34.
Even
down
to
the
unlikely
ending,
it
turned
out.
With
former
chief
of
staff
and
party
elder
Leo
McGarry
as
his
running
mate,
Santos
was
still
meant
to
lose
out
to
likable
California
senator
Vinick.
Then
Spencer
died
midway
through
the
season
in
December
2005. “Up
until
his
death,
the
Republican
was
going
to
win
the
election,”
Sheen
told Empire. “Jimmy
Smits
would
be
defeated
and
that
wonderful
actor
Alan
Alda
would
win.
But
with
John’s
death
they
said
no
and,
against
history,
the
Democrats
would
continue.”
35.
An
eighth
season—focusing
on
the
early
days
of
the
Santos
administration
with
Bartlet
popping
in
as
advisor—was
possible
as
well. “But
when
John
died,
they
folded
the
tent,”
said
Sheen. “It
was
over,
and
we
thought, ‘No,
we
can
never
go
back
there.'”
Instead
they
paid
tribute
to
Spencer
and
McGarry
with
season
seven’s “Requiem,”
a
slew
of
former
guest
stars
returning
for
the
party
giant’s
funeral. “The
episode
where
we
actually
had
to
carry
his
casket
because
his
character
had
died,”
Hill
told THR, “it
was
an
empty
casket,
but
it
wasn’t
an
empty
casket.”
Red Carpet
