seaQuest DSV (1993) s01e17 Episode Script
The Stinger
Tonight on seaQuest Now, these are performance trials for UEO's single-seat underwater submersible.
Minimum top speed, I can beat this.
Just stop the hot-dogging.
I'm getting a little shimmy.
Somebody stole the prototype.
Lucas! Boy, that's fast.
Good work.
Thank you, sir.
I think we conquered the drag problem.
It can go faster.
Hold your breath.
I've been holding my breath since we got into this thing.
A little more throttle.
Unbelievable! This is a great ride! Hey, stop the hot-dogging.
Come on, Captain.
We designed it for this! It's a prototype of a prototype.
It's held together with baling wire and duct tape.
Now cut the acrobatics.
Yes, sir.
We're testing speed, Lucas, not maneuverability.
I'm showing 95.
The speedometer's way off.
I got you at 110.
It'll do 150.
Now, come on.
Captain.
Hydrogear lab is supposed to have tested to 120.
That's what their press releases say.
All right, 120, but no more than that.
Say thank you, Lucas.
Captain's giving you 120.
Thank you.
On my mark.
Straight line, now.
No turns.
Yeah.
Straight line, no turns.
It's fast.
It's gonna be hard to hit.
I can hit it, but how hard do you want it? Just disable it.
We need the technology.
I'm getting a little shimmy.
Well, slow it down.
Okay, it's smoothing out.
Very cool.
Slow it down, anyway.
Lucas! Lucas! Lucas! The 21st century.
Mankind has colonized the last unexplored region on Earth the ocean.
As captain of the seaQuest and its crew, we are its guardians.
For beneath the surface lies the future.
Lucas, can you read me? Well, we've lost audio and visual contact.
We're flying blind.
Mr.
Ortiz? Nothing.
Stinger One, Come in.
Lucas, do you read? No debris trail, sir.
He either went up or down intact.
It's negative.
If it's not moving, it sinks.
Concentrate your search on the bottom.
Spread the WSKRS to the limit.
We'll cover this western reef.
Six degrees port.
Climb that ridge.
We'll have a better view.
No, no.
Take it easy, son.
I got him! He's on the beach.
He's on dry land.
Captain, we've got a fix on Lucas.
He's on the beach.
Get a rescue launch to him immediately.
Aye, sir.
Lt.
Krieg, Lucas is on the beach.
We can be there in five.
Have Dr.
Westphalen standing by in the medical bay.
We'll all meet there.
Aye, sir.
Well, tide's going out.
Your people should be here soon.
Hey.
Can you hold this? Keep the pressure on it? Yeah.
Okay.
You'll be fine.
Sir.
Who are you? Oh, I'm a dreamer, son.
Just like you.
Is it gonna be a scar? No, you'll still have your beautiful baby face.
I don't want a baby face.
I want a scar.
Next thing he'll want is a tattoo.
I'm gonna get a tattoo.
He's still in shock.
I am not in shock.
Wait till you get the tattoo.
You stay in bed.
He had no right rushing around in that contraption.
He's still a boy, Nathan.
Boy? He's a college graduate.
Where is the Stinger? A party is out looking for the Gazelle.
I'm not calling it a Gazelle.
And you're not calling it a Stinger.
Yes I am.
Not while half of it's mine.
Well, my half is a Stinger.
Both of you this thing was built under the auspices of seaQuest.
This is my boat.
I'll give it the name.
Right now, I'm calling it the Contraption.
You're damn lucky the fisherman found you.
So stay in bed, as the doctor says.
Commander, return to your station.
Yes, sir.
You really gave us a scare, Lucas.
I If he gives you any more trouble, just let me know.
Oh, he won't give me any trouble.
He's a college graduate.
Captain, he wasn't a fisherman.
He said he was a dreamer.
A dreamer? Well.
You don't send a boy to do a man's job.
Is this "Crash" Krieg? Come on Skipper let you pilot the seaQuest once and you backed it into a volcano.
It was uncharted.
How about when you rolled the launch? Because of a riptide.
Stuffed the Sea Crab into the shoreline? That was a tsunami.
This is where they lost contact with the Stinger.
Hang on.
So, you were trying to surf a tsunami? I'm a good pilot.
Check my record.
That is your record.
There's nothing there.
Are you starting with me, too? The Stinger, Lieutenant.
It's gone.
Maybe it got caught in the current.
Not here.
Cmdr.
Hitchcock made it way too heavy to be tugged out by local currents.
Look that's about the width of the Stinger, like the tide dragged it Toward the beach.
Get us as close as you can to the shoreline.
We're gonna have to scuba beyond that point.
SeaQuest, we're getting wet to search the shoreline.
Thank you, Mr.
O'Neill.
Make your best effort.
You know how much this means to them.
Out.
Well, did they find it yet? Not yet.
I got two days to get this thing back, get it fixed or we don't make the UEO qualifying trials.
Get a grip, Katie.
You're allowing your obsession with the Stinger to interfere with your obligations.
It's a Gazelle.
I built it, and I'm calling it a Gazelle.
For 50 years, science has tried to mimic the movement of fish to cut turbulence.
And I did it.
I designed perfect laminar flow.
Perfect laminar flow is the smooth movement of liquids over a solid body.
You used it.
You didn't design it.
God did.
It's called a fish.
What I meant was, it's phenomenal.
It's phenomenal if it works.
And it did work for a while.
Come on, the Wright brothers' first flight lasted less than a minute.
Nathan, what we need here is some positive reinforcement.
What we need here is the truth.
The Stinger was a failure.
Why? Lucas' hot-dogging or a design flaw? You and Hitchcock kept me at arm's length on this project.
We wanted to surprise you, Captain.
Oh, you did.
O'Neill.
Go ahead, Lieutenant.
Patch me through to the seaQuest.
Cmdr.
Ford, here.
You're on.
Captain, we've got Lt.
Krieg.
Put him through.
Captain.
The Stinger's gone.
I'm looking at evidence suggesting it was dragged from the water and carted off on a truck.
Somebody stole the prototype.
The competition for the UEO contract for a high speed single-seat submersible is secret.
I understand that, Mr.
Gaye, but we have a situation.
Our prototype's been stolen.
Well, I sympathize.
But I can't violate the secrecy of the competition.
Well, it's no secret that Hydrogear's in it.
Yes, it is.
That Hydrogear let leak their participation doesn't change the confidential nature of the competition.
Put me through to Sec.
Gen.
Noyce.
We'll be at the qualifying trials.
You can speak to him then.
No, no, no.
I want to speak to him right now.
So would 25,000 other people.
I said "now, " Mr.
Gaye.
Are you declaring this alleged theft a military emergency? No.
Well, then you can see my problem.
I wouldn't put Hydrogear or any of the other competitors through to him, either.
Your involvement has been cause for complaints as it is, Captain.
This is supposed to be a private-sector contract.
Any more allowances would be viewed as giving you an unfair advantage.
Bureaucratic weasel.
Put up the playback of our test run on the Stinger.
Yes, sir.
115.
Okay, it's smoothing out.
Very cool.
Slow it down, anyway.
110 100 95.
Wait, what's that? Above the Stinger.
Play that back, frame by frame.
There was something else down there.
We were too busy watching Lucas to notice.
What's the next thing you remember? Laying on the beach.
The man triggered my homing device put a handkerchief on my head told me he was a dreamer, then he left.
Oh, he grabbed a metal case from the dinghy.
Not a tackle box? No.
It was the kind of case that you carry electronics in.
More like a remote control for whatever hit our Stinger.
Have you got anything on the competition? The only competitor we can be certain of for the Stinger is Hydrogear Labs.
Enzo Dinato's company.
I can't talk about it, other than to say our prototype will become the standard for the high-speed, single-seat submersible.
And that's all I have to say.
"Buy Hydrogear stock, now.
" Institutional investors have driven Hydrogear's stock up 30%% in the last six months.
I can't get a fix on the other competitors.
Security's locked down pretty tight.
Lenco was thought to be in it, but then they filed for bankruptcy.
Other companies were rumored to be in early on, but then they dropped out because of R&D costs.
There is a garage outfit run by a former Hydrogear engineer, Martin Tucker.
That's him! The dreamer.
Tucker designed Hydrogear's most successful products.
And there was a lot of acrimony when he left.
He complained publicly about Dinato's not sharing credit with him not to mention the profits.
I know Tucker.
He's a maverick.
He never shared anything with anyone in his life.
I remember when I was designing seaQuest he was about a year ahead of me in research.
I asked him some questions about a regenerating hull skin.
You know what he told me? He told me he wasn't going to do my homework for me.
Well, that's what you said to me when I asked you for help with the Stinger.
You didn't ask for help.
You asked for UEO money for an idea that you and Hitchcock hadn't even put on paper yet.
We put it on paper.
Yes, and I got you your money.
I always knew Tucker was miserable, but I never thought of him as a thief.
I think in order to find our Stinger, we're going to have to find Mr.
Tucker.
Tucker Technologies.
There it is.
I'm here for Hydrogear's property, Tucker and that would include you.
You caused that boy to crash, didn't you? You're a pig.
And you weren't out there spying on it? That's exactly what I was doing, but I wasn't out there to destroy it.
Load up the vehicle.
Don't hurt him! Don't you get it? Dinato is nothing without me and the UEO will know that as soon as the qualifying trials begin.
Now get out of here.
We are not leaving without you and the vehicle, Tucker.
It's in your contract.
Oh? When did you become a lawyer? Don't force me to hurt you.
You're not gonna hurt me.
Dinato would fire you.
I carry following orders only so far.
Now put down the pry bar.
No! Okay.
Okay.
You still here? No, it isn't me.
I'm a figment of your imagination.
Oh, you're in a good mood.
You come in here, you ask me if I'm here.
It's obvious, all right.
I'm here.
All right.
Take it easy, Katie.
Take it easy.
In less than a day and a half I have to produce a new sub for the UEO trials.
But I don't have one.
I lost it.
Bridger gets me $200,000 of R & D money and I lose the mini-sub.
Well, technically, Lucas lost it.
I'm in charge of the project, Jonathan.
Not according to Lucas.
Well, Lucas could use a lesson in the hierarchy of project management.
And a girlfriend.
Don't you guys ever think of anything else? Sure.
Sports.
Come on, Katie.
You can always pay back R&D money.
No.
I make $9,700 a month.
I own a condo, which I can't sell, in Los Angeles.
You pay them back.
I wonder why I'm still single.
Martin, are you all right? Mr.
Green, this is my partner.
I told you to treat him with respect.
He took a pry bar to me.
Well, then, circumstances extenuate, aye, Marty? You can leave.
Close the door.
Hell of a design for a 17-year-old kid.
It would have given you a run for your money.
Five years ago I'm not interested in five years ago.
I am.
I told you I told you this project was the future.
But no, you told me, and I quote: "Shut up and get back to work on something that makes me money.
" When I refused, you fired me.
I fired you, but I still own your ideas.
Your mini-sub was one of them.
That, my friend, was in your contract which I paid off and, as a result, it remains in force.
No, this is too much concept and not enough consideration.
I mean I could beat this.
Now, I'm gonna leave and you're not gonna stop me.
But my HS3 stays here.
You're a common thief.
You want to make the qualifying trials it's going to be under the Hydrogear banner.
Good to see you.
I'll go to the police.
No, you won't.
Come on, Tucker, we're on the same team.
That's why we took your competition out of the race.
You know your boss has the visionary abilities of a bat.
And your mini-sub.
Yeah, well, every once in a while, God lets the dumb get lucky.
They need it.
Keeps them in the game.
Gives guys like me something to play around with.
You try anything, Mr.
Tucker, and you're gonna get hurt.
You learn how to talk tough like that by watching digital comic books? I think you should sit down.
Oh, no.
No, thanks.
I never could sit still.
That's why I made this and you guys didn't.
For you, it's all press releases and cocktail parties.
Me? I'm in it for the work.
That's enough.
Fellows.
I'm not playing with you.
Oh, no? But I'm playing with you.
You see, it's called, "plan ahead.
" I have, and you haven't.
You know it comes in real handy when you're underwater trying to scare sharks away.
But on land, raises hell with the dogs.
Oh, and, by the way, be sure and tell your boss: "Good to see him, too.
" You're gonna have to do better than that, Bickle.
Look, Krieg.
I want a lecture on performance, I'll ask my wife.
How's her eating disorder? Binge, purge, nag Marriage is like trying to paint a self-portrait with mittens on.
You can do it but you ain't gonna like the way you end up looking.
I remember.
Give me the numbers on Tucker's purchases.
Well, it's like I told you, this guy'd buy almost anything we put up for auction.
I once unloaded Said he wanted them to scare the surfers.
You know, this guy could spend a little more time in the decompression tank.
Maybe you'll make a little room for him.
Pull the bills of lading.
Why? Because they'll have his address, Bickle.
Hey, good idea.
I'm loaded with them.
The barracuda decoys went to an industrial park in Oxnard 1619 Frontage Road.
Thanks.
Kiss the wife for me.
You want to thank me, you kiss her.
Don't tell me this, Mr.
Green, not now.
Tucker had some kind of alert rigged up.
I think I've lost hearing in my left ear.
We've lost more than a little of your hearing.
Well, what did you want me to do, shoot him? If necessary, yes.
I'm a Production Manager, Mr.
Dinato.
Not a killer.
You are a guy who didn't do the job, Mr.
Green.
Now get out of here.
Mr.
Dinato, what can I do for you? Are we on a secure channel? Of course.
I've got a problem.
Come in.
Captain, I found Tucker.
Where? About a half-hour from here.
Great! Have Crocker send a squad of men over there, immediately.
Yes, sir.
I'm afraid that's a waste of time, Mr.
Tucker.
Nothing a man puts together with his own two hands is ever a waste of time.
Didn't your boss tell you that? Yeah, well, I'm afraid he forgot to mention it.
Of course he did.
Well, this is private property.
If you don't leave, I'll have you arrested.
That's not going to happen.
I'm taking you back to Mr.
Dinato.
Well, you've got that half-right.
You're taking us to Mr.
Dinato.
Now this can go down one of two ways: easy or hard.
Doesn't make much difference to me.
Tucker stuck pretty close to the design he first drew up when he worked for you.
You could claim you paid for them.
But we didn't pay for that one.
Cannibalize it for technology, and then be sure no one finds it.
Stay where you are! Don't move! Hold it right there! We found it, sir.
How does it look? Well, you know those big old puzzles you used to get at Christmas had about 1,000 pieces, that nobody could put together? Pretty much like that, I'm afraid.
What about Tucker? It wasn't Tucker, Cap.
It was Dinato.
Tucker's fine.
We're bringing his mini-sub back for the trials.
I'm sorry about the Stinger, sir.
I know they worked awful hard on it.
Yes, they did.
Are you sure you ran the numbers on the stress configurations? Are you sure you weren't pushing the Gazelle past its limits? Yeah.
I'm positive.
And it's not a Gazelle.
Well, I'm not calling it a Stinger.
That's sexist.
What's sex got to do with it? Not sex, sexist.
A guy name for a guy thing, like chainsaw, screwdriver, boxing.
What are you gonna call boxing? A multi-handed contact sport? I'd call it stupid.
Yeah, well, I'm calling it a Stinger.
I call it a Gazelle and I'm gonna get beat up.
I think you'd better call it Gone.
You haven't found it? I'm sorry.
It's been destroyed.
What are we gonna do now? I don't know.
But unless you two are willing to stand up and juggle in front of these people you better have something to show for the moneys invested.
Captain, it wasn't our fault.
Hey, these are adults.
"The dog ate my homework" defense doesn't work here.
What was your alternative? Sir? You didn't have one? No.
Well, I guess we're gonna have to build another one.
In 24 hours? Why not? You've got the materials, you've got the plans.
Krieg can get you anything else you need.
Or you can start practicing your juggling.
How come when you get 50 cents you don't call someone else? I got a thing for men in uniform.
I'm gonna need two gallons of fiberglass resin, a pound of titanium rivets spool of waterproof wiring G2 rating.
What are you guys building? A big fish.
Can you do it? Of course, but you're gonna owe me.
I'll turn you on to a great divorce lawyer.
Some lawyer.
You got to salute your ex-wife.
Throttle control.
Operational.
Vertical stabilizer.
We had to wire around that one, we didn't have an extra gauge.
What about the horizontals? They're gonna have to work off the water-brake read-out.
Does the water brake work? I hope so.
Are we gonna make it? I don't know.
If we're lucky.
You don't win one of these on luck.
I'm starting to figure that out.
Anything I can do to help? No, thanks.
I brought it this far.
I mean, we all did, Captain.
Why don't you get some sleep? We can handle it.
Okay, just thought I'd ask.
Good luck.
Thanks.
Thank you.
See you soon.
Not bad, kiddo.
Not bad.
They're at the starting line and we're moments away from the start of the Underwater 500.
The track is fast and wet, and Lucas Wolenczak the young rookie from Buffalo appears to be the crowd's favorite.
And they're off.
What a start, Lucas Wolenczak takes the lead into the first turn.
UEO shuttle, you are clear for final approach.
WSKRS assuming assigned positions.
Surge and currents minimal.
Perfect conditions, sir.
Thanks.
Mr.
Secretary.
Hello, Nathan.
Good to see you.
How are you? Oh, my Appointments Secretary, Edgar Gaye.
No, not the Mr.
Gaye that wouldn't put me through to you the other day? Really? Well, yes It's just a temporary position.
I don't think that'll happen again.
Well, what do you think? Well, they've had duplicate components for all the parts but it's taken them 24 hours to put it together.
Is there any danger to Lucas? We've done round-the-clock structural tests on every joint and hydraulic system.
I hope not.
Oh, good.
What "round-the-clock structural tests"? You've only been finished a few minutes.
Lucas? Yeah, what? Nervous? Not now.
I like being in here.
I trust this thing.
Good to know.
Feeding you course telemetry.
Okay, Lucas.
Game plan.
I say we go for it.
I say we put on a good show and score points for design.
I wanna win.
Yeah, well so do I, but if this thing craps out, we lose.
Then we can call it a Gazelle.
Just stick to the routine.
No improvisation.
Good luck.
All set, sir.
WSKRS ready to evaluate data.
Tucker's on Channel 8, Lucas on 9, sir.
Now, these are performance trials for UEO's private sector development of a single-seat underwater submersible minimum top speed, Hey, are you sure Dinato can't see me from his jail cell? Compulsory maneuver number one: single roll and reverse direction loop.
On a mark.
Wow, that guy's good.
Very stable around a tight center of gravity.
It's all yours, son.
Good luck.
Mr.
Wolenczak? Are you ready? Wish me luck, Darwin.
I'm gonna need it.
Mr.
Wolenczak, are you ready? Ready.
Lucas, how's it holding up? It's very smooth.
Good.
Just keep the Gazelle in one piece.
It's a Stinger.
Yeah.
Hard to believe he's a teenager.
Try winning an argument with him sometime.
All right, gentlemen, that concludes our compulsory trials.
One final test then we take your boats back to the Honolulu lab for schematic appraisal.
Hey, son? Yeah? No matter what happens, you did a hell of a job.
Thank you.
Mr.
Tucker, Lucas, I have starting coordinates for you.
Ten miles, flat out, as fast as you can go.
Any questions? Nope.
Nada.
Watch the WSKR.
Look for my taillights, pal.
Okay, good job, Lucas.
Come on.
Come on.
Go, son.
Come on, Lucas.
Come on! Two and a half miles gone.
Quite a way to go.
Talk to me, Lucas.
It's hard to steer.
It's supposed to be, you're going 140.
Draft off his wake.
Okay.
Okay, you've got it, Lucas.
Come on.
Five miles to go.
Yes! Yes! Come on, you've got him.
Three quarters gone.
Home stretch.
Commander, I'm losing thrust.
Oh, man.
Come on, catch up.
Catch up.
Looks like Tucker got himself a very lucrative UEO contract.
You did a hell of a job, Commander.
I don't understand what happened.
It was just Are you a little glum? Look, you were magnificent today.
You should be very proud of yourself.
I lost.
You think winning is everything? As opposed to what? Doing better next time.
Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.
Hey.
Don't give up.
You've got a great future.
Thanks.
Hey.
No congratulations, Lucas? Congratulations, Mr.
Tucker.
You built a great fish.
So did you.
And check your oil injection valve placement.
I'm surprised you didn't see that with a blindfold on.
I did.
What? If you knew, why didn't you tell us? Did we discuss the theory? Yes.
Did I show you the books and the files? You let us lose.
No.
Lucas didn't read the material, and neither did you, Commander.
And sometimes we learn a lot more by losing than winning.
Yeah.
You can call it a Gazelle, Commander.
Hello, I'm Bob Ballard from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Lucas' Stinger vehicle in tonight's episode is still a flight of fantasy but Tucker's single-seat sub is a real vehicle known as the Bosch and will be available in the near future.
Research now underway at Woods Hole and MIT has discovered that by wagging its tail, a fish can control its turbulence and use less energy to swim.
As a result, "fish-like" vehicles are one step away from reality.
Join us on the next exciting adventure of seaQuest DSV.
Minimum top speed, I can beat this.
Just stop the hot-dogging.
I'm getting a little shimmy.
Somebody stole the prototype.
Lucas! Boy, that's fast.
Good work.
Thank you, sir.
I think we conquered the drag problem.
It can go faster.
Hold your breath.
I've been holding my breath since we got into this thing.
A little more throttle.
Unbelievable! This is a great ride! Hey, stop the hot-dogging.
Come on, Captain.
We designed it for this! It's a prototype of a prototype.
It's held together with baling wire and duct tape.
Now cut the acrobatics.
Yes, sir.
We're testing speed, Lucas, not maneuverability.
I'm showing 95.
The speedometer's way off.
I got you at 110.
It'll do 150.
Now, come on.
Captain.
Hydrogear lab is supposed to have tested to 120.
That's what their press releases say.
All right, 120, but no more than that.
Say thank you, Lucas.
Captain's giving you 120.
Thank you.
On my mark.
Straight line, now.
No turns.
Yeah.
Straight line, no turns.
It's fast.
It's gonna be hard to hit.
I can hit it, but how hard do you want it? Just disable it.
We need the technology.
I'm getting a little shimmy.
Well, slow it down.
Okay, it's smoothing out.
Very cool.
Slow it down, anyway.
Lucas! Lucas! Lucas! The 21st century.
Mankind has colonized the last unexplored region on Earth the ocean.
As captain of the seaQuest and its crew, we are its guardians.
For beneath the surface lies the future.
Lucas, can you read me? Well, we've lost audio and visual contact.
We're flying blind.
Mr.
Ortiz? Nothing.
Stinger One, Come in.
Lucas, do you read? No debris trail, sir.
He either went up or down intact.
It's negative.
If it's not moving, it sinks.
Concentrate your search on the bottom.
Spread the WSKRS to the limit.
We'll cover this western reef.
Six degrees port.
Climb that ridge.
We'll have a better view.
No, no.
Take it easy, son.
I got him! He's on the beach.
He's on dry land.
Captain, we've got a fix on Lucas.
He's on the beach.
Get a rescue launch to him immediately.
Aye, sir.
Lt.
Krieg, Lucas is on the beach.
We can be there in five.
Have Dr.
Westphalen standing by in the medical bay.
We'll all meet there.
Aye, sir.
Well, tide's going out.
Your people should be here soon.
Hey.
Can you hold this? Keep the pressure on it? Yeah.
Okay.
You'll be fine.
Sir.
Who are you? Oh, I'm a dreamer, son.
Just like you.
Is it gonna be a scar? No, you'll still have your beautiful baby face.
I don't want a baby face.
I want a scar.
Next thing he'll want is a tattoo.
I'm gonna get a tattoo.
He's still in shock.
I am not in shock.
Wait till you get the tattoo.
You stay in bed.
He had no right rushing around in that contraption.
He's still a boy, Nathan.
Boy? He's a college graduate.
Where is the Stinger? A party is out looking for the Gazelle.
I'm not calling it a Gazelle.
And you're not calling it a Stinger.
Yes I am.
Not while half of it's mine.
Well, my half is a Stinger.
Both of you this thing was built under the auspices of seaQuest.
This is my boat.
I'll give it the name.
Right now, I'm calling it the Contraption.
You're damn lucky the fisherman found you.
So stay in bed, as the doctor says.
Commander, return to your station.
Yes, sir.
You really gave us a scare, Lucas.
I If he gives you any more trouble, just let me know.
Oh, he won't give me any trouble.
He's a college graduate.
Captain, he wasn't a fisherman.
He said he was a dreamer.
A dreamer? Well.
You don't send a boy to do a man's job.
Is this "Crash" Krieg? Come on Skipper let you pilot the seaQuest once and you backed it into a volcano.
It was uncharted.
How about when you rolled the launch? Because of a riptide.
Stuffed the Sea Crab into the shoreline? That was a tsunami.
This is where they lost contact with the Stinger.
Hang on.
So, you were trying to surf a tsunami? I'm a good pilot.
Check my record.
That is your record.
There's nothing there.
Are you starting with me, too? The Stinger, Lieutenant.
It's gone.
Maybe it got caught in the current.
Not here.
Cmdr.
Hitchcock made it way too heavy to be tugged out by local currents.
Look that's about the width of the Stinger, like the tide dragged it Toward the beach.
Get us as close as you can to the shoreline.
We're gonna have to scuba beyond that point.
SeaQuest, we're getting wet to search the shoreline.
Thank you, Mr.
O'Neill.
Make your best effort.
You know how much this means to them.
Out.
Well, did they find it yet? Not yet.
I got two days to get this thing back, get it fixed or we don't make the UEO qualifying trials.
Get a grip, Katie.
You're allowing your obsession with the Stinger to interfere with your obligations.
It's a Gazelle.
I built it, and I'm calling it a Gazelle.
For 50 years, science has tried to mimic the movement of fish to cut turbulence.
And I did it.
I designed perfect laminar flow.
Perfect laminar flow is the smooth movement of liquids over a solid body.
You used it.
You didn't design it.
God did.
It's called a fish.
What I meant was, it's phenomenal.
It's phenomenal if it works.
And it did work for a while.
Come on, the Wright brothers' first flight lasted less than a minute.
Nathan, what we need here is some positive reinforcement.
What we need here is the truth.
The Stinger was a failure.
Why? Lucas' hot-dogging or a design flaw? You and Hitchcock kept me at arm's length on this project.
We wanted to surprise you, Captain.
Oh, you did.
O'Neill.
Go ahead, Lieutenant.
Patch me through to the seaQuest.
Cmdr.
Ford, here.
You're on.
Captain, we've got Lt.
Krieg.
Put him through.
Captain.
The Stinger's gone.
I'm looking at evidence suggesting it was dragged from the water and carted off on a truck.
Somebody stole the prototype.
The competition for the UEO contract for a high speed single-seat submersible is secret.
I understand that, Mr.
Gaye, but we have a situation.
Our prototype's been stolen.
Well, I sympathize.
But I can't violate the secrecy of the competition.
Well, it's no secret that Hydrogear's in it.
Yes, it is.
That Hydrogear let leak their participation doesn't change the confidential nature of the competition.
Put me through to Sec.
Gen.
Noyce.
We'll be at the qualifying trials.
You can speak to him then.
No, no, no.
I want to speak to him right now.
So would 25,000 other people.
I said "now, " Mr.
Gaye.
Are you declaring this alleged theft a military emergency? No.
Well, then you can see my problem.
I wouldn't put Hydrogear or any of the other competitors through to him, either.
Your involvement has been cause for complaints as it is, Captain.
This is supposed to be a private-sector contract.
Any more allowances would be viewed as giving you an unfair advantage.
Bureaucratic weasel.
Put up the playback of our test run on the Stinger.
Yes, sir.
115.
Okay, it's smoothing out.
Very cool.
Slow it down, anyway.
110 100 95.
Wait, what's that? Above the Stinger.
Play that back, frame by frame.
There was something else down there.
We were too busy watching Lucas to notice.
What's the next thing you remember? Laying on the beach.
The man triggered my homing device put a handkerchief on my head told me he was a dreamer, then he left.
Oh, he grabbed a metal case from the dinghy.
Not a tackle box? No.
It was the kind of case that you carry electronics in.
More like a remote control for whatever hit our Stinger.
Have you got anything on the competition? The only competitor we can be certain of for the Stinger is Hydrogear Labs.
Enzo Dinato's company.
I can't talk about it, other than to say our prototype will become the standard for the high-speed, single-seat submersible.
And that's all I have to say.
"Buy Hydrogear stock, now.
" Institutional investors have driven Hydrogear's stock up 30%% in the last six months.
I can't get a fix on the other competitors.
Security's locked down pretty tight.
Lenco was thought to be in it, but then they filed for bankruptcy.
Other companies were rumored to be in early on, but then they dropped out because of R&D costs.
There is a garage outfit run by a former Hydrogear engineer, Martin Tucker.
That's him! The dreamer.
Tucker designed Hydrogear's most successful products.
And there was a lot of acrimony when he left.
He complained publicly about Dinato's not sharing credit with him not to mention the profits.
I know Tucker.
He's a maverick.
He never shared anything with anyone in his life.
I remember when I was designing seaQuest he was about a year ahead of me in research.
I asked him some questions about a regenerating hull skin.
You know what he told me? He told me he wasn't going to do my homework for me.
Well, that's what you said to me when I asked you for help with the Stinger.
You didn't ask for help.
You asked for UEO money for an idea that you and Hitchcock hadn't even put on paper yet.
We put it on paper.
Yes, and I got you your money.
I always knew Tucker was miserable, but I never thought of him as a thief.
I think in order to find our Stinger, we're going to have to find Mr.
Tucker.
Tucker Technologies.
There it is.
I'm here for Hydrogear's property, Tucker and that would include you.
You caused that boy to crash, didn't you? You're a pig.
And you weren't out there spying on it? That's exactly what I was doing, but I wasn't out there to destroy it.
Load up the vehicle.
Don't hurt him! Don't you get it? Dinato is nothing without me and the UEO will know that as soon as the qualifying trials begin.
Now get out of here.
We are not leaving without you and the vehicle, Tucker.
It's in your contract.
Oh? When did you become a lawyer? Don't force me to hurt you.
You're not gonna hurt me.
Dinato would fire you.
I carry following orders only so far.
Now put down the pry bar.
No! Okay.
Okay.
You still here? No, it isn't me.
I'm a figment of your imagination.
Oh, you're in a good mood.
You come in here, you ask me if I'm here.
It's obvious, all right.
I'm here.
All right.
Take it easy, Katie.
Take it easy.
In less than a day and a half I have to produce a new sub for the UEO trials.
But I don't have one.
I lost it.
Bridger gets me $200,000 of R & D money and I lose the mini-sub.
Well, technically, Lucas lost it.
I'm in charge of the project, Jonathan.
Not according to Lucas.
Well, Lucas could use a lesson in the hierarchy of project management.
And a girlfriend.
Don't you guys ever think of anything else? Sure.
Sports.
Come on, Katie.
You can always pay back R&D money.
No.
I make $9,700 a month.
I own a condo, which I can't sell, in Los Angeles.
You pay them back.
I wonder why I'm still single.
Martin, are you all right? Mr.
Green, this is my partner.
I told you to treat him with respect.
He took a pry bar to me.
Well, then, circumstances extenuate, aye, Marty? You can leave.
Close the door.
Hell of a design for a 17-year-old kid.
It would have given you a run for your money.
Five years ago I'm not interested in five years ago.
I am.
I told you I told you this project was the future.
But no, you told me, and I quote: "Shut up and get back to work on something that makes me money.
" When I refused, you fired me.
I fired you, but I still own your ideas.
Your mini-sub was one of them.
That, my friend, was in your contract which I paid off and, as a result, it remains in force.
No, this is too much concept and not enough consideration.
I mean I could beat this.
Now, I'm gonna leave and you're not gonna stop me.
But my HS3 stays here.
You're a common thief.
You want to make the qualifying trials it's going to be under the Hydrogear banner.
Good to see you.
I'll go to the police.
No, you won't.
Come on, Tucker, we're on the same team.
That's why we took your competition out of the race.
You know your boss has the visionary abilities of a bat.
And your mini-sub.
Yeah, well, every once in a while, God lets the dumb get lucky.
They need it.
Keeps them in the game.
Gives guys like me something to play around with.
You try anything, Mr.
Tucker, and you're gonna get hurt.
You learn how to talk tough like that by watching digital comic books? I think you should sit down.
Oh, no.
No, thanks.
I never could sit still.
That's why I made this and you guys didn't.
For you, it's all press releases and cocktail parties.
Me? I'm in it for the work.
That's enough.
Fellows.
I'm not playing with you.
Oh, no? But I'm playing with you.
You see, it's called, "plan ahead.
" I have, and you haven't.
You know it comes in real handy when you're underwater trying to scare sharks away.
But on land, raises hell with the dogs.
Oh, and, by the way, be sure and tell your boss: "Good to see him, too.
" You're gonna have to do better than that, Bickle.
Look, Krieg.
I want a lecture on performance, I'll ask my wife.
How's her eating disorder? Binge, purge, nag Marriage is like trying to paint a self-portrait with mittens on.
You can do it but you ain't gonna like the way you end up looking.
I remember.
Give me the numbers on Tucker's purchases.
Well, it's like I told you, this guy'd buy almost anything we put up for auction.
I once unloaded Said he wanted them to scare the surfers.
You know, this guy could spend a little more time in the decompression tank.
Maybe you'll make a little room for him.
Pull the bills of lading.
Why? Because they'll have his address, Bickle.
Hey, good idea.
I'm loaded with them.
The barracuda decoys went to an industrial park in Oxnard 1619 Frontage Road.
Thanks.
Kiss the wife for me.
You want to thank me, you kiss her.
Don't tell me this, Mr.
Green, not now.
Tucker had some kind of alert rigged up.
I think I've lost hearing in my left ear.
We've lost more than a little of your hearing.
Well, what did you want me to do, shoot him? If necessary, yes.
I'm a Production Manager, Mr.
Dinato.
Not a killer.
You are a guy who didn't do the job, Mr.
Green.
Now get out of here.
Mr.
Dinato, what can I do for you? Are we on a secure channel? Of course.
I've got a problem.
Come in.
Captain, I found Tucker.
Where? About a half-hour from here.
Great! Have Crocker send a squad of men over there, immediately.
Yes, sir.
I'm afraid that's a waste of time, Mr.
Tucker.
Nothing a man puts together with his own two hands is ever a waste of time.
Didn't your boss tell you that? Yeah, well, I'm afraid he forgot to mention it.
Of course he did.
Well, this is private property.
If you don't leave, I'll have you arrested.
That's not going to happen.
I'm taking you back to Mr.
Dinato.
Well, you've got that half-right.
You're taking us to Mr.
Dinato.
Now this can go down one of two ways: easy or hard.
Doesn't make much difference to me.
Tucker stuck pretty close to the design he first drew up when he worked for you.
You could claim you paid for them.
But we didn't pay for that one.
Cannibalize it for technology, and then be sure no one finds it.
Stay where you are! Don't move! Hold it right there! We found it, sir.
How does it look? Well, you know those big old puzzles you used to get at Christmas had about 1,000 pieces, that nobody could put together? Pretty much like that, I'm afraid.
What about Tucker? It wasn't Tucker, Cap.
It was Dinato.
Tucker's fine.
We're bringing his mini-sub back for the trials.
I'm sorry about the Stinger, sir.
I know they worked awful hard on it.
Yes, they did.
Are you sure you ran the numbers on the stress configurations? Are you sure you weren't pushing the Gazelle past its limits? Yeah.
I'm positive.
And it's not a Gazelle.
Well, I'm not calling it a Stinger.
That's sexist.
What's sex got to do with it? Not sex, sexist.
A guy name for a guy thing, like chainsaw, screwdriver, boxing.
What are you gonna call boxing? A multi-handed contact sport? I'd call it stupid.
Yeah, well, I'm calling it a Stinger.
I call it a Gazelle and I'm gonna get beat up.
I think you'd better call it Gone.
You haven't found it? I'm sorry.
It's been destroyed.
What are we gonna do now? I don't know.
But unless you two are willing to stand up and juggle in front of these people you better have something to show for the moneys invested.
Captain, it wasn't our fault.
Hey, these are adults.
"The dog ate my homework" defense doesn't work here.
What was your alternative? Sir? You didn't have one? No.
Well, I guess we're gonna have to build another one.
In 24 hours? Why not? You've got the materials, you've got the plans.
Krieg can get you anything else you need.
Or you can start practicing your juggling.
How come when you get 50 cents you don't call someone else? I got a thing for men in uniform.
I'm gonna need two gallons of fiberglass resin, a pound of titanium rivets spool of waterproof wiring G2 rating.
What are you guys building? A big fish.
Can you do it? Of course, but you're gonna owe me.
I'll turn you on to a great divorce lawyer.
Some lawyer.
You got to salute your ex-wife.
Throttle control.
Operational.
Vertical stabilizer.
We had to wire around that one, we didn't have an extra gauge.
What about the horizontals? They're gonna have to work off the water-brake read-out.
Does the water brake work? I hope so.
Are we gonna make it? I don't know.
If we're lucky.
You don't win one of these on luck.
I'm starting to figure that out.
Anything I can do to help? No, thanks.
I brought it this far.
I mean, we all did, Captain.
Why don't you get some sleep? We can handle it.
Okay, just thought I'd ask.
Good luck.
Thanks.
Thank you.
See you soon.
Not bad, kiddo.
Not bad.
They're at the starting line and we're moments away from the start of the Underwater 500.
The track is fast and wet, and Lucas Wolenczak the young rookie from Buffalo appears to be the crowd's favorite.
And they're off.
What a start, Lucas Wolenczak takes the lead into the first turn.
UEO shuttle, you are clear for final approach.
WSKRS assuming assigned positions.
Surge and currents minimal.
Perfect conditions, sir.
Thanks.
Mr.
Secretary.
Hello, Nathan.
Good to see you.
How are you? Oh, my Appointments Secretary, Edgar Gaye.
No, not the Mr.
Gaye that wouldn't put me through to you the other day? Really? Well, yes It's just a temporary position.
I don't think that'll happen again.
Well, what do you think? Well, they've had duplicate components for all the parts but it's taken them 24 hours to put it together.
Is there any danger to Lucas? We've done round-the-clock structural tests on every joint and hydraulic system.
I hope not.
Oh, good.
What "round-the-clock structural tests"? You've only been finished a few minutes.
Lucas? Yeah, what? Nervous? Not now.
I like being in here.
I trust this thing.
Good to know.
Feeding you course telemetry.
Okay, Lucas.
Game plan.
I say we go for it.
I say we put on a good show and score points for design.
I wanna win.
Yeah, well so do I, but if this thing craps out, we lose.
Then we can call it a Gazelle.
Just stick to the routine.
No improvisation.
Good luck.
All set, sir.
WSKRS ready to evaluate data.
Tucker's on Channel 8, Lucas on 9, sir.
Now, these are performance trials for UEO's private sector development of a single-seat underwater submersible minimum top speed, Hey, are you sure Dinato can't see me from his jail cell? Compulsory maneuver number one: single roll and reverse direction loop.
On a mark.
Wow, that guy's good.
Very stable around a tight center of gravity.
It's all yours, son.
Good luck.
Mr.
Wolenczak? Are you ready? Wish me luck, Darwin.
I'm gonna need it.
Mr.
Wolenczak, are you ready? Ready.
Lucas, how's it holding up? It's very smooth.
Good.
Just keep the Gazelle in one piece.
It's a Stinger.
Yeah.
Hard to believe he's a teenager.
Try winning an argument with him sometime.
All right, gentlemen, that concludes our compulsory trials.
One final test then we take your boats back to the Honolulu lab for schematic appraisal.
Hey, son? Yeah? No matter what happens, you did a hell of a job.
Thank you.
Mr.
Tucker, Lucas, I have starting coordinates for you.
Ten miles, flat out, as fast as you can go.
Any questions? Nope.
Nada.
Watch the WSKR.
Look for my taillights, pal.
Okay, good job, Lucas.
Come on.
Come on.
Go, son.
Come on, Lucas.
Come on! Two and a half miles gone.
Quite a way to go.
Talk to me, Lucas.
It's hard to steer.
It's supposed to be, you're going 140.
Draft off his wake.
Okay.
Okay, you've got it, Lucas.
Come on.
Five miles to go.
Yes! Yes! Come on, you've got him.
Three quarters gone.
Home stretch.
Commander, I'm losing thrust.
Oh, man.
Come on, catch up.
Catch up.
Looks like Tucker got himself a very lucrative UEO contract.
You did a hell of a job, Commander.
I don't understand what happened.
It was just Are you a little glum? Look, you were magnificent today.
You should be very proud of yourself.
I lost.
You think winning is everything? As opposed to what? Doing better next time.
Experience is what you get when you don't get what you want.
Hey.
Don't give up.
You've got a great future.
Thanks.
Hey.
No congratulations, Lucas? Congratulations, Mr.
Tucker.
You built a great fish.
So did you.
And check your oil injection valve placement.
I'm surprised you didn't see that with a blindfold on.
I did.
What? If you knew, why didn't you tell us? Did we discuss the theory? Yes.
Did I show you the books and the files? You let us lose.
No.
Lucas didn't read the material, and neither did you, Commander.
And sometimes we learn a lot more by losing than winning.
Yeah.
You can call it a Gazelle, Commander.
Hello, I'm Bob Ballard from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Lucas' Stinger vehicle in tonight's episode is still a flight of fantasy but Tucker's single-seat sub is a real vehicle known as the Bosch and will be available in the near future.
Research now underway at Woods Hole and MIT has discovered that by wagging its tail, a fish can control its turbulence and use less energy to swim.
As a result, "fish-like" vehicles are one step away from reality.
Join us on the next exciting adventure of seaQuest DSV.