Original subtitles

Transcription and sync: Héctor Lahoz (hectorlahoz@yahoo.es)

Honey?

- Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Lubitch. - Hi, Doctor.

I've just come from the hospital.

The tests are in and you're pregnant.

Congratulations.

That's wonderful. Did you hear that, honey?

Call me if I can be of any help with your decision.

Yeah. I'll do that, doctor. Thanks very much.

Johnny…

I know, honey. I know.

I don't want to lose another baby.

Oh.

I couldn't bear it. I just couldn't.

No way in the world we're gonna lose this child.

Look, first of all

the odds are four to one against there being any problem at all this time.

Honey, even if the worst happened and the baby was born with no immunities

this time we're ready. I mean…

Immunologists like Dr. Gunther,

they do know how to save these children now.

But how can we make a decision like that for another human being?

I mean what if…

Oh Johnny, do you think we could live with it?

There were never two people in the world

more meant to be parents than you and me.

God knows that.

I want to believe that. Oh, I wanna believe that.

A baby. We're gonna have a baby.

A baby.

Mr. Lubitch, if you'd like to say something to your wife before…

Hello, Mrs. Lubitch.

I just wanted to say…

I love you.

May we have the air conditioning ducts and the heat vents closed, please?

And no movement while the air settles.

Anybody down there planning on having an itch,

please scratch it now, not later, please.

Doctor Gunther, do we have to have all these people here?

May we please clear the theater?

I'm sorry. Please, try to understand we're…

private people.

Begin the caesarian.

I just saw him. He's a beautiful baby.

Johnny, what a beautiful baby he is!

Look at those blue eyes.

Hey, Toddy. It's your daddy. I think he knows me.

How were the tests?

Mr. and Mrs. Lubitch, he was born exactly like your first son,

with no immunities whatsoever.

But he's alive.

How long does he have to stay in this?

There's no way to know.

Until we discover a treatment,

until he develops an immune system of his own,

he'll have to remain in his protective environment.

Surely you can give us some kind of prediction.

I mean, are we talking about days or weeks or months?

Years.

Excuse me?

Mr. Lubitch, you may well have it straight.

We could get lucky,

or your son could be here with us for the remainder of his life.

- May I? - Of course.

I'm sorry. I'm so sorry.

Are you going over there this morning, honey?

What for?

- Come again? - I said "what for".

Hey, what's the matter?

Oh, I hate seeing that little girl nearby. I'm always looking at her.

You almost fell out.

I'm kinda sorry that they moved next door.

I want my baby.

Mickey, look. Suppose we could devise some way of transporting him safely.

And we could get them to go on paying for it.

And then there's a million more other things we'd have to do.

The sterilization, the food and the toys and the equipment.

I don't think you realize what would be getting ourselves into

if we did bring him home. Do you?

Now…

you stay home and get some rest.

I'll give him a big hug for both of us, okay?

- Higher? - Yeah.

Give me a kiss

Oh, boy!

Do you wanna play ball?

Do you wanna play ball?

Get your ball. We're gonna toss.

You get over here, why don't you.

Okay, look out. Here it comes.

Oh, good! Try again. Now you throw it to me.

Good one! Good, man!

Throw it right here.

I don’t know whether I’m gonna make a pitcher or a catcher out of you.

Okay, Toddy. Throw me a nice high one.

There you go. That's a good boy.

Okay, here it comes. There you go.

Hey, look who is here, Toddy. It's mommy.

Surprised to see me?

- No. - No?

What about you, shortstop?

Huh, are you surprised to see mommy?

You are?

Ohh, I bet I can do something fun to you.

I bet I can tickle you and make you giggle.

Come here. Come here. Ohhh.

Do you know how much your mommy and daddy love you?

Do you?

And how much we want you all to ourselves?

I love you. Ohh.

Baby I wanna give him a kiss, I wanna give him a kiss.

Do you wanna give me another kiss? Give me a kiss.

Here they come! Hurry up! Set up!

I got a microphone. We're rolling?

Take up the ambulance.

Little Todd Lubitch, the child who has never felt

his parent's touch except through the wall of his plastic bubble

and who may not for years to come

is finally coming home for the first time today.

Please, everybody, we appreciate your interest but

it's exactly what we are going to get away from.

Will you back up everybody, please?

Would you mind backing up this a little bit?

Oh, my, I didn't realized he was so big.

Isn't he adorable?

Gina, come on back here.

Please, no pictures.

Mr. Lubitch, won't you come out again and give us…

Take one more step and I'm going to knock your damn head off.

Now, get out of here! Come on!

Back up!

I'm a monster! I'm a monster!

My son is not a freak!

Come on. Let's get out of here.

Let's go.

Okay. Filters and fans?

They're okay.

Alright. Backup generator?

Okay.

Okay. Let's see. Breaker and fuse panels?

Also right.

And… intercom system.

Right. That's it.

Are you sure we have checked everything?

Well…

everything except champagne.

Well, huh… In that case

I was just going to tuck him in and I'll see you in a minute.

- Don’t be too long. - Okay.

Good night, Toddy.

Come on, Toddy. Night night time! Come on!

That's my darling.

Night, night time.

Okay. Now you have pleasant dreams. You talk to your teddy bear, okay?

Mommy loves you. I'll see you in the morning.

Good night.

Champagne okay.

Do you realize how long it's been?

Yeah.

He's not getting any air.

Honey, check the fans.

Toddy, what is it?

I don't know. Everything is running!

Checked the generator?

Toddy, what is it?

Oh, my god. He's swallowed it.

Toddy come on now. Daddy’s gonna lift you up.

Spit it up, baby! Spit it up!

Oh, Toddy. I'm sorry, baby.

Are you okay?

Oh, baby, I'm sorry. You okay?

Poor baby.

- We did it. - We sure did.

- Mrs. Lubitch? - Yeah.

I know we should have called first.

Oh, well, our number is not listed.

Well, we were just waiting for the proper time to say hello.

I'm Pete Biggs, my wife Martha and our daughter Gina.

We live right next door there.

Yes, I know.

I should have been the one to welcome you into the neighborhood but…

Here.

It's a welcome-home present for your little boy.

Thank you. Thank you. That's very kind of you.

Please, come in.

I'm sorry we haven't been that friendly but we just don't have that many visitors.

There, that's good, Toddy. Now put the blue one here.

See if you can stack another blue one on.

Oh, you gonna put it up there. Huh?

Oops! Oops!

Honey, look who is here.

The Biggs from next door come over to welcome Todd home.

Look Toddy,

Toddy, look who's here. This is Gina. Come say hello to Gina.

Gina's brought you a present which daddy’s gonna sterilize.

Come on, say "hi" to Gina.

Let me go! Let me go!

He's not hurting you. He is just playing with you.

Is this your playhouse? Can I come in? Can I?

Yeah.

Hey, Gina, what do you wanna do?

I don't know. You wanna go down to the dock?

It must be real weird living right next door to that kid.

Oh, no, not really.

Like I hardly ever see him except for birthdays and stuff.

Half the time he is at the hospital, anyway.

Come on!

He's always watching television, you know?

Never comes out of his room.

Does he have any friends?

Just old people.

Like friends of his parents, a bunch of doctors that come over…

There's some minister or something comes over once in a while

but no kids or anything.

Oh, he has this little pet, germ-free mouse too.

Don't you ever wonder what it's like in there?

I mean, to be all by yourself like that.

Yeah, I know.

But he is weird, you know?

Like I'm surprised he isn't looking at us right now.

Every time I look up there he is looking right at me.

How are you, huh?

However the repair of the bull-shaped radar antenna

proved the more difficult task.

Located on the underside of Skylab's multiple docking and ducted section,

the antenna is used to measure irregularities in ground temperatures

and the shape of the Earth.

Performing like an acrobatic team, they worked for 3 hours on the faulty antenna,

till it was finally free enough to do most of its programmed air scanning job.

Earlier today after the astronauts docked their command module with Skylab

they settled in and started their housekeeping chores.

After a rest period of two hours they had their first meal in Skylab.

Hello, Mickey.

Good afternoon, Ernie Please, come in.

Honey, look who is here to see you.

Hello, Tod!

Good afternoon, Ernie. And how are we feeling today?

My main reason for driving out here today instead of waiting for your monthly checkup

is there's some news I think you might like to hear.

Queen's in check, Ernie. Oh, yeah, you're right.

A doctor in Tokio believes he may have found a treatment

that might stimulate the development of the humoral and cellular antibodies.

What kinda research has he done?

So far, not too extensive. But by the middle of next year…

That's good news Ernie. Keep me posted, will you?

You really got it made, haven’t you?

Why do you say that?

Because you've got the best excuse ever devised by anybody to avoid growing up.

I'm growing up, Ernie.

Yes. Sometimes you're like an old man.

Another times you're like a newborn baby.

What does that mean?

Why do you use an intercom when you don't need to?

To give you a feeling of power over us?

Is this your way of getting back at us?

You're angry at me today, aren't you, Ernie?

Yes, you're right, I am.

Well, look, Ernie.

You don't know any more than you did in the beginning, do you?

I mean. So, why should I care about what's going on out there?

Why should I care about anything that's going on out there?

Because there may be a cure, anytime. The doctor in Tokio, your own body.

Ah, bull.

You know, I'm not so unhappy in here as all of you think.

Really.

I'll see you, Todd.

Carter greased the railing on the stairway

between the first and the second floor

and Mr. Brister took quite a nasty tumble.

Todd, the school board called me today.

And a company back east has donated a closed-circuit television system.

- Oh, yeah? - Yeah

And they wanna know if you would like to use it

to monitor some classes in the high school.

What classes?

Any classes you want.

Come on. You're not afraid to test that brain of yours

against the other kids, are you?

- No. - Well…

Honey, if it's too abrupt a step for you right now, that's okay.

I didn't mean to sound as if I was pushing but…

What's happened to that doctor that Ernie was talking about last week?

You know, the one from Tokio.

Well, we haven't heard anything about him yet, honey,

but there's a rheumatologist in Finland…

I gotta think about that school thing.

May I please be excused?

- Of course, Todd. - Sure.

Gwen, what is all this?

Don't you know?

That was your neighbor, the boy in the bubble.

He's gonna monitor some classes on TV. And he chose our homeroom.

He did?

Yeah. Come on!

All right, you're on, Todd.

I can't see anything.

Well, try your scanner button.

Hey, Gina, your true love has found you.

Todd, can you hear me?

- Hi, dad. - Hi.

I want you to meet your homeroom teacher. This is Mr. Brister.

Good morning, Todd.

Would you like to say something to the class before we begin?

Hi, everybody.

So, as the Truman administration was "the fair deal"

and the Kennedy administration "the new frontier"

and the Johnson administration called itself "the great society"

What was the Roosevelt administration?

Tom Schuster?

Gwen?

Who's making that sound?

Gina Bates?

Sorry, Mr. Brister, I didn't read the chapter.

Todd?

The new deal.

Good.

Now.

What's so funny?

All right. This has gone far enough.

Unless every one of you want to be sent down

to the principal's office, you'll cut it out right now.

- Hey, Tom. Go out for a pass. - Okay.

You know,

if they can take him to and from the hospital in that small bubble

why don't they ever carry him outside or down to the beach or something?

Well, they've been suggesting it for years.

But Todd won't have any part of it.

He says it'll make him feel like a freak being put on display.

Gina, go over to the Lubitches.

Ask Todd if he'd like to come to the 4th of July party at the beach.

But, why don't you just call his parents or something?

I want it to come from you.

All right, I'll try.

Missy…

-Hi, Mrs. Lubitch. -Hi, Gina.

Is Todd home?

Yes, Todd is home.

- Go on up inside. - Thank you.

Todd?

Hey in there. It's me.

Surprised to see me?

Aren't you gonna say something? Like "hi"?

Hi

Hey, you know, I've always wondered about this.

What's that?

How come this part is open? I mean, don't germs get in?

Well. You see, behind this wall there's lots of air vents

that constantly blow out all the air so that -

so that germs won't get in.

You see this line down here? I can't walk past it.

- No kidding? - No.

You mean, I couldn't put my foot over that line?

No. Your germs would get in.

Hey Todd. My mom said that you've never even been sick or anything.

Not even a cold. Is that true?

Yeah. How do you like that?

Well…

So, when you supposed to get out?

Oh, I don't know.

Keep on looking for treatments.

But they've been looking for them all my life.

But my immunities keep on building up and all that.

So, even if they don't find the treatment you'll get out some day, right?

Yeah, some day.

Well, the reason I'm here is…

I wanted to invite you to the 4th of July party at the beach.

If you can't make it, you know, everybody'll understand but…

at least you know that all we wanted you to come.

Well. Hope you can make it.

Yeah. Okay. Set up.

I'm gonna release it.

Here we go.

Okay, let me get the plug here.

Honey, do you wanna turn main switch on?

Happy 4th of July, son.

- Okay, where is food? - Here.

Hi, Todd.

Glad you could come.

What do you think of my horse?

Oh, I love him.

I watch you feed him every morning

and I love to watch you ride him.

Do you always talk like that?

"I love this", "I love that"…

But I do, I really do.

Yeah. But I mean, you shouldn't tell people.

Why not?

Because! People'll think you're dumb.

So, you like my horse, huh?

Well, maybe I'll let you ride him when you get out.

Will you really, Gina?

See you later.

I dare you.

How much?

I'll give you two dollars if you hold his hand in the fire

Let me see the money.

I don't believe you.

You mean you're really gonna do it?

- It's right here. - Okay.

- Hi, Todd. - Hi.

Todd,

let's hold hands.

What for?

I'd just like to hold hands with you.

Don't you know?

When two people like each other, specially a boy and a girl

they like to hold hands.

- Gina - Yes?

Do you really like me?

Well, hold my hand and find out.

Gina, where you going?

All right, you turkeys. Cough up the money.

You did a good job.

One, two… Thank you.

Gina, what'd you run away for?

Come back. Talk to me.

Todd

Don't you know? It was a dare.

They dared me, so I had to do it.

Poor guy.

You didn't think I was serious, did you?

I hate it! I hate it!

Todd. No, Todd.

What's the matter? Todd, no.

What happened? What did she say to you?

What did you say to him?

- I'm gonna take you home. - I don't wanna go.

Just take me to the hospital!

Just take me to the hospital, will you?

Alright?

Calm down.

This isn't the way to my room.

You won't be staying in the old part of the hospital anymore, Todd.

You'll be staying here, in the new laminar airflow center.

Because of what we've learned through cases like yours

when out treating cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy,

leukemia patients.

All kinds of people, young and old,

who'd developed immune deficiencies like yourself

for one reason or another.

I've taken the liberty of tentatively selecting your roommate.

A roommate?

But if you're unhappy I'm sure something can be arranged.

Todd Lubitch, meet Roy Slater.

Hi.

Well, I'll leave you two, fellows, to get to know each other.

You've been in one of these things all of your life,

what's that been like?

Me, I've been in here a couple of months and…

I don't know, I sure miss a lot of things.

What's the matter with you?

Tumor.

So, why are you in one of these things?

The chemotherapy kills off all my immunities.

Do you know? I'm really glad I've got someone to talk to now.

Well, they tried me with a couple of others before

but you're the first one who is even close to my age.

I sure hope we can become friends.

Hey, why don't you talk to me?

I have so many things I wanna ask you.

Just let me ask you one question, okay?

Okay.

What do you do to start liking it?

Todd?

Aren't you gonna answer me?

You said I could ask you one question.

Yeah, but I didn't say I'd answer it.

Why is it!

Why is it!

Okay, okay!

I'll answer anything you want. Just stop crying, alright?

You mean it?

Yeah, I mean it, you dorko.

- Todd… - Yeah?

- When are you supposed to get out? - I don't know.

They tell me my immunities are building up

But who knows, I might never get out of this damned thing.

Well, if I was never gonna get out of here

I don't think I could keep going on, you know?

Easy. You can do it easy.

You know what really bugs me?

What?

That when they discovered the tumor I was too young for girls, you know?

Yeah.

And now that I'm old enough I can't do anything about it.

Sometimes I just get so…

I can't stand it!

When I think of all my friends out there,

going to drive-ins and making out and getting all that action…

You know the first thing I'm gonna do when I get out of here

is get myself a hooker.

Won't you be afraid of germs?

Germs?

I want the germs.

I wanna be dirty, really dirty, you know?

I wanna grow my hair real long and have a beard and a mustache

and I wanna make out with everything that walks.

- Roy - Yeah?

Do you ever…

Do you ever… you know.

All the time.

Me too.

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin visits young Todd Lubitch,

the boy who was grown up inside a plastic bubble.

That's Todd!

I wanna see this. Hold on. He's coming home next week.

- So what? - Shhh

Hi, Todd.

You - You're Buzz Aldrin, aren't you? The man who walked on the moon.

Oh. God, I don't believe this.

You know, I've been looking forward to meeting you, Todd.

I heard you have the record

for the longest time on a command module.

Yeah, I guess so.

I've got a little something for you too.

To Todd, champion spaceman on Earth. Buzz Aldrin

Thank you.

Hey, you spent some time in one of these things, didn't you?

Right after the moon flight.

Something very much alike it, Todd.

We were in germ control quarters for several weeks.

What was it like for you?

The thing I remember most was the loss of freedom.

You know, I felt like being in a fish ball.

I - I know what you mean.

Todd Lubitch,

the boy who has spent his life in a plastic bubble.

No, Tom.

My parents are gonna be home in a minute, okay?

What is it with you and that freak?

He's my next door neighbor. We grew up together.

Is anything wrong with that?

Don't call him out freak.

I think you're turning on to him.

Oh, Tom. You're such an idiot.

How long have I lived next to him? Twelve years?

I've probably spoken to him maybe a dozen times at the most.

Every year I got an invitation to his birthday party.

And every year I went, I was the only one there.

Except for his parents.

It's the only time I ever saw him.

Just once a year.

Except for the 4th of July.

Mr. Lubitch?

Yeah. What is it Gina? I'm in a big rush.

I hear Todd is gonna monitor

some classes again this year.

That's why I'm rushing. I've got books to get at the library.

and supplies to pick up before the stores close.

Listen. I can do all that for you if you want.

What's the catch, Gina?

Well, the main thing is… I feel bad about what happened.

And I'd like to help out.

The other thing is I… I'm broke and

I could really use the money.

Okay. That's a deal.

Hello!

I brought you the books and supplies that you needed.

And your homework's in there too.

I guess I'll see you tomorrow.

If you want me to bring any classwork

with me to school in the morning just have your mom leave it

on the front porch and I'll pick it on my way.

Wait a minute.

I wanna ask you something.

Why are you doing this?

Just 'cause I - cause I want to.

Does my father have anything to do with it?

Well, yeah. Kind of.

Is he paying you?

Yeah.

Thank you for being honest. You can go now.

No, but I suggested it.

What I mean is…

It's always so hard to talk to you.

You take everything so literally.

Say what you started to say.

Do you have to use that thing? It's killing my ears.

Say what you started to say.

Well… I thought a lot about…

what happened last 4th of July.

And I wanted to make it up to you somehow.

And… when I saw your father at school today, well…

I was gonna do it for nothing

but then another part of me said "well…"

I understand.

You're not mad at me any more?

Hey, does that Mr. Brister look as old in person as he does in television?

Mr. Brister… God, I hate that guy.

Yeah, me too.

Hey, how come you're never wearing anything except shorts?

Because it's so warm in here.

Really, Todd. I mean,

when I come over the least you could do is put on some clothes.

How long has it been since you had a shower?

I can't have showers.

Baths are a major production.

You should see, it takes a couple of hours just to sterilize the water.

You must stink in there.

Oh, no. No, you're wrong.

No germs, no smell.

I don't know, Todd.

I mean, it's just the principal of the thing, you know?

Well, hasta mañana.

Thus, despite Wilson's stand on the league of nations

congress had voted against the entry of the United States.

America now embraced a policy of isolationism,

focusing her attentions inward on domestic concerns.

Thereby pursuing a course of action which was

ultimately to pave the way for World War II.

For tomorrow we will read chapters 4, 5 and 6.

I wish you wouldn't look at me like that.

Look, I didn't come yesterday because I couldn't.

Look, to begin with, Mr. Goodwin made me stay

after class to rewrite that term paper for English Lit

and then I got called down to the Principal's office

for a nice little talking-to.

And then, when I got home my parents were already…

Gina, you don't have to lie at me.

I'm not lying to you.

And stop using that thing. It hurts my ears.

You can go now, Gina.

I'm not your slave, Todd, so don't give me orders.

You're just like anybody else. Nobody ever believes me!

I'm flunking out of school, that's how come I had to stay.

The only course I have higher than a D is in art.

I didn't know that, Gina.

Well, now you do.

And you can forget about me coming over any more.

Since everyone else thinks I'm letting'em down

last thing I need is the same garbage from you.

Gina, I'm sorry.

Maybe I could help you.

How?

I can explain things better than those dumb teachers.

I could teach you how to really concentrate.

- You'd do that? - Sure.

What's my father paying you?

A dollar an hour.

That's how much I charge.

Gina, you can see my rates. They're right over here.

Okay, it's a deal.

Todd, how do you like my hair better?

Up, in a pony-tail like this

or maybe straight down like this?

Well, which do you like better?

I think I like it straight down better, don't you?

You think I'm beautiful, don't you?

So do I.

Hey, Todd. For the test tomorrow, do you think we could do it another way?

What do you mean?

Let me cheat off your paper.

Gina

Todd, what are you doing?

I'm finished.

Of course.

But wait until the others have finished before you hold up your answers.

I'm sorry, Mr. Brister.

Be careful, mom.

- You got it? - Yeah.

Very good.

Excellent.

- Where do you wanna go? - To the right.

- My right or your right? - My right.

Okay.

Hey, you,

what's the sudden interest in all the great outdoors?

I need a tan.

Need what?

I need a tan.

Look at me. I look like a tuna fish.

All white and everything

You know, you guys could use a little sunshine yourselves

You're starting to look real old.

Todd…

Dad, I don't mean to hurt your feelings but it's true.

I mean, you never take a vacation,

or buy new clothes.

Look at that dress, mom.

Dad, you never do anything for yourselves.

- Todd - Yeah?

Do you ever blame us for bringing you into the world?

Did you have a choice?

Yes.

Well, do you blame yourselves?

Sometimes.

Mom, dad, I don't blame you for anything.

Honest.

I love you.

I love you both. Don't you know that?

I mean. Look. If it weren't for what you did I would have grown up in the hospital.

You know, you should hire a nurse from the hospital to take care of me.

So that you can go to some place you always wanted to go to.

Todd

Dad, It'd be okay. I'd love it.

I mean, just knowing that

you aren't spending your whole life on me.

Okay?

Do it.

Sweetheart, I'll meet you outside.

Rachel, don't forget to test the backup generator

at least once a day. And if anything goes wrong…

don't hesitate to call us.

Don't worry about a thing.

We'll be at that number.

- Bye bye. - Have a good trip.

Honey, I hope we're doing the right thing,

so much could go wrong.

Sure we are.

This trip is for him too, you know.

Give him a little growing room and then he can feel

like he can stand on his own two feet.

- Do you know what I think? - What?

I think part of the reason he want us out of the way

is so that he can court his girl.

Yeah.

Todd? Bye bye!

Good bye, son.

Todd! Look!

My report card for the semester. A in art and all the rest are B's.

No kidding.

- Well, thanks to you. - Yeah.

- Hey, let's celebrate, okay? - How?

I don't know.

Think of something you'd like to do,

something special.

Oh, Todd, really! The way you look at me sometimes!

Well, think of something.

Okay. Take me to ride with you.

Oh, sure. What are you gonna do? Just walk out of there?

I might.

No, dummy. Just help Rachel take me outside so I can watch you.

Are you crazy?

The two of us would never get you down the stairs.

Sure. Sure you could easy.

You see? I told you it'd work.

Okay, keep up going.

- My slaves. - Oh, Todd

All right.

A little more, to the left.

Okay. That's it.

Do you know how to put me down?

That's it. Thank you.

Gina, come here.

Rachel, will you plug me in, in the extension?

When she does that will you turn off the battery?

Okay

That's it Rachel.

Excellent. Thank you.

Thank you Rachie. You can go now.

- Gina, ride for me, okay? - Okay.

Gina, go around that tree and then

jump over the canoe and come back as fast as you can.

Gina, you move so fast!

What does it feel like to move that fast?

Feels like flying.

Gina, ride around me in a circle, as close as you can, okay?

But what about the cord?

What about the cord? You just jumped that canoe.

You can jump that stupid cord.

What about your nurse?

Oh, this is the time of day when she drinks sherry.

She just sits there, look at the plug

makes sure that doesn't come out.

Then she gets pleasantly bombed.

So, don't worry about her, okay?

Okay.

Faster, Gina! Faster!

Faster, Gina!

Now jump over me, Gina.

- Jump over me, Gina. - No way, Todd.

Come on!

Gina, you just jumped over the canoe.

I've seen you jump twice as high.

Todd, what if I miss?

You won't miss. I know you. You're too talented to miss.

Todd, you are really a weird kid, do you know that?

Yeah, I know it. Just do it, Gina. Okay?

Okay.

Dear Lord.

That was so great!

I was so scared. Were you scared?

Not once.

Oh, I don't believe you.

Aren't you gonna get out of this thing?

I don't know.

I've got to split.

Listen, I'll be back later to help you get inside, okay?

Which one is he?

Well, that's Tom. Bruce drives a blue Chevy.

It's he the one you're going with?

Who says I'm going with anybody?

Todd

Put your face up against the plastic.

What for?

I did what you wanted me to do. Now do it.

- I told you you look terrific. - Oh, thank you.

Here, you you take your presents and I'll get the bags.

Let's surprise him now.

- Now? - Yeah

- Todd, hi! - Hi!

- Did you have a good time? - Yes.

- How was it? - It was fine.

Todd, listen. What is about Gina jumping over you with her horse?

Oh, it's nothing.

Did she tell you that?

She drinks.

Oh, Todd.

No. She probably imagined it.

Todd, that's wicked.

Listen, I've got something I want to tell you.

I wanna go to school.

But you are in school.

No, I mean, really go to school.

Doctor Gunther said he'd set it up if you guys said it'd be all right.

Here, look. I'll show you.

See?

Pretty neat, huh?

My goodness.

Okay, Todd, come on out.

Let's go.

You sure you wanna go today?

Yeah.

Okay, let's go.

Okay, last time.

What's the first thing you do when you get to your homeroom?

Pledge of Allegiance.

The first thing, you ding-a-ling.

All right. First thing I do is check the backup tapes.

- And? - And the batteries.

Come on, dad. Can't you go any faster?

Just leave the driving to me, okay? Listen then.

Filters and defense are fine, the batteries are up,

but the pressure gage on the main line reads 75%.

Then what do you do?

I don't do anything Just stay there,

I get the teacher to get you and then you take me home, right?

Okay. Good.

I want you to check everything on your checklist

every break between classes.

Or I'll break your arm.

Alright.

Okay.

Get your current where you find it.

Think of yourself as a rechargeable flashlight.

Cause you want me to be bright, right?

A little joke, dad.

Very.

You're on your own.

Mr. Brister?

Yes, Gina.

I just wanted to say that…

I think it's really brave of Todd to do this.

And I think we should all show him

how glad we are that he's here.

Come on! Stand up! Come on, get up!

Gwen, aren't you accepted to Colorado?

Yeah.

- Did you hear from your art school? - No, not yet.

Oh, don't worry about that. You'll hear from it.

Hey, you guys, why don't we go over and talk to Todd?

I don't know. He's really weird.

Come on.

Hi, Todd.

Todd, I want you to meet some of my friends.

You know Tom and Bruce.

And this is Gwen and Debbie and Smith.

How are you doing?

I see you got yourself all plugged in.

I saw you on the news. You looked great.

I'm Tom.

No, man. We do it like this.

This means we're brothers.

How much time do you have on one tank?

90 minutes.

- And then what? - Then I recharge.

It's what I'm doing right now.

You see? I'm recharging.

Could I ask you a question?

Yes.

Do you ever feel like a visitor from outer space?

Yes.

Me too.

Now, listen, Todd.

We were all about to take a little walk over to the football field.

Would you like to come with us?

No more practical jokes. You can trust us.

Yeah. I think we've grown up a little since last summer.

Okay.

Hey, when I pull this plug out, will you turn my battery on?

A little black dial?

Okay.

When I say "ready".

Ready? Go.

Hey, Todd. There's something I've been wanting to ask you.

- How do you go to the bathroom? - Oh, the same as the astronauts do.

- You mean… - Sure.

Sorry I asked.

You look so funny in that thing.

You've got to be able to laugh at yourself.

I know what this is like.

What? What is like?

I know what that's like.

Do you know what I do?

What I do is like

I stare at an object for a long time. Any object, right?

And then I let myself sink deeper and deeper inside my brain

until I find the center place that I like.

Have you guys ever heard of out-of-body travel?

Sure. I saw a thing about it on Twilight Zone once.

This way you can leave your body and go anywhere you want.

That's right.

Well, I do it all the time.

Oh, yeah? Where do you go?

Lots of different places.

But mostly the planet that I'm from, Thermopolous.

Come on!

I think it's an exchange program.

You see, I was sent here and someone from here was sent there.

One day we'll be switched back again.

If it weren't for this secret journal I found

I would have never known anything about it.

- Are you putting us on? - No.

Let me look inside that thing, Todd Lubitch.

Look at that straight face.

Hey, no!

I think you are from another planet.

We better go back.

Hey Tom, I bet you didn't know

that people on Thermopolous are stronger than people on Earth.

- No kidding. Stronger in what way? - Just stronger.

Like our first set I could beat you doing push-ups.

You're talking about real money or space money?

I'm talking 10 dollars.

Sounds okay to me.

Let's make it the kind that you have to clap in the middle, all right?

All right.

Hey, Todd, do you think you should do this?

I mean, what about your - your air?

Todd, what's the matter? Are you all right?

No air!

Get me to the bubble! Quick!

Todd?

Todd, you're alright?

Please, don't tell my father.

No. We won't tell anybody.

Hey, where's my ten bucks?

Todd, I've got to talk to you.

I know. You're mad at me, aren't you?

Yes, I'm mad at you.

For embarrassing you in front of your friends?

No, for nearly killing yourself trying to show up for me.

But Gina, I was just…

Todd, what if you had died out there?

How could I have lived with that?

- I'm sorry, Gina. - No, you're not.

You don't care!

You don't care what happens to you, Todd.

Sometimes I think you wanna die.

Gina I was just doing it so you'd see.

See what?

That you're just as dumb as all the rest of them?

Flexing your muscles?

No, that you'd see that I'm not a crippled one.

Now, that's nothing wrong with me except that

I can't get out of here until they tell me it's okay.

Oh, Gina, I'm so sick of it.

I'm so sick of feeling like a hospital case.

Like some weird-o-kid who can't even breathe normal air

cause he might get sick and die.

I just wanted to be like a man.

Someone you could care about, not feel sorry for.

Todd, I don't know what you're doing to me.

And I don't know if I like it at all.

I don't know anything at all.

Look, we were just supposed to be friends.

I mean, that's all that was supposed to happen, right?

I mean, can't we just leave it like that?

Hello. Yeah.

Gina? it's for you, sweetheart.

You wanna watch the sports news on channel 3?

Gina? Hi.

You wanna go to the beach tomorrow?

Okay.

Oh, Todd! Here.

It's great!

It's going up so high. Wow!

Oh, honey. Look at 'em. Just look at 'em.

Todd, you've got 5 minutes left on your tank.

This was fun today.

Why couldn't you have had a spacesuit when you were a little kid?

Oh, when I was little,

I never even dreamed about going out.

Only about people and things coming in.

You were always riding your horse in.

Yeah. And then I'd get on. And we'd ride, and ride, and ride.

- Inside your bubble? - Yeah. Always inside.

All my life I've wondered what it's like to be you.

And all my life I've always wondered what it was like to be you.

I've always loved you, Gina.

I know.

Anthony Duran

Agnes Johnson Jr.

Peter Justice

Todd Lubitch

Todd Lubitch

Hey, Todd!

Todd?

Look, it just came in the mail.

I wanted you to be the first to know.

My acceptance at Pratt Institute.

I start art school in September, Todd. In New York City.

And it never would have happened if you hadn't helped me.

That's great, Gina. Really it is.

Hey, Todd,

I won't be leaving for a while.

Hello, Todd. What did you wanna see me about?

I wanna know when I can leave, Ernie.

Well, within the past week I've been in telephone communication

with a team of physicians in the Soviet Union.

How soon could I leave on my own immunities?

You know I can't answer that.

What would happen if I left now?

You're not actually considering…

Would I catch something and die right away?

I really don't know.

Do you mean I might live?

Yes, that's conceivable. Your body's been building some immunities.

But it's also conceivable that

just a bad cold or a case of flu might kill you.

I'm sorry but we just don't know.

Thank you for coming, Ernie.

Todd

If somewhere in that brain of yours you're actually thinking of…

I was just asking, Ernie. That's all.

Todd!

It's so much softer than I ever imagined.

Gina, take me for a ride.

It'll be alright.

Okay.

Where are we going?

To Thermopolous!