02x16 - Taneha

[bunniefuu]

Arsenic?

Strychnine?

What?

Both.

Why not?

That's a rotten way
to k*ll a starving animal.

Taneha is a k*ller.

ELLIOT:
What do you expect?

The ranchers have crowded out
all of his game...

fouled up his waterholes...

peppered his hide with b*ll*ts.

I told all of you
I want that cat left alive.

Mr. Elliott, that cat k*lled my dad.

I know why your dad was k*lled...

because he got careless tracking.

[RUSTLING]

[GROWLING]

[GROWLING]

Taneha's here!

All he wants is food.

You fool! Don't you know
you'll never take Taneha alive!

Bob?

Bob!

ELLIOT:
Please, E.J... get the doctor.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

FLIGHT COM:
It looks good at NASA One.

B- 52 ]PILOT:
Roger.

BCS Arm switch is on.

FLIGHT COM:
Okay, Victor.

B-52 PILOT:
Landing Rocket Arm switch is on.
Here comes the throttle.

Circuit breakers in.

STEVE:
We have separation.

B-52 PILOT:
Inboard and outboards are on.

I'm comin' forward with the side stick.

FLIGHT COM:
Looks good.

PILOT:
Ah, Roger.

STEVE:
I've got a blowout in damper three.

SR-71 PILOT:
Get your pitch to zero.

STEVE:
Pitch is out. I can't hold altitude!

B-52 PILOT: Correction. Alpha Hold is off.
Threat selector is emergency.

STEVE: Flight Com. I can't hold it!
She's breaking up! She's breaking...

ANNOUNCER:
Steve Austin. Astronaut.

A man barely alive.

Gentlemen, we can rebuild him.

We have the technology.

We have the capability
to make the world's first bionic man.

Steve Austin will be that man.

Better than he was before.

Better, stronger, faster.

[MAIN TITLE THEME]

Anybody ever tell you
you're too old to be wrassling cougars?

Hey, good to see you, Steve.

How you feeling, Bob?

Old and sore all over.

Well, you probably
needed the rest.

Steve, I wouldn't've bothered you
except you're the only person I know...

who has connections in Washington.

What do you need, Bob?

I need you to get the
Wildlife Commission...

or the Governor of the state...

or somebody important to protect
the life of that cougar.

To capture him.

You mean,
the one that ripped you up?

That's right.

You sure are a more forgiving man
than I would be, Bob.

I don't think so.

He's a golden cougar.

I've been trying to catch him
for over a year.

Steve, as far as I know...

he's the last surviving
male of the species.

I want to get him on a game preserve
with the two surviving females.

I hate to ask others to do my job.

Now I know who it was,
pounded that idea into my head.

If they let me out of here this minute...

I couldn't protect that
cougar by myself, Steve.

The fact is, I'm...

I'm just too tired
to keep on chasing him.

Hey, this is a special occasion.

You know, this is the first time you've
asked me to do something for you?

Ever since I've known you.

Look, I'd be pleased
to be able to help you, Bob.

But it's gonna have to be fast.

Ranchers in Leggitt Valley put up
money for a hunter...

from Colorado to k*ll the cougar.

The cougar has k*lled
a lot of livestock...

but there's no other way
for him to stay alive.

Maybe you could get a court order...

or something like that.

I'll do it right away.

Hey, I knew I could count on you.

I have talked to everybody
from the district Congressman...

to the Secretary of Interior...

and there just isn't enough time
to get through the red tape!

What about the
State Wildlife Commission?

Can't they get a restraining
order against the ranchers?

Well, first of all, they have
to have a public hearing.

Look, Oscar.
I told you this was an emergency.

Look, pal, I'm not a politician.

Well, when it comes to other matters,
you have problem with red tape.

Well, this time I just don't
have the contacts.

Okay, Oscar.
I'll find another way.

Well, what does that mean?

Steve, don't be a fool.

You don't know anything
about hunting cougars.

Bob Elliott will tell me
what I have to know.

Steve, it's too risky.

Thanks for trying, Oscar.

Steve!

[DIAL TONE]

Morning.

I'm looking for a guide to pack me
into the high country.

Can you recommend one?

High country's a good place
to stay away from right now.

The ranchers are getting
ready to hunt down a cougar.

Won't be safe up there.

I figured I'd be safe
if! have a guide.

E.J. Haskell might be a good one for you.
Knows the high country like a book.

Well, where can I find this Haskell?

Over by the courthouse probably.

Thanks.

I mean, I don't understand it.

You have no reason
to hire a professional man.

I know more about Taneha's
ways than any hunter.

Your Pa taught you plenty.

We know that.

But you're too young.

You don't have the experience.

My dad was younger than
lam when he first came here...

and the ranchers hired him.

Now with a man, it's different.

[CROWD MUMBLES IN AGREEMENT]

We've gotta get Taneha quick...

before Bob Elliott gets
somebody up here to stop us.

That's why we hired
a professional hunter.

No reflection on you at all.

Well, you are wasting your good
money on your professional...

because I'm gonna k*ll Taneha.

[OMINOUS MUSIC]

Hot-headed kid.

Excuse me.
Good morning.

I'm looking for E.J. Haskell.

Whatcha' want with Haskell?

Well, I'm looking for a guide to
pack me up into the high country.

I'm here to get me a cougar.

[ALL LAUGH]

About the only cougar around here
worth gettin' is Taneha.

But I doubt if a dude like you can even
come within shootin' distance of him.

Well, I'm not gonna sh**t him.

I'm going to capture him.

Bob Elliott must've sent you up here?

That's right.

Why don't you go back to
where you came from, Mister?

We don't want anymore
government interference in this.

We've lost enough stock!

I'm still looking for Haskell.

LONG:
Well, that's Haskell in the blue denim shirt.

Much obliged.

Are you the head
of the Ranchers Association?

That's right.

I'm Bleeker.

Well, glad to see you.

We were afraid
you wouldn't show.

I'm ready, as soon as you
get me 20 pounds of venison...

and a box of magnum r*fle shells.

Yeah, sure.
Whatever you say.

Come on.

Hey, Haskell?

Yes?

E.J. Haskell?

Yes, why?

For a minute there,
I thought they were putting me on.

About what?

Telling me you were a mountain guide
that could help me locate a cougar.

You've never heard of
a woman guide before?

Well...

Look, it is a little unusual,
you know?

Yes, like a dude trying to k*ll a cougar.

Yeah, but I'm not trying to k*ll it,
I want to capture it.

Will you take the job?

I'm expensive.

How's $300 to start?

$300 is fine.

Since I'm taking your money
I guess I should know your name.

That's Austin, Steve Austin.

Tell me, Steve, how do you
intend to capture Taneha?

With a tranquilizer g*n?

Yeah, I brought one...

and dose is half-strength.

And a net and some ropes.

[SIGHS]

Look, all you have to do
is help me find him.

I'll capture him.

All right.

I'll meet you at
Big Rock Fork at 3:00.

How do I get there?

Turn right at the first dirt road
on the far side of town...



Can I drive?
Too narrow.

Do you have an extra horse?

No, and there's none that
you can buy or rent around here...

at least not today.

By tomorrow, it'll be too late.

[BIONIC EYE SOUND EFFECT]

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

Cream, sugar?

Just strong.

Been brewing over ten minutes.

Ten minutes? How...

[SIGHS]

Look, I don't know how you got a horse...

and I don't know how
you got up here so fast...

but I've gonna level with you.

I don't want to be burdened with you.

I've got work to do.

Now do you understand?

Of course.

We're even?

You bet.

Okay.

Heeyah!

It is physically impossible for you
to have gotten here before me.

[COUGAR GROWLS]

[GROWLS]

[COUGAR GROWLS]

Rafe's got trouble.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

Go, go, go!

[COUGAR GROWLING]

[g*n FIRES]

What did you do that for?
He could've k*lled you!

You could've k*lled him!

I wasn't aiming to k*ll,
just to scare him off.

You don't have to aim
at all to do that.

You expect me to let him attack you?

He looked like he was more
ready to run than attack.

Yeah, well, he was running
when he mauled Bob Elliott.

[GROANS]

Look, from now on,
don't protect me.

Just guide me, all right?

I sure am much obliged to you, Austin.

I'd sure hate to lose
any of them sheep.

I raised 'em since
they was lambs, you know?

I'm glad I could help.

Rafe, it looks like you're
gonna need some stitches.

We'll take you into town and
have a doctor look at you.

Yeah, well, I'm goin' to town all right,
but I got no time for a doctor.

You'd probably do better with a rest.

I got no time for that either.

I've gotta go tell Will Long
that Taneha's on the prowl again.

And E.J... I'm gonna have to tell him...

that you're guidin' Austin
to capture Taneha.

That's fine, Rafe.

Thanks again
for the sheep, Austin.

And I'm sorry to be
against you on this...

but I want that cat dead.

What do you say,
do we have a deal?

I'll guide you...

but I don't want your money.

[E.J. BREATHING HARD]

Ohh.

Need a breather.

Takes awhile to get
accustomed to this altitude.

Doesn't seem to bother you much.

Well, I'm used to altitude changes.
I do a lot of flying.

Seem to do a lot of running, too.

Are you gonna tell me how
you managed to outrun my horse?

Yeah, when you tell me
why you don't take my money.

You all right?

Yeah, thanks.

Where do we go from here?

There's a deer trail
just past those trees.

This is Taneha's territory.

At least that's what my dad
always used to say.

Taneha?

Yes. It's fresh.

A few minutes old.

He's all over this meadow.

I can feel him.

You make him sound
like some kind of demon.

Yeah, well, in Payute,
Taneha means golden demon.

Cougars are evil spirits.

They make themselves invisible
and that's how they destroy their enemies.

That's the Indian legend.

You believe in legends?

An old tracker once claimed he saw
Taneha vanish into a cliff of solid rock.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

E.J, is guiding Austin right
straight for Taneha country.

I figured she'd either turn him down
or head him in the wrong direction.

No, she's too riled up
about Mr. Bleeker, here.

How far ahead are they?

Well, they probably left
my place about the same time I did.

Right after anyway,
I'd say two hours.

The cat,
did it get one of your sheep?

RAFE:
No, but he sure wanted one.

Well, I gotta get to town
and get this thing looked after.

Take some men
and pick up their trail.

I'll cross your trail and
head up the mountain.

All right.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[COUGAR GROWLS]

Taneha knows we're here.

You sure it's him?

I know his voice.

Anyway, there's not another cat that
would come within miles of his territory.

[COUGAR GROWLS]

Yeah, he's up in the cliffs.

I'm gonna scout him
before he scouts us.

What, in the dark?

You'll be lucky if you only break a leg.

The moon'll be out soon.
That'll cut the dark.

You might have half a chance
if you have an infrared scope.

Well, I'll just have to depend
on my night vision.

You're serious.

Yeah, I eat a lot of carrots.

Really.

Hey, I'll be all right.

Well, don't forget to bring your tranquilizer
g*n in case you meet Taneha coming down.

I think I'll just try and sweet talk him.

[OMINOUS MUSIC]

[BIONIC EYE SOUND EFFECT]

[COUGAR GROWLS]

[TRAP SNAPS]

[SCREAMS]

Oh, my God.

[g*n SHOT]

[g*n FIRING]

Think they got it?

Not likely in the dark.

They might've spotted it.

First thing in the morning
we'll get going.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

[DISTANT g*nf*re]

[MISFIRE CLICKS]

[COUGAR GROWLS]

[BIONIC EYE SOUND EFFECT]

He thought he had me.

But he didn't k*ll you.

Ow!

He was right here.

He was stalking me.

He didn't k*ll you.

I saw him.

I saw his yellow eyes.
They weren't ten feet away.

Now take it easy, he's gone now.

The Indians cut his picture
in stone a hundred years ago.

I saw it in the cave.

It was the same size.

It was the same look in his eyes.

[GROANS]

It's all right, calm down.

I stumbled on the cave during a storm.

It was Payute.

I recognized their demon sign
beside his picture.

I'd like to see it.

I never found it again.

[MOANS]

I don't even know how! got out
of the cave, I just ran and ran...

A drawing frightened you that much?

A drawing didn't do this!

I can understand why
you think Taneha's a demon.

Why he haunts you.

Is it gonna leave a scar?

Oh, I don't think so.

It'll be sore for a few days,
that's about all.

My father always said a man wasn't full
grown till he had a few scars on his hide.

Guess I wasn't a very
good daughter to him.

I was trying too hard to be his son.

I learned to hike and
track just like a boy.

I was trying so hard to
make him proud of me.

When you got that
scar on your neck...

trying to make your dad proud of you?

Yeah, I was trying to be brave.

As brave as his son would've been.

What's your initials stand for?

Edward John, that was his name.

No, but what's your name?

Ellen Jane.

Ellen Jane.

I guess I didn't measure up too well.

I had a lot of trouble
k*lling animals.

But Dad said
it was the law of nature.

So I got used to it.

k*lling was something
I never could get used to, either.

It was a good thing
that wasn't a saw tooth trap.

That would've gone right
through your ankle.

Oh, Dad never used
saw tooth traps.

I know, it's stupid, isn't it?
I step in my own father's trap.

[SIGHS]

Your dad set traps for Taneha?

Well, he had to get him someway!

I wish Taneha had
got k*lled in a trap...

instead of causing my father's death.

No wonder the ranchers wanted me
to use you to help capture Taneha.

They knew you had the best reason
in the world for wanting to k*ll him.

In the morning,
we'll go our own separate ways.

We have a deal, Ellen.

E.J.!

Do you understand?
It's E.J.!

Yes, I understand.

But E.J. doesn't stand
for Edward John...

that was your father's name
and he's dead.

E.J. doesn't stand
for your father's son...

because he never had a son.

Ellen Jane.

That's who you are,
do you understand?

Okay, I guess we both
feel a little better now.

The truth is, you tried your best to
discourage me from coming with you.

But I needed you.

And I still need you
to help me track Taneha.

What do you say tomorrow
we give it another try, huh?

[BIONIC EYE SOUND EFFECT]

Do you see him?

Just his shadow
moving across the rocks.

Shadow?

There's a fissure
halfway up the cliff.

He must've been heading
towards it with the sun behind him.

You can't see it now.

The sun has to be
just at the right angle.

You know, years ago,
my father mapped out a trail...

down the south slope.

I think I could find it.

What about your ankle?

Oh, I've tracked on worse
than a sore ankle.

[DRAMATIC MUSIC]

Take a look at the side of that cliff.

That's where the cougar is.

As long as we cover both sides
of that cliff, the cougar's dead.

Let's go!

Here's the cave!

This place isn't even
on my father's map!

STEVE:
Taneha?

Yep.

Cougars usually lay up
this time of day.

That's what I'm counting on.

The firing pin's broken.

[PIN CLICKS]

Well, I must've hit it on something.

No.

That's not how it happened.

I did it.

My father had a job to do.

I'm finishing it for him.

Steve, that cat is a vicious k*ller!

He's a hungry animal
fighting for survive.

It's his natural right.

I owe it to my father.
I'm sorry, I owe it.

You don't owe anyone but yourself!

Look, wiping out a species is
not gonna destroy your demon.

It'll destroy you.

You can't go in there!
You have no protection!

Neither has Taneha.

Please...

I don't want you hurt.

I'll be all right.

But...

Trust me, please.

[OMINOUS MUSIC]

E.J.:
It's the Indian cave.

STEVE:
Just like you described it.

I can't see him,
but I know he's here.

[BIONIC EYE SOUND EFFECT]

He's over there,
he's on a ledge.

Are you sure?

Take my word for it.

Oh, you don't expect
that to hold him?

Well, it's a special kind of fiber.

It's stronger than it looks.

I'm gonna try and hang it.

I'll need a climbers' chisel.
It's in my pack? Would you get it?

Sure. Here.

[COUGAR GROWLS]

So this is Taneha's cave.

I wouldn't have spotted it
in a million years.

Your pa would be proud of you, E.J.

Who are you?

Bleeker.

I've come for the cougar.

Taneha's not here.

[COUGAR GROWLS]

Nobody!
Nobody kills that cougar!

E.J... you gone crazy?

You heard me.

I don't want to hurt you, but...

[g*n FIRES]

Now all of you...

get down off this mountain!

[BIONIC EYE SOUND EFFECT]

Easy, easy...

Easy, fella.

Easy, fella. Hey.

Come on now,
it's just you and me, boy.

Easy does it.

Come on now, easy does it.

Easy, now, easy.

Easy.

Easy.

Get the other rope...

slip it over his head on the other side.

Easy, boy.

Easy, boy.
Easy.

Here we go.

Easy, boy.

Easy.

Don't be afraid,
he needs us now.

Easy.

Come on.

Come on, boy.
Come on.

Come on.

I'm gonna stay here a while.

Yeah, it's great.

Oh, a couple of weeks or so.

Keep in touch, Oscar.

The Carsons have a new dent
in the front of their camper.

Lady with the baby needs
new heels on her shoes.

County bus is late again.

Mmm.

You know, I really miss
life in a small town.

I hate to spoil your fun...

but the Indians say that any man
that can outrun a horse...

and overpower a beast,
is a demon.

I know what the Indians say.

Trouble is, I don't know
why they keep on saying it.

Yeah, really.
It makes me mad.

You know what I'd really like to know is
which of them Indians is saying it?

Are you ever going to tell me
how you were able to do those things?

Oh, probably not.

Oh.

Am I ever gonna see you again?

What, are you kiddin'?

They're gonna have to
force me to leave here.

That'll be Saturday, when they
hose down the courthouse steps.

Okay, Saturday.

And what then?

Well, when the steps dry we'll just
come right back here and continue.

Steve?

Why are you really staying here?

Because I like the sky...

and because I think you have
a beautiful life ahead of you here.

That's the truth.

I'm gonna stay here
until you see that.

Would you look at that?

What's Freddy Owens doing
on Cliff Harding's motorbike?

I thought they were enemies when
Norma Dell started dating Freddy' s brother.

I'll be darned.

If you really like
the sky around here...

I know where there's a place...

where the sky is
so incredibly beautiful.

I could show it to you.

You're my guide.

[END THEME MUSIC]