9ABX18 Sunshine Days

Blake McCormick: So, what do you think, man?

Michael Daley: What do I think about what?

Blake McCormick: That's the Brady Bunch house. That's the house where they shot the Brady Bunch.

Michael Daley: What are you on? Crack? Does that honestly look like the Brady Bunch house to you?

Blake McCormick: From inside it does. Straight up, dude — I was there delivering a pizza last night and the guy who lives there is all, like, trying to crowd the door so I can't see inside; but then, he drops his crazy bread, and bends down... and boom. I see it all, man. The Brady Bunch house. I'll prove it.

Michael Daley: Dude, wait!

---

Michael Daley: Dude, what are you doing? [Blake McCormick is knocking on the door] Blake, it's midnight, man.

Blake McCormick: My honour's at stake, man.

Michael Daley: Right, nobody's home. Let's go. Come on.

Blake McCormick: It's not even locked.

Michael Daley: You're tripping, dude. Huh?

Blake McCormick: See? I told you. This is exactly like the show! Look at this. That weird horse sculpture. And the vase that Peter broke. Mom always said, "Don't play ball in the house." You remember that one?

Michael Daley: I don't understand this.

Blake McCormick: Who's on crack now, huh? [A football thumps slowly down the staircase]

Michael Daley: Hello...?

Blake McCormick: Remember the episode where Marcia broke her nose? She got hit with a football, right?

Michael Daley: Screw this, man. I'm out of here. [He bolts out of the house]

Blake McCormick: Daley... don't be a puss. Daley.

---

Blake McCormick: Hello? [He rounds a corner and sees two small familiar children] Bobby? Cindy? [The children hurry into the room beside them and shut the door behind them] Wait. Wait.

---

Michael Daley: Come on, man, come on. [He glances behind him and hears a bang coming from the house. Something huge falls from the sky, landing on his car roof. Michael Daley gets out of the car to check the damage, the cause of the dent is Blake McCormick] Oh, god. Oh, my god. Oh, my god.

---

Doggett: I'm telling you. [Staring up at the sky]

Reyes: No. I don't see how.

Doggett: Well, how else do you explain it? A guy falls from a plane or, I don't know, maybe a helicopter, out the door and then... [He whistles] bam. As simple as that.

Reyes: And how, exactly, did he wind up in a helicopter? Supposedly he was busy breaking into someone's house at the time.

Doggett: Details. [He looks over at the roof of the vehicle and spots something small and black where the body was found]

Reyes: What you got?

Doggett: Maybe nothing. [A police car approaches and stops. Michael Daley, bandage on his forehead, emerges from the car]

Michael Daley: Are you the people from the FBI?

Reyes: Michael Daley?

Michael Daley: Is someone finally going to arrest that freak?

Doggett: How about you tell us what you witnessed and then we'll go from there.

Michael Daley: What I witnessed was freaksville, man. My friend was murdered. Who would have thought this could happen at the Brady Bunch house?

Reyes: That's not the Brady Bunch house.

Michael Daley: Yeah, it is. I mean, I know it doesn't look like it, but it is. That's where they shot the show.

Reyes: No, they shot the show on a sound stage in Hollywood. The house they used for the exteriors is a split-level in Studio City. I took a picture of it once.

Michael Daley: I'm telling you. It's like some kind of creepy Brady Bunch museum in there. I told the cops to search the place but they wouldn't listen to me. But whatever the hell happened to Blake, it happened right in there.

---

Doggett: Oliver Martin?

Reyes: Mr Martin, I'm Agent Reyes. This is Agent Doggett. We're with the FBI.

Oliver Martin: This is regarding the death that happened across the street?

Doggett: Yes, Sir. May we come in?

Oliver Martin: I already talked to the police about this.

Reyes: Yes, Sir. We know.

Oliver Martin: As I told them, I didn't see or hear anything. I wasn't home at the time.

Michael Daley: This guy's stonewalling. Kick the door in.

Doggett: [to Michael Daley] Shut up.

Oliver Martin: I'm... really kind of busy.

Reyes: Mr Martin just five minutes and we'll be out of your hair.

Doggett: Unless you want us to get a warrant and then... we could be here for hours. [Michael Daley bursts through the door]

Michael Daley: Right in here, see? What happened? This isn't what I saw. None of it. It's all different. Where'd it all go?

Oliver Martin: I'm not following.

Michael Daley: What happened to all the Brady Bunch stuff?

Reyes: Mr Daley was under the impression that your house was used for the filming of the Brady Bunch, the television show.

Oliver Martin: Well... it wasn't.

---

Michael Daley: I know what I saw. [He walks away]

Reyes: What are you looking at? [Doggett is looking at the roof]

Doggett: I want to check something out.

---

Doggett: Aha. [He removes a big piece of roofing material from the garbage bin... an asphalt shingle. He holds it in one hand and the evidence bag containing the sample from the car roof in the other] Hold this, please. [He closes the garbage bin, stands on it and hauls himself up to examime the roof. The spots a green patch of new roofing material patched onto the old roofing material] Aha.

Reyes: Twice with the aha's.

Doggett: Roof's been patched. When I was inside, I knew I smelled fresh plaster.

Reyes: So, are you going to fill me in?

Doggett: A. Our eyewitness places the deceased inside this house just prior to the time of his demise. B. We found a fragment of roofing shingle at the scene of the impact. It would seem it matches the discarded piece you now hold in your hand. C. There's a hole in the roof, recently patched, this big around. Connect A to B to C.

Reyes: Much in the fashion of, say, Daffy Duck or Wile E Coyote, the deceased shot straight up through the roof, flew high into the air, and landed on his buddy's car. You're serious?

Doggett: A to B to C. What can I tell you? I think I'm finally getting the hang of this job.

---

Scully: Case number 14-308. Blake McCormick, a well-nourished Caucasian male, 24 years old. I will begin with my external examination... and here is a likely place to start. [She prepares to remove the piece of roofing from the corpse's head when a rattling sound distracts her. She notices that a scalpel is clattering on the instrument tray, reaching out a finger to touch the instrument, she receives a slight electrical shock] Ah!

---

[Doggett and Reyes are conferring with Scully via a video hook up]

Doggett: Help me out here, Agent Scully. Monica thinks I'm losing my marbles. What can you tell us about what happened to this guy?

Scully: Well, for starters, Mr McCormick was dead before he landed on the car. His skull was pulverised from a previous impact and, judging by the roofing material that I found in the wound, I'd say that Agent Doggett's theory holds water.

Reyes: Well, like I asked Agent Doggett, how exactly can that be?

Scully: Electricity.

Doggett: How's that?

Scully: Or maybe electricity is only a by-product. I'm not really sure, but... look, I had an odd experience today and it made me think to try something unusual. I borrowed an EEG machine and I wired Mr McCormick to it. And for the last few hours he's been putting off a faint reading.

Reyes: Are you saying he's alive?

Scully: No, he's dead as a hammer. What I'm reading is some sort of residual electricity like a... like a battery that's draining off its charge. It's fascinating. I mean, I've never seen anything quite like it.

Reyes: But what does it mean?

Scully: Well, if Mulder were here, I'd imagine he'd talk about research linking electromagnetic fluctuations to levitation, poltergeist activity, ghost sightings...

Doggett: Ghosts and poltergeists? That's what Mulder would say?

Scully: At the end of the day I wouldn't have any theory that was any better and I don't now.

---

Michael Daley: Here's to you, buddy. [He finishes his drink and makes his way to the house. He stops at the porch sliding doors and sees Alice in the kitchen, she opens the oven door, pulls out dinner and carries it in to the dining room]

Alice: Here you go, folks, my famous pork chops and apple sauce...

[Michael Daley moves to the dining room window. Inside, Alice is serving dinner to Carol Brady and a table full of Brady kids. Michael Daley runs to the front of the house and bursts through the front door. He enters dining room and finds table is set, but nobody is there. Oliver Martin is standing in the den doorway]

Michael Daley: What is this, man? What in holy freaking hell is this, man?

Oliver Martin: Please. Leave.

Michael Daley: They were here. I saw them! I saw them all!

Oliver Martin: Leave. Before it's too late.

Michael Daley: I saw the Brady Bunch. [He slowly starts to rise from the floor] Oh, my god. What are you doing? Oh, my god. Oh, my god! [He smashes through the ceiling]

---

Reyes: Smile. All of Southern California's watching us scratch our heads in confusion.

Doggett: So let's go get some damn answers.

---

Oliver Martin: I said all I'm going to say to you people! You don't like it, go get your warrant! [He slams the door]

Reyes: He called your bluff. Maybe we can get a warrant.

Doggett: Yeah. Judge, I want to toss the house of a man who makes people magically zoom into the sky. It has something to do with electricity and poltergeists and what not. Yeah, that'll fly. [answering mobile] Doggett.

Scully: So the owner won't talk, huh?

Doggett: Excuse me?

Scully: Smile, you're on TV. [She is watching their progress via a live news break]

Doggett: Ah.

Scully: I'm in Los Angeles at the field office. I've called in someone whom you'll both want to meet.

---

[A video of Dr Rietz and Anthony Fogelman is playing]

Dr Rietz: [on video] April 4th, 1970, 10:36am. Present for this test are John Rietz, speaking, and Anthony Fogelman, age eight. Hello, Anthony. Are you ready to begin? Good. Now, relax. Relax and focus. Almost immediately the EEG is registering an increase in fast beta wave activity on all leads. Theta activity is rising as well. Oh, my goodness! [A blue block moves slightly] Oh, my goodness! [The image fizzles with interference]

Dr Rietz: Well, there you have it. My right hand to god. All four blocks rose off of the table and spiralled halfway to the ceiling before they fell.

Reyes: Too bad that wasn't on film.

Dr Rietz: The understatement of a lifetime. Whatever phenomena caused this I also believe that it radiated an electromagnetic field strong enough to fog the image. Well, don't be polite. Call me crazy. Everybody does.

Doggett: I believe you. Did you recognise that kid? That was our suspect, Oliver Martin, right?

Scully: I went through Mulder's reference books. Van Nuys, California, 1970: One of the best documented cases of what was initially thought to be poltergeist activity. It focused on a young boy, Anthony Fogelman, who has since changed his name. And Dr Rietz was the parapsychologist who investigated it.

Dr Rietz: Objects flew around the house. Rooms would grow inexplicably cold. Strange voices would be heard. Anthony's mother was at the end of her rope. I spent six months with her and her son. Six astonishing months.

Reyes: What did you learn?

Dr Rietz: That Anthony was as bewildered as everyone else, but that he was responsible for all of it.

Scully: He was psychokinetic.

Dr Rietz: He was the Mozart of psychokinesis.

Reyes: Sir, in your line of work, why would you fall out of touch with the Mozart of psychokinesis?

Dr Rietz: Over time, Anthony's abilities faded. The last few months I was with him there were no manifestations of it whatsoever.

Scully: He lost his power.

Doggett: We're looking at this guy for two murders. What can you give us that we could actually take to a judge? Was he an angry kid? Was he violent?

Dr Rietz: I can't say what he grew up to be. I haven't spoken to him in 30 years, but the Anthony I knew was a lonely little boy.

---

Dr Rietz: [to answering machine] This is a message for Oliver Martin. Oliver, I believe I knew you years ago as Anthony. This is Dr John Rietz calling. Remember me? It's been far too long and well I'd love... I'd love to talk to you. I'd really like to catch up. Obviously, you're all grown up now. It's funny. I have trouble picturing that. My god, how time flies. But anyway, you can reach me any time on my cell phone: 714 555 0146. I look forward to hearing from you. Bye, now. [He hangs up] I guess he's not home.

Doggett: He's home.

Reyes: Aha. I was wondering why a man with no criminal record would change his name. And then I thought about the name itself; Oliver Martin. It sounded familiar so I ran it.

Doggett: Through what? NCIC?

Reyes: No, a Brady Bunch web site. It popped right up.

Doggett: Cousin Oliver? Who the hell's that?

Reyes: Carol Brady's nephew. He came to live with the Brady's during the last season of the show.

Doggett: You're speaking Greek to me here. What's this case have to do with an old TV show?

Reyes: You remember what Michael Daley claimed he saw inside that house. He said it was the Brady Bunch house. He seemed certain of it. And now this name, Oliver Martin — just connecting A to B to C.

Doggett: Does this make any sense to you? When you knew Anthony, was he nutty for the Brady Bunch?

Dr Rietz: We'd watch it together.

Doggett: Okay, say he is. What's it mean?

Reyes: Well, why name himself after cousin Oliver? None of the other Bradys particularly liked Oliver. He was a self-described pest.

Scully: A jinx. Cousin Oliver, the jinx. Oh, so maybe I watched an episode or two. So what you're saying is that his choice speaks to Anthony Fogelman's character; how he views himself — unlucky, star-crossed, a danger.

Doggett: Okay, so be it. Just tell me how this helps me bust him and... I'm happy.

Scully: Well, I'm staring to hope that it doesn't come to that. Well, the power that this man seemingly possesses is extraordinary. It needs to be studied.

Dr Rietz: It could expand the scope of human knowledge. It could change everything.

Scully: It very well could. I mean, I've been working this unit for nine years now. I've investigated nearly 200 paranormal cases. We are due for some incontrovertible proof. I want vindication, for Mulder and for all of us.

---

[As Dr Rietz knocks on Oliver Martin's door, Doggett looks through a side window]

Doggett: What in the hell? [He returns to the front door, it's locked. He pulls out a lock pick set]

Dr Rietz: What is it? Agent Doggett, what? [The front door creaks open]

Doggett: Wait here. [He shuts Dr Rietz outside. The interior is completely different to what he saw on his last visit, he is now standing in the Brady Bunch house. He follows a noise upstairs] Oliver Martin, FBI!

Oliver Martin: Get out of my house.

Doggett: Oliver, there's someone here that wants to talk to you — Dr Rietz. You remember him?

Oliver Martin: Why won't you people just leave me alone? Please, get out.

[Doggett starts to wobble as his body lifts off the ground. He grabs the nearest doorknob to brace himself as his feet rise steadily above his head. He loses his grip and crashes through the ceiling, feet first. He regains consciousness and finds himself lying on the attic ceiling]

Doggett: Oh, crap. [He stands up, jumps up and down on the ceiling beam, but is unable to get down to the floor]

Dr Rietz: Oliver?

Doggett: Dr Rietz? I could use some help up here! Oliver! You up there? Down there? Whatever the hell... [He looks through the hole he fell through and sees Oliver Martin watching him] Oliver. Oliver!

---

Dr Rietz: Anthony? [He passes under the hole in the ceiling]

Doggett: Hey! Hey! I'm up here! Dr Rietz... help me out here!

Dr Rietz: Anthony?

Doggett: Come back here, man! He's dangerous!

Dr Rietz: Anthony? Anthony... Anthony... let him go.

Oliver Martin: I can't.

Dr Rietz: Sure you can.

Oliver Martin: No. I don't know how.

Dr Rietz: Anthony... you're a good person. I know that hasn't changed. Relax... and focus. Remember? Good. Relax... and focus.

[Doggett drops to the hallway floor with a loud thud]

---

Reyes: Oh. My. God. This is... Are you all right?

Doggett: Yeah.

[Reyes examines the house in wonder, while Scully checks out Doggett's injuries]

Scully: Just minor bruising.

Doggett: Dana Scully... meet Oliver Martin.

Dr Rietz: Uh... Anthony Fogelman.

Oliver Martin: Oliver.

Scully: Oliver, it's a great pleasure to meet you.

Reyes: Where did all this come from, Oliver? How did you make this come to be?

Oliver Martin: I think about it, and it's here.

Scully: Can you think about other things? What happens if you... think about another place... a nice place?

Dr Rietz: Can you do that, Oliver? Please? It's important to me.

[Oliver Martin concentrates, the Brady House vanishes and is replaced with green grass, blue skies, an ocean and birdsong]

Scully: Oh, my god.

Oliver Martin: Mainly... I like to be here. [The Brady Bunch house returns]

Scully: Oliver... with your help, we could learn so much. I would love to take you back with us to Washington.

Dr Rietz: It would mean so much to me, Oliver... to show the whole world. [Oliver Martin nods] Wonderful. Let's go get you packed.

Doggett: We've got a tiger by the tail.

Reyes: Do you believe he intended to kill you?

Doggett: He wanted me out of his house, and away I went. It was involuntary, like a sneeze. What the hell difference does it make? It means he's not in control of this power of his.

Scully: I think that's where we can help him. I mean, he needs to learn how to control his powers. I mean, my god... there's no end to what he could accomplish.

Doggett: And there's no end to the harm he could cause if he goes off the deep end, which isn't too long a walk for this guy in case you haven't noticed. I mean, this whole Brady Bunch thing... I'm not so sure about this.

Reyes: Well, we can't keep him here. Two people are dead. Clearly, this isn't working.

Scully: And besides, I mean... as grand as this may sound... we owe it to the world.

Doggett: Maybe. Except that I can't shake this feeling that the other shoe's going to drop... that there's something Oliver's not telling us.

---

Dr Rietz: Oliver? Coming? [A burst of electricity from a football he is holding shocks Oliver Martin] Oliver?

---

[Skinner is suspended in the air, he slowly tilts backward and does a full mid-air backward somersault]

Skinner: Wow!

Oliver Martin: May I have a glass of water?

---

Skinner: [to Oliver Martin] We'll only be a minute. Anything you need, uh, just ask Arlene.

---

Scully: So what do you think, Dr Jacocks?

Dr Jacocks: What do I think? I think there's a hell of a lot of physics books that are due for major rewrites. And I think a year from now you and Dr Rietz will be in Stockholm accepting the Nobel prize. This will change everything. May I use your phone?

Skinner: Yeah.

Doggett: [to Skinner] So you're on board with this?

Reyes: What happens next?

Skinner: I want Kersh to see this. I want the Director himself in here. I mean, do you realise what this means? This kind of proof? It insures that they can't shut you down. It means the X-Files will go on forever. [There is a thud just outside the office and Skinner's Assistant, Arlene, opens the door interrupting the meeting]

Skinner's Assistant: Agent Scully!

Scully: He's having a seizure. What happened?

Skinner's Assistant: I saw a big spark and then he just collapsed.

Doggett: We need an ambulance. We got a man having a seizure. Fourth floor, AD Skinner's office. Make it quick.

---

Dr Rietz: It was just all the excitement. A little bed rest will do him wonders. And we'll get things right back on schedule. [Scully enters the rooms and indicates that they should talk outside]

Reyes: What do his doctors say?

Scully: Oliver's electrolytes were severely imbalanced — that's what sent him into shock. They've stabilised his fluids...

Dr Rietz: When will they release him?

Scully: Well, there's other problems. His thyroid level is elevated. His glucose is low. CPK, liver enzymes and BUN... they're all elevated.

Doggett: Which, in a nutshell means...

Scully: It points to a multi-system organ failure. Gradually his body is consuming itself. It's been going on for months and... maybe even years.

Reyes: What's causing it?

Scully: His doctors have no idea but I think I'm starting to.

Doggett: This power of his — it's eating him alive.

Scully: And if so, it follows that the more he uses it, the more his health will decline. Until finally...

Reyes: What in the hell? [They look in Oliver Martin's room and see the entire Brady Bunch family standing around the bed]

Scully: Oh, my god. [They enter the room to find that the guests have vanished]

Dr Rietz: Oliver?

Reyes: Oliver, those people just now — was that...? Were they...?

Doggett: Why were they here?

Oliver Martin: To say goodbye.

Scully: Why goodbye, Oliver?

Oliver Martin: Because I'm dying.

---

Doggett: Any change in his condition?

Scully: Well, they're trying everything they can think of. Experimental drugs, plasma transfusion...

Doggett: None of that's going to work.

Dr Rietz: Why not?

Doggett: Because they're treating the symptoms not the cause.

Scully: What do you have, John?

Doggett: One big question. Why the Brady Bunch? Seriously, you two are fans. Why are people still watching a 30-year-old TV show?

Reyes: Because they're the family everyone wishes they had. Loving parents, lots of brothers and sisters, everybody getting along.

Scully: They're the perfect family. And since Oliver didn't have one as a child he... created one.

Doggett: Sure, I buy all that, but in this case, why The Brady Bunch? Why not The Partridge Family? Why not Eight Is Enough? Where was Oliver when he first saw the Brady Bunch? He was with you, right?

Dr Rietz: He'd always insist that we watch it together every week I was there.

Doggett: And the longer you two were together the more his psychokinetic power faded until finally it went away completely. Now, why do you think that was?

Dr Rietz: Because for the first time in his life, he was happy.

Doggett: Because he was with you.

Scully: Well, what are you suggesting as the course of action, John?

Doggett: A. Oliver's going to die if he continues to use his power. B. His power goes away when he's happy. And C. You're the father he never had, and he loves you. A to B to C.

---

Orderly: Come on, Oliver you've got to eat something, man. Doctor's orders. [Dr Rietz enter the room] Talk to him, will you? [The orderly leaves]

Dr Rietz: Oliver. You have to understand — my life's work... the vindication of it — it's so important to me. I let it blind me. I treated you like... a lab rat and not a man. And 30 years ago, I left... with barely a goodbye. I am sorry for that. You can't use your power. Not ever again. I forbid it.

Oliver Martin: I can't be alone.

Dr Rietz: You won't be. You've got me. Can you forgive me, Oliver?

Oliver Martin: Anthony.

---

Doggett: So close, Dana. I'm sorry you don't get your proof.

Scully: Me, too. Well, maybe I've had it these past nine years. If not proof of the paranormal, then... of more important things.

Doggett: Here's hoping the TV stays off and he learns how to love the real world.

Reyes: I think you are getting the hang of this job.