Original air date: January 17, 1998

Written by: Steven Long Mitchell & Craig W. Van Sickle

Directed by: Vern Gillum

Jarod takes a job as a special effects coordinator, while Miss Parker begins an investigation after receiving a videotape in which her mother is searching for Jarod and a boy named Timmy.

Jarod’s Discoveries: Model Cars, B-Horror Movies, Talking Frogs, Homemade Napalm

Jarod’s Occupations: Special Effects Coordinator/Stuntman

Jarod’s Aliases: Jarod Lugosi

Behind the scenes insights and the Creator’s Take

Official Synopsis

Jarod impersonates a special-effects coordinator after a stunt man is seriously injured during the filming of a television commercial.

Jarod is pursued by two heavily-armed men who appear to be Sweepers.  He takes refuge inside an abandoned bus, only to realize it has no exit.  One of his pursuers tosses a firebomb inside the vehicle.  It explodes, engulfing Jarod in flames.

In actuality, however, the two men are actors working on a movie set.  A stunt crew quickly extinguishes Jarod, and he is approached by Brynne McClaine, a sexy advertising representative who is in the midst of producing a Super Bowl campaign for a new brand of beer.  Jarod had sent Brynne his resume in hopes of landing a job.  Later, Jarod reviews a videotape of a story from a news magazine show.  The piece focuses on stuntman Dave Dugger, who was severely burned during the filming of a Super Bowl commercial after he attempted to drive a car through an exploding mock-up wall.  The stunt was masterminded by Dugger’s longtime effects coordinator and childhood friend, Mickey Clausen, but he is uncertain what went awry.

Miss Parker returns home one evening to discover a special-effects creature, which Jarod had referred to as “Igor,” beneath the covers of her bed.  Eventually, Parker discovers a videotape hidden inside the figure.

Brynne hires Jarod to perform the stunt in the beer commercial.  On the set, Jarod meets the overweight beer company representative, Julius Connelly; special effects assistant Ray Slater; and the director, Ian Tottenham, an Englishman.  After the meeting, Jarod notes an Alcoholics Anonymous chip hanging around Ray’s neck.  Ray credits Dave Dugger, his sponsor, for his sobriety.  He also tells Jarod about his suspicions regarding Mickey Clausen.  Ray suspects Clausen sacrificed Dugger’s safety to achieve a flashy effect.  Later, Jarod studies a videotape containing footage of the accident.  He realizes two explosions—a second originating inside the stunt car—went off during filming, instead of just one.

During the shoot, the director pressures Jarod for a spectacular fire to go off on the feet of two actors.  Ray pulls Jarod aside and shows him home-made napalm, the perfect solution for the gag.  Ray explains that Mickey showed him the formula for concocting the napalm.  Later, Jarod examines the burned-out Cadillac, and finds a jelly-like substance on the radiator.  He then finds a bottle of hard liquor in Ray’s trailer.

The hidden videotape turns out to be security footage recorded the day before Miss Parker’s mother was killed.  On the tape, Catherine speaks with a “Mr. Igor,” whose face is obscured by darkness.  Igor gives Catherine the location where she can find Jarod and another boy named Timmy (the victim of Raines’ experiments).  Parker, Sydney and Broots find the old room where Timmy was held captive—and an archaic electric chair within.  The threesome bring Angelo, the empath, into the room, hoping he can shed some light on what happened to Timmy.  Angelo feels enormous pain, then melts emotionally as he slides down a wall.  He says repeatedly, “no more Timmy.”

Jarod telephones Ray with word that Dave Dugger regained consciousness.  Ray pays Dugger, his face heavily bandaged, a visit at the hospital.  Dugger smells liquor on his friend’s breath.  He accuses him of falling off the wagon because of guilt about the accident.  A tearful Ray confesses that Mickey refused to rig the big explosion.  Brynne then approached him about the effect, promising a big future in return.  When the accident occurred, Ray realized Brynne had taken it upon herself to place napalm inside the radiator.  The bandaged patient then begins removing the wrappings…revealing Jarod underneath.

Jarod dons safety gear and traps Brynne inside the passenger seat of the stunt car.  He tells her he has covered the radiator with napalm…just as she had done to Dave Dugger.  He recreates the crash into the wall, only this time, beer comes gushing out of crash barrels, soaking Brynne.  Brynne’s confession regarding her involvement in the incident is recorded via a hidden camera.

Broots retrieves a DSA from Raines’ private files.  On the recording, a young Raines tells Catherine that Timmy, who stares off into space catatonically (the result of the experiments), will from now on be referred to as Angelo.