V (1984–1985): Season 1, Episode 1 - Liberation Day - full transcript

Martin, take us home.

Donovan, look!

It's Diana's fighter.

She's getting away.

Don't shoot!

Breathtaking!
For those of you joining us late...

the pictures on your screen
are coming to us live via satellite...

where it is already night on this,
the first anniversary of Liberation Day.

The day the Visitors
were driven from Earth, never to return.

Meanwhile, here in Los Angeles
where it's early afternoon...

I am at the Club Creole...



where Elias Taylor,
one of the Resistance heroes...

is hosting
this Liberation Day celebration...

in his new and already successful cabaret.

You make it sound as if
the restaurant business is my whole life.

I'm also a technical advisor
on the new film, Lizard Kill.

How could I forget that?

The same way you forgot to mention
my new line of footwear:

Spacebusters,
the footgear for Galactic Heroes.

- Is there anything else?
- No.

I would like to say
to any of my old buddies out there:

If you ever need a helping hand,
you know where to come.

And I'm sure they will.

But now let's go live directly
to the captured Mother Ship...

for a look at what scientific progress
has been made since Liberation.



Take it away, Dirk Small.

Thank you, Debbie.
I'm standing here with Nathan Bates...

head of Science Frontiers,
and former Resistance leaders...

Dr. Julie Parrish
and KDHB newsman Mike Donovan.

Mr. Bates, Science Frontiers
was the mass producer...

of Red Dust bacteria for the Resistance...

a task you performed
during the Visitor occupation.

What convinced you
to take such an enormous risk?

Dr. Parrish.
She can be extremely persuasive.

That's why I put her in charge
of the Mother Ship project...

from the moment
the government awarded us the contract.

The Visitors were an advanced culture.

I have every confidence Dr. Parrish
will succeed in unlocking their mysteries.

We have a very special
working relationship.

She really worries me.

Robin.

I love her, but she seems so distant.

She's still learning about human emotions.
Give her a little time.

But she's different.
Everything is different now.

I know. But the worst is behind us.

Why don't you take a couple of days
and go on to Santa Cruz...

like you planned?

- Are you sure you can manage?
- Of course I can. She'll be fine.

That is Elizabeth. Yes, the Star-child.
Half human, half Visitor.

She's almost directly below us now.

We're moving in.

We're going to attempt to land,
and then we'll be speaking with Elizabeth.

Why can't they leave us alone?

Something is happening.
It's as if we're being pushed.

Literally pushed away from the ground.

Do something.

Nice going,
you're the best assistant I've ever had.

Bet you, in a couple of weeks,
they make you a cameraman yourself.

Does that mean you're reconsidering
your position at the anchor desk?

No, that's showbiz.

I'm a newsman.

Mike, wait.

- I'll see you outside.
- I'll catch up with you.

- Is everything all right?
- Sure, fine. Why?

You seemed a little on edge
during the interview.

Maybe I don't enjoy the same special
relationship around Bates that you do.

This whole investigation
with the Mother Ship has been stalled.

Diana had a security code
that we just can't seem to break.

There's so much we need to learn about.

Like the conversion process, for one thing.

- You heard from Sean, huh?
- No, I did not hear from Sean.

I heard from the state school in Ojai.

And you feel guilty about
having sent him there.

He needs my help.

He'll resist rehabilitation. I know him.

I'm going up there this weekend
if I have to bust into the place.

Sorry, I forgot. Saturday.

- I'll make it up to you.
- That's what you said last time.

- That was last time.
- What are you doing?

It's Liberation Day, remember?
You're about to be liberated.

That is Elizabeth. Yes, the Star-child.
Half human, half Visitor.

She's almost directly below us now.

We're moving in closer.

We're going to attempt to land,
and then we'll be speaking with Elizabeth.

Something is happening.
It's as if we're being pushed.

Literally pushed away from the ground.

Do something.

And that's the way it was this afternoon...

when we attempted a live interview
with the Star-child.

We'll have more on this later.
Now let's go to Keith Chavez...

and a report
on the upcoming trial of Diana.

Not since the Nuremberg trials
of World War II...

has there been this kind of international...

Mr. Tyler is here, Mr. Bates.

Send him in.

I thought you'd be
celebrating Liberation Day.

I ended celebrating a year ago.

And got right to work building
a very fine security agency.

I work.

No, thank you.

Always to the point, eh, Mr. Tyler?

Just like your covert operations
in Central America.

- That's ancient history.
- Not to mention Angola, Middle East.

- Shall I go on?
- What do you want?

How would you like to work for me?

Doing what?

Doing what you do, Mr. Tyler.

- Providing security for the highest bidder.
- Meaning you?

Meaning Science Frontiers.
You know about our company.

You manufacture Red Dust,
you're studying the alien technology.

It is my hope that
from this terrifying invasion...

mankind will reap some benefits.

While you reap the profits.

Tell me, Mr. Tyler...

what would you do with Diana?

I'd use her for target practice.

Then you reject the argument
that she can atone for her crimes...

by helping us in our fight against disease?

Diana is the disease.

Yes, but if we take her life in vengeance...

we'll be condemning
millions of people to death...

because we won't
have the knowledge she can give us.

Remember, the Visitors
offered us a cure for cancer.

You're wasting my time, Bates.

On the contrary, Mr. Tyler.

I'm offering you
the opportunity of a lifetime.

$500,000.

You gonna be okay covering Diana's trial?

Sure.

But I still think a trial is a waste of money.

This is a democratic society, Martin.

Everyone here is innocent
until they're proven guilty.

You have to understand that on my planet,
justice is swift and final.

Diana would get what's coming to her.

- She's gonna get a fair trial.
- She deserves death.

Pill time?

Every twelve hours for the rest of my life.

What a racket, huh?

Nathan Bates manufactures
the Red Dust...

and then turns around
and markets the antidote.

With Nathan Bates, everything has a price.

- Is that all you've got left?
- It's all right.

Just remind me to get a refill later.

Or you're gonna be looking for
a new assistant.

- I'll call you as soon as I get to Santa Cruz.
- Have a good time, all right?

I will.

Don't worry about Elizabeth.
She's gonna be fine.

I know. Grandpa.

Mommy's going away for a couple of days.
Grandpa's going to take care of you.

- Will you come back soon, Mommy?
- Of course, baby.

I'll miss you, Elizabeth.

You be a good little girl.

I'll miss you, Mommy.

Ready or not, here she comes.

Get back.

Come on, let's get her out.

Back, buddy, back.

Come on, we're gonna follow her.

The chopper. Come on.

What do you think you'll get
for stealing a helicopter?

Two years, or a Pulitzer Prize.

Where's that ambulance?

There it is.

- That truck.
- Where?

That one.
Did you see it enter the underpass?

No.

Then it has got to have been there
waiting all along.

- Mike, I don't understand.
- They could have pulled a switch.

I'll bet a month's pay that ambulance
with Diana is in the back of that truck.

There she comes. Diana looks confident.

Confident she'll be acquitted
of crimes against humanity.

There's even a hint of a smile on her face.

There! When she raises her arm, you can
see the bullet hit just below her heart.

You can see the panic caused
by the attempt on Diana 's life.

We're still waiting to hear
as to the seriousness of the wound.

If that injury
had been sustained by a human...

a bullet so close to the heart...

the victim would be near death...

Grandpa, my arm hurts.

It's okay, honey.
Grandpa's gonna make it better.

Here, sit down.

Science Frontiers?
I need to speak to Dr. Julie Parrish.

All right, take her inside.

Hi, sweetheart.

I'll take a look at your arm, okay?

Robert, would you
get me some ice, please?

Sure.

Good evening, Diana.

- Who are you?
- Nathan Bates, head of Science Frontiers.

I've been responsible for dismantling
and the analysis of the Mother Ship.

It's a losing proposition so far.

Which is why
I arranged your assassination.

With a tranquilizer dart. Too bad.

I was rather looking forward
to my day in court.

I doubt that, Diana.

You were guilty of
crimes against humanity, genocide...

and, yes, cannibalism.

That's a matter of taste.
What do you want?

As far as the rest of the world
is concerned, you're already dead.

I could kill you right now, and no one
would ever know the difference.

- But you have something else in mind.
- I will keep you alive.

I will provide...

suitable accommodations,
appropriate food...

non-human, of course.

And in return?

In return, you will
share your secrets with us.

We'll start with a vaccine against cancer...

then we'll develop
some pest-resistant crops...

a pollution-free fuel,
some recombinant DNA.

I see. I cure the ills of the world...

and you get the credit.

- That's the deal.
- Or I turn you into a pair of shoes.

Still crude, Mr. Tyler?

My options seem limited.

- Very.
- As well as my space.

If you cooperate, I'll let you live outside,
under guard, of course.

How?

One of my companies
controls the Red Dust and the antidote.

That is how the Visitors like Martin
and Willie can exist outside.

You can, too, Diana.

Interesting.

I'll think about it.

Don't think about it too long.

I'll be back.

- What about the assassin?
- He's already out of the country.

Look, Bates, remember our little bargain.

When there's no more she can give you,
she's mine.

I hear a car pulling away.

Can't see it.

All right, careful.

We're gonna need proof if she's still alive.

If she's still alive, then she must be killed.

First we get the proof, then we tip the law.

Come on.

Yeah, she's there all right.

All wrapped up in somebody's pocket.

Give me the camera.

I'm sorry, Mike.

Drop it!

What are you doing?
You're letting in the Red Dust.

Suffocation takes too long, Diana.

I'm gonna do the job right.

- Martin, listen to me...
- You're a destroyer, Diana...

an evil.

A sickness. Everything you touch dies.

You don't bargain with a pestilence,
you wipe it out.

You have something I want.

Mike, Diana's gone.

She escaped. It's my fault, Mike.

It's my fault.

No, Martin. It wasn't your fault.

Oh, no.

You've got to stop her.
She's gonna signal them.

She'll bring back the fleet.

There's not much time left.

She can't survive on Earth.
The Red Dust in the air will kill her.

She's finished, Martin.

- The antidote.
- She took my last pill.

She's got 12 hours.

You've got to do this for me.

I will, Martin. What? Tell me.

- She's sleeping. Fitfully, but she's asleep.
- Good.

I just fed the horses. It must have gotten
really cold last night.

How's she doing?

Robert, she's not retaining fluids.

Her fever is still high. I just can't break it.

What do you mean you can't break it?
She's been burning up for over an hour.

Her body can't sustain itself at that level.

Her system is probably
just fighting some infection.

Come on, Julie, you saw the arm.
That is not an infection.

She's a hybrid. I don't know what to do.

We've got to do something to help her
before it's too late.

You're afraid she's gonna die,
well, so am I.

Then there must something
we've overlooked.

There is.

Maybe you're right.
Maybe she's not fighting an infection.

Maybe she's turning into one of them.

- She's taken her horse.
- Let's go.

You got a problem, little lady?

Can I give you a lift?

That's very kind of you.

Well, the pleasure's all mine.

Hey, your skin is cold as ice.

I know. I get these terrible chills.

Maybe I could warm you up.

Funny, I was thinking the same thing.

I'm gonna take you some place
that's out of this world.

- I said Diana's on the loose.
- Calm down, Tyler, she can't get away.

The captured Mother Ship
is too heavily guarded. She'd never risk it.

I'm not talking about the Mother Ship.

Southwestern Tracking Station
is not far from where she escaped.

It's a fully automated facility
able to receive and transmit signals...

over billions of miles of deep space.
She'll call for help from there.

That makes sense. Take three men.

- No amateurs. I do this my way.
- You work for me.

Wrong.

I'm a free agent from now on.

Then I'd say I'm entitled to a refund.

I'd tell you what to do with your money,
but that would be rude.

How will I know if you've killed Diana?

I'll let you live.

That man who just left. He's a problem.

No, Mr. Bates. He's history.

- Why are we stopping?
- The golden rule.

I do something for you,
you do something for me.

I see.

That's nice, that's real nice.

If she left her horse, she can't be far.

Robert, there's light
coming from that cave.

Robert, look out.

That's Elizabeth. She's in there.

The snakes, the cave must be full of them.

We've got to reach her.

No!

It can't be.

Robert, she's going through
a metabolic change.

My God, into what?

Wait a minute, no.
Can't interfere right now.

Whatever this process is she's going
through, we've to let it run its course...

or she could be damaged.

Maybe even die.

You're improving.

What the hell are you doing here?

That was my line.

I think you know what I'm doing here.

Diana.

- Diana's dead.
- Not unless you killed her.

You already know all about this.

- Never mind what I know.
- Who are you working for now?

- CIA, FBI?
- Listen.

- Do you hear that?
- That's a homing signal.

Martin was right.

She's trying to reach them.

Yeah, it's coming from over here.

Check out the computer.

This is it.

Mr. Donovan and Mr. Tyler.

How nice of you to see me off.

You don't have much time.
Martin only had one pill left.

I'm going after her. Circle around outside.
Fire a shot if you spot her.

One shot's all I'll need.

We've come full circle, haven't we?
Drop your weapon.

Goodbye, Mr. Donovan.

This is for Martin.

I had her.

Dead.

Next time.

It's already next time.

Your transmission was interrupted
or we would have been here sooner.

What a primitive planet.

We were afraid you might be dead by now.
The Red Dust.

I don't know why,
but it didn't affect me or you.

Our Mother Ships and our skyfighters.
How many are left in the Earth system?

Enough.

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