Spencer’s loss leaves huge hole in ‘Wing’

And now that “Wing” was riding high again — creatively but certainly not ratings-wise — Spencer’s death could be a mortal blow, as if the drop in viewership wasn’t bad enough.

It’s never easy to keep a show’s momentum going after a vital member of the cast passes away. ABC’s “8 Simple Rules” was doing just fine when John Ritter unexpectedly died. The execs at the network and on the series valiantly went on but there was no denying the show had lost its raison d’etre. Soon after, the show was canceled.

“West Wing” is an entirely different animal — “Rules” was a comedy with a small cast and was still figuring out what type of show it wanted to be — NBC’s four-time Emmy winner is in the twilight of its run and has a deep ensemble. But now there’s a huge hole in the show, and one that won’t easily be filled.

Spencer’s McGarry had a pivotal role this season as the running mate of presidential candidate Matthew Santos, played by another “L.A. Law” vet, Jimmy Smits. And in a display of the deep respect McGarry had in the Democratic party, in the episode before Spencer’s death, McGarry was being talked about as a replacement for campaign chairman Lyman as the election nears its crucial final weeks.

Never one to backstab a longtime ally or put the party in a bad light, Spencer declined the offer and reiterated his faith in Lyman, with whom he had worked with for nearly eight years.

With probably two or three episodes in the can, “West Wing” writers now have the difficult task of figuring out how to explain Spencer’s sudden absence from the show. Since McGarry had health problems, it would make sense that they could say he had another heart attack or that the stress of the campaign caused a sudden brain aneurysm. But the show has often thrown convention out the window, so who knows?

How will this affect the presidential race? Santos seemed to be a few points down in the most recent polls to Republican nom Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) but the contest was far from over.

There was concern early on when Santos named McGarry as a running mate about how his tenuous health and addictions would be construed by the voters. Does the fact that Santos was assured his health would be OK say something about the president-to-be’s decision-making abilities? After initially extending their sympathies, would the Republicans exploit McGarry’s death for political gain? If he can’t pick a vice president, how can he run the free world?

If any type of tragedy struck the Republican ranks, there’s little doubt that McGarry would’ve been the person the Democrats immediately seek for counsel, asking what’s the right thing to do.

Spencer, ever low-key and always handing off accolades to those around him even though he was as deserving as anyone, would know exactly what to say. He always did.

Stuart Levine is a senior editor at Daily Variety in Los Angeles.

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