A possible UFO sighting sends the gang on a Father's Camping Weekend expedition into nearby Frazer Woods.
(original air date: January 26, 2000)
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| Liz: I hate the start of a cold. That little tickle that tells you something's about to happen that you know you can't prevent. Something that could be mild if you did all the right things or could knock you off your feet if you're not careful. |
Maria: My idea of the great outdoors is rolling the windows down in mycar on my way to the mall. |
Alex [to Isabel, while stargazing]: Somehow with you, I mean, it's so wondrous. Each star is a mystery, you know, so full of possibility. |
Written by Thania St. John
Directed by Nick Marck
GUEST STARS
John Doe - Geoffrey Parker
Ned Romero - River Dog
John Cullum - James Valenti Sr.
Steve Hytner - UFOlogist
WHAT HAPPENED
When five people see a flash of light in the forest, the aliens must race
Sheriff Valenti and the as-yet-unnamed UFOlogist to find out if it's a clue to their origins.
Meanwhile,
Liz's father wants to spend some quality time on a school camping trip with his daughter. He's worried by how much she's changed recently, and would also like to meet her new friends.
(detailed
spoilers)
EPISODE TRIVIA
"Into the Woods" is also the title of a Stephen Sondheim musical about characters from various fairy tales whose stories are brought together in the woods.
John Cullum played "Holling" in CBS' Northern Exposure.
ANALYSIS
Two events bridge the world of the aliens with that of the school community in this episode. Both a possible UFO sighting and the school's Father Camping Weekend give our cast reasons to be in the woods together.
It's the interplay between these reasons that makes this episode so interesting to watch.
Fathers and children
We haven't seen much of the fathers until now, but bringing them all in at once lets us see the differences between them as well as getting a closer look into the children's lives.
Geoffrey Parker's suspicions about drugs could have made this a Very Special Episode on the evils of drug abuse, but writer Thania St. John focuses on what we tell others and how much we trust those whom we love.
Mr. Parker wants to know his daughter, but she wants to preserve her own sense of privacy.
Kyle Valenti's struggle to hold his father's attention underlines two conflicts, one between father and son, the other between father and grandfather. It sets up a poignant moment where Sheriff Valenti visits his aging father in a care facility, and shows us how the sheriff's belief in his father's crazy ideas about aliens has changed.
Again, this scene might have been overplayed. Actor John Cullum portrays just the right balance of pathos and dignity in the elder Valenti, and the dialogue remains appropriately understated.
Advancing the arc
Michael desperately hopes that River Dog is the fourth alien, a real father instead of just a father figure. He's not, but River Dog still cares enough about Michael to make sure he joins Max and Isabel in the woods.
The swirling light of the sign gives us a glimpse of the future and possible reunion. We see all the hopes of discovery of a true identity and a home.
We wait with them because we want to know too, and yet we also see that this moment is emphatically not here. We don't know why the other alien set off the lights as he did, and we're not all that close to finding him yet.
In many ways, the episode is more about the relationships that bring the characters into the woods than what they find. What they've discovered -- whether the fourth alien or their emotional ties to each other -- isn't yet clear.
WHAT WE LEARN
Alex claims the only part of gym class that he is athletic in is dodgeball.
According to Kyle, one of Sheriff Valenti's father's big cases involved five mutilated cows on a local farm. In addition, the farm's owner claimed she had been abducted by aliens, and an autopsy after her death showed perfectly-bored holes in her head.
Michael has a vision of River Dog that flows into an image of himself outside with alien symbols all around, and a hand reaching out.
Kyle ate five bratwurst at a camp contest last year, and plans to break his record.
DANGLING PLOT THREADS
Just what did the elder Sheriff Valenti see? What happened in his past?
Did Sheriff Valenti notice that Michael had not come on the school trip?
Will the sheriff think to question why River Dog was there?
TUNE IN NEXT WEEK WHEN . . .
"Max Evans always knew his secret would eventually come out. He knew he couldn't hide forever."
Executive producer (and sometime director) Jonathan Frakes returns in front of the camera in "Convention".
What do you think? Send comments to the author or editor.
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