The Lost World (1999) s03e08 Episode Script

A grand touring automobile.
That's what Challenger should invent next.
Leather seats, landau top, and a big luggage compartment to hold all his bloody equipment.
The automobile's already been invented, Marguerite.
Not on this plateau it hasn't.
Well, then it's a good thing he's building something even better.
Ready for the next one.
Hey, Ned, toss me back the next one and we'll see how many we can keep in the air at once.
Well, Veronica, if we miss the morning thermals, we'll have to cancel the test flight.
I remember when you used to have a sense of humor.
Well, this balloon, once it's fully tested, is going to take us all home.
I am home! Well, you know what I mean.
We'll all go to London.
- We'll get a chance to.
- I'm not going, Ned.
I'm not leaving the plateau until I find my parents.
But I thought I've been thinking, too.
You'd better finish this on your own.
So, Challenger, this new hydrogen-evolver of yours, it's not going to explode like the one in your lab.
I have made changes since then, Marguerite.
The whole system is now completely sealed.
Oh, we have neutral buoyancy.
Malone get the last of the iron filings.
The sulfuric acid is now safely contained in glass containers in those barrels.
It's drawn by vacuum pressure up through these pipes and down into the reaction crucible here where it mixes with the iron filings that I've poured in here.
The acid-iron reaction then evolves hydrogen gas which travels up through this tube and into the balloon.
It's much more efficient than heating air.
You know, sometimes, George, I can't decide what it is you like more: building the contraptions or talking about them.
Talking about them! Well there ends the lesson for today.
Now, does anybody want to go sightseeing? - Madam - Thank you, George.
- Thank you.
- Ma'am.
- Are you ready? - Okay.
Let it go! Here we go! Ha, ha! I'd forgotten the beauty of this place.
Apart from those awful clouds.
They might as well be prison walls.
Oh, in a few months, when the seasonal winds change, I believe we'll have a good chance of getting passed those clouds, As long as we can get enough altitude.
Well, that's what we're here for.
Okay, Challenger, open her up.
Let's see what she's got.
Oh than It's a bit more energy than I thought.
OH! I think we are high enough Challenger.
- I know we are high enough.
- This is most unexpected.
We seem to be caught in a powerful high altitude wind.
How is doing the test George? Well, we should be descending.
We are descending into that! At the dawn of the last century A band of explorers searched for a prehistoric world Driven by ambition Secret desires A thirst for adventure And seeking the ultimate story They are befriended by an untamed beauty Stranded in a strange and savage land Each day is a desperate search for a way out of the Lost World We're turning out of control Make it ascend, Challenger.
Make it up.
We are going to hit the ground.
We've already passed ground level.
This doesn't look like the plateau.
Yeah, I tend to agree.
The wind's blown us off.
I wouldn't break out the champagne just yet.
Where on earth are we? We're not ON earth, we're IN it.
We are in some vast underground cavern, far deeper than we ever went with the Kobolds.
Not to be a spoilsport, George, but how can that be remotely possible? As my grandfather's old friend, Otto Leidenbrock once said, We know less about the earth we live on than we do about the stars in outer space.
The greatest mysteries of all, he said, are right beneath our feet.
So much for your theory, George, If that's a pterodactyl, then we're still on the earth, not under it.
That's not a species I recognize.
Behind you Malone! It's circling back! Whoa, be careful Malone.
It's gone for the gas bag.
Well, that's torn it! Prepare yourself for a violent explosion! I thought you said the evolver wouldn't explode! Well, the evolver won't explode, But the hydrogen gas mixing violently with air will.
Veronica? Veronica! Veronica! We landed.
In a matter of speaking.
You just stay away from that acid smell.
Where are we? - Terra incognita.
- The land unknown.
Nothing is out there, everything is out there.
As much as I'd like to enjoy the scenery, We've got a lot to do.
We've got to drain this acid first.
- Are you ready? - One, two, three.
One more time put your mass into it.
Oh, Boy.
The air is so thin, George, Reminds me of the Himalayas.
The concentration of oxygen is much less than we're use to.
Most likely because of the amount needed to produce all this electro-luminescent light.
How much less oxygen? Enough to prevent the hydrogen gas from exploding when the balloon was torn.
I'll stop my complaining.
One more time! - Are you ready? - Hm mm.
Oh! Looks like we've lost all our iron filings.
And half our supply of sulfuric acid.
Without iron, you can't make hydrogen gas to fill the balloon.
And without the balloon we can't make it back to the surface.
Just what I've always wanted.
A place that annoys me more than the plateau.
George, we've got company.
She looks human! Very human.
Hello! My name is George Challenger.
I am Aleece.
You're from the land above the sky.
Yes, we are, we are from the surface.
You killed the sky demon.
May I? Pterodactyl talon.
Recently removed.
About the 3 years old from the sights of it, About the same age as the one you shot, Ned.
You killed it from your balloon.
That's right.
Good.
I will ride in your balloon.
And you will show me my land from a great height.
I'm afraid that may not be possible, as you can see, our balloon is not exactly flight worthy at the moment.
What will make it possible? Iron, maybe.
Iron! That means nothing to me.
May I examine your sword? Looks promising.
Your sword is made of iron.
Then iron is the stone of Arjax.
Tell me how much you require.
Oh, enough to make twenty swords, at least.
I will get you the iron you need.
Then you will take me on your balloon.
Does anybody but me think this is too good to be true? Iron is iron, Marguerite.
And we need it to get home.
Your kind offer is grateful accepted.
Fine.
So Little Miss Helpful will help us find some iron! That's not going to fix the balloon.
Speaking of Little Miss Helpful and the ripped balloon.
I've just the job for you and Veronica.
Trust the men to fall for a pretty face.
That woman had better not be lying about knowing where to find iron.
Well, Aleece is their problem.
Finding sap to make into glue for the balloon repair is ours.
We have to find some plants first.
I'm beginning to think that nothing actually grows down here.
There has to be a food chain, Marguerite.
Where there are pterodactyls and people, there's got to be plants.
I suppose so.
Nature is nature.
That never changes.
Right.
Only people do.
As in you and Malone? I don't think he's changed all that much.
The poor boy has been in love with you since the day you two first met.
But I'm not in love with him, Marguerite.
Are you sure? Well, if I was in love with him, then, wouldn't I follow him anywhere? Even to London? True love conquers all.
Yeah, I've heard that before.
I once followed a man all the way from Monaco to Shanghai.
What happened? Let's just say after Shanghai, I'm never going to do it again.
Oh, poor Roxton! If it's true love, he can follow me for a change.
Oh, I think he would well, at least for a little while.
I just wish I knew where I was going.
Aleece, where do your people live down here? My village is five intervals of sleep away.
Five intervals is five days.
What are you doing so far from home? To earn my place as a warrior.
I went on a quest for the talon of a sky demon.
Because of you I found it.
But won't your trophy be from another man's kill? Isn't that bending the rules? The stories of my people teach that many roads can lead to a single destination.
How I obtained the talon is not important.
Only that I return with it.
I would like to hear more about those stories.
And I would like to hear more about you, and where you come from.
Not much to tell really.
Three years ago I joined an expedition.
We crossed an ocean and discovered a mysterious land on the surface, above your world.
There were five of us then.
Professor Challenger, Professor Summerlee, Marguerite, Roxton and me.
What about Veronica? Where did you meet her? In the jungle.
Where she's lived alone since her parents disappeared.
- She means a lot to you.
- Well, she took us in.
We live in her house in the trees.
You live with her, and yet you are not lovers? Well we're close friends.
Is there someone else? No, not at the moment anyway.
That is good.
Good for me, I mean.
Why would you say that? There are many possibilities.
Those look like oasis plants, like the ones on the plateau.
Let's just hope they have sap like oasis plants.
One more to fill.
There, that looks promising.
Now, getting back to the subject at hand.
Oh, that's right.
You and Roxton.
Nice try.
What kind of sap is this? Marguerite, stay back.
Veronica! No! Typical, you do something nice for someone else and no one's around to see it! Come on, sleeping beauty.
It's a long way to Tipperary.
Good job, Roxton.
Now all we need is some repair glue.
Look at this place, George.
Do you honestly think Veronica and Marguerite will have any chance of finding plants down here? Certainly I do.
Airborne seeds from the surface would have fallen down through the caldera just as we did.
The resulting plants would over the centuries mutate into species that are better able to survive down here.
Evolutionary adaptation, huh? I suppose that accounts for the albino pterodactyls.
Absence of natural lighting it could loss skin pigmentation.
Exactly.
When conditions change, life must change.
You know, George, if things don't work out hypothetically speaking do you think we can adapt to this world? Given the heat, lack of oxygen, and those geothermal cauldrons venting a devil's brew of toxic fumes, I sincerely doubt whether we can survive two or three more days, let alone adapt.
Challenger! I'll take her.
Steady! You should rest now.
Is it much colder on the surface? I never used to think so.
You are brave, setting out across my world, trusting my word when I'm a stranger to you.
Nowadays, when I do things like that, my friends think I'm crazy.
Especially Veronica.
What do you think? I think I've been sitting on the sidelines watching for too long, taking notes when I should have been taking action.
You want to be a warrior, just as I do.
I've seen war.
Too much of it.
I'd prefer to have adventures no one else has had.
That's why I want to fly in your balloon, to see things no one else has seen since the last balloon visited our land.
Another balloon came here? When? Ten seasons of growth ago.
When I was a child.
The village elders still tell stories about it.
Ten years ago! Who was on it? They said they were Laytons.
Thomas and Abigail.
What happened to them? Are they still here? The stories say they lived among us for a short time, but then they left in their balloon.
Why are these Laytons of interest to you? Because Tomas and Abigail Layton are Veronica's parents.
Veronica again! Veronica is important to you.
- All my friends are.
- But she's more than a friend.
Yes.
Well, no, not exactly.
Good.
Then she has no right to challenge this.
You are not free yet.
My friends they're counting on me, on us.
We have to find the iron.
What your friends need is just ahead.
They were most likely plant spores you encountered.
Her pulse is weak, but steady.
The plant spores would have been intended to kill animals whose decaying bodies would then fertilize the soil.
I've had just about enough of the wonders of nature for one day.
Will she recover? Well, that is the most likely outcome.
Challenger! It's our only outcome! Hurry! The fires are unpredictable here! - Is this an abandon iron mine? - Of a sort.
From this point on, silence.
You must do as I say.
Aleece, who are all these people? Exiles from my village, unworthy to be warriors.
If they catch us, they will kill us.
Aleece.
This is stealing.
There's got to be a better way to get the iron.
Not as quickly.
Do you want to go home or not? Many roads to a single destination.
Thieves! Go, Oh.
Come on, let's go, come on.
You stop! Intruder.
Stealing from the caves of Arjax is forbidden.
The law is clear.
All thieves must die.
Stop right there! You have everything and you steal from me? Aleece.
On your feet! - Kill her! - No! Then surrender.
No, Malone! He can't be trusted! Chain him up! He's innocent, Arjax, The crime is mine.
The question is, why would a warrior commit it? Or is this stolen too? You failed your quest.
You had no right to scorn my victory.
In my cave, I have the right to take your life.
Are all exiles cowards like you? Afraid of a fair fight.
Arjax! He has a balloon! Like the Laytons.
Show me! Show me! There.
The Challenger Hydro-Aerosphere Mark Two.
Liar! It is not the same.
I saw it flying, Arjax, it is just like the people say.
There! That's is the Laytons' balloon.
No, this is a hot air balloon.
See these braziers in the old basket they heat the air that fills the bag.
This is a new brand type of balloon.
It runs on a different kind of air.
Hydrogen gas.
Challenger makes it by using acid in this tanks and a stone of Arjax.
Arjax, he needed the stone to go home.
You can understand that.
You will take me to your balloon, and you will make it fly like the stories tell.
Or I will make your flesh quench my blade.
I can live with that.
You sure don't get points for technique, George.
On, on the contrary, Roxton, my dear old friend Pablo Picasso taught me that if you hold the brush in this fashion, you get a Hallo, our iron has arrived.
Yeah and I don't think I like who it arrived with.
Pig iron, not as efficient, but it'll do the job.
We are greatly indebted to you.
My name is Arjax.
Your balloon will fly now? Oh, indeed it will.
I will ride in it.
Perhaps we should sell tickets, huh? - We made a bargain.
- And we will keep it, we have enough acid, and now thanks to our new friends, we have enough iron.
A short trip won't be an imposition now, will it, Roxton? We also made a bargain.
Our weapons.
Thank you, Arjax, this is turning into a real adventure for everyone.
Hey, where is Veronica? She had an unfortunate encounter with the local flora, no long-term harm.
She's under the lean-to.
I found her a present.
- Layton? - Veronica's parents? It seems her parents not only explored the plateau above, they were down here as well.
At least for a short while.
Hmm! But how did one of my parents' journals get down here? Well, apparently they gave it as a gift to somebody in Aleece's village, before they went back to the surface.
But when? My parents never had a balloon.
They never mentioned anything about a hollow earth.
Maybe the answers are in there.
Thank you, Ned! With all of my heart.
You know there's nothing I wouldn't do for you.
Yeah, I do know.
It's just that I haven't always known where we stand.
I think we both know that sometimes romance doesn't last.
But friendship can.
So we're okay? Ned, we'll always be okay.
You're part of my life.
You always will be.
Well, I hope you find what you're looking for in there.
So do I.
Veronica's reading the journal.
I think she's going to be all right.
Where is Aleece? She was helping Challenger and Arjax with the basket repairs.
Where is she now? Is there a problem? No, I'll just go take a look and see if they are anywhere nearby.
Well when you see them tell them Challenger says the balloon will be ready to fly in an hour.
I'll only be about five minutes.
Is there anything going on between Malone and Aleece? nothing we need to know about.
Want to go on a balloon ride? Marguerite! You have to read this! Look at the date it's three months after my parents went away.
That's wonderful! What else does it say? All sorts of things about where the traveled and what they saw.
Look at these two pages back here.
Here, here.
I can't read them.
They look like Celtic runes, but I can't understand them either.
It's a cart drawing and diagrams sketches, maps! and they write how much they love me and how they miss me.
Oh sweetie! Hey! Let's go home and find your parents! Huh? Yeah.
Yeah.
Aleece.
- Why did you run away? - I'm looking for Arjax.
What haven't you told me about him? When Arjax failed in his quest to become a warrior, in his rage he caused the deaths of other on their quests.
So when he was exiled, even his name was taken from him and he was called after the stone he mines.
Why is that important now? The only way Arjax can reclaim his name and be welcomed back as a warrior is to do a great deed for the village, give a great gift.
You think he's going to steal our balloon.
I know he is.
It's his only hope.
We've got to get back to warn my friends.
Too late to run.
What is that weapon? Something I hope your world never knows.
Come on! Warrior! Go back to where you belong, Arjax.
You can't win.
Then neither will you.
No! Get out.
Aleece.
I'm a warrior.
I swear I'll make him pay.
No, Malone it is your duty to your friends.
It's the only way Arjax cannot win.
Cowards! Follow me! Kill them all! Then the balloon is mine! We have neutral buoyancy.
It's almost ready to fly.
Move it! He's alone! Arjax and his men, they are going to try to steal the balloon.
Malone, where's Aleece? - Arjax! - We tried to delay them.
But this balloon could buy his freedom.
We'll I suggest we use it to ensure our own freedom first.
We almost have positive buoyancy.
Ready to go whenever you are.
Release the ropes at my call.
- You ready Malone? - Ready! Then let's go home.
- Come on, Malone.
- Come on Ned! - Malone? - Ned what are you doing? - It's tied too tight.
- We'll undo it.
- Malone leave it.
- Forget it Malone.
- Come on.
- Malone I said leave it.
Malone, spear! Malone! - Here they come.
- I'll cover you.
Now, Ned.
- Come on Ned.
- Come on come back here.
- I can't! - You can't take them all.
Leave it Malone I'll release the rope from up here.
The stake! - Malone! - Malone! - The stake! - Run Malone! I'm going down for him.
If we lost weight we only go higher.
Then take us down George.
I'm dealing over as fast as I can.
- Malone the ladder! - Quick! Run for the ladder.
Malone! This is for Aleece.
Come on Neddy-boy! run for it Grab the ladder, come on! You can do it! Come on, Ned! Get him inside, we are going off.
Now what, Challenger? Straight up the caldera like old St.
Nick? I timed the winds when we were on the ground, there's a definite cycle to the up and down drafts.
- So what I suggest we do - Just please.
Get us out of here.
Point taken.
Well done, Neddy boy.
We have to land to check the repairs of the gas bag.
Veronica, keep a hold on it the wind can still take it.
OH! Oh! No! - Veronica!! - Veronica! - Veronica!! - Veronica! - Jump! - Jump! - Veronica - Jump! Malone! - Veronica - Veronica No! Malone! Jump! Veronica jump! How long will the hydrogen last? - Two days at most.
- She's more than a match for him.
She has to be.
When I throw you off I would fly even higher.
I'm not the one who's leaving, You don't know how to fly this thing Arjax Throw your knife now overboard I'll land us safely.
I'm a warrior now.
Theres is nothing you can do! There's nothing.
Veronica is still on board.
She's heading for those awful clouds! Can the balloon survive those winds? It was designed to survive but it's so damaged.
Knowing Veronica, she'll be the first one to make it off the plateau.
And she's the only one who never wanted to leave.
She'll never make it through the updrafts.
The winds will bring her back to the plateau.
But where? And when? Wherever she lands, we'll find her.
Now she's just like the rest of us, lost.
And looking for a way home.
*