The West Wing
S2E19
· Bad Moon Rising

Dictaphone Stuck on Record Exposes Counsel's Office Vulnerabilities

In the White House Counsel's office, Oliver Babish—resisting his staff's push for a forced vacation—discovers his Dictaphone malfunctioning, stuck perpetually on record mode and refusing to stop capturing sensitive conversations. He bitterly highlights the device's peril in an environment rife with secrets, symbolizing the uncontrollable evidence threatening the MS concealment probe. This revelation amplifies stakes of perjury and loyalty just as word arrives that President Bartlet and Leo McGarry are en route, shattering any escape. The glitch serves as a turning point, excavating deeper conflicts over truth and exposure amid Babish's relentless duty.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

The malfunctioning Dictaphone becomes a focal point, symbolizing uncontrollable recording and compromised secrets.

annoyance to concern

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

4
White House Aide
primary

Weary persistence veiling concern for Babish's burnout

White House Aide persistently urges Babish home for sleep before flight, questions Dictaphone issue, redirects him post-revelation toward rest, and advises fixing his tie as interruption looms—embodying patient logistical support.

Goals in this moment
  • • Enforce Babish's departure for mandated recovery
  • • Smooth his exit amid resistance and sudden developments
Active beliefs
  • • Babish's health collapse endangers the entire operation
  • • Structured respite preserves long-term effectiveness
Character traits
pleading patient dutiful persistent
Follow White House …'s journey
Oliver Babish
primary

bitter, sarcastic, resistant

resisting staff's efforts to send him on a forced vacation, critiquing staff work on HR 437, discovering and bitterly complaining about malfunctioning Dictaphone stuck on record, preparing to go home but interrupted by news of incoming visitors

Goals in this moment
  • • resist leaving for vacation to continue handling critical work like amicus briefs
  • • highlight the dangers of uncontrollable recording devices in a secretive environment, symbolically paralleling upcoming MS concealment confrontation
Character traits
methodical relentless incisive professional unflappable
Follow Oliver Babish's journey
Counsel Man
primary

Calm professionalism amid escalating urgency

Counsel Man clarifies Woman's query on Dictaphone, relays critical phone update from McGarry's office about President and Leo's imminent arrival, interjecting professionally to halt Babish's exit plans.

Goals in this moment
  • • Deliver time-sensitive interruption news promptly
  • • Coordinate vacation logistics without derailing crises
Active beliefs
  • • Hierarchical summons override personal schedules
  • • Accurate communication prevents operational blind spots
Character traits
professional efficient alert coordinated
Follow Counsel Man's journey
Josiah Bartlet
primary

en route to the Counsel's office with Mr. McGarry (announced via phone call)

Goals in this moment
  • • meet with Oliver Babish, shattering his potential escape from duties
Character traits
protective resolute self-aware principled
Follow Josiah Bartlet's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

3
Oliver Babish's Brandeis Gavel

Oliver Babish's Brandeis Gavel, dubbed 'big hammer,' is offered for packing by staff during vacation prep, defended fiercely as ancestral relic amid resistance—symbolizing unyielding judicial duty anchoring him against respite, its desk presence underscoring workaholic vigil over escape.

Before: Perched prominently on cluttered desk as personal talisman
After: Remains unpacked on desk, emblem of interrupted departure
Before: Perched prominently on cluttered desk as personal talisman
After: Remains unpacked on desk, emblem of interrupted departure
Babish's Amicus Brief on Sovereign Immunity

Amicus brief on Sovereign Immunity requested and confirmed present by Woman, integral to Babish's lingering work grip during staff's vacation push—exemplifying botched HR 437 analysis fueling sarcasm, its readiness fails to propel exit amid Dictaphone fiasco.

Before: Packed and available on desk for travel
After: Still accessible but irrelevant as crisis intrudes
Before: Packed and available on desk for travel
After: Still accessible but irrelevant as crisis intrudes
Federal Land Use

Federal Land Use document requested by Babish and affirmed ready by Man, spotlighting staff oversights on Fourth Amendment in HR 437—heightens his refusal of rest, narrative lightning rod for constitutional lapses colliding with Dictaphone peril and VIP summons.

Before: Prepared and located for vacation handover
After: Unaltered on desk, overshadowed by unfolding urgency
Before: Prepared and located for vacation handover
After: Unaltered on desk, overshadowed by unfolding urgency

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

2
White House Counsel's Office

Office of the White House Counsel serves as pressure-cooker arena where Babish's Dictaphone meltdown unfolds amid vacation arm-twist, its walls amplifying sarcasm on recording risks—transforms from departure staging ground to vulnerability trap as presidential approach seals entrapment.

Atmosphere Tense, cluttered haze of exhaustion and interrupted rituals
Function Staging area for failed escape and crisis convergence
Symbolism Bastion of secrets where tech betrayal mirrors MS conspiracy leaks
Access Restricted to counsel staff and high-level summons
Cluttered desk with gavel and malfunctioning Dictaphone Daylight filtering into high-stakes legal bunker
Borneo

Borneo invoked as resisted 'forced vacation' summit destination during prep, its distant allure mocked in Babish's recall—heightens irony of looming escape shattered by Dictaphone glitch and DC heavyweights' charge, underscoring duty's tether over tropical reprieve.

Atmosphere Evoked as humid, irrelevant paradise clashing with office frenzy
Function Symbolic offstage refuge repeatedly denied
Symbolism Represents futile respite from White House maelstrom
Access International travel requiring staff coordination
Absent but lingering in dialogue as 'international law summit' Contrasts office's pounding urgency with imagined island calm

Organizations Involved

Institutional presence and influence

1
White House Counsel's Office

White House Counsel's Office pulses as epicenter of Babish's resistance, Dictaphone betrayal, and VIP intrusion—staff's vacation enforcement clashes with institutional demands, embodying grind of MS probes where tech glitches threaten perjury bulwarks and constitutional dissections.

Representation Via Oliver Babish's leadership and aides' logistical pressures
Power Dynamics Exercising internal authority over Babish yet yielding to presidential override
Impact Highlights fragility of legal ops amid evidence traps in presidency crisis
Internal Dynamics Tension between workaholic boss and protective aides tested by intrusions
Secure counsel's recovery to sustain scandal defense Mitigate risks from malfunctioning recording devices Staff insistence on protocols like forced leave Hierarchical alerts rerouting personnel priorities

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What this causes 1
Symbolic Parallel medium

"The malfunctioning Dictaphone symbolizes uncontrollable recording and compromised secrets, mirroring Oliver Babish's confrontation with President Bartlet about his MS concealment, which is also about uncontrolled truth and secrecy."

Babish Probes Bartlet's MS Knowledge
S2E19 · Bad Moon Rising

Key Dialogue

"OLIVER: "It's stuck on record. It won't stop recording things; so it's just what you want lying around the White House Counsel's Office because there's never been a problem with that before.""
"OLIVER: "Doesn't work." WOMAN: "What's wrong with it?" OLIVER: "Doesn't work.""
"MAN: "Excuse me, Mr. Babish." OLIVER: "I'm going home." MAN: "That was Mr. McGarry's office. He's on his way down with the President.""