Follow TV Tropes

Following

Context Main / TheWarRoom

Go To

1[[quoteright:350: [[Film/DrStrangelove https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_war_room.png]]]]
2[[caption-width-right:350:"He'll see TheBigBoard!"]]
3
4->''"Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room!"''
5-->-- '''President Merkin Muffley''', ''Film/DrStrangelove''
6
7Take TheBridge off the CoolShip, and put it in TheWhiteHouse or an ElaborateUndergroundBase, and what you get is The War Room. It's the nerve center for an entire country, criminal organization, secret society, hidden military base, or whatnot. It generally comes in one or a combo of the following three flavors:
8
9#A dark, cavernous room filled with rows and rows of consoles with monitors, radar scopes, [[TheBigBoard Big Boards]] and other sorts of technology, staffed by an entire warren of BridgeBunnies.
10#A dark and not-quite-so-cavernous boardroom, with a long central table with chairs around it, lit by a spotlight. If located in a SupervillainLair, the seats around the table (except for the [[BigBad head one]]) may have {{trap door}}s under them to [[YouHaveFailedMe dispose of those who fail or otherwise displease the boss.]]
11#A, once again, dark room with a large, circular table in the middle, a la ''Film/DrStrangelove''.
12
13Every version will prominently feature an enormous monitor that fills one entire wall. If The War Room is on Earth, the monitor will generally display a map of the world, marked up with real-time data about the organization's activities or serving as a SpreadingDisasterMapGraphic. A large number of clocks above the big map, displaying time in different cities around the globe, is optional. All of this serves to keep the leadership ([[ViewerFriendlyInterface and the viewer behind the fourth wall]]) well-informed of the big picture.
14
15Cue the ominous marching music as the leader sits down and listens while the underlings brief him on the situation. You can usually expect all the attendees in The War Room to be remarkably well informed of any relevant details and be able to instantly provide up-to-the-second intelligence when the senior person starts asking questions. Expect the meeting deciding fate of the 178 people in the HostageSituation or how to take out the BigBad's DoomsdayDevice to be concluded in less than five minutes.
16
17The InvisiblePresident, the SupportingLeader, TheBrigadier and the BigBad (all may or may not be part of TheOmniscientCouncilOfVagueness) tend to spend a lot of time in rooms like these. MissionControl is invariably based here. If it's for the good guys, expect a lot of cheering coupled with a circular camera {{pan}} when The Hero reports his success.
18
19Many naval vessels have a "ward room", the officer's mess, which is often misheard as the War Room. Here, the "war room" proper would be the Combat Information Center, or CIC.
20
21----
22!!Examples:
23[[foldercontrol]]
24
25[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
26* ''Anime/MazingerZ'': Both the personnel of [[HomeBase the Photon Atomic Power Research Institute]] and [[MadScientist Dr.]] [[BigBad Hell's]] troops had war rooms. The Institute's one was relatively small and it had large maps on a central table. Dr. Hell's was located in his throne room.
27* ''Anime/ScienceNinjaTeamGatchaman'': It showed up as soon as the first episode. It was a large circular room with a big round central table surrounded by chairs, and huge world maps on the table and on monitors attached to the walls.
28* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'': Central Dogma, the NERV command center.
29* The [[AbsurdlyPowerfulStudentCouncil student council]] room in ''Anime/BestStudentCouncil''.
30* The NASA control center at Cape Canaveral in ''Manga/KashimashiGirlMeetsGirl''
31* Dornkirk's throne room in ''Anime/TheVisionOfEscaflowne''.
32* ''Manga/MoriartyThePatriot'': The Moriarty crew has a room in the basement of the London Moriarty manor in which to keep the tools of their murderous trade and William's plans for their crimes, as well as to discuss and brief William's crew on the details of the newest plot (although sometimes they simply do this in the living room as well). In "The Tea Party" chapter, Von Herder is stationed there to guard it and its secrets with deadly force if necessary, and its existence is why the Moriartys work so devotedly to keep people out of their home and hire no outside servants.
33[[/folder]]
34
35[[folder:Fan Works]]
36* ''Manga/{{Evangelion 303}}'': The Senate committee overseeing the Black Project Evangelion has a [[http://eva303.smackjeeves.com/comics/1740750/012/ war room]] of the "dark, large, with a central table and a row of seats surrounding it" kind.
37* ''FanFic/AlongCameASpider'' provides a type 1 war room in Fort Asgard for Nondi Steiner and Ardan Sortek to brood over strategic decisions.
38* ''Fanfic/DungeonKeeperAmi'' builds herself a command centre designed to work around the limitations of a Keeper's usual spell selection. She uses a team of warlocks to scry on the battlefield, receiving their information via Scavenger Room messages, and replying by having an imp write messages. It's a bit cobbled together, but it works, and gives her a significant tactical advantage over her rivals.
39* ''Fanfic/{{HERZ}}'': HERZ's HomeBase -the organization the main characters work for- has one where the cast often holds meetings and reunions.
40* ''FanFic/TheEquestrianWindMage'': Season 2 reveals that Vaati has one in the Palace of the Winds, being a large room containing a large table with a map of Hyrule inlaid on its surface (which he upgrades to one of Equestria).
41* ''Fanfic/FalloutEquestriaOccupationalHazards'': Being based on the NORAD Chyenne Mountain Complex, the EQUAD facility has one of its own, complete with a [[TheBigBoard Big Board]]. As one of the authors has an obvious fascination with Dr. Strangelove, this should come as no surprise.
42** The sequel ''Fanfic/FalloutEquestriaEmptyQuiver'' features even more, as while the EQUAD War Room is mentioned in an early chapter, it's later revealed that there's also a smaller War Room at the Vanhoover Air Base, as well as at Fort Maple. In both of the latter cases, people have to be reminded they can't fight in there.
43* Every state in ''Fanfic/DavionAndDavionDeceased'' can be assumed to have several. Kerensky has one on his flagship and John Davion has one buried deep under Mount Davion.
44[[/folder]]
45
46[[folder:Film — Animated]]
47* ''WesternAnimation/MonstersVsAliens'' has security where you need your tongue, both elbows, feet and your [[spoiler: rear-end]] scanned just to get in.
48[[/folder]]
49
50[[folder:Film — Live-Action]]
51* Ur-example: ''Film/DrStrangelove'', from which the above quote comes. A huge, elaborate set designed by Ken Adam.
52* The movie ''Film/FailSafe'', like [[DuelingWorks its sparring partner Dr. Strangelove]], is largely set in a cavernous underground war room where the characters receive constant reports on the possibility of impending nuclear war. While likely done [[BottleEpisode largely for budget reasons]], it's effective at getting the audience into the same mindset as the characters, some of whom begin to conceive of the whole thing as an elaborate puzzle or exercise, forgetting the staggering human costs at stake. [[spoiler: Until the series of {{Wham Shot}}s that end the movie, which [[MoodWhiplash suddenly remind the viewer of the human lives that are about to be lost]] in the limited nuclear exchange that follows.]]
53* Pier 24 in San Francisco from ''Film/TheRock'' was the location of a mobile FBI War Room. The equipment and staffers were brought in on trucks.
54* ATAC in ''Film/UnderSiege2DarkTerritory'' was the War Room for the orbital particle-beam cannon.
55* In the movie ''Film/WarGames'' a set is built to represent NORAD's War Room. Much larger and more impressive than the real thing. But for some reason, the NORAD war room you see in the movies never has any Canadians present, even though it's the North American Air Defence alliance.
56%%* Undoubtedly what the new President Ronald Reagan was thinking of when, on his first tour of his new home, he asked to be shown the White House's War Room.
57%%** The RealLife version is rather impressive too, and probably inspired most of the 'rows of consoles' examples here.
58%%** Though not impressive enough for ''Film/Armageddon1998'' which designed a new one.
59* In ''Franchise/StarWars'', the Rebel Alliance keeps multiple War Rooms — one on Yavin IV, one on Hoth, and one aboard ''Home One'', as well as others we don't get to see. The Jedi council chamber might also qualify, even though matters of war are not the only thing discussed there.
60* Nixon's War Room in the ''Film/{{Watchmen}}'' movie is based on Dr. Strangelove's.
61* Averted in the 2008 spy film ''Film/BodyOfLies''.
62-->"No it's just me and you...what, did you think there would be some kind of war room and people running about with clipboards?"
63* ''Film/{{Octopussy}}'' included a rare example of a [[https://www.bondmovies.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/1116.jpg Soviet War Room.]]
64* The National Military Command Center (NMCC) inside UsefulNotes/ThePentagon, as featured in ''Film/TheSumOfAllFears'' is a direct subversion to this trope. The movies's director, Phil Alden Robinson, says in the commentary that when he visited the real thing during pre-production he was so underwhelmed by what he saw, a sterile and boring office landscape, and liked it in a good way because it was so contrary to the typical Hollywood portrayal. Creator/TomClancy also liked it due to the authenticity it brought.
65* ''Film/IndependenceDay'' features two. One is aboard Air Force One, where Whitmore, Grey, and Nimzicki observe the initial counterattack. Later, the control room of Area 51 is converted into one as they process all information on the rapidly losing fight.
66* The Admiralty War Room, an underground bunker where the Operations Division strives to ''Film/SinkTheBismarck'' Captain Shepard is shown entering the bunker at the start of the movie [[BookEnds and leaving it at the end]] with a pretty WREN he's invited to dinner, only to find it's broad daylight outside.
67-->'''Sailor:''' These boys worry me. Four strips on his arm and he doesn't even know what time of the day it is.
68* In ''Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines'', John Connor and Kate Brewster are sent to UsefulNotes/ColdWar-era war room bunker [[spoiler:in order to survive Judgment Day]].
69[[/folder]]
70
71[[folder:Literature]]
72* When Jake first meets General Doubleday in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''. Jake notes that it seems an awful like what you'd see in a movie; old guys chomping cigars, guys in suits and a big map (that has his hometown crossed out, presumably because ''it isn't there any more'').
73* The navies in the ''Literature/{{Lensman}}'' series have entire ships devoted to being TheWarRoom. They have no weapons, but do have strong defences, large tank-like displays showing the deployment of the fleet, and crowds of staff set up to communicate with individual sub-fleets and squadrons.
74** TruthInTelevision. The US Navy does in fact have a pair of ships specifically designed and built to act as command and control vessels for major amphibious assaults -- the Blue Ridge-class.
75** Truth In Television in more ways than one: The idea of a dedicated [=CICs=] on US naval vessels was [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Combat_information_center#Development "specifically, consciously, and directly"]] inspired by ''Lensman'' and the works of Creator/RobertHeinlein.
76* Both the good guys and bad guys have meeting rooms in ''Literature/InvasionOfKzarch'', and a considerable part of the story is focused on what both groups are doing in them.
77* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' novel ''Literature/{{Jingo}}'', Lord Rust turns the Rats Chamber (the council room in the Patrician's Palace) into one. The meeting table has been covered in sand to form a kind of map, and since everyone knows Klatch is all desert, Lord Rust assumes it's a good one. Once they actually arrive in Klatch, he uses a big tent for the same purpose.
78[[/folder]]
79
80[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
81!!!'''In General:'''
82* Ur-example, type 1: the real-life Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center (CMOC) command and control complex in Colorado, and its counterparts in ''Series/StargateSG1'' and ''Series/{{Jeremiah}}''.
83** Home of NORAD. However, RealityIsUnrealistic and the real Command Center is much smaller than in the movies. When most shows and films were made it was even less impressive than it is today. [[http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/NORADCommandCenter.jpg Here is what it looks like today.]]
84** NORAD itself was based off of the earlier [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi_Automatic_Ground_Environment SAGE]] air defense system which in the 1950's was pure science fiction. Each SAGE center had a two story Sector Control Room with real time vector graphic interactive computer display terminals and a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SAGE_control_room.png large display scree]] where the brass could watch the fight against the Soviet bombers in near real time.
85** SAGE was in turn based off of the British sector stations and [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Battle_of_Britain_operations_room.JPG Group Operations Control Rooms]] used as part of the air defense network in the Battle of Britain.
86!!!'''By Series:'''
87* CTU Los Angeles in ''Series/TwentyFour'', as well as various enclaves, retreats, and bunkers employed by the various presidents depicted on the show.
88* Mount Weather from ''Series/{{The 100}}'' has a control room that monitors and controls the entire mountain, from communications to defense systems to life support.
89* ''Series/AgentsOfSHIELD'': The Zephyr One, the CoolPlane that the SHIELD team starts using in Season 3, has its own CIC, for when it's acting as a mobile base.
90* ''Series/BabylonFive'': As the Shadow War looms, the Army of Light builds a war room aboard the station. With a large map of the galaxy, monitors that can provide real-time feeds of battles in progress as well as analyze intelligence, this is where many of the major decisions that determine the course of the war are made.
91* ''Series/Daredevil2015'': The penthouse that Wilson Fisk manipulates the FBI into moving him to upon his release from prison contains a secret stairway from the bedroom down to a war room. From here, he has a bank of monitors that he can use to tap into security cameras anywhere in New York City. In episode 4, it is from this room that he watches over monitors as inmates on his payroll attempt to kill Matt in an orchestrated riot. Later in the season, he regularly conducts meetings with Felix Manning in this room, and at the end of the season, it's the sight of the event that proves to be his undoing, Vanessa ordering Ray Nadeem to be murdered.
92* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
93** The Daleks have one in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E2MissionToTheUnknown "Mission to the Unknown"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E4TheDaleksMasterPlan "The Daleks' Master Plan"]]. Amusingly, there's [[SpecialEffectFailure rubber scuffs around the bottom of the circular table where the Daleks kept running their bumpers into it]].
94** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E12TheStolenEarth "The Stolen Earth"]] has a UNIT war room in their New York office, from which they declare a RedAlert when the Earth is abruptly relocated.
95** [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E3VictoryOfTheDaleks "Victory of the Daleks"]] has the Cabinet War Rooms as a major setting.
96* ''Series/GameOfThrones'': High lords typically have a war room in their castles or in the field where they plan their next move around an elaborate big board. The most frequently-featured one is the war room on Dragonstone (first used by Stannis, then Daenerys) with its huge table map of Westeros, which was built by Aegon the Conqueror before he invaded the continent three centuries earlier.
97** In Season 7, Cersei has the floor of a courtyard in the Red Keep painted into a map of Westeros, in order to better plan the upcoming war with her various enemies.
98* The ''Series/{{JAG}}'' episode "In Country" is an aversion to this trope as it features a fairly mundane looking National Military Command Center in UsefulNotes/ThePentagon.
99* ''Series/TheManInTheHighCastle'': The Nazi leadership has a command bunker in Berlin to oversee their global strategic forces and nuclear arsenal in a room very reminiscent of the War Room from ''Film/DrStrangelove''.
100* The equivalent on ''Series/{{NCIS}}'' is MTAC, which looks vaguely like a converted movie theater (and was even used that way once, courtesy of Tony [=DiNozzo=]).
101* ''Series/PersonOfInterest''. Root has a rare OhCrap moment when she's snooping around the restricted floor of a mental hospital, peeks in a window and sees Greer standing in front of an enormous computer screen showing Team Samaritan's worldwide operations. She's just stumbled into their secret headquarters.
102* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
103** Astrometrics serves this function in the later seasons of ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''.
104** When the ''[[Series/StarTrekEnterprise Enterprise]]'' NX-01 TookALevelInBadass before season 3, one of the cargo bays was converted into the equivalent of a CIC. Archer and his officers spend at least as much time here as on TheBridge.
105* The main area of the ''Series/{{Torchwood}}'' Hub.
106* ''Series/UFO1970'': SHADO's art deco war room is located [[CovertGroupWithMundaneFront underneath a film studio]].
107* TheWhiteHouse Situation Room in ''Series/TheWestWing'' and [[GovernmentProcedural other series set there]], which is usually considerably bigger and more dramatically lit than the real life version.
108[[/folder]]
109
110[[folder:Music]]
111* Music/{{Muse}}'s music video for "Time Is Running Out" takes place in a war room as a ShoutOut to ''Film/DrStrangelove''.
112[[/folder]]
113
114[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
115* One variation of ''TabletopGame/{{Paranoia}}'' lets the [=PCs=] play High Programmers, who occasionally get summoned to a Situation Room to coordinate Alpha Complex's response to an emergency.
116[[/folder]]
117
118[[folder:Theatre]]
119* In ''Theatre/{{Pippin}}'', Charlemagne uses a map and a PatterSong to show his soldiers the tactics they will use the next day's battle against the Visigoth army.
120[[/folder]]
121
122[[folder:Video Games]]
123* ''[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Call of Duty 4]]'' features a level called [[ShoutOut "No Fighting in the War Room,"]] where ''lots'' of fighting takes place.
124* The Inquisition of ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition'' has one of these, which mostly consists of a small room with a large table in the middle that they use to plan battles and missions.
125* A war room is one of the many constructable buildings in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestBuilders2''. The player is required to make one during the Moonbrooke chapter, and [=NPCs=] entering it will generate Gratitude Points.
126* ''VideoGame/EvilGenius'' has a control room, which looks and acts like a war room. Except you dispatch mooks instead of conquering territories. It also has Inner Sanctum with Type 2 conference table.
127* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts:''
128** [[MagnificentBastard Maleficent]] and her Disney villain allies had a war room in their HQ in Hollow Bastion. There they kept a close eye on Sora through a hologram, while thinking out strategies on how to find the Princessess of Hearts or how to conquer the worlds around the universe. The fighting in the war room happens when Sora, Donald, Goofy and their new ally Beast took down Maleficent.
129** Her original castle at Villain's Vale had one too, but we never see it occupied by more than two people.
130** The Organization XIII has their own war room in Castle That Never Was, which is completely white with extremely tall chairs standing in a circle. There they discuss their plans, figuring out their next move or commenting on the several setbacks Sora inflicts on them.
131** Merlin's house is basically the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee's war room. There they also discuss strategies on how to combat the MCP, the Heartless and the Nobodies and on how to rebuild Hollow Bastion to its former glory. They share information with Sora, Donald and Goofy from there. It's also from there Cid that control Hollow Bastion's defence system called Claymores.
132** Hades has his own personal war room in his chamber, with a CosmicChessGame board lifted directly from his movie.
133* In the ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' series, the central compartment of the ''Ebon Hawk'' serves as this.
134* Both ''Normandys'' of ''Franchise/MassEffect'' have these instead of the [[TheBridge normal design]]. The [=SR1=]'s is more of a Communication room that your crew uses as a meeting place. The [=SR2=] has a more classic design, with a large table in the center, though the view-screen in replaced with a nifty holographic display.
135** The revamped ''Normandy'' SR-2 in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' has a full-fledged War Room with the actual name as it's where the war against the Reapers is being planned out and directed. It has another nifty holographic display that displays [[spoiler: the progress of the Crucible superweapon]] and a console that shows your War Assets and how ready you are for the final battle. The table from ''Mass Effect 2'' is still present, but now it's shifted to a side room and used only for negotiations.
136* Crossroad Keep in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2'' has one in the west wing of the castle.
137* In the ''VideoGame/SamAndMaxSaveTheWorld'' episode ''Abe Lincoln Must Die'', the War Room in the White House serves three purposes: drink coffee, eat cookies, and launch missiles.
138* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', most maps have War Rooms visible through windows near your team's spawn point, which assist in giving the game its SpyFiction feel.
139* ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown''
140** Mission Control serves this purpose, not to be confused with Central Officer Bradford, who serves as your MissionControl during missions. It's a big, otherwise dark chamber whose main feature is a glowing holographic representation of the Earth - sometimes called the Geoscape as a throwback to [[VideoGame/XCOMUFODefense the original game]] - that tracks alien activity, XCOM assets, the state of XCOM's member nations, and ongoing research and construction projects. A separate, adjacent Situation Room hosts TheBigBoard that offers additional information about XCOM's finances, requests from the [[BenevolentConspiracy Council of Nations]], a news ticker showing the state of the war, and the all-important "Doom Tracker" showing how close XCOM is to shutting down due to lack of support.
141** In the ''Enemy Within'' expansion, after you identify and attack EXALT's secret headquarters, you'll discover they have an EvilCounterpart Mission Control featuring a big red holographic globe (contrasting XCOM's blue). Because EvilPaysBetter, they also have wooden flooring, oriental rugs, animal hides, and a big plush armchair in front of the globe where their leader (escaped before you got there) presumably contemplated nefarious deeds. Also, the whole thing is a skyscraper penthouse.
142* Featured in ''VideoGame/{{Xenonauts}}'' on the splash screen. It is also represented by the Command Center during base defense missions, being the only room that absolutely needs to be defended no matter what, or the base is lost.
143[[/folder]]
144
145[[folder:Webcomics]]
146* The Lancers in ''Webcomic/{{Project0}}'' meet here after one of their naval ships goes down. Complete with [[http://www.centralcitytower.com/#!22-situation/c1gcy wall sized monitor, and a hologram projector in the middle of the table.]]
147* Parson's HQ in ''Webcomic/{{Erfworld}}''. His staff consists of himself, telepath Maggie, and his BattleButler Bogroll. DarkActionGirl Wanda and SquishyWizard Sizemore appear there from time to time but operate primarily in the field.
148* In ''Webcomic/PowerOfEther'', while not exactly a "War room," panel 4 of [[http://www.powerofether.com/archive/14-comic-1-11 this]] page looks quite similar. It's implied to be an emergency meeting room for all leaders of the 8 factions on Liba, as they decide what to do with the gifted. ItMakesSenseInContext.
149[[/folder]]
150
151[[folder:Web Video]]
152* ''WebVideo/WorldWarTwo'': The set is dressed to look like one with host Indy Neidell's desk littered with telephones and books and a map pinned to the wall.
153[[/folder]]
154
155[[folder:Western Animation]]
156* The Hall of Justice from ''{{WesternAnimation/Superfriends}}''.
157* The Watchtower space station has one on ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague''.
158* WOOHP Headquarters in ''WesternAnimation/TotallySpies''
159* The [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Fire Nation]] war room of ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender'' is only shown in flashbacks in two episodes, but they provide information vital to the plot: the reason why Zuko got his scar, and [[BigBad Firelord Ozai]]'s plans for the GrandFinale.
160* ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'': Parodied in an episode where the Warners get pulled to Camelot to deal with a dragon that's causing havoc across the kingdom. Yakko calls his siblings to the War Room, then asks King Arthur where the War Room is. When Arthur says they don't have one, Wakko [[{{Hammerspace}} pulls one out of his bag]]. Inside is a setup that would make any general or MadScientist envious, with monitors on every wall showing the rampaging dragon and at the bottom a group of military leaders and scientists[[note]]including Dr. Strangelove[[/note]] around a table debating whether to destroy the dragon or capture it for study. The Warners decide to forget the War Room after that and deal with the dragon themselves.
161[[/folder]]
162
163[[folder:Real Life]]
164* The Cabinet War Rooms underneath Whitehall in London, serving as the nerve centre of Britain's war effort.
165* TruthInTelevision: Militaries and other armed (and sometimes even unarmed, see political campaigns) factions tend to have these for a reason, as they generally serve as a large, central meeting area for conferences with underlings and field leaders to talk things through, plan out future moves and contingencies, and anticipate future developments.
166** This is one of the reasons generals in World War One stayed in large chateaux - not because they desired the luxury but because these were convenient places to house the large planning staff a corps or division needed, and they were frequently (though not always) already wired up to the telephone and telegraph network and serviced by decent roads. They were also generally (but again not always) beyond the range of enemy artillery.
167*** Ironically, it was this exact circumstance that contributed to France losing the Battle of France in [=WW2=] - the general staff was also residing in a single chateau, but the only communication services that were available to them were hourly motorcycle messengers.
168* The White House Situation Room, as seen in the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Obama_and_Biden_await_updates_on_bin_Laden.jpg historic photo]] of President Obama's National Security team watching the raid on Usama Bin Laden's compound in Pakistan on May 2, 2011.
169** [[RealityIsUnrealistic Doesn't look very dark and cavernous though...]]
170** Also, the TransatlanticEquivalent [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabinet_Office_Briefing_Room#mediaviewer/File:Cabinet_Office_Briefing_Room.jpg Cabinet Office Briefing Room,]] or [[FunWithAcronyms COBRA]].
171* While not a war room, [[http://i.imgur.com/zzwYrwp.jpg this picture of the boardroom]] at the [[UsefulNotes/TheWorldCup FIFA headquarters]] has often been visually associated with the Film/DrStrangelove setup.
172* Reportedly, soon after being elected, President-elect Ronald Reagan went to the Pentagon and wanted to see the War Room; he was disappointed when he discovered the real thing didn't look anything like what was in ''Dr. Strangelove.''
173* When George W. Bush was elected, a general at NORAD was heard to groan, "Oh God, he's going to demand to see the Stargate!"
174* The state-of-the-art National Defense Management Center, situated in the [=MoD=]'s Third Building on the Frunze Embankment in Moscow, right across the river from the Gorky Park, features as much as ''three'' main situational rooms, covering all three described variants, only subverting then in that all three are brightly lit and are actually on the second floor instead of the [[ElaborateUndergroundBase usual underground]]:
175** [[https://defence.ru/assets/content/paragraph2/138271/44417/aecnsuh5cjpezfzktvtruakfn2m7gf5u.jpg?nocache=91278 Information Hall]] is a huge, cavernous room with one wall completely covered by the monitor screens, and all other plus the floor taken by the dozens of [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience color-coded]] BridgeBunnies' consoles. Day-to-day functions of the Russian military are managed there.
176** [[https://s11.stc.all.kpcdn.net/share/i/4/867744/wx1080.jpg Management and Interaction Hall]] is the round-table version, where the top brass convenes for meetings and where the senior underlings and civilian liaisons are briefed on relevant information, as this hall also has a speaker's dais and the audience stands.
177** [[https://cdn2.img.ria.ru/images/103596/01/1035960106.jpg Decision-Making Room]] is the boardroom where the officers of the watch oversee the most mission-critical sides of the military machine. Notably also features the round table.
178[[/folder]]

Top