In this weeks episode of The SeaQuest Rewatch, Cory and Tom break free and fight for survival as they discuss season 1 episode 2 & 3 (originally aired as episodes 4 & 6) "Games" and "Brothers and Sisters."
Games:
The SeaQuest heads to Kersh ice prison to take on its sole prisoner a man named Dr Reuben Zeller, a notorious war criminal, and the prison warden, a man named Riggs, due to a malfunction that is threatening to destroy the prison. On board the Seaquest, Zeller takes an interest in Doctor Westphalen and the two play a game of chess. However, it's soon discovered that the warden is actually Dr Zeller himself, who killed the warden, placing him in his former cryogenic cell.
Zeller is taken captive but he reveals that he hid a toxin on board the vessel and once it melts, it will kill everyone on board. Captain Bridger makes a deal with Zeller to not put him back in the cryogenic cell as long as he tells him where the toxin is. Zeller agrees but it's a ruse as he traps Bridger and Crocker with some lasers and makes his getaway.
As Lucas works on hacking into the UEO's files on Zeller, the crew decides that (1) making the ship as cold as possible is the only way to stop the toxin from melting and (2), taking the Seaquest as far away from civilization as possible is the best thing to do in case the toxin does get out. Meanwhile Lucas is able to get access to a few photos of the aftermath of one of Zeller's most notorious misdeeds wherein Doctor Westphalen's brother was killed.
Zeller eventually contacts Bridger offering him the toxin if he follows Zeller's commands to launch missiles at the UEO base at Pearl Harbor to get his revenge for being locked up. With little choice, Bridger and Ford launch the missiles as all seems lost until Zeller reveals the toxin was not real at all. Bridger then reveals his own deception: anticipating Zeller's plan he disarmed all the missiles on board.
Send out the WSKRS:
Alan Scarfe played Zeller. He was in the QL episode “Dreams” as Dr. Mason Crane. He was also the lead role of Captain Curus Harding in “Mysterious Island,” a retelling of Jules Verne's “20,000 Leagues Under The Sea” in 1995.
We’ve seen this episodes director, Joe Napolitano, before. He directed 12 episodes of QL, and has also directed episodes of “The X-Files,” “JAG” and “Dawson’s Creek” among many others.
Kersh Ice prison was named after director Irvin Kershner, whose nickname was Kersh.
The episode ends with Bob Ballard from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. He will be a mainstay over the credits for a while throughout the series. In addition to being an Oceanographer, he is also a retired United States Navy Officer and Underwater Archeologist. Most notably he has found the wrecks of RMS Titanic in 1985, the battleship Bismarck in 1989 and USS Yorktown in 1998. Someone has created a free site using a free site generator called Angel Fire, where they have transcribed some of Bob’s end speeches. http://www.angelfire.com/zine/samquest/seadeck/index.html
Brothers and Sisters:
The Seaquest finds itself en route to the Landau missions depository to try and retrieve the vessel containing the last known inhabitants of the depot, as well as entomb the depot so that the weapons within will be unable to cause any harm to the surrounding area. Unfortunately, the crew discovers that the Seaquest is being targeted by the supposedly abandoned depot. While Commander Hitchcock investigates via the hyper reality probe, they discover that the children of the men and women once stationed at the depot, are still alive.
Ford and Crocker lead a team to the depot and quickly find the children, one of which is suffering from an embolism due to being exposed to the deep sea pressure. Crocker returns with the young boy and four other children, while Ford remains behind to find Zach, the eldest boy who ran away from the crew, refusing to leave the collapsing depot.
While Doctor Westphalen works to nurse the young boy back to health, Krieg, Crocker, and Bridger all take their turns at entertaining the young twin boys Matthew and Brawley with very little success, Commander Hitchcock finds herself exploring the idea of having kids when she connects with the youngest girl of the survivors, and Lucas finds himself falling for the teenaged "mother" of the group, Cleo.
Ford, having found Zachary, tries to get him to leave, noting that the depot is becoming more and more unstable, but Zachary refuses. Even the arrival of Cleo, brought back to the depot by Lucas, circumventing official channels, can't convince him. Chief Crocker makes an offhand remark about these kids needing a good kick in the pants, resulting in Westphalen coming up with an idea for Bridger to attempt to appeal to the side of Zachary that longs for an authority figure to take charge, something that Zachary has had to fulfill for years now on the desolate station. Bridger arrives on the depot in full Navy mode and his authoritative manner affects Zachary, breaking him of his stubbornness. Bridger tells him of his parents deaths and he follows the captains orders to abandon the depot.
Send out the WSKRS:
The song that Lucas plays for Cleo in his quarters is “Baby I’m Yours” by Shai (1992).
Landau could be a reference to director Les Landau, who directed an episode we haven't seen yet called Devil's Window. He also directed an episode of Sliders called “Luck of the Draw” and the L&C episode “Green Green Glow Of Home.”
Cleo was played by Kellie Martin. More recently, she is the lead in the Hallmark production “The Hailey Dean Mysteries” and “Mystery Woman.” She started in the original Lifetime movie “Death of a Cheerleader” and it's remake (as two different characters). She also played the voice of Lana Lang in one episode of the Ruby-Spears Superman cartoons.
Christopher Pettiet played Zachary. He was in “Point Break” and “Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead.” From there he got a role as Young Jesse James in “Young Riders.” After that, his career waned and he got involved with drugs, eventually dying of an overdose at just 24.
The twins are played by Jonathan & Robert Dohring and they have no other credits. On IMDB the young girl is credited only as Refugee Girl and played by Jennifer Kretchmer. She was in “Naked Gun 2&½” as Barbecue Girl and went on to be an Exec producer on various projects.
The sick boy was named Tony but there is no mention of him in IMDB.
Whats Next?
SeaQuest, as with many shows of the time, was aired out of order. No official production order has ever been released but with a few continuity clues we've come up with our own order. Next up, we'll be discussing the episodes "Give me Liberte" and "The Devil’s Window" which originally aired as episodes 7 & 2.
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