Fabula
Object
Object

Lectern-mounted Teleprompter (Press Room Autocue Panel)

A near‑transparent autocue panel mounted to serve the lectern, its glass catching the podium lights while a stream of white text scrolls across a dark field. When the feed misprints or stutters, the President hesitates, squints, or substitutes words; aides lean in, call out corrections, and trade sharp whispers. The device's occasional typos and timing glitches puncture practiced rhythm and visibly unmask strain in Bartlet's delivery.
3 appearances

Purpose

To present the President's prepared remarks in real time, allowing the speaker to read scripted text at a measured pace during run‑throughs and public addresses.

Significance

Functions as a plot engine: its textual errors expose rehearsal weaknesses, trigger urgent copyedits and ideological friction between staff, and help precipitate the sequence of misreads and physical decline that leads to Bartlet's collapse and the ensuing emergency.

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments
S1E12 · He Shall, From Time To Time...
Shattered Pitcher — The President Collapses

The Press Room TelePrompTer supplies the President's copy and contains visible typos (e.g., 'million' vs. 'billion', pound sign in 'hallowed') that trigger corrections, comedic beats, and early concern about cognitive clarity during rehearsal.

Before: Mounted at the lectern, scrolling the speech text; functioning but containing typographical errors.
After: Stopped or corrected after Sam leaves to fix it; its earlier errors have already undermined the smooth rehearsal.
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S1E12 · He Shall, From Time To Time...
Denial in the Oval: Bartlet's Collapse Exposed

The Press Room TelePrompTer misprints and interrupts Bartlet's cadence, prompting on‑the‑fly corrections and exposing strain in his delivery. Typos force staff intervention, heighten rehearsal tension, and catalyze the hallway confrontation where physical symptoms are first noticed.

Before: Mounted at the lectern, scrolling speech copy but containing typographical errors (e.g., 'million' instead of 'billion').
After: Acknowledged as faulty; Sam departs to fix typos but the device's errors already contributed to the run‑through's faltering rhythm.
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S1E12 · He Shall, From Time To Time...
Liberty's Down — Rhetoric Rift and the President's Collapse

The Press Room TelePrompTer drives the rehearsal: it contains a numeric typo and other glitches that prompt on‑air corrections, interrupt the President's cadence, and spark Toby's correction and Sam's apology, catalyzing the staff argument about rhetoric.

Before: On, feeding the President text that incorrectly reads 'million' instead of 'billion' and a few other typos.
After: Acknowledged as faulty and being corrected by Sam and technical staff; its error precipitated the on‑stage correction and subsequent staff debate.
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