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Whenever
a story hits the airwaves, it is rarely what was written in
the first draft. Other writers have their input, actors' availability
chances, budgetary cocerns arise, and more. When Corey
Miller and Philip Chung first came up with the story that
eventually became "Seconds," you'll see that their
first draft was vastly different. Corey's
interview tells some of the reasons of the hows and whys
things changed; if you'd like to read later versions, Version
2 and Version 3 can be found
here.
This
isn't to say anything is better than the other; but it is an
interesting look at an alternate take. Thanks again to Corey
Miller for sharing. The outline is below, and is copyrighted
to its respective owners.
Lois
and Clark
"Episode 17"
"Episode
17" - pitch notes - Philip Chung and Corey Miller - 10/23/95
BACKSTORY
As
established in the previous episode, Lois' clone realizes that
she is an android with a short life expectancy. She turns on
her creator, Lex Luthor, and Lex's plan to seize the real Lois
backfires as Lois escapes from his clutches. As we begin episode
17, the real Lois, with amnesia, wanders an Earth that she does
not recognize. Clark/Superman must find Lois before any harm
comes to her.
EPISODE 17
Superman
walks into a seedy bar, where he is greeted by hoots and sneers.
"Nice tights," "Hey cutie," etc. Superman
walks up to one of the men in the bar and asks the man, an informant,
if he has heard any word on the street in regards to Lois' whereabouts.
The man says no, he has not heard a thing. Superman explains
to the man that he has asked all of the snitches on the street,
and no one seems to know. More hoots and hollers from the bar:
"What's the matter, girl problems?" etc. Superman's
anger rises, and he lashes out physically, by breaking a table
in the bar, pushing a pool table into a wall, something to that
effect. He stops himself, realizing that he's out of control,
and leaves, frustrated. He runs and fiercely streaks off into
the night.
Superman
lands in Smallville at a familiar sight--the Kent farmhouse.
It is dark. He walks inside. Illuminated by moonlight, a figure
rises up, startling Superman. It is Lois, who says, "It's
happening. I'm dying."
The
Lois that Clark sees is really Lois the clone. The clone explains
how she came here for Clark's help--she is slowly dying. The
clone is sorry for deceiving Clark, as she really did not know
any better. Clark explains that they have the house to themselves,
since his parents are in Italy on their second honeymoon, and
that now is the time for her to rest in comfort. "Did you
have any luck finding Lois?" the clone asks. Clark says
no, but she is also his concern now. The clone falls asleep.
Clark
is tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep. Suddenly a light
comes from outside. Clark looks outside to see what it is. There
is a glow emanating from the treehouse outside--Clark's "Fortress
of Solitude." He goes out to investigate.
Clark
climbs up to the treehouse. The glow is coming from a box inside,
the box housing his prized possession--the globe (from season
one). Intrigued, Clark picks it up. An image (or voiceover)
appears to him of his father, Jor-El. Jor-El says to Clark that
he is speaking to Clark because Clark is unhappy, tormented
like never before. Jor-El says that it is times like these that
his alienation from society comes into focus. There are precious
few who can know the truth, few to whom Clark can share his
troubles with. Fight the good fight, says Jor-El. Be strong.
Then the glow dies down, and Clark sits in the treehouse, contemplating.
The
camera pans out from the treehouse to include the shadowy figure
of a man with binoculars, witness to all that transpired between
Clark and Jor-El. The man grins, and disappears into the night.
The
next day. Clark talks with the clone. Emotions run high, as
the clone laments having such a "life." Clark can't
believe his life, either. The one woman he love is now two women,
one who is dying, the other who is lost and helpless. Clark,
looking around the house, tells a story of his childhood, and
of how he felt when he first got his powers. It was like he
was the strongest man on Earth. He never thought he could feel
as weak, as powerless, as he does at that very moment. He says
he has to go look for Lois some more, and leaves.
Clark
and the clone go into town. They have a very comfortable relationship.
It takes Clark aback to see the clone so close to the real Lois'
mannerisms. He makes sure that he doesn't forget his true objective,
however--to save the real Lois. A man approaches them from behind--the
same man we saw the night before. He says to Clark, "Enjoying
your bionic love doll, Superman?" Clark stiffens. "Don't
think of leaving Smallville until I say so," the man continues,
"one flick of my little finger and Lois Lane dies. The
one who doesn't need batteries." Clark gets close to roughing
him up, but obviously cannot.
The
man leaves, and makes a phone call. A woman's voice answers.
He says that the plan is going swimmingly well. He had been
following Clark, like planned, in order to get at Superman.
And boy, did he. He asks the woman if she has completed her
part of the plan. She says that she is working on it. It is
then that the woman is shown--Mindy Church (wearing a wig, but
we still know it's her). She calls the man TRASK. Trask says
that he has decided that the terms have changed. He knows the
identity of Superman, and is upping the terms of the deal. Mindy
gets angry--there is a reason she contacted Trask in the first
place. Trask has been obsessed with killing Superman for years,
ever since Jason Trask, his father, was killed while pursuing
Superman. Mindy has a better plan. She has someone who is available
to kill Superman, someone who will get to Superman as no one
else could. PAN OUT to reveal Lois, the real Lois, who is in
the room with Mindy. Mindy says, openly, that now that she has
found Lois, they can continue their plan--Lois will kill Superman.
Lois looks on, blankly. Mindy looks at the phone, and to an
electronic device which is hooked up to it. "Smallville,
huh?" she says, already one up on Trask.
Lois
and Mindy talk. Mindy asks Lois if she can remember anything
about her life, anything at all. Lois says that she has vague,
cloudy memories, nothing concrete. Mindy expresses how worried
everyone was, how when Lex took Lois, their number one agent,
the organization almost folded. "Number one agent?"
Lois asks. Mindy describes how Lois was working for LexCorps,
a criminal unit devoted to taking over Metropolis. Lois was
going undercover as a Daily Planet journalist, to first and
foremost investigate other crime organizations in order for
LexCorps to squash them. As Lois became friends with Clark Kent
and Superman, her job became twofold--to get close to Superman,
find out his weaknesses, and eventually kill him. "Clark...."
Lois has a fleck of recognition in her eyes.
Clark
and the clone are in town again, trying to keep their minds
off of their situation. They get an ice cream. The clone Lois
takes this time to ask Clark about his life--his childhood,
his coming to Metropolis, his relationship with the real Lois.
Through his talk, the clone understands how much Clark cares
for Lois. She becomes wistful again, knowing that she cannot
be in love--it is not in her programming. But she knows enough
to say that Lois is a very lucky woman, and Clark is a very
good man. She goes to eat her ice cream, and when she gets close
to it, it melts. She feels her skin--it is incredibly hot. She
starts to cry. Clark tells her to hang on, he'll get her something
else. When Clark is gone, the clone leaves. When Clark gets
out of the shop with a new dessert, the clone speeds past him
in a car.
The
real Lois begins to ask questions of Mindy. Didn't she have
an apartment or house? If so, can't she go to it? Maybe some
of her memories can surface. Does she have family? Friends?
Mindy is getting uncomfortable with the line of questioning.
Answers can't come as fast as the questions. Mindy says for
her to hold on, that she has an excellent therapist who will
bring out all of Lois' memories, so she can be a whole person
again. Mindy smiles deviously.
Superman
flies off towards the clone. The clone, in the car, looks weak
and about to collapse. The car veers out of control, and heads
towards a group of people.
Superman
intervenes and saves the clone and the car. The clone says that
she wanted to go off and die by herself. Superman says that
he won't leave her alone, and hugs her tight. Superman is confused,
unsure of his own emotions.
"I'm never going to leave you again," Clark says.
"What about the real Lois?" says the clone. "You're
dying, now," he says, "you are my main priority."
Lois
is in Mindy's hideout with the THERAPIST. He says that he will
use hypnosis to bring all of her subconscious memories to the
surface. But he will need some help from her. What can she remember?
Lois says that Mindy mentioned the name "Clark." She
remembers him the most. Tender moments, kisses, she thinks that
she cared for him a lot. The therapist tells her that of course
she thinks that she cared for him--she was a trained operative
who got close to whoever she needed to in order to get a job
done. "Now, I want you to think really hard," he says
to Lois, "tell me all that you know about Superman."
Night
has fallen. The clone is clearly not doing well. Clark tends
to her. He says that since he can't leave Smallville, he doesn't
know what he can do to help her. "There is nothing to be
done," she says, "it is my destiny." She sleeps.
Clark
goes outside to the "Fortress of Solitude." He grabs
the globe, and asks Jor-El what to do. "I've never been
so powerless," he says. "What good am I on Earth if
I can't even save the woman I love the most?" Jor-El tells
a story from (1) Clark's adolescence, about a time when Clark
first was getting to know his powers, and how Jor-El appeared
to him in dreams to guide him on his responsibilities. This
relates to the current situation because Jor-El warned Clark
that his life would always be tumultuous, never a resting moment
available to him, and that to have a good life on Earth, Clark
would have to be strong on the outside and inside, or (2) Jor-El
tells a story about his own life, about feeling powerless. There
just wasn't enough time for him to provide safety for his family.
Jor-El was powerless to stop the destruction of their planet,
and to protect his family from death. He was able to save Clark,
and save him for a reason: to help another planet who would
need him, a planet that Clark could help save from extinction,
as well as save Clark's life. And in the end, its not that you
can do everything perfectly every time, all the time, but that
you try your hardest to make things come out right.
The
next day, Lois is at a shooting range. She shoots at a stand-up
of Superman, and is dead on the target. Mindy is pleased. She
tells the therapist that his work will be rewarded highly. Lois
is completely brainwashed. Trask calls Mindy. He asks her if
she has made a decision yet on his terms. No, she says. He says
that she must decide by 5pm that day. Mindy says she will let
him know.
Trask's
hotel. He is in his room when the door bursts open. Mindy, surrounded
by armed guards, tells Trask how foolish he is. "You didn't
learn much from your father, did you?" she says. She says
that things will happen according to her terms now. Call Superman,
she says, and tell him to meet us at the Town Center at 9 the
next morning. Trask calls Clark, and tells him about the meeting
time.
The
next morning. It look like the clone is a goner. Clark says
his goodbyes to her, very wistful because he is practically
transferring feelings from the real Lois onto her. Clark says
that he has to meet with Trask. She wants him to stay with her,
but she knows that he cannot. He leaves. She watches him go.
The
town center. Superman shows up, ready for action. The real Lois
appears. He is surprised and excited to see her. She pulls a
gun on him. He walks closer and closer to her, confused as to
what is going on. She tries to kill him, but she cannot. There
is some hesitation, she will not do the deed.
Trask
comes out of hiding, angry. "Do it!" he shouts. He
grabs the gun from Lois and points it at Superman, ready to
shoot. Suddenly, the clone Lois appears, wrestles with Trask
with the last of her strength, and shots go off. A few bullets
go into her, and Trask, taking a bullet of his own, is killed.
Mindy
realizes her plans are thwarted, and leaves.
Treehouse.
Superman takes clone Lois up to the treehouse. Her life signs
are weak, at their most minimal. He explains that Lois is in
a hospital now, that she will be in good hands. He thanks her,
and says that he wants to show her something special. He shows
her the globe. Jor-El appears, and he introduces himself as
Clark's father.
She
dies. Pan out as Clark holds clone in his arms.
The
glow of the globe is all we see as we FADE OUT.
Oh!
But we're not done yet! Click here
to read the next outline, to see it become more like the "Seconds"
that aired!
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