Difference between revisions of "Episode ABC.2.2: "Deities""

Revision as of 20:59, 25 March 2015

The second episode of the ABC series' second season set a high bar by taking on that old-time "electronic religion"... in Max's time and our own.

Synopsis

20 minutes into the future, it's time for the weekly broadcast of the Vu-Age Church's program "Save Yourself" - "modern religion for the video age" on Network 23. Church leader Vanna Smith is making a hard pitch for five million credits in donations to keep their research into resurrection technology going. It's an effective pitch: first we see a woman making a donation while visiting her "stored" husband, then none other than Network 23 board member Gene Ashwell.

Murray, on the other hand, smells a scam - or at least a story. Vu-Age has gotten too big, too fast, and on promises that have to be bogus. Theora fervently agrees, but Carter is curiously reticent - he doesn't want to waste his time on such a canned story. Murray twists his arm, and he reluctantly agrees.

Carter's odd reaction gets Murray curious, and he quizzes Theora and then Max about Carter's religious beliefs. According to Max, Carter doesn't have any strong feelings on the subject, making his reaction even more inexplicable.

Carter enters the Vu-Age Church's temple to a room labeled by a bronze plaque as "Knocking on Heaven's Door," and begins interviewing a woman who is talking to a video simulacrum of her deceased husband... which only she seems to find convincing, as it repeats the same phrase over and over. Carter is accosted by a Vu-Age rep who escorts him to an office and answers some questions, then lets himself be arm-twisted into calling Vanna Smith, who, Carter assures the rep. will want to see him.

Smith appears from a side door and greets Carter... with a slashing right hook. It turns out that Carter's problem is that he and Vanna had a three-year-long affair some time back, one which was characterized by fighting and ended on a fight. Smith is quickly apologetic for her punch, and soon Carter ("off duty") is grilling her about how the girl he knew turned into such a con artist. But Vanna sticks to her guns and defends her position, claiming that both she and Carter ended up in the same place - the "reassurance racket."

Carter talks with Bryce about the process as Bryce's current experiment is literally backfiring. Bryce assures him that "being cortically scanned and stored" requires a computer the size of Network 23's, and that the Vu-Age Church could be storing only the most rudimentary form of a client's personality.

Back in control, Murray confronts Carter and wants to know why Vanna White reacted so strongly. Carter brushes him off and says he'll get his story... "Trust me." Murray calls after him, "Can I...?" and proceeds to confide the problems in Theora, who turns to Max. Max confirms a three-year bout of dorm-room thrashing, but Theora wants to know about Carter's feelings for Vanna White - was he in love? Max confirms that - amid continuing fights - Carter's feelings were very strong.

Carter begins recording his story, calling Vu-Age and Vanna Smith on the carpet for fraud. Theora is concerned that Carter has lost his objectivity, and convinces him to let Vanna Smith see the story before it airs, to give her a second chance. Over another candle-lit dinner in Edison's apartment, he tells her he's breaking his rules, but wants to show her the tape. She says he's changed, from a lover to a muckraker... and decides to pass on seeing the tape. Which suits Carter... and they end up in bed again, instead.

"arter wakes up alone, only to get an urgent call from Theora: Max is missing. Conferring in control, he, Murray, Theora and Bryce figure out that someone came in the night and took Max out of the system... which can only happen with his compliance. No one can get Max out of Network 23's system... but Max can put himself into a travel computer, apparently leaving "most of his programming - like your body without the brain" behind. Bryce establishes how unique Max's creation and being are - he is "one of the most complex pieces of computer software anyone is likely to create." He even has a "daytime serial" module to keep writing himself.

Theora figures it out: the Vu-Age Church has him. Max is important to Edison... important enough leverage him against the pending story. Carter startes to leave, to confront his "old ex-friend" Vanna Smith... but Theora stops him, saying his personal feelings are getting in the way. Carter makes it clear that personal feelings always drive him... and goes.

The Network 23 board is concerned with eroding demographics for the top-rated Polly show - they're losing the 5-11 year olds. Maybe younger writers are the key? (No, says Cheviot... use simpler writers.) In other business, the Vu-Age Church show is trending upwards... and Ashwell suggests it's a mistake to let Carter run his exposé that evening. Cheviot laughs at the notion he can control Carter's stories. After all, as Lauren points out... if there's a knock-down fight between these two ratings leaders, the winner is still... Network 23. And then they're back to the Polly show... and its cost overruns.

Bryce is explaining the timeline of Max's disappearance to Carter and Theora... at five p.m., Max was there; when he checked at three a.m. ("instead of a night on the town, right?" Carter cracks) he was gone. Using the usual securicam recordings, Bryce tracks a shadowy figure taking "Max's CPU" and entering an elevator. He tracks them down to loading Max in a car, but nothing is identifiable - no license plate. Bryce backtracks to before the theft, and catches the thief entering the data center. Someone else is lurking in the shadows, and Bryce zooms in to show... board member Gene Ashwell.

Carter corners Ashwell in the network boardroom and shoves him back against the table. "Where's Max Headroom?" he demands. "At the temple," Ashwell answers. He was helping Vanna Smith... after all, he owes loyalty to his church. "Which obviously takes precedence over your loyalty to Twenty-Three," Carter growls. Ashwell admits to a momentary crisis, but insists that Max is network property - and what's good for Vu-Age is good for Network 23. Carter spends network credits attacking sponsors, and thinks it's important; well, says Ashwell, Max Headroom is important... to Carter. It's the story... or Max.

Max is holding court in rare fashion from a Vu-Age viewing terminal as two shocked church members wonder about his primitive template... "He must have been one of the early ones," they whisper. They leave, and Vanna Smith slips up to talk to Max, finding him amazing, even by her standards... and finding how much he's really like Edison. "It's almost as if he sent you," she says... and Max just giggles.

In control, Theora confronts Carter, who is intent on running the story and "chasing these money-changers from the temple"... even at the risk of losing Max. She again points out that his relationship with Vanna Smith is clouding his judgment. "But she used me!" he explodes, proving her point. "And you never used her?" Theora counters.

At the Vu-Age temple, it's a three-way standoff between Carter, Max (on a timer to destruction at eight o'clock, with just minutes to go)... and Vanna Smith, on her broadcast. They argue about fraud vs. faith, and how Carter doesn't have a lock on the truth. The counter ticks down. And then it's Max who chimes in to preach at them, from an inside perspective... and Vanna Smith gives in. She has the timer stopped, just seconds before it runs out... and Carter's story runs, on time. The avatar of Humphrey Marx has the last word, repeating yet again... "Yes... it's wonderful, isn't it!"

With Max back in Network 23's computer, he admits to both telling Theora Carter was still in love with Vanna Smith, and to letting himself be kidnapped to save Carter from himself... and from Vanna Smith. "She vas bad for you," he intones, Freud-like. "I guess you saved my soul," Carter admits. "And without asking for any donation," Max counters... and excuses himself to preach to his flock.

Notes & Commentary

Although the script for this episode tries to deal equitably with religion, it becomes one of the hardest-hitting shows, taking on the flim-flam nature of most television evangelists. (This was on the heels of the Jim Bakker/PTL scandal, so the audience was perhaps ripe for such a take.)

It seems evident that Vanna Smith is named after "Wheel of Fortune" gameshow hostess Vanna White, who began her long tenure as letter-turner in 1982. One of the opening shots, of a stained-glass window, strongly resembles the "Wheel" as well.

Although the Vu-Age Church makes no direct connection to any real religion, the Christian connections are strong, starting right from the opening lines, about the "rapturous day" when... Vu-Age Labs will be able to restore believers to real bodies.

This may be our first good look at a credit-tube terminal and its circular keypad (used by Mrs. Marx), and at the small hand-held terminals (as used by Gene Ashwell).

The name Marx (Jennifer and Humphrey) can't be a coincidence in this context. (It is definitely "Marx," not "Marks" - we see it on Theora's screen.)

The faces we see on the various "storage" monitors in the Church temple are not credited and may be show crew or other inside jokes.

Why is it that Vanna Smith is one of the "chosen few" to Max? Has Carter not had very many lovers in his life? Or is it that she was somehow special otherwise?

In Bryce's lab, Carter is playing with a small stuffed fish, which Bryce snatches away. Is this a riff on the Christian fish symbol? And what about the plasma sphere - just set coolness (when such things were new)... or another religious reference?

"....Your mortal remains go into recycling..." Are burial and cremation things of the past?

More than on most episodes, we see many uses of the telephone/videophone... all with wired handsets.

When Carter leaves for the Vu-Age Church after Max is stolen, he calls out "Roddy" or "Ronnie" - to whom? Ron the technician? A helicopter pilot we don't otherwise meet? In any case, the next scene has Carter and Theora conferring with Bryce.

Actress Dayle Haddon (Vanna Smith) is ten years older than Matt Frewer. The Canadian beauty has done nude roles, and has two appearances in Playboy (April and December 1973).

Ashwell's treason goes unpunished, as far as we know. He must be very wealthy or have powerful supporters...

Opening Credits

This episode uses the standard second-season opening credits.

Subliminal Credits

This episode has no subliminal credits in the Zik-Zak montage.

Quotes & Caps