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 H O M  E legacyweb.com :: p:tl episode guide :: season three :: episode description

62. Out of Sight

Season: 3
First Air Date: 31 July 1998 (Showtime)
Alternate Title(s): Geister, die er rief (German)
MGM/Showtime Photos: no photos
   

A psychic con man begs The Legacy to aid him when he runs afoul a vengeful spirit seems determined to put him "out of business." - This is the sequel to Jay Cappe's Mind's Eye (season 2) which brings back the wonderful character, Jeffrey Starr, played by Maurice Godin.

   
Actors

 

Derek de Lint

"Dr. Derek Rayne, Ph D"

Martin Cummins "Nick Boyle"
Robbi Chong "Alexandra (Alex) Moreau"
   
Guest Actors

 

Maurice Godin "Jeffrey Starr"
Stephanie Dicker "Mary Johnson"
Scott Hylands "Evan Brookshire"
Sheila Larken "Mrs. Brookshire"
Jerry Schram "Daniel Walken"
Deryl Hayes "Security Guard"
   
Co-Executive Producer Garner Simmons
Co-Executive Producer Grant Rosenberg
Producer David Tynan
Produced by Robert Petrovicz
Writer

James "Jay" Cappe

Director Michael Robison
   
This description by:

Laura O.

   

 

Daniel Walken's Mansion, Evening

"Daniel! You can't hide! Your time has come!" A malevolent ghost is assaulting Daniel Walken. Terrified, Walken attempts to flee from the ghost, but he is literally blown down a flight of stairs and then knocked over some furniture. Walken pleads with the spirit for mercy, claiming that he wasn't at fault. "It was Starr's fault!" he cries, but to no avail. The ghost clenches his fist and twists, causing Walken to scream in agony. Then, the ghost shoots beams of pure energy at Walken who collapses. "Starr…" he gasps as he dies. The ghost vanishes.

Jeffrey Starr's Apartment, Same Evening

Jeffrey Starr is idly stroking a crystal ball as he awaits his latest customer, a young, very pretty blond woman. The woman greets him with an awestruck tone. "So, you're the Jeffrey Starr. The one who makes predictions that actually come true." "I'm him," he replies glibly, "That's me. Psychic predictions, guidance…the unknowable made known." Starr motions for the woman to come in and sit at a round table. The center of the table has been inset with a water-filled glass bowl that has been carved with a decorative, sun-like pattern. Swirling designs painted directly onto the table surface complete the sun-like effect. Soft lights beneath the bowl give it a warm glow. Jeffrey lights the four votive candles on the table as he listens to woman introduce herself and tell her tale.

Her name is Mary Johnson. She says that she is seeking Jeffrey's ‘psychic guidance' with recurring dreams that she's been having. She tells him that she'd considered seeing a psychiatrist, but he dismisses that idea, saying that a psychiatrist would only see what was on her mind. He could see what's in her soul. Jeffrey steadies himself for a moment and then takes her hand to establish a psychic link. He is immediately jolted by what he ‘sees': an older man preparing to shoot himself. Just as the man pulls the trigger, Jeffrey breaks the link and asks Mary if the vision means anything to her. When she says no, he fearfully continues with the session. This time he actually sees the man shoot himself. He is even more horrified when the dead man turns, reaches out his hands, and rasps, "Starr…"

Shocked, Jeffrey breaks the link again just as some sort of force sweeps through his apartment. Items break apart and are thrown through the air . Something blasts directly at him. He tries to reassure and protect Mary, but is knocked to the floor and then thrown across the room. When the psychic attack finally stops, Jeffrey is terrified. "You okay?" he asks Mary. "Good, cause I'm not!"

San Francisco Legacy House, the Next Morning

Jeffrey goes to the Legacy for help, but gets a chilly reception from Derek and Alex. Alex tells him that she's very disappointed that he's returned to his old tricks and is paying around with the gift of Sight. "Gift!" he exclaims in angry disbelief. "Some gift!" Before he can protest further, Nick arrives and greets him with a wicked grin. "Jeffrey Starr! I thought that you'd taken your little crystal balls and gone off to Vegas!" Embarrassed, Jeffrey tells them that he was asked to leave Las Vegas. Once again he pleads for their help, only to have them tell him to completely shut down all of his psychic scams and schemes. Nick sarcastically suggests that Jeffrey get a ‘real' job and Jeffrey replies, "Look who's talking! It's not as if I can pick up the Yellow Pages and call someone else." At first Jeffrey shrugs off their scolding, but as it becomes more obvious to him that they aren't going to help him, he becomes increasingly worried. Derek downplays Jeffrey's concern, saying that if Jeffrey stops his ‘sessions' then maybe the ghost will just go away. Jeffrey is dumbfounded. "You're just going to let me die?" Derek just shrugs and says that there's nothing that they can do for him.

Shocked, Jeffrey starts to leave. Alex follows after him and gets him to stop and talk to her. He confides how scared he is and offers to do whatever she asks if she will help him. He tells her that the ghost called him by name. Alex is obviously sympathetic, but can't hide her dismay when she learns that Jeffrey is planning to conduct another session with Mary that evening. "You're having another séance?" she asks. Jeffrey winces. ‘I hate that term. They're not seances. Séance sounds so – whooo! - 1890s. They're counseling sessions. Psychic therapy for the mind and spirit." Alex is incredulous, but can't help smiling. "Coming from you, that's really scary."

Jeffrey Starr's Apartment, that Evening

Mary Johnson is surprised to see Alex there, but agrees to start her next psychic session with Jeffrey. Alex tries hard not to smile as Jeffrey prepares for the ‘session', but stops smiling immediately as she watches him slip into a trance and make psychic contact with Mary. Jeffrey's first vision is of Mary, dressed for a party and holding a bouquet of white roses. He opens his eyes and relates what he sees, but then he is suddenly jolted by the same vision of the man committing suicide. As the vision overwhelms him, Jeffrey begins to shake and grip onto Mary's hands tighter and tighter. Alarmed, Alex unsuccessfully tries to rouse him and break the link. Finally, Jeffrey breaks the link staggers to his feet. They all hear the ghost call out his name. Almost instantly the room is awash in poltergeist activity. Jeffrey's chair is flung into the air. A face appears in the bowl of water on the table. When Jeffrey bends to look at it, beams of energy blast out at him and knock him across the room. Alex and Mary rush to his side and crouch with him until the psychic activity ends. Jeffrey is practically hysterical with fear. "Didn't I tell you, Alex! I'm in big trouble!"

Jeffrey Starr's Apartment, later that evening

Derek has joined them. He and Alex speak privately, away from Jeffrey and Mary. Derek is disappointed to see that Jeffrey is still using stage props even though he now has genuine psychic powers. Alex replies that Jeffrey did not stage what she witnessed, and says that he is in serious danger. They join Jeffrey and Mary. Derek advises Mary to stay away from Jeffrey, and then pulls Jeffrey aside to tell him yet again to stop all of his seances and psychic activities. Jeffrey asks for help again and expects Derek to come up with a ‘quick fix' to end the problem. He's angered when Derek says that he's just going to go back to the Legacy House and go to bed. Jeffrey watches angrily as Derek turns and leaves.

Legacy House, the next day

Derek goes to the Control Room, where Nick has been going through the files that Jeffrey turned over to Alex. He tells Nick that Jeffrey is in real danger: he's being attacked by an angry ghost. "Great," Nick quipped. "A dead, dissatisfied customer." He tells Derek that Jeffrey kept very good records on all of his clients, and that he had a surprisingly good track record with the advice that he gave them all. There was only one exception: a Wall Street broker named Daniel Walken. Two years previously, before he had acquired real psychic powers, Jeffrey had conducted several ‘sessions' with Walken. Walken had subsequently been convicted of fraud after scamming several people out of millions of dollars. Derek sends Nick to check on Walken. Alex has already gone to try to persuade Mary Johnson to stay away from Jeffrey. Derek goes to see Starr himself.

Street Scene, same time

Alex fails to convince Mary to stay away from Jeffrey. She tells Mary that even though Jeffrey is a genuine psychic, he's not all that he seems and he has hurt people in the past. Mary refuses to stop seeing him. So long as Jeffrey can help her, Mary will still go to him.

Jeffrey Starr's Apartment, later that day

As Jeffrey cleans up after the latest psychic assault on his apartment, Derek questions him about Daniel Walken. Starr admits to having met with Walken several times, but it all happened years ago, before he had the real Sight. He tries to charm Derek with witticisms, but when that doesn't work he tersely says that he never gave Walken any investment advice, nor did he ever make any money off of Walken's scams. "You just inspired them," Derek says dryly, determined to teach Jeffrey a lesson about assuming responsibility for his own actions. Starr is stung by Derek's comment, but says nothing.

Jeffrey Starr's Apartment, early evening

Jeffrey is lying on his couch, looking bored and dejected. He performs a sleight of hand magic trick but even that can't cheer him up. He hears a knock at the door and is surprised to see Mary Johnson, asking to come in. He says that he thinks that she should leave because of the danger, but she insists. "We're not finished. You can't leave me now," she pleads. Jeffrey can't resist her request for help and lets her in. He makes a show of locking all of the locks on his door, ‘in case his unwanted visitor returns' but when Mary notes that the locks would just make it harder for him to get away, Jeffrey hurriedly unlocks every lock and then even opens the door a crack. To put them both at ease, Jeffrey jokes that he can 'See' her problem: she needs advice on picking out appliances.

Mary shakes her head and says that she'd lied to him earlier. The real reason that she sought him out was money. She needed money and she'd heard that he was really good with that sort of thing. Jeffrey is so disappointed that he can't reply for a few moments He backs away from her and then sadly tells her that he can't help her. He's lousy with money. But dreams… He walks back over to her with a hopeful expression on his face and offers to try to help her with her dreams if she still wanted him to. Instead of being upset, Mary is so happy that she spontaneously kisses him. A startled but delighted Jeffrey jokes that he saw that coming, but Mary just beams at him and exclaims that she didn't.

Walken's House, same evening

A security guard lets Nick into Walken's house. As he examines Walken's office, Nick remarks that he is surprised that the house is already on the market. The guard explains that Walken's estate had accrued heavy debts so they were trying to sell the property as quickly as possible. The guard tells him that Walken had died of a heart attack, even though the maid had claimed that ghosts were haunting Walken. The guard cynically comments that he figured that Walken had just gone crazy.

Street Scene, same evening

Mary Johnson is walking to her car when suddenly the ghost appears and calls her name reproachfully. Mary is not frightened. In fact, she seems angry. "You couldn't wait, could you father?" she accuses the ghost. The ghost, Mary's father, asserts that Starr is guilty. He reminds Mary that she agreed to help him track down and identify all of the guilty parties who had caused his death. Mary protests that she isn't sure that Jeffrey is guilty but the ghost angrily issues an ultimatum: "One more day, then he dies!"

Legacy House, same evening

Nick calls Alex and Derek on his cell phone to tell them that Daniel Walken may not be the one haunting Jeffrey. In fact, Walken himself was apparently being haunted right before his death. As he is speaking on the phone, he finds a note with the words "Forgive me, Evan" hand-written on it. Alex does a quick computer search and comes up with the name Evan Brookshire. As she reads his bio, we see his photo on the computer screen and realize that Brookshire is the ghost who is attacking Starr. Alex reads from the file that Walken scammed Brookshire out of millions of dollars two years ago. Brookshire subsequently committed suicide. She looks at Derek and they both come to the same conclusion. "Evan Brookshire, Daniel Walken…and Jeffrey Starr, right in the middle," Derek says.

Jeffrey Starr's Apartment, later that evening

Jeffrey opens his eyes to see a gun pointed directly at his head. He watches in horror as the trigger is pulled, and he screams as the force of the shot snaps his head back. Suddenly he wakes and realizes that he was dreaming. He hears a voice call to him from the next room and fearfully goes into his living room. The bowl on his table is glowing and he sees a man's face take form in it. "Jeffrey Starr! You must pay, Jeffrey Starr!" the man says. "Pay for what?" Jeffrey asks in pure frustration. The ghost responds by flinging him into the ceiling. The ghost slams him against the ceiling with each word, "One…More…Day, Jeffrey Starr!" The ghost releases him and he plummets to the floor. Babbling with fear, Jeffrey tries to flee from his apartment. He flings his door open and is so terrified to find a man standing on the other side that he crumples against the wall. It's Derek.

"Did I catch you at a bad time?" Derek asks, strolling in. He listens as Jeffrey defensively describes the most recent attack. Derek tells Jeffrey that the ghost is probably Evan Brookshire. The name means nothing to Jeffrey so Derek tells him that Walken had scammed Brookshire out of millions of dollars. Jeffrey still doesn't see the connection to him, and wonders why Brookshire doesn't just go haunt Walken. When Derek tells him that Brookshire has already killed Walken, Jeffrey starts to fall apart and insist that Derek help him. Derek leans away from and shakes his head. "I dunno Jeffrey," he says coolly. "Sometimes I think that it's best not to meddle."

Jeffrey begs for help but Derek remains impassive. Derek reminds Jeffrey that he has already foreseen his own death, and then drives the point home by asking Jeffrey how accurate his visions are. He says that Derek is scaring him now, and begs for help. Almost hysterical, he says, "Can you live with my death, because I can't!" Jeffrey looks hopeless. Derek rises and tells him that they'll try to save him, though based on his own visions, they may not be able to.

Walken's Home, same night

Nick, who is still at Walken's home, is told by the security guard that there are video monitors at all of the entrances. Nick snoops around, finds the surveillance deck, and steals the tape.

Legacy House, the next morning

Jeffrey is at the house with Derek and Alex. He is complaining about the awful side effects of having the Sight. He picks up impressions from total strangers. He can't sleep in hotels because of the leftover vibes from the bed. He can't maintain a relationship with a woman because he sees through the lies. "Yours or theirs?" Derek says, bored by Starr's constant complaints. Jeffrey bridles at Derek's lack of sympathy. "You're enjoying this way too much!" he snaps. "Do you have any idea what it's like to have your butt slammed against your own ceiling?" "I'm trying to imagine it," Derek replies drolly. Alex, who has been standing in the background trying to hide her amused sympathy for Jeffrey, smiles at Derek's remark, no doubt thinking of all of the walls and furniture that they have all been slammed into over the years.

Jeffrey shakes his head and says sincerely that he hopes that none of this affects Mary, who has her own problems. He is offended when Alex that it is suspicious that Mary keeps going to him despite the danger. He obviously likes her and wants to believe that she likes him in return. He tells them that he wasn't able to find out anything about her, and that the visions that he gets from her don't make any sense: sometimes it's roses, and sometimes it's the man committing suicide. Wearily he says that mostly he just gets a lot of pain coming through. Derek tells Jeffrey that he wants him and Mary to hold another session there in the Legacy House. Jeffrey looks surprised and asks what would happen if Brookshire shows up. Derek replies that he wants Brookshire to appear. Jeffrey does a double-take and then exclaims, "Why do you hate me, Derek!"

Legacy House, later that day

Jeffrey prepares to conduct a 'counseling session' with Mary. He notes sarcastically that they'd even brought his ‘séance table' for him to use. Alex sits with them to watch. This vision is different. Jeffrey sees a jumble of images: the suicide, the roses, and then a street address: 677 Larchmont. Suddenly he sees a coffin swing open and is horrified to see himself lying inside it. From within the coffin, his eyes snap open and he realizes that he is dead. This is too much for Jeffrey, who chokes and falls to the floor gasping for air. Alex holds him in her arms and comforts him through the shock until he is able to speak. In a ragged voice he tells her that he saw himself dead. Now he is convinced that there is no hope. He is going to die for sure. Mary says nothing, but she is obviously conflicted and horrified by the effect this is having on Jeffrey.

Legacy House control room

Nick and Derek are talking together. Nick has gone through Jeffrey's files yet again, but confirms that Walken and Brookshire were Jeffrey's only loosing clients. Derek reminds him that Brookshire wasn't directly connected to Jeffrey. Nick then shows him the surveillance tape that he'd stolen from Walken's house. Walken's last living visitor was Mary Johnson. Derek notes that wherever Mary goes, Brookshire's ghost also shows up. Alex enters the room and to tell them what happened. She's honestly afraid that if they continue to push Jeffrey so hard then he may really just die. Much as they all want to teach him a lesson, none of them want him to die. Derek reminds them that they have less than 24 hours remaining to save Jeffrey's life. He tells Alex to continue doing research into Brookshire's past, and Nick sets off to investigate the address that Jeffrey saw in his vision.

Legacy House, later than evening

After doing more research, Alex and Derek both independently come to the conclusion that Mary Johnson is Evan Brookshire's daughter. Brookshire's widow lives at 677 Larchmont, the address that Jeffrey saw in his vision.

The residence at 677 Larchmont, later that evening

Nick has driven to the address that Jeffrey saw in his vision to interview Brookshire's widow. Mrs. Brookshire gives him a picture of Mary and tells him that Mary had been an unhappy, troubled girl who couldn't deal with her wealth. After Brookshire's death, Mary had run away.

Legacy House, same time

Jeffrey and Mary are sitting alone together. Looking completely hopeless, Jeffrey is poking at a lit candle with his finger while Mary watches him silently. Finally, she asks him about his involvement with Walken. Jeffrey admits that it is because of Walken that he is in this mess now. He is so dejected that he doesn't see her reaction: she is clearly disappointed and thinking of her promise to her father. Jeffrey leaves the room. The moment that he is gone, Brookshire appears to Mary and demands that she tell him the truth. Sadly, Mary admits that her father was right. Starr is guilty after all. "Then he will die!" Brookshire says angrily.

677 Larchmont, same time

Nick continues to interview Brookshire's widow. She reveals that Mary had left home, but returned the very night that Brookshire killed himself. In fact, it was Mary who had found Evan. Afterwards, Mary claimed to have seen and talked to Brookshire's ghost. Mrs. Brookshire sent Mary to a psychiatrist, and Mary had run away again and not been seen since. Mrs. Brookshire angrily tells Nick that Evan Brookshire was not the ideal father that Mary believed in. He was a greedy, self-absorbed man, more interested in making money than in his family. She wished that she could get Mary to realize it, but saw no hope of that since she and Mary didn't get along. Mrs. Brookshire had not known of her husband's involvement with Daniel Walken until after the suicide. Even so, she said it was her husband's own greed that caused his downfall, not Walken. Nick goes outside to call Derek and Alex on his cell phone.

Legacy House Control Room, moments later

Derek and Alex quickly put all of the pieces together, but even after hearing Nick's news, Alex is shocked to realize that Mary Johnson actually wants Jeffrey to die. Derek says that it may not matter what Mary wants anymore.

Legacy House Foyer

Mary tries to get Jeffrey to leave but she just makes him confused and suspicious. She lamely says that he'll be safer if he gets away from the house, but before she can persuade him to leave, Evan Brookshire appears. Jeffrey pushes Mary away to protect her, but is stunned when she speaks directly to the ghost and pleads for his life. "What, you know this thing?" he exclaims in shock. Before he has time to react to her betrayal, Brookshire attacks him. Jeffrey screams and clutches his chest as Brookshire assaults him again and again. Derek and Alex run down the stairs to try to help, but they are blown backwards by the sheer force of Brookshire's wrath. Brookshire gestures and flings Jeffrey into the air, slamming him against the second story landing. He continues to shoot bolts of energy into him and Jeffrey helplessly writhes in pain.

Derek and Alex both attempt to reason with Brookshire. They ask Mary to intercede with her father, but she refuses, saying that Jeffrey was responsible for her father's death. Alex says that Brookshire made his own choice willingly, which stuns Mary. Derek says that Jeffrey was being used by Walken, and then angrily reminds Brookshire that it was Brookshire's own greed that led to his downfall. Brookshire has no one to blame but himself for his failure. Their pleading has no effect on Brookshire. Mary is confused and demands that her father explain. Brookshire doesn't want to face up to his own culpability. Even if Starr was just a dupe, he still has to pay for Brookshire's own death. Mary refuses to go along with the attack any longer. She won't help her father kill an innocent man. She demands that her father free Jeffrey. Brookshire hesitates at first but finally relents when he realizes that Mary no longer believes in him. "Forgive me, Mary," he says sadly, fading away.

Jeffrey is left dangling precipitously from the railing of the stairs. He cries for help and Derek, Alex, and Mary all rush up the stairs to help him. Derek and Alex hoist him over the stairs and dump him on the floor. Derek consoles Mary while Alex holds onto Jeffrey. Relieved to be alive, Jeffrey vows to change his ways forever. He grins widely and asks Derek if there are any openings there in the Legacy House. "No!" Derek says. Jeffrey and Alex both smile and look at each other."Maybe not," Alex says. "Probably not," Jeffrey agrees.

Legacy House, morning

Jeffrey thanks Derek and Alex for saving him yet again. He tells them that he'll be stopping in to see Mary before he leaves. He says that he's given up holding sessions and seances forever. Alex says that they could teach Jeffrey how to use his powers if he wanted. He is honestly touched by her offer, but then he shakes his head. He thanks them for the offer and says that it means a lot to him, "especially coming from you," he says to Alex, which makes her smile. But he can't stay. "I've never been of a team player and it's probably too late for me to start now." He looks regretful and turns to leave. He pauses. "And that whole honesty thing," he adds. "I've got to work on that…a little."

Alex and Derek both laugh affectionately. Maybe Jeffrey has learned his lesson after all. "We look forward to not hearing from you," Derek calls to him as Jeffrey opens the door to leave. Jeffrey is startled for just a moment, but then he grins and nods at them as he walks out the door. Alex watches him with a delighted, affectionate expression on her face. She follows him to the door and watches him get into his car. As he drives away, her expression becomes more wistful.

Voice over by Alex:

"The ability we call the Sight gives us unique powers, and with these powers an obligation to use it responsibly, with wisdom and restraint. Because we touch so many people's lives in ways that we can never really know, no matter how clear our vision of things might seem."

 

Description last revised: 1998

 
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