aldanoli
2003-10-05 19:14:39 UTC
Warning -- possible spoiliers!!
I just caught episode #28, "The Survivors," which is notable mainly as Mr.
Phelps' first appearance in the series (although according to Patrick White
it was actually filmed after #29, "Trek," the desert adventure with
Daniel O'Herlihy.) "The Survivors" is noteworthy for one other reason --
it's one of the earliest episodes to use a real-life location (San
Francisco) as a setting, and the plot hinges on a new San Francisco
earthquake, so the setting was more than just incidental. On the other
hand, having watched part of the episode again, it doesn't appear that they
bothered to film any of the episode on location. All of the exteriors in
the
few street scenes almost certainly were filmed in the back lot somewhere,
with one scene (where Rollin tries to wave off the police from the "gas
leak") that could even have been filmed *indoors* on the lot!
There are perhaps a few quibbles with Woodfield and Balter's script. The
team is trying to rescue a pair of kidnapped scientists and their wives.
For reasons that are never really explained (perhaps it was too difficult to
spirit them out of the country?) they're still being held in an American
city. What's more, even though the IMF has no idea exactly where they're
being held (hence the need for the deception at the beginning, where
Cinnamon portrays the estranged wife of the third scientist that Paulsen
needs), the team nevertheless knows that they're being held underground ,
and in a building that would be vulnerable to an earthquake! (Both of these
things could have been taken care of with a line or two during the apartment
scene, but instead it's simply implied.) Of course, this allows the phony
earthquake ploy to be carried off with nary a hitch -- it's a good thing
that the kidnap victims weren't being held in one of the warehouses so often
used in other episodes (or even some place above-ground) or even a modern
above-ground building or all the planning, including the large steel tube
and truckload of rocks -- would have gone to waste. But because they're
supposedly putting at least some of this together on the fly, Jim must be
informed, via a fake radio broadcast, while already a "kidnap" victim, of
the location of either the real escape tunnel or the phony one to which he
leads Paulsen and his men (it's never really clear which).
One other curious point is that, once Rollin and Cinnamon (portraying the
third scientist's ex-wife and her new paramour -- without a disguise) are in
Paulsen's hands, they know that the kidnap victims won't know that she's the
real Mrs. Webster. But instead of having her wear one of the masks so
beloved in the other episodes, the team takes the risk (as almost happens)
that the real scientists will not play along and blow her cover. This does
allow for a more dramatic act-break, but in most other situations, Cinnamon
(or whomever) would have been made up to play the part without such a risk.
Still, once the plot begins to roll, it is great fun, with the former
adversaries thrown together in a faux life-and-death situation that --
almost -- makes them friends in the face of a common enemy . . . you almost
believe Paulsen's character when he "promises" them their freedom if they
can show him a way out of the basement in which they're trapped. The scene
of the "brick wall" vibrating like it's made of rubber is a little
startling, and makes the use of the sonic waves to simulate the earthquake
impressive. The phony "gas leak" also both gives urgency to the underground
group in trying to get out of their makeshift imprisonment, and gives the
IMF an excuse to keep the real San Francisco authorities away from the
building where they're working their technical magic. Willy for once has
something to do in his strongman role -- carrying what appears to be (or
perhaps was!) a giant steel pipe with apparent ease. Finally, as Patrick
White points out, Paulsen's reaction at the end of the episode when he's
picked up by a gun-toting "Mrs. Webster" and her "boyfriend" is priceless --
just the right mix of bemused resignation and disgust. It shows why the
producers went back to Paulsen again and again.
The only puzzling thing is a comment Barney makes during the apartment
scene -- he worries that the team will be "doing all this in plain sight" --
an odd comment, since that's *exactly* what they do in almost every other
episode, whether pretending to be telephone lineme, or exterminators, or a
culinary staff, or circus performers -- or whatever. But perhaps his
concern is that they'll be working in the "plain sight" of American citizens
and police this time (as noted above, a switch from the usual situation for
this series). And this gives Cinnamon the excuse to say something never
voiced in most of those other "plain sight" situations -- "we'll be so
conspicuous that no one will notice." A fitting credo not just for this
episode, but for much of the series as well.
I just caught episode #28, "The Survivors," which is notable mainly as Mr.
Phelps' first appearance in the series (although according to Patrick White
it was actually filmed after #29, "Trek," the desert adventure with
Daniel O'Herlihy.) "The Survivors" is noteworthy for one other reason --
it's one of the earliest episodes to use a real-life location (San
Francisco) as a setting, and the plot hinges on a new San Francisco
earthquake, so the setting was more than just incidental. On the other
hand, having watched part of the episode again, it doesn't appear that they
bothered to film any of the episode on location. All of the exteriors in
the
few street scenes almost certainly were filmed in the back lot somewhere,
with one scene (where Rollin tries to wave off the police from the "gas
leak") that could even have been filmed *indoors* on the lot!
There are perhaps a few quibbles with Woodfield and Balter's script. The
team is trying to rescue a pair of kidnapped scientists and their wives.
For reasons that are never really explained (perhaps it was too difficult to
spirit them out of the country?) they're still being held in an American
city. What's more, even though the IMF has no idea exactly where they're
being held (hence the need for the deception at the beginning, where
Cinnamon portrays the estranged wife of the third scientist that Paulsen
needs), the team nevertheless knows that they're being held underground ,
and in a building that would be vulnerable to an earthquake! (Both of these
things could have been taken care of with a line or two during the apartment
scene, but instead it's simply implied.) Of course, this allows the phony
earthquake ploy to be carried off with nary a hitch -- it's a good thing
that the kidnap victims weren't being held in one of the warehouses so often
used in other episodes (or even some place above-ground) or even a modern
above-ground building or all the planning, including the large steel tube
and truckload of rocks -- would have gone to waste. But because they're
supposedly putting at least some of this together on the fly, Jim must be
informed, via a fake radio broadcast, while already a "kidnap" victim, of
the location of either the real escape tunnel or the phony one to which he
leads Paulsen and his men (it's never really clear which).
One other curious point is that, once Rollin and Cinnamon (portraying the
third scientist's ex-wife and her new paramour -- without a disguise) are in
Paulsen's hands, they know that the kidnap victims won't know that she's the
real Mrs. Webster. But instead of having her wear one of the masks so
beloved in the other episodes, the team takes the risk (as almost happens)
that the real scientists will not play along and blow her cover. This does
allow for a more dramatic act-break, but in most other situations, Cinnamon
(or whomever) would have been made up to play the part without such a risk.
Still, once the plot begins to roll, it is great fun, with the former
adversaries thrown together in a faux life-and-death situation that --
almost -- makes them friends in the face of a common enemy . . . you almost
believe Paulsen's character when he "promises" them their freedom if they
can show him a way out of the basement in which they're trapped. The scene
of the "brick wall" vibrating like it's made of rubber is a little
startling, and makes the use of the sonic waves to simulate the earthquake
impressive. The phony "gas leak" also both gives urgency to the underground
group in trying to get out of their makeshift imprisonment, and gives the
IMF an excuse to keep the real San Francisco authorities away from the
building where they're working their technical magic. Willy for once has
something to do in his strongman role -- carrying what appears to be (or
perhaps was!) a giant steel pipe with apparent ease. Finally, as Patrick
White points out, Paulsen's reaction at the end of the episode when he's
picked up by a gun-toting "Mrs. Webster" and her "boyfriend" is priceless --
just the right mix of bemused resignation and disgust. It shows why the
producers went back to Paulsen again and again.
The only puzzling thing is a comment Barney makes during the apartment
scene -- he worries that the team will be "doing all this in plain sight" --
an odd comment, since that's *exactly* what they do in almost every other
episode, whether pretending to be telephone lineme, or exterminators, or a
culinary staff, or circus performers -- or whatever. But perhaps his
concern is that they'll be working in the "plain sight" of American citizens
and police this time (as noted above, a switch from the usual situation for
this series). And this gives Cinnamon the excuse to say something never
voiced in most of those other "plain sight" situations -- "we'll be so
conspicuous that no one will notice." A fitting credo not just for this
episode, but for much of the series as well.