Original subtitles

Hello, I'm Randolph Mantoo.

In this abandoned warehouse, deep in the heart of an American city, one brave

man will once again solve the mysteries that have perplexed us for centuries,

risking his life to reveal the secrets behind the world's greatest illusions.

Live.

He's the first magician ever.

to dare show us how the tricks are done.

But with that comes a price.

He must forever keep his identity hidden or run the risk of almost certain

death. He must become the math magician.

So, stay tuned.

In exactly two minutes, the mysteries of magic will be revealed.

Cut.

Melanie Cooper, I'm a publicist from the Fox Network.

I would never exploit this situation for promotional purposes.

Well, maybe you wouldn't, but he would.

I know him.

He once ran off man -toothed to tell the audience that the masked magician is in

so much danger that homicide detectives had to be standing by.

Got to admit, it's a real grabber.

Bye.

Hey, if you were any good at your job, you'd have thought of it first.

You are about to witness an astonishing illusion.

An arrow will pass harmlessly through the body of the math magician striking

bullseye behind him. And then, if he survives, he will share the secret

of how it was done.

To protect his identity, you will not see his face nor hear him speak.

The trick begins with his assistants dancing in front of him.

One of them hands him an arrow, which he stabs into the bullseye to show that

the sharp point is real.

An assistant gives him a rifle.

He endows it with magic powers.

Then loads a charge into it.

He ties a ribbon to the end of the arrow.

Once the arrow hits the bull's eye, he will use the ribbon to prove that it has

actually gone through his body.

Watch closely.

Maybe you can see how the illusion is done.

Here's a hint.

Ask yourself,

Why he's using a rifle instead of a bow to fire the arrow.

With his brother.

And the forged checks.

I had to kill him, Doctor.

But you would have gotten away with it, too.

If only you hadn't polished your fingernails.

Read her her rights.

Oh, make sure that she gets one of these pills three times daily.

That's the Dr. Danger pilot Phil Zarkin made last year based on your life.

That isn't anything like my life.

I know.

It's garbage.

That's why the network brought me in to revamp the whole thing. They have

tremendous faith in the concept, Mark, and enormous respect for you. They just

want to get it right.

I cannot tell you how relieved I am to hear that. I would have been so

embarrassed if they'd put that on the air. Of course. Of course you would. It

doesn't begin to capture the essence of what you do. Exactly.

Where's the humanity?

Absolutely. Where's the relevance?

Positively. Where's the sex?

Sex? This concept doesn't begin to capture the blood, the grit, the raw

sexuality that you face every day.

I don't face anything like that. I do.

You know what audiences are looking for today?

The remotes? No, honesty.

They don't want to be patronized. They can take it the way it really is, and

that's what we're going to give them. We?

Take a look at the new Dr. Danger.

He knew I was a hooker, that I'd seduced his wife, and that I was emptying his

secret Cayman Islands account.

He had to die.

You would have gotten away with it, if only you'd changed your perfume.

That's right.

I smelled it on the corpse at the crime scene.

And on you the first time we slept together.

Go ahead, baby. Pull the trigger.

But I promise you, before that bullet hits my skull, you'll already be dead.

I'm ready to die.

Are you?

Oh,

and make sure she takes two of these with water before every meal.

Well, don't thank me.

Actually, fixing it was pretty easy. I just imbued the show with an unflinching

realism, and then I combined the Mark and Steve characters into one dynamic

hero, your basic doctor with a badge.

I don't have a badge.

Well, you're a police consultant. Same thing.

I don't carry a gun, and I don't sleep with my patients.

What's important is that we imbued your character with a reality.

Look, I didn't sugarcoat this bullet.

That show is mindless. It's superficial.

It glorifies violence and demeans sex.

And that's exactly why NBC is putting Dr. Danger on at 9 opposite the hit

sitcoms on UBC and the freak show specials on the Fox network.

It's a disgrace to the medical profession, law enforcement, and

worth believing in. And I don't want anything to do with it.

You don't goose the fat lady when she's eating your pie in the sky.

That's a good point.

Okay, I want you to breathe for me.

Yeah.

Okay. Again.

I don't hear any pneumo, hemothorax.

Okay.

No, I can't reveal my identity.

That's why he wouldn't let me call an ambulance.

He was afraid they'd take the mask off.

Look, I won't tell you how to do magic. You don't tell me how to practice

medicine. Okay.

What's all this?

Oh, that's the secret behind the illusion.

The arrow's never supposed to leave the rifle.

There's a charge that creates a loud bang, a harmless puff of smoke.

Oh, I see.

So at that instance, somebody pulls on the fishing line and pulls this ribbon

out of the rifle and into this tube, and it looks like it went through your

body. Only this time, someone put an explosive charge in the rifle. Yeah.

They want to kill me for revealing these old tricks.

Well, another quarter of an inch, then, they would have, too.

You know, I can't blame them for being angry. Why would you want to take the

wonder out of magic? I love magic.

But it's a dying art, thanks to unimaginative magicians who keep

same old tricks.

There's no magic about getting this arrow out of you. It's going to hurt.

You ready?

Okay.

Steve, get him out of here, will you?

All right, back off. Everybody.

Get out of here. No, no, no, it's okay, it's okay. They're with me. It's for the

show. Well, the show is over. No, no, no, no, no, my other show.

Mamings, massacres, and practical jokes.

Just a couple of quick shots of the gruesome wound, and we're out of here.

you get in close. I don't want to miss that cry of agony.

Yeah, which is going to be yours unless you get everybody out of here.

Fourteen!

do that for he used to be my agent and then he became a producer and he stole

ideas i created the mask magician as a cop show not a reality special it's

totally different i can take this camera crew too he's a magic cop that pulls

justice out of his hat gee i wonder why nobody bought that nobody slides on my

gutter turf pal you can take that to the bank and smoke it

A spectacular accident on a lonely interstate sent three people to a fiery

grave.

But it was a minor fender bender compared to this bone -grinding smash

killed two cheerleaders.

All this and more tonight on Red Asphalt.

America's bloodiest car accidents.

Well, we feel we've created another reality special franchise for Thursday

nights. Now, combined with the proven appeal of its lead -in, maimings,

massacres, and practical jokes, we can deal a decisive blow against UBC's

Thursday night sitcom block in the key demographic, especially males 18 to 35.

Cheap male -skewing programs. I can never get enough of them. And

the success of The Masked Magician...

I don't think our audiences can either. Not all of them, Mr. Lustig. The viewers

for Better Television have branded our specials Trash TV and launched a

boycott against our advertisers.

Great. Publicity. And the hate mail continues to roll in.

Twelve thousand letters at last count.

Great. They're watching. I want four more Red Asphalt specials for sweeps and

two more Masked Magician shows. But, you know, bigger.

More dangerous.

You've got it. You know, it's going to be hard to top the near -death

of the masked magician.

It's a shame we can't capture that same jeopardy every week.

Mark!

Dirk Shaw, I'd like you to meet the real Mark Sloan. Whoa.

We're gonna spell Sloan with an E to make the character my own. Oh, I see.

Why are you wearing a lab coat? Oh, well, Jesse was showing us around.

Derek's absorbing his character. You guys are an hour early.

Let me see your piece.

I don't have a piece.

I got mine.

That's not loaded, is it? It is in here.

I see.

So, uh, shall we get started? Now, listen, thanks for lending us your boy,

He brings truth to the table.

Really. We better get moving. There's a lot to absorb. You know.

His script is going to be wrong, but I like it that way.

You're writing a script.

It's going to bring the show the sharp edge of reality and protect the

of the Mark Sloan character.

With an E.

Perhaps Dr.

Travis should work on his own integrity first.

Hey,

can I see your piece?

Well, as long as you keep that wound clean, kind of take it easy, I don't see

any reason you can't go home right now.

Well, I'm going straight over to the studio and start rehearsing for tomorrow

night's broadcast.

I don't think it's a very good idea. The masked magician's performing, despite

fervent protest from his team of top surgeons. Use it.

You just told me I was fine.

Yes, but I think there's a very good chance that whoever sabotaged that trick

going to try it again, and next time he may not be so lucky.

Daring death for you, the viewer. Use it.

If I was going to be scared off, I never would have done this in the first

place. Besides, I'm getting a big raise. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Oh, no, no. Not for

me, you're not.

Then I'll get it from GBS, where I'll be doing my next special.

Use that.

All right, all right, all right. Fine, fine, fine. You've got it.

But this stays quiet.

That's one secret I'll keep.

It's my identity I'm revealing on tomorrow night's broadcast.

What? You are going to get yourself killed. You are going to get this show

killed. My show's about revealing secrets. If I don't do this, I'm a

and a fraud.

Of course you are. You're on TV.

That's what people expect you to be.

You know, you obviously have no understanding of this business at all.

Besides, as long as I'm masked, I'm replaceable.

He understands.

I'm going to just assume it was the drugs.

You know, it's sad what's happened to television.

These days, it's all about ratings.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.

TV was supposed to unify us, to help us understand ourselves and each other

through intelligent programming.

You're serious about this, aren't you?

Well, my father was Pat Cooper.

Pat Cooper, the founder of NBC?

I guess Mamie's massacres and practical jokes wasn't exactly what he had in mind

when he started the network.

He saw television as a kind of window to the world.

He just didn't foresee how competitive the medium would become.

Pay -per -view, cable, home video, five networks, first -run syndication, the

Internet, all fighting for our limited attention spans.

Yeah, I don't make a mic your dad anymore.

What are you doing over at Pox?

I have to start at the bottom to get to the top.

What do you want to do, run a network?

Someday, if there are any networks left.

For centuries, audiences have been mystified and entertained by the amazing

feats of magic.

Each magician takes an implicit vow to never reveal the secrets behind those

illusions. But one man has broken that vow.

The masked magician will pay for his traitorous betrayal of the art of magic.

will make sure he disappears forever!

I thought you said this was a secret location.

It was, until Kent Bodine tipped him off.

Why would he do that?

Nothing like a little conflict to stoke the ratings.

Half those cameras are ours.

We're about to come back from commercial.

This is who I am.

Why have I revealed these secrets?

to reinvigorate a declining art.

By revealing these old tricks, magicians everywhere will be inspired to create

new illusions that'll dazzle and amaze us, keeping magic alive.

And now, I will put to rest one of the oldest illusions of them all.

The magician tests the spikes to prove they are real and waves his hand

underneath them to show there are no mirrors.

Let me assure you, the spikes are as razor sharp as they look.

The magician is strapped down.

And the curtain is drawn around the bed.

Notice the curtain doesn't reach the floor.

This is so you can see. He can't hide under the bed.

Where is he?

I don't know. He's supposed to be sitting on top of the platform.

I don't think I have to tell you because of Dad.

No. What went wrong with the trick?

Well, it's pretty simple, really. The magician is actually strapped down, but

all the straps are Velcro.

So he just sits up when the curtain comes down, rolls over onto this ledge

before the spikes come down.

Only this time, one of the straps is real.

Why would someone do such a thing?

Perhaps to avoid a hefty pay raise, and maybe to make sure that the last special

has the biggest ratings.

No, I meant why would someone else do such a thing?

You mean like the amazing Arturo?

Found him hiding in a crate back there, wearing that and holding this. You want

to tell us why?

Not without a lawyer.

Since Allied bottling bought GBS a year ago, we've allowed you to remain

autonomous, run the network your way.

And I appreciate that, Mr. Reese.

Well, we did that because we didn't understand the television business. We

don't. Well, it's not as easy as it looks.

You're at the mercy of a fickle audience, an amorphous culture, and

social landscape.

But it can be very rewarding.

Miss Simone, there is nothing rewarding about losing $150 million

annually. But one hit can change all that.

And I'm pleased to say that our development for next season looks very

promising.

We can't wait until next season to see substantial improvement.

But it takes a year to develop and produce a new series.

And virtually all of them will be canceled within the first 13 episodes.

But you keep putting programming out there and hoping that just one of them

last the season.

That's the television business.

Now I know why I don't understand the television business, because it makes no

economic sense whatsoever.

Perhaps it's time for you...

To see how we do things on the bottling side.

I don't see how the bottling business applies to what we do here.

Mr. Zand will show you.

He is your new vice president.

Of what is it again, Garth?

West Coast Operations.

Yes, right. West Coast Operations. And I'm sure that you'll find Mr. Zand will

be instrumental in devising new competitive strategies.

You two, um...

Should get along very well together.

I don't know anything about television.

But then again, I didn't know anything about hamburgers before we bought the

Burger Town chain. And now I can tell you everything about a double cheese

deluxe right on down to the number of sesame seeds on the bun.

Really?

So, at first you'll forgive me if I ask a few dumb questions.

Okay. Okay.

For instance, why aren't we first on Thursday night?

He's my wife on UBC at 9 p .m. It's been the number one sitcom on television for

the past five years.

Why are we second?

Because the freak show specials on the POC network are very difficult to

-program.

It's pretty hard to top a live murder.

Then why aren't we third?

Look, Mr. Zand, all we can do is put the program out there. The audience decides

what it is they're going to watch.

And that's the way it is.

Well, then it seems to me that's the first thing we have to change.

My lawyer advised me I should cooperate.

You hired the right lawyer.

You can start by telling us what you were doing hiding in a crate dressed as

executioner. And why we found one of the masked magician's assistants bound and

gagged in a storage cabinet.

Yeah, well, let me show you this.

My lawyer dropped it off to me. The masked magician's next illusion.

He taped all of his rehearsals.

This is called the executioner box.

First, the magician's hands are bound and he's blindfolded.

Then placed into the bag.

The executioner pulls the bag tight and locks it.

There are actually three people involved in this trick, besides the two dancers.

One is hiding behind the box when the trick begins, dressed just like the

executioner.

Now, when the woman dances behind the box, She stays, and the third person

dances out. While the third person dances, the woman switches places with

magician through a secret opening in the back of the box.

Then the third person dances behind the box, and the magician comes out in her

place, disguised in the executioner's robe.

Now, that's how the trick usually works.

But you were planning to incapacitate the magician when he came out of the box

and then replace him as the executioner.

I was going to whip off my hood and reveal myself and make a statement on

of the magic community against what he has done. Which means the woman in the

trick had to be your accomplice. Now, keep her out of this. I take full

responsibility.

Is that a confession?

Yes.

And also an alibi.

Yeah.

Why would he hang around to sabotage a trick when he had already rigged the bed

of spikes?

Exactly. I'd be an idiot.

Or else very clever.

Or you could have set this whole thing up just to rule yourself out as a

suspect. Yeah, well, unless you can prove that, I believe I'm free to go.

Just don't disappear.

So, where does that leave us? Well, right back at the beginning of the year.

They got us on an accelerated production schedule.

NBC's putting us on Thursday at 9.

9? Wow, that's the worst time fought on television.

You're going to be up against He's My Wife. But not against the masked

And against Red Asphalt, I think we're going to come in second.

All we need is promotable stories.

Think big.

Think bloody.

Think Hooters.

Hooters? Oh, yeah. I mean, that's one thing that Red Asphalt's not going to

have.

Welcome to Community General Hospital. Wow, it looks so real.

Yeah, it is.

Right down to the gum underneath the waiting room seats.

But what's the difference? No one's ever going to see it.

It permeates, baby.

The actors use it in their performances.

They absorb it.

You could have built a real hospital for what this place must have cost you.

Well, actually, this set was a redress from Beyond the Beyond.

It was the underwater sperm bank on Altair 2.

You don't build the sets from scratch?

You save money where you can. Actually, you know, some of these flats, they'd

ate back to Jake and the Fat Man.

Who's that?

Oh, now that.

That's Dr. Jesse Travis.

He told me I was a vibrant character with lots of levels.

Well, I never thought a woman would be sexier.

Particularly one with a black belt.

A doctor with healing hands and feet of fury.

A definite improvement.

Well, think big.

Think bloody.

Think Hooters.

Hey, what did the network make you do with her?

Well, actually, nothing.

She was perfect.

Well, excuse me. I'm going to go stroke the talent.

I just hope Mark forgives me for writing this.

I'm sure he will, as long as you don't make him look bad.

That's why I'm here. Burley insisted that I come here to ground the show in

reality.

White on the set.

And action.

Don't you worry, Timmy.

You're going to see tomorrow.

And a lot of tomorrows after that.

You'll know love, heartbreak, pain, happiness, that crazy kaleidoscope of

experiences we call life.

Because you're going to get that kidney, little man.

Or I'll give you one of mine.

And cut.

You can't get much more realistic than that. Except I don't think Mark has any

spare organs left to give.

See ya.

Excuse me, Melanie.

Hi. Hi.

Where can I find Kent Bodine?

Oh, he's in the editing room putting together the next episode of Maming's

Massacres and Practical Jokes.

What kind of people watch that stuff?

I don't know, but there are 15 million of them.

And all of them and probably a couple million more will watch just to see the

masked magician get murdered again.

He's going to use that footage?

The man has no shame.

That's what makes him a good producer.

Third door on the left.

Thank you.

You're using the Masked Magician's desk over here.

How can you do that?

You know, I keep asking myself that same question. There are a lot of complex

issues to consider here.

I mean, is it a maiming, a massacre, or a practical joke? Technically, they

would all apply.

Technically, you're headed for life in prison, no matter which it is. Shh, shh,

shh. Please.

What are you trying to do? Ruin my reputation?

Oh, I don't think that's possible.

I had nothing to do with what happened last night.

You're the one who told Arturo where you were shooting.

That's not a crime.

It is if you helped him get into that warehouse.

So what if I did?

That doesn't mean I killed the masked magician.

It suggests you were setting him up to take the fall for a murder that you

committed.

Mark, if I was going to kill the masked magician, I would have waited for at

least the second commercial break.

I mean, I wouldn't have sacrificed the entire second half of the show.

What has gotten into you?

What got into your coffee?

You are about to have a fatal attack of acid indigestion.

Derek Shaw is Dr.

Danger.

Chimp Channel.

Oh, it's just beginning.

It's so terrifying.

A flesh -threading collision that killed a family of three and their adorable

dog.

All this and more on tonight's premiere of Red Asphalt, America's worst car

crashes.

Maybe now you can appreciate Dr. Danger.

How? How am I supposed to get a date with a supermodel if they all think that

I'm your wife?

Who is that?

Jerry Lane.

He's the star of He's My Wife. It's the most popular show on television.

You know, there are other programs besides Baywatch.

Why was he wearing a dress?

Well, because Jerry's best friend has to marry within a year or he loses $300

million inherited.

What did television come to?

Well, it's getting to be murder.

You know, I don't think whoever killed the masked magician did it to stop him

because he was giving away tricks.

I think it's about ratings.

But the only one that benefited from those ratings was Kent Bodine. And

tried to kill him, too.

He could have staged the attempt on his life to throw suspicion off of himself.

I don't think so, because he didn't know I was coming.

And I think he would have done something a little flashier than just put acid in

his coffee.

Now, I think the sabotage and the killings are all about Kent Bodine's hit

specials. You mean his trash TV.

What are you doing?

Trying to capture your voices for my Dr. Danger script. So keep talking, but be

authentic. Jesse, you know that Dr. Danger has nothing to do with reality.

can you write for it?

You know, I think you're taking this a little too seriously. It's just

entertainment. I don't mind being an Asian woman with healing hands and feet

fury that fight injustice.

Why should you mind being a doctor with a badge?

You sound more like Jackson Burley every day.

Excuse me, everybody.

Want to make a toast?

To the guy who runs on the molten concrete to Destinyville in the shining

that reflects off the eyes of hope.

You're the best, babe.

That tore, Jack.

To the bone.

Well, everybody, I got places to go. Keep the flame burning.

Excuse me.

I hate to bother you, Mr. Shaw, but my little niece, Katie, would just kill me

if she knew that I saw you and I didn't get your autograph.

My pleasure. Here, just use my back right there. This is very, very

Okay. Yeah, well, listen, I thank you.

I thank you so very much.

Dr. Sloan. I always find that the character I'm playing, it's my thing.

Oh, and a dandy thing it is. I see that you, uh...

You've numbered it there, too. And that will be especially valuable five or six

years from now since it's the first one I've signed in this role.

Oh, you think you'd be lucky enough to stay on the air that long? I make my own

luck, friend.

Yeah, me too, friend.

I don't know. The scene where the guy gets hit by the bulldozer, you know? It

just kind of lays there.

Even more ER stuff, you know? Stat this, stat that.

More ER stuff.

Got it.

This guy, I mean, doesn't he seem kind of passive?

Well, you know, he was just run over by a bulldozer.

Yeah, I know, but he's just laying there with a tube in his throat.

You know, people seem to do that when they have massive internal injuries.

Look, suppose the moment that Mark Sloan turns away, this guy, delirious with

pain, sits up, and he snatches the E .T. tube out of his throat, and then he

sprangles the nurse with it.

And then, and then, Mark Sloan, he spins around. He hits the guy.

He drags him across the room to the table. He throws him down, straddles

and jams that tube back down his throat.

My God.

I don't think that's possible.

If you write it, it's possible.

Huh.

Ratings are here.

And we do. Kick -ass came in third.

Doesn't sound so kick -ass to me.

Well, he's my wife and pals on UBC as always in first place. The real fight on

Thursday night is for second.

Yeah, but Red Asphalt on the POX network came in second.

What a sickly little sharepoint. When NBC had Con Artist in there, they were

behind by ten sharepoints. Con Artist?

Yeah, Lee Majors is an ex -con whose jailhouse tattoos come to life and help

people. Yuck, it sucked.

Only lasted six episodes.

Nah, it's on the UPN network now.

You know...

When those freak show specials are gone off the pox network, we're going to be

second. What makes you so sure that those specials are going to stop?

How many car crashes can you watch before you're sick of them? What do you

suppose happened to the A -team?

Besides, the masked musician was Kent Bodine's real star, and he's dead, punta

de basta.

How fortunate for us.

Hey, that's TV, baby. You never know which way Lady Luck is going to spit.

just hope it's not in your breakfast.

Are you sure?

Okay. Yeah, thanks.

What is it?

Lady Luck just coughed up a heifer -sized spitwad and heaved it on my life.

Derek Shaw is dead.

I came up as soon as I heard. What happened?

Found a sports car at the bottom of a canyon up Mulholland this morning. Looks

like he took a curve too fast.

That's what it looks like. I'll bet you anything that's not what happened. No

signs of foul play so far.

But from my preliminary external examination, I'd say he died from

the crash.

You found nine ounces of scotch in his stomach?

Shaw was out partying around town pretty hard last night, celebrating the

premiere of his show.

He also has a history of reckless driving and alcohol abuse.

You got the top screen back yet?

Yeah, but I haven't had a chance to look it over.

Blood alcohol level .05?

What? No, there's nine ounces of scotch in his stomach. That's the equivalent of

six 1 .5 -ounce shots. Now, he should have had a blood alcohol level way over

.05%. But it's not.

Which means he was dead before that alcohol ever had a chance to get into

bloodstream.

Somebody poured that scotch down his throat.

Dr. Danger was murdered.

You know...

In a sense, that's me on that autopsy table. I have a personal interest in

seeing this case through.

Dr. Sloan solves his own murder. Sounds like a TV show. I better be careful or

Jackson Burley will use it.

You know, it takes me to the feeling that Shaw's death has something to do

a masked magician's murder. I just don't know how.

I guess you heard about Derek Shaw.

Yeah, I suppose you heard about Dr. Danger.

That's what you wanted to say? Yeah, they are now.

NBC is putting Dr. Danger on hiatus, which is TV speak for dead.

which means they won't be shooting my script.

Maybe you can write for another show.

Baywatch couldn't be too hard.

Maybe I can write for the show that's shooting in the path lab right now.

Hey, what are you doing?

Oh, hi. Could you give me a hand with this? It's stuck, I think. I will not.

This is a restricted area.

Well, I just want to pee.

You're going to display Shaw's corpse on national television?

Did you think about what his family might feel?

I'll make sure they get a cassette if they miss it. All right, that's it. Come

on, everybody out. I'll stick you in one of those drawers myself.

Come on, wait, please. Guys, you've got to help me. You people commit crimes

against common decency. I don't want anything to do with you. You know, I'm

victim here.

I catch you sneaking into the morgue again, you will be. Now get out of here.

Wait, my shows are only drawn like half the audience that the Masked Magician

shows did.

I mean, without it as a lead -in, my other shows are dead.

What a loss.

How about if you hire yourself another masked magician?

Yeah, maybe you'll get lucky and someone will try and kill him too.

Yes, maybe you will.

I think that's a good idea.

Whoever killed the masked magician is still out there. It'd be suicide for

another magician to take his place.

Yeah, but you know, it'd make a great special.

Yeah, yes it would.

Which is exactly why you have to do it.

Now the math magician will perform one of the deadliest tricks ever devised.

And if he manages to live, we'll show you how it's done.

Once again, the dancing girls.

Notice how they're all dressed alike.

This is important.

The math magician is tied into a straitjacket.

He is then put into a box.

The box is then sealed tight with screws and chains.

Now it gets deadly.

I can assure you these are real dicks of dynamite.

The suits they are wearing are standard bomb squad issues for their own

protection. No matter what happens, keep rolling.

And now, they light the fuse.

How'd you get in there?

Ask him. He almost got me killed.

You can only blame yourself.

If you hadn't tried to murder me the way you murdered the masked magician, you

wouldn't be in the box.

Now this is television.

How did you know it was me?

I didn't.

But I did know that whoever the murderer was would probably try again during the

only trick that really endangered the magician's life.

And I knew that the only way to sabotage this trick would be if the assistant,

who was supposed to secretly free the magician from the box, didn't.

Well, you didn't have to put me in the box instead.

Well, I didn't want to disappoint the audience. They tuned in for a magic

At least you care about the audience.

It's a lot more than I could say for Kent Bodine.

Is that why you killed?

For the audience?

For television.

It's part of me, part of my family.

My father didn't help create this medium so that it could turn into a freak

show. So they could literally take magic out of magic.

I had to do it.

Before they destroyed television.

Why did you kill Derek Shaw? Because he was distorting the view of medicine?

No, I didn't kill him.

Dr. Danger was pure entertainment, something my father would have embraced.

How did you get out of the box?

And how did you get her in?

Magic.

Mr. DeBona, we'll see you now.

I'm sorry.

Last night on the Fox Network.

Dr. Mark Sloan captured the Masked Magician's murderer live on national

television.

And they're planning on reshowing that show again tonight.

Our research department thinks it'll get a 45 share.

Yeah, but that's just a one -shot deal. It's not like they can turn that into a

series.

No, they can't.

But we can.

They don't know it, but they are running a promo for your new series.

Dr. Danger.

We've got the Mark Sloan TV series. Now all we need is a story and somebody to

star in it. You know, I've got a searing drama on tap from one of his sidekicks,

Dr. Jesse Travis.

Hong Kong tough, but smart and sexy.

And so's the script.

And I found a new series star that embodies the essence of Mark Sloan and

such sexuality, he pollinates the flowers.

Good. I want this in the air in two weeks. Can you do it?

You know what they say. If that rabbit won't run, get it out of the microwave.

Drama 1, pressure's falling.

Give me the headlines. We got a gang shooting, two bullets in the chest. He's

crashed twice on the way here.

I don't think even you can save him, Doctor. That's what you think. Out of my

way.

CBC. Right. Chem 7. Type and cross. One unit's a whole blood stack.

Get

his

blood type.

There's a kid upstairs waiting for a kidney.

And if there's a God in this world, we just found it for him.

Yes, Doctor.

Cut. And print.

All right.

Hey, so how's it feel seeing these old words come to life?

Well, those weren't exactly my worst.

And I didn't exactly like that scene.

Well, don't thank me for the tweaks. Now, the truth was there. I just found

for you.

I didn't know you were an actor.

Well, neither did I until today.

You know, I've always wanted to be an actor.

The scene is over. Shouldn't he get up?

He's a method actor. He's into his part.

I think his performance is almost too good.

What can I say? I've got a great eye for talent.

Somebody call 911.

Hurry.

Come on, kid. Get up. You're upstaging here.

Let's go.

These bullets were real.

You killed him.

Welcome home.

Tonight, maiming, massacres, and practical jokes.

A special chilling report.

Homicide in prime time.

Right now, you're probably sitting at home, expecting to be entertained.

Diverted from the stresses and irritations of everyday life.

It's your time to kick back and relax.

But for the people who work in this medium, this is no time to relax.

No time to let down their guard.

Not when violent death can strike anytime, anywhere, at any network.

In just this last week, one of the world's most celebrated magicians

a daring feat of legendary right before our live cameras.

Results, live TV, dead magician.

Derek Shaw, the lead actor in the new Jackson Burley series, Dr. Danger.

A young man on the fast track to startle.

Just the fast track to oblivion. Dead.

As did the ill -fated Dr. Danger itself.

Right here.

On the very first day of production, an actor dies along with

the show.

Both killed, ironically, by the show's own producer star, Jackson Burley.

For the viewer, television can give a sense of comfort, reassurance.

We watch as families resolve every conflict, police solve every crime, good

triumphs over evil.

And for every difficult question, there is always one perfect answer.

But for the producers who work in television, there is no answer to the

they're all asking.

Who is next?

No serial numbers.

Filed off.

And no fingerprints except for Burley's.

You know, Burley was the only one that handled that gun.

What about the, whatchamacallit guy? The prop man? Yeah. He claims he's never

seen it before.

So this was switched with the prop man on the set.

Which the prop man swears was loaded with blanks. And you believe him? I

his record.

22 years in the business without a single accident.

I don't think the word accident describes what actually happened on that

yesterday.

All right, thanks.

Bye.

Bad news?

NBC made it official.

Dr. Danger is DOA. Along with your television writing career.

I can't believe how unlucky one show can be.

I don't think bad luck had anything to do with it.

I don't know. Do you call two actors dying the same week on the same series a

joke of good fortune?

I call it double murder.

Morning, Pilgrims.

What are you in such a good mood about?

The wonderful deed you did for me.

Exposing my publicist as a murderer and saboteur.

Boy, you'd think with those skills she'd have been better at her job.

Anyway, thanks to you, I'm alive today.

Consider me thanked. I have to make rounds. Oh, boy, rounds, schedules,

patients, the endless 24 -7 world of medicine.

Admit it, Mark.

You're tired of the agonizing grind.

Tired doesn't really describe what I'm feeling right now.

What you need is a series.

I don't want a series. To be the host of monthly medical specials on the Pox

Network. Why not?

I'm just not cut out for hosting. Oh, come on. Yes, you are. Look at you.

You're a vuncular. You're sage. You're blessed with a strong jawline. You're

brimming with hostiness.

You know, I don't think any legitimate physician would want to be associated

with your trash.

This is not trash.

This is serious journalism. This is a public service.

What's it called?

Fatal facelifts. When plastic surgery goes wrong, wrong, wrong.

Amanda. Amanda.

I got this dynamite project in the pipeline. Are you ready?

Celebrity autopsies.

Steve.

I'm thinking of replacing the host of Red Asphalt.

Right demographic.

Wrong jawline.

Luann, I love your show. Luann.

Hey, Barbara.

Barbara, congratulations on the L .A. Critics Award. Barbara.

Excuse me. I'm looking for Mr. Jackson Burley. Mark.

Mark, over here.

A little trouble spotting you.

No kidding.

Even Jessica Fletcher couldn't spot me over here. Let's pull up and share a

room.

May I?

Mr. Burley, you look a little uncomfortable. Maybe we ought to get

table. Doc, I'm lucky to have this table. I'm Carney Morton in this town.

Carney Morton. That neat? Ah.

Well, they really can't bring you for anything. You didn't kill that man

intentionally. Well, that doesn't matter. Nobody cares if you kill an

But killing your own TV series?

Not a good career move.

You have dozens of hits to your credit. Surely they must be worth a lint in your

shorts. In this town, past glory is better than Betamax. And I hope this

is on you, because my platinum card's a little tarnished. Ah.

Well, I would appreciate it if you'd answer a few questions.

Well, this bear don't mind dancing for his meat. What do you want to know?

Who do you think would kill to get Dr. Danger off the air?

Anybody who hates me.

Any names come to mind?

You close your eyes, you pick up your fork, and you throw it.

Anybody you hit is on the list.

Except maybe him.

Friend of yours?

Right now, anybody with a series is a friend of mine.

Oh, who is he exactly?

Oh, that's Jerry Lang. Sorry, he's my wife.

Oh, yeah, I recognize him. He's the one with the dress.

You know, I gave that guy his first job in TV.

The third serial rapist on the season finale of Frank and Cop.

Hey, Jer.

Jer. Hey, babe.

How you doing?

I'm looking so tacky in a red valet coat.

Who was the best hitting with, Lane?

Ah, that's a point, man, for GBS. His name is Garth Zand.

The light bottling brought him in to back up Tanya Simone.

Can you believe it? Last week, that guy was in Newark counting bottle caps. And

this week, he's in the air breaking bread.

You know, before He's My Wife, I starred in a TV movie, The Seventh Fan.

I must have missed it. I'm sorry.

Oh. I played a psychic. I really got into it. Lived the role.

I swear I could see into the future by the time we wrapped.

What do you see now?

You trying to talk me into breaking my contract with He's My Wife and going to

work at GBS.

That is amazing.

Truly.

Do you always pick up on the talents of the characters you play?

I look great in a dress.

But I am not about to walk away from a hit show. Uh -uh. You may not

It's coming from Bartley.

But there is no faster way to get this town to turn against you.

Something you should understand here, Jerry. You see, I am not trying to talk

you into quitting He's My Wife. You're not? Oh, no. I would never ask you to do

that.

You see, we at GBS would prefer if you would quit television altogether.

Yeah, otherwise you might have to stop broadcasting on Thursday night, eh?

So to save your network, all you're asking me to do is to give up the fame,

money, the power... The barely legal gurus.

You are stuttering, Jerry.

But then I guess that's what comes from working all day and partying all night.

Who were you with last night, Jerry?

Was it Joan the brunette?

Or was it that blonde, Ellen?

Or the redhead?

What's the little redhead's name?

Ramona? Oh, she's a beautiful girl.

And smart. You see, they're all smart girls, Jerry.

You know them? Sure.

They all work for Allied Bottling.

Special executive secretaries.

You should take a peek at their resumes, but then again, I guess that you

already have.

You set me up.

You know, I always felt that I had some psychic abilities myself.

For instance, you know what I see right now?

I see you and your wife enjoying a very happy retirement.

Starting today, Jerry.

Looks like your friend Jerry Lane just got some bad news.

Yeah, his series picked up a 25 share instead of its normal 30.

Can you speak?

Turn around.

Jerry, Jerry, Jerry, listen.

UBC, I hear they're looking for a spinoff, and I got just the show, Jerry.

She's my husband.

Think about this.

She's my husband, Jerry. Get lost, Burley. She's my husband.

It's a good idea, Jerry. She's my husband. Think about it. It's good.

Mr. Lane seems to have something serious on his mind.

Well, that'll be the first time.

Lane, ankle, skein, web, scramble.

You want to translate for him? That means that Jerry Lane just quit He's My

and UBC is in a panic.

You know, I just saw him yesterday. He seemed disturbed.

Well, not disturbed enough to trade in his wig and frock for a career in

films.

No one at UBC can be pleased that Lane has abandoned the number one show in

prime time.

The linchpin to the network's Thursday night lineup.

Well, bad news for UBC, good news for everybody else.

What? Well, he and my wife gave UBC a chance to own Thursday night. Now that

that's gone, the night's up for grabs.

That's right.

Here we go.

Jesse's right. That's why Derek Shaw was murdered and why the gun was switched

on Dr. Danger.

I see. I'm right.

What exactly am I right about?

Somebody wants Thursday night badly enough to kill for it.

Surgeons, the elite of the medical profession, experts with scalpel, saw,

drill. We trust them with our lives and hope they know what they're doing.

Unfortunately, sometimes hope and trust clash with grim reality.

And the patient pays the price when operations go bad.

Wow. That is an all -new low for television.

Even for Kent Bodine.

Tonight's episode...

Lethal liposuction.

A teenager pays the price when her thighs collapse.

Where did you get this?

Kent Bodine sent it to me. He wants me to be his technical advisor while I have

a piece of advice for Mr. Bodine.

How about that?

Okay. Put it over here in the corner, guys, if you will.

What's that?

This is Thursday night primetime schedule.

They say the most watched night in television.

And the most lucrative. Millions of dollars spent on ads every minute.

Along with a life or two.

Yeah, starting with The Masked Magician.

And then NBC put Dr. Danger on the schedule.

Which was taken right off after Derek Shaw's murder.

And after Mark caught The Masked Magician's killer on national

brought Dr. Danger back to life.

Starring Jackson Burley.

who shot a day play for his first day of production.

Mm -hmm. Goodbye, Dr. Danger.

Which left He's My Wife on UBC as the highest -rated show on television.

Except the star opted for a sudden and unexpected retirement.

That's right.

Now, we're all looking at the same thing here. Yeah, GBS's lineup is still

intact. Allied bottling, I'll be glad to hear that.

Allied bottling? Yeah, Allied just bought a controlling stake in GBS.

Take a look.

The term multiple indictments was invented for these people. Multiple

indictments, but not a single conviction.

Sounds like Allied hired the right attorneys.

Yeah, or intimidated the right people.

Every time there's a trial, the witnesses suddenly tend to recant their

testimony or vanish.

Gosh, Zan is right in the middle of it, too. His name is on every lawsuit and

every indictment in here.

There was a driver's strike in 94, and there was an unfriendly takeover of

Burroughs Bottling in 95.

Mr. Zan must be some kind of a super corporate hatchet man.

Who just happened to have had lunch with Jerry Lane the day before he quit his

job. Well, that could be a coincidence.

Or it could be something else.

And only Jerry Lane would know what.

Lane and Garth Zand.

One more ah to do it.

Ah.

All right.

Prognosis? Very good. You'd never know a tomato went down the wrong way. You had

me come all the way down here just for a couple of ahs.

Well, I wanted to make sure you were all right.

Hey, you're good, Dr. Sloan. You're real good.

Oh, I've been doing this a long time. No, no, I'm talking about the Concerned

Physician Act.

Yeah, if I still had a show, I'd hire you when the right part came up. If you

still had a show, I wouldn't have had to get you down here on such a weak

pretense. Ah, yeah, now we're getting to it. What is this really about, huh?

Zand, what did he say to you at lunch yesterday?

Quit wearing a dress in prime time or I'll blackmail you into bankruptcy.

Oh, come on, don't look so surprised.

That is what you wanted to know, isn't it?

Why didn't you call the police?

Well, his threat just happened to coincide with a major career decision I

about to make anyway.

Why work the series grind when you can make 20 million doing just one movie?

that's not including the profit points.

Yeah, look, I'm already considering my first project.

Casablanca?

Rocky?

Chinatown? Haven't those been done?

Not with me.

Hey. Why take a risk doing something new when you can do something that's

already been done?

What about Zan?

Oh, he's into television.

I'm into movies now. He doesn't exist for me anymore.

Oh, gonna fly.

Somebody has to stop Zan before he hurts somebody else.

Well, whoever does it, you tell him. I'll give him two tickets to the

of my movie if he pulls it off.

Or to his next of kin, maybe he does.

This guy's pretty smart for an actor.

This is Brooks.

Lane just told everything to Dr. Mark Sloan. Oh, is that so?

What did he want?

No, no, no, I'll take care of it myself after lunch.

So, where were we?

You were about to offer me a deal.

Leave Fox and join GBS.

Oh, was I? Yeah.

You told me yourself you were envious of my ratings.

Well, they would look good on the GBS schedule.

Hey, they'd look great on the GBS schedule.

And I'd really like to help you out, but I just don't see how I can, can, can.

You haven't heard my offer yet.

An order of ten for when operations go bad.

Fox just bought full season.

Match it.

And I will throw in a guarantee for two more series.

Yeah, but can you guarantee to get me out of my contract with Fox?

Never met a contract that couldn't be broken one way or another.

Their lawyers are good.

Ours are better.

All right.

Let's say we can make a deal.

Where would you put me?

Lead -off slot Wednesday.

Against Cincinnati Law on POX and SFPD on NBC, my audience share would be like

minus one.

Well, then you pick your slot.

Any night of the week.

Guys, don't take this the wrong way, but any slot's the dead slot on GBS.

I really just... Let me see how we can make this work.

I'm very disappointed, Kent.

Well, no hard feelings, right?

No, no, no, of course not, man.

This business, nothing personal.

Exactly.

And hey, thanks for lunch.

Take a break.

Now.

There you go. Hey, you want a nice tip, my friend?

Don't bring the car back damaged, okay?

About the line, below the line, or just in line?

Pardon? Boy, if you are working anywhere but in front of the camera, you are

being wasted.

Nice chatting with you.

Is that a scratch on the hood?

Oh, man. Brand new car. They bring it back.

There's got to be some way to get to Zan. Well, if there is, I don't see it.

Jerry Lane won't talk.

And we can't connect Zan to Derek Shaw's murder. Or the gun that killed the

actor on the set of that Dr. Danger.

So where does that leave us?

Just trying to predict his next move, that's it. Like which actor he's going

blackmail next. Or which show he's going to sabotage.

Well, unfortunately, there are 96 primetime shows on the air right now.

Okay, got to go. All right, see you. 96 shows, that's a lot of potential

targets. It's just narrowed down a bit. What do you got? Belt mail, mid -40s. No

way, I'm a key demo, mid -30s. Severe body trauma, possible internal injuries.

We immobilize his neck, start on an IV, D5W.

Okay, on my count.

One, two, three.

Pressure once in over 70, pulse 80. And the type and cross, two units, whole

blood. And what happened?

Got hit with my own car.

I can't believe it.

Probably ruined the front end.

Well, cheer up. At least you've got another segment now for Red Asphalt.

Here's the doctor now. I'll get back to you.

How's Bodine?

Doesn't look like anything serious.

He's more worried about his car than anything else.

I'd be relieved to hear we found it in an alley six blocks away, wiped clean.

Any lead on the valet? Only that he signed on this morning using a phony

And he made sure he was the only one on duty when Kent asked for his car.

Efficient and professional. Just exactly the kind of operation Garcin put

together. But why get rid of Ken Bodine? One word.

Ratings.

Dr. Sloan.

Yes, hello.

No, no, I'm free.

Eight o 'clock. That'll be fine.

Yes, thank you.

That was Zen.

What? Inviting me to dinner.

You want to take a piece?

Do you have anything larger?

Forget about that overpriced, over -sauced junk that they serve at

This, this is real food.

GBS Jetstream just flew that in from Manhattan.

So go ahead, go ahead. Give it a taste.

Mmm, very good.

Mmm.

Little old guy from Okayama prepared that at a private club down on Fifth

Avenue. You hit town?

I'll take you down there.

I appreciate the invitation. Thank you.

And I appreciate Dr. Mark Sloan.

In between saving lives, he solves murders.

That's a real double threat.

Well, so are you, Mr. Sam. In between running a network, you solve problems.

Like Kent Bodine and Jerry Lane.

Well, maybe you could solve a problem for me.

See, I got...

A development budget that the Pentagon would envy if you got an idea for a TV

series. I can't help you there. I haven't a clue as to what makes a good

television show, especially these days.

Maybe you could sell me something else.

Your goodwill, for instance?

Not available.

Even if the transaction involved a corner office and unlimited access to

stream?

You know, Mr. Sanders, there's no place I really want to go.

I am happy being right here just doing what I do.

I see.

You get everything you need from saving lives, huh? Yes, I do.

That and solving murders.

I understand.

I'm very happy with my job, too.

More, um, fugu.

Fugu, as in poison pufferfish? Fugu?

I think beats it for flavor and charm.

Or lethal respiratory paralysis, if it's not prepared correctly.

Yeah, man.

What's life without a little risk, huh?

Old age.

Hey, Doc.

You get back to community general, say hello to Kent Bodine for me, will you?

Zand wanted you to jump network?

Yeah, I turned him down.

Next thing I know, I'm staring at the roof of an ambulance.

Did he threaten you in any way? Well, no, not in so many words, but hey, come

on. I say no to Zand. Ten minutes later, I got a tire tread across my chest.

Will you testify to that in court?

Yeah, sure. Right after I get done changing careers.

It's serious.

Don't you want to help stop the guy? Not as much as I want to keep paying

alimony to my three ex -wives.

Jackals.

Carrion eaters.

Bottom feeders.

Hey, wait a minute.

Those bottom feeders look familiar.

They should, considering you paid their salaries.

There was a crew for maimings, massacres, and practical jokes.

Well, what are you doing standing there? Get him back in here, will you? Hey,

fellas! Fellas, come on back!

Come on back!

Nurse! Can I get a nurse in here?

How'd the interview with Ted Bodine go?

Better than your dinner with Garth Zandt.

He refused to testify?

Yeah, which really doesn't matter, considering there's no evidence to

corroborate his testimony.

You're telling me that Zan's going to get away with two murders?

You said it yourself, Dad. Zan is efficient and professional.

And reckless.

What do you call a man who eats fugu?

Lucky if he's still breathing.

Well, I think it's about time his luck changed.

Dad, right now with what we've got, there's not a whole lot we can do.

Well, that depends.

On what?

On how creative we are.

Ah, steak tartare for lunch. A nice choice.

Would you like a...

29 share for dessert.

Well, you want to schedule a pitch?

You talk to Tanya. Not a pitch.

It's a question.

Who wears red, breaks into your living room, and carries a Glock 9?

If your kids are in trouble, you'll be there with eight vicious reindeers back

up.

Santa Claus.

Sergeant Santa Claus. A Christmas hero.

He's making a list. He's checking it twice.

Very interesting what you wrote. Hey, hey, hey, pal.

Hey, I didn't order that.

Compliments of the house.

Well,

doves are a time of flock. But a good martini in this town?

Rare as a hit series.

Ah, the amazing Arturo at your service.

Oh, gee, let me guess.

You got a magic show to pitch.

No masks, no controversy, and no dead bodies.

And no audience. You got nothing to promote, Jocko. Oh, but you haven't seen

lovely assistant.

Now that is what I call a demographic.

All right.

But the masked magicians already revealed all the good tricks, so what do

got left to show?

I can make her clothes disappear.

I'll drink to that.

When Allied bottling took control of GBS, this network's share of the vital

to 49 demographic was below a 2 .5. Now, it's hovering at a 3 .7. And

it's risen to a 4 .5 on Thursday nights.

Sybil Shepard.

Sybil Shepard is a proven commodity. Her past series have drawn strong in the

demographic we're looking for.

It is our contention that a new series with Miss Shepard, positioned at 9 o

'clock on a Thursday night, break us out.

Civil Shepard is safe and traditional.

I don't want safe and traditional.

I want dangerous, scary shows.

Water cooler shows.

The I -gotta -stop -playing -with -the -kids -just -to -watch -them shows.

that bring nasty letters and scare the sponsor shows.

Well, I would rather have scared sponsors than none.

This network doesn't have one series in the top 20.

Playing it safe is the same as playing it dead.

Give me something edgy.

Give me something with Howard Stern in it.

Give me something that makes them so mad that they have to watch it just to call

and complain about it.

Garth?

Are you all right?

Garth?

Garth?

Garth?

Garth, are you all right?

I can believe it.

Call 911.

Somebody call 911.

Garth, are you okay?

Can you hear me?

All right, come on. Come on now.

What's the matter? Can you hear me?

How's Mr. Thomas' level of consciousness?

He's responding to pain, but not really.

Well, considering he took 90 benzodiazepines, it's a miracle he's

pain.

Until his liver detoxifies, all we can do is run over to the background.

Help.

Whoa,

Suzanne. You had us nervous. We thought your heart stopped.

They reattach these leads. They don't attach anything to me.

Where's my clothes?

I'm going. You're going nowhere.

You're going to stay right in that bed.

What the hell am I doing here?

Your EKG shows a pattern consistent with myocardial infarction.

Wait a minute.

EKG?

Something's wrong with my heart?

You had a heart attack.

Bad?

Not so bad, what?

It's not good, but it's not too bad. There's no sign of arrhythmia or any

obvious discomfort.

In English.

Your heart's beating normally and you don't hurt, so you're out of the woods

now. For now?

What do you mean, for now?

If you want to avoid another heart attack, you'll take it easy and get some

rest. Oh, how much rest?

Well, we're talking about a week in bed and several weeks of restricted

activity, diet, and exercise.

Oh, come on, Doc.

I can't afford that much time away from my job.

After what happened today, I kind of doubt you have a job to go back to.

More likely you're going to jail, unless you've got the right answers to some

very tough questions about blackmail, extortion, and murder.

But right now's not the time to ask him.

Let's just get into the good part.

Well, unfortunately, we have to wait until he's out of recovery.

Get well soon.

What was that all about?

Jerry Lane.

I just assumed that's what caused the heart attack.

What?

Oh.

He's all over the news.

I'll let him speak for himself.

The former star of He's My Wife accused Garth Zant, GBS's vice president of West

Coast operations, of forcing him to quit the series. In a prepared statement,

GBS denied any knowledge of Zant's actions.

Yeah, give me an outside line.

555 -7674.

Executive offices, GBS.

Here's a Garth Zane. Give me Reese's office, extension 212.

Just a moment.

Mr. Reese is not available. Would you like to leave a message?

Give me Tanya Simone, extension 9.

Ms. Simone is not available. Would you like... How do you know she's not

available? You don't even try her off.

No, the answer's no. No pressure on Zan. Not with an interrogation. Not now.

It's been half a day.

It's still too early, Steve. He's not ready. I'm sorry.

Look, Ed, we haven't got a whole lot of time here. What happens if GBS gets

involved in this? I imagine Mr. Zan's asking himself the same question.

Hey.

Listen, I treat you to a gourmet meal and you repay me with this?

Well, I see the patient's mood hasn't improved any. How about his vitals?

Stable. And Dr. Tyson from cardiology had a look at him.

You recommend a heart cath?

Not yet.

All right, if there's no change in the next 36 hours, transfer him to a

telemetry bed.

You know, you really should give acting a chance, Doc. If I didn't know you

better, I'd swear that you were concerned with my health.

Well, I am.

But not just because you had a heart attack.

I'm not following.

You and I both know how efficient and ruthless your employers are at handling

problems. I say right now you're the biggest problem I got.

Seagull's X -rays.

He was tubular necrotic.

Uh,

place him on a sodium bicarbonate drip and update me on his condition every

hour. Oh, and Ann, can you look in on Thomas when you get a chance?

Ann,

can you give me a hand in here?

Sure, if you'll help me with Thomas.

Yeah, you got a deal.

Yeah.

Dr. Travis,

why don't you get the first card? I'll get it right away.

Nothing, no pulse.

Nothing.

No plot line.

All right.

Deep thin. Clear.

Clear.

Flatline.

200 joules.

200 joules.

Restart. Clear.

Clear.

Nothing. Flatline.

You wanted to see me? I'm in the mood to answer questions.

Why the sudden change in attitude?

Ask him.

And I arranged for a valet of my own to be outside, and I

hired him to run over Bodine.

And that's... that's everything.

Except corroborating evidence.

What? You got what? You got an hour's worth of confession on tape and you want

more? Mm -hmm.

Something to help us nail Allied besides your word.

Come on. I'm a sick man here.

All right, all right.

I got a safety deposit box over at EMI Trust.

It's got copies of Reese's, memos, e -mail, computer disks, everything

that you need.

Thanks. The district attorney will be in touch.

Hey, we're talking witness protection and immunity here, right? Don't worry,

you're protected.

And you'll get limited immunity.

The kind you get when two premeditated murders are involved.

Hey, I am a hired hand here.

Now, Reese and all those guys over at Ally, they're... Don't worry about them.

This is one time the indictments will stick, thanks to you.

Yeah, you're welcome.

Come on.

Come on. Everything's not working in here.

But where is everybody?

I like to see you looking so well, Mr.

Zand.

Your prognosis is good.

For 20 years in Folsom.

Welcome to the wrap party. Piece of cake?

All I want to know is how you pulled it off.

With a little help from his friends.

Starting with Laguerre yesterday.

And about 10 milligrams of diazocaine in your drink.

And if you want that in English, that's a good old -fashioned Mickey.

You know, it took several hours for that sedative to work its way through your

system.

And then when the emergency call came from GBS, we had alerted Central

to make sure that the right team of EMT showed up here, of course.

Our team. And they brought you down to the Dr. Danger set. Which Mr. Burley so

graciously lent us. Along with a little technical assistance.

More like a live video feed for our phony newscast over there. And a live

feed for the phone call you made.

Nurses station, do you require assistance?

Executive offices, GBS.

Very, very clever, Dr. Sloan, very clever.

Much more elaborate than anything I could have cooked up.

How did you come up with that?

Uh, television.

Television. Yeah.

I always loved Mission Impossible. I never missed an episode of that show.

Hey, did you see the one where the bad guy's lawyers get him off because of

entrapment? Yeah, but I wouldn't worry too much about the trial.

I'd be a little more concerned about what your employers might do to you if

when they see your performance.

Good point.

You got me. I know, I know.

You know, I think there's a series in this, Mark. Oh, please.

He's going to start up with this again now.