TV Tuesday: Behind the Scenes of The West Wing!

TV Tuesday: Behind the Scenes of The West Wing!

Me & Aaron Sorkin on the set of The West Wing (except Sorkin is writing, so I had to settle for his chair instead! LOL!)

Welcome to TV TUESDAY! I recently received a LOVELY email from a teen reader who not only enjoyed my YA novel GOOD ENOUGH (HarperCollins) but was also a huge West Wing fan. She asked me some great questions, and it got me thinking… hey, I should post a fun behind-the-scenes blog on my time as a staff writer on THE WEST WING!

So today’s TV TUESDAY blog will feature some fun on-the-set photos of THE WEST WING. You’ll be surprised to see what our sets look like compared to the real White House. We had some producers on staff who had worked at the White House, and they all said our set was much bigger than the real deal. LOL! 🙂 For more on info on The West Wing, go here: http://www.nbc.com/The_West_Wing/

(Keep reading after the jump for fun behind-the-scenes photos of THE WEST WING, plus some other fun picture surprises!)

The West Wing

I was a staff writer for THE WEST WING during its fourth season (2002-03). My story credits included “Process Stories” and “The California 47th” with fellow scribe Lauren Schmidt. I also received a story credit for a script I wrote called “Han” that aired during the 5th season. (The Story By credit was Peter Noah & Mark Goffman and Paula Yoo, Teleplay by Peter Noah). It was an honor and privilege to write for this amazing series. It was my first ever TV writing job and boy did I learn a lot! 🙂

Below are some fun pictures from my brief time on the show. I hope you enjoy them!

Here is President Yoo reading some classified material at our replica of the Resolute Desk at the West Wing set of the Oval Office! 🙂

President Yoo at The West Wing Oval Office!

Here I am, making an important diplomatic decision in the “war room” of The West Wing! LOL!

"Do not launch those missiles!" Me at the "war room" of The West Wing!

Martin Sheen, who played President Bartlet, kindly posed for this picture at our post-Emmy party back in 2003.

Me & President Bartlet (Martin Sheen)!

Toby Ziegler, played by Richard Schiff, was one of my favorite characters on the show for his humor and fierce integrity. Richard Schiff was also super nice on the set! 🙂

Me & "Toby Ziegler" (played by Richard Schiff)

I really took advantage of getting my photo taken a lot at the 2003 Emmy party. Here’s me with the gorgeous (and super tall) Janel Maloney, who played the lovely Donna Moss!

Me & the beautiful Donna Moss (played by Janel Maloney)

We won the Emmy in 2003 for Most Outstanding Drama Series. Here we are on the cover of the LA Times the next day. Can you find me? 🙂

We won the Emmy & made the front page of the LA Times!

And now for some fun surprises! Here are some other photos I snapped when I worked at THE WEST WING. We filmed the show at the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank, along with several other shows, including….

… GILMORE GIRLS…

Welcome to The Gilmore Girls set!

… ER…

Here's the outside of the "ER" set. I used to walk by here on my way to the cafeteria for lunch!

… a famous street scene on the WB lot that was used in tons of movies and TV shows…

You've seen this town in a million Warner Bros. movies and TV shows!

… And here’s a couple shots of the old “Wild Wild West” town that was used in tons of shows and movies, too!

Wild Wild West

Saddle up, pardner! 🙂

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Well, I hope you enjoyed today’s blog featuring some fun photos from my days on the Warner Bros. lot working for THE WEST WING. For those of you who are fans of The West Wing, what were some of your favorite episodes and characters? I look forward to your comments.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s WRITER WEDNESDAY blog. Until then, Happy Writing! WRITE LIKE YOU MEAN IT! 🙂

 

6 Responses

  1. The shots of the various show sets on the lot are great..but that “President Yoo” picture is a keeper for sure! Bruce

  2. Dagny says:

    Enjoyed the photo tour, Paula. Thanks!

  3. TeresaR says:

    President Yoo definitely has a nice ring to it…I’d vote you into office any day!

    Did you walk by the ER set during the Clooney days? 😉

  4. paulayoo says:

    LOL! Thanks guys for your fun comments. Glad you enjoyed the virtual tour of the Warner Bros. Lot. If I were president, you’d all be on my staff! 🙂

  5. Laura says:

    Thanks for the great post! I enjoyed reading even more about your WW experience.

    • paulayoo says:

      Thanks Laura, and thanks again for your kind words on Good Enough! Hope you are having a great summer! 🙂

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