#565485
A Single Drop of Rain
Original Air Date: November 20, 1991
Story by : Richard C. Okie & Donald P. Bellisario & Ralph Meyering, Jr.
Teleplay by : Richard C. Okie
Directed by: Virgil W. Vogel
Leap Date: September 7, 1953
This time: Sam leaps into a car going to West Bend, Texas. As Billy Beaumont, he is returning to his hometown to end a drought and make it rain. Most everyone is excited to see Billy along with the prospect of rain. One skeptic in the audience is Ralph, Billy’s brother. Nonetheless, Sam, and his partner, Clinton, promise rain. Al arrives and says that it will not for months.
At a family dinner that night, Ralph is still grumpy at Billy who did not come back to town for their father’s funeral seven years earlier. Ralph’s wife, Annie and the Beaumont mother, Grace are happy to reminisce. Later, Annie recounts how she and Ralph are drifting apart, something not helped by the short but amazing-to-Annie short lived romance the two shared.
The townspeople are all ready to pay the two hundred and fifty dollar per person (over two thousand dollars today adjusted for inflation) cover charge each to make it rain. Sam organizes a party to get ready including a cannon firing and a large picnic. Al arrives with news that the rain is still not scheduled to change. Also, when Billy originally left, he took Annie with him.
The town congregates for the event and Sam fumbles through the routine after Clinton not being much help because of the hundred times they have worked together, Billy has never done it the same twice. After shooing them off, Al helps Sam further stumble through making a liquid concoction to seed the clouds.
The party goes off well, despite Ralph trying to break to mood, and Annie threatening to leave. Clinton wonders why they have not left per their usual modus operandi. The two have a moment as Clinton recounts how Billy brought him out of the gutter.
Later that night, Annie tries to make good on her threat to leave. Sam makes progress with getting her to stay but Ralph walks in at the wrong time and comes to the wrong assumption. The brothers have a fistfight where Ralph admits his love for Annie. Husband and wife reconnect just as rain begins to fall. The town rejoices and the family is reunited. Sam leaps …
... into a prison convoy. He and the person he is chained to jump out the back of the truck and make their escape.
Stop talking to yourself: This is another episode without narration by Sam.
Only Sam can see and hear: Al and Sam have a large argument about being able to control the weather, or at least create precipitation of some form. Oddly enough, throughout the conversation they both have traits of a skeptic and optimist.
Mirror images that were not his own: After being warmly greeted by everyone and a hug from his momma, Sam gets a look at the handsome Billy.
Brush with history: Pushing weather to the back of his mind, Sam helps a wheelchair bound townsperson with getting in and out of the store since there is no ramp.
Something or someone: With the family reunited and the rain starting, Sam has to promise to stay in town before he can leap.
It’s a science project: Silver iodide can be used to make it rain as evidenced in this episode.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow: Apparently a Cholesterol Control Act comes out at some point, probably to manage cholesterol levels. As of this writing there is no such mandate.
Let’s up the rating: Lots of folks are happy to see Billy return. A woman named Velma is perhaps the most excited to see him. In that way.
One more time: “Ziggy says it’s not going to rain for some time.” “How long is some time?” “Eight months, one week, four days two hours and forty-four minutes.”
Al relaying information, Sam asking for clarification and Al getting into his inner Spock.
Trivial Matters: When Al first appears, he is on a porch not level with Sam. It helps with the framing of the shot but usually they are on the same plane and Al needs to adjust his ‘height.’
There is a scene where Al and Sam discuss the virtues of weather when they are interrupted by Annie. We get the sound effect of the imaging chamber door opening but are not certain if they just added that in as Al did not really have much to do for the rest of the scene.
Put right what once went wrong: “By the time Billy was done, you couldn’t tell Main Street from the Mississippi!” Every now and then you come across an episode which, though otherwise enjoyable, has huge plot holes. Take Voyager’s The Swarm which has to invent a way for The Doctor to have his hard drive crash and then that problem never come up again.
This episode is built on Dr. Beaumont he is all but outright stated to be a fraud. There are successes upon which they can hang their laurels, but those are a sales pitch, and the pair typically leave town after providing services. Al does not predict rain even after the clouds are seeded. Usually, he can tell when history changes but in this case he does not. For that matter in all the hundreds of times they have done this con has no one held them at gunpoint until the rain comes. The price tag is hefty enough that they should have some sort of assurances.
The episode would like us to believe that Billy is a fraud making us wonder why he came back to his hometown in the first place. If he does, this would ruin his reputation and get his family in trouble. It does work out in the end but that is in defiance of the picture the rest of the episode portrayed. Also, what does Billy do at home? He has a successful business so why not come home more often?
Moving past the plot holes, good acting can elevate an episode to watchable. One purported highlight would be the brothers getting into a fight. Echoes from The Next Generation’s Family abound, but the reason for that success is that the two brothers laughed over a bottle of wine afterwards. Here we do not have much time since the episode is, well, running out of time. It is very well choreographed with Patrick Masset taking the busted railing and trying to hit Sam with it (!) but the follow-up is not a whole lot to take in for the aftermath.
The townsfolk do a great job of selling their situation. A man who cannot pay three cents for a staple forks over a lot of money. Another who cannot pay offers an entailment via monthly trade. Everyone has fun at the picnic. This is true small-town Americana on display.
One standout is Clinton Anthony Payne II. As Clinton Levert, he is very much a showman with his talents very much enhanced by the score. He has a whole show talking about how great Billy is. As important as it is to shine in those fantastic moments, he is also strong later when he pours his heart out in a one-on-one conversation. He is very much worth watching.
This is not that great an hour thought you may not think so when watching it initially. Enjoy the ambiance but you do not have to stay for the whole thing.
Original Air Date: November 20, 1991
Story by : Richard C. Okie & Donald P. Bellisario & Ralph Meyering, Jr.
Teleplay by : Richard C. Okie
Directed by: Virgil W. Vogel
Leap Date: September 7, 1953
This time: Sam leaps into a car going to West Bend, Texas. As Billy Beaumont, he is returning to his hometown to end a drought and make it rain. Most everyone is excited to see Billy along with the prospect of rain. One skeptic in the audience is Ralph, Billy’s brother. Nonetheless, Sam, and his partner, Clinton, promise rain. Al arrives and says that it will not for months.
At a family dinner that night, Ralph is still grumpy at Billy who did not come back to town for their father’s funeral seven years earlier. Ralph’s wife, Annie and the Beaumont mother, Grace are happy to reminisce. Later, Annie recounts how she and Ralph are drifting apart, something not helped by the short but amazing-to-Annie short lived romance the two shared.
The townspeople are all ready to pay the two hundred and fifty dollar per person (over two thousand dollars today adjusted for inflation) cover charge each to make it rain. Sam organizes a party to get ready including a cannon firing and a large picnic. Al arrives with news that the rain is still not scheduled to change. Also, when Billy originally left, he took Annie with him.
The town congregates for the event and Sam fumbles through the routine after Clinton not being much help because of the hundred times they have worked together, Billy has never done it the same twice. After shooing them off, Al helps Sam further stumble through making a liquid concoction to seed the clouds.
The party goes off well, despite Ralph trying to break to mood, and Annie threatening to leave. Clinton wonders why they have not left per their usual modus operandi. The two have a moment as Clinton recounts how Billy brought him out of the gutter.
Later that night, Annie tries to make good on her threat to leave. Sam makes progress with getting her to stay but Ralph walks in at the wrong time and comes to the wrong assumption. The brothers have a fistfight where Ralph admits his love for Annie. Husband and wife reconnect just as rain begins to fall. The town rejoices and the family is reunited. Sam leaps …
... into a prison convoy. He and the person he is chained to jump out the back of the truck and make their escape.
Stop talking to yourself: This is another episode without narration by Sam.
Only Sam can see and hear: Al and Sam have a large argument about being able to control the weather, or at least create precipitation of some form. Oddly enough, throughout the conversation they both have traits of a skeptic and optimist.
Mirror images that were not his own: After being warmly greeted by everyone and a hug from his momma, Sam gets a look at the handsome Billy.
Brush with history: Pushing weather to the back of his mind, Sam helps a wheelchair bound townsperson with getting in and out of the store since there is no ramp.
Something or someone: With the family reunited and the rain starting, Sam has to promise to stay in town before he can leap.
It’s a science project: Silver iodide can be used to make it rain as evidenced in this episode.
Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow: Apparently a Cholesterol Control Act comes out at some point, probably to manage cholesterol levels. As of this writing there is no such mandate.
Let’s up the rating: Lots of folks are happy to see Billy return. A woman named Velma is perhaps the most excited to see him. In that way.
One more time: “Ziggy says it’s not going to rain for some time.” “How long is some time?” “Eight months, one week, four days two hours and forty-four minutes.”
Al relaying information, Sam asking for clarification and Al getting into his inner Spock.
Trivial Matters: When Al first appears, he is on a porch not level with Sam. It helps with the framing of the shot but usually they are on the same plane and Al needs to adjust his ‘height.’
There is a scene where Al and Sam discuss the virtues of weather when they are interrupted by Annie. We get the sound effect of the imaging chamber door opening but are not certain if they just added that in as Al did not really have much to do for the rest of the scene.
Put right what once went wrong: “By the time Billy was done, you couldn’t tell Main Street from the Mississippi!” Every now and then you come across an episode which, though otherwise enjoyable, has huge plot holes. Take Voyager’s The Swarm which has to invent a way for The Doctor to have his hard drive crash and then that problem never come up again.
This episode is built on Dr. Beaumont he is all but outright stated to be a fraud. There are successes upon which they can hang their laurels, but those are a sales pitch, and the pair typically leave town after providing services. Al does not predict rain even after the clouds are seeded. Usually, he can tell when history changes but in this case he does not. For that matter in all the hundreds of times they have done this con has no one held them at gunpoint until the rain comes. The price tag is hefty enough that they should have some sort of assurances.
The episode would like us to believe that Billy is a fraud making us wonder why he came back to his hometown in the first place. If he does, this would ruin his reputation and get his family in trouble. It does work out in the end but that is in defiance of the picture the rest of the episode portrayed. Also, what does Billy do at home? He has a successful business so why not come home more often?
Moving past the plot holes, good acting can elevate an episode to watchable. One purported highlight would be the brothers getting into a fight. Echoes from The Next Generation’s Family abound, but the reason for that success is that the two brothers laughed over a bottle of wine afterwards. Here we do not have much time since the episode is, well, running out of time. It is very well choreographed with Patrick Masset taking the busted railing and trying to hit Sam with it (!) but the follow-up is not a whole lot to take in for the aftermath.
The townsfolk do a great job of selling their situation. A man who cannot pay three cents for a staple forks over a lot of money. Another who cannot pay offers an entailment via monthly trade. Everyone has fun at the picnic. This is true small-town Americana on display.
One standout is Clinton Anthony Payne II. As Clinton Levert, he is very much a showman with his talents very much enhanced by the score. He has a whole show talking about how great Billy is. As important as it is to shine in those fantastic moments, he is also strong later when he pours his heart out in a one-on-one conversation. He is very much worth watching.
This is not that great an hour thought you may not think so when watching it initially. Enjoy the ambiance but you do not have to stay for the whole thing.
New places for old(er) keywords: Continuing Mission
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Cardassians and Federation posturing it out: Showdown: Four Lights