I think she knows. But CSI Miami paid her a lot more money. In her own words at the time she described the choice as "It was like choosing between a boyfriend that wants to be with you casually or a man that says I love you." Emily was also the first cast in CSI so she knew they were invested, but she was only a reoccurring role in the West Wing. It probably didn't help that her character was pretty tied to Sam's character and by that point things between Sorkin and Lowe were not great. Rob Lowe wanted more screen time and having another charismatic screen partner to draw attention from him probably made that situation worse.

I wanted to name my daughter Ainsley, because I admired this character so much. Unfortunately my idea was vetoed by my wife.... something about "executive privilege".

She was missed!

Ditto! One of life's little pleasures to find a character that elicits such strong positive affection for us, feelings even more recognisable when the character disappears too soon, like Ainsley. Aaron Sorkin has bought a few such characters into my life. I can't think of many portrayals through my years that have moved me as much as this one. I suspect the current US political climate has something to do with my undiminished affection for Ainsley Hayes.

Totally agree

His yes He can was classic. Simple to the point.

Honestly, she gave as good as she got, the comment about the office really was way way too snarky considering how many rungs he outranked her. This is exactly why I enjoyed her character so much despite disagreeing with her on probably everything that ever came out of her mouth. She was brave and ambitious. Dare I say as a left leaning person, a feminist icon. And famous in this universe far left lawyer respected her for it. Its a great dynamic, I wish we had gotten more of it.

But his best character was CPT Stillman - "I wish I was a loofa."

No, but then again, I'm not a woman.

He did say "I'll have their backs"

Remember too Tribbey has no idea why Sam is there, but, for Sam to slam in there like that, he knows shit is about to happen there because unseen shit has already motivated Sam that way. He maybe derived a clue from the words "harassment suit" but remember earlier how he says he has these peoples' backs? "Oh yes, he can!"

It was also that last little flick of the eyes at the pair, filled with anger and contempt. That final dismissive turn on his heel and he stalks out the door. Wonderful delivery of the line(s), with a bit of physical acting that just puts the cherry on top.

@@heisdeadjim The fact that these were the same two guys that he was threatening to beat to death with a cricket bat earlier in the episode might also have carried some weight.

Five Emmys and a Tony award in his career. Not too shabby.

I like that the show made Republicans smart, too. While it had a liberal bias, it was a smart show, with smart characters. That is the way the country should be on both sides of the aisle. That’s something that happens…but rarely - and that, too, is true on both sides!

@@marksnschwartz7190 Smart characters on either side seems like the least believable part of the show.

@@gyorgyor7765 In the West Wing World, the political reality was a lot more optimistic. The current GOP may be smart, but they are deliberately keeping it from their “base.” The best example is Texas Senator, Ted Cruz. He was one of the most brilliant law students his professors at Harvard Law School had. However, he is so politically opportunistic, we have yet to see any of that brilliance. We have yet to see anything but a lying, mean-spirited bully. There used to be senators like Barry Goldwater, Howard Baker, Nelson Rockefeller, and so on. We might not agree with any of their policies, but at least they articulated them with intelligence, logic, and especially honesty. Alas, I agree with you - this current crop of crap belies the likelihood of Ainsley Hayes or the character Alan Alda played towards the end of the series.

@@marksnschwartz7190 The Dems side isn't looking like best or brightest either, they let the woke hijack leftwing politics, they let Joe Manchin and Sigma veto any attempt to do anything useful, they can't get peace in the Ukraine, can't fix the global economy, can't fix the shipocolpyse. Absolutely useless. And no the Republican's aren't any better. A pox on all their houses.

A great actor who is so very underrated

​@@davidstout8604 definitely.

And now he is in Night Court, how the mighty has fallen

@@velocitymg umm

@@velocitymg now im too young to have watched the original, and havent bothered to watch the new one. BUT he one multiple emmys for night court back then. if anything hes coming back to something that got him great praise

Sam kicks butt in this scene. :)

Notice how Sam paused at the threshold and asked for permission to enter?

@@heisdeadjim Yes, he's a vampire - it's the most closely guarded secret in the show. ;)

I want to live that last scene but the white male saviour thing combined with the misogynistic "then again I'm not a woman" statement is so frustrating from Sorkin's genius.

Needed to include the scene with the music from Pinafore at the end

Think about the casting in West Wing. Their were so many great casting decisions on this series. It made me look at John Goodman's work differently. Could anyone else have dome John Amos' Chief of Staff better? This is classic, so very rare, TV. I do wish that Aaron Sorkin would write for Biden.

John Laroquette is exactly how I would be as a boss, approachable, but not friendly, and God help you if you mess with one of my people

that's lawyers.

That's business. I can't tell you how many of my vacations were canceled. I even had to schedule my wedding around work and took training I couldn't fit in at work by a pool on vacation in Mexico. And I just worked for a public utility company, not the White House. 😂😂

I love how fucking smart this series is. Makes my pause and google shit just so i can be in the joke. And then I learnded somthing. Dubbel lplus goood!

Was it iambic pentameter though?

I looked it up. And it is. Good job, Sorkin and writing staff.

Aw, ainsley didn't want sam to see it by blocking it with her body. Then didn't want sam to stick up for her and make a fuss. What a nice ainsley. And what a nice sam, for saying not on my watch will I not fire them. Brilliant scene, sequence.

From traffic court to the white house what an amazing journey he took to get there

@@inappreciation7339 with a rough stint in the Army on the way (my favorite Laroquette role).

He had a 'sense of duty'!

It's like Salvador Dali (I'm just continuing the reference)

We had a Gilbert and Sullivan Society at university. They did West Side Story.

Some of the dialog was a sign of the times too. What's funny is you get these off color remarks (that one being somewhat sexist) but on the flip side supporting generally liberal or moderate political positions. I think in at least one scene somebody says "blacks" vs. (politically correct) "african american" phrase.

I learned more about the American constitution and political machine from this show than at university. It is a masterpiece.

TWW is excellent. House of Cards is also very good. Always makes me wonder which one is more realistic?

Aaron Sorkin wrote at least two other excellent tv shows - neither of which lasted more than a couple of seasons. It has been said that they were too challenging for their audiences to understand. Checkout “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”, and “The Newsroom”.

Check out The Diplomat. Done by Debra Cahn, an alum of The West Wing and Grey's Anatomy.

Or Smeagol

@@lmaxson1 Yeah, I hear those words in Smeagol's voice.

Night Court, The West Wing, House Great every time!

Lionel Tribbey:"Oh Yes He Can, Leave Here And Don't Ever Come Back It's Time For Both Of You To Write Your Book Now!"😄😆🤣😁😎👍

Little did those two guys know, but they got off easy, Tribey originally wanted to bash their heads with a cricket bat.

Of course she did, that's why Tribey took Sam's side in firing those guys.

@@ruk2023-- I like to believe tribey would have sided with Sam and Ainsley even if he had nothing but pure hatred for her. Even if you hate everything someone stands for that type of attack is base evil.

Also, the fact that she was so well informed about the President's stance on subjects vs. Tribbey's stance. Who would be so diligent as to research all of that? Only someone with a laser-focused mind, someone you could trust to get things correct the first time.

She's not Ann Coulter

Sam just standing there blinking like a deer in the headlights at the end like "....ok."

Hi, from the Future. It's Much Worse, now (Send Help)

@@Rensune so much worse that it doesn't even seem believable that this show is about the same country.

Sam is in the Communications Office (which is why he, unlike Josh, does NOT have a ticket to the Shelter in case of attack), not the WH Counsel’s Office, so the are technically right, like the guy who died maintaining his right-of-way in the Burma Shave signs. His best friend is the Deputy Chief of Staff, and if Josh wasn’t present Sam would tell Leo, the CoS. Either of those two could have them terminated, if not with extreme prejudice.

@@Egilhelmson Brookline and Joyce were both identified as "staffers in the Communications Office," so they DID, in fact, work under Sam -- the Deputy Communications Director. It was never explained why two Communications staffers were testifying before Congress, but that's not really the point. Sam had the authority to fire them. Even he didn't, though, Egilhelmson is right: Even if these guys didn't report to Sam, NONE of the people senior to Same would have lifted a finger to protect these guys, especially if Sam wanted them gone. They both vastly overestimated their own level of clout, and underestimated Sam's.

​@@wsmith76usBrookline and Joyce were the two who testified on the Hill that the White House didn't have the Rockland memo. Barlet was a Democrat so the hearings were gavelled by a Republican led committee. If the testimony was an accidental lie, that Brookland and Joyce didn't know they had the Rockland, it was fixable. An accident under oath isnt perjury. But, Brookline and Joyce told a lie because it was a Republican committee and sent the dead flowers to Ainsley because how dare a) a Republican work in a Democratic White House and b) how dare she, the new hire, challenge them? The deliberate lie was in and of itself a fireable offence but Ainsley did her job and did indeed fix it. For which the two meatheads decided the dead flowers were somehow appropriate.

... because Tribey was their actual boss. "Sam, you can't fire us" was the plain truth- until Tribey stepped in to confirm it.

My favorite part is that he didnt know. It shows his respect for Sam.

@@williamtolbert5473 Very true. Good point.

I think you get Lionel's motivation wrong. I think this was his moment to trust Sam's character by having his back without really knowing what had happened.

@@cdjhyoung Thats an interesting take. And you very well may be correct on that. Maybe it was a little of both. Good point though.

Tribey's a smart man. He heard "Harassment suit. She works here." He knows they'd met with Ainsley she is someone they aren't likely to treat well. He sees how enraged Sam and knows is Sam is not easy to enrage. He's demonstrating trust in Sam's judgement and honor in his dealings with Ainsley. If he'd wanted to stick it to the "tiny blonde fascist," he could have let it slide with a reprimand. He doesn't just fire them because of their legal faux pax. There is contempt in his tone. They have acted in a cowardly manner in addition to their earlier mistake. That what this scene is teaching us about his character, that honorable even to people who he holds in low regard.

*Babbish, excuse me. By the way, while we are on the subject, why is the name Danny Concannon pronounced as if it was Kincannon?

That penmanship is stunning XD

He wished he was a loofah

He was awesome in Night Court.

John Laroquete had already achieved a great career at that point.

+Lauren Redding yeah

Excellent choice of expletive😀

its all on Netflix. Just be careful, once you start you'll will binge watch.

Or, buy the series. I watch it beginning every October.

I have all the series on DVD and as they were pre-owned, I bought them for £23 (around $30). Bargain. Sorkin’s departure however meant the writing quality suffered.

Just go to your local library and check them out

What I would like to know is why are they in the white house, I thought Lionel said they were on the hill?

They were testifying on the Hill on behalf of the White House.

Joe Quincy (played by Matthew Perry)

She did at the end of the series. She was looking for a job in the Santos administration.

she joined csi

Yeah Sorkin only gave her a role as a recurring character the next season but CSI offered her a bigger role so she took that. Aaron Sorkin has gone on record saying it was the worst mistake he made on show by not offering her a series regular.

Agreed, I loved Ainsley, especially when she speaks in Iambic pentameter :) I hadn't heard the Sorkin thing about not offering her a regular spot, definitely was a big miss there.

He would have known that, but he was too flustered with not getting his tiny umbrellas in the frozen drinks on a warm beach.

It seems that quite a few Americans know a great deal about Gilbert and Sullivan. I though am English and ironically I know as good as nothing about their work!

dickyhood Your comment would be more accurate saying "It seems that a few Americans know about Gilbert and Sullivan" I wish your statement were true.

your not alone there, I'm English and in fact my local branch of Mcdonalds was built on the site of the house that Sullivan lived and my entire knowledge of gilbert and Sullivan more or less comes from this episode

Were YOU the recording secretary for the Princeton Gilbert & Sullivan Society for two years?

kinda sorta, huh? couldn't be sure...

Well, I'll never be able to watch that scene again.

Actually, if you look at how he moves, he spins his shoes on the floor. He didn't fart, as much as he squeaked his heel on the floor.

Made 100x funnier by the fact that ainsley just said "duty"