War of the Worlds/My Soul to Keep

My Soul to Keep
Season 1, Episode 21
Airdate	April 24, 1989
Written by	Jon Kubichan
Directed by	William Fruet
← 1x20 Vengeance Is Mine	1x22 → So Shall Ye Reap
War of the Worlds — Season One

My Soul to Keep is the twenty-first episode of the first season of War of the Worlds.

Jared Martin (Harrison Blackwood), Lynda Mason Green (Suzanne McCullough), Philip Akin (Norton Drake)

and Richard Chaves (Colonel Ironhorse)

Special Guest Stars: Michael Parks (Cash McCullough)

and John Colicos (Quinn)

Also Starring: Michael Dyson (Farmer), Bruce McFee (Guard), Rachel Blanchard (Debi), Ilse Von Glatz (Advocate #1), Ric Sarabia (Advocate #2), Michael Copeman (Advocate #3), Vito Rezza (Stavrakos)

Featuring: Mohsin Sherazee (Cabbie), Handy Atmadja (Old Clerk), Robert Bidaman (Cooper), Peter Van Wart (Camera Crew #1), Andre Mayers (Camera Crew #2)

Plot Overview

Suzanne's ex-husband, a brash investigative reporter, comes back into her life. She soon discovers he's trying to get information about the Blackwood Project, a set up by a whistleblower with his own personal agenda. His threats to expose what they're doing also threatens to compromise their efforts when they discover the aliens have taken over an ice house to store their eggs that would increase their numbers with a whole new generation.

Notes

Teaser Quote

"And what would your name be?"
"Woodward and Bernstein didn't need a name."
"You trying to tell me you're Deep Throat?"

Base Three

• The alien embryos are in a trefoil shape.

• The net used to take out the dying alien in the vat is in a triangle shape.

• The aliens mate every nine years.

The Number 23

• The room number Cash meets his informant in.

Locations

• Washington, D.C. (Korean bathhouse)

Timeline

• Norton says he has been listening to the alien transmissions for "over a year now."

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• The aliens have a chance to increase their numbers with a whole new generation of offspring.

Characters

• Suzanne's ex-husband Cash returns after being absent for nearly two years.

Referbacks

• Harrison recalls the information he got from Quinn concerning the colder conditions of their planet Mor-Tax.

Trivia

The Show

• Suzanne and Cash have been divorced for five years.

Behind the Scenes

• The exterior of the Intercontinental Ice Limited is the same location of the exterior of the Santa Clarita Nuclear Planet from "Epiphany".

• The interior of the ice house is a reused set for the vaults from "The Second Seal".

Allusions and References

• The dialogue between Quinn and Cash allude to the idea that Quinn is Deep Throat. Deep Throat was a secret informant that tipped Washington Post reporters Woodward and Bernstein to a break-in at Watergate that ultimately led to the resignation of president Richard Nixon. For decades the identity of the informant remained a mystery and the subject of much speculation. However, on May 31, 2005, Associate Director of the FBI Mark Felt revealed that he was the legendary Deep Throat.

Memorable Moments

• The ceremony of sorts one of the Advocates performs in honour of those of their young that did not survive the conditions of the caverns.

• The reveal that Cash's informant is none other than Quinn.

• The seemingly dying alien fetus demonstrates that even it has superhuman strength when it grabs Suzanne, forcing Ironhorse to torch it.

Goofs

• When talking to Harrison about the alien transmissions sounding like baby talk, Norton is slumped forward when the camera is facing him, but is upright when it's facing his back.

• Randy Atmadja's first name is strangely misspelled as 'Handy'.

Quotes

• Advocate #3: We return thee to Mor-Tax. In the name of those who come and those who went before. To Life Immortal.

• Quinn: Come in and shut the damn door. Sit down, McCullough.

Cash: Okay. What the hell is this all about?

Quinn: Won't take long.

Cash: Hope it's not a bunch of hot air.

Quinn: Oh, give me a break, will you? Just 'cause Mozart had a funny laugh don't mean you can play the piano, wise guy.

Cash: Well... a little obscure, but in the ballpark. What was the message? Big story? Big scandal? So?

Quinn: So? So try a mega-million dollars last year, secretly funneled by the shadow government into one small, four-man operation. Nobody's ever even heard of it.

Cash: Well, what's this operation called?

Quinn: "The Blackwood Project". Beside this, Watergate is... bupkis.

Cash: How high up does this go?

Quinn: Try the President. He may have slipped out of Contragate, but this is a hell of a lot stickier. Oh, I've got facts, figures, you name it.

Cash: And what would your name be?

Quinn: Woodward and Bernstein didn't need a name.

Cash: You trying to tell me you're Deep Throat?

Quinn: You're asking too many of the wrong questions and not enough of the right ones.

Cash: Well, Mr. Throat... tell me, what does this Blackwood group really do?

Quinn: They're killing illegal aliens inside the United States, making them... disappear.

Cash: Death squads. Here in the U.S.

Quinn: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, hotshot. You interested?

Cash: Sure, but why me? Why not Woodward and Bernstein?

Quinn: Oh, don't get me started on those two ungrateful bastards. You're good, McCullough and you're hungry. Besides, the guy who writes out the checks for this project is General Henry Wilson. I believe you were related to him for about 20 minutes.

Cash: Yeah. Yeah. About the longest 20 minutes of my life.

Quinn: That's close enough. Then this is your lucky day. It could be worth a Pulitzer. Here. Take a look at this.

Cash: What the hell is this?

Quinn: Your ex-wife's a member of that team. The rest is for you to find out.

• Guard: How are you doing? Cold enough for you?

Cabbie: (possessed) We like it like that.

Guard: Uh, we're not open today. It's Sunday.

Cabbie: We'll wait.

Guard: You plan to wait here all day and night?

Cabbie: That's the idea.

Guard: (opens his jacket and puts his hand on a gun) I wouldn't do that if I were you.

Cabbie: Sure you would. (an alien hand bursts right out of his chest and writhes itself around the guard's neck with tremendous pressure as he proceeds to take over his body)

• Ironhorse: Mail call.

Suzanne: I'll take one. Present company excluded, of course.

Ironhorse: Excuse me?

Suzanne: Oh, Paul, why is it my jokes always send you into denial?

• Farmer: (possessed) Last load.

Guard: (possessed) Good.

Advocate #1: Excellent. In four days, we will be many.

Farmer: We are in control, Advocate.

Advocate #2: The Circle of Life must not be broken.

Farmer: We hear your command. To Life Immortal! (to the guard) They're safe here at this steady temperature.

Guard: We only need 72 more hours before the embryos reach birth.

• Cash: Tell me what you know.

Suzanne: I can't. And if I could... you're the kind of bastard that makes a case for divorce not enough. The only thing that's important to you is you. You would sell your soul to a get a story, you dumb son of a bitch.

Cash: Well, you know me, Suzanne. I will get the story. Now, are you coming with me?

Suzanne: You can go to Hell!

• Ironhorse: Have you ever seen anything like this?

Harrison: No, I never have. Whatever they are, these things are alive.

Ironhorse: Let's get out of here.

Harrison: No! I want one of these.

Ironhorse: What, are you nuts?! You don't even know what that damn thing is!

Harrison: We have to find out. That's our job, isn't it?

Ironhorse: All right. All right, Blackwood. You're taking full responsibility for this.

Harrison: Don't I, always?

• Quinn: It's your nickel.

Cash: Thanks for coming.

Quinn: I won't come here again. What's wrong?

Cash: I need confirmation.

Quinn: That's your job, hotshot, not mine.

Cash: You want the story told. I want to tell the story. But there's not a station or a newspaper that would publish without hard evidence.

Quinn: And you want me to get it for you? It don't work that way, buddy.

Cash: What do you know? I thought this was beginning to smell like a set up.

Quinn: Sit down, McCullough. Exactly what hard evidence did you have in mind?

Cash: You've got to get me inside the Cottage.

Quinn: Not possible. Then they'd have to kill you. I need you alive.

Cash: How reassuring. Well, you're gonna have to inform me of their next move, then.

Quinn: Why?

Cash: So I can film it and put it on the six o'clock news.

Quinn: (chuckles) Oh, old General Wilson will pop his cork over that one. Okay, you've got it, wise guy.

Cash: Good. You know where to find me.

Quinn: Mm-hmm.

Cash: I've got to ask you something.

Quinn: Hmm?

Cash: Why'd you tip Woodward and Bernstein?

Quinn: Hell, one term of "Tricky Dick" was bad enough. Two was impossible. But this is personal.

Cash: How personal?

Quinn: Lady business, sonny. That fat pig Wilson has taken big bites out of my private pie.

Cash: Same mistress?

Quinn: Mm-hmm.

Cash: Boy, no wonder you knew so much.

Quinn: This'll keep him busy, huh? Nail his butt to the wall.

Cash: Be a pleasure.

• Advocate #1: Is there no degradation too great?! No sense of morality present at all on this damned planet?!!

Farmer: But we did take every precaution, Advocate.

Advocate #1: Then how could this outrage occur?!

Guard: We cannot explain what has happened to the missing embryo.

Advocate #1: You idiots! It is clear what has happened!

Advocate #2: Only humans would dare to steal one of our firstborn.

Farmer: But who among the humans knows the eggs are here, Advocate?

Advocate #2: Whoever knows will return.

Guard: The Circle of Life is almost complete.

Advocate #3: Now it is too late to move our young.

Advocate #1: Then you must defend the embryos with your lives. Our future depends on it!

Guard and Farmer: We hear your command.

• Advocate #2: These humans are treacherous.

Advocate #3: We'll be doing a great service for the entire universe to kill each and every one of these revolting human beings.

Advocate #1: Death to all humans!

• Norton: What's happening?

Suzanne: I don't know, but there seems to be some kind of reciprocal response to the alien transmission.

Norton: Maybe it got too hot.

Suzanne: Low stable temperatures. That could be a good reason why they're using the ice house as a hatchery.

Norton: Okay. So what do we do now?

Suzanne: Better call Harrison and Ironhorse. If this thing is hatching, I could be midwife to a monster.

• Suzanne: Now you know.

Cash: I don't know anything anymore.

Suzanne: You realize that if you ever try to tell this story...

Cash: What story? You mean about aliens invading Earth from another planet? Who'd believe me? Hell, I don't even believe me.