Michael O'Neill's performance as Agent Ron Butterfield is to my mind one of the best supporting roles in the whole of West Wing - a show with legions of those.
It's an impossible debate between Michael O'Neill's role as Ron Butterfield and John Amos's role as Admiral Fitzwallace. I don't think I've ever seen two people more well suited for a role knock it out of the park more thoroughly.
I saw him in a Cuban restaurant in Burbank one night. I very rarely say anything to anyone famous and try to respect their space but I couldn’t help but thank him for his spectacular performance as Butterfield. He and his demeanor were such an integral part of so many key scenes. So good.
The moment when Toby realizes that Josh has been shot. You can see him struggling against the shock of it, the paralyzing panic, forcing himself to call out for help - magnificent acting.
Yes, that moment when he sees Josh, realizes that the unthinkable has happened - someone has put a hole in his friend. Josh is in shock, but the look on his face is almost an apology for upsetting his friend.
One of Sorkin's talents (and it comes from the theater) is to write pauses in the dialogue or action. He gave Schiff that little moment to react before he speaks.
If I'm not mistaken, the driver of the President's limo trains in maneuvers like that in case of a shooting or other disaster. I think President Kennedy's assassination bolstered that necessity and helped a great deal when President Reagan was shot.
That scene cracks me up because I grew up in DC. GW hospital is a few blocks from the White House. So if they were on the bridge from Rosslyn, VA and did a u-turn, they’d be heading away from the hospital. 😆 Makes for good TV tho!
@@riptydeco I went to IMDb and added that goof: "When Secret Service Agent Ron Butterfield realizes that the President had been shot, he yells at the limo driver to take them to the George Washington University Hospital instead of the White House. The limo driver does a u-turn on a bridge. GW is a mile west of the White House, and the nearest bridge is west of the hospital. The limo driver is going the wrong way despite the driver's presumed knowledge of D.C. streets."
The reason Bartlett is panicking over Gina not being in the car is that she’s lead on Zoe’s detail. He assumes initially that the only reason she wouldn’t be in the car is that she’s dead or seriously injured
Well done guys! It took you only some 300 years to come up with an official channel but as Jed Bartlet would say - Nevertheless, here I am so lets go on with it :)
Actually, if the President had stopped talking, Ron would not have noticed the blood coming from his mouth until the President opened it again. Bartlet's usual rambling might have saved his own life.
The distress was more than physical from the wound though. There's the emotional caused by worry and shock. There's the distress of elevated BP, heart rate, and hormones/body chemistry.
It's possible In the Shadow of Two Gunmen gave me unrealistic expectations about how the Secret Service is supposed to react to shots fired at the person they're protecting.
The recent RL problem, was in the preventative planning, especially securing against obvious line of sights, and not over-reliance on local PD, who can assist, but aren't meant to be primarily responsible. That wasn't just a hindsight breakdown, this is one of the main things the planners are supposed to anticipate against. That minimizes the need for reactions at all by the Secret Service, to factor into the equation.
Agent Butterfield's instant reaction to seeing the president isn't well. There's not even a moment for making a decision: training just kicks in. Single purpose of protecting the President.
My brother-in-law was a cop and I actually got to go with him one day to the Academy where they teach defensive driving. There was a guy there that did protection detail for the governor as well as dignitary who came to town to meet with him. I got to get into a patrol car with him and he showed me some of the Maneuvers he practices regularly. I could hardly walk and was practically crying when we got done. It was terrifying. I mean he was really good, but when somebody puts a car in Reverse going 50 miles an hour and suddenly slams the brakes to where you make a hairpin turn add barrel down the next road going about 100, that'll turn your whole spine to jelly. But he practiced constantly. Which was comforting!
Secret service agents literally practice this. Better to be safe than sorry. Pretty sure the history channel did a special YEARS ago about presidential motorcades.
First, Toby's face when he sees Josh is just so well done. You might see some actors overdo it but it's so perfect. Like his mind had to take a second to process what was going on. Second, I've this scene and episode(s) but what is with those people walking towards Toby down the steps. They walk right by Josh and don't notice a guy sitting there holding his chest wound?
It’s true to life. People in an emergency walk around oblivious to anything but the overall cacophony and panic. The president not even realizing he had been shot. ( Reagan did not realize he had been shot until the car was miles down the rd. ). Nobody Noticed Tom Brady lying on the ground with a head wound until the president’s car pulled away. And josh would not have been the only person who just sat down and stared in shock. I once was present when two people fell 8 stories down an elevator shaft. When we got the door open and saw the condition of the 2 guys, I turned to the people standing near me and told 8 of them, one at a time, “ go call for an ambulance, now!” ( this was before cell phones everywhere) After helping get the inured out of the shaft, I went looking for those people. Not one of them had managed to make it to a phone and put in the call. Several stopped to tell other people what happened. Several stopped to throw up, or just plop down and stare off in shock. Several just wandered about, oblivious.
When you get an adrenaline dump in a situation like that, I believe that manifests two ways. 1) The people with ADHD see absolutely everything. 2) Other people get tunnel vision and see only what's in front of them. I've experienced this and I've seen both effects in people. It's wild.
The EMT said "I don't think you'll need stitches" instead of "you should get checked for concussion, asap, to be on the safe side." Then she went a briefing where she was overwhelmed and fuzzy-headed - which sounds like mild concussion. And no one noticed! Not even the guy who sees her as the bees' knees! This episode does C.J. no favors.
Also, in both concussions I've had, I was unable to answer the question "how are you" for some time. As a question, I couldn't ascertain what it exactly had to do with me. This is what I hear when CJ keeps repeating "somebody pushed me down." She knows *what* happened, she just can't make meaning from it.
Never realized it before but Toby's call out after finding Josh is a bit out of character. Toby is a combat vet that served in Vietnam. His gut instinct would be to shout for a medic, not a doctor.
I thought that was one of the best lines in a show full of great dialog. Even if he was in a combat unit, it's been 25 years. The last thing he expected this evening is to find his best friend dying. He is literally without words a moment, then says the first thing that comes out. Sorkin doesn't write mediocre military cliches.
@@seanmcmurphy4744 "Sorkin doesn't write mediocre military cliches." Actually, he's not the best at military writing. I won't go so far as to call any of it cliche, but it's a world he doesn't understand. There are a ton of inaccuracies in A Few Good Men, but it's still an excellent movie. There have been things on West Wing that weren't accurate, like the star field on the flag over Leo's casket being on the wrong side. And, without going and looking right now, I think he may have been carried in the wrong direction. The deceased always travels feet first, and I think they were carrying him head first. Another instance, though it could be attributed to the character, was in Sports Night, when Isaac was telling Dana about his son-in-law's job as a Naval radar officer, he said that "If we were scrambling F-16s off the deck of the U.S.S. Coral Sea", when the F-16 is an Air Force plane, not Navy. The Navy, at the time, used F-14s and F-18s. However, the managing editor of a cable sports show wouldn't be expected to know that, so I can let it go.
Great episode and scene but yeah. Maybe don't have any extras around there cause I find it hard to believe that after a shooting people wouldn't think to check on a guy sitting on the ground holding his chest.
@@tmoore4075it's adorable that you think you know what people would do after 100 shots are fired into a crowd that included the president of the United states. Here's a fun fact for you, little girl, people are in Shock after things like this occur. People are also looking for their own loved ones who may have scattered. No, they're not looking at a guy who's sitting on the ground, and how would they know unless they look closely that he had been shot? From the corner of their eyes are going to see that a guy is sitting down, probably assuming that the guy is also in shock and sitting and sitting so he can compose himself.
In that situation people get hyper focused of themselves and notice little of what going on around them. We also don’t know exactly how long Josh was sitting there either. Very realistic actually.
they are in shock ,disbelief and all they care is getting the hell out of there ,the ones who would notice are swamped . Calm human reactions goes out the window when things like this happen
Toby went looking specifically for josh. The rest of the people are trying to figure out where to go and what to do and maybe they're looking for their own loved ones. And oh yeah, they just been through an incident where over a hundred shots were fired in the president was shot. So no, people are not at their best or most observant.
West Wing was one of the greatest Science Fiction shows ever. Imagine a universe where there is a Democrat President that is both popular and whose policies work.
I never understood why CJ asked if the president was dead. I would think she would ask if the president was alive or if the president was safe or okay. So much about these scenes were like the writers were just trying to write against type. Head scratching…
Michael O'Neill's performance as Agent Ron Butterfield is to my mind one of the best supporting roles in the whole of West Wing - a show with legions of those.
Agree - so glad you mentioned him! He was just absolutely convincing. The actor just disappeared into the role
It's an impossible debate between Michael O'Neill's role as Ron Butterfield and John Amos's role as Admiral Fitzwallace.
I don't think I've ever seen two people more well suited for a role knock it out of the park more thoroughly.
I saw him in a Cuban restaurant in Burbank one night. I very rarely say anything to anyone famous and try to respect their space but I couldn’t help but thank him for his spectacular performance as Butterfield. He and his demeanor were such an integral part of so many key scenes. So good.
He was also great in the show 24
He’s very talented.
The moment when Toby realizes that Josh has been shot. You can see him struggling against the shock of it, the paralyzing panic, forcing himself to call out for help - magnificent acting.
I have watched that over and over again. So real.
Yeah, but what's with the couple that just trotted right past him?!😂
The first time you watch this and they reveal Josh has been shot. …Dude. Even in the rewatch it gets you
Every single time, tears well up in my eyes.
Every time even knowing full well the aftermath
Josh gets shot?! Thanks for the spoiler bro!
@@jvick87 bruh, please say sike
I watched this clip and went "damn.." and started crying!
Richard Schiff’s acting at the end is so subtle but superb!
Yes, that moment when he sees Josh, realizes that the unthinkable has happened - someone has put a hole in his friend. Josh is in shock, but the look on his face is almost an apology for upsetting his friend.
LOVE HIM
One of Sorkin's talents (and it comes from the theater) is to write pauses in the dialogue or action. He gave Schiff that little moment to react before he speaks.
"GW! BLUE! BLUE! BLUE!" is Ron's best line in the entire series.
I think the president’s limo drive regularly works as a stunt driver! That was a turn!
If I'm not mistaken, the driver of the President's limo trains in maneuvers like that in case of a shooting or other disaster. I think President Kennedy's assassination bolstered that necessity and helped a great deal when President Reagan was shot.
That scene cracks me up because I grew up in DC. GW hospital is a few blocks from the White House. So if they were on the bridge from Rosslyn, VA and did a u-turn, they’d be heading away from the hospital. 😆
Makes for good TV tho!
@@riptydeco I went to IMDb and added that goof: "When Secret Service Agent Ron Butterfield realizes that the President had been shot, he yells at the limo driver to take them to the George Washington University Hospital instead of the White House. The limo driver does a u-turn on a bridge. GW is a mile west of the White House, and the nearest bridge is west of the hospital. The limo driver is going the wrong way despite the driver's presumed knowledge of D.C. streets."
@@partyguy101ify oh boy i sure hope somebody got fired for that blunder
@@claremontcowboy7409 I just thought it was interesting to add to that episode's page.
CJ's shock looking through the shattered car windows is still one of the best shots in the entire series.
That's when it truly hit her how real it was and how close she came to not being there.
Easily one of the very best shows there ever will be.
I dont think i'd ever been more ready for a season premiere for any show like I was for Season 2 of the West Wing.
This entire sequence was just so well done and put together with fabulous camera work, acting and editing. Simply outstanding!!
Is this the greatest series ever? I think so.
The reason Bartlett is panicking over Gina not being in the car is that she’s lead on Zoe’s detail. He assumes initially that the only reason she wouldn’t be in the car is that she’s dead or seriously injured
The best TV drama series EVER.
You know things are bad when the White House Press Secretary asks a complete stranger "Is the President dead?"
I still get emotional when I see this episode. And when Donovan is shot & killed. 😥
I about cry everytime I watch this scene.
I lived in DC when they filmed this. So intense
Ron's gotta have some crazy high security clearance to feel up the president whenever he wants 🤣
Well done guys! It took you only some 300 years to come up with an official channel but as Jed Bartlet would say - Nevertheless, here I am so lets go on with it :)
and what's next?
We’re finally living in the 321st century
@@kelli217 I hit the replies to make this exact comment if somebody hadn't already -- well done :D
I’ve been waiting for this kind of channel.
It’s a channel I do and don’t need. I love it but damn, it’s going to cost me hours
Yes there is a West Wing Channel, finally, took you guys long enough. Alright what’s next.
This channel is my new favorite thing
One of my favorite scenes in the whole series
Always thought that when Ron shouts “GW” - it meant Gunshot Wound - but apparently it meant George Washington hospital.
Healthcare worker here, Gunshot wound abbreviation is actually GSW.
George Washington University Hospital
Finally a west wing youtube official channel!
Driver has been waiting to use that move
This is a good scene but the one at GW starting from the phone call and the hiospital's staff reaction is good.
The tough part is that if Ron hadn't been so focused on getting the president to shut up, he would've recognized earlier that Bartlet was in distress.
Actually, if the President had stopped talking, Ron would not have noticed the blood coming from his mouth until the President opened it again. Bartlet's usual rambling might have saved his own life.
The distress was more than physical from the wound though. There's the emotional caused by worry and shock. There's the distress of elevated BP, heart rate, and hormones/body chemistry.
@@partyguy101ify Agree with Shell. Barty was in visible distress -before- he started a harangue about the limo, the daughter, the blood-speckled hand.
I love that stretched limo one point turn! That's some driving
It's possible In the Shadow of Two Gunmen gave me unrealistic expectations about how the Secret Service is supposed to react to shots fired at the person they're protecting.
The recent RL problem, was in the preventative planning, especially securing against obvious line of sights, and not over-reliance on local PD, who can assist, but aren't meant to be primarily responsible. That wasn't just a hindsight breakdown, this is one of the main things the planners are supposed to anticipate against. That minimizes the need for reactions at all by the Secret Service, to factor into the equation.
Was something he was so strong for his team so much he didn’t know he was even hit yet all that was shot breaks me even today 😭😭😭😭😭
Call me sick, but I kinda enjoy the chaos in this episode
Agent Butterfield's instant reaction to seeing the president isn't well. There's not even a moment for making a decision: training just kicks in. Single purpose of protecting the President.
Agent Butterfield was hot. Like, in everything I saw him in.
watches this scene 100x
still get chills when he realizes Barltett is hit.
All those people walked right by Josh and didn't notice he was massively bleeding from the gut.
Brilliant
Legit question. How good of a driver do you have to be to drive the Presidential Limo? What are those qualifications I wonder.
My brother-in-law was a cop and I actually got to go with him one day to the Academy where they teach defensive driving. There was a guy there that did protection detail for the governor as well as dignitary who came to town to meet with him. I got to get into a patrol car with him and he showed me some of the Maneuvers he practices regularly. I could hardly walk and was practically crying when we got done. It was terrifying. I mean he was really good, but when somebody puts a car in Reverse going 50 miles an hour and suddenly slams the brakes to where you make a hairpin turn add barrel down the next road going about 100, that'll turn your whole spine to jelly. But he practiced constantly. Which was comforting!
Secret service agents literally practice this. Better to be safe than sorry. Pretty sure the history channel did a special YEARS ago about presidential motorcades.
First, Toby's face when he sees Josh is just so well done. You might see some actors overdo it but it's so perfect. Like his mind had to take a second to process what was going on.
Second, I've this scene and episode(s) but what is with those people walking towards Toby down the steps. They walk right by Josh and don't notice a guy sitting there holding his chest wound?
It’s true to life. People in an emergency walk around oblivious to anything but the overall cacophony and panic. The president not even realizing he had been shot. ( Reagan did not realize he had been shot until the car was miles down the rd. ). Nobody Noticed Tom Brady lying on the ground with a head wound until the president’s car pulled away. And josh would not have been the only person who just sat down and stared in shock. I once was present when two people fell 8 stories down an elevator shaft. When we got the door open and saw the condition of the 2 guys, I turned to the people standing near me and told 8 of them, one at a time, “ go call for an ambulance, now!” ( this was before cell phones everywhere) After helping get the inured out of the shaft, I went looking for those people. Not one of them had managed to make it to a phone and put in the call. Several stopped to tell other people what happened. Several stopped to throw up, or just plop down and stare off in shock. Several just wandered about, oblivious.
@@christopherpardell4418 Reagan's press secretary was James Brady, not Tom Brady. But yes, you're right about how people in shock act...
@@kanderson-oo7us Ah!, right you are
Loved this show. But always wondered why people were just walking by Josh when it was obvious he had been shot.
I’ve always wondered why all those people coming down the stairs didn’t notice a sitting bleeding Josh before Toby did.
When you get an adrenaline dump in a situation like that, I believe that manifests two ways. 1) The people with ADHD see absolutely everything. 2) Other people get tunnel vision and see only what's in front of them. I've experienced this and I've seen both effects in people. It's wild.
they had to follow the script.
At first I thought GW meant gunshot wound but then someone who lives in DC corrected me and said that it was George Washington hospital.
The motorcade presumably left the event ASAP. How did Ron get bandages on his hand *without* Jed seeing it?
They probably have first aid in the limo
@@DDub04 and Prexy didn't notice?
@@heddalee dude got shot and was in shock. Not that’s surprising he didn’t notice him wrapping his hand
@@DDub04 It is, in fact, surprising. And given that this show is a continuity nightmare, that's what isn't surprising.
How do you miss that gunshot?
Ask Regan… he was also shot and didn’t notice until he was on the limo; this scene is based in that real event
The EMT said "I don't think you'll need stitches" instead of "you should get checked for concussion, asap, to be on the safe side." Then she went a briefing where she was overwhelmed and fuzzy-headed - which sounds like mild concussion. And no one noticed! Not even the guy who sees her as the bees' knees! This episode does C.J. no favors.
Also, in both concussions I've had, I was unable to answer the question "how are you" for some time. As a question, I couldn't ascertain what it exactly had to do with me. This is what I hear when CJ keeps repeating "somebody pushed me down." She knows *what* happened, she just can't make meaning from it.
I don’t remember this at all
Season 2 Ep. 1, after the last season finale was an assassination attempt and screen fades to black. The President was not the target though.
@@jeffreysytsma6541 Allegedly.
Look what happened.
Literally *no one* coming down those stairs was scanning everything around them, out of safety, and thus no one could've seen Josh? Come on.
In fact, everyone on the stairs or higher was acting totally nonchalant.
G tv series OAT
Wow the agents wearing the first airpods 😂
Never realized it before but Toby's call out after finding Josh is a bit out of character. Toby is a combat vet that served in Vietnam. His gut instinct would be to shout for a medic, not a doctor.
I thought that was one of the best lines in a show full of great dialog. Even if he was in a combat unit, it's been 25 years. The last thing he expected this evening is to find his best friend dying. He is literally without words a moment, then says the first thing that comes out. Sorkin doesn't write mediocre military cliches.
I don’t think Toby was a combat vet was he? He’s too young to have been in Vietnam
Leo was in Vietnam but I don’t think Toby was
@@casey6556 Yeah he was a little too young. Toby was born in either 1954 or 1957, according to West Wing Wiki
@@seanmcmurphy4744 "Sorkin doesn't write mediocre military cliches." Actually, he's not the best at military writing. I won't go so far as to call any of it cliche, but it's a world he doesn't understand. There are a ton of inaccuracies in A Few Good Men, but it's still an excellent movie. There have been things on West Wing that weren't accurate, like the star field on the flag over Leo's casket being on the wrong side. And, without going and looking right now, I think he may have been carried in the wrong direction. The deceased always travels feet first, and I think they were carrying him head first. Another instance, though it could be attributed to the character, was in Sports Night, when Isaac was telling Dana about his son-in-law's job as a Naval radar officer, he said that "If we were scrambling F-16s off the deck of the U.S.S. Coral Sea", when the F-16 is an Air Force plane, not Navy. The Navy, at the time, used F-14s and F-18s. However, the managing editor of a cable sports show wouldn't be expected to know that, so I can let it go.
@@casey6556toby was a POW.
Okay....then what happened?
How no one walking past his notice he was shot makes no sense
Great episode and scene but yeah. Maybe don't have any extras around there cause I find it hard to believe that after a shooting people wouldn't think to check on a guy sitting on the ground holding his chest.
@@tmoore4075it's adorable that you think you know what people would do after 100 shots are fired into a crowd that included the president of the United states. Here's a fun fact for you, little girl, people are in Shock after things like this occur. People are also looking for their own loved ones who may have scattered. No, they're not looking at a guy who's sitting on the ground, and how would they know unless they look closely that he had been shot? From the corner of their eyes are going to see that a guy is sitting down, probably assuming that the guy is also in shock and sitting and sitting so he can compose himself.
@@clarkmacgowan5114 Cool story, bro. I'll be sure to not question how fake people in a fake world react again. I mean what was I thinking?
In that situation people get hyper focused of themselves and notice little of what going on around them. We also don’t know exactly how long Josh was sitting there either.
Very realistic actually.
they are in shock ,disbelief and all they care is getting the hell out of there ,the ones who would notice are swamped . Calm human reactions goes out the window when things like this happen
Why is everyone just walking right past Josh? The only one who can see he’s bleeding is Toby?
Toby went looking specifically for josh. The rest of the people are trying to figure out where to go and what to do and maybe they're looking for their own loved ones. And oh yeah, they just been through an incident where over a hundred shots were fired in the president was shot. So no, people are not at their best or most observant.
@@clarkmacgowan5114 Ridiculous.
Trump?
West Wing was one of the greatest Science Fiction shows ever. Imagine a universe where there is a Democrat President that is both popular and whose policies work.
😂
Clinton administration
@@yvonnetomenga5726 FDR.
😂
The real feat was having a Republican candidate that actually made sense AND was believably portrayed.
I never understood why CJ asked if the president was dead. I would think she would ask if the president was alive or if the president was safe or okay. So much about these scenes were like the writers were just trying to write against type. Head scratching…
Her assumption was the president was the target. With that many bullets fired it would be hard to believe they missed.
Need better lighting too dark.
It’s night time
It's also YT, which is notoriously bad at dark videos.
Who else is watching this utterly despondent after our country just elected a felon?