A Life Worth Saving:
My thoughts:
This story came about as my response to Deb’s four legged hero challenge. Being a cat lover, I too, was disturbed about the plot line of the episode The Cat with Ten Lives. In UFO fandom, it is generally assumed that the cat in the story did not survive, he was either mauled by the dogs, or, assuming he survived that, became a subject for Jackson’s tender mercies.
As we know, The Cat with Ten Lives left the fate of the beautiful seal point Siamese open. Because of that, I was able to shed the episode in a new light. I’ve always been a champion of the underdog. Ginny’s reputation was tainted in The Man Who Came Back, and my companion story rebutted some of the assumptions that were made. I do the same thing in this story. I change to perception while staying true to canon. (Although, there are those who would disagree.)
The first hurdle I had to overcome was the assumption that Jackson had made about the nature of the way the aliens were using both Regan and the cat. In the scene where Regan is taken into the alien craft, we see that he went through some type of procedure. The fact that his forehead glowed, tells me that an implant had been placed in his head by the aliens. Since cats are covered with fur, the glow of the implant would not be noticeable on the feline.
I had some fun with Ed’s history as well, by giving him a boyhood pet. It gave him a reason, besides Ginny’s pestering, to save the cat from Jackson’s clutches. In my story arc, Ed has feelings for Ginny and both men and women tend to look how a potential mate relates to animals. It often gives insight on how they would be with children. (Yes, guys do this too.) Ed’s thoughts about Ginny being a good mom are revealing.
I saw Alec being a softie when it comes to cute little kitties and I loved his reaction when he found out that Sam liked Jackson. Speaking of reactions, his dislike of Paul was due to the trauma Sam went through when he was being exploited by the aliens, he remembered attacking Paul, through Jim Regan, and I saw the stress of the alien control being unpleasant.
Being a four legged hero, we know that Sam has to come to someone’s rescue. So when the alien comes after Ginny, Sam rushes to her aid. By the way, I have seen cats become very aggressive when they perceive a threat to one of their family members, so I consider this scenario plausible.
Notice that Ginny keeps it together until the danger has passed, and Ed has rushed in to see she is all right. In Silver Star we know that Virginia had unwittingly told Ed her feelings, so she lets her guard down when he shows up. Later, at HQ, they share a tender moment that is interrupted by a very jealous kitty. I love stretching the unresolved sexual tension here, since this is before Ed shares his feelings with Ginny.
I was very torn about how to end the story. I chose a bittersweet ending here. Ginny knew that she would not have Sam for very long and it made the time they spent together all that much more precious. From the epilogue, we know that Sam had a profound effect on other’s at HQ, even Ed. Many people see him (Ed) as a hard ass and miss the tenderness that the man was capable of.
I hope I was able to redeem Sam, I think I stayed true to the facts in the show, at least my interpretation of them.
I hope everyone enjoyed A Life Worth Saving.
My thoughts:
This story came about as my response to Deb’s four legged hero challenge. Being a cat lover, I too, was disturbed about the plot line of the episode The Cat with Ten Lives. In UFO fandom, it is generally assumed that the cat in the story did not survive, he was either mauled by the dogs, or, assuming he survived that, became a subject for Jackson’s tender mercies.
As we know, The Cat with Ten Lives left the fate of the beautiful seal point Siamese open. Because of that, I was able to shed the episode in a new light. I’ve always been a champion of the underdog. Ginny’s reputation was tainted in The Man Who Came Back, and my companion story rebutted some of the assumptions that were made. I do the same thing in this story. I change to perception while staying true to canon. (Although, there are those who would disagree.)
The first hurdle I had to overcome was the assumption that Jackson had made about the nature of the way the aliens were using both Regan and the cat. In the scene where Regan is taken into the alien craft, we see that he went through some type of procedure. The fact that his forehead glowed, tells me that an implant had been placed in his head by the aliens. Since cats are covered with fur, the glow of the implant would not be noticeable on the feline.
I had some fun with Ed’s history as well, by giving him a boyhood pet. It gave him a reason, besides Ginny’s pestering, to save the cat from Jackson’s clutches. In my story arc, Ed has feelings for Ginny and both men and women tend to look how a potential mate relates to animals. It often gives insight on how they would be with children. (Yes, guys do this too.) Ed’s thoughts about Ginny being a good mom are revealing.
I saw Alec being a softie when it comes to cute little kitties and I loved his reaction when he found out that Sam liked Jackson. Speaking of reactions, his dislike of Paul was due to the trauma Sam went through when he was being exploited by the aliens, he remembered attacking Paul, through Jim Regan, and I saw the stress of the alien control being unpleasant.
Being a four legged hero, we know that Sam has to come to someone’s rescue. So when the alien comes after Ginny, Sam rushes to her aid. By the way, I have seen cats become very aggressive when they perceive a threat to one of their family members, so I consider this scenario plausible.
Notice that Ginny keeps it together until the danger has passed, and Ed has rushed in to see she is all right. In Silver Star we know that Virginia had unwittingly told Ed her feelings, so she lets her guard down when he shows up. Later, at HQ, they share a tender moment that is interrupted by a very jealous kitty. I love stretching the unresolved sexual tension here, since this is before Ed shares his feelings with Ginny.
I was very torn about how to end the story. I chose a bittersweet ending here. Ginny knew that she would not have Sam for very long and it made the time they spent together all that much more precious. From the epilogue, we know that Sam had a profound effect on other’s at HQ, even Ed. Many people see him (Ed) as a hard ass and miss the tenderness that the man was capable of.
I hope I was able to redeem Sam, I think I stayed true to the facts in the show, at least my interpretation of them.
I hope everyone enjoyed A Life Worth Saving.
