War of the Worlds/The Second Seal

The Second Seal
Season 1, Episode 7
Airdate	November 7, 1988
Written by	Patrick Barry
Directed by	Neill Fearnley
← 1x06 Eye for an Eye	1x08 → Goliath Is My Name
War of the Worlds — Season One

The Second Seal is the seventh 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: Lynne Griffin (Amanda Burke), Greg Morris (General Masters)

Also Starring: Michael McKeever (Lt. Hamill), James Kidnie (Captain Murphy), Anne Farquhar (Newswoman), Kirk Dunn (Hancock), Miriam Newhouse (Ellen)

Featuring: Roy Lewis (Camerman), Paul Eves (Alien MP/Courier), Wally Bonderenko (Officer at the Bar), Todd Schroeder (Guard)

Uncredited: Richard Comar (Advocate #1), Ilse Von Glatz (Advocate #2), Michael Rudder (Advocate #3)

Plot Overview

The Blackwood Project visits a military base after learning it houses alien artefacts and relevant documents pertaining to the 1953 invasion. Their search efforts are interrupted when they find that aliens have infiltrated the base with their goal being the retrieval of a list containing every alien dumpsite in North America.

Notes

Teaser Quote

"Contact with that crystal is effecting your behaviour!"
"I'm in total control, Suzanne."

The Number 23

• The first vault is 23-A-46

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• A tissue sample is discovered that is still exhibiting cellular activity after nearly four decades.
• The army had alien artefacts and documents on the alien invasion under the name Operation Deep Ice, but was deliberately filed under misspellings for the sake of security.
• Operation Deep Ice included a list of 10,000 stored away alien remains. It's unknown what has become of it.
• The alien crystal, while demonstrated to be a nonlethal weapon when exposed to light, also effects human behaviour when contact is made. This adds some credence to the theory that the aliens maybe responsible for inducing memory loss.
• Alien possession seems to have some effect on the host body's voice as the voice recognition system seems to be able to detect that it isn't the real thing.

Characters

• Contact with the alien crystal has an adverse effect on the personalities of Harrison and Suzanne. Harrison is transformed into a macho, rude, meat-eater. Suzanne, often accused of being uptight, loosens up considerably, acting like a teenager.

Trivia

The Show

• This episode confirms that the Cottage is based in San Francisco.

Behind the Scenes

• This is the third consecutive episode in which Comar, Glatz, and Rudder are uncredited as the Advocacy. However, unlike the other three episodes, they don't have a lot of screen time. It seems unlikely too much material would have had to be cut to make room for their single scene.

Allusions and References

• Burke's identification password is "Yabba Dabba Do", a catchphrase by the character of Fred Flintstone of The Flintstones. Hamilton seems to be a Michigan state football fan, as his password is "Go Wolverines".

Memorable Moments

• Ironhorse singlehandedly cleans up the base.

Goofs

• During the exchange of gunfire between Ironhorse and an alien, a door to Ironhorse's right can first be seen swinging shut, then open and motionless in another shot, then finally shut in another.

• When General Masters destroys one of the timers, the soldiers standing nearby and the papers littering the ground change between shots.

• As the abovementioned timer vanishes, you can see Masters' arm slightly shift, giving away the special effect edit.

• In the closing credits, Roy Lewis' character is spelled "Camerman" rather than "Cameraman".

• Wally Bondarenko's last name is misspelled 'Bonderenko' in the credits.

Quotes

• Newswoman: (possessed) General. Any statement on charges the army's secretly storing highly toxic materials here at Kirby Hall?

General Masters: No statement, ma'am. Nice legs, though.

• Norton: Well, that's the scary part, Doc. Secrets become so secret that you can't even find them anymore.

Harrison: Yeah? What are you gonna do about it?

Norton: Nobody, and I mean nobody, can hide anything from Norton Drake.

• Harrison: Wow! After 35 years, this alien tissue sample is still alive?

Suzanne: Not in a heart beating, conscious kind of way, but, yes, there is definitely some cell activity taking place here.

Harrison: That's incredible.

Suzanne: Incredibly frightening.

• General Masters: (possessed) We need your assistance, Advocate.

Advocate #1: What is your status?

General Masters: We have secured the archive facility. Access to the underground vaults is impossible because of a voice lock.

Advocate #2: Their locking device must recognize our presence within.

Advocate #3: You must get that list!

General Masters: As you command, Advocate. (to Lieutenant Hamill, who is also possessed) Use the woman.

• Harrison: If they get their hands on that technology, it's going to be like the breaking of the second seal. It will be like the apocalypse unleashed.

Suzanne: You don't have to be so melodramatic.

• Guard: (possessed) No admittance, sir. Top security.

Ironhorse: No problem. I have a pass. (proceeds to bury his knife into the guard's gut)

• Ironhorse: Are you aliens?

Harrison: Are you?

Suzanne: Well, if you have to ask, nobody is.

Ironhorse: You're probably right.

• Harrison: You really kicked some alien butt in here, didn't you?

Ironhorse: What? Give me a break, Blackwood, please.

Harrison: No, I'm serious. I think I'm serious.

• Harrison: Where are we now, Suzanne?

Suzanne: Somewhere between scientific observation and... coming down.

Ironhorse: Are you two sure you're not aliens?

Harrison: That's a pretty interesting effect that crystal has on primal behaviour patterns, isn't it?

Suzanne: Interesting is hardly sufficient. I saw a part of myself I hardly knew existed.

Harrison: I know what you mean. I felt like...

Suzanne: Like Ironhorse?

Harrison: You're right... a little.

Suzanne: And I was...

Harrison: Maybe just a little bit looser.

Suzanne: Meaning I'm uptight?

Harrison: Meaning... where are we now?

Ironhorse: What the hell are you two talking about? I hate to interrupt this cozy conversation, but can someone please call me an ambulance?

Suzanne: You're an ambulance. (catches herself) Sorry. Crystal.

• Harrison: It's empty. The list isn't here.

Ironhorse: List? What the hell are you talking about, list?

Harrison: Dumpsites, Colonel. Dumpsites containing the remains of 10,000 aliens.

Suzanne: But if it's not in the tube, where is it? Who has it?

Harrison: I don't know, Suzanne. Maybe it's still in the vaults. Maybe it's destroyed along with everything else. Maybe... God, we'd better pray that it is.