season and not in the first episode of the second (which took place only a few minutes later) and no one ever explained where she went.

Correction: Her departure is not explicitly explained to the viewer, but the fact that the show's characters are not similarly confused suggests they are aware of when and why she left, and have moved on. The actress' departure as well as the choice to not specifically explain it 'in-show' were both intentional, and are not mistakes. (Humorously, the writers could easily have killed her with the season-ending shooting, nice and smooth)

johnrosa

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Corrected entry: In the first season, every employee in the west wing (except the president) is wearing an ID badge. Since then, only a few people are seen wearing them, but surely the policy of the White House hasn't changed since then?

Correction: After a while, the guards and Secret Service would come to recognize the "big players" - Leo, Josh, Toby. They wouldn't be required to wear their badges, although others might be.

Election Day (Part 1) - S7-E16

Continuity mistake: When Bruno and Bob are poring over exit polls, they mention that Santos seems to be leading in North Dakota, and comment that it is a state that hasn't gone Democratic in forty years. While that is true in the real world, in the fictional West Wing world, it is stated in Season 4 that Bartlet won the Dakotas in his landslide reelection.

marathon69

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Pilot - S1-E1

Laurie: Tell your friend POTUS he's got a funny name, and he should learn how to ride a bicycle.
Sam Seaborn: I would, but he's not my friend, he's my boss. And it's not his name, it's his title.
Laurie: POTUS?
Sam Seaborn: President of the United States.

More quotes from The West Wing

Trivia: Martin Sheen also played the President in the mini series "Kennedy" and in another character's vision in 1983's The Dead Zone.

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In Excelsis Deo - S1-E10

Question: This is as good a place to ask as any. In various US TV shows (including this one, and this episode), someone says "I could care less", when they always seem to mean "I couldn't care less", ie. they have no interest in what's going on. Surely if they COULD care less that means they actually care a reasonable amount? Is there any logic to this, or is it just a really annoying innate lack of sense?

Jon Sandys

Chosen answer: A really annoying innate lack of sense. My friends and family say the same thing all the time, and I'm endlessly trying to correct them. I think people just don't know any better and (ironically) couldn't care less that they're speaking incorrectly.

Answer: It's an endlessly annoying dropped negative, and it's been a common colloquialism for far too long. I believe it comes from an original (and now omitted and merely implied) "As if" preceding the statement. "As if I could care less." (Meaning "As if it were possible that I could care even less than I do.") But there's really no way to know.

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