MANIFEST: PILOT {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The first in this suspenseful science-fiction series about the passengers of Montego Air Flight 828, which mysteriously returns five years after disappearing mid-flight.
In this episode, Michaela Beth Stone explains that on April 7, 2013, she and her brother Ben and his son Cal, who has leukemia, opted to separate from parents Karen and Steve, Ben's wife Grace and Cal's twin sister Olive and took a different plane home to New York from Jamaica, where they had been vacationing, when their original flight was oversold. As Michaela debated marrying boyfriend and fellow cop Jared Vasquez, the plane experienced brief turbulence and then was diverted from JFK airport when the dispatcher seemed confused about the flight's identity and travel plan. When they finally landed in upstate New York, the passengers were astounded to learn that it was Nov. 4, 2018, and they had all been presumed dead for five and a half years. The Stones had a tearful reunion, shocked to see that Ben, Michaela and Cal had not aged a day. Steve sadly revealed that Karen had died in the intervening years.
Michaela, now homeless, stays with her brother's family; Grace assures her that her dark actions of the past are now "ancient history." Elsewhere, technicians fruitlessly study the plane for any explanation of its disappearance and return. When Michaela heads back to work, she finds that Jared has been promoted to detective and has married someone else – her best friend, Lourdes. Grace and Ben are amazed to learn that Cal's leukemia has not worsened and that a "game-changing" new treatment has been developed since he vanished. As Jared works tirelessly on a case involving two kidnapped sisters, Michaela, aboard a bus, is terrified to hear a voice in her head demanding that the driver slow down; when he does, he narrowly avoids hitting a young boy. Ben warns Michaela to conceal the bizarre incident. Elsewhere, another Flight 828 passenger, Dr. Saanvi Bahl, is revealed to have developed the revolutionary pediatric cancer treatment, having emailed the research to her boss, Dr. Cardoso, moments before the turbulence.
Ben learns that Olive has been in therapy ever since the traumatic plane trip, and Michaela, passing a junkyard containing two German Shepherds, again hears the voice ordering her to "set them free." Ben arrives, admitting that he heard the same psychic message. Despite their extreme doubts, they break into the yard and release the two dogs. Jared learns of the crime via security footage and demands answers from Michaela, who reveals that she is troubled not only by her inexplicable loss of five years, but also by her sense of guilt over the death of Evie, implied to have been her cop partner. As Ben apologizes to Olive for "losing sight of her life" before the plane trip, Dr. Cardoso decides that Cal is ineligible for the clinical trial because his diagnosis occurred too far in the past. However, Saanvi points out that, for him, it was a mere year ago, and she resolves to help him take advantage of his "second chance."
Jared returns the dogs to the owner, Garrison, who agrees not to press charges, but Michaela continues hearing the "set them free" command and, spotting an "828" on the junkyard fence. She recalls her mother's favorite quote from the Epistle to the Romans, reenters the yard and smashes down a door – revealing two kidnapped girls. Garrison is quickly arrested and Michaela admits that she cannot explain her amazing revelation; Grace admits to Ben that she initially blamed him for "taking" Cal from her onto the second flight but now believes it to have been fate, as the five-year delay may save his life. Ben experiences a strange dizzy spell as Grace secretly texts her lover, and Michaela examines Romans 8:28 and wonders if she is now one of "the called." She and Ben guess that everyone on the flight may be experiencing otherworldly symptoms. Flight 828 then explodes on the tarmac, suggesting that it has "no interest in being investigated." Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: NBC
- DATE: November 30, 1999 10:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:41:53
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 134382
- GENRE: Drama, mystery/suspense
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, mystery/suspense; Airplane accidents; Missing persons
- SERIES RUN: NBC - TV series, 2018-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Robert Zemeckis … Executive Producer
- Jack Rapke … Executive Producer
- Jacqueline Levine … Executive Producer
- David Frankel … Executive Producer, Director
- Jeff Rake … Executive Producer, Created by, Writer
- Cathy Frank … Producer
- Harvey Waldman … Producer
- Danny Lux … Music by
- Melissa Roxburgh … Cast, Michaela Beth Stone
- Josh Dallas … Cast, Ben Stone
- Athena Karkanis … Cast, Grace Stone
- J.R. Ramirez … Cast, Det. Jared Vasquez
- Luna Blaise … Cast, Olive Stone
- Jack Messina … Cast, Cal Stone
- Parveen Kaur … Cast, Saanvi Bahl
- Joel de la Fuente … Cast, Dr. Brian Cardoso
- Frank Deal … Cast, Capt. Bill Daly
- Curtiss Cook … Cast, Radd
- Rich Topol … Cast, Harvey
- Julienne Hanzelka Kim … Cast, Kelly
- Daryl Edwards … Cast, NSA Director Vance
- Jim True-Frost … Cast, Rector Dave Hynes
- Alfredo Narciso … Cast, Captain Riojas
- Mugga … Cast, Flight Attendant Bethany
- Malachy Cleary … Cast, Steve Stone
- Geraldine Leer … Cast, Karen Stone
- Jenna Kurmemaj … Cast, Young Olive
- Leajato Robinson … Cast, Co-Pilot Danny Clarke
- John Wojda … Cast, Garrison
- Mark Kenneth Smaltz … Cast, Sgt. Robertson
- Thursday Farrar … Cast, Dr. Williams
- Onata Aprile … Cast, Hallie Pyler
- Lacey DeLaFuente … Cast, Samantha Pyler
- Josh Philip Weinstein … Cast, Dr. Miller
- Omar Torres II … Cast, Uniform Cop Diaz
- Kapil Bawa … Cast, Saanvi's Dad
- Jonée B. Shady … Cast, Saanvi's Mom
- Erika Rolfsrud … Cast, Lead Investigator
- Allyson Kaye Daniel … Cast, Airline Gate Agent
- Giuseppe Ardizzone … Cast, Bus Driver
- Whitney Andrews … Cast, Med Student
- Jacque Reid … Cast, Local News Anchor
- Dylan W. Holmes … Cast, Toddler
- BoTao Yu … Cast, Soccer Coach