…Must Come Down

DVD, BUGS S2 (…Must Come Down)

Brrr… it ends so chillingly: "The killings come later." At the same time it's completely unambiguous, not that the series was known for subtlety and tact, it wasn't meant to be, but I had an impression that we didn't see Jean-Daniel until at least the third episode, if not later, and we were left to puzzle over whether this was Zito's plot or if there was really someone else behind it. There's no question in the ending as we see it, Zito is assassinated by a couple of bazooka-wielding henchmen whom he assumes have come to back him up, then we get the series' standard humorous final scene with the team relaxing in what must be said is a very stylish and attractive place, with gleaming metal and glass surfaces and that avant-garde colour scheme, and they share a joke at Ed's expense, but things take a creepy turn as they speculate on who was really behind it all. Then we cut to a prison cell, pan down to a bald head watching the same news report as they were, and it's Jean-Daniel, the villain they put away at the end of Season 1. I'm not saying I'd have it any other way, I just forgot the season set out its stall right away, even though it would take two-thirds of it to get going. It wouldn't have been a surprise to me at the time because this was the last chronological episode that I missed on original transmission before I knew about the series (not counting a couple of episodes I didn't see after this point), being introduced to it in the next episode, 'Bugged Wheat,' so when seeing it for the first time on DVD I already knew it was all going to be about JD.

I always liked that sense of foreboding, a mood wonderfully crafted by both the dialogue and the music that morphs from the usual tension-filled sequences to triumphal success, but then transforms into a warning portent, it just appealed so much to my young mind. I think it also touches on one of my favourite 'Star Trek' storytelling devices of not knowing reality, whether that be a simulation, alien interference or the unknown capacities of the human mind (something that would be touched on at the end of this season in Cyberax). Having this extra dimension to what plays out for the team as their usual adventures, but for us is a concerning, larger picture that they aren't aware of, gives us added fear for the lives of our heroes as they walk unconsciously towards a doom that appears to be intended for their destruction. It adds new life into the series concept, not just because there's an element of serialisation, it's more about the continuity and an overarching plot against them that we know will slowly be revealed, and instead of each story being completely self-contained, as Season 1 was, there's a greater sense of ongoing lives playing out.

They were already starting to play with the formula and the simple rules that had been laid out about the characters being archetypes and nothing more, and we can see that being further altered quite clearly in this episode. The biggest example is of introducing us to Amanda 'Mandy' Courtney, of GNC (Global News… something?), apparently a top reporter for that organisation on site in Kituma to report on events there. We're told she and Beckett almost married, and though we don't get any more detail than that, there's certainly some bitterness on her side as she deliberately attacks him personally, even while she rises above personal feelings to help this country that is at a crossroads between financial success or civil war at the hands of Vice President Chuku, anxious to assassinate President Haikudu (played by Anthony Chinn, who's been in so many things, including the kind of old ITC productions 'BUGS' was based on!). It's unclear what happened, but Beckett admits to having regrets, even if he may just be saying that to ameliorate a difficult woman whom he's dependent on for much more important success. We also see evidence of a closer friendship between Beckett and Ros here, Beckett being much more tactile with her when they're worried about Ed and demonstrating confidence in her genius abilities to sort out any technical problem. Ros remains quite detached, as befits her position and personality, she doesn't give anything away whether he's overstepped the mark or she's grateful for it, she remains very reserved, but then she has a lot on her mind.

It's just interesting to see these little changes in the characters when you know where the series goes in future, and yet it's also very true to what had previously been established, Ros is more guarded generally, she has this irony or sarcasm in her voice, not in a negative way, but frequently chastising towards untruthful clients, or in this case teasing towards Beckett. He, on the other hand, has always been of fiery disposition that has got him into trouble in his career, but is also something of an asset in his present line of work, and when you add that Ed is the go-to action man, always ready for any kind of challenge, you see why the trio compliment each other so perfectly, a deconstruction of the series' success. It's not always the case that they each have their sphere of expertise and are allowed to stay within that comfort zone, and it's when they have to cross into other team members' areas that things go up a level as we see them struggle or forced to adjust on the fly - Ros is pushed into some action when she tracks down the Starshield signal from where Zito had controlled it, but she's caught by him and held at gunpoint. It only takes a second's distraction for her to perform an impressive karate kick that knocks the weapon out of his hands and gives Beckett time to jump him. She gets off another kick before she's done, too. Ed, meanwhile has to contend with the technical side of working in space, and this is another strength of the episode.

It's no 'Gravity,' but for a mid-90s TV budget they did a great job of presenting a pretty realistic portrayal of what it's like to be in space - we see a fascinating air-inflated splint for Vornholt's injured leg, which I would assume is the real technology they'd use for an injury like that in such an environment. Then there's the adjustment to the physics of weightlessness when Ed finds he doesn't have the torque to be able to unscrew a bolt keeping the RX44 satellite firmly in shuttle Excalibur and has to be reminded to brace himself. The tool used and the EVA suit all look authentic and while there aren't the wild thrills shown in 'Gravity,' there's a real sense of danger from the reality of the situation, even down to Ed beginning to float off into space and Susan telling him to throw the wrench away from him so the reverse force will push him back towards the shuttle. The big downside is that, just as in part one, gravity is shown to be in operation inside the shuttle, which isn't realistic. In this series' case we can make the excuse that, because there's all kinds of futuristic technology, it must be that IASA has developed some kind of artificial gravity, as far-fetched as that is, so that's how I get around it in my own mind. In general science fiction it's easy to accept, but because this series appears to be in the real world that does jar a little.

Something else that isn't quite as effective was a return to a blast of air and debris as simulation for a proper explosion when two of Amanda's crew are killed by Chuku's bomb going off in the lift as it opens its doors. I wonder if they couldn't have reused the stock footage of the lift explosion from 'A Sporting Chance' as that was so much more effective? What works pretty well is the sense of dangerous tensions in Kituma as we hear about terrorist attacks all over the country. It's not necessary to show that, as for example they do use stock footage of a space shuttle, because we have that blast in the lift and the aftermath of Amanda dealing with the death of two friends, so the impression of unrest and strife in the land is achieved. There continue to be a high rate of explosions, although most of them are pretty small and come from Zito's adoption of a portable bazooka as his last-ditch attempts to take out the opposition - I love how Beckett leaps in front of Joy at GNC, even though it would make no difference if Zito had been able to fire, but it's an instinctual reaction for him to put himself on the line for others, one of the things we love about him, and indeed, all the team. But I do prefer it when that team gets to work together instead of singularly, even if they are in communication. Obviously Ed is well out of that for the episode, being up in space, but while Ros and Beckett do spend a lot of time together, when they're actually doing things it's largely alone. It's possible Ed's teaming with Vornholt, while Ros and Beckett were working together separately, was the inspiration for Alex Jordan being added to the group as that's exactly the kind of teamwork that went on in Season 3.

Working alone does give a sense of danger for the characters, especially with a bazooka-wielding enemy running around (you know he means business when he starts wearing orange overalls - JD would do the same later in the season!), although I'd have been more concerned about getting into my vehicle than being bugged, considering Zito's MO last episode was to blow up cars! Fortunately we lose neither the Jeep nor Ros' yellow sports car, both of which would service many more of the team's missions. I'm not sure why Zito upgraded to a bazooka, I suppose it was his weapon of last resort as he'd lost the handgun during the fracas with Ros and Beckett. It could also be a hint of JD's involvement since his main distinguishing feature was carrying a similar weapon, though Zito's is much more compact and practical. I wish it had been more of a shock to the characters when they find out Zito's still alive - I'm not quite sure how they could have done that more effectively as it was really only for our, the audience's benefit since we knew what they didn't, so there was no shock for us, but Ros greets the sight of him very coolly after what was quite an ingenious, if violently risky, way to fake death. It also has to be said that, while an ingenious solution of Beckett's to smash the fire alarm so the sprinklers activate, shorting out Zito's weapon, I'm not sure how realistic that moment was: the sprinklers don't come on in the room Beckett and the others are in, just in the outside section where Zito stands. Then again, that room was bare, whereas the other was filled with electrical equipment so maybe it was designed on the assumption any fire would come from there and since electrics and water don't mix, the surrounding rooms and corridors had sprinklers to prevent the spread of fire?

I'd like to know what was going on with this potential army of henchmen willing to kill one of their own! It becomes a very James Bond moment with these two shady individuals in identical overalls striding around with bazookas and shades and I can see they were trying to show the power of who or what was behind Zito, but that makes you wonder what happened to them later on when JD finally gets out of prison - he doesn't seem to have an army then… If they were just hired guns does that explain it? I also noticed some other writerly shortcutting, or perhaps a conflict between the page and the screen, when Ros tells Beckett about how to get the code to her that he hopes he captured from Amanda before the feed was lost: he's to load up the minidisc on the laptop, then choose the best frame and send it through the modem, but in reality all that happens is he puts the disk in and somehow the computer goes straight to the frame he needs. Again, there was supposed to be some tension over whether Beckett had got a good enough image of the barcode, and it's difficult to inject danger into technical moments like that, but I felt that needed something more to succeed.

Interestingly, we get a first for the series when the whole of the teaser is taken up with a 'Story update…' recapping the first episode. I'm not sure they did that again in subsequent two-parters. And did they film in the same area as 'Out of The Hive'? The communications establishment at Blade Point, as Ros describes it, looked just like the waterfront area we saw near The Hive building, and the inside stairwell at GNC looked exactly the same as that building, too, with a rounded outer section and small, square windows in a line. I do have a question about what was actually happening from JD's side of things, because the GNC report states that investors who'd invested in Kituma had made a killing, and later we find out JD makes his vast sum of money by betting on the team that put him away, in terms of making investments based on who they were helping, at least that's how I remember it. If so, was he really behind Zito? It wouldn't make sense for him to want Zito to beat the Gizmo's team if he was investing in Kituma, or did he get the idea for investing in the team's clients from this event? Or was it that he would have made even more money by siding with the corrupt Chuku as Zito was doing? It's unclear at this stage and I'm not sure it ever became entirely clear, but it's a point I need to keep in mind as the season pans out.

Zito worked quite well as villain of this big story to kick us off, even if he seems less sane (“Time to die-ee”), perhaps he feels his status is slipping away, and in conversation with Chuku his angry face, slicked back hair and quivering lip makes for a terrifying close-up. He’s served quite well and gets to play the team on their own terms with the gadgets and weapons at his disposal. It almost seems a shame it was ultimately his disposal! Though the dramatic death, presumably sliced by all those shards from the shattering glass sculpture was quite original. The second part of stories in anything often aren't as strong as the first and I'd say this is no exception. It is a little slower, though 'What Goes Up…' was constantly plunging us into the midst of action, so it would be difficult to keep that momentum going for the space of another episode, and less exciting with all the big ideas happening in the previous episode, other than Ed doing a space walk. Nonetheless, I do still enjoy it as I enjoy all 'BUGS' episodes, and the slower pace allows the drama to come through, even if there is a bit too much repetition (such as the phrase 'Kituma's hidden wealth' or the STA ground crew cheering each time communications comes back on after losing them!). I appreciate the continuing details and the sense of an existing world being built little bits at a time. There's also a fun additional draw for me as this marks what I believe is the only connection between 'BUGS' and Trek, with Stokes, the guy who was Amanda's boss at GNC, played by Fintan McKeown a few years before he played an Irish hologram in two episodes of 'Voyager.' Two of my all-time favourite series' inextricably linked!

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