Episode:Unaired pilot
| Unaired pilot | |
|---|---|
| Season: | One |
| Episode number: | Unaired pilot |
| First aired: | Unaired |
| |
| Written by: | Tim Kring |
| Directed by: | David Semel |
| Previous episode: | none |
One of the special features accompanying the Season One DVD is the unaired pilot in its entirety. The episode, a full 72 minutes, was shown at the 2006 San Diego Comic-Con. This version was later cut to a shorter version, simply titled In His Own Image. Even that version would eventually be trimmed to become what is now Genesis. The original intent of the unaired pilot was to have multiple chapters per episode, hence the actual episode itself does not have a formal name.
Synopsis
Chapter One: "In His Own Image"
Peter Petrelli stands on the edge of a tall building in New York City, then falls face forward towards the street below.
Suddenly, Peter wakes up sitting in an apartment when a woman, Simone Deveaux, comes in and startles him. Peter tells Simone how he's having these strange dreams, but doesn't elaborate. Peter is a nurse watching over Simone's father, Charles Deveaux who's been comatose for a week. Simone expresses her thanks to Peter for his help. He claims it's his job, but Simone says he's like a son to him. Peter makes a remark about that making them "brother and sister" and how it would be awkward if he ever wanted to ask her out which ends up making them both feel awkward.
In Madras, India, a genetics professor named Mohinder Suresh discusses man and evolution. He tries to debunk the belief that man is the "pinnacle of evolution" and instead suggests that cockroaches, with their ability to live without their head for weeks, not eating for months, and being resistant to radiation, may in fact be more evolved than man. He points out that humans only use a small percentage of their total brain power and that using more could actually result in powers such as teleportation, tissue regeneration, and levitation. According to him the Human Genome Project has shown that we're already evolving at an accelerated rate. A solemn man appears at the door, and Mohinder dismisses his class. The man informs him that Mohinder's father, Chandra, was killed driving a taxi in New York City. Mohinder explains how his father was pursuing some radical evolutionary ideas and that his father believed someone was trying to steal his research. Mohinder believes that's the reason he was actually killed. Mohinder goes to Chandra's apartment in India to get his papers and research.
In Chandra's apartment, Mohinder finds a file named "Genesis" with a number of folders referring to different powers. He pulls out a cassette tape labeled "Teleportation". On the wall he finds a large world map with pins in different locations connected by strings. On the other side of the wall, a man answers a cell phone. The man tells the caller that all of Chandra's materials were left behind except for his laptop and asks for a team to collect all the info. The man senses someone else is in the apartment and hangs up, but Mohinder snaps a photo of the map, pulls the pin out of New York city, and leaves before the man can see him.
In Las Vegas, a woman, Niki Sanders, is lying on a bed performing a striptease in front of a camera which is connected to a laptop. She lets the viewer, huggerz69, know his time is up; after a rude exchange, she disconnects him. On her way out of the garage she passes a mirror and looks into it suspiciously. She enters the house and goes to wake up her son Micah, but he's already up and finishing rebuilding his computer motherboard. She tells Micah that he needs to get ready for school, but he's already ready and packed his own lunch. She claims she was working to pay the bills. The doorbell rings and she tells Micah to get his stuff and wait by the back door. She looks out the window and finds two thugs at her front door. Micah and Niki escape through the back and speed away as the thugs break down the door.
In Odessa, TX, a boy is filming an amateur video of a teenage girl climbing to the top of a large metal structure about 80 feet high. She climbs over the rail and lets herself fall to the ground screaming all the way down. The cameraman, a boy named Zach, runs to her and she gets up. Her shoulder is dislocated, but she pops it back in. She says her name is Claire Bennet and that this was her 6th attempt.
Peter gets out of a cab and enters his brother Nathan's campaign headquarters. Nathan is inside on the phone with Mr. Linderman, and Nathan says he'll call him back. Peter talks to his brother and tells him about the dreams he's having. His brother is very busy and tries to dismiss his dreams. Peter tells Nathan he believes he can fly. Nathan tries to get Peter to stop talking about it and doesn't want any mention of this to affect his margin in the polls. Nathan gets a call and finds that their mother has been arrested for shoplifting.
Zach and Claire are walking together. Claire expresses her depression which Zach can't understand. Claire doesn't want anyone to find out, but won't explain why she wanted the video taken of her. She's afraid she's not going to be able to live a normal life. Zach notices something sticking out of her side which turn out to be several ribs. She casually pushes them back inside her body and the wound heals instantly. Zach gives Claire the tape and Claire thanks him for helping her and offers to talk to people in front of him at school the next day. They see a firetruck and another mysterious truck pass them.
In Los Angeles, CA, a man prays with a group of people while being watched by another man. Meanwhile, in South Las Angeles, a SWAT team breaks into and find a document detailing the transportation of nuclear materials, Arabic notes and a paper with Odessa on it. When the captain asks the SWAT sergeant what it means, a cop outside answers that it is a town in Texas. Confused, another nearby cop asks what he's talking about. A female agent arrives at the scene. Matt's coworker mentions that the SWAT exam test scores have been posted and consoles him about the results. Matt begins to hear someone speaking in a foreign language. He follows it into the house, where he finds a terrorist hiding under the stairs.
In east Los Angeles, a man watches as Laura Lancaster reports of a train wreck in Odessa. He then removes his gloves to reveal his burned hands so he can take of his ring. He then attempts to hang himself in his bathroom when people break in and untie him.
Back at the crime scene the terrorist is interrogated. He is asked if he has found the Engineer and where he is. Unable to get answers, his interrogator tells Captain Chase that he is staying until she is decides he can leave. She explains that the Engineer is Amid Halebi a suspected terrorist who's wife died of cancer. Wanting more answers, she speaks to Matt Parkman, the cop who found the terrorist. She asks how he knew where the terrorist was, and he explains he that he doesn't know how he did it. Matt tells her that he knows nothing about the nuclear weapons. The captain questions Matt about his weight and failing the SWAT entrance exams. He explains he needs to see his wife at a couple's counseling session.
Mohinder arrives at Chandra's apartment in New York City to find it in disarray. Mohinder rents his father's apartment and tells the super that he's got a job driving a taxi. In his apartment is another world map on the wall.
In Tokyo, Japan, an office worker named Hiro Nakamura is staring at the clock on his desk. He stares at the clock several times, concentrating intently on it. Eventually, the second hand moves one second backwards. He jumps up and shouts "Yatta!" and runs past other cubicles to his friend Ando's desk claiming he was able to break the space/time continuum. Ando doesn't believe him and isn't impressed. Hiro tells him that must be why the train was 14 seconds late that morning, which Ando doesn't believe. Hiro goes on talking about his powers, but Ando just teases him. Ando turns back to his screen, where he's watching the video of Niki's striptease.
Niki talks to a private school principal, trying to convince him to let Micah stay in the school. The principal refuses to let him stay. Niki says that she gave a $25,000 donation to get him into the school on top of the tuition; however, the previous three tuition checks have bounced. She demands her money back, but the principal refuses. She grabs him by the tie, but he still claims he cannot return the money. As she and Micah are leaving the school she passes a fish tank and sees her reflection nodding at her. She tells the reflection to leave her alone.
Peter and Nathan meet their mom at the police station where they find out the prosecutors have dropped the charges and that it's no big deal. Nathan berates her for getting arrested when he's trying to get elected to Congress. He blames her behavior on her husband's death six months prior and tells her to get over it. Peter manages to convince Nathan to leave and then tends to his mother. His mother says Nathan is like his dad, unlike Peter.
Micah and Niki visit her friend Tina's house to lay low for a few hours. Micah asks her why she reacted to the fish tank like she did, but she doesn't answer. She tells her friend that she borrowed $30,000 from Mr. Linderman, but she's late repaying the loan. Niki explains how she thinks someone is following her, someone she can't see.
Claire and Zach approach a fiery train derailment. Claire asks Zach to turn on the camera and runs inside. She finds a man pinned and helps him out of the wreck. He's badly burned, but when firemen check Claire, she's not injured at all. Claire runs off before they can do anything.
Amid is captured and questioned by Joseph. He tells Amid that no woman could come between them and all of Amid's plans have come to pass. He says a train was derailed in Texas two hours previous and that they have the device. However, they need Amid to assemble it, and that he and Allah forgives Amid. Amid tells him he doesn't want to hurt any more people, not after he killed his wife.
Matt meets his wife in the park, too late for his marital session. He explains to her that he failed his tests again, and doesn't want to retire a beat cop. She says that in the eleven years that they have been together, she has been able to make her dreams come true and wonders how long they have to wait for his. She tells him to tell his department about his Dyslexia, but Matt refuses. Matt tells her that he is hearing things -- voices in his head. Distraught, the two part.
Chapter Two: "I'm Being Followed By a Moonshadow"
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Chapter Three: "Genesis" or "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb"
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Differences
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- In the version shown at Comic-Con, an additional superpowered character, Amid Halebi, was introduced. He had ties to a terrorist cell that Matt Parkman investigates. In a scene which was later tweaked to become the Walker murder scene in Don't Look Back, Matt discovers a member of the Amid's former terrorist cell hiding under a grate, rather than Molly Walker. Later, it is revealed that Amid's fellow terrorists were responsible for the train wreck in Odessa, TX. Additionally, Tim Kring reveals in the commentary for the unaired pilot that Amid actually lived with Matt fifteen years ago as an exchange student, grew to love America, then returned and developed a hatred for the country. This entire terrorist plot did not appear in the episode-length screener or in Genesis. Many elements of the engineer's story were reused for Ted Sprague, including his power to emit radiation and the death of his wife.
- Matt's wife is introduced as Elena Parkman rather than Janice.
- Audrey Hanson does not appear.
Notes
- Each chapter of the unaired pilot takes its name from another reference. "In His Own Image" refers to the Biblical verse in Genesis 1:27, "God created man in His own image." "I'm Being Followed By a Moonshadow" takes its name from a repeated line in Cat Stevens' popular song, "Moonshadow". "Genesis" or "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb" borrows its title from the 1964 film, Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
- In the script for the unaired pilot, there was originally a chapter called "Dreamtime" that was placed between "Moonshadow" and "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb".
Character Appearances
See Also
- For the shorter version of the unaired pilot that was leaked, see In His Own Image.
- For characters who never aired, see Portal:Unaired Characters.
External Links
- Video clip of Matt Parkman (click the monitor in the squad car to play)