"Solar Mates"
Episode Summary
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Written by: Edgar Lyall and Therese Beaupre
Directed by: Jimmy Kaufman
Aired on Nickelodeon: April 2, 2000 at 8:00 p.m.
My Overall Opinion of the Episode:
This is an enjoyable episode to watch. Outdoor actions scenes abound.
The Cast:
Cynthia Belliveau -- Dori Lowe
Lindsay Felton -- Caitlin Seeger
Jeremy Foley -- Griffen Lowe
Neil Jagodnick -- Duncan
Karen McKenzie -- Kirsten
Tania Saulnier -- Taylor Langford
William S. Taylor -- Mr. Haskins
Ken Tremblett -- Jim Lowe
Stephen Warner -- Brett Stevens
The Music:
"That's How Long" -- Carson Cole
"Wishing for a Sail" -- Dig Circus
Episode Summary:
Caitlin's science class goes on a weekend camping trip in order to observe a once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse. Taylor and Caitlin end up being tent partners. Needless to say, they don't get along very well. They nearly get into a fight while they are trying to set up their tent. Dori sends them off to get firewood, but all goes wrong very quickly when they encounter a rattlesnake. The snake corners Taylor. Taylor slips and is injured. She believes that the snake has bitten her when she sees blood and feels pain on her ankle. She tells Caitlin to "suck the poison out." While sucking the bloody wound on Taylor's ankle, Caitlin realizes that the injury was caused by a thorn from a bush and not from a snakebite. Taylor and Caitlin get lost trying to find their way back to camp. They make it to the river and find a canoe. They ride the canoe downstream with the hope of finding the camp. However, the rapids are too strong and they are unable to stop the canoe when they reach camp. They head straight for a waterfall. They cry out for help but no one hears them. Everyone except one person has left camp to look for Caitlin and Taylor, and the one person still at camp doesn't hear them because he is in his tent listening to music with headphones. Taylor and Caitlin jump out of the boat and try to swim to shore while the canoe goes over the falls. Caitlin makes it to shore, but Taylor is trapped on a tree branch in the middle of the rapids. Caitlin uses Griffen's guitar and guitar strap to throw a line out to Taylor. Caitlin ends up saving Taylor from going over the falls.
Episode Highlights:
1. Jim and Dori had originally planned to spend a romantic weekend together while Griffen and Caitlin were away camping. However, the teacher of the class suddenly gets sick and Dori agrees to have her and Jim take over as chaperones. Jim becomes upset because his romantic plans with Dori get canceled. He develops a negative attitude and later says to Dori, "You could have spent a whole week-end with me, but no! You wanna' baby-sit two dozen hormonal 14-year olds!" Dori tries to put things into their proper perspective by responding, "It's just part of being a parent."
2. Taylor and Caitlin actually begin to act civilized toward each other after Caitlin saves Taylor's life. Caitlin, who is itching from poison ivy, says, "Man, I'm gonna' be itching like this for weeks!" Taylor says, "Big deal! I almost drowned!" Caitlin responds, "Yeah, well so did I. And I had to suck your leg!" Taylor jokingly says, "You tell anyone about that and you're in big trouble." Caitlin jokingly responds, "Oh, yeah; like that's something I'm gonna' be bragging about!" Taylor and Caitlin watch the solar eclipse together. It appears as if they are developing a friendship. However, future episodes will demonstrate that their friendship is only temporary.
3. Caitlin's closing epilogue: "I always knew that I could hold my own in the city. Now I know that I can hold my own in the middle of nowhere. It's a good thing that I was here ... for Taylor and me both. For a minute, I felt like I had a friend."
Episode Images:
