On this day, September 20, 1862, a massive 152 years ago, Sam made a fluke leap outside of his own lifetime to Mansfield, Virginia, during the Civil War... Leaping into a truly nightmarish scene, Sam finds himself standing knee-deep in a river next to a large wooden bridge, a full-scale battle going on around him: men in old-fashioned uniforms are running around shooting their pistols at each other; two lines of men face one another, each blasting the other with volleys of shots from long-barreled old rifles; an old cannon thunders as it launches a heavy shell at the enemy soldiers; smoke from gun and artillery shots floats in the air, as the neighing of spurred horses mingles with the terrified, tortured shrieks of the dying… Sam has leaped into a Union army officer fighting in the civil war, and he has only time enough to learn that his hosts name is Beckett, before he is shot by a Confederate lieutenant and falls, unconscious, near the riverbank. Waking up in a barn with a hazy memory of being carried there by a group of blacks, Sam is soon met by a relieved Al who tells him that since his leaping into this time period he had been entirely lost to the project, and has only just now been located. The reason for this disturbance is obvious: for the first time, Sam has leaped outside the limits of his lifetime, into the 19th century. An explanation for this freak leaping accident is found as Sam suddenly remembers an ancestor of his who fought in the civil war… his great-grandfather, Captain John Beckett of the Union forces. It appears this leap was made possible due to Sams DNA structure being extremely similar to that of his great-grandfather, enabling a genetic transference. Sam and Al are interrupted by the appearance of a young woman at the door of the barn, who calls out to Sam to come out. When he does, it is only to stare at the barrel of a rifle pointed at him. The reason for this young southern womans immediate and undisguised hatred of Sam is made clear as Sam learns that her husband was killed in battle on the front, leaving her fighting to defend her homestead against Yankee raids… the same Yankees of whom Sams ancestor (and therefore now Sam himself) is one. Ms. Olivias only remaining companion and aid against her enemies is her loyal black slave, Isaac. Olivia must soon re-evaluate her beliefs and opinions regarding the wild Yankees she has come to hate for raiding and looting her home, as she is forced to nurture the wounded Sam back to health, and is confronted with his honesty and lack of evil intent. Sam, meanwhile, is up for a surprise as he learns from Al that the ferocious southern belle nurturing him back to health is none other than Captain John Becketts future wife – Sams own great-grandmother. Finally, when an errant cannonball causes a fire in her barn, Olivia is forced to concede that Sam is of more possible use to her than he is of harm. Sam has gained her grudging trust and is allowed to move freely about her homestead, but when a Confederate patrol rides by, led by a cunning and suspicious lieutenant, Sam must pretend he is Olivias cousin, a proud southerner, in order to save his neck. The lieutenant clearly fancies Olivia, and makes no effort to hide his wishes regarding her. While he warns Olivia that, following the previous days battle at the bridge (in which the lieutenant himself has shot and wounded one Yankee, who proceeded to escape), surviving Yankee soldiers may be roving about, he nonetheless believes Sams contrived tale of his belonging to the mighty Confederate army and, having been wounded, coming to stay with his dear cousin. Oddly enough, said cousin shows no intention of saying or doing anything to turn in the young man whom, only hours before, she has known to be her sworn enemy. As soon as the chillingly formal lieutenant and his soldiers leave, Sam confronts Olivia with her failure to disprove his invented cover story in front of the soldiers and lead to his hanging as she has so hatefully promised him she would earlier. Olivias unwanted silence at his insistence to know her reason for saving his life leads Sam back to his hazy memory of being brought to her house by a *group* of blacks. Sam becomes determined that Olivia is a Union sympathizer who is harbouring runaway slaves on her grounds. Olivia insists she has no idea what he is talking about, but when Sam sets out to explore the premises it is not long before he discovers a small family of blacks hidden in a back room in the barn. A young couple with a daughter and a small baby, they are timid and seem very frightened of Sam, but their determined protector – Isaac – certainly isnt. As it turns out, Sam has stumbled upon a stop in the Underground Railroad of the war years, of which Isaac is the conductor, offering his wards a temporary shelter, providing for them and showing them the way to the next stop on the road to escape from capture and to freedom. Sam manages to gain their trust by revealing to them his foreknowledge of a brighter future for blacks. However, the grim and practical Isaac sadly dismisses it all as a dream that could never come true. Now certain of Olivias awareness of the existence of the Underground Railroad stop on her grounds, Sam confronts her with the proof that she sides with the Union and opposes slavery. When she denies his allegations against her, which would mean she is guilty of a crime punishable by death in the south, Sam resorts once again to sharing his knowledge of a brighter future, this time one in which women dont have to blindly follow the edicts of the society and country they live in, a future in which they can vote, make a difference and stand up for what they believe in without fear. As Olivia still refuses to admit her collaboration with any such thing as sheltering runaway slaves, Sam lets her off the hook, but has to start thinking about approaching her himself, for a very different purpose, when Al drops by and reminds him that his own existence may depend on John Becketts successful courtship and eventual marriage to Olivia. This in mind, Sam goes on to cook a humble romantic dinner for him and Olivia, throughout the course of which he learns of her recent anguish, waiting for her dead husband to return from the front and saving a special bottle of vintage for that blessed occasion. Sam also learns to play a player piano. An intimate waltz to the sound of the music in their heads completes the initial courting, and, having won the ladys favour, Sam can return to dealing with more pressing matters. Paying another nightly visit to the poor family stowed in the back of the barn, Sam details the information he has presumably received from Al at some point during the day (although the scene itself was never shown). Advising Isaac about the safest route on which he should send his timid wards, Sam is interrupted by the violent cries of a familiar, manly voice… the Confederate patrol has returned. The haughty lieutenant Montgomery orders a thorough search of the premises, and Sam, realizing there is no hope of keeping the runaways hidden and determined not to risk exposing Olivias complicity in the crime, asks Isaac and the runaways to trust him and initiates his quickly-conceived plan. Coming out of the barn and turning in the slaves to a gleeful Montgomery, Sam proceeds to come up with some lame excuses to delay the approaching hanging, for which the two dimwitted soldiers in Montgomerys unit have already begun preparations. Sam bargains with Montgomery, who still thinks him to be a *southern* captain on sick leave, and achieves a postponement of the dreaded event to the break of day. Until dawn, Montgomery places the runaways and Isaac in the barn and posts his goons to guard them, while he himself accompanies Sam and Olivia inside the house to while away the time until dawn. But Sams plan for rescuing the blacks is still far from fruition, so he has Olivia bring out the bottle of old vintage shes told him about earlier, as is fitting for such a special occasion. After a cheerful toast is proposed to the victory of the south, Sam says a few words meant to remind Montgomery of his fancy of Olivia, and despite her feeble protests, offers to play a nice tune for them on the player piano while they share an intimate dance. Trying his best to ignore Olivias murderous looks directed at him over Montgomerys back, Sam takes advantage of the lieutenants momentary distraction to hastily pour all the contents of the old vintage bottle into the half-full coffee pitcher. He proceeds to generously give the lieutenant and his dear cousin some time alone, and volunteers to take out mugs of coffee to Montgomerys poor freezing soldiers outside. Inside the barn, Sam accosts the grizzled private guarding the blacks and genially offers him some steaming coffee. The goon, a man of delicate taste, at least as far as all kinds of liquor are concerned, immediately detects the traces of the vintage, but for some reason doesnt seem to mind it very much. Sam edges him on by pretending to take hearty slurps out of his own mug, then quickly spilling the contents on the ground. Pretty soon, the goon is intoxicated and whooping loudly. Sam offers a few more sympathetic words, then smacks him soundly on the head. He takes the mans gun, unties Isaac and the runaways and they follow him out of the barn. With the help of Als observing eye, Sam takes the second of Montgomerys two halfwits by surprise, and he and the blacks haul the man into the barn to join his fellow. The coast is now clear for the blacks to make good their escape, but Sam has to go back for Olivia first. Meanwhile, Olivia has been rebuffing the increasingly bold advances of the eager Montgomery as politely as possible. When he starts manhandling her, she gradually gets more physical with him. Tired of playing violent games, he pins her down and threatens her with the punishment of the law if she doesnt yield to him. Yes, he knows of her terrible crime, as he explains by reporting his finding, during his quick tour of her house when he first came in earlier that evening, of a Union army captains uniform, with a bullet hole in it. Exposing Sam as an escaped Yankee and her as a Union sympathizer, he correctly concludes that shes guilty of harboring fugitive slaves. But hes willing to let even this pass should she yield to him. Sam bursts in and points his gun at Montgomery, who in turn uses Olivia as a human shield. He then calmly tells Sam that his soldiers weapon is worthless and is about to shoot him. However, Olivia breaks out of his grip and shoves him backwards. Sam pins him down and knocks him out. Sam and Olivia then bolt out of the house. Dawn is breaking. In a forest clearing, a considerable distance from the house, Sam tries to comfort Olivia for the loss of her house and her way of life. Olivia shrugs off these material concerns as irrelevant, but still seems bothered by something. She hesitantly asks Sam if there could really be love between them. Sam, hinting at the future, answers affirmatively and commits to her for his great-grandfather. Isaac then intrudes on their intimacy, asking to have a word with them. At the same time, Al pops in, reassuring Sam that Ziggy indicates that Isaac and Olivia have a 98% chance of joining up with the nearest rebel outfit and making it to safety and freedom. Sam turns back to Isaac. As a free man, Isaac would need a last name. He has been debating several choices within himself, among which are Johns (and Sams), and Olivias. However, he eventually turns to simpler logic to make his choice. It appears that the legacy of Sams speech, the one that Isaac had determined to be nothing but a hopeless dream, would live on… and people will eventually come to believe in it. Sam and Isaac share a moment of true brotherhood, before Sam leaps.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 14:33:42 +0000