Object

Red Phone

Agents seize the red phone from President Bartlet's Oval Office desk during a sniper lockdown. Debbie grabs it to place the 'Crash the West Wing' call and transmit emergency codes after three shots strike the press briefing room. Bartlet ends his diplomatic line to Chigorin as Secret Service—Ron Butterfield, agents with wrist mics—enforce the protocol. Its stark red hue cuts through the chaos, demanding instant response from staff on heightened alert.

5 appearances

Purpose

Priority line signaling high-stakes emergencies and alerting medical staff to elite crises

Significance

Shatters serene normalcy, channeling the pivotal alert on President Bartlet's assassination wound and thrusting weary nurses into fortified chaos, amplifying stakes as Ron Butterfield's transmission ignites the ER frenzy

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

5 moments

S2E1 · In the Shadow of Two Gunmen Part I

Nurse Answers Silent ER Line, Then Pivotal Station One Call

After the local phone's silence, the Station One red phone blares urgently from the wall, seized quietly by Nurse 1st who intones 'Station One,' activating emergency protocols; it serves as narrative pivot, shattering ER stasis and priming staff for Secret Service alerts on President Bartlet's trauma inbound.

Before: Ringing persistently on ER wall

After: Receiver lifted, line open in active use

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S2E1 · In the Shadow of Two Gunmen Part I

Hospital ER Mobilizes in Frantic Trauma Alert

Station One Red Phone is abruptly hung up by Nurse 1st mid-skeptical conversation as sirens intensify, severing presumed drill inquiry and catalyzing shift to PA trauma alert; its interruption underscores crisis intrusion into routine communications.

Before: In use, receiver off-hook during incoming silent or drill-related call

After: Hung up on ER wall, idle as local phone and PA take precedence

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S4E20 · Evidence of Things Not Seen

Call to Chigorin Cut Short by Sniper Lockdown

The red phone is seized and used by Debbie to place the 'Crash the West Wing' emergency call, making it a practical instrument for instituting the building-wide lockdown and broadcasting emergency codes.

Before: Stored under a table on the perimeter of the Oval or nearby; idle.

After: Picked up and used to transmit the official 'Crash the West Wing' code sequence to initiate full lockdown communications.

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S4E20 · Evidence of Things Not Seen

Crash the West Wing — Sniper Fires Force Oval Lockdown

Debbie seizes the red phone to place the formal emergency 'Crash the West Wing' call, transmitting the code to initiate building-wide lockdown — a small object that triggers institutional closure.

Before: Kept under a table or nearby as an emergency device, not in active use.

After: In Debbie's hand and used to send the emergency code; remains in use as lockdown is activated.

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S4E20 · Evidence of Things Not Seen

Oval Office Lockdown — Reassuring a Stricken President

The small red emergency phone is seized from under a table by Debbie to transmit the 'Crash the West Wing' code; narratively it converts localized panic into formal institutional activation.

Before: Stored under a table, unused until the crash call is required.

After: In Debbie's hand and used to send emergency codes; the line triggers building-wide lockdown procedures.

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