War of the Worlds: Eye for an Eye

"Martians on motorcycles."

- Harv

"Eye for an Eye" is the sixth episode of season one of the science fiction series War of the Worlds. It was directed by Mark Sobel and written by Tom Lazarus. It first aired in syndication on Monday, October 31st, 1988.

Plot
As Grover's Mill celebrates the 50th anniversary of the radio drama that made it famous, little do they know what really happened that night in 1938, or that the "Martians" have returned.

Synopsis
General Wilson, discovering that Orson Welles' 1938 War of the Worlds radio invasion was real, sends the team to Grovers Mill, New Jersey to investigate. They question a few veterans; Welles' broadcast was a government cover-up of the real invasion.

Nearby, the aliens unearth an immobilized war machine. Warned by veteran Flannery, Ironhorse sees the aliens mounting the warship's death ray onto a hearse. He diverts the aliens to Harrison and Norton who have constructed a parabolic mirror which reflects the death ray back, destroying the aliens.

Quotes

 * Biker: Back off, man. You're gettin' too close. You be cool, and we'll be cool.
 * Officer: No one gets off their bikes in Grover's Mill.
 * Biker: Look, we're gonna go to the cemetery, bury our man in his home ground, and then we're out of here.

....
 * Advocate #3: The recovery of the machine will go a long way toward guaranteeing our victory.
 * Advocate #2: True...assuming the machine is still operational.
 * Advocate #1: Is it just me, comrades, or do the complexities of our invasion grow more and more tangled at every step?
 * Advocate #3: No one ever said war was easy.

....
 * Advocate #1: Our warship is in surprisingly good condition.
 * Advocate #2: I've ordered them to check out all the weapons and flight systems, and report back to us before they start their return flight.
 * Advocate #3: I wish we decided to go with them. I'm worried they will not do all that is necessary.
 * Advocate #2: They'll do exactly what we ask of them. They know nothing else.
 * Advocate #1: In a matter of hours, the most powerful weapon this planet has ever seen will be again in our hands, and functional.
 * Advocate #3: Those who come will be pleased.

....
 * Advocate #2: We have a communique from the field. They've experienced problems and await further guidance.
 * Advocate #3: Why is it the lower classes cannot think for themselves?
 * Advocate #1: Our job is to think; their job is to do. We must never confuse the two.
 * Advocate #3: What is the nature of their problem?
 * Advocate #2: There's been extensive damage. So far, they haven't been able to make the warship functional.
 * Advocate #1: A situation we anticipated with dread, but without clear solutions.
 * Advocate #3: They must continue trying to fix the warship.
 * Advocate #1: As well as test all the weapon systems. We must make sure they understand the importance of this.
 * Advocate #2: They understand, but I fear understanding alone will not be enough.
 * Advocate #3: Should we remind them of the punishment that comes with failure?

....
 * Advocate #1: The machine still won't fly, but the beam works.
 * Advocate #2: We must get the beam back here as quickly as possible. Nothing is more important than for us to retrieve the weapon.
 * Advocate #1: They understand this, but they're unsure how to accomplish getting it here.
 * Advocate #2: Must we tell them everything? If the ship won't fly, we have no choice but to transport the weapon over land.
 * Advocate #1: And if our comrades meet resistance?
 * Advocate #3: Then we will remind the puny Earthlings how our death ray works.
 * Advocate #2: Nothing can be allowed to delay their return. Our very future rests in their hands.
 * Advocate #1: A concept, I remind you, that we should only accept with great trepidation.

....
 * Harv: [possessed] It's useless for you to resist.
 * Norton: Oh, is it?
 * Harv: You can never win.
 * Flannery: You were beaten at Grover's Mill once. It'll happen again.