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| "The Long Goodbye Syndrome" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Season | 1 |
| Episode | 1 |
| Episode in Total | 1 |
| Air Date | October 11, 1997 |
| Production Code | 01 |
| Directed By | Frank Paur |
| Written By | Duane Capizzi |
| [Source] | |
"The Long Goodbye Syndrome", also known as "The Long So Long Syndrome," is the first episode of Men in Black: The Series. It originally aired on October 11, 1997, and was written by Duane Capizzi and directed by Frank Paur.
Synopsis[]
On a mission to help stop a Skraaldian multiplication in a sewer, there was a struggle against one. Jay fires a Noisy Cricket at it, blowing it up. Now, he's a wanted target for every other Skraaldian on their home planet, Skraal. And since the Skraaldians have a hive mentality and are locked on to his DNA, It won't be easy for Jay to escape. Only Kay can get him out of it. But will he in time? And why does nobody seem worried?
Plot[]
The episode begins with Jay and Kay coming to a scene of firefighters on a scene of a cat in a tree, claiming to be Fire Marshall Division 6. Jay climbs the tree to get the alien, but he realizes that the cat is not an alien, but the tree is. As the tree runs away, Kay shoots it, and neuralyzes the firefighters.
During their drive down New York, Kay quizzes Jay about a skeezaloid and while doing so, the latter describes the wrong one compared to what the former brought up, thinking that Jay did not read the manual. They stop at the newspaper stand where Frank resides and picks up a paper, which is actually the “hot sheets”, where nothing is what it seems. The duo drive down to the beach to investigate an alien called a Skraaldian residing in a sewage tunnel. The alien is awoken by Jay, who gets flung into the wall despite Kay’s warning to not cross it. They try to tame the beast, but Kay’s green net gun is not strong enough, leaving him captured in the Skraaldian’s claws. Jay tries to free his partner and stop the alien with the same gun, but struggles with it. Instead, he fires his Noisy Cricket gun at the alien, but it sends him flying out of the tunnel. The monster’s skin calves revealing the slug-like Skraaldian who shoots green goo at Jay’s suit, then falls down defeated. Kay then neuralyzes the beach goers, claiming that he and Jay are having a clam bake. As the rest of the MIB agency work to clean up the mess, Kay reminds Jay to never use a Noisy Cricket on a Skraaldian. The creature was planning to sting Kay and temporarily swell him, but that was saved. Jay is then warned that he is “marked” thanks to the alien’s goo, as in he’s a dead man.
Back at headquarters, Kay reminds to Jay that thanks to him being marked, Skraaldians will attract him and his DNA like a magnet aware of what happened at the beach. Zed, now aware of the events, plans on recruiting a new rookie to the MIB much to Jay’s shock. Elle jokingly talks Kay into becoming his new partner, which was something the Worm Guys thought of beforehand. As an alien visitor is apprehended by agents due to smuggling, the alien becomes another Skraaldian who attacks Jay. During the battle, Kay finds a weapon to successfully stop the beast, and he does so by freezing it solid. Elle, also a “Hot Sheets” reader, is aware of the ice blaster Kay used. He then consults the twins with any news going on lately, the news being Jay’s departure, much to everyone else’s delight, but Jay’s shock. Elle talks to Jay that she was indeed joking about being his replacement, but Jay feels like the predicament was taken lightly. She then offers him an icer as a token that he won’t be going anywhere, per Elle’s comments.
Jay, now wearing protective gear, re-enters the main room with a new weapon, but his clumsiness causes the weapon to go off, causing the frozen alien to explode into shards. Due to this mishap, Kay reminds Jay that he will wind up in “the soup”. Zed alerts the duo of a distress signal from a seafood restaurant. Inside, they cover for the medical staff who are trying to help a person breathe after choking on food, but it turns out an alien controlling the customer is holding back the green goo that lands on Jay again. The alien confesses that he choked on a prawn and the seafood eatery is neuralyzed (even the alien is wearing sunglasses during this). On the way out, Jay proposes the idea of memory-wiping the Skraaldians, but it only works on human memory cells, not aliens. At a park, the twins alert Kay about them working double-shift. He approaches Jay on a bench who briefly reminisces about it being the same spot where he joined MIB. Finding something that could give the slick a pep in his step again, he approaches a hot dog stand where he orders one, but what does it turn out to be? You guessed correctly, another Skraaldian, of course! Same also applies to the stand’s vendor as multiple slug-like creatures corner the gentlemen.
Trying to talk himself out of it, the aliens pile onto Jay during their confrontation, aware that they’re hooked onto his DNA. Kay fights back by freezing the slug-like beasts and helps Jay out in doing the same thing. Another Skraaldian emerges from the air vents in the car and clings onto Jay who accidentally sets off the button where the car’s rocket thrusters boost its speed. The alien’s out-of-control steering sends the duo flying out of their car, crashing into a wall. Emerging from the rubble is a giant Skraaldian similar to that of a Trojan horse who approaches the duo. An army of the aliens leaps onto the streets cornering the agents. They approach Jay as if he’s now ready to become part of “the soup”, but the confrontation comes to a halt when the twins call about them coming up with something like they always do. Kay approaches the Skraaldian army and sneezes into a napkin, then shows the contents to the aliens who become very upset at the sight of it. Jay is then reminded that the thing one can do to these aliens that’s worse than blowing them up is distributing one’s sneezed contents in front of them. Upset, the aliens now have their sights on Kay as Jay is let off the hook (for now), ready for the former to become part of “the soup”. Before he leaves, he gives Jay the car keys to report Zed about Kay’s “grievance day” and give the LTD a spin. The spacecraft takes off, leaving Jay alone in the alley.
Inside the ship, Kay prepares himself for his descent into the Skraaldian soup, but doesn’t feel any pain. Back on Earth, the real Kay walks up to his lonely partner, much to his shock. The alien from the seafood place takes the place of the fake Kay as the two make their way down the soup vat, but the alien escapes in the nick of time, leaving the fake Kay skin to boil away. The real Kay tells Jay that “with a little wax, the twins will get the LTD looking like new.” As a result, Jay is unable to drive the car, per Kay’s rules.
Watch[]
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