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{{Short description|American TV character, created 1999}} |
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{{About|a character in ''The West Wing''|the designer|Donna Moss (designer)}} |
{{About|a character in ''The West Wing''|the designer|Donna Moss (designer)}} |
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{{Multiple issues| |
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{{In-universe|date=August 2020}} |
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{{More citations needed|date=December 2020}} |
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}} |
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{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}} |
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2013}} |
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{{Infobox character |
{{Infobox character |
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| portrayer = [[Janel Moloney]] |
| portrayer = [[Janel Moloney]] |
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| full_name = Donnatella Moss |
| full_name = Donnatella Moss |
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| occupation = Senior Assistant to the White House Deputy Chief of Staff (seasons 1-6) |
| occupation = Senior Assistant to the White House Deputy Chief of Staff (seasons 1-6)<br/>Russell Campaign Senior Aide (season 6)<br/>Santos Campaign Spokeswoman (season 7)<br/>Chief of Staff to the First Lady (end of season 7) |
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| spouse = [[Josh Lyman]] (boyfriend) |
| spouse = [[Josh Lyman]] (boyfriend) |
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| gender = Female |
| gender = Female |
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| family = Unnamed mother, unnamed father. |
| family = Unnamed mother, unnamed father. |
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| religion = [[Protestant]], denomination unspecified |
| religion = [[Protestant]], denomination unspecified |
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| nationality = American/Canadian<ref>{{cite episode|title = Dead Irish Writers| series = The West Wing | |
| nationality = American/Canadian<ref>{{cite episode|title = Dead Irish Writers| series = The West Wing | series-link = The West Wing (TV series)|season = 3| number = 15|airdate=March 6, 2002|credits = Writer: [[Aaron Sorkin]] & Paul Redford Director: [[Alex Graves]]}}</ref> |
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}}'''Donnatella Moss'''<ref name="WGA_East">{{cite web|date=February 2003|title=Interview with Aaron Sorkin|url=http://www.wgaeast.org/newsletter_and_publications/pdf/onwriting18.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070128072902/http://www.wgaeast.org/newsletter_and_publications/pdf/onwriting18.pdf|archive-date=January 28, 2007|access-date=January 10, 2007|work=On Writing Magazine, Issue 18|publisher=The Writers Guild of America, East, Inc.|page=6}}</ref> is a fictional character played by [[Janel Moloney]] on the television serial drama ''[[The West Wing (television)|The West Wing]].'' During most of the series, Donna works for [[White House Deputy Chief of Staff]] [[Josh Lyman]] as a senior assistant (or, as she jokingly calls herself in one episode, the "''deputy'' deputy chief of staff"), until she quits her job to work for the presidential campaign of [[Bob Russell (The West Wing)|Bob Russell]] in season 6. Although all the senior staffs' assistants are continuing characters with personal backgrounds, Donna is the best defined and most often featured staff member on the assistant level, and her difficult, semi-romantic relationship with Josh is a recurring plotline throughout the show. She later works for Bob Russell's campaign for President as a spokeswoman, taking the same job for Matt Santos's campaign after Russell loses the primary. |
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}} |
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'''Donnatella''' "'''Donna'''" '''Moss''' is a [[fictional character]] played by [[Janel Moloney]] on the television serial drama ''[[The West Wing (television)|The West Wing]].'' Although Donna is a [[recurring character]] during the first season, she appears in every episode of that season. The disconnect was due to uncertainty about the role from production staff throughout the first season, but by the second season her role was certain and Janel Moloney is credited as a regular cast member from the beginning of the second season.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXTS8tTFd1Y|title=How Janel Moloney Found Donna Moss In 'The West Wing'}}</ref> |
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During most of the series, Donna works as the senior assistant to [[White House Deputy Chief of Staff]] [[Josh Lyman]] (or, as she jokingly calls herself in one episode, the "''deputy'' deputy chief of staff"). Although all the senior staffs' assistants are continuing characters with personal backgrounds, Donna is the best defined and most often featured staff member on the assistant level, and her difficult, semi-romantic relationship with Josh is a major plot device during later seasons. |
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Donna's early life is mostly known from the season two episode "Dead Irish Writers," in which Donna was told to have been in Warroad, Minnesota. After the border is clarified and Warroad is shown to be in Canada, Donna has to reclaim United States citizenship through a grandfather clause. Donna was born to an [[Irish-American]] father and an [[Italian-American]] mother. Josh identifies Donna as a Protestant. |
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Donna moved to [[Wisconsin]], where she attended [[University of Wisconsin–Madison]] and dropped out halfway through to support her boyfriend as he went through medical school. After her boyfriend graduated, he dumped Donna. |
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At the beginning of season two, the story of Donna's introduction to the Bartlet campaign and ultimately the White House is told from the vantage point of [[Josh Lyman]]'s [[Flashback (psychology)|flashback]], who is in surgery due to a gunshot wound. The flashback is set in the early stages of Jed Bartlet's campaign for president, between the Iowa Caucus and the New Hampshire primary. Donna is found in Josh's campaign office New Hampshire, pretending to have been hired as Josh's assistant. Josh discovers the deception but is somewhat amused by it, proceeding to hire her as his actual assistant. Towards the end of the season, Donna recounts to Josh why she left afterwards - she says that she left the campaign to go back to her boyfriend, but she got into a car accident, and on the way to the hospital, her boyfriend stopped for a beer. Donna tells the story to get him to stop making fun of her for going back to her boyfriend, because Josh incorrectly assumes the boyfriend dumped her both times, contrary to Donna's story. |
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== Creation and development == |
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Donna remains Josh's assistant during the first six seasons, set between 1999 and 2005. The show uses her time as Josh's secretary to express skepticism with various policies of the show's Democratic Party. Her political debates with Josh, which are often left unresolved, are one of the show's trademark methods of exploring multiple sides of an issue.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}} Aside from this, however, Donna is mostly shown as a secretary (although the environment she's set in is unusually challenging). Her desires to advance are mostly ignored by Josh, because, as another character puts it, "If he [Josh] was giving you every opportunity, you would have grown out of this job three years ago. You can't blame him. He's never gonna find anybody else as capable." The context of that quote, however, was that Josh assigned Donna to a Congressional Delegation trip to Gaza. The storyline of the next season begins when Donna's convoy in Gaza sustains a terrorist attack at the end of the fifth season, causing serious injuries to Donna. She gradually recovers, while the attack is used as a plot point to drive peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians, brokered by President Bartlet. |
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Donna was initially scripted as a minor character, having only two lines in the pilot episode. However, as [[Aaron Sorkin]] remarked, "Janel turned a recurring character who has a couple of lines every once in a while into what became a weekly set piece: the Josh-Donna Scene."<ref name=":1">Moore, Frazier (February 12, 2001). [http://b4a.healthyinterest.net/news/archives/2001/02/west_wing_lover.html West Wing Lovers Are in Limbo] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060510195905/http://b4a.healthyinterest.net/news/archives/2001/02/west_wing_lover.html|date=May 10, 2006}}. ''[[Associated Press]]''. Retrieved on December 15, 2007.</ref> By the third episode, Donna's onscreen chemistry with [[Josh Lyman]] had convinced the producers to make the opening scene feature her character engaging in back-and-forth dialogue with Josh about a message from C.J.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=How 'The West Wing' star Janel Moloney built her character Donna Moss 'from scratch'|url=https://ew.com/tv/the-west-wing-reunion-janel-moloney-donna-moss/|access-date=2021-03-07|website=EW.com|language=en}}</ref> Janel Moloney quipped in the same interview that "I think I maybe quit my job after that", meaning that she would be staying with the show after that scene.<ref name=":0" /> Donna was still credited as a [[recurring character]] during the first season due to the uncertainty, but she appears in every episode of that season, and Janel Moloney was credited as a full cast member from the second season onward.<ref name=":0" /> |
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| ⚫ | During the first four seasons, Donna's relationship with Josh Lyman remains in stasis, with neither daring to make any real romantic move on the other. Aaron Sorkin admits that he was more inclined to move the relationship forward, but, every time he discussed the possibility, fellow executive producer [[Thomas Schlamme]] would shout, "No! Wait another year!" "Besides", adds Sorkin, "Sexual and romantic tension is, to me, much more fun than taking the tension away by having the sex and romance".<ref name=":1" /> |
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Donna finishes recovering after season six's opening storyline, and is shown re-entering the White House in a wheelchair. She continues working for Josh for about half a season, but she quits due to Josh's portrayed neglect of her desire to be treated like a serious contributor. She takes a job in then-Vice President [[Bob Russell (The West Wing)|Bob Russell]]'s campaign for president as senior aide to the campaign manager, [[Will Bailey]]. The show uses this to prolong Donna's conflict with Josh, as Josh subsequently leaves the White House to run the campaign of [[Matt Santos]] for president. After the season six finale shows Matt Santos winning the Democratic nomination for president, Donna applies to work for Josh at the Santos campaign. Josh, portrayed as motivated by both personal and professional feelings,{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}} rejects Donna's application, reading out attacks Donna made on Matt Santos while working as press secretary for Bob Russell. Josh also tells Donna that he misses her "every day," at which point Donna walks out of the interview. |
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The beginning of the last season, season seven, is focused mostly on Matt Santos's general election campaign for president. A new character, Lou Thornton, hires Donna as a campaign spokeswoman. Josh is upset with Lou, but Lou forces Josh to reconcile with Donna for the good of the campaign. In the middle of the season, Donna enters into a relationship with Josh. Matt Santos wins the general election a few episodes later, in "Election Day Part II." Donna rejects an offer to be deputy White House press secretary, saying that she can't work for Josh while they're dating. She accepts another offer from the incoming Santos administration to be chief of staff to the first lady, Helen Santos. Her large office, which she is shocked to see, symbolizes her growth since the beginning of the series, when her workplace was a cubicle in Josh's bullpen.{{Citation needed|date=December 2020}} |
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A script of the pilot episode provided by [[Warner Bros.]] to an interviewer introduces Donna as "Josh’s assistant... devoted to Josh and hates admitting it."<ref name="WGA_East" /> As Josh's assistant, Donna's role in the show consisted primarily of interactions with Josh for the first five seasons, until she quits her job to work for [[Bob Russell (The West Wing)|Bob Russell's]] campaign for President on the show. Donna's relationship with Josh was one of the ways the show could explore both sides of an issue on the show; often featuring Donna asking questions to Josh so that he can provide information to both Donna and the audience.<ref name="miller">{{cite web|author=Miller|first=Matthew|date=March 1, 2000|title=The Real White House|url=http://b4a.healthyinterest.net/news/2000_03.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070313170253/http://b4a.healthyinterest.net/news/2000_03.html|archive-date=March 13, 2007|access-date=January 18, 2007|publisher=[[Brill's Content]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Rosenberg|first=Alyssa|title=The personal politics of 'The West Wing'|language=en-US|newspaper=Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2015/07/13/the-personal-politics-of-the-west-wing/|access-date=2021-03-22|issn=0190-8286}}</ref> During her time as Josh's assistant, her flirtatious onscreen chemistry with Josh garnered attention, with The ''Associated Press'' describing Donna's role in the show as "Josh's pokerfaced foil" and "mother hen."<ref name=":1" /> Other characters within the show occasionally speculate on the pair's relationship; When Donna encourages Josh to ask Joey Lucas on a date, Joey guesses that Donna is attempting to cover her own feelings for Josh through misdirection.<ref>''The West Wing'', Episode 2.14: [[The War at Home (The West Wing)|The War at Home]]. Original airdate: February 14, 2001.</ref> In the Season 7 episode "[[The Cold (The West Wing)|The Cold]]," Josh and Donna kiss passionately as she brings him the good news that Congressman Santos has caught up to [[Arnold Vinick|Vinick]] and that they are tied in the national tracking polls. In "[[Election Day Part I|Election Day]]," Josh and Donna consummate their relationship, sleeping together twice, both times at her initiative. Donna gives Josh four weeks to figure out "what they want from each other." In the Season 7 episode "[[Transition (The West Wing)|Transition]]," Josh attempts to recruit Sam Seaborn to be his deputy. Sam agrees on the condition that Josh takes a vacation. In one of the last scenes of the episode, Josh is joined by Donna on a plane to his vacation site. In the series finale "[[Tomorrow (The West Wing)|Tomorrow]]," Josh and Donna wake up in bed together on the morning of Inauguration Day. |
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==Reaction and influence== |
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==Relationship with Josh Lyman== |
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''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' described Donna as "undoubtedly one of ''The West Wing''{{'s}} most indelible characters."<ref name=":0" /> |
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''[[The Atlantic]]'' ranked Donna as 39th on their list of every character in ''The West Wing'', describing her as "Easily the most controversial of the core cast members not named '[[Mandy Hampton|Mandy]].{{'"}}<ref name="2014-09-12 Atlantic">{{cite magazine |last1=Reid |first1=Joe |last2=Sims |first2=David |last3=O'Keeffe |first3=Kevin |date=2014-09-12 |title=A Definitive Ranking of Every Character on ''The West Wing'' |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2014/09/a-definitive-ranking-of-every-character-on-the-west-wing/380098/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |magazine=[[The Atlantic]] |language=en |issn=2151-9463 |oclc=936540106 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200421142519/https://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2014/09/a-definitive-ranking-of-every-character-on-the-west-wing/380098/ |archive-date=2020-04-21 |access-date=2023-11-25 |quote=And by 'every character,' we mean it. Everyone who ever served at the pleasure of the president and then some, ranked.}}</ref> |
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The chemistry between Janel Moloney and [[Bradley Whitford]], who portrayed Josh Lyman, caught producers' attention early in the series. After seeing Moloney and Whitford perform together in the pilot, [[Aaron Sorkin]] added a scene in which Donna argues with Josh to change his shirt before attending a meeting, eventually convincing him by saying, "All the girls think you look really hot in this shirt". Although [[Mandy Hampton]] was originally intended to be Josh's romantic interest, by the end of the show's first season the character was written out and the role taken over by Donna. |
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''[[The Washington Post]]'' focuses on Donna's romantic tension with Josh Lyman, writing that while Josh and Donna's relationship was perceived as positively romantic in the time it was released, viewing the show after the [[Me Too movement]] soured the story. They named it "The Donna Problem"–that society and culture have moved on from what was acceptable a short while ago, and that well-written shows can still be relics of that older time.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Hesse|first=Monica|date=2018-02-27|title=Perspective {{!}} Love-struck hero or creepy harasser? Suddenly we're seeing our favorite rom-coms in a new light.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/lovestruck-hero-or-creepy-harasser-suddenly-were-seeing-our-favorite-rom-coms-in-a-new-light/2018/02/27/1d3d85d2-06a8-11e8-94e8-e8b8600ade23_story.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227211906/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/lovestruck-hero-or-creepy-harasser-suddenly-were-seeing-our-favorite-rom-coms-in-a-new-light/2018/02/27/1d3d85d2-06a8-11e8-94e8-e8b8600ade23_story.html |archive-date=February 27, 2018 |access-date=2021-02-01|newspaper=Washington Post|language=en}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | During the first four seasons, |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Donna}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moss, Donna}} |
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[[Category:The West Wing characters]] |
[[Category:The West Wing characters]] |
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[[Category:American female characters in television]] |
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[[Category:Canadian female characters in television]] |
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[[Category:Fictional secretaries]] |
[[Category:Fictional secretaries]] |
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[[Category:Fictional Democrats (United States)]] |
[[Category:Fictional Democrats (United States)]] |
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Latest revision as of 01:11, 15 October 2024
| Donna Moss | |
|---|---|
| The West Wing character | |
 Janel Moloney as Donna Moss | |
| First appearance | "Pilot" |
| Last appearance | "Tomorrow" |
| Created by | Aaron Sorkin |
| Portrayed by | Janel Moloney |
| In-universe information | |
| Full name | Donnatella Moss |
| Gender | Female |
| Title | Chief of Staff to the First Lady |
| Occupation | Senior Assistant to the White House Deputy Chief of Staff (seasons 1-6) Russell Campaign Senior Aide (season 6) Santos Campaign Spokeswoman (season 7) Chief of Staff to the First Lady (end of season 7) |
| Family | Unnamed mother, unnamed father. |
| Spouse | Josh Lyman (boyfriend) |
| Religion | Protestant, denomination unspecified |
| Nationality | American/Canadian[1] |
Donnatella Moss[2] is a fictional character played by Janel Moloney on the television serial drama The West Wing. During most of the series, Donna works for White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Lyman as a senior assistant (or, as she jokingly calls herself in one episode, the "deputy deputy chief of staff"), until she quits her job to work for the presidential campaign of Bob Russell in season 6. Although all the senior staffs' assistants are continuing characters with personal backgrounds, Donna is the best defined and most often featured staff member on the assistant level, and her difficult, semi-romantic relationship with Josh is a recurring plotline throughout the show. She later works for Bob Russell's campaign for President as a spokeswoman, taking the same job for Matt Santos's campaign after Russell loses the primary.
Creation and development
[edit]Donna was initially scripted as a minor character, having only two lines in the pilot episode. However, as Aaron Sorkin remarked, "Janel turned a recurring character who has a couple of lines every once in a while into what became a weekly set piece: the Josh-Donna Scene."[3] By the third episode, Donna's onscreen chemistry with Josh Lyman had convinced the producers to make the opening scene feature her character engaging in back-and-forth dialogue with Josh about a message from C.J.[4] Janel Moloney quipped in the same interview that "I think I maybe quit my job after that", meaning that she would be staying with the show after that scene.[4] Donna was still credited as a recurring character during the first season due to the uncertainty, but she appears in every episode of that season, and Janel Moloney was credited as a full cast member from the second season onward.[4]
During the first four seasons, Donna's relationship with Josh Lyman remains in stasis, with neither daring to make any real romantic move on the other. Aaron Sorkin admits that he was more inclined to move the relationship forward, but, every time he discussed the possibility, fellow executive producer Thomas Schlamme would shout, "No! Wait another year!" "Besides", adds Sorkin, "Sexual and romantic tension is, to me, much more fun than taking the tension away by having the sex and romance".[3]
Character role
[edit]A script of the pilot episode provided by Warner Bros. to an interviewer introduces Donna as "Josh’s assistant... devoted to Josh and hates admitting it."[2] As Josh's assistant, Donna's role in the show consisted primarily of interactions with Josh for the first five seasons, until she quits her job to work for Bob Russell's campaign for President on the show. Donna's relationship with Josh was one of the ways the show could explore both sides of an issue on the show; often featuring Donna asking questions to Josh so that he can provide information to both Donna and the audience.[5][6] During her time as Josh's assistant, her flirtatious onscreen chemistry with Josh garnered attention, with The Associated Press describing Donna's role in the show as "Josh's pokerfaced foil" and "mother hen."[3] Other characters within the show occasionally speculate on the pair's relationship; When Donna encourages Josh to ask Joey Lucas on a date, Joey guesses that Donna is attempting to cover her own feelings for Josh through misdirection.[7] In the Season 7 episode "The Cold," Josh and Donna kiss passionately as she brings him the good news that Congressman Santos has caught up to Vinick and that they are tied in the national tracking polls. In "Election Day," Josh and Donna consummate their relationship, sleeping together twice, both times at her initiative. Donna gives Josh four weeks to figure out "what they want from each other." In the Season 7 episode "Transition," Josh attempts to recruit Sam Seaborn to be his deputy. Sam agrees on the condition that Josh takes a vacation. In one of the last scenes of the episode, Josh is joined by Donna on a plane to his vacation site. In the series finale "Tomorrow," Josh and Donna wake up in bed together on the morning of Inauguration Day.
Reaction and influence
[edit]Entertainment Weekly described Donna as "undoubtedly one of The West Wing's most indelible characters."[4]
The Atlantic ranked Donna as 39th on their list of every character in The West Wing, describing her as "Easily the most controversial of the core cast members not named 'Mandy.'"[8]
The Washington Post focuses on Donna's romantic tension with Josh Lyman, writing that while Josh and Donna's relationship was perceived as positively romantic in the time it was released, viewing the show after the Me Too movement soured the story. They named it "The Donna Problem"–that society and culture have moved on from what was acceptable a short while ago, and that well-written shows can still be relics of that older time.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Writer: Aaron Sorkin & Paul Redford Director: Alex Graves (March 6, 2002). "Dead Irish Writers". The West Wing. Season 3. Episode 15.
- ^ a b "Interview with Aaron Sorkin" (PDF). On Writing Magazine, Issue 18. The Writers Guild of America, East, Inc. February 2003. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 28, 2007. Retrieved January 10, 2007.
- ^ a b c Moore, Frazier (February 12, 2001). West Wing Lovers Are in Limbo Archived May 10, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Associated Press. Retrieved on December 15, 2007.
- ^ a b c d "How 'The West Wing' star Janel Moloney built her character Donna Moss 'from scratch'". EW.com. Retrieved March 7, 2021.
- ^ Miller, Matthew (March 1, 2000). "The Real White House". Brill's Content. Archived from the original on March 13, 2007. Retrieved January 18, 2007.
- ^ Rosenberg, Alyssa. "The personal politics of 'The West Wing'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 22, 2021.
- ^ The West Wing, Episode 2.14: The War at Home. Original airdate: February 14, 2001.
- ^ Reid, Joe; Sims, David; O'Keeffe, Kevin (September 12, 2014). "A Definitive Ranking of Every Character on The West Wing". The Atlantic. ISSN 2151-9463. OCLC 936540106. Archived from the original on April 21, 2020. Retrieved November 25, 2023.
And by 'every character,' we mean it. Everyone who ever served at the pleasure of the president and then some, ranked.
- ^ Hesse, Monica (February 27, 2018). "Perspective | Love-struck hero or creepy harasser? Suddenly we're seeing our favorite rom-coms in a new light". Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 27, 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2021.