101. Once Upon A Time

Summary Recap

Rebecca and Ryan are at work - framed magazines and articles on the wall tell us it's a software company that makes 8 of the top 20 MMORPGs on the market. The sign on the glass wall says they work in the "Gaming Concepts" department and it looks like the Imagineers place in Disney. Charles Chester - the millionaire from all the magazines - is reminding everyone to be in by 8:00am tomorrow to watch him deliver the Usurper chip to the Cypher server.

Ryan: You mean watch you put a chip in a slot?
Chester: Absolutely. I plan on taking 2 hours - Overtime for everyone! Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a helicopter to catch! ::leaves::

Credits.

Other people start to head out to a local bar. They ask if the "Programmers Grimm" are going with them. Rebecca and Ryan will catch up - they have to just make sure their concept's correctly formated for development. The co-workers exposit that their program is going to be the first through the new development process. All laugh about how mysterious the development process is, but how nice the commission checks are. One of the guys flirts with Rebecca prompting Ryan to step in with "Dude. Stop hitting on my sister. That's just gross."

Everyone leaves. Screen blackout to indicate time passes and a courier comes in. The Grimms are the only ones left except security. All are startled when they realize they are holding the Usurper chip. Rebecca calls Chester who goes crazy about how it's not safe. Don't move! Don't take it out of the box! (Too late.) Chester says he's missed the helicopter and will have to drive back. He doesn't trust Security with it.

Commercial break.

Return on the Grimms looking at the chip in it's acrylic casing. Another time passes kind of scene cut.

Come back to find them playing stupid office games. Where's Chester? Rebecca calls him and he's stuck on the interstate. Ryan suggests leaving the chip locked up somewhere until morning. Chester won't hear of it.

Chester: That chip is not safe until it's in its server slot.

Flash of the screen indicates more time has past. Ryan has had enough. Rebecca points out that Chester is crazed enough about this to fire them if they leave before he gets there. Ryan grabs the chip and starts to head towards a back hall. Rebecca asks where he's going.

Ryan: The chip's only safe in it's server slot? I'm going to go put it in it's server slot. If Chester wants to fire me for stealing his thunder, he can.
Rebecca: Ryan! We're a programming unit. You know he'll fire me too. He's got that whole yin-yang balance thing -

Ryan's already left and Rebecca's getting ready to follow when the phone rings. It's Chester and he's 2 minutes out. Rebecca hurriedly gets off the phone and chases after Ryan. She gets to the server room and he's not there.

She quickly goes back to the cubicles and he's not there. She's doing the "What the hell" when Chester comes in. She's forced to confess Ryan's got the chip and was taking it to the server.

Chester: He did what? No. Dammit all to hell. NO.

Both go running to the server room. Still no Ryan, Chester is raving that the chip took forever to make and it was his. It was finally his. Ryan had no right to take it. Chester is babbling that he can't wait another hundred years, he's tired of waiting. He's generally beginning to scare Rebecca who thinks maybe they should call the cops.

Chester: (defeated) You want the police? Go ahead. (he looks as if he might cry - or kill something) Tell Security I said it was ok.

Rebecca goes. Chester stares at the Cypher server.

Commercial Break.

Ryan is on the ground and unconscious. Dante is leaning over him and waking him up.

Dante: Come on, buddy, let's go. Places to go, villages to plunder.
Ryan slowly comes to and Dante helps him up.
Ryan: (as he realizes he's outside) What the hell just happened?
Dante: (puzzled) I - who are you?
Ryan: (uncertainly holds out hand, which Dante shakes immediately) Ryan Grimm.
Dante: Grimm? Really. Not Ryan the Ravager or something. That's refreshing.
Ryan: What? Look. What happened? How did I get here?
Dante: (surprised) You don't know? Don't you have to - I don't know - "start the game"?
Ryan: - the game? What? You mean this is a virtual? When did I get plugged in?
(thinks a moment)
The chip. I was putting the chip in the server - and then -
Dante: (watching him) You're - you're just you, aren't you?
(Off Ryan's look, he starts rummaging in a pack (similar to a messenger bag) and produces a mirror) Here. Who do you see?
Ryan: (playing along, but barely keeping his peace) Me.
Dante: As you. Not as someone else?
Ryan: (a hint beginning to form) You mean an avatar? No. I'm me. "As me" and no one else.
Dante: I'll be damned.
Ryan: Where am I?
Dante: You're in the Dominion. How did you get here?
Ryan: (disbelieving) The Dominion?! As in the fictional game world?
Dante: How did you get here anyway? What's the last thing you remember before I woke you up?
Ryan: (looking in his hand) I was in my server room at work. (holds up the Usurper) I was putting this away and then I was here.
Dante: (cautiously looking at the Usurper) What -

Jack approaches and yells at Dante to leave Ryan alone. Jack and Dante call each other by name - they obviously know and loathe each other. They argue as if it was a continuation of a previous argument and ignore Ryan.

Back in the office - the police have arrived and are walking into the server room with Rebecca and Chester. The acrylic case is on the floor with Ryan's jacket. Chester is physically pacing all over the room and claiming that Ryan has stolen the chip. When Rebecca starts to protest, Chester is distracted enough to look at her. He pulls himself together back to the cheerful boss - but it's now obviously a fake mask. He says he knows Ryan didn't steal the Usurper, but if he's only "missing" the police will have to wait 48 hours.

Rebecca is getting scared and says nothing else as Chester herds her and the cops to security to look at the camera footage.

Back with Ryan, Dante and Jack -
Jack has positioned himself between the two and seems to think that Dante will hurt Ryan. Dante and Jack talk over each other arguing about how Ryan isn't "displaced" - well he is but it's more - when Ryan interrupts and ask if they hear "that noise". They do.

Commercial Break

Jack is the first to realize it's coming from the Usurper chip. He snatches it from Ryan and asks if he got it from Dante. Ryan tries to get it back as the humming noise crescendos and there's a fx of a vortex. It's apparent that it's exerting some kind of pull. Jack is closest. All three start to lose their footing. Dante grabs Ryan who grabs Jack. Jack looks to Dante and tells him to "Save yourselves."

He lets go of Ryan and disappears in the vortex. Dante and Ryan begin to go to, but Dante looks at a piece of meadow farther away. His eyes are saturated and there's a flash. He's teleported them to safety. Ryan's reacting as we cut back to -

Rebecca sneaking back into the server room and going to the Cypher to check the slot. Still no Usurper chip. She turns around and there's a BOO JUMP when Chester is right there. And he. is. pissed.

Chester: Where is it? Did you take it?
Rebecca: What? The Usurper? No, it's not.
Chester: (grabbing her) Don't lie to me!

Rebecca throws him off and in the process they knock over the server tower which almost falls. There's an amusing moment when both forget their argument and grab for the server rack. They VERY GENTLY pull it back and it CLANKS back into place with a jarring motion - making them both wince. Geeks united.

The Usurper is prominently in the slot. Chester GRINS at Rebecca who is staring over his shoulder.

Jack is standing in the server room where Ryan's jacket was.

Commercial Break

Jack recovers first. Chester is still invading Rebecca's space and is still holding one arm. Rebecca is in shock and looks frightened. Jack immediately attacks Chester who runs around the server rack. Chester wants to know if Jack's from the Dominion. Jack is and announces that he is "Jack, the Giant Killer". Chester is suitably impressed as he's pushing on his cell for security. Rebecca has. had. enough. She grabs the Usurper chip out of the Cypher and takes off. Chester chases her and Jack chases Chester.

Chester catches up and gets the Usurper back but Jack scoops up Rebecca while fighting off security (in very Keystone Cop fashion) and they run out of the building and get away in Rebecca's car. (Which fascinates Jack.)

END 101

End Credits/Bloopers

12 seconds of what appears to be the camera guys and gaffers singing the chorus to "God Only Knows" — it fades into the real song as the rest of the bloopers play.
In Alona and Joe's struggle at the Cypher Server - they completely break the cheap plastic Usurper Chip prop. There's a beat of OHNOES! and then they crack up.
Jack swings off a chandelier at one point in the keystone cop fight - Paul in rehearsals swings all over it (low res vid) and it's solid. But then when they call action, it falls as he's barely on it.
Next blooper is Paul going to kick a chair out of the way and it bounces weird and hits the camera. Several beeps on the audio indicate the crew's reaction
Next is the master shot used in the show - with no errors. The director yells cut and Paul throws victory arms and yells, "And no damage to the set or crew! Thank you!"
The 27 takes Jensen and Matt needed to get through their introduction scene without messing up the sequence or cracking up. Coverage seems to have been a problem keeping the city out of the shot but Jensen and the woods in as the camera is over Matt's shoulder.
The time that Alona didn't keep driving and the security guards actually catch the hybrid. Paul acts terrified.


Reveals

GRINS - indicate a Cheshire Cat grin - possibly tweaked with fx but not overtly. It is a shared trait of all the Cheshires.
Chester should be genuine in first opening bit. The Grimms worked for him for 4 years prior to the series and were friendly. Rebecca must be confused but not stupid for not trusting him.


Characters

Jensen Ackles as Ryan Grimm

The eldest of the Grimm orphans, Ryan has always been the one to look out for Rebecca (Alona Tal). As a gaming programmer for an upcoming software house, Ryan's life is finally looking up. Until one night at work, he goes to deliver a chip to the server room and finds himself "displaced" to an alternate dimension. People there act as if he's a hero, and Ryan soon discovers, ready or not, he needs to be one.

At first overwhelmed by the magic he now wields, Ryan is only concerned with finding his way home. Once joined by Rebecca, he slowly comes to terms with his family's legacy and begins to truly care about the people they meet. He's slowly revealed to be a strong man - physically, mentally and morally - and well suited for the role of Champion in the Dominion.

Alona Tal as Rebecca Grimm

Rebecca loves being a gaming programmer with her brother, Ryan. When Ryan disappears, Rebecca is left to deal with the eccentric Charles Chester (Joe Flanigan). Just as strong as her brother, Rebecca soon finds the answers she's looking - but did she really want to know?

Unlike Ryan, Rebecca's first attempt to use the magic at their disposal ends badly. Slightly gun-shy, she prefers to try and solve problems by practical methods. She meets Dante (Matt Bomer) and is flattered by his attention but is not at all sure if she can trust him. But for all her misgivings, she is with her brother and therefore, she's home.

Joe Flanigan as Charles Chester

Millionaire gamer Charles Chester has a reputation for being as eccentric as he is generous. He's most known for his weakness for animal charities and lavish parties. In the corporate world, he's notorious for not incorporating his company and keeping the departments separate. His Gaming Concepts Department is a mecca for many up and comers, but he insists on hiring in pairs.

Chester's Cypher Server revolutionized online interactive gaming and is his most closely guarded possession until the announcement of the Usurper Chip. On the eve of the Usurper Chip's debut, Ryan Grimm disappears with it and Chester shows that he's not as eccentric as he seems. He unwittingly exposes his darker side to Rebecca and sends her fleeing to the Dominion after her brother. Who Chester really is and his connection to the Grimms and the Dominion will unfold throughout the season.

Matt Bomer as Dante Aesop

The first person Ryan meets in the Dominion, Dante seems a happy-go-lucky soul but is shunned by the other residents. Ryan and Rebecca rely on Dante to help them understand the magic in Dominion programming and he's happy to help his new friends.

His relationship with the Grimms is complex. On the surface, he asks for nothing but their friendship (and perhaps romance from Rebecca) and is their greatest ally. But he constantly expects to be betrayed even as he saves their lives. Over the course of the season, he'll grow to trust the Grimms even as his dark secret threatens to put them all in even greater danger.

Special Guest Star: Paul Bettany as Jack the Giant Killer

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