'West Wing' comes to Long Beach

C-17, employees play role in show's episode

BY ELAINE MARCELLINO

Watch this season's third episode of NBC's "The West Wing" and you might see someone you know—or at least a familiar airplane.

That's because about 50 employees helped film part of the show on Sept. 17 at the Boeing C-17 production facility in Long Beach, Calif. Warner Bros selected the facility and hired the employees to be extras in a scene that features "West Wing" star Jimmy Smits.

Smits' character, Congressman Matt Santos, is running for President of the United States in the series. In this particular scene, Santos visits Boeing to tour a C-17 and deliver his message to the media. He tells reporters: "The Air Force urgently needs more C-17s, and the American workers are ready, willing and able to do the job."

Barb Boteler, director of C-17 Quality Processes, served as an extra and described the energy and excitement on the set as incredible.

"I've never been prouder of our product," she said. "The actors and crew were just as fascinated with the C-17 as I was with them."

Though the C-17 scene runs only about one minute, it's critical to the episode's plot, network representatives said.

The episode, titled "Message of the Week" will air on Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. in the Eastern and Pacific time zones, and 7 p.m. in the Mountain and Central time zones. Check your local listings for details.

elaine.m.marcellino@boeing.com