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Busted Cut Scenes

With Momo's commentary

INT: CHEVELLE - NIGHT Max and Liz toss their hats out the window. Max takes the gun and puts it on the floor of the car under the floor mats. He puts his hand over it and the gun melts merging with the metal on the floor of the car.
LIZ: Do it work?
Max takes out a large, uniquely shaped diamond. It looks perfect, distinct.
MAX: I didn't have time to find out.
LIZ: Hold on!
Liz swings the car off the highway onto a different road. The police car turns, following them.
MAX: So listen, now that we've committed armed robbery together, I think it's time we take this relationship to the next level.
Liz avoids on oncoming car and the police car behind them spins out into a ditch.
MAX: I have my needs. I'm only human, Liz.
LIZ: Half human.
MAX: Well, the human half has needs. Serious needs.
Liz makes a sharp turn onto another road. They pass a sign that reads "Welcome to Salina". To avoid a patrol car coming straight at them, Liz cranks a hard left.
LIZ: Max, we're in a high speed chase here.
MAX: Come on, we're unstoppable.
Suddenly, a car speeds toward them on the far end of the alley. Realizing they're in real trouble, Max hurls the diamond into the high weeds near an old wrecked hulk of a car by the side of the road into town. Suddenly, in the middle of town, the Cheveele is stopped, blocked in all directions by two arriving police cars. Liz looks at Max.
LIZ: Got any powers for this?

Ever wonder where Max got the Chevelle?

EXT. CRASHDOWN CAFE - DAY (FLASHBACK)
Start on a leather jacket, which Max is wearing, as Liz comes out to meet him. She stops., looking at the jacket, enticed.
LIZ: I like it.
MAX: Yeah. I just don't feel comfortable in my clothes anymore. That was someone else. It's the past.
LIZ: Where'd you get it?
MAX: This thrift shop in Hondo.
LIZ: Take me thre.
14. EXT. THRIFT STORE - HONDO - DAY
Max and Liz come out of the store. Liz now wears her leather pants and jewelry, walks and talk on the street.
LIZ: So, one more time. The diamond is actually a key.
MAX: Accordng to Tess's records, yes. A key to our ship.
LIZ: Your spaceship. The one that crashed in 1947.
MAX: Yeah.
LIZ: Let's say we're able to get this diamond, do you know where the spaceship is?
MAX: We'll find it.
LIZ: So let's say we find this ship which last we knew was in like five million pieces. How do we knot it will actually work?
MAX: I have no choice but to believe.
She looks at him, nods at his resolve. But Max is looking at something else. A blue Chevelle convertible with a "For Sale" sign on it.
LIZ: We can't afford this.
MAX: We need a car.
My commentary: So Liz is actually with Max when he buys the car and they apparently buy it as a joint vehicle.

In a blue version of the script dated 7/26/01, we learn WHERE the gun came from.

Max holds a gun out to Liz, they lean against the Chevelle.
LIZ:Where did you get it?
MAX: It's one of Sheriff Valenti's. He'll never know it's missing.
LIZ: Guns creep me out.
MAX: Don't worry, it's not loaded. Here, hold it.
Liz picks it up. Holds it. Looks at him, this just feels wrong to her.
Why do we need this?
MAX: Road trip.

It's too bad they didn't do more with this. Max obviously must have taken the gun from Valenti's home when he was searching through Tess's belongings. Valenti did have a gun cabinet in the house (from Destiny). However, the gun, being registered, would have been easily traced back to Valenti. Wouldn't it have been interesting to see how Valenti reacted and how the armed robbery would have dragged him into the picture?

In a blue version of the script dated 7/26/01, we learn more about Nancy Parker's feelings about Liz & Max's relationship. In an expanded scene in the Utah Sheriff's station, we see Nancy's concern in her conversation with Diane Evans.

Careful, it's not exactly Starbucks.
DIANE: I need something. I haven't slept since we got the phone call.
NANCY: Tell me about it. I feel numb.
DIANE: Yeah. How's Liz doing?
NANCY: Who knows? She's barely talking to us.
DIANE: Nancy, this is going to be okay. I mean, I know they didn't do this. They wouldn't have. Philip's a good lawyer. He'll get this out of this.
NANCY: I hope so. (musing) God, the way she refused to talk to us. It's like she's been brainwashed or something.
DIANE (her guard goes up): Brainwashed? You mean by Max?
NANCY: No ... I mean, I don't know what to think, You have to understand that before Liz met Max she was a different person. She was the top student in her class.
DIANE: Max wasn't knocking over convenience stores either, Nancy.
NANCY: I know, I know. I didn't mean to ... It's just confusing.

This indicates that their parents were paying more attention to what was going on than we ever got to see. It also shows that Liz's attention to her school work was slipping. Interestingly though, by "Graduation", she was back to the top of her class (she was the only student wearing a cord). Ironically, neither parent equates Alex's death as a possible source of behavioral changes in Max or Liz. I think both parents would have been afraid of such changes to someone they were both close to.
Two other important things ... The Parkers evidently felt the Evans' bore some responsibility for how Max was influencing Liz prior to the armed robbery. This has been brewing for some time behind the scenes, yet never really touched on. "Busted" brings it out in the open. It's brought out more in the cut line between Jeff Parker & Phillip Evans, after Liz's case is transferred to criminal cours. Jeff Parker says to Phillip, "We trusted you."
And this appears to be the first time that brainwashing has apparently been used in connection with Liz. This could add credibility to the idea that Tess never left and may have been mindwarping Liz. While I think that is really a stretch, it does open the possibility.