In this weeks episode of The SeaQuest Rewatch, Cory and Tom find that one man's trash is another mans treasure as they discuss season 1 episode 6 & 7 (originally aired as episodes 3 & 5) "Treasures of the Mind" and "Treasures of the Tonga Trench."
Treasures of the Mind:
During an ancient artifact excavation under the sea, the Seaquest discovers the lost library of Alexandria, complete with generations of antiquities from all periods of history up until the destruction of the building.
The amazing find however has somehow attracted the attention of the nations of the world, revealing that someone must be leaking information about Seaquest to the world.
Admiral Noyce asks Bridger to head a mediation between the nations, many of whom want their own ancestral pieces of history taken out of the library and returned to their homelands. To help, he has hired a group of people with psychic abilities to help in the negotiations. The lead archeologist Dr Hassan and Bridger argue for keeping the collection together and intact but to little avail. The psychics manage to help Bridger gain several key victories at the bargaining table but at one point, the advice from one of the older psychics, Dmitri Rossovich, seems to somehow backfire, leaving one of the representatives to storm off.
Elsewhere on the ship, Lucas has been having sensual dreams about Commander Hitchcock and finds himself staring at her longingly like a dog looking at a bone while she goes about her business.
Dmitri's daughter Savannah confronts her father about his apparent lie during the negotiations but he refuses to give her a straight answer. Instead, he orders her to try and investigate Bridger, who they witnessed earlier with Darwin and sensed that the captain has some kind of low level psi ability. Her attempt fails however as Bridger senses her and calls her and Dmitri out but he simply justifies his actions, claiming they were sent there to find the leak.
Before she and her companions are set to leave, Bridger takes Savannah down to the excavation site to see the library but suddenly one of the nations starts attacking the library, determined to blast their way in, attacking Seaquest as well. Commander Ford makes a show of strength and the rogue nation backs down.
Meanwhile Admiral Noyce reports that they found the leak: a colleague at a museum who had been receiving regular reports from Doctor Westphalen about Seaquest research, apparently went rogue and was selling the information to a military magazine. Bridger, relieved that his crew has been cleared, demands the psychics explain their actions.
Dimitri reveals that his plan was to fail at the negotiations, leaving UEO to determine that he was becoming unreliable in his old age, which would allow him and his fellow psychic Jacobi to retire and live their life in peace. Bridger explains that if they had just come to him with this request he would have made it happen, understanding that their abilities cause them to be in much demand.
Together they return to the negotiations and Bridger plays a gamble, smashing an ancient artifact, and then ordering the Seaquest to prepare to destroy the library, so that no one else will get hurt trying to scavenge the library for their country's artifacts. The gathered representatives are shocked by this maneuver and realize the foolishness of their actions as they begin to really talk in good faith. With the talks successful the psychics take their leave while Savannah leaving the option open for Bridger and her to someday explore his psychic potential... and more (bow chicka wow wow).
Send Out the WSKRS:
This episodes director, Brian Spicer, has had an extensive career. He has directed episodes of “Superboy,” “The X-Files,” “Dark Angel,” “24,” “Eureka,” “The Sarah Connor Chronicles” and “Fringe” to name just a few. He also directed “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie.”
Dr. Hassan was played by Chaim Topol. He also played Tevye in Fiddler on The Roof, Dr. Zarkov in Flash Gordon, Milos Columbo in For Your Eyes Only. His last credit was 1998 where he was the narrator for a documentary about Jerusalem called Time Elevator. It was set in a special theatre with motion chairs.
Erick Avari was the Libyan representative. We've seen him in the L&C Target Jimmy Olsen as Mr. Moonhauer (Jimmy and other kids become mind controlled killers). He was in The Mummy, Stargate, Independence Day, Mister Deeds and various Star Trek episodes and has had many guest appearances on sitcoms and dramas.
Savannah was played by Lindsay Frost. She was Ruth in The Ring. She also played Boone and Shannon's mother in Lost, the mom in the Elizabeth Smart TV movie and starred in TV shows such as High Incident, Mancuso FBI and had a brief run on As The World Turns.
Turnhan Bey played Dmitri. He was a popular leading man in the 1940's due to his suave demeanor, well modulated voice and exotic good looks. His last credit was in 1953, and then 40 years later he appeared here in SQ, after which he obtained a few more roles, including Babylon Five and Possessed by the Night to name two.
Louis Jacobi was played by Gene Ross. He was Man in the Shower #1 in The Goonies. He had lots of guest appearances in the 80's, including an episode of Alfred Hitchcock Presents. Also was also Earl in Halloween 4.
Admiral Noyce's wife was played by his real-life wife, Patricia Heard.
Sandra Kindler was the Italian representative. She was in Twin Peaks.
Treasures of the Tonga Trench:
The Seaquest finds themselves being pushed to peak efficiency as Captain Jack Clayton has come aboard to evaluate the crew's proficiency across the board, from battle readiness down to the lighting speed of their gas stove burners.
During a sea crab piloting test, LT Krieg has a strange experience in the underwater depths, seeing something that shakes him to his very core. He confides in Officer Ortiz about his experience and shows him what it lead him to: a collection of rocks that glow with an electric like bluish hue.
As Krieg enlists Lucas's help in getting a secure communications channel so he can connect with his gem buyer, his secret has been spreading throughout the whole ship as most of the crew are now making their own sea crab dives to obtain the glowing electric rocks for themselves.
Meanwhile, Bridger and Clayton engage in a good ol fashioned pissing contest, trying to prove who's the better macho man, but it results in only making Clayron angrier and tougher as he ends up coming in second. The rest of the crew's ability to function in total darkness reveals the existence of the rocks to the Captains and they track them down just as the "monster" Krieg had seen in the sea below has tracked THEM down and grabs into the ship.
Hitchcock sends out a probe to gather info while Westphalen hypothesizes that the creature, that glows like the electric rocks, is likely a never before seen species of squid that grew to its enormous size due to the large abundance of food available. As the squid's electric tentacles reach inside the ship, The Doctor reasons that the creatures bioluminescence could man it's attracted to light which in this case means Seaquest itself. Bridger orders a lights out protocol and for the probe to light itself up and draw the creature away, saving the ship.
Clayton leaves the ship with a bag full of Krieg's glowing rocks along with the name of his gem guy, trying to make some easy money however Westphalen later clues the crew in on what those rocks actually are: the fecal matter of the bioluminescent squid which with a day or two will break down, the electric blue dying out, leaving everyone with non-glowing steaming piles of (BEEP) leaving the captain to come up with a fitting punishment for Krieg: confined to quarters, with the glowing rocks, that are no longer glowing.
Send Out the WSKRS:
According to Rachael Harris, she was cast in this episode because she was Roy Scheider's nanny at the time. She was originally supposed to be an extra but Scheider arranged for her to have one line so that she could join the Screen Actors Guild. Her line was cut from the episode but she received credit and Guild membership. She's been in the first three A Diary of a Wimpy Kid movies (replaced by Alicia Silverstone in the reboot), and also appeared in Suits and Lucifer and a few episodes of The Mike Tyson Mysteries.
Murray was played by Stephen Kronish. This is his only acting credit but he has been a writer and producer on many popular shows such as Macgyver, 24, Wiseguy and 24: India. He was also the creator of The Commish along with Steven Cannell.
Captain Clayton was played by Yaphet Kotto. He was Al Giardello in Homicide: Life on the Streets, he was in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, played William Laughlin in The Running Man, Mr Big in Live and Let Die, and Parker in Alien, reprising his role in 2014 for the Alien: Isolation video game.
Whats Next?
Next up, we'll be discussing the episodes Knight of Shadows" and "Bad Water" which originally aired as episodes 8 & 9.
Send in your feedback to TheRewatchPodcast@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment