SEASON FOUR
Episode 16: Methuselah's Gift

Scenes from the DVD set's "Final Shooting Script"
that do not appear in the episode.

 

SCENE ONE

TEASER
FADE IN:

EXT. PARIS - ESTABLISHING - NIGHT

INT. AMANDA'S HOME - NIGHT

[Camera tracks the POV of an intruder's darting FLASHLIGHT; passing by antique furniture, original paintings, silver candlesticks -- all ignored. THREE MEN IN RUBBER HALLOWEEN MASKS are house-breaking, but they're clearly not looking to steal. They carry weapons: a cricket bat, a handgun, a short sword. They're looking to kill. THE LEAD MASK carefully, gingerly, opens a door and he and his underlings move stealthily into:]

[AMANDA'S BEDROOM - The window is open, the curtains drawn, but blowing gently in the night air. A soft light from the street shafts into the room. It's light enough to see, just. Amanda is in the land of nod. Her sword leans against the wall nearby. ANGLE ON BED as the masked Leader stands over it. Amanda turns to CAMERA in her sleep and we see - INSERT - THE CRYSTAL on her neck come into view as it catches a shaft of moonlight.]

[BACK TO SCENE as the Leader raises his sword, just slightly brushing the bedclothes. AMANDA awakens just in time to roll aside and keep her head as the sword halves the pillow. White down fills the air.] (Production Note: Please play this scene with Elizabeth Gracen in a dark wig. Her blonde hair will be incorporated into the later scenes.)

LEADER - [muffled] Dammit! Get her!

[FOLLOW AMANDA - Fully awake now, but she's outnumbered, the bad guys are attacking from all sides. She manages to scratch and claw her way off the foot of the bed. One of the masked men (KELLY) swings his cricket bat hard, gets her in the ribs.]

AMANDA - [in pain] Son-of-a-bitch!

[She makes a lunge for her sword. But Kelly gets in her way, shoves her back with the bat. The third attacker, JEFFERS, pulls a gun. AMANDA reacts to the sight of the muzzle, up close, with an oh-shit look. She spins and dives just as the gun is fired -- and the lamp behind where her head just was EXPLODES. KELLY tries to pin Amanda to the ground. She fights back, better than he expected. She puts a knee in his gut, giving him pause, and pulls his mask up briefly. CLOSE - KELLY'S FACE for an instant. KELLY slugs her and pulls the mask back down. She kicks free while he's distracted. THE LEADER tries to grab her, swing at her with the sword. He's not any good with it; she steps inside the swing and goes for him.]

LEADER - [muffled] Shoot her! Shoot!

[A MUZZLE FLASH illuminates Amanda's instant agony as she takes a bullet in the side. AMANDA staggers in pain, one hand on her wound, looking for a retreat. THE DOOR is blocked by Jeffers, the gunman -- who levels his weapon for the coup d'grace. AMANDA spins and literally does a head-first leap through the open window, catching her assailants totally off-guard.]

 

EXT. AMANDA'S HOME - NIGHT

[Wounded and frantic, Amanda comes off the ground and runs down an alley past a Dodge panel van parked in the street. She hails a passing cab. As she jumps in, she commands--]

AMANDA - Drive.

[As the cab races off into the night. THE THREE MEN IN MASKS arrive in the street. As their grotesque faces watch her drive away--]

FADE OUT.
END OF TEASER

 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE TWO

This scene was not in the original shooting script. The establishing shot of Watcher HQ was instead shown just prior to Stern's conversation with Methos.

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE THREE

ACT ONE
FADE IN:

EXT. RUE - MORNING

[Drizzling, damp, dank. A woman with short blonde hair steps out of a small boutique and as she turns her face to the camera, we see that it is Amanda, her hair freshly dyed and cut. Amanda pulls a jacket over some hastily bought clothes and tears off the sales labels as she hurries down the narrow sidewalk. She's skittish, looking behind as well as ahead. She increases her pace as: A TRENCHCOAT-CLAD MAN turns the corner and follows.]

[Up ahead: SEVERAL MALE PASSERSBY, suspicious, slouch-shouldered in the rain, approach. AMANDA skirts to the opposite sidewalk -- and sees behind her A MALE IN A TRENCHCOAT approaching. His "look" drives her back onto the cobblestones. AMANDA glances behind her -- and the Trenchcoat has made up half the distance between them. She immediately takes the first turning, down another narrow lane. She nearly bumps into an attractive man in his mid-twenties, prep school English type. His name is DANIEL GEIGER.]

AMANDA - Excuse me.

[Amanda is gone before he can respond.]
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE FOUR

 
[METHOS, looking a bit haggard, has the contents of a large file box spread all over a library table. The side of the box is labeled LUTHER, 1652-1994, and stamped "CLOSED" in big red letters. Spread across the table are overstuffed files, document folders of various vintages, going back a couple hundred years, computer disks and printouts, and still photographs of Luther from tintypes to color. A Librarian is at her desk nearby, cataloging files. Methos reaches in the box and pulls out Luther's sword. (Note: This must be Luther's sword from "Legacy.") There's an uneasiness in his eyes as he studies the weapon, hefting it in his palm for weight and balance. He puts it aside, looks back into the box.]
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE FIVE

 
STERN - Your boss...

METHOS - [oops] Nathan Stern. [beat] The new European Bureau chief.
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE SIX

These lines were not in the original shooting script.

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE SEVEN

 
[Stern moves off. Methos moves with him.]

METHOS - [beat; casual] What kind of guy was Luther?

STERN - The kind that's better off dead.

[As they move off that way, we transition from Luther's sword to--]
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE EIGHT

INT. BARGE - DAY

[Amanda and MacLeod continue their conversation.]

MacLEOD - [concerned] You're certain it wasn't one of us?

AMANDA - [pacing] They were mortal.
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE NINE

In the original shooting script, this scene ends with Amanda saying she's scared.

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE TEN
In the shooting script, the first part of this scene takes place INSIDE the barge.

 
[MacLEOD heads for the door. Amanda is right on his heels.]

 

EXT. BARGE - DAY

[Geiger divides his time between the paper in hand and MacLeod's place. MacLEOD'S DOOR opens, and Amanda appears. She pauses on the gangplank to adjust her coat. AMANDA strides quickly down the Quai. Geiger tosses the paper and moves after her.]
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE ELEVEN

 
MacLeod twists Geiger's arm up.

AMANDA - And my friend's not going to break your arm...

[MacLeod pushes away the shirt cuff, revealing Geiger's tattooed wrist. Geiger reacts to MacLeod's hard expression.]
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE TWELVE

 
STERN - We'll have to reassign you.

GEIGER - No... I'll do better. She won't spot me again.

STERN - Geiger, it's done. You're off Amanda.
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE THIRTEEN

INT. MACLEOD'S CAR/EXT. STREET - NIGHT

[MacLeod and Amanda pull up outside of a modest row of buildings. A late model American van sits outside.]

AMANDA - This is the fifth Dodge van we've checked.
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE FOURTEEN

 
KELLY - [turning on the TV] Grab a beer. The football finals are on from London.

[The man whose face is still unseen reaches into his jacket and pulls a revolver of his own.]

KELLY - What the hell's this about?

[He gets his answer as the gun FIRES.]

 

EXT. KELLY'S PLACE - NIGHT

[MacLeod and Amanda get out of the car. They react to the gunshot.]

 

INT. KELLY'S PLACE - POV THROUGH CURTAIN - NIGHT

[MacLeod and Amanda moving quickly to the front door.]

 

INT. KELLY'S PLACE - CORRIDOR OUTSIDE APARTMENT - NIGHT

[MacLeod has a shoulder through the front door almost without breaking stride.]

 

INT. KELLY'S PLACE - NIGHT

[MacLeod and Amanda race into the room.]
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE FIFTEEN

This line was not in the original shooting script.

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE SIXTEEN

 
AMANDA - I stole from you.

REBECCA - And I'm offering to forgive you.
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE SEVENTEEN

 
MacLEOD - Anything else?

AMANDA - Maybe a part of me believes that they are real and that maybe I'd like to take a shot at being invincible.
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE EIGHTEEN

These lines were not in the original shooting script.

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE NINETEEN

 
MacLEOD - That's not the way Immortality works. You know that.

METHOS - It's not the way our immortality works.
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE TWENTY

 
METHOS - [with fervor] If there's a chance the stone can save her, I have to try. I have to.
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE TWENTY-ONE

 
MacLEOD - And Amanda's?

METHOS - You mean last night? She attacked me--

MacLEOD - Someone tried to take her head a few nights ago.

METHOS - It wasn't me.

MacLEOD - It was mortals.
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE TWENTY-TWO

 
METHOS - I shouldn't have to.

[They look at each other a beat, measuring.]
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE TWENTY-THREE

 
AMANDA - Shut up and fight. [They exchange blows.]
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE TWENTY-FOUR

 
METHOS - Why are you doing this?

AMANDA - I came to talk and you set me up.

METHOS - What?

AMANDA - The guy in the mask, you sent him again.

METHOS - He was here?

AMANDA - Like you didn't know.
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE TWENTY-FIVE

 
[Amanda and Methos stand before a massive safe.]

AMANDA - You rode with Butch Cassidy?

METHOS - I was a lot younger then.

AMANDA - [re the vault] It's going to be tough.

METHOS - Try impossible.

AMANDA - Not for me.

[AMANDA removes an electronic device from her pack, places it next to the tumbler and begins to slowly spin the dial. A SOUND interrupts her -- a soft O.S. MEOW. METHOS AND AMANDA simultaneously snap their heads in the direction of the sound. AN ALLEY CAT is on the window sill -- but not for long. It hops to the floor and heads straight for electric eyes.]

AMANDA - The alarms.

[METHOS is making frantic "shooing" hand signals at the cat. AMANDA is ready to bolt. THE CAT walks under the electric eyes, just clearing them by a fraction of an inch -- and heads straight for the booby-trapped carpet.]

AMANDA - Not the carpet...

[METHOS makes a lightning fast move, grabbing the cat by the scruff of the neck just as it is about to step on the carpet.]

METHOS - Nice kitty. Nice kitty.

AMANDA - [motions towards the window] Get it out of here.

[METHOS carries his burden as instructed, petting the cat to keep it still as he moves carefully back to the window, stepping over the electric eye beams. AMANDA goes back to the job of safe cracking. Eyes closed, she concentrates on the tumbler.]

[INSERT - STOCK - The interior mechanism of the lock as tumblers fall into place.]

[BACK TO SCENE: She opens her eyes, and smiles confidently. She opens the safe and removes the crystals.]

AMANDA - Piece of cake...

[The smile drops from her face. STERN is standing over her with an automatic aimed at her head.]

STERN - One move, I shoot. [shocked] Oh my God, it's you, Amanda.

[She look frantically around the room. There's no sign of Methos.]
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE TWENTY-SIX

 
METHOS - It seemed like a good idea at the time. [off Stern's look] It was a way to keep track of the others -- stay out of their way.

GEIGER - Or learn their weaknesses so you could kill them easier.

METHOS - Not my style. [a shrug] I was only going to play the charade for a little while. But there's more to you guys than I thought.
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE TWENTY-SEVEN

 
GEIGER - Isn't it? What's the difference? [in justification] You and your kind kill each other every day. You justify it by saying you're in The Game. [beat] Well, so am I.
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE TWENTY-EIGHT

 
[Amanda takes her crystal from her neck and gives it to him.]

AMANDA - Let him go.

GEIGER - Tell MacLeod to come out.

AMANDA - What are you talking about?

GEIGER - I'm young, but I'm not stupid. [beat; calling] MacLeod... now, or he dies.
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE TWENTY-NINE

 
MacLEOD - Put down the sword and the crystal and you walk away alive.
 

BACK to transcript.

 

SCENE THIRTY

 
MacLEOD - I have...
 

BACK to transcript.

 

BACK to Transcripts Page

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