In Excelsis Deo (The West Wing)
| "In Excelsis Deo" | |
|---|---|
| The West Wing episode | |
The burial scene, filmed at Arlington National Cemetery
|
|
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 10 |
| Directed by | Alex Graves |
| Written by |
Aaron Sorkin Rick Cleveland |
| Production code | 225909 |
| Original air date | December 15, 1999 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
|
Lisa Edelstein as Laurie Rollins |
|
Lisa Edelstein as Laurie Rollins
Timothy Busfield as Danny Concannon
Paul Austin as George Huffnagle
Janel Moloney as Donna Moss
Tom Quinn as John Noonan
Renee Estevez as Nancy
Raynor Scheine as Homeless Man
Lance Reddick as DC Police Officer
"In Excelsis Deo" is the tenth episode of the first season of The West Wing. It originally aired on NBC December 15, 1999, as the show's Christmas special. Events circle around Toby getting involved in the fate of a dead Korean War veteran, reactions to a severe hate crime, and the ongoing controversy surrounding Leo's past alcohol and prescription drug abuse. Written by Aaron Sorkin and Rick Cleveland and directed by Alex Graves, the episode contains guest appearances by Paul Austin and Raynor Scheine. It also earned Sorkin and Cleveland the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, as well as one for Richard Schiff.
As the episode begins, Toby gets called by the D.C. police to identify a dead homeless man. It turns out the man (a Korean War veteran from the 2/7) was wearing a coat that Toby donated to Goodwill, and Toby had left his business card in it. The event stays with him, and he decides to trace down the man's next of kin. The only relative he can find is a brother, also homeless. Using the influence of the president's office, he arranges a military funeral at Arlington. President Bartlet is informed about Toby’s transgression, but can only muster limited indignation and jocularly asks if the country is still in NATO. To the president's concern that this could create precedent for other veterans to come forward, Toby replies "I can only hope, sir." Mrs Landingham, who has just told Charlie about losing her twin sons in the Vietnam War, joins Toby and the veteran's brother at the funeral. Meanwhile, Josh – who is worried that Rep. Peter Lillienfield (R) may disclose information the Congressman has about Leo's past treatment for alcohol and Valium abuse – approaches Sam and proposes using Sam's prostitute friend to dig up dirt for use as leverage against Lillienfield's allies when the time comes. Leo objects strongly to the plan, calling it unethical. C. J. gets emotionally involved in a story about the deadly assault on a homosexual youth. She sees this as an opportunity to push hate crime legislation, but the suggestion finds little support among the others. Reporter Danny Concannon also disagrees, but this encourages her to finally accept his offer of a date, to have him convince her. President Bartlet sneaks out to go shopping at a rare book store and refuses to take photographers along, much to Mandy's chagrin. Donna has at this point been pestering Josh about her Christmas gift all day. While he doesn't follow the list submitted, he picks up a book for her at the shop and writes a message in it that leaves her tearful but happy.
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