The Edge of Yesterday
| The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest | |
| "The Edge of Yesterday" | |
| |
| Episode no. | H00616-94041 |
|---|---|
| Airdate | March 17, 1997 |
| Chief locations | Questworld |
| Writer(s) | Michael Ryan Karen Ferguson (consultant) |
| Guest roles | Quinton Flynn (Big Guard) Rob Paulsen (Worker) Michael Bell (Ezekiel Rage) Earl Boen (Dr. Forbes) Jim Meskimen (Dr. Vedder) Dee Baker (Williams) B.J. Ward (Iris the Computer) |
| Episode sequence | Diamonds and Jade <--> The Haunted Sonata |
| Other episodes | |
Ezekiel Rage dooms the world to destruction when he plants a thermonuclear bomb two miles within the Earth's crust. With the apocalypse nearing, Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji resort to Dr. Quest's last-ditch program, "Rachel"—a time portal.
Contents
Plot Summary
At Meteor Valley State Park, two seismology doctors prepare to descend two miles into the earth beneath the site of a crater which could have caused the extinction of the dinosaurs. A military vehicle rolls to the site with a four-wheeler behind it; several men jump off and carry a large metallic barrel device towards the hole. Ezekiel Rage leaves the driver's seat and tells the men that he will use their work to detonate a thermonuclear triple warhead deep within the earth. His men lower it in and equip the site with explosives before pushing the two doctors into the pit. As the warhead lowers, Rage drives away and seals the site with the explosives, preventing access to the warhead. The warhead is set to detonate in seven days, enough time for Rage to make his way to the Himalayas to watch the end of the world.
Act One
Jonny Quest and Jessie Bannon are strapped in to Questworld, where they play a flight simulator to destroy worthless data in the archives. They are pulled out by Hadji, who has received an urgent message from Dr. Quest. He appears on the main screens with Race Bannon piloting behind him; they're over the Arctic Circle. He shows Jonny footage of Ezekiel Rage in the Himalayas prophesying the end of the world, a transmission given to the White House two hours earlier. The military are trying to dig up the device, but will not have enough time; Dr. Quest as a result tell Jonny that it's up to him and Rachel, and utters the word "computer" before communication blacks out. Jonny is perplexed by that name, as it was his mother's; he enters it into the Questworld search function. They find a message from Dr. Quest, who relates that since they are viewing this, either he is dead or a great calamity threatens the world. He explains that after his wife passed away, he worked frantically for months to create a time portal based on Questworld technology. Obsessed with seeing her just one last time, he realized he could save her. Though the work was finished, he sealed the program, as he felt he could not change history to suit his own ends—unless the entire world were at stake.
Jonny tears up, and Iris explains how the machine works; it converges three beams of tachyon particles, plotting a point in time. Those who pass through are energized and physically enter the new era. Jonny and Jessie jack in and activate Hoverboards to fly through the portal and go two months back in time. On the other side, they find an era which transpired sixty million years ago, and are chased by a tyrannosaurus rex. They return through the portal to Questworld, but the dinosaur follows them in; they upgrade to virtua speeders to hogtie the beast. Jonny's laser wench fails and he's knocked to the ground; Jessie succeeds in grabbing on to the rex's tail. She asks Hadji to upgrade her speeder with a rocket booster, and abandons it on a course back to prehistory with the dinosaur attached. It disappears, and Hadji reopens the portal for a different course. He accidentally sets it for two days in the future, and a huge gravitational pull exerts on everything in Questworld. A rogue chip knocks Jessie away through the portal; Jonny anchors his speeder on an anvil provided by Hadji and goes in after her. The wench doesn't allow him to go all the way through, and his speeder flies out and nearly hits Jessie, who is hanging on for dear life above a cliff. The scene widens to show a barren world of volcanoes and lava with a huge sun on the horizon.
Act Two
The portal shifts near Jessie's position, and Jonny catches her just as she falls. They make their way back via an excruciating climb down the laser wench; Hadji closes the portal and the two fall to the ground. The two mistakes have allowed Hadji to calculate correctly how to send them seven days back, where they can stop Ezekiel Rage. The portal materializes in front of his vehicle; he screeches the truck to a halt. Jonny and Jessie crash their Hoverboards into his guards and hijack the truck through the portal. Rage knocks disciple William off his four-wheeler and follows them through, appearing as a muscular blue-clothed man with a fanged skull for a head. Hadji cannot close the portal as the thermonuclear device is creating an energy disturbance. Rage crashes through the driver's side window and threatens to kill Jessie, but she escapes and Jonny starts a fight. He knocks Rage into the device, setting the timer for one minute. Rage notices and commandeers the truck in a craze as more time portals open. Jonny stands in front of one to prevent passage, but Hadji tells him to let him go. The truck barrels through, and Rage finds himself in prehistory with a dinosaur immediately ahead. He gasps, and the thermonuclear device explodes. The shockwave threatens to spill over into Questworld; Hadji cannot close the system. As Jonny and Jessie stare down the bulging portal, Hadji cuts the power with a fire axe. The mainscreens explode, and some of Questworld's mainframe equipment caches fire in the lighthouse. Jonny and Jessie do not wake up in the real world for a few seconds, leading Hadji to believe they have died. However, they are okay, and Jonny wonders what happened to Rage. The scene switches to seven days earlier at the meteor site. The doctors descend, and embedded in the mine shaft wall is Rage's mask.
Notes
Script
A copy of the script was put up for auction on Ebay July 2019:
Quotes
- Rage - "We shall inherit the purity of destruction! So it is written in the Book of Rage!"
~
- Jonny - "Nice time driving, Hadj."
- Hadji - "I am sorry, Jonny, but time travel is not easy!"
~
- Dr. Quest's Message - "Hello, Jonny. If you're watching this it means either I'm dead or some terrible calamity has allowed me to cause access to this program. When your mother passed away, I wasn't sure I could go on. I became obsessed with the hope that I could see her one more time—talk to her once more. I labored for months to create a time portal using Questworld technology. I was just about to transport myself back in time when I realized not only could I see your mother again, but I could save her—I could stop her from dying. I had the power to change the past. I sealed the program away and never used it. I could not change history for personal gain, but if my time travel program can be used for a greater good, then it will be justified. Ask Iris for information. Good luck, son."
Trivia
- Though the premise is somewhat more implausible than other episodes (excluding the paranormal ones), the writers did a good job tying up the history of the world by having the explosion take place at the meteor landing site, producing virtually the same effect and preserving the timeline.
- This marks the death and final appearance of Ezekiel Rage in the series.
- The Quest Byte features Jonny playing a flight simulator and evading a bogey.
- An unknown Quest fan tried to get a clearer picture of Rachel through cleanup:
Script Changes
A JQML user acquired the original script for this episode somehow and compared differences.
Okay- I do not own this stuff or JQ or anything. The script for 'On the Edge of Yesterday' was written by Michael Ryan, from a story by Karen Ferguson and Michael Ryan, and I own nothing but my comments. I will change some stuff, but only in quotation from the episode itself and the written script to show differences between the two. HB, please don't sue. I have no money for you to take. I am just a fan...
Well guys, you remember that script that I don't have :) ? You know, the 'On the Edge of Yesterday' one? Well. There's me today, watching 'Alligators and Okeechobee Vikings'. Me rewinds tape. Me notices that episode (minus adverts) is only 20 minutes long. Me remembers that on the front of script I don't have, it says '22 minute script'. Me thinks 'Hello... if 'Alligators and Okeechobee Vikings' is only 20 minutes...where they get 22 minute script from?' Then me thinks 'Aha! That means a helluva lot o' stuff's been cut from original 'On the Edge of Yesterday' script! Lets go find out what...'
So, I took a copy of the script that I don't have and sat down in front of my TV and VCR with a highlighter pen and one of those red pens that teachers use. It took two hours to analyse, but it was worth it.
Wanna know what I found out?
No?
Okay, then, I'm off...
I'm kidding...
H'okay, well, basically there were practically no pages that were spared. Only 13 pages out of a 44 page script escaped unhindered!
There was loads of small stuff, which I'm not really going to go into respecting the fact that I will need to sleep tonight and it'll take me HOURS to type it all up- but I'll tell yuzz'all the most significant stuff.
Like, the fact that the script says that the state park sign shown in the first few frames of the episode says 'Craters of the Moon- State Park'. It doesn't. It actually says 'Meteor Valley State Park' in the episode itself. I wonder why they changed it?... It does also stay for the entirety of the episode, so it's not a 'mistake' as such.
Poor old Williams... Seems he actually gets a whole lot of his lines cut in the actual episode compared to the lines he was given. Williams (in case it's not said in the episode- I can't remember whether it is or not...) it Rage's chief helper in this one.
Ya know, I just think that Mook had a problem with the colour RED. There's supposed to be a 'red' button that Williams pushes when he's told to seal the mineshaft by Rage. It's actually a pink button. Maybe this explains why Jessie's hair so often appears 'pink' and not 'red'. And, it's a nice way of trying to explain why she dresses in pink...'Honest, Guv, it was supposed to be red'... (!) :)
There's a lot of little lines added and subtracted from the original script, but I'll only quote them if they're particularly interesting. There's some cut stuff coming up later that they SHOULDN'T have CUT!!
Anyway, back to the subject in hand...
You know how, when Jonny cries, he cries with both eyes (I know, it sounds stupid the way I put that, but...)? Well, in the script it says, and I quote:
'** CLOSE ON - JONNY watching the screens. A TEAR wells up in his right eye.'
His RIGHT eye...not both. I guess he wasn't supposed to be that emotional or something. BUT, I think (though I'm not sure) that the tear in his right eye may be a parody to CJQ's 'Pursuit of the Po-Ho'. When Dr Quest was kidnapped by the Po-Ho, I believe Jonny shed a tear from that same said right eye...
Although I could be making it all up as I'm going along...
Also, I remember ages ago that there was something going around where somebody said they reckoned that Jonny's reaction in 'On the Edge of Yesterday' showed that he hadn't really gotten over the death of his mother (forgive me, I don't remember who it was...). I think this is part of the case, but having analysed the episode from top to toe today, I also reckon that it's partly due to his father's pain. I'm willing to bet that Dr Quest doesn't reveal his pain easily to anybody, especially his beloved son. When Jonny's watching this video footage of his father, saying that he may be dead and that he grieved so hard for his mother that he created a time machine...well. I should imagine that was somewhat of a shock to the poor boy...
Anyway, back to our scheduled show...
There's a whole chunk of dialogue missing after the point where Iris explains about how the time travel program works. This is how it appears- to Jonny and Jessie's last lines before the snip, and to Hadji's first line after it:
WIDE ON ROOM - JONNY looks at JESSIE...
- JONNY
What does that mean?
- JESSIE
That we'll really be in the past, not just in Questworld.
HADJI grimaces (Tammy's note: I wouldn't call THAT a grimace!!)
(Tammy's note: This is where the cut stuff starts)
- HADJI
And, that this is more difficult than it looks.
Hadji is working on a small, hand- held calculator.
- HADJI
Vectoring three converging energies requires high- level quantum mechanics.
Hadji sets the calculator down and starts typing away (Tammy's note: I always wondered what he was going to do with that darn calculator...).
- JONNY
Well, lucky for us, you're a whiz in physics. Now, let's get rockin'. We haven't got all day.
HADJI'S HANDS dance over the keys. (Tammy's note: They do that a helluva lot in this episode, don't they?)
- HADJI (OC)
To the contrary, my friend. We have all the time in the world.
(Tammy's note: This is where the cut stuff ends)
JONNY AND JESSIE cross to the V.R. Chairs. They sit.
- HADJI (OC)
Locking in coordinates and location.'...
I put in exactly where the cut stuff began and ended in case anybody wanted to check it all for themselves. It could be that here, in England, they're showing a cut version, but to be honest, I think the editing was so good that it almost HAD to be done at root level.
There's a little bit of dialogue cut when Jonny and Jessie are being chased by the T- Rex, but to be honest, it's just...oh, Hell. Here we go...:
- HADJI (OC)
I cannot close the file. The energy of your rather large friend has jammed the system.
The kids fly around in a circle on their hover boards to avoid the T-Rex who is catching up with them.
(Tammy's note: Cut text starts here)
- JESSIE
He's gaining on us!
- JONNY
Come on, Jessie. We've got to get him out of here.
- JESSIE
With what?
(Tammy's note: Cut text ends here)
- JONNY
Activate Virtua- speeders! Let's hog tie that bad boy.'
Aww, I love this next cut part!! It's so keeeewwwwll!! It's so cute! It show Hadji getting peed off!! Lemme show ya, lemme show ya!
It happens just as Jonny berates Hadji about his 'time driving' as they escape from the T-Rex (Jessie send it back through the portal).
Here we go:
'THE SHIMMERING WALL sucks into a small dot and disappears.
JONNY gets himself up off of the wire frame ground.
- JONNY
Thanks Jess.
(sarcastic)
Nice time driving Hadj!
CUT TO:
REAL WORLD - PRESENT DAY
INT: THE LIGHT HOUSE
Hadji is busily typing at the computer console.
- HADJI
I am sorry, but time travel is not easy. (Tammy's note: The 'Jonny' that Hadji actually says here is omitted from the script)
(Tammy's note: The edit begins here)
QUESTWORLD
EXT: THE CIRCUIT BOARD ROOM
Jonny and Jessie are standing next to each other.
- HADJI (OC)
(feisty)
In the space of a few minutes, you are expecting me to make calculations that should take days even weeks.
They look at each other and shrug their shoulders.
CUT TO:
REAL WORLD
INT: THE LIGHT HOUSE
- Hadji opens a laptop computer next to the main console and starts typing away.
- HADJI
Well, I feel much better now.
(Tammy's note: Edits end here)
- HADJI'S HANDS dance over the keys.
- HADJI (OC)
Ready to try again?
- JONNY (OC)
Let her rip, Hadj.
HADJI'S HAND punches the "ENTER" key'
I strongly suspect that '(OC)' means 'Off Camera'. If it does, that part's wrong, because they're both on camera when they say it.
Waaaaiiiittt a minute!!! Let me just check something, 'cuz I just realised I was watching the BBC version. That whole section sounds familiar...lemme check to see if I have any other copies of this ep...
H'okay, I do, but it's not on the Cartoon Network version, either *breathes sigh of relief* So I'm clear, it's not on either version of 'On the Edge of Yesterday' that I have.
I love that whole bit!! I think they should have left it in!! It's a bit like 'Oh, are you okay, Hadji? Not hurt or anything, my friend? No, Jonny, I am absolutely fine. Several iron pipes have just played 'Big Noise from Winetka' upon my head, but, fortunately, I wear a turban (!)' I love that!!
Also, Rage is apparently supposed to be wearing a black hat in V.R. He doesn't. I think he would have looked better!!!
Jessie also gets to kick more 'Butt of Rage' in the original script, but they downgraded her down to 'wuss' mode...
And lastly, just one bit I love!!! (It's mean of Jonny and Jessie, but...)
'HADJI runs over to the TWO V.R. CHAIRS and the inert bodies of Jonny and Jessie. They look dead. Was Hadji too late?
- HADJI
(close to tears)
Oh, my friends. this is not possible.
- ON - JONNY AND JESSIE as they both squint an eye open and smile slyly to the other.
- HADJI
Oh, this is all my fault. I was too slow.
- JONNY
You could say that again.
- HADJI'S FACE breaks into a huge smile.
- HADJI
Jonny! Jessie! You are alive!
- JONNY AND JESSIE stand up next to their friend.'
Awwwwwwwwaaaaaaaaaa!!!! I know, it happens in the episode, but I love that part, especiallywhenHadjiisclosetotearswhenhethinksJonnyandJessiearedead!!!! Awww!! *sniff*
Anyway,. that about wraps it up for 'On the Edge of Yesterday'. Anybody who enjoyed the posts from the Writer's Bibles is very welcome indeed. And anybody who may or may not have enjoyed this one, too!
If anybody's got questions on any of the stuff I didn't quote (it really wasn't that interesting...just stuff that didn't happen in the right order, mostly), just drop me a line at the usual address (should be way up there at the beginning)- or anything else folks want to say...
I'm gonna stop now before I get yelled at for posting massively long e-mails...
Tammy
Who has sore fingers and neckache.
From: Episodes
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