CORONET BLUE: A TIME TO BE BORN {SERIES PREMIERE} (TV)

Summary

The first in this drama series about the adventures of a man who loses his memory after an attempt on his life, and his efforts to uncover the truth about his past. Calling himself Michael Alden, he remembers only the words "coronet blue," and believes they may hold a clue to his identity, as well as to the unknown assailants who may still be after him. In this episode, aboard a ship, a woman named Margaret confronts a man and accuses him of "pretending," after which he is beaten and thrown overboard. When he is rescued and the paramedics question him, he can only say "coronet blue," and has vague recollections about a girl on a beach. Several weeks later, in the hospital, Dr. Michael Wilson cautions him against leaving before he is ready and offers to help him, but the man departs, deciding to call himself "Michael Alden," combining the doctor and the hospital's names. As he leaves, Margaret is seen watching from a distance. Michael takes a job at an establishment called The Searching I, working for a man named Max, and slowly begins to recall bits of his attack on the boat.

He ponders the phrase "Coronet Blue" and discovers that there is a bar by that name in town, and upon visiting, learns that it is owned by a man named Warren Sapper, who festoons many of his belongings with the crown image. Michael tracks down his house and arrives during a party, and though Mr. Sapper is out of town in San Francisco, he is invited inside and encounters a woman named Alix. He suspects her of recognizing him, though she denies it, and he finds coronets everywhere as he searches the Sapper home. After a scuffle with Alix's gentleman caller, Ewan, he takes her home to where she lives with her father Paul, a boat salesman. He questions her about Sapper, whom she says is a writer of sorts, and the phrase "coronet blue," though she offers nothing concrete. Paul arrives home and recognizes Michael as the amnesiac from the newspaper, and citing his love of "unusual" things, offers him a job. Alix is doubtful, but Michael accepts. At the boat dealership, Paul receives an Argentinean client, and Michael discovers that he speaks fluent Spanish when he assists with the sale. Pleased, Paul tells him that he could have a future as a salesman, though adds that Alix will hold him back.

Later, Alix makes dinner and tries to help Michael recover his memory, and his knowledge of historical facts and poetry hints at an elite education. Their flirtation deepens as they decide to go on a picnic together, though they are watched by a mysterious smoking man. Michael takes Alix to The Searching I and they chat with Max, who makes lunch for them. During the picnic, Michael briefly flashes back to the unknown girl on the beach, and when things turn romantic with Alix, he asks her to go away with him, urging her to find out who she truly is. She warms to the idea, but they are then shot at by the smoking man, and though they flee for their lives, Alix is shot and killed. After the funeral, Michael tells Max that the police suspect some sort of gang war, and he blames himself for her death, fearing that he himself is "lethal" to innocent people. Max tells him not to pity himself, however, and Michael decides to head off to San Francisco in search of further answers. Commercials deleted.

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