Trying Not to go Too Far Off Topic

Did you know that Paula Yoo, author of Good Enough and Shining Star: The Anna May Wong Story was a writer for The West Wing? The show ran on NBC from 1999 to 2006.

I mention this because I recently finished watching the West Wing on DVD and noted some very interesting co-incidences. If you watched the show, you may remember that in the last season Jimmy Smits was the first Latino to run for president. The following happened during his campaign and his subsequent election.

  • Smit’s character was a young, revolutionary campaigner
  • Leo McGarry, a much older, White statesman, was selected to be his running mate.
  • During one of the debates between Smit’s character and his opponent, someone in the crowd yelled “Liar!”
  • Smit’s first term was going to be burdened by his predecessor’s actions which got the country involved in a war between India and China.
  • Smit, a Democrat, chose several Republicans for key offices in his presidency.
  • While campaign, Smit avoided issues dealing with his ethnicity

Does this sound familiar to anyone else?

7 thoughts on “Trying Not to go Too Far Off Topic”

  1. What?? Wow! *runs scurrying back to re-watch West Wing*

    The writing on that series was so enjoyable – each episode felt like a tightly wound clockwork jewel, I loved the fast-paced patter, and the long shots of the characters striding importantly around the West Wing offices.

    Like

  4. Hi! A West Wing correction: First of all, thank you for this great blog! Librarians ROCK! 🙂 Secondly, I too am a huge Lisa Yee fan as well as a friend. She rocks, too! Thirdly, Lisa Yee, however, did not write for The West Wing. I did. We have similar last names, hence the mixup. This has happened before to us! 🙂 My name is Paula Yoo. I too am a children’s book author (IRA notable picture books with Lee & Low books and a YA novel GOOD ENOUGH with HarperCollins ’08). My website is http://paulayoo.com. I am also a TV writer producer. My last job was as Producer of the SyFy series EUREKA. My first job was as staff writer for THE WEST WING. My episodes were “Process Stories,” “The California 47th,” and “Han.” Just wanted to make sure the correct info was posted. And yes – the coincidences and parallels between The West Wing and today are uncanny. 🙂 Thanks again for your blog and I heart school librarians for all the work you do for children’s literature.

    Sincerely,
    Paula Yoo
    http://paulayoo.com

    Like

    1. Ms Yee,
      I’m so sorry for having done such poor research to have confused such accomplished writers. That should not have happened.

      I’m not sure of the protocol for repairing such errors in a post, but I did had to fix that! No more quick, cute posts from me! Next time, I’ll make double sure I have it right.

      Like

Comments are closed.