1222 The Great Blue Yonder

What is your opinion of this story?

  • 5 ? This is an excellent episode! One of my personal favorites!

    Votes: 1 16.7%
  • 4 ? This episode was great! I will definitely tell others about it.

    Votes: 4 66.7%
  • 3 ? This episode was good. It was worth reading.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 2 ? This episode was like the neutral zone ? I am indifferent.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • 1 ? Bellisario would be rolling in his grave if he had one.

    Votes: 1 16.7%

  • Total voters
    6
D

Dman176

Guest
The Great Blue Yonder
June 16, 1965


USS Midway / Somewhere in the New Mexico Desert


Al must help Sam to survive when he?s forced into participating in a dogfight in an F-4 Phantom II Fighter Jet. Meanwhile, back at the project, things have taken an interesting turn.


Written by: Tom Nicklis


Thanks,
TVS Team
 
Our rating system this season consists of six raters and three back-up raters! We took the average of six raters and came up with an average for that episode. Based on ratings of 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest, the average of this episode was: 8.75

Please be aware that some reviews may contain spoilers! Some of the comments given were:

Seeker said:
?The Great Blue Yonder,? like Tom?s first story is well-plotted, well-written, and the tension level between what was going on with Sam and Al with the dogfight, and Julianna and Beth?s plane crash was nicely balanced. The clever method arrived at to give Sam some ?hands on? training, as well as the deft handling of the dogfight and, of course, the unexpected twist at the end kept me turning pages. I agree with Jennie, in that stylistically I see some improvements, particularly with the dialogue, which will, I know, steadily improve as you grow as a writer. There were a couple of things that left question marks in my mind, but neither of them detracted from the story. My compliments Tom on another solid offering. I look forward to your next story.

RATING: 8.5

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Morris J. Finkle said:
Just when you think things can't get any more intense, Sam and Al both find themselves back-to-back fighting for their lives in a fighter jet at the height of the Vietnam conflict. And to top it all off, Jules gets into another plane crash, this time with Beth as her traveling companion, and Beth dies from her head injuries at the end. (I sincerely hope that Beth will be saved...) This is quickly becoming another epic for the ages.

I also like the fact that Tom Beckett has returned to the fold. After last season's Project Liberty arc, I was really looking forward to seeing more of him. I'm glad to see he hasn't been forgotten. Having him be the observer for both Sam and Al is a logical choice. One of the best lines: when Tom asks Ziggy if she has any good news for him, to which she replies that Dom saved a ton of money on his car insurance by switching to Geico. Priceless line! That's definitely the kind of thing we'd hear Ziggy say!

Another well-done story, Tom! I can't wait for the next one either! :D

RATING: 9.5

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Sporty said:
Another great story. I really like the way that Al and Sam are leaping together. Beth dying at the end was sad, but as we know in the Leaping world, death is not always permanent. I would hate for Al to come back and find his Beth dead. Great job on the story.

RATING: 9.0

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Allie Cat said:
A very nicely written, well-thought-out story. I really enjoyed Al getting to play around in the F-4 ? like a kid in a candy store! And boy, is it obvious to anyone that Stephen absolutely loves Star Trek? :D It was also neat to see Julianna display yet another of her skills and it's neat to see Lisa Sherman again, if only as a cameo.

One little thing: it sure seems like Tom is literally running around in circles ? Imaging Chamber, Sammy Jo, Stephen, Imaging Chamber, Sammy Jo, Stephen... somewhere in there he goes to the cafeteria. If he thought SEAL training was tough, try being the Acting Observer and Administrator of a top secret project!

Anyway, good job, Tom. Looking forward to see how you get them out of this situation. Poor Jules and Beth!

RATING: 8.0

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Vince Beckett said:
Things have taken an interesting turn at the project. Sam and Al's leap together here reminds me of Top Gun. It looks like it will be Vietnam all over again for Al with the next leap and with Beth dying.

RATING: 9.5

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Gooshie said:
The first episode in this trilogy had Sam being killed, and now this episode has Beth meeting her Maker. Tom, you enjoy torturing us, don't you? ;) I'm kind of surprised that Beth decided to leave the Project with her husband lost in time, it didn't really seem in character for her. I hope that Sam (or Al?) can fix things in the next episode.

The leap was interesting and it would have been nice to explore that aspect of the story somewhat more. It seemed to gloss over some details of the situation, but the "action" sequence was done quite well.

I look forward to reading the conclusion to this.

RATING: 8.0

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Thanks!
The Virtual Seasons Team
 
Last edited:
Whoa, that was really intense. The end is like a chokehold!!! Tom--you nearly made me cry! A few of the same stylistic issues as with the previous episode, but I know that will improve with future outings! Overall, well done!
 
The great line for me was when Ziggy explained to Tom why she never joked - Thanks Tom for that nod to the story I wrote with Sue "Hair of the Dog".

This was certainly a roller coaster ride, and like everyone else, I hope and pray and trust that Beth will not stay dead. I sort of expect that she will stay dead long enough for Al to have the angst of not being there for her when she died. Poor Al.

Looking forward to part 3.

Well done Tom.
 
Thanks Helen.

The nod to your story in this one, everything just seemed to fit right. Ziggy made sure I put it in there. The story just seemed to want to go there. And the nod yours and Sue's story just seemed natural.

I am glad you enjoyed it and I hope you like the next as much.
 
The only thing I don't like about this story is that no one called Tuyen Blaize to tell him his fiancée was in a crash! I'll have to assume Sammie asked Ziggy if Tom called him and, getting a negative, did the call herself. Otherwise, love this story!