V: 1.18 Secret Underground
1.18 – Secret Underground
Teleplay by: David Braff & Colley Cibber
Story by: David Abramowitz & Donald R. Boyle
Directed by: Cliff Bole
Original air date: March 15th, 1985
Synopsis:
We open on the mothership where Lt. James greets a shuttle of Resistance prisoners and informs them that they will be used for experimentation. Furthermore there is a disk that has on it, the whereabouts of all the resistance leaders.
A fifth columnist named Jonathan overhears this conversation and tells the woman he’s with that he can’t sit back and watch this happen. He kisses her and then follows James’ underling to a room where he knocks him out and takes the disk. He is spotted with the unconscious body by two troopers, who shoot him, wounding him critically, but Jonathan manages to evade them and makes his way to a large room set for a feast. He hides the disk in a large sculpture in the room and stumbles back out to the corridor.
Elsewhere, Philip berates Dr. Stephen Maitland, a human biologist working with the Visitors to develop a virus against humanity, in exchange for his freedom for a lack of results.
Upon exiting the lab, Philip discovers the dying Jonathan who tells him that the list is “in the volcano”.
On Earth, Philip meets with Julie and Donovan to inform them of the disk. When he mentions Dr. Maitland, Julie enters a flash back that shows she’s intimately acquainted with the doctor.
Since the Fifth Column cannot search the ship without arousing suspicion, Julie and Donovan decide to come aboard the Mothership to handle the search themselves. Philip arranges for false paperwork.
Oswald meets with Diana, after arranging decorations for the Ramolon feast, to inform her that her ’sacrificial lamb’ has arrived.
Donovan and Julie arrive on the Mothership with passes identifying them as visiting doctors. They hear Diana and Lydia talking and they hide their faces.
Donovan and Julie are taken by Oswald to Dr. Stephen Maitland, who immediately recognizes Julie. he plays along with their story until Oswald leaves. Donovan accuses Stephen of being a collaborator, while Julie enters a flashback again.
Stephen agrees to help them search, and shows Julie to one level while Donovan goes to the other one.
Diana brings a young officer to the bridge and we are quickly introduced to Nigel, Lydia’s brother. Lydia is overjoyed to see him but is troubled when she hears how Diana was involved with his appointment. She quickly figures out that Diana brought him here to be the youngest officer. The youngest officer gets ritually sacrificed at Ramolan.
Stephen and Julie begin their search, but mostly discuss their past…and present. Julie says that Donovan is just a friend and that they have no time for anything more in times of war. He shows the brainwashed resistance fighters to her and tells her that he’s modified the virus so that it dies within twelve hours. He explains that he is stalling the Visitors until he is allowed access to the active viruses that were grown from the homeworld. He’ll destroy them when he can sabotaging the whole project.
Lydia immediately goes to Philip to see if he can stop the sacrifice. He tells her that the only way to stop it is with a unanimous vote of the ship’s three line officers, himself, Lydia, and Diana. He says he would vote with her, but she’ll have to convince Diana.
Diana is brainwashing the young female Visitor that Jonathan was with in the beginning and it seems she has been successful. Lydia cuts to the chase and asks Diana what she wants. Diana has a quick answer. Her life. Trade Nigel for Lydia.
Donovan and Julie are stopped by Diana and James. Quickly they act surprised and confused insisting that they have proper credentials. Diana and James begin marching them off, but when Diana tells them they are human and to stop the charade, Donovan and Julie turn and tear their faces off to reveal lizard faces underneath. Shocked,Diana lets them leave.
Donovan and Julie go back to Stephen’s lab where they tear off their lizard masks. Donovan and Maitland continue arguing, but Julie stops them. The two resistors begin the search again.
Julie makes her way to the Ramolon room, and she overhears Diana discussing Stephen’s assurances that the virus is nearly complete. Julie quickly returns and confronts Stephen, who flat out says, who do you trust, Diana? Or him. They reminisce about the past again and wind up kissing.
Lydia goes back to see Philip and tells him that Diana suspects that he is a fifth columnist., obviously hoping that he can use that to change her vote.
Back in the lab, the resistors come to the conclusion that Lt. James quarters are the only place left that they hadn’t searched yet. Julie wants to go alone. Both Maitland and Donovan argue, but she says that only she could charm James out of his quarters.
She does so, but unfortunately it is at a time where Diana is coming to see James. Julie is busted and captured by Diana. Diana interrogates her regarding Donovan and tries to get her to confess that Philip is their fifth column contact. Julie refuses all playing coy and difficult. Julie sees the sculpture and recognizes what Jonathan meant by “the volcano”.
When Donovan and Maitland see James giving orders to double sentries, they know that Julie’s mission has failed. Donovan laments having to come aboard weaponless, but Maitland assures him they can mix something up in his labs.
While mixing the chemicals Donovan and Maitland discover a newfound respect for each other. Maitland tells Donovan that after they rescue Julie and find the list, they have to destroy the viruses.
Back in Philip’s quarters, Lydia tells the Inspector General of Diana’s brainwashed spy in the fifth column, and asks for his help as a reward. James interrupts, to bring Philip to the Ramolon room.
While they are walking, there is a large explosion and Diana leaves Julie with the guards to investigate what it was.
James and Philip see Maitland who yells that Donovan has set fire to the whole lab. They rush to get him, when under the cover of smoke, Donovan, Maitland and Philip knock out the guards. In this cover, Donovan quickly makes his way to the Ramolon room where Julie is being held. He makes quick work of the guards, and Julie finds the list in the sculpture.
Diana quickly realizes that the smoke in the corridors was a diversionary tactic. She orders James to seal all corridors.
Donovan and Julie jump two Visitors and put Donovan/Julie masks on them to add to the chaos before they go down to the vault to destroy the viruses.
Diana runs into “Donovan” and “Julie” which stalls her enough that the resistance is able to sneak away aboard a skyfighter.
Nigel is placed on the sacrificial altar and Diana is about to destroy him when Philip stops the proceedings and tells Diana that he has heard of accusations she has levied against him. He asks if she has proof. Diana can’t provide proof. Philip says he’ll be forced to consider it mutiny unless she decides to change her vote to end the ritual. Diana does so spitting that Philip is a traitor and that she’d prove it.
Maitland and Julie share a moment on Earth, where Julie almost decides to go with him but Maitland won’t let her. He knows she’d feel guilty about leaving the resistance behind and he can’t go with them, as he has his own work to do. He says that maybe after the war there will be time for them. Julie agrees and runs back to the resistance.
Analysis:
A step back up after the dregs that was War of Illusions. Unfortunately it’s not that big of a step.
The best part of the episode deals with the best in Visitor intrigue we’ve seen since the mini-series. Between the introduction of Lydia’s brother, Nigel, and the continued questioning of Philip’s loyalty, there is plenty to keep those who are interested in political machinations entertained.
I also enjoy that we see a bit more culture of the Visitors, even if the celebration is overdone and silly.
The resistors storyline has so many plotholes it’s hard to keep watching to be honest.
A. Donovan and Julie again can go aboard the mothership and not be recognized.
B. If the fifth column would draw too much interest while looking for the list, how is it more helpful to have the two resistance leaders snooping aboard for it?
C. Julie-Maitland is a nice backstory, but it would have been nice to have had some closure between Donovan-Julie first. The series by this point has completely disregarded their relationship.
D. The two resistors and Maitland, in one small time period have searched the ENTIRE mothership, EXCEPT for James’ quarters. The motherships have sure shrunk.
E. How does Donovan know where Julie is being kept? I guess Philip MIGHT know and is able to tell him, but that happens awful quickly after the ambush.
Overall, it is not a stellar episode but compared to the depths the series had plunged to by this time, it was definitely watchable.
At least Elizabeth had the episode off so there was no Jedi tricks needed to save the day.
C-
