Tanner ’88

I only recently discovered this HBO miniseries from Garry Trudeau and Robert Altman, whose fictional narrative intersects in real time with the real-life 1988 U.S. presidential primary elections, and while its overall substance was clearly an influence on Aaron Sorkin’s The West Wing, I thought I’d note a few tidbits from Sorkin’s series that seem to be Tanner ’88 homages:

• Both series have a spare martial drumbeat over their “Previously on [this show]” intros
• Both series’ candidate/president has a college-age daughter (Cynthia Nixon / Elisabeth Moss) with the Secret Service code name “Bookbag”
• Tanner ’88’s hypercompetent campaign manager, T.J. Cavanaugh (Pamela Reed), meet The West Wing’s hypercompetent press secretary, C.J. Cregg (Allison Janney)