Bartlet Champions Sam's Mythic Mars Intro Rewrite
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Sam challenges the quality of the intro script written by NASA Public Affairs, sparking a tense exchange about creative control.
President Bartlet enters with C.J., shifting the dynamic as the NASA team is introduced and briefing protocols are established.
Bartlet humorously defies C.J.'s instructions by answering a student's question directly, showcasing his knowledge and playful defiance.
Bartlet critiques the intro script's language, reinforcing his authority over the message and aligning with Sam's earlier concerns.
Sam delivers a revised, mythic intro that captures Bartlet's vision, earning approval and concluding the scene on a note of creative triumph.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Annoyed defensiveness hardening into bureaucratic resolve
Scott Tate admits authorship of the intro, defends its clearance by Public Affairs, bristles at Sam's changes, and trails him questioning if revisions will be cleared, embodying institutional resistance in the face of White House improvisation.
- • Protect cleared script from unauthorized alterations
- • Uphold NASA Public Affairs protocols
- • Vetted text ensures accuracy and institutional integrity
- • Creative changes require formal presidential override
Childlike inquisitiveness (inferred)
Stevie's question on Mars' temperature scrolls on the screen, prompting Bartlet to read and answer it extemporaneously, further exemplifying childlike inquiry that Bartlet seizes to bypass experts.
- • Understand Mars' climate
- • Experts via president reveal cosmic facts
- • Questions bridge classrooms to White House
Inquisitive wonder (inferred from question)
Katie's pre-submitted question on Mars' age appears on the display screen, read aloud and answered directly by Bartlet, injecting youthful curiosity that disrupts protocol and fuels the room's pivot to inspiration.
- • Learn Mars' age
- • Presidential broadcast offers direct knowledge access
- • Science questions merit presidential attention
Exasperated wit tempering supportive pragmatism
C.J. introduces NASA crew to Bartlet, briefs on panel experts and setup, urges protocol adherence for question moderation, critiques script redundancies like repeated 'live,' and nods approval at Sam's rewrite, shuffling papers amid the chaos.
- • Ensure smooth rehearsal and protocol compliance
- • Refine script for polished broadcast
- • Presidential improvisation risks derailing structure
- • Redundant phrasing undermines professional optics
Sardonic confidence masking territorial determination
Sam launches a sarcastic assault on Tate's bland intro script, mocking its quality and authorship before dictating a vivid, mythic rewrite that elevates Galileo V to an epic human voyage, physically directing a staffer to record it amid the room's tension.
- • Overhaul the script into inspirational rhetoric
- • Establish White House dominance over NASA messaging
- • Official scripts must captivate and inspire beyond facts
- • Bureaucratic clearances stifle creative excellence
Neutral compliance
Crewmember responds off-screen with a simple 'Sure' to C.J.'s request to display kids' questions on the monitor, facilitating Bartlet's unscripted engagement without further visible action.
- • Execute technical requests promptly
- • Support rehearsal flow
- • Technical facilitation enables core proceedings
- • Follow directives from White House staff
playful, authoritative, enthusiastic
enters with C.J., greets everyone, defies protocol by personally answering kids' questions on Mars facts, critiques clichés like 'very unique' in the intro, decisively backs Sam to rewrite it
- • realize his vision of presenting the Galileo V as a mythic symbol of exploration by supporting Sam's rewrite and elevating the event beyond rote facts
mentioned as Meteorite Analysis team member from Johnson Space Center who will flank Bartlet at the briefing
mentioned as Flight Operations Manager who will flank Bartlet at the briefing
mentioned as Planetary Geologist from Cal State Northridge who will flank Bartlet at the briefing
mentioned as NASA Chief Administrator who will flank Bartlet at the briefing
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Galileo V serves as the narrative centerpiece in Sam's dictated rewrite, transformed from dry jargon into a mythic 'unmanned ship' on an 'extraordinary voyage' from Cape Canaveral to Mars, symbolizing humanity's exploratory ambition and rallying the room's inspirational pivot.
The glowing computer screen displays scrolling kids' questions from Katie and Stevie, which Bartlet hungrily reads and answers directly, shattering C.J.'s protocol pleas and injecting raw youthful energy that catalyzes script critique and rewrite.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
This pressurized rehearsal room hosts the script clash, with chairs, monitors, TelePrompTer, and computer screen forming a battleground where White House vision bulldozes NASA protocol, chairs shifting restlessly under fluorescent lights amid clashing voices.
West Wing referenced in the critiqued script as live broadcast origin, underscoring the event's national stage while contrasting rehearsal's contained chaos with impending public spectacle.
Cape Canaveral invoked in Sam's rewrite as Galileo V's launch site eleven months prior, anchoring the probe's epic origin and evoking raw thrust of ambition in the room's rhetorical elevation.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
NASA Public Affairs manifests through Scott Tate and crew, whose cleared script becomes the flashpoint for White House takeover, highlighting procedural clash as Tate invokes clearances against Sam's revisions.
Jet Propulsion Lab cited in Sam's rewrite as first viewers of Galileo images alongside others, weaving collaborative mission fabric into inspirational narrative to amplify broadcast wonder.
NASA Houston named in rewrite as key image viewers, reinforcing elite engineering role and lending gravitas to the elevated Galileo story amid rehearsal alchemy.
Johnson Space Center represented by Thurman on panel per C.J., supplying meteorite expertise that C.J. positions for question handoffs, contrasting Bartlet's direct answers.
Cal State Northridge supplies Grey-Sutton as planetary geologist for panel, name-dropped by C.J. to frame expert array Bartlet playfully circumvents.
Green Oaks Junior High originates Katie's Mars age question, displayed and answered by Bartlet, embodying grassroots curiosity disrupting elite rehearsal.
P.S. 31 sources Stevie's temperature question, read from screen by Bartlet who answers it, amplifying elementary voices in the inspirational script pivot.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Bartlet's initial vision for the 'Galileo V' Mars probe as a mythic symbol of exploration is realized in Sam's revised, mythic intro script, capturing Bartlet's vision."
Key Dialogue
"SAM: Who wrote this intro? / SCOTT TATE: I did."
"BARTLET: "Unique" means "one of a kind." Something can't be very unique, nor can it be extremely historic."
"BARTLET (to Tate): Sam? / SAM: Yeah. / BARTLET: He's gonna make some changes."