Undersea Urgency

The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest
"Undersea Urgency"
Episode no.	H00616-94012
Airdate	December 19, 1996
Chief locations	Pacific Ocean, 200 Miles West of Chile 75.39W 24.85S (N/A miles)
Vehicle(s)	Quest Chinook Questcat Snow Caterpillar
Writer(s)	Lance Falk
Guest roles	John de Lancie (Construction Worker / Blaine) Quinton Flynn (Dal Chele) Jennifer Hale (McCollum) Frank Welker (Sea Creatures / Gimeno) Peter Jurasik (Alan Zegler / Williams) Karen Ross (Dr. Simone Duval / Kruegger)
Episode sequence	Cyberswitch <--> Nemesis
Other episodes

The Verne Research laboratory is a true underwater city dedicated to marine science; trouble follows a Quest family visit when a sea-quake unleashes hordes of carnivorous amphibians.

Plot Summary

Teaser

Verne research laboratory

Jonny, Jessie, and Alan Zegler are exploring the ocean's surface 200 miles off the coast of Chile with self-propelled scuba equipment; Jessie takes pictures as the three go over a hill and find the Verne Research center, a huge scientific complex built on the seafloor. Inside, Dr. Quest converses with the station's director, Doctor Duval; she reacts to his presence defensively since he's been sent by the US government to investigate why the project is underbudget and ahead of schedule. Benton assures her that he's on her side. Outside, Jonny, Jessie, and Mr. Zegler see blasts on the seafloor coming from new construction. Suddenly, an earthquake strikes, damaging the laboratory and opening a rift on the seafloor. Jessie zooms in with her camera, seeing what appears to be an exposed hive and several creatures with sharp teeth swimming out of it.

Act One

Monsters confront Jonny and Jessie

The monsters skeletonize a shark and three blast workers. Jonny, Jessie, and Zegler reach the moon pool, but Zegler is immediately devoured by the creatures. Jonny and Jessie take refuge in a supply room with a blast door; one monster finds its way in, and they pull down a shelf to immobilize it. Dr. Quest and Dr. Duval struggle to get things under control. Jonny and Jessie set traps and find a CCTV station, seeing the monsters ejecting some kind of liquid around the station perimeter. Jessie suffers a nervous breakdown from claustrophobia, but Jonny restores her confidence. They find mini-charges and return to the moon pool. Dr. Quest, Duval, and others prepare to dive to find the kids, but monsters erupt from the moon pool and kill all but Quest and Duval.

Act Two

Jonny and Jessie are blasted out of the vents

Monsters attack Jonny and Jessie, but Jessie uses her light to stun them while Jonny blows some away with a charge. They resolve to escape through a ventilation duct. Five monsters meanwhile ram the windows in the control center and break through as Dr. Quest, Duval, and other scientists flee. Duval assumes the worst, but Benton comforts her and believes Jonny and Jessie are still alive. Jessie freezes up in the vent, prompting Jonny to throw a detonator behind their path; the force of the blast ejects them into the moon pool. Dr. Quest, Duval, and the others retreat to the broken main transport tunnel, and Dr. Quest electrocutes pursuing monsters by throwing down a cable before jumping through an airlock. Jonny and Jessie find a mini-submarine, and Jessie prepares it while Jonny sets up mini-charges. The moon pool explodes, and Jessie takes the sub to surface through the floor of the transport tunnel. Dr. Quest and the others run inside, but Duval stays behind, hoping to take one of the unconscious monsters to the surface. It wakes up to her touch, killing her. The submarine escapes, with an assistant hoping the laboratory will be rebuilt.

Notes

Quotes

The Quests escape

• Jonny - "Race told me once that real courage is about fighting back especially when you're scared."
• Jessie - "Dad said that? He's not afraid of anything!"
• Jonny - "Well, he's still only human! We'll get through this together. I promise!"

~

• Jessie - "I'm too busy to be afraid!"

Goofs

• Jessie's eyes are blue in some shots.

Trivia

• This episode's Quest Byte features a Questworld overload.
• Lance Falk and Glenn Leopold spoke about this episode through a stream in 2018, revealing the following facts:
• Lance originally came up with this idea during his work on the 1986 revival series.
• Drew Gentle drew the backgrounds of the sea laboratory.
• Race was omitted from the episode as he would've too-easily solved the plot.
• Lance planned a high bodycount as a bargaining chip to get the right amount of violence approved by standards and practices. Red water was notably turned down.
• S&P did not allow animators to show spear guns perforating the monsters.
• If Lance could change anything, he'd have Jonny and Jessie scramble to reach the moon pool faster after tossing the detonator.
• Dr. Duval's death was planned and storyboarded further than what was shown.

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