Willow: Buffy's like my best friend, she's really special, and there's this whole bunch of us, and-and we sort of have this group thing that revolves around the slaying and-and I really want you to meet them, but I-I just kinda like having something that's just, you know, mine. And I-I usually don't use so many words to say stuff that little, but, do you get it at all?
Tara: I do.
Willow: I should check in with Giles, get a situation update.
Tara: I am, you know.
Willow: What?
Tara: Yours.
CUT TO: INT. MARS BRIEFING REHEARSAL - DAY
The TelePrompTer shows the name 'Galileo' on it and Sam's head pops up. The crewmembers of the NASA Public Affairs are around the place.
Sam: Who wrote this intro?
Scott Tate: I did.
Sam: You're from NASA Public Affairs?
Tate: Yep.
Sam: You mind if I give it a polish?
Tate: Is there a problem?
Sam: No, it's great. You mind if I change it?
Tate: I'd prefer if you didn't.
Sam: Just the same...
Tate: The Public Affairs has cleared the text. If it's gonna be changed, I'd prefer that the President change it.
Sam: See, that's kind of what he pays me to do, so...
Tate: Look, I don't want to step on your toes. You don't want to step on mine. We're both writers.
Sam: Yes, I suppose, if you broaden the definition to those who can't spell.
Tate: Excuse me?
Bartlet walks in with C.J.
Bartlet: Good morning!
Everyone: Good morning, Mr. President.
C.J.: Sir, this is the crew from NASA Public Affairs.
Bartlet: How you doing?
C.J.: Sir, we're going to run you through the drill for tomorrow morning. First of all, you'll be flanked on either side by the Flight Operations Manager David Narakawa and NASA Chief Administrator Dr. Peter Jobson. On either side of them will be Dr. Samuel Thurman of the Meteorite Analysis team from the Johnson Space Center, and Dr. Joyce Grey-Sutton, Planetary Geologist from Cal State Northridge. On these monitors you'll be seeing the images beamed back from the surface and on this computer screen you'll be able to read the questions being sent in by the kids. I strongly urge you...
Bartlet: Yes.
C.J.: I strongly urge you...
Bartlet: I know.
C.J.: I strongly urge you, Mr. President, to act as moderator and pass the questions of to one of the experts on the panel rather than answer it yourself.
Bartlet: Yes.
C.J.: Would you like to see some of the questions?
Bartlet: We have questions in advance?
C.J.: Some of them. Would you put them on?
Crewmember [OS]: Sure.
Bartlet sits on one of the chairs in the front and reads from the computer monitor.
Bartlet: Katie, sixth grade, Green Oaks Junior High School, Austin, Texas, asks, "How old is the planet Mars?" That's a great question, Katie. The planet Mars is 4.6 billion years old.
C.J.: What did I just say?
Bartlet: I knew that one.
C.J.: Nobody likes a know-it-all!
Bartlet: Yes, God forbid, that while talking to 60,000 public school students, the President should appear smart!
C.J.: That's fine. Just don't show off.
Bartlet: I don't show off. [reads again] Stevie, fourth grader, PS 31, Manhattan, asks, "What is the temperature on Mars?" Well, Stevie, if one of our expert panelists were here, they would tell you the average temperature ranges from 15 degrees to minus 140.
C.J.: [looking through her papers] That happens to be wrong. It ranges from 60 to minus 225.
Bartlet: I converted it to Celsius in my head.
C.J.: Thank you.
Bartlet: Can I see the intro?
Sam: It's up on the Prompter.
Bartlet: [reads] "Good morning! I'm speaking to you live from the West Wing of the White House. Today we have a very unique opportunity to take part live in an extremely historic event which..." Whoa, boy...
Sam: [waves and smiles] How you doing, Mr. President?
Bartlet: Who wrote this intro?
Tate: I did, sir. I'm Scott Tate from NASA Public Affairs.
Bartlet: [gets up and shakes his hand] Scott. "Unique" means "one of a kind." Something can't be very unique, nor can it be extremely historic.
C.J.: While we're at it, do we have to use the word "live" twice in the first two sentences like we just cracked the technology?
Tate: Look...
C.J.: We're also broadcasting in living color, right?
Bartlet: Sam?
Sam: Yeah.
Bartlet: [to Tate] He's gonna make some changes.
Tate: [following Sam] You're going to clear them with me?
Sam: I doubt it. [to a recording staffer] Write this: "Good morning. Eleven months ago a 1200 pound spacecraft blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida. Eighteen hours ago..." Is it eighteen hours ago? We're on the air at noon eastern.
C.J.: Yeah.
Sam: "Eighteen hours ago it landed on the planet Mars. You, me, and 60,000 of your fellow students across the country along with astroscientists and engineers from the Jet Propulsion Lab in Southern California, NASA Houston, and right here, at the White House, are going to be the first to see what it sees, and to chronicle an extraordinary voyage of an unmanned ship called Galileo V."
Bartlet: [taps C.J. on the arm] He said it right.
C.J. nods.: