The Fantastic Journey (1977): Season 1, Episode 1 - Vortex - full transcript

January 12, 1945

Today. It's 15:15 hours,
You better contact approach control.

Rick. Shouldn't we have
the landfall by now?

Oh, great. Now what's wrong
with the compass?

Lauderdale, this is the Navy
training flight 128. Do you read?

Navy 128, this
is Lauderdale.

We seen to be lost,
Lauderdale.

You should be right
underneath under our nose.

But all we've got is ocean.

We can't get fix
on you, 128.

The gyro and the compass
are malfunctioning.



Everything's all wrong down there.
Even the ocean looks different.

Lauderdale, now we're lost.

Compasses is inoperative.

128, we are unable
to vector you.

Lauderdale,
Lauderdale!

We have an emergency situation.

I repeat, 128. We do not
read you at all.

This is Lauderdale calling
Navy 128,

please respond.

June 19, 1976

DEPARTMENT OF MARINE
BIOLOGY

- Taking of now?
- We'll see you at the airport.

You guard that equipment
with your lives.

We will, professor.



I wish you were
going with us.

I know. That house is gonna seem
awful lonesome without you.

Well, how long will be before
Grandpa gets out the hospital, Mom?

Oh, I think it'll only be a week.

And I can guarantee,
as soon as he's okay,

I'm goona be the first
plane to Great Inagua island.

Have a god trip, Doc.

Thanks for the lift,
you guys, bye-bye.

Flight 716 now departing for Miami.
at gate number six.

Hell, another hour,
we lose the wind.

Cut it, Carl. We were
born too late.

You know, people understood
the tides, the winds

100 hundred years ago.

So maybe I ought to sell this Yonder
and get myself a diesel stinkpot.

Sure. Sell you're
right arm first.

Yeah, all that equipment they
sent from L.A., you get it stowed?

Everything's stowed.

Stowed since yesterday.

Never seen a man get so
edgy on land as you do.

Ben, I hope we didn't
make a mistake

tracking a bunch of eggheads
around the Caribbean all summer.

That's a big fat fee,
my friend.

Besides, I'd rather have
Paul Jordan and his eggheads...

than a boatload of flabby
vacationers any day.

Well, they finally showed.
Come on.

Paul, how are you?

You only get them.
`Carl

Hi, Jill. How do you do?
Get your stuff on board.

FANTASTIC JOURNEY
Vortex - 01x01

Scottie, what are you
doing with these charts?

Oh, I was just
seeing something. Ben.

Hey, Carl.
Unless I miss my guess,

we've got us a Bermuda
Triangle freak on board.

We'll be kind of be
going right through it.

So?

So a lot of ships went in
and never came out again.

Hmm, but not this one.

You know. I've been sailing these
waters most of my life, Scottie.

If a ship goes down,
there's always a good reason,

not just because of some
funny place on the charts.

I've never lost a ship,
and I'm not gonna start with my own.

This is whiskey-Zulu-November-
eight-four-niner-seven.

The Yonder.
The Yonder.

Radio check from any vessel
on this frequency. `Come in.

Uh-huh
Zifano4 `Cololemturants.

- Take a look.
- Okay.

All right.
We should raise Great Inagua

by I'd say around midnight.

Did you notice that over there, Ben?

What?

Oh, you mean that coloration?

That might be a reflection
of some kind. I don't know.

Ah, just some
atmospheric trick.

Well, the A.M. satellite
report showed this area clear

300 miles around the compass.

You better Miami take another look.
Those clouds are coming this way.

What, against a
three-knot wind?

Nah, it's not likely,
but I'll give 'em a call.

Whiskey-Zulu-November-e
ight-four-niner-seven.

The Yonder-Yonder calling
Miami Coast Guard

- What on earth is it?
- Squall, maybe.

Whiskey-Zulu-November
eight-four-niner-seven.

The Yonder-Yonder
calling Miami Coast Guard.

I'm gonna go put
something warmer on.

I think I'll join you.

Carl, see what you
can do with this thing.

Paul, you take the
wheel for a minute?

What's with the weather?

- We're heading into a storm?
- Yeah, looks like it.

Will you give me a hand here
and get these sails down?

You take up on the topping lift.
I'll get the jib.

Carl!

Should be working, Ben.
I can't find a thing wrong with it.

Well, never mind the radio.
Fire up the engines and head her up.

Scottie, you go stick with
your dad in the main cabin.

You go give George a hand
and furl the main.

Aye-aye, sir.

Wherever we go, that thing
keeps hanging out there.

Ben, what is it?

I don't know...

It might be a bad squall.

I don't know.

Movin' in pretty fast.

Now I want everybody in
warm clothes and life jackets.

They're under the
cushions in the fantail.

Everybody, move!

Think of that, will you?
It's just like the end of the world.

- I never saw anything like this.
- What is it?

I don't know, but that cloud
has a color I've never seen.

- It's a squall.
- It's no squall.

Ben, engines have gone dead.
Won't turn over.

- I'll check them.
- What can I do, Ben?

You watch after your boy.

- What was that?
- Sounds like a boat.

Off the port.

What in the devil
is going on here?

`Can't you keep he
on course?

It's too rough, Ben.
I can't hold her.

Hang on.

The cable's busted.

What in the devil
keeps her turning?

Look at the gyro and the compass.
It's going crazy.

Oh, God.

What?
Listen to it.

Ah, my ears!

Oh no.

Ben!

- Carl!
- Fred!

I can't hold it.
I can't hold it!

Scott!

Scott!

Scott.

- My left arm.
- Easy, easy.

Scott.
Scottie..

It's all right?

Looks like he's broken
the humerus bone.

Sit still. and I'll find
something to splint it with.

Where's Carl?

Carl' uh...
Carl's gone, Ben.

Sorry.

Let's get out there
and salvage all we can.

I'll go up and see what's on
the other side of the cliff.

It goes on forever.

Ben, we couldn't find any sign of
people or habitation of any kind.

Well, lot of the small
islands are uninhabited.

This isn't small, Ben.
We couldn't see the end of it.

If you're asking me
where we are.

I don't know.

Come on. It could be
anywhere in the Bahamas group.

No, not on our last course.

There was nothing
between us and Inagua.

Are you telling us then that the
island doesn't belong here?

OI don't know.

What's it look like
from up there, Paul?

Well, it's not Great Inagua.

It's not like anything
you'd expect to see.

There's a mountain inland.

Mountain?

Look. The main thing is
we're on something solid.

I mean. Wherever we are,
it exists. right?

They must have started
looking for us hours ago.

So we build a search fire.

- Take shifts as lookouts.
- Of course I had another idea.

Go ahead.

Ben, how far out to sea that
dingy could a couple this get?

We figure that there'
enough gas left for 75.

- Maybe 100 miles.
- That's about right.

It ought to be enough
to get us out shipping lanes

Or at least until the
coast guard can find us.

It's too much of a risk.

It's not too far
from the shipping lanes.

Two or three hours?

- No, no, it's too much of a gamble.
- We already lost Carl.

and I don't want anybody
else risking their lives

for no good reason.

We'll never get out of here.
What's happened to us?

Those bells.
Those awful sounding voices.

Jill, we have only
been here for one day.

How will we know? How do
we know how long it's been?

- Jill, stop it.
- Maybe those bells were a warning.

Now, Jill, we all heard them.

It could have been anything.

Imagination, hallucination,
anything at all.

I'm sorry.

Can't sleep?

Dad, look at the sky.

Last night at sea there
was a full moon.

And now there is no moon.
Not even any stars.

Just that funny glow.

- Why?
- I don't know.

Well, what about Mom?

I wonder what she
thinks happened to us.

Oh, she probably thinks we're
having the time of our lives.

Diving for sunken treasure.

Oh. I'm sorry, Scott.

You deserve a better
answer than that.

- She's worried, isn't she?
- Yes, I'm sure she his.

But she's a good lady.
She'll be able to handle it.

You know, I know we're going
get out of here at all.

Of course we are.

It's just that... when I
think of Mom now...

It is like...

It's like we're not even in the
same world with her anymore.

You idiots come back!

We'll be back tomorrow
with the coast guard.

- Well, what's the matter, Dad?
- Thought I saw something.

Let's get some sleep, Scott.

Paul!

Why do I have the feeling that
I'm in the world s biggest zoo?

That's what I
was thinking.

Well, if there's a zoo,
there must be a keeper.

It's a TBM Avenger. The navy
used them during World War II.

I remember.

In 1945, six of them
disappeared into thin air,

inside the Bermuda Triangle.

Now look, Scott,

I'd like to give you
a nice logical explanation,

but the problem is
I don't have one.

Get out of here. Get out of
here, I'm warning you.

Hold him.
Grab him.

Quiet!

- Where'd he come from?
- You tell me, buddy.

- Are you all right, Ben?
- Yeah.

My arm, it doesn?t
hurt anymore.

He was pointing
that gizmo at me. I...

I don't think he means
to harm us.

You speak English?

Espanol?

Thank you. Thank you
very much.

I looked up. He was pointing
this gizmo at me.

Now the next thing
I know, I was seeing,

even hearing these
fantastic colors like a...

like a kaleidoscope. And then
the pain just faded away.

- I tell you it was weird.
- You don't feel that?

No, I don't feel a thing.
It's fine.

I'll tell you something else
that s weird. Your fever's gone.

Hey, hey, Dad.
Come here quick.

What is it, Scottie?

Look at those eyes and
the cuneiform writing.

- It looks Egyptian.
- No Scott predates the Egyptians.

I've seen that writings before.

Let me see that.

Look at this.

Look at these paintings.
That's incredible.

I don't know much about it, but that
paint looks new to me.

Listen, nothing around here
makes any sense.

You know those plants and
animals we saw today?

They're not only foreign to
the Caribbean but to each other.

And that Indian, he dresses
like a Caribbean Arawak,

except the Arawaks have been
extinct since the 17th and...

And now these paintings
and that mummy...

Atlantis, here we come.

Maybe. Just maybe
you're right.

It seems, Scott,
you are as perceptive.

as you are curious
and intelligent.

Walk straight ahead.
Don?t be afraid.

It's nothing more than passing
through a doorway into another room.

I promise that you'll be safe.

That tingling sensation will
diminish in a few more seconds.

All right. I'm not dead
and you're no Indian.

Quite correct.

Well, who are you? And what
was that doorway all about?

And why did you pretend you
couldn't understand us or talk to us?

I believe you'll have to see
the answers rather than hear them.

Come with me.

Scott!

- Scottie!
- Scottie!

- Orange juice.
- That's wild orange juice.

I collect the oranges myself
right here on this island.

These are travel plans.

Now each one of these is
preset for a specific destination.

Main and alternative
routes out and back.

If I wanted to visit a friend,

I'd insert this route card.

In the receiving plate,
and I could sit back...

and relax and sleep or read.

Do whatever I want.

and this craft takes care
of the rest.

What do all these
switches do?

Most of these do nothing now.

The accident has destroyed
all the capabilities.

Well, then you're stranded
here just like we are.

Yes I am.

Where are you from?
Another planet?

That's wonderfully imaginative.
That's even possible.

But it's not true.

- Where then?
- Look at that wall.

That s Earth!

Yes, in the year 2230.

What's wrong?

I believe that your father
is looking for you.

I don't understand him
leaving without telling me.

Scottie!
Scottie!

Dad?

Over here, Dad.

I?m not hiding.
You just can't see me.

Walk toward my voice.

Dad, do you hear a weird
sort of ringing yet?

Yeah!

Yeah. It's okay.
Just walk right through it.

Dad, Eve, this is Varian.

He s gonna help us
get off the island.

Where are your friends?

Back through there.

Well, then we'd
better go after them.

Pray that it's not
already too late.

Scottie!

I don't see any
sign of him.

- Was that a shot?
- It was in my book.

Oh, my God!

What... What is this,
some kind of joke?

There's nothing
we can do now, Dr. Jordan.

- We've got to do something.
- We must wait until dark.

Dar-L, zone B.

The candidates
are in my vision.

Load scan.

Please, come with me.

- Scan completed.
- Return at once.

Earth from the year 2230.

I've been asking the wrong question.

I've been wondering where
we are instead of when.

We are in some kind
of time lock.

A space-time continuum.

Past, present and future
exist together.

Each on their
own terms.

But the continuum
is just a theory.

Nevertheless I believe that
Dr. Jordan is correct.

You see, as earth men,
we're each locked in our own time.

We've had to live
by the calendar.

But here on this island,
you begin to understand.

Even as the
first man walked upright

in his Neanderthal cave,

man has also taken
his first step on the moon.

And there's only
a thin tissue of consciousness

separating one event
from another.

And that threshold we crossed?

That's one of many.
They are invisible.

They are separating zones of time
like a giant honeycomb, if you will.

And who were those
men on horseback?

They are English,
They re privateers, actually,

and they exist
in the 16th century.

Their captain carries
a jeweled glove

which was given him
by Elizabeth herself,

11 years ago.

Yes.

Even the superior physics of my
own time could not prepare me for it.

My first assumption was death.

Then the realization that my
five senses were still intact

led me to think
I was hallucinating.

In my case, I was captured
by these privateers

and I was entertained,
shall we say,

By the captain.
I escaped,

but I was forced to admit
that hallucinations do not

cause cuts and bruises,
and floggings do.

So you dressed as an Arawak
to hide from them.

Yes, I did. That was
a small but useful charade.

You see... I couldn't reveal
myself to you

until I was absolutely sure.

This is an excellent year.
It s French.

1986.

All right, listen to me.

This is the first fair-skinned woman
we've seen in 11 years, right?

And I tell you.

And I tell you that
she's worth more than all

the treasure in the hold of
the Madre de Deus, right?

- Right?
- Right!

And I also say that we
stand by the article.

The article says that Camden gets 30 shares
of any treasure that may be found.

Right?

No! No! No!

Let her go.

And the men with her.

Untie them.

We're not done
with her yet, Camden.

Oh, is it the woman
you want, Paget?

Or have you finally found
the courage to oppose me?

The winner to take
the prize, My Lord.

Agreed.

These people are
my guests.

If there are any others
who would make a challenge,

speak Now.

My sincere apologies, lady. My
name is Sir James Camden.

I'm all right, thank you.

We are very grateful to you.

You speak English,
but an odd dialect.

- Are you countrymen?
- Oh, yes. You... You might say that.

Does Elizabeth still rule?

Yes.

Thank God, and the war
with Spain?

The Armada that Philip
was building when we left.

It was defeated, in the
Channel by the English lead

under Lord Howard
and Sir Francis Drake.

Gods, death. That s one fight I would
have given anything to be in.

Instead I rot on this infernal island
and Drake reaps all the glory.

I?m grateful for this information
and there is much more I would know.

Simon will show you to your
quarters where you may rest,

and I see the lady, she'll require
some more suitable clothing.

Come.

Oh, and your slave can accompany
mine to the kitchen stores.

Uh, I'm...
I'm not a slave.

Uh, you see. He saved my life
and uh, I... I gave him his freedom.

You will give me the honor
of dining at my table tonight.

My name is Varian.
And in the year 2230...

I was a musician.

An my work was very
important to me.

because in my century, musicians
do nearly all the healing.

We use music to relieve pain,

to restore harmony and
balance to the mind, to emotions.

Well, what s Earth
like in 2230?

How can I capsulize
two and a half centuries away.

In 2230, man on Earth has...

unlimited resources.

Because he's tapped
the greatest resource of all

which is his mind.

Our machines are efficient
and silent.

Our cities built
miles up high.

So that the land outside
is free for growing food,

and sustaining wildlife.

And the five races
are melded into one.

There's no more war
and no more countries.

It's just Earth.

We are a productive,
non-aggressive people.

We waste nothing,

Time, imagination,
energy, effort.

Because we believe
that these things are...

the very essence of life.

Thank you.

Yes indeed.

Thank you.

What can you tell us
about this English camp?

That is quite a weapon.

It s hardly a weapon.

I may not have the
strength to use it again.

If I didn?t know better,
I'd swear all of this isn't for real.

Now, I've never
seen anything to touch it.

I?ll tell you that.

That sword fighting,
him calling me a slave.

Yeah. He meant that,
you know.

Yeah, I know, and he doesn?t seem to
have much sense of humor either.

You're come with me.

Uh, where's...
Where's the lady?

She's having a dinner.
You re to join her.

In here, if you please.

Hey, wait.
Hey, man!

Goodnight.

Yeah, good night.

I?ve been trapped
on this island for

nearly 12 years flying
the flag of England...

in a place that sometimes reminds
me of some small corner of hell.

Twelve years watching
for sails that never arrive.

I build boats.
I send men out

in them to search,
but they never come back,

except carcasses on the beach.

Others disappear into
some kind of limbo.

- Where are my friends.
- In a limbo, dear lady.

Neither here nor there.

Until you decide to
confide in me, to help me.

How can I help you?

We were shipwrecked here
the same as you were.

Gun powder and wicks,
enough to make a few bombs.

Well, we?ve made a couple of good
old-fashioned Molotov cocktails.

Great! We'll create a diversion and blow up
a few of their buildings here and there.

You'll have to do all this
without me, Dr. Jordan.

The destruction of anything,

whether it's life or property,
is wasteful.

It conflicts with
everything that I believe.

Varian, there are two men and a
woman being held prisoner in there.

I know that, and I also
know where they are.

And I believe that it will be easier
for me to find them and free them.

But if...

If you wish to create
a diversion in the meantime.

Thanks, Scottie.

Do I disappoint you, Scott?

No. I guess I understand
how you feel.

There sure is a lot
I don't understand.

Like how can those
Englishmen be alive?

You said they're
300 years old?

Scott, If you had a twin,

he'd be the same age as you.
Within minutes.

Sure.

And if you were in New York
and he was New York in Tokyo,.

and you spoke together
on the phone,

he'd be a day older than you,
even as you spoke.

Yeah, I guess Tokyo
is a day ahead of us.

But when he got back,
we'd still be the same age.

Yes, because he'd be living
in the same time.

Now you simply have to imagine...

the longest phone call
ever made.

That sure is a long call.

The treasure of Madre de Dios.

Oh, Bess.

Bess is a most
trustworthy guard,

and cannot be bribed.

I fought the Spanish
for nearly 17 hours.

Nearly 1,600 tons with a crew
of almost 500.

I barely got the treasure off
before she sank.

What happened to the crew?

Well, we could hardly carry the
treasure and the Spanish?s.

Have you any idea
what it's like to see a woman,

a white woman...

Especially one as beautiful
as you after nearly 12 years?

As you came from the Holy Land
by way of Walsingham,

did you meet my true
love as she came?

Dear lady, an illiterate
peasant would know more...

of his own country than you and

a spy would be overly
informed, which I.

Half this treasure
to you and your friends

if you tell me
how you got here

and how I can escape
this cursed island.

Where is your ship?

I told you
there is no ship.

I will take you back with me.
To England.

I'll establish you in
court if you?d like,

if you will only tell me!

Why are you playing
these awful games?

Why are you pretending?

You know as well as I do
this is 1976.

The England you talk about hasn't
existed for nearly 400 years.

Please let us go.

All we want to do
is to leave this place.

Now I have been patient.
I've showed you hospitality.

I have shown you courtesy,

and you repay me
with lies and trickery.

No, no, please.

- Scar, take her!
- No! No!

She is a witch.
Burn her.

Cut her down.

We?ll have you lose
in a second.

Ben, hold on.
I'll come to you.

Here. Now get out there
and get after them.

- Ben, let's go.
- You'd better get out of here, Paul.

It's no good,
it's no good.

Ben.

Over here.
Come on, quick.

Come on, get them out.
Come on, go on, get out of here.

You are long in coming.
He is not pleased.

I returned with
all possible speed.

There is no way
to please him these days.

He grows anxious
as he grows weaker.

Look around, Atar.

The Source s energies
control all of Atlantium

while you live in paradise
with little effort,

and you would criticize him?

He is deteriorating.

The energy drain
is beyond calculation.

This regeneration is critical.

One of the candidates
I have seen should please him.

Atar, Rhea, Dar-L.

Proceed.

You have done well, Dar-L.

I am encouraged by the scans
from these four.

Excellent physical reads.
Good health.

Passable intelligence.

Only passable?

Not so highly evolved
as yours.

Primitive emotional structure.

Extremely distressed.

Concern for their companions.

They plan a rescue
and are in the greatest peril.

The premise must be
that some will survive.

That among them, one will
be suitable for my purpose.

We can simply
terminate the others.

Terminate? There are
all other ways of killing.

Enough!
I will say when is to be.

The direction of their travel
will bring them into our zone.

You will bring them here.

I will attend
to their every comfort...

Until I chose,

none shall want for anything.

None shall be ill at ease
until it is time.

The Arawaks tell
about a time zone.

It lies far to the rising sun,

and there they say that

any man can find a doorway
back to his own time.

See, Dad? We'll find a
way back. I know we will.

Don't you ever
let us forget that.

What do you suppose
is down there?

Who knows.

But it can't be any worse than
what we're leaving behind.

Right on. Give me
the unknown any day.

The travelers have entered
our time zone.

They have separated
into two groups.

The guide will bring these
three to us first.

Be rid of them..

Surely the transfer generator
would be more appropriate.

The knowledge that they're
alive and among their own people...

will make the deception
much easier.

Atar's analysis is correct.

But your energy?

We know that my energy will be
restored with one of the others.

Rhea will bring them to us.

I think the boy is the most
likely candidate.

Being the youngest,
his capacities are largely intact.

And what difference if one
so young is terminated.

The more you live, Dar-L,

the less regard
you have for life.

You had better examine
where lies your allegiance, Atar.

It is to the Source.
You know that.

The city is on the
brink of disaster.

The Source our only hope.

Unless you feel
the life of the boy...

more important than
our own survival.

Dad, Dad!

Scott!

Your companions
have already gone ahead.

Do not be afraid, my
name is Rhea.

You are Varian and Fred.

Your father said
you would return soon.

I am an emissary sent from the Source
to escort you to Atlantium.

Atlantium?

Come.

She seems a lot more polite than
the some people we just left.

Rhea, my father is here?

Awaiting for you.

It s strange you know, we're nowhere
near the ocean and I smell the sea.

I would've said
it was a pine tree.

You guys are gonna
think I've flipped,

but so help me,
I can taste vanilla ice cream.

- The sensations please you?
- Yes, they do.

This place reminds
me of Christmas.

The atmosphere of Atlantium
can be all things to please all men.

The Source controls it.

It is his way of
saying welcome.

Welcome.
Welcome to Atlantium.

We have quarters prepared
for all of you.

I'm Dar-L, this is Atar.

He, Rhea, and I are a triumvirate,
the guardians of the city.

It is our duty to welcome the strangers
who pass through this land.

Yeah, well, we'd like to
see our friends now.

We thought they'd
be here to meet us.

They are no longer here.

What do you mean
they're not here?

- Yeah, where's my dad?
- What about Jill and Eve?

Please, I do not wish
to alarm you.

I assure you they are
quite safe and happy.

Just cut the games and
just tell us where they are.

They are back
in their own time.

To be continued...

Subtitles: Kilo