As much as I love and adore Captain Jack Scofield from the Riptide episode The Pirate and the Princess, one of my sources of frustration regarding the character is that the episode never really makes it clear whose side Jack is on. Did he move the mini-submarine so that it was on the eels' rock? Did he start the fire in the engine room? Was he really going to blow up the ship when Guido shot him?
I really believe he was not at fault for any of these things, especially since Guido was revealed as the snake in the grass. But that doesn't necessarily clear Scofield. After all, he could have been a bad guy working all on his own, independent of the smugglers.
I really believe he was not at fault for any of these things, especially since Guido was revealed as the snake in the grass. But that doesn't necessarily clear Scofield. After all, he could have been a bad guy working all on his own, independent of the smugglers.
I hoped perhaps the script would clear up some of these mysteries even though the episode did not. I finally procured a copy of said script and pored over it yesterday. Although it does not answer things as much as I hoped, there are some interesting differences between the script and the episode that may actually lead to the answers.
First, the character description. He is described as a hard-bitten sea salt along the lines of Robert Shaw from Jaws. Now, I'm probably one of the only people who has never seen Jaws, since horror pictures with psycho animals are really not my thing, but upon looking up pictures of the character I can kind of see the inspiration. He even wears a sweater and a baseball cap. And of course, he's British in origin. The script makes note that Scofield has an English accent. I wonder if Christopher Cary was an immediate choice for the part or if they also considered other actors.
Next, the differences between the script and the episode.
The script, overall, is extremely similar to the finished product. Probably the biggest change made is that when they dive to get Captain Tyson's treasure, the old sunken ship starts collapsing and Cody is almost killed! Nick and Tony Guirilini come to rescue him just in time. When they surface, Angelo Guirilini is horrified by the tale of what happened. I suppose this was cut either for time or budget constraints, but it would have been an intense and exciting scene.
(Another, smaller change is that the flashback dates are moved up an entire century. Whereas in the script it's the 1500s, it's the 1600s in the episode. And yet even with that change, they didn't change the time discrepancy in the script of Emilio Rodriguez being made captain of his own ship several years before Captain Tyson ever met Princess Carlotta!)
Captain Scofield's original scene, where he speaks with the customs agent who spies for him, is virtually the same as the episode, save for the very beginning. One slight change made in the script has the Riptide detectives and Giovanna Guirilini talking about the problems on the expedition outside the airport instead of in the taxi cab. Scofield and the customs agent watch the whole thing. When Murray says he wants to look the inexplicable squarely in the eye until it blinks, the camera angle goes to a close-up of Scofield's eye and a blink. Ha! Cheesy, yes, but an interesting approach. It would have been amusing if they had kept it like that in the episode.
When Scofield is spying on the Arrivederci, Baby, the script notes that he is wearing a damp wetsuit. This is as in the episode; we are to assume he has been diving. However, while in the episode it really may be a red herring and his diving was innocent, in the script it almost seems that there definitely is something sinister about whatever he was doing down there. Instead of Tony, it's Guido who gets bitten by the eel. Unless Guido was trying to throw suspicion off of himself, or unless the eel just went for him before he could do anything about it, it seems that he was completely surprised by the location of the mini-submarine and perhaps did not move it there himself. Also, when they come up, the script notes that one of them is clearly hurt, whereas it doesn't seem to be as clear in the episode, particularly from that distance.
Perhaps the eeriest change in this scene is that originally Scofield is supposed to be singing to himself as he watches the goings-on and sees them surface with someone definitely hurt. Such a reaction seems to indicate either that he is responsible for moving the mini-submarine and is pleased that someone got hurt or that he just doesn't care, even if he had nothing to do with it. It also rather indicates he may not be altogether sane. Singing while watching injured people is not a normal reaction. As nice as it would have been to have heard Christopher Cary sing, I am glad that the episode opted to have him watch in silence and not look particularly pleased at anything that's happening. I wonder whether that was Christopher's suggestion or that of someone in the crew. The only point where he looks like he may be enjoying it could also be interpreted as him simply squinting and not quite sure what he's seeing. I wasn't sure what he was seeing either, even with the binoculars. But it's also possible that he couldn't tell that anyone was hurt, yet was pleased that they were surfacing without having found anything yet because he wanted to approach them about that partnership.
When Scofield is spying on the Arrivederci, Baby, the script notes that he is wearing a damp wetsuit. This is as in the episode; we are to assume he has been diving. However, while in the episode it really may be a red herring and his diving was innocent, in the script it almost seems that there definitely is something sinister about whatever he was doing down there. Instead of Tony, it's Guido who gets bitten by the eel. Unless Guido was trying to throw suspicion off of himself, or unless the eel just went for him before he could do anything about it, it seems that he was completely surprised by the location of the mini-submarine and perhaps did not move it there himself. Also, when they come up, the script notes that one of them is clearly hurt, whereas it doesn't seem to be as clear in the episode, particularly from that distance.
Perhaps the eeriest change in this scene is that originally Scofield is supposed to be singing to himself as he watches the goings-on and sees them surface with someone definitely hurt. Such a reaction seems to indicate either that he is responsible for moving the mini-submarine and is pleased that someone got hurt or that he just doesn't care, even if he had nothing to do with it. It also rather indicates he may not be altogether sane. Singing while watching injured people is not a normal reaction. As nice as it would have been to have heard Christopher Cary sing, I am glad that the episode opted to have him watch in silence and not look particularly pleased at anything that's happening. I wonder whether that was Christopher's suggestion or that of someone in the crew. The only point where he looks like he may be enjoying it could also be interpreted as him simply squinting and not quite sure what he's seeing. I wasn't sure what he was seeing either, even with the binoculars. But it's also possible that he couldn't tell that anyone was hurt, yet was pleased that they were surfacing without having found anything yet because he wanted to approach them about that partnership.
Of course, if we go with the idea that Guido put the mini-submarine on the eels' rock, the question becomes how did he do that when he was in town? Perhaps the answer lies in the fact that the mini-submarine is remote-controlled. Maybe before Guido left for town, he guided it to the spot he wanted and then damaged the relay circuit and sent it down. He certainly could have noted the rock on a prior dive and decided it would be perfect for his purposes.
It's also a point of curiosity why Scofield didn't approach Angelo about the partnership. One could decide that his story really was a lie, but on the other hand, perhaps he was simply planning to go about "approaching" in a very unusual way. There is nothing to say that maybe his intentions all along were that someone would notice the spying customs agent and find out about him after cornering that guy. Perhaps he thought it better if they ended up coming to him instead of the other way around. Of course, that didn't help Cody and Nick with their suspicions any, but maybe Scofield thought that since there wasn't anything illegal about him watching the ship and he admitted to it, his honesty wouldn't be questioned.
When the customs agent is caught spying at the hospital, in the script he ends up leading Cody and Nick on a chase all the way down to the docks, where he hides on Scofield's ship. Wow. I wonder whether that was changed because of time or budget or simply because it sounded too laughable that he would be that much of a coward. The script also says that Scofield then comes out glaring at Cody and Nick with the agent hiding behind him. Now, maybe that made sense when Terry D. Nelson was picturing Robert Shaw, but when small-framed Christopher Cary was cast in the role, somehow the thought of anyone hiding behind him just doesn't quite work. So that may have also had some bearing on why the scene was changed.
In the episode, instead of glaring, Scofield is friendly and amiable from the start. Even though the episode is still vague on Scofield's ultimate allegiance, this and these other changes from the script seem to point to the idea that perhaps Scofield is exactly as he presents himself to be and they wanted him to be more likable to the audience.
It's also a point of curiosity why Scofield didn't approach Angelo about the partnership. One could decide that his story really was a lie, but on the other hand, perhaps he was simply planning to go about "approaching" in a very unusual way. There is nothing to say that maybe his intentions all along were that someone would notice the spying customs agent and find out about him after cornering that guy. Perhaps he thought it better if they ended up coming to him instead of the other way around. Of course, that didn't help Cody and Nick with their suspicions any, but maybe Scofield thought that since there wasn't anything illegal about him watching the ship and he admitted to it, his honesty wouldn't be questioned.
When the customs agent is caught spying at the hospital, in the script he ends up leading Cody and Nick on a chase all the way down to the docks, where he hides on Scofield's ship. Wow. I wonder whether that was changed because of time or budget or simply because it sounded too laughable that he would be that much of a coward. The script also says that Scofield then comes out glaring at Cody and Nick with the agent hiding behind him. Now, maybe that made sense when Terry D. Nelson was picturing Robert Shaw, but when small-framed Christopher Cary was cast in the role, somehow the thought of anyone hiding behind him just doesn't quite work. So that may have also had some bearing on why the scene was changed.
In the episode, instead of glaring, Scofield is friendly and amiable from the start. Even though the episode is still vague on Scofield's ultimate allegiance, this and these other changes from the script seem to point to the idea that perhaps Scofield is exactly as he presents himself to be and they wanted him to be more likable to the audience.
Things proceed much the same as the episode for a while, with the only changes seeming to be that, first, when Murray and Tony find the location of the ship, in the script Scofield laughs in delight instead of taking a wide-eyed sip from his rum bottle. Second, an interesting and possibly plot relevant change is that when Cody and Nick are questioning Scofield about the fire, the episode makes it more clear that they really do think he did it and are making no bones about the circumstantial evidence they found. Cody mentions how interesting he finds it that Scofield's rum bottle was left at the scene of the crime, whereas he doesn't say that in the script.
The other major difference between script and episode is that when a wounded Scofield struggles up with the knife and stabs Guido before he can plant the newly armed bomb, the scene lingers in the script. Instead of immediately cutting away at Guido's shock, it shows Scofield stabbing him in the heart and Guido suspended for a moment before collapsing to the floor. Perhaps it was deemed too violent for television at that time.
There is still no real indication of what Scofield is doing staggering into the main salon with the knife, so I will still assume he was trying to get the knife to the main characters to help them. I will also assume that he was not planning to blow anybody up and that the bomb was probably brought to the ship by Mr. Hawkins and given to Guido to plant. Scofield could have easily been in the engine room trying to find clues as to who framed him for starting the fire and have stumbled across Guido getting ready to plant the bomb. Guido then shot Scofield and tried to blame him for the bomb, but had to abandon that plan and reveal his own duplicity when Scofield was still alive and Murray was going to call for an ambulance. Guido likely wasn't expecting Scofield to have survived the bullet.
That seems the most likely scenario to me. Supposing Scofield wanted to blow up the ship, why? Was his argument about the Arrivederci having the best equipment to find the treasure a lie? Was it the truth but he then abandoned that idea when it looked like maybe the treasure was either buried onshore or in a shallow underwater cave? The possible arguments for Scofield having the bomb really seem weak and ludicrous, especially since in the episode there is no indication of him having treasure lust elevated to a dangerous and deadly level. He comes across as mature and patient, willing to wait after all these years, even though he is excited, as is everybody else, at the thought of being so close to finding the treasure.
The other major difference between script and episode is that when a wounded Scofield struggles up with the knife and stabs Guido before he can plant the newly armed bomb, the scene lingers in the script. Instead of immediately cutting away at Guido's shock, it shows Scofield stabbing him in the heart and Guido suspended for a moment before collapsing to the floor. Perhaps it was deemed too violent for television at that time.
There is still no real indication of what Scofield is doing staggering into the main salon with the knife, so I will still assume he was trying to get the knife to the main characters to help them. I will also assume that he was not planning to blow anybody up and that the bomb was probably brought to the ship by Mr. Hawkins and given to Guido to plant. Scofield could have easily been in the engine room trying to find clues as to who framed him for starting the fire and have stumbled across Guido getting ready to plant the bomb. Guido then shot Scofield and tried to blame him for the bomb, but had to abandon that plan and reveal his own duplicity when Scofield was still alive and Murray was going to call for an ambulance. Guido likely wasn't expecting Scofield to have survived the bullet.
That seems the most likely scenario to me. Supposing Scofield wanted to blow up the ship, why? Was his argument about the Arrivederci having the best equipment to find the treasure a lie? Was it the truth but he then abandoned that idea when it looked like maybe the treasure was either buried onshore or in a shallow underwater cave? The possible arguments for Scofield having the bomb really seem weak and ludicrous, especially since in the episode there is no indication of him having treasure lust elevated to a dangerous and deadly level. He comes across as mature and patient, willing to wait after all these years, even though he is excited, as is everybody else, at the thought of being so close to finding the treasure.
Another thought to consider is that the bomb was some pretty high-tech equipment and Scofield only had a small fishing boat and probably very little money. Not to mention he wasn't all that keen on technology all the time and liked more traditional methods of getting things done, as seen when he tells Murray that the old maps they found are better than any computer. Hawkins, meanwhile, had money and power and could probably very easily have obtained a bomb like that amid all his other crooked dealings. Plus, we know he definitely wanted Guido to kill everybody by that point due to the pressure put on him by Klaus Gunther. So he is the more likely candidate for the bomb's origins.
In the end, I remain determined to believe that Captain Scofield really is a good person and had nothing to do with any of the trouble, as he adamantly claimed. It would be nice to know for sure what the intention was behind the character, but I doubt if it will ever be known now, after all these years. It seems unlikely that anyone would still remember what the full story was behind a guest-starring character who only appeared in one episode.
One thing that's sure. While the character is very interesting in the pages of the script, he seems much more dark and mysterious than in the episode, especially when we can't see what he looks like or what his expressions are. When he's actually seen onscreen and played so brilliantly by Christopher Cary, he comes to life as a lighter and friendlier person. But the script description of him as hard-bitten is so fitting in either version. I will always be impressed by how he struggled up after being shot, stabbed Guido, and staggered across the ship to take the knife to the bound characters. Truly, he is far tougher than he looks.
