Source:	Web Archive, Savant’s scripts
Published:	2003-06-30
Archived:	2008-04-15

Script – Season one

Episode 2

Brett:	Mum’s still mad at you.
Jason:	As if she’d let me forget.
Brett:	I don’t know why she’s picking on you, Jase. Anyone who thinks they see girls floating around in the middle of the ocean needs help. Real bad.
Jason:	Listen, little wart. There was a girl. And she wasn’t floating. She was swimming like a fish.
Brett:	Yeah, sure, Jase. And don’t tell me – she was with santa and the easter bunny too.
Jason:	Moron! There was a girl!
Brett:	Fine.

Jason:	You didn’t tell anybody else what I saw, did you? I don’t want other people thinking I’m nuts.
Brett:	Hey, Jase. I’m your brother. Would I do a thing like that?
Damien:	Hey! Look out in the ocean. Is that – is that a whale? Or is it a sardine? No! It’s a girl!
Teacher:	All right! Everyone, settle down and go back to your study terminals now!
Jason:	I’m going to get you for for this.
Teacher:	Right, can I have your attention please? I’d like you all the meet a new arrival to this group – Vanessa Lane. I’m sure you’re going to make her feel welcome. The first thing we have to do is establish your learning level. Have you got your academic record? Thank you.
Vanessa:	How am I supposed to work with all these children here?
Teacher:	The computer controls everything, Vanessa. It sets the lessons according to each individual’s learning ability. Right, now at your age, you should be about a level eight. Same as Jason! Fortunately, Jason needs a partner for his zoology project. Don’t you, Jason.
HELEN:	Student’s grading is 12 plus.
Teacher:	Well – you are a bright girl, aren’t you. But I still think we’ll leave you and Jason together for the project.
Vanessa:	Well, if he’s the only one, just as long as he doesn’t slow me down too much.
Teacher:	Don’t slow her down, Jason.
Brett:	I think she’s asking for the old initiation trick. What do you reckon?
Zoe:	Oh yeah.
Froggy:	Definitely.

Brett, Zoe, Froggy:
Vanessa:	Hmm-hmm-hmm. (Metallic knocking)
Vanessa:	Mum! Dad! Is one of you here to get that? Darn! Hello?
	Ha-ha! Yo, Vanessa.
Brett:	Looking good. (Laughing)
Froggy:	Hi, Vanessa.
Brett:	All right, here we go.
Brett, Zoe, Froggy:
	Welcome to ORCA, sucker! (Laughing)
Brett:	Look at her!
Brett, Zoe, Froggy:
	All right!

Vanessa:	It was that little Bates creep behind it, I know. I’ll kill him.
Jodie:	But it’s just the usual initiation. They know when you’re new, you won’t think to turn off the vision on the communicator. They do it to everyone. They caught me four times.
Vanessa:	Well, no one does it to me and gets away with it. (Kids talking)
Vanessa:	Right, where’s your friend Brett?
Zoe:	Haven’t got the faintest.
Vanessa:	Listen. Someone is going to pay. And if it’s not him, it might as well be you. So where is he?
Froggy:	Up top on the pontoon. They’ve got one of those new ant boats in for service. And he wanted to get a real good look at it.
Zoe:	You chicken!

Brett:	Hey! What d’you think you’re doing? Quick, throw us a line!
Vanessa:	No way. You can either swim back or stay there until someone spots you.
Brett:	But they won’t be watching topside ’til the next boat’s due. That could be hours!
Vanessa:	Yeah, maybe you’d better try and drive it back in.
Brett:	How? There’s no wheel!
Vanessa:	It’s automatic navigation, idiot. But a real smart alec like you should be able to figure it out. So, welcome to ORCA – sucker!
Brett:	Hey! Hey! Someone help me!

Winston:	He’s been at it for nearly an hour now.
Dianne:	Do you know they’ve been known to sing for twice that long and then repeat it all over again. Phrase perfect.
Jason:	Hi, mum.
Dianne:	Hi, Jase. Have you finished school already?
Jason:	Yeah, I’m just gonna go to the rec room with Daggy if you want me.
Dianne:	All right. I’ll catch up with you and Brett later this evening.
Jason:	Okay, bye.
Dianne:	Bye.
Winston:	Dianne?
Dianne:	Mm hmm?
Winston:	Something strange. Here’s our chap here. But moving alongside him here –
Dianne:	Is it possible there’s some kind of weird echo in the monitor?
Winston:	Could be. None of this equipment has been tested before. But if it’s not that, what else could it be?
Dianne:	I really don’t know.

Commander:	Oh, no. Give it to me. You remember this face, carlyle. This little genius comes in here, forges code cards and plays around with the equipment. Every time we tighten HELEN’s access, he gets in! Out and keep off my bridge, boy!
HELEN:	Attention, commander. Code nine weather alert.
Commander:	Run it, HELEN.
HELEN:	Tropical storm to our north has altered course and is now approaching our sector. Estimated time of arrival, 63 minutes.
Commander:	Right, first officer! Clear everyone topside and start battening down. Looks like we’re in for a big blow.

Brett:	(Sputtering engine) Hello? Can anyone hear me? I’m – I’m not sure where I am. And I’m out of fuel. If anyone can hear me, can you please answer. (Distant rumble of thunder)

Jason:	Brett isn’t with you guys?
Zoe:	We were supposed to meet up in th rec ages ago, but he never showed up.
Jason:	Has anybody else seen him?
Vanessa:	I saw the little swine ages ago. He was up top. Fooling around in an ant boat.
Jason:	Well, where is he now?
Vanessa:	Search me. He could be anywhere.

HELEN:	Confirmed, sir. Both the vessel and the boy have gone missing.
Commander:	Oh, for heaven’s sake, woman! Don’t you people teach your children discipline?
Dianne:	Look, my son is out there, commander, on a boat he can’t control. So spare me the lectures! What are you going to do about it?
Commander:	Everything I can at the moment. I’ve got boats in the immediate Vicinity searching.
Dianne:	Well, isn’t there some way we can contact him?
Commander:	We’re trying to contact him but the problem is the mechanics who were repairing the vessel disconnected the communications system. Now, if the navigation equipment’s still going, we might be able to get a fix on it.

Dianne:	Excuse me. Commander, what about radar?
Commander:	Look, do you know how many signals there are in an area this size? To check them all would take too much time.
First:	Sir, it’s getting pretty rough out there.
Commander:	Call all the vessels back in immediately.
First:	Yes, sir.
Dianne:	Call them off?!
Commander:	Look, I’m sorry, we have to call the search off.
Dianne:	This is a 10-year-old boy we’re talking about. You can’t just abandon him!
Commander:	Doctor, it’s dark outside. On top of that, there’s a tropical storm about to hit this area like an express train.
Dianne:	That’s all the more reason to keep searching.
Commander:	I will not risk other lives in these conditions.
Dianne:	Fine. Then I’ll take a boat and go and look for him myself.
Commander:	You do that and I’ll throw you in the brig for your own protection. Look, I promise when it’s safe we’ll widen the search. But for all we know, the boy may have been found or been picked up somewhere.
Dianne:	I wonder – I wonder what you would do if that were your own child out there.
Commander:	I would do exactly the same thing, doctor, because I have no choice.
Dianne:	Yep. I believe you would.

Brett:	Mum, help me! (Lapping waves)

Brett:	Hello! Is anybody here?

Neri:	Bad berries. Drink. You eat bad berries. Drink or you go away forever.
Brett:	You don’t mean – die?
Neri:	Now you sleep. I must go be wet.
Brett:	Huh?
Neri:	If I am away from water long, I feel bad. Sick. I be back soon.
Brett:	Who are you? What’s your name?
Neri:	Neri.
Brett:	Neri.
Neri:	You be well again soon. When heat from head is gone, you feel cool, then just sleep.

Commander:	Report please, search 9.
Winston:	Winston Seth here on search 9. Still no sign of him.
Commander:	Right, search 9. Maintain current search co-ordinates. Search 16, continue search in area b7.
boat driver:	Acknowledged, commander.
Commander:	All other search craft continue searching your assigned areas for another 20 minutes then move on to grid co-ordinates d9 through 17.
Damien:	I still reckon you had something to do with this.
Vanessa:	Prove it, Damien. Anyway, he shouldn’t have been fooling around in an ant boat in the first place. So it’s all his own fault.
Winston:	Winston Seth here on search 9. We’ve spotted something in the water, stand by! Sorry, false alarm. It’s a whale. Looks like our chap too from those flukes. Pity we can’t talk to him. We could use his help right now. (Whale sounds)

Neri:	Boy! Boy, wake up!
Brett:	Hmm?
Neri:	Come!
Brett:	I wanna go to sleep.
Neri:	Boy, your name?
Brett:	What?
Neri:	Name.
Brett:	Brett.
Neri:	Brett. Brett, must go! I take you to your people.
Brett:	People?
Neri:	They look for you. Charley sees them. Maybe they come to my island. Bad. I take you, they find. There. You sleep. When you wake, you feel good and be with your own people. But Brett, say nothing of me.
Winston:	It’s Brett, all right! I think we’ve found him! I’ll show you. A touch of sunstroke, it seems. But otherwise he seems okay. Strange, we came through this area 20 minutes ago and saw nothing. The boat was just standing there as though it came from nowhere. He’s coming aboard now! Hello, my boy. How you feel?
Brett:	Where’s Neri?
Winston:	Neri? What do you mean Neri?
Brett:	Nothing. Just a dream.

Jason:	I didn’t know whether mum was going to kiss you or kill you.
Brett:	Jason, I met her.
Jason:	Met who?
Brett:	The girl in the ocean. The one you saw.
Jason:	What!
Brett:	It’s all a bit hazy but – I drifted and there was an island. She lives there. I got sick and she helped me. Her name’s Neri.
Jason:	Neri. This island. Do you think you could find it again?
Brett:	No, I don’t have the slightest idea where I was.
Jason:	You haven’t told anybody have you?
Brett:	Are you kidding? After the bucketing you got –
Jason:	Good, keep it that way. ’Cause no one’s ever really going to believe us until we actually show her to them. And that moment’s gonna be worth waiting for. Deal?
Brett:	Deal.