Season 3: 2001–20 02 Cast: Rob L owe, Stoc kard Chann ing, Du lé Hill, Allison Janne y, Jan el Moloney, R ichard Schiff, John Sp encer, Bradley Wh itford an d Martin Sheen The third se ason, whic h covers t he admini stratio n&#39 ;s third and fourth years in offic e, start s off with Bar tlet anno uncing his inte ntion to run for re election and is heavily d evoted to the upcoming pr esidential ele ction. Other pr ominent plotli nes include Congressional i nvestigatio ns into whe ther Bartl et committed el ectoral f raud by concealing his MS, a death th reat agai nst C.J. and the ensuing rel ationship she develops wit h a Secret S ervice agent a ssigned to her, the Q umari defense m inister Abdul S hareef pl otting terroris t attac ks against the US, and a troubli ng meeting b etween Tob y and th e President th at leaves Bartlet w ith a b out of insomnia in &a mp;quot;Ni ght Five.&am p;quot; The season finale, &a mp;quot;Posse C omitatus& quot; clo ses severa l of th ese sto rylines as Bart let meets his oppo nent in the el ections and rea ffirms his c ommitme nt to bea t him. The epis ode ends with the presiden t finally d eciding to or der Shareef 's assassinat ion (a legal ly questio nable act) an d C.J.& #39;s agent&a mp;#39;s murder , just after t he man threatening C.J. was caught. From a critical per spective, series creato r Aaron Sorkin acknowledged in October 2 002 that the terrorism -related p lots designed t o keep the series re levant after th e real-life 9/11 a ttacks w ere awkwa rd at times, saying &a mp;quot;from w eek to we ek, yo u felt like you were wr iting the sh ow handcuffed, a little bit . I didn&am p;#39;t know how to write it anymore. It was a constant search for w hat I wasn& ;#39;t doing that u sed to m ake the sh ow work. [. ..] May be there was a way to make it work; t here pr obably was. I wasn' t able to f ind it in twenty-two e pisodes.& ;quot; [1] N onetheless, the show went on to win its th ird &quo t;Outstand ing Drama& ;quot; Emmy in a row.Season 3: 2001–2002 Cast: Rob Lowe, Stockard Channing, Dulé Hill, Allison Janney, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff, John Spencer, Bradley Whitford and Martin Sheen The third season, which covers the administration's third and fourth years in office, starts off with Bartlet announcing his intention to run for reelection and is heavily devoted to the upcoming presidential election. Other prominent plotlines include Congressional investigations into whether Bartlet committed electoral fraud by concealing his MS, a death threat against C.J. and the ensuing relationship she develops with a Secret Service agent assigned to her, the Qumari defense minister Abdul Shareef plotting terrorist attacks against the US, and a troubling meeting between Toby and the President that leaves Bartlet with a bout of insomnia in "Night Five." The season finale, "Posse Comitatus" closes several of these storylines as Bartlet meets his opponent in the elections and reaffirms his commitment to beat him. The episode ends with the president finally deciding to order Shareef's assassination (a legally questionable act) and C.J.'s agent's murder, just after the man threatening C.J. was caught. From a critical perspective, series creator Aaron Sorkin acknowledged in October 2002 that the terrorism-related plots designed to keep the series relevant after the real-life 9/11 attacks were awkward at times, saying "from week to week, you felt like you were writing the show handcuffed, a little bit. I didn't know how to write it anymore. It was a constant search for what I wasn't doing that used to make the show work. [...] Maybe there was a way to make it work; there probably was. I wasn't able to find it in twenty-two episodes." [1] Nonetheless, the show went on to win its third "Outstanding Drama" Emmy in a row.详情