"The Night of the Setting Sun"

Episode 216
(aired the week of 3/2/1998)
Case # 93-8216

Log line: The Schulman family drinks human blood to remain just as they were in 1919.

Synopsis: Feeding a black market for endangered animals, Vickers - an underground dealer - learns the location of a flock of pigeons believed to be extinct for more than 70 years. After she nabs one of the birds from a dilapidated inner-city factory, Vickers makes it over the wall to safety, but her partner Franco is detained by an unseen presence. Learning of Vickers' plan to sell the rare specimen, Office of Scientific Investigation and Research (O.S.I.R.) zoologist L.Q. Cooper buys it. Discovering its origin, Cooper and O.S.I.R. Case Manager Matt Praeger travel to the factory in search of additional birds although their escort there, factory owner Derek Stephenson, barely makes it out of his car before he collapses and dies. O.S.I.R. pathologist Dr. Claire Davison lists Spanish Influenza as cause of death - an ultra-contagious virus vanished for more than 70 years.

Worried she might have become infected during the autopsy, Davison quarantines herself and advises the other O.S.I.R. members to remain in isolation in the factory until a vaccine is developed. Senior Analyst Lindsay Donner, the only one not exposed to possible infection, takes over the legwork in the investigation. Her first order of business: background information on the Stephenson family and their company. She learns Derek was the last surviving member and that the factory still houses a small furniture manufacturing operation. Investigating its grounds, the O.S.I.R. comes across cousins Jonas, Elena and 12-year-old Sophie Schulman; they live on the premises with a few other relatives and hand-craft furniture in exchange for room and board. Curious about the strange, old-fashioned way the Schulmans dress, speak and behave, Cooper learns from Sophie that they moved into the factory 90 years ago.

After running a battery of environmental tests, Chief Science Analyst Peter Axon and Chief of Medicine Dr. Anton Hendricks suspect that the high concentration of magnetic ore in the ground has altered the Schulmans' physiology, triggering their surprising longevity. Via blood samples, Hendricks also determines that although the Schulmans are virus carriers, they also carry antibodies that make them immune. Further examination reveals that the family members have an unusual enzyme requiring them to ingest abnormal amounts of iron from raw meat and fresh blood in order to stay alive.

Unable to resist the aggressive flirtation of demurely-attractive Elena Schulman, Axon embraces her but is discovered by cousin Jonas. Jonas insists his family leave the complex, fearing that their lifestyle is endangered by their recent outside contact.

In the meantime, Praeger and Cooper discover Franco, the bird thief who never made it over the wall, tied up in a storage locker. The terrified young tough claims the Schulmans have been drinking his blood for sustenance. Alarmed by Franco's revelation, the O.S.I.R. team gathers together for safety. As Jonas readies his family to leave, Elena kisses Axon goodbye. Secretly wielding a knife, her penchant for fresh blood pushes her to violence. In a split-second, the moment turns from romantic to deadly. Can the O.S.I.R. save their colleague? And do they let the Schulmans loose in a modern, unprotected world?

Starring:
Matt Frewer - Case Manager Matt Praeger
Barclay Hope - Peter Axon
Nancy Anne Sakovich - Lindsay Donner
Colin Fox - Dr. Anton Hendricks
Dan Aykroyd - Host

Guest Stars:
Peter Blais - Zoologist L.Q. Cooper
Soo Garay - Dr. Claire Davison
Katherine Ashby - Vickers
Jason Jazrawry - Franco
Lubomir Myktiuk - Jonas Schulman
Susannah Hoffman - Elena Schulman
Allison Pill - Sophie Schulman

Written by: James Nadler
Directed by: E. Jane Thompson