V: The
Series Episode Guide
"The
Dissident"
Original Airdate: December
14, 1984
Plot Summary
~ Detailed Review ~
Freedom Network ~
Bloopers and Nitpicks
Memorable Moments
~ Cast and Production
Plot
Summary - Diana
collaborates with Nathan Bates to set up a force field around Los Angeles.
The Resistance formulates a plan to capture the force field's creator,
while Robin confesses her love for Kyle to Elizabeth.
Detailed
Review -
-
On a highway leading out of L.A., Ham and Kyle
await a munitions truck. Unbeknownst to them, Diana is planning a
test of a new force field to surround Los Angeles. While Ham and
Kyle watch, the munitions truck is vaporized. The field collapses,
however, when the Visitor computer overloads - a relay is required within
the city. Diana orders Lydia to have Jacob brought to her quarters,
while she goes to meet with Nathan.
-
Kyle checks in at his house, where Elizabeth and
Robin are staying. He arrives just as Robin awakens from a nightmare
about her pregnancy and Brian's death. Kyle holds Robin in his arms
and comforts her.
-
At Science Frontiers, Diana asks Nathan to set
up the computer relay on the premises. She promises Nathan a safe
corridor out of the force field, which he will set up using a personal
4-letter code. Nathan agrees and the relay is set up in a sub basement
by Diana's chief systems technician, Galen.
-
Outside the Visitor Legation, Mike, Ham, and Willie
kidnap the Visitor's chief military attaché. Using the 'good
cop, bad cop' routine, they convince him to reveal the name of the force
field's creator - Jacob. Willie explains that Jacob is a pacifist,
and the Resistance make plans to board the Mothership to get him.
Diana, meanwhile, has questioned Jacob and threatens him with the conversion
process unless he refines the force field.
-
Kyle finds Elizabeth in the garden of his house.
After she impulsively kisses him, he asks her out on a date. When
Kyle leaves, Robin confesses to Elizabeth that she is in love with Kyle.
Elizabeth manages to conceal her shock and surprise.
-
At Science Frontiers, Juliet finds the relay room
but is stopped from entering by Galen and Nathan. Julie protests
and Nathan silences her with veiled threats. Julie reports in to
Club Creole just as Ham and Mike are preparing to leave for the Mothership.
They arrange for Kyle to meet them outside of L.A., while Julie will make
another attempt to get into the relay room.
-
While Kyle loads up the truck at his house, he
is interrupted by Robin, who wants to go with him. He tells her that
she cannot go, and before he leaves, Robin kisses Kyle, who does not respond.
While unloading the truck at the rendezvous point, Kyle finds Elizabeth
hiding in the back. She has risked his anger to tell him about Robin's
feelings for him. Kyle explains to Elizabeth that he does not reciprocate,
and alleviates the guilt that she is feeling. They share a kiss.
-
Ham and Mike, meanwhile, sneak into the Visitor
Legation atop a truck. They overpower two guards, steal their uniforms,
and board a transport vehicle to the Mothership. Ham and Mike burst
into the room where Jacob is undergoing the conversion process - Diana
is trying to force him to arm the master computer. The freedom fighters
shoot up the control room, free Jacob, and head towards the flight deck,
also discovering that Jacob is blind. When the flight deck door is
discovered to be sealed, Jacob uses his soboriun bracelet to short open
the system. The group steal a fighter and leave the ship.
-
In the aftermath of the Resistance attack, Lydia
tracks the stolen fighter and Diana sends two additional fighters after
them. Lydia then confronts Diana about Diana's incompetence and threatens
to report Diana to the Leader. In the skies outside L.A., Ham manages
to shoot down one of the pursuing Visitors, while Mike forces the other
one into the force field. However, they are damaged in the battle
and have to crash land miles from their planned rendezvous point.
-
At Science Frontiers, Juliet accesses the computer
in Nathan's office and activates the security camera for the relay room
in an attempt to see Nathan entering his code. Julie is able to see
the location of the safe corridor, but not the code. As she watches,
Mr. Chiang forces someone through the access tunnel at gunpoint as a test
of the system.
-
In the desert, Lydia gets a fix on the downed
Resistance fighter and sends out Visitor combat troops on bikes and in
jeeps. Mike contacts Julie, who sends the group to the I5, the location
of Nathan's safe corridor. She then heads back to Science Frontiers
in an attempt to crack Nathan's code, refusing Willie's offer of bodyguard.
-
As Mike, Ham, and Jacob make their way through
a canyon, Mike tries to explain to Jacob why they need his help, as Jacob
is only concerned that his discoveries are being used for destruction.
The group is suddenly pinned down by Visitor soldiers - until Kyle arrives
in his truck, plowing through the Visitors who are then taken out by Ham
and Mike. Kyle reveals that Elizabeth led him to the correct canyon
- he wouldn't have found them without her. Jacob recognizes Elizabeth
and asks her to guide him.
-
At Science Frontiers, Julie sets off an alarm
in another sector in order to get the guard on the relay room to leave
his post. She begins trying various 4-letter combinations with no
success. As she is about to contact Mike, Galen walks in and confronts
her. Juliet attempts to reach her gun, but it is knocked from her
hand. Just then Willie walks in - while Galen is distracted Julie
pulls the gun from his holster and kills him.
-
The pursuing Visitors force Kyle off the road.
They manage to kill or lose most of them, but the truck is damaged and
the group is forced to flee on foot. They reach the corridor entrance.
In desperation Juliet tells them that she cannot break the code - Mike
asks Kyle for suggestions, and when Julie hears Kyle's name she realizes
that 'KYLE' must be the code. She enters the name and the safe corridor
opens.
-
Mike sends Elizabeth and Jacob through the corridor,
while he, Ham, and Kyle take care of the remaining Visitor troops.
Jacob stops with Elizabeth just above the corridor entrance - he explains
that he must destroy the force field to prevent it from being used for
destruction. Jacob tells Elizabeth that one day Amon, the high priest
of Zon, will find her ... he then focuses his soboriun bracelet on the
force field and causes its collapse and his own death. The force
field is destroyed along with the computer on the Mothership and the relay
station.
-
On the Mothership, an Ensign reports that Lydia's
shuttle is missing, heading back to report to the Leader. Diana orders
the shuttle destroyed, and the explosion as her orders are complied with
fills the screen.
Freedom
Network Medal of Valour -
The Freedom Network Medal
of Valour is awarded this week to Janet Weinberg, a Daytona Beach computer
programmer who led a raid on a Visitor detention camp, freeing over 200
American prisoners.
Bloopers
and Nitpicks -
-
The entire conversion process is completely different
from anything seen in the Miniseries. Jacob also complies
with Diana's demands almost instantly - not very good self-control for
someone considered a leader of the people.
-
The skyfighter battle outside of L.A. once again
uses stock footage from the miniseries. The fire on the
Resistance fighter as it goes down it also very fake.
-
The Ensign who announces that Diana's shuttle
is missing is Ensign Daniel - who was killed by Diana in Episode
7!
-
Diana clearly does not take a cricket out of the
jar. Thanks to Nick for this
nitpick!
-
Immediately after Diana vaporizes the truck at
the beginning of the episode, Kyle runs right up to
the pile off ash, waving his arm to scatter the smoke away. Ham isn't
too far behind. Thus, Kyle
should have been vaporized unless the force field is paper-thin and the
truck's ashes literally kept
going through. Thanks to Last
Survivor for the nitpick!
-
Last Survivor
also says: Since Ham says "Diana has
a new toy", wouldn't he scatter back to the
safety of the trees instead of running to the ash pile? The weapon
had to be coming from somewhere,
since Kyle and Ham didn't know what it was, it was conceivable that a group
of Visitors could have
(been nearby and) aimed a weapon. So standing in the middle of the
street after something was
destroyed would be utterly stupid. I can see Kyle running to it,
but Ham would not and would have
stopped Kyle. Of course, the counter argument would be Ham was surprised,
and Kyle on impulse
ran out and Ham had no choice but to follow. I say: Hey, no
Kyle-bashing allowed! <g>
-
Last
Survivor also asks: Why didn't Diana
and her assistant see Ham and Kyle, since they were
obviously observing the area. And, HOW where they observing it?
-
Brian
says: In the scene where Donovon and
Ham fight the two shock troopers on the
Mothership, Ham hits the one trooper
once in the mid section and miraculously manages to knock him unconscious!
Memorable Moments
-
(Ham sneaks up on Kyle as they wait for the munitions
truck)
Ham: You
gotta be more careful, there's a war going on.
Kyle: I
thought we were supposed to have faith in each other?
Ham: Faith
is for nuns and amateurs ...
-
(Willie tells the Resistance about Jacob)
Willie: Jacob
is a genius, and a father of our technology.
Ham: A Ph.D. in death.
Willie: Oh no, Jacob is against
war. He is a confirmed pessimist.
Julie: Pacifist.
Willie: Yes
... that.
-
(Kyle asks Elizabeth out)
Elizabeth: (impulsively
kisses Kyle) I'm
sorry, I didn't know I'd do that ...
Kyle:
Yeah, that makes two of us... You should do it more often. So are
you and Robin finding
everything you need?
Elizabeth:
Yes, your house is wonderful, and we're grateful to you for letting us
stay here.
Kyle:
Well, it's just nice to have somebody else around ... especially you.
Listen, I've gotta go into the city
for awhile but I shouldn't be too long. Wanna go out when I come
back?
Elizabeth: (nods)
Kyle: Good.
Be ready about 7:30? There's a little place I wanna take you to --
we can dance, have
something to eat, just kinda be together ...
Elizabeth:
Just us?
Kyle:
Just us.
Cast
Diana: |
Jane Badler |
Lydia: |
June Chadwick |
Elizabeth Maxwell: |
Jennifer Cooke |
Willie: |
Robert Englund |
Juliet Parrish: |
Faye Grant |
Ham Tyler: |
Michael Ironside |
Mike Donovan: |
Marc Singer |
Nathan Bates: |
Lane Smith |
Robin Maxwell: |
Blair Tefkin |
Elias Taylor: |
Michael Wright |
Kyle Bates: |
Jeff Yagher |
Guest Stars
Mr. Chiang: |
Aki Aleong |
Jacob: |
John McLiam |
Howard K. Smith: |
Howard K. Smith |
Ensign: |
Robert Thaler |
Additional Guest Stars:
|
Anthony de Longis, Armand Cerami, Robert Mackenzie,
Richard Manheim |
Production
Executive Producer: |
Daniel H. Blatt |
Executive Producer: |
Robert Singer |
Supervising Producer: |
Garner Simmons |
Producer: |
Dean O'Brien |
Creator: |
Kenneth Johnson |
Writer: |
Paul F. Edwards |
Director: |
Walter Grauman |
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