Wonderfalls : Barrel Bear

Season 1, Episode 7

Written by Tim Minear and Bryan Fuller

Directed by James Babbit

Original Airdate: 27 October 2004

Vivian "I was supposed to ride that barrel right out of this crumby town."
Jaye "And you never considered a bus?"

REGULAR CAST

Caroline Dharvernas as Jaye Tyler
Katie Finneran as Sharon Tyler
Tyron Leitso as Eric Gotts
Lee Pace as Aaron Tyler
Diana Scarwid as Karen Tyler
William Sadler as Dr. Darrin Tyler
Tracie Thoms as Mahandra McGinty

SPECIAL GUEST STARS

Rue McClanahan as Millie Marcus
Louise Fletcher as Vivien Caldwell

GUEST CAST

Neil Grayston as Alec

CO-STARRING

Chas Lawther as Pastor
Joanne Reece as Female Customer
Jean Daigle as Cop
Mark Terene as Taxi Driver
Eric Dotzert as Young Millie
Sarah Carver as Young Vivien
Alex Courey as Hank
Kathy Maloney as Attractive Woman

MUSE VOICES

Scotch Ellis Loring
Jeffrey R. Smith

SYNOPSIS

At the Wonderfalls shop Jaye taunts the smooshed-faced lion, daring it to say something. Alec hears her talking and accuses her of using the business phone for personal use. As the conversation turns to career tracks, the barrel bear in Alec's hand talks to Jaye, telling her, "see a penny, pick it up." The bear then looks out the window to the Maid of the Mist fountain, where a woman in her 70s, Millie Marcus, tosses a coin in the water. Jaye fishes a coin out of the fountain, but when she tries returning it she realizes the woman has walked off. A cop writes Jaye a ticket for stealing money out of the fountain.

At the bar Eric has Mahandra check his cell-phone messages, as he thinks it's less stressful not to hear the callers' voices, especially his wife's. Jaye reacts when she spots Millie waxing nostalgic over some photos hanging on the wall near the barrel display. Mahandra recognizes her as the first American woman to go over the falls in a barrel and live to tell about it. A stuffed bass tells Jaye to return the coin. Jaye follows the fish's instructions, and Mahandra asks Millie for her autograph. Millie tells the girls that the stunt was her ticket out of town, as it brought her the kind of fame that allowed her to see the world. Jaye and Mahandra decide to set up a table at Wonderfalls so Millie can attract customers and sign autographs. Unfortunately no one seems interested in Millie's exploits. Millie says that her old manager, Hank, was very good at handling public appearances. When a customer steps up and asks if Millie is having a book signing, Jaye is struck with an idea. She tries to interest Mom in co-authoring a book about Millie's experiences, but Mom doesn't show much interest. Everyone's a bit puzzled as to why Jaye has any interest in helping the old woman. Then Dad chimes in, reminding Jaye that Sharon and he are members of a group called Concerned Ladies of America. He thinks the group would be very interested in Millie's story, and might want her to speak at a fundraiser. Later Jaye, Sharon, Eric, and Mahandra help set up an exhibit at the bar, where the fundraiser is going to be held. They're shocked when an elderly woman, Vivian, enters the bar and accuses Millie of stealing her life. The stuffed bass tells Jaye, "give it back to her."

Vivian tells the others that Millie never went over the falls. Instead the homelier Vivian took the plunge. When the barrel reached the bottom the dazed Vivian stepped out, and her manager and fiancé, Hank, had her dragged away. The photogenic Millie took her place. Vivian then tells Jaye and her friends that the barrel they have on display is a fake, a cheap prop constructed for Millie to tour with. Mahandra takes issue with Vivian, insisting it doesn't matter who was in the barrel. To Mahandra what's important is the story, and she doesn't want the city's most cherished icons torn to pieces by the press. Jaye disagrees and takes Millie to task for being a fraud. As the fundraiser gets underway, Millie continues her charade, telling everyone in earshot her fantastic tale of derring-do. Jaye doesn't stick around for the fundraiser. She drives to Vivian's shack and tells her she wants to help her reclaim what's rightfully hers. A short time later Mahandra, Eric, and Millie show up at Vivian's shack and try to steal the real barrel that went over the falls. They want to perpetuate the myth that it was Millie who took the plunge, and destroying the real barrel will help achieve that end. When Vivian accuses Millie of living a lie, Millie tells Eric to drive her to the falls. She's determined to make the plunge so she can stop living under the umbrella of deceit.

Eric drives to a precipice above the falls, where Mahandra videotapes everything leading up to the historic moment. Meanwhile Jaye drives Vivian along a dirt road paralleling the falls. They hope to find Millie and stop her before it's too late. Eventually Jaye's car gets stuck in some mud. Jaye gets out of the car and tries to dislodge it. Vivian spots a cracked and broken barrel floating nearby and concludes Millie made good on her promise... but didn't survive. When Jaye and Vivian return to the shack, Eric and Mahandra are waiting for them on the front stoop. They explain that Millie didn't go over the falls: she got cold feet at the last minute. The barrel slipped into the water by accident. Millie, it turns out, is waiting inside the shack. Everyone goes inside, where Millie finally admits that she's been living a lie. Now she wants to make things right, because it's never too late. Unfortunately Millie drops dead as the words come out of her mouth.

Jaye, Mahandra, Vivian, and Eric attend Millie's funeral. Vivian has the last laugh: she takes Millie's identity, and when Millie is buried she's identified as Vivian. This way Vivian can tour the world and take proper credit for having gone over the falls. The only drawback is that she has to take Millie's name. Later Jaye and Eric go to the falls. Eric tosses his cell phone into the water, saying goodbye to his old life. Moments later Jaye tosses a barrel filled with Millie's ashes into the water, and Millie Marcus finally goes over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

TRIVIA

This episode is supposed to air as the seventh episode, but on Canadian television, it aired sixth.