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Post by HoudiniDerek on Jul 14, 2006 13:55:09 GMT -5
I have always remembered this episode, especially because of the call sign of the aircraft. However, I hate that it is Pam whose life is in jeopardy again. She is just too convenient to have as that damsel in distress I guess.
I hate how the senator is hitting on her and asking her to dinner to talk about politics...and he assumes that she would run for school board or city council. A lot of lawyers run for the House or Senate, you know. That would be strike three after he did that foot-in-the-mouth bit with assuming that she was both a legal aide and a secretary.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Jul 14, 2006 14:14:37 GMT -5
I hate how Pam is both a victim and written to where she causes the disaster. Granted, Hasburgh writes her overwhelming a bad guy, but he blows a hole in the airplane window and that depressurizes the plane, making it crash. (No shots were ever shown hitting the plane from any of the fighters after all). It made her seem very incompetent overall. Not a good episode for Pam, although not a horrible one overall.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Jul 14, 2006 14:21:43 GMT -5
One thing I hated about the episode was how gushy Pam was over the cat. You never see her that way with an animal...even Desperado was not treated like a toddler. And we never see it again. Bad writing for Pam.
Also, the scene with the students was good, if forced. Cyler and Rhonda kicking butt while Tony barely floats. Although, the only tie-in was Ralph spelling appaloosa like Tony spelled spectacular. Not good tie-ins in this episode.
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Post by missdavidson on Jul 16, 2006 22:42:57 GMT -5
I'm not overall impressed with this episode. I didn't care much for Lefty at all, save for Ralph's singing (at least until I got my hands on the songs from Billy Katt's Secret Smiles. . .LOL) And I do think the whole innuendo with what the cowboy was thinking of Bill and Ralph in the park (shush, HD, no they were NOT!)was funny. But I do have to give props to the new superpower and the way in which it was used. After all, Pam would have died. I just think the writers could have been smarter about the whole scenario.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Jul 17, 2006 13:07:17 GMT -5
I actually like the episode overall...I have remembered it for years. I just hate how Ralph got precognition based on Pam trying to take charge and failing to save herself. Why couldn't the senator or the guy she was working for have caused the disaster and not her? After all, it never shows the fighter pilots hitting the plane, so we can't presume that is what caused the plane to go down.
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Post by missdavidson on Jul 17, 2006 22:08:52 GMT -5
Exactly.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Jul 17, 2006 22:14:56 GMT -5
Plus, she could have helped Ralph when the bad guy came out to beat him up while climbing in the plane. She could have done SOMETHING to help the episode instead of causing a disaster.
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Post by melmac on Aug 2, 2006 0:56:01 GMT -5
I hate how Pam is both a victim and written to where she causes the disaster. Granted, Hasburgh writes her overwhelming a bad guy, but he blows a hole in the airplane window and that depressurizes the plane, making it crash. (No shots were ever shown hitting the plane from any of the fighters after all). It made her seem very incompetent overall. Not a good episode for Pam, although not a horrible one overall. Speaking of which, why weren't they all rendered unconscious (save Ralph of course b/c of the suit's protection) when that happened? When a plane depressurizes, the oxygen masks drop down so the passengers get air and not pass out or die. But, in the scene you when Ralph enters the plane, only the senator and his assistant (? been a while) are out cold. (Speaking of which, how does the one who gets sat on by the bad guy after Pam beans him, get knocked out from that?) You have Ralph punch out the one bad guy's lights then pick up and toss out the two good guys, then pick up Pam in a piggyback ride then jump out of the plane, taking flight. When they crash, Ralph has Pam hop off so he can catch the other two men. Makes no sense other than to have a conveniant plot point (ergo, don't see the suit) The jet fighters do shoot at the plane, and you see the altitude gears drop down drastically afterward, hence why I believe they were shot down. Despite the obvious safety hazards, you don't see a door open when the jet is out of control in the precognition. I will concede, however, Pam didn't help out much with it. And, I only know how to spell appaloosa only because I rode a stubborn one in my horseback riding class in college. It's not easy to spell unless you have one stomp your foot, have you chase him around the corral before he'd let you catch him, and on your final, let you catch him, groom him, saddle and bridle him, only to start limping when you take him into the center of the ring (he was really hurt though). Worse, when you're riding a new horse for the final, everytime you pass your horse, he's nodding as though laughing at you. I do like Pam in this though because she does try to get the bad guy... just in a bad way.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Aug 2, 2006 7:46:16 GMT -5
Tiny passenger planes like that do not have the same oxygen pressure requirements as normal airliners as they fly so much lower. They don't have the same lack of oxygen. Plus, the plane was just barely clearing the mountains, so there should be no need for the masks...as most people could breathe at those heights. Pam knocks the guy into the weak senator's lap, but it looks like he sort of punches him as he falls. Besides, that he had taken some pills and might have been on the verge of drowsy anyway. Maybe he just fainted with all the excitement. The other guy got beat up when the bad guy came back to his feet. (I don't know how you missed that). And I know the fighters shoot AT the plane, but you never see the bullet holes or anything, causing me to presume they missed. Of course the landing gear could have come down because the pilot realized that he was going to have to land, especially after another hole was opened in the aircraft when Ralph came in the door. If the fighter planes hit it at all, there SHOULD have been noticeable damage. As for the precognition, when Ralph gets the image, he had not saved her yet, and that was the future at the moment, which is why the door is still closed. Again, no visible damage so we presume that the hole in the plane caused the rapid descent and actual extermination of the plane and its occupants. Is that the only reason you knew how to spell it? Oh where are the spelling bees of old to improve someone's education? Not TOO old for that are you, MelMac?
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Post by melmac on Aug 2, 2006 12:01:58 GMT -5
Well, that does explain the bit about why they were still conscious, thanks. It did confuse me a little when I thought about it and that clears it up. I knew how the other guy got knocked out (gets punched and then hits his head on the luggage compartment as he fell.) It was the one the bad guy sits on after getting hit with the first aid kit that was confusing to me. I should've clarified in regard to the dials. It's the altitude and horizon dials that sharply drop after being shot at by the jets. The landing gear doesn't drop. If it did, they might've been able to land despite the trouble (would've been difficult and might've had same result, but you don't know). Speaking of precognition too, Ralph mentions they were all dead at the wreck ... why doesn't he see Pam's body there? Only things I can think of are: they were burned beyond recognition, or conveniant plot point. And, yes... we had spelling bees in my day and age. I was in one in the fifth grade, but lost out in prelims on the word "gentlest." Now, I can spell the word, though I have no idea what it's used for now.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Aug 2, 2006 12:31:07 GMT -5
I think it just dropped...maybe to evade the fighter planes, but more likely because the pressure was suddenly affected by the blown-out cabin window. The scene is not well edited, but if you watch carefully, it looks like it was due to the window, not the fighter planes. As for the bodies, Ralph said the pilots were both dead...he managed to recover this. And Pam might have been burned that badly. Besides, even if she was face down, he might not recognize her since he did not expect her to leave town suddenly. I got second a couple of times in a row...lost to different people on different words. INFALLIBILITY did me in for the final time.
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Post by melmac on Aug 2, 2006 12:54:59 GMT -5
Infallibility, huh? Talk about irony. And, given some of the words they use in the national tournament, I'm wouldn't be surprised if the word they used in the GEICO commercials wasn't a real one. Yeah, you're right about Ralph mentioning the pilots, but he does say everyone's dead, so my guess is that Pam's body in this case was either badly burned or messed up to be unrecognizable. If she wasn't obviously dead, he'd check her carotid for a pulse, and that'd probably reveal her face, hence being recognized as Pam. If it wasn't, Ralph'd react in some very bizzare ways and they firefighters would've had to restrain him. This of course would be a problem with him in the suit, so he'd had to do something like faint from hyperventilating too much in panic. Good thing Bill would be there to explain off Ralph's reaction.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Aug 2, 2006 14:02:38 GMT -5
I know he says everyone is dead, but he might be presuming that since he knew the pilots were dead. If they did not survive...and he sees no one, then he might just say that they all died. And if she was face down, he COULD check her wrist...and not need to turn her over. I think that plot point is fine and well-established actually.
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Post by melmac on Aug 2, 2006 15:26:36 GMT -5
I agree... but it's fun to debate with you on these issues. It made for one of the truly creepy scenes in the series. The other one that really spooked me was the whole voodoo bit up to Pam nearly being beheaded in "Chicken in Every Plot" Her going from screaming to quiet in a split second. I've always wondered if she was given tainted blood on her face or if it was some sort of topical narcotic laced in the blood that affected her that way.
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Post by HoudiniDerek on Aug 2, 2006 15:28:59 GMT -5
Probably a sort of inhalant...could have even been on the hands that held her or the rattle in her face. Probably on the blood too. The rest would have been the power of suggestion.
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