Object

Ouija Board in Sam's Office

Used humorously to redirect conversation among the characters in Sam's office.

4 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

4 moments

The Ouija board is invoked by Sam as a jokey cultural prop to deflate Bob's alarming technical report. It functions narratively to undercut panic, mark Sam's irreverent tone, and signal institutional impatience with extraordinary claims.

Before: Resting in Sam's office as a jocular prop, lightly worn and visible as part of office furnishings.

After: Unchanged and unengaged physically — mentioned only rhetorically in Sam's joke and left as background office détournement.

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S1E5 · The Crackpots and These Women

The Unseen Object and a Presidential Pen

Sam invokes the Ouija board as a comic cultural prop to deflate Bob's alarm, referencing the First Lady's board to compare the absurdity of briefing the President about UFOs — the board functions as tonal punctuation and institutional shorthand for superstition versus official procedure.

Before: Resting in Sam's office as a jocular prop, printed letters slightly faded and edges worn, present as an offhand reference.

After: Unaffected physically; its invocation lingers as a rhetorical device that frames Sam's dismissal and lightens the mood.

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S1E5 · The Crackpots and These Women

Chili Night: Bartlet Deflates the Briefing and Reorients the Room

Sam references Mrs. Bartlet's Ouija board in passing as a cultural joke that frames the UFO/radar talk: the board functions as an offbeat tonal device that normalizes the weirdness of the radar report while subtly undercutting Josh's growing seriousness.

Before: Stored in Sam's office as a jocular prop, not central to formal business.

After: Mentioned conversationally to provide levity but remains otherwise inert in the scene.

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S1E5 · The Crackpots and These Women

Hollywood Fundraiser Moral Standoff

Mrs. Bartlet's Ouija board is referenced in corridor banter (Mrs. Bartlet's Ouija board) as a humorous cultural touchstone, helping Sam and Josh bridge conversation from the absurd toward the more serious radar/UFO topic.

Before: Part of Mrs. Bartlet's paraphernalia at residence; referenced conversationally.

After: Remains a referenced joke that momentarily lightens the tone before the N.S.C. card exchange.

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