Other Space

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
"Other Space"
Episode no.	H00616-94027
Airdate	February 11, 1997
Chief locations	Bayou near New Orleans 91.11W, 29.21N (1,587 miles)
Vehicle(s)	Dragonfly Jet Hoverboard
Writer(s)	Lance Falk
Guest roles	Jennifer Hale (Computer Voice) Shari Belafonte (Diana Cruz) Carl Lumbly (Colonel William Marcus) Brian Tochi (Professor Ken Otsuki) B.J. Ward (Iris the Computer)
Episode sequence	Dark Sentinel <--> Digital Doublecross
Other episodes

With the help of Dr. Quest's theories, professor Diana Cruz has opened a portal to another dimension. When the team arrive to evaluate the findings, otherworldly interlopers appear to stake their claim on Earth.

Plot Summary

Act One

The other dimension

Dr. Quest and the team are traveling by raft to a remote government location in the Louisiana bayous. Race Bannon warns the teens of alligators, at which point Jonny Quest asks why the mosquitoes aren't bothering Hadji. Hadji leans them on about a mystical secret before producing repellent; the team laugh before reaching the installation through a secret passage. They arrive a Project Gateway, where the United States researches faster than light travel, teleportation, and other esoteric physical concepts to which Benton has been a theoretical consultant. Colonel Marcus reveals that last week, they were able to dissect reality and bend the rules of time and space. In the next chamber, they meet Diana Cruz, the leading scientist of the project and one of Race's old flames and bodyguard assignees. She declares that the gateway has possibly opened a passage to another dimension, and shows the team landscape photographs taken by a probe sent in. She credits Dr. Quest's theories for the discoveries and asks him to evaluate the findings after they first reel in the probe. However, after opening the gate, Professor Otsuki is locked out of the controls and three otherworldly visitors enter.

Act Two

Benton is trapped

Dr. Quest is fascinated at these beings of pure energy, and watches them construct triangular devices with strange equipment. Cruz and Marcus attempt to contact them; when Marcus touches one, he is thrown back by a huge electrical shock. The devices seem to enlarge the portal, allowing more travelers through with more materials. Dr. Quest devises two ways to get them back to their world, and notes that this way is the easier when he tries to disassemble one of the triangles. He is shocked and confined in an orb of energy, and afterwards is sent through the portal to the other world. Race and Jonny try to help, but are thrown against a wall with arcs of electricity. Outside, purple pyramidal structures are appearing in the bayou, and the sky is turning into a violent miasmatic maelstrom. Cruz knows that the visitors need their gateway technology; Marcus concocts a plan of his own and takes Otsuki to the generator controls at gunpoint. Race orders everyone to evacuate and tells Cruz and Marcus is probably going to blow the generator, a quantum linear accelerator that would engulf half the state of Louisiana in the resulting explosion. At the controls, Marcus does not listen to Otsuki's pleas and forces him to proceed. Meanwhile, Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji return from the boat with three Hoverboards; Jonny has tuned his watch to track his father, and takes Hadji's board for Benton's use. Hadji stay behind as an anchor to the real world as Jonny and Jessie enter. The three triangle devices flash wildly.

Act Three

On the other side, Jonny and Jessie see a bizarre world and confirm that they're still alive with Hadji. The visitors have left a strange machine in their wake which has attached itself to the gateway. At the generator controls, Otsuki finishes preparing the self-destruct sequence; as Race tries to convince Marcus otherwise, Cruz accidentally hits an alarm button. Race uses the distraction to knock Marcus's gun away and begin violently fighting. In the other dimension, Jessie and Jonny are attacked by more of the strange world's inhabitants, who are often dispatched by their own energy when it ricochets off the landscape. Race and Marcus's fight takes them both over the edge, where Race is barely able to save his life. Once safe, they immediately start fighting; Marcus knocks Race away and pushes the self-destruct button, dooming the facility to a twenty-five gigaton explosion. Marcus is horrified buy adamant in his decision when Cruz's satellite imagery shows more pyramids and wild energy spreading across the region.

Jonny and Jessie race to save Dr. Quest

In the other dimension, Jonny and Jessie locate Dr. Quest and slash open his energy prison with a Hoverboard. Dr. Quest reveals that the probe is the key to the assault, and that it must be intact for the others to cross into reality. He asks Jonny and Jessie to head out while he stays behind and smashes it. Jonny objects, and his verbage prompts Dr. Quest to remember that most probes have self-destruct routines. He sets the probe's for five minutes and the three leave, just as a huge monster materializes and shoots lasers at them. They are able to outrun it, and when Race tells Dr. Quest of the impending explosion he has a flash of genius. He orders everyone to evacuate and stays behind to activate a force field around the entire complex to contain the explosion. The monster soon arrives, but Dr. Quest outfits himself in a force field, rendering him invulnerable to attack. The sequence concludes and the facility is engulfed in a huge explosion, blasting the monster back into its dimension which is also ravaged. The probe is gone, and the spherical emptiness left by the vanished facility causes water to rush into it. The team grab on to branches outside, and Dr. Quest is rescued when he descends from his force field. Race arrives on the boat and takes the others to safety, eventually handing off captaincy to Jonny while he catches up with Cruz.

Notes

Quotes

• Hadji - "It is an old family secret...The proper frame of mind; a correct spiritual point of view; the right time. But mostly, it is this mosquito repellent. Would you like some?"

~

• Jessie - "Can't we go anywhere without running into one of my dad's ex-girlfriends?"
• Jonny - "Doesn't look so ex to me."

~

• Marcus - "You idiot! America is at stake"
• Race - "I don't listen to reason!"

~

• Dr. Quest - "Sorry, Fido, but I can't stay to play fetch!"

~

• Dr. Quest - "Steer clear of any other dimensions, okay son?"

Goofs

• Otsuki's visualization of an explosion visible from the moon has the blast occurring on what looks like China, Pangaea, or some other blob of unidentifiable landmass.

Trivia

• Brian Tochi is the famous "Toshiro" from Revenge of the Nerds and a prolific voice actor.
• The Tsar Bomba, the most explosive nuke ever seen, was only a 57 megaton blast. Over four hundred would have to be used to reach the facility's level of power.
• The Quest Byte features Jonny playing a flight simulator and dispatching a bogey.
• 'Bayou near New Orleans' was allegedly one of the clues for the Questworld Adventure.

Lance Falk Behind-the-Scenes #2

Subj: Behind the Scenes #2
Date: 97-02-12 09:00:15 EST
From: LFMOA

Hi Questoids, here's the poop on "Other Space".

I avoided Questworld scripts for four shows before it was my turn. Nothing against it really, I just prefer traditional JQ type stories with exotic locations around the world. By the time I came on board, the Questworld ideas looked used up to me. There are only so many "Video Games that almost kill you" adventures before Dr. Quest would logically pull the plug. (I have the same problem with Star Trek holodeck episodes) To be fair, Mike Ryan and Glenn Leopold seem to have a real handle on this stuff. They keep coming up with great Questworld stories. Finally, it was my turn.

I decided to "Cheat" around the problem much in the same way Project Gateway cheats around space and time. What if another dimension was discovered, one with the same properties as Questworld, but it was a REAL PLACE? That way Dr. Q. and his brood (ALL experts, not just Benton) could be called in with a database of already built Questworld gear and a working knowledge of the unknown territory.. Well, it was an idea that seemed to work for everyone, it was written, recorded, storyboarded, designed, etc THEN we found out it was not possible to do CGI for that episode. (don't ask) So I had to do a series of fast rewrites giving you the show you now hold.

The funny thing to me is that THIS world is now more exciting than the Other Space dimension. Originally, Jonny and Jessie fought the alien beings with an array of VR gear, broke Dr. Quest from his prision with another, etc.Whenever I watch it, I mourn for the middle Questworld sequences. They don't really work for me, but no one out there seems to mind, so I'll let it go. Larry really made it exciting, Davis has been very complimentary, the feedback from you folks has been very sweet so maybe I'm being too picky. It came out pretty neat in spite of itself.

Here are some Questoid Factoids about it:

1. Diana, Chris, and Marcus are all named after friends of mine in the animation biz.

2. Diana was originally hispanic but Larry grabbed onto the "Bodyguard" aspect of her former relationship with Race and ran with it. (which worked out fine. Sharri Bellifonte was great). Producer Larry denies the Whitney Houston / Larry Houston connection, but I'm not buying it!

3. Colonel William Marcus was played by Carl Lumley, formerly known as M.A.N.T.I.S. on Fox, among other things He was so good as Marcus! "Maybe they're just rude!" Ha ha!

4. Brian Toshi was Ken Otsuki. He's been in a LOT of stuff. (Remember "Space Academy"?)

5. The creatures were meant to evoke the "Dr. Strange" comic book work of Steve Ditko (the FIRST Spiderman artist) I sort of ruff designed the humanoid beasties myself. Jim Stenstrum, Mark Lewis, and lots of post production effects gave them their final cool appearance.

6. Contrary to rumor, "Stargate" was not a big influence on the story. (though I like that film) I was really going for a classic "Outer Limits" feel. "The Belerro Sheild", "Galaxy Being",and especially "The Borderlands". Our Music composer did a great Outer Limitsy job. Listen closely to the score, it's dynamite.

7. Those video effects (the humanoid energy creatures, sky, Gateway, etc) were expensive and time consuming to do. It seemed the best way to tell the story however (Aren't they COOL?)

8. "Other Space" is a play on "Outer space. Duh.....You knew that, I'm sure.

9. Diana Cruz was Race's bodyguard assignment (eight or nine years ago) just prior to the Quest job. He must have done a good job, cause she's still around, right?

That's all that occurs to me. I'll do my other brush with VR ("Thoughtscape") in a few days.

Storyboards

Storyboards from this episode and Night of the Zinja were auctioned on Ebay.

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