"The Greenhouse Effect"
Episode 115 - Part 1
Case # 21-3127
Log line: Plants attack a family.
Synopsis: When Cole Conacher enters son Greg's room to wake him up
for school, he's instead greeted by a horrifying sight: Greg is lashed to his
bed and being choked to death by a formerly-benign houseplant that's grown out
of control. After freeing his son from the vines that bind, Conacher contacts a
local university's botany department for help; stumped by the vicious vines,
they, in turn, ask the O.S.I.R. for assistance.
From the start, the O.S.I.R. finds the flora fraught with danger. Agent Lindsay Donner, in the Conacher home attempting to gather a tissue sample from the unwanted plant, becomes ensnared in the willful, malevolent vines; she's saved only when colleague Peter Axon blasts the attacking plant with liquid nitrogen, freezing it into submission. Lab analysis of the small cutting reveals that it contains biological waste of unknown origin...to sort out the truth behind this creeping invader, the O.S.I.R. needs a larger sample.
Back at the Conachers' residence, the O.S.I.R. team discovers that every room has been overrun by the suspicious plant. Donner's second sample - taken as she narrowly escapes being attacked again - reveals that the foliage is inhabited by powerful microscopic parasites which are producing a super-strength fertilizer causing the massive growth spurts.
When further attempts to unearth the problem prove too dangerous, the O.S.I.R. plots to weed out the plant for good. But, this time around, the O.S.I.R. might have just met a foe who's simply not ready to pull up roots.
Starring:
Connor Doyle - Paul Miller
Peter Axon - Barclay Hope
Lindsay Donner - Nancy Anne Sakovich
Guest Stars:
Cole Conacher - Richard Donat
Greg Conacher - Jeremy Tracz
Written by: Damian Kindler
Directed by: Clay Borris
"The Buzz"
Episode 115 - Part 2
(aired the week of 2/15/1997)
Case # 21-3127
Log line: Mysterious buzzing coincides with unexplained deaths.
Synopsis: The Hartleys, an ordinary family living in a small town in Montana, discover some unordinary - and terrifying - problems: daughter Sally is plagued with a deafening buzzing sound inaudible to others, husband Ernest suffers a sudden, violent respiratory attack and mother Randi finds their home is infested with hundreds of rats.
The small town, finally undergoing a long-hoped-for economic recovery due to the relocation of several high-tech firms yet now faced with these strange problems, calls in the O.S.I.R. Tackling the mysterious disease dilemma first, the investigators discover that it is being spread by thousands of rats, which have recently infested the town's underground network of sewage tunnels. As they attempt to stop the disease's spread by eradicating the rats, the O.S.I.R.'s Peter Axon also starts hearing the painful buzzing noise - now audible to about one-fourth of the local citizenry. Case Manager Connor Doyle and his team set out to determine whether the buzzing and infestation are related.
Using sonic measuring devices in the tunnel system, the O.S.I.R. traces the buzzing to Digiknight, a new local computer company that has installed underground high-frequency noise generators to drive the troublesome rodents away from its computer micro-chip production facility. While effective at keeping the rats at bay, Digiknight's equipment is forcing them through the tunnels and into town, where they're spreading a deadly disease.
While successfully pulling the plug on the buzzing and the illness, the O.S.I.R. isn't certain it's unearthed the truth behind these problems. Additional research shows that Digiknight's generators might be transmitting a secret code, rather than simply keeping away rats; meanwhile, the company's public relations man, Jim Burns, is acting particularly suspicious. The O.S.I.R. is left to figure out whether Digiknight's actions are a corporate mistake...or a clandestine, illegal project that could steer the small town to even greater danger.
Starring:
Connor Doyle - Paul Miller
Peter Axon - Barclay Hope
Lindsay Donner - Nancy Anne Sakovich
Guest Stars:
Jim Burns - Lindsay Merrithew
Written by: Sherman Snukal
Directed by: Clay Borris