Escape to Questworld

Escape to Questworld is the second episode of the first season of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest.

Premise
Jeremiah Surd's nerve gas is uncovered and will cover all of Chicago if Race and Dr. Quest don't diffuse the bomb in time. The kids locate Surd, who's now quadriplegic, and try bargaining his help with the virtual Questworld, but he double crosses them and begins his take over of digital space.

Teaser
Chicago, c. August 1978. 2:45 AM, Race answers the phone and speaks with Jeremiah Surd, who is disgruntled that the government has cut his funding. Race is negotiating to give Surd ten million dollars in exchange for him not releasing a toxic nerve gas. Race's team is able to trace the call to Pier 27 on the north side of the city.

Surd is in a ship called the Bella Fortune. Race's team begins to board the ship; Julia alerts Surd, who begins to prepare to release the nerve gas. Julia, Lorenzo, and others take guns to hold of Race's team. Race takes out Julia and Lorenzo and confronts Surd. Race's team drop in and shoot Surd.

Act 1
Chicago, present day. An old building is being demolished. A wrecking ball damages a container, releasing a toxic gas that affects the crew.

Quest Compound, Maine. Commander Bennett contacts Race because he knows Surd best. Surd died about 20 years earlier but they were never able to locate his nerve gas, until now. Race suggests getting Sims instead, but Sims is dead along with five construction crew members. The nerve gas is contained in a dome, but it's only temporary. Race sighs. He and the Quest Team depart to Chicago.

In hazmat suits, Race and Benton enter the container dome. Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji assist them remotely, looking for any old files such as schematics or blueprints to the laboratory that might help them. Race and Benton trigger a trap that locks them inside and releases more gas into the room. They're safe for the time being, but Bennett tells them that their suits will only last 22 hours, and the trap has triggered a countdown that will presumably set off explosions and release the gas into the city.

Jessie, Jonny, and Hadji begin looking into Surd. They find his death certificate, but notice that his last hospital transfer record is dated five months after his alleged death. Surd was last transferred to Bell Isle Institute For The Insane in January 1979.

The three go to the institute. There's a thunderstorm, so to get in, they turn off the power and sneak into Surd's room. He's quadriplegic from being shot in 1978. The three introduce themselves, and Surd realizes that they're there for help for their fathers, which has been on the news all day and interrupting Scooby-Doo. Jonny offers Surd access to QuestWorld in exchange for saving their fathers.

The team breaks Surd out of prison, taking him back to their Maine compound to allow him to experience QuestWorld in full. While in the system, Surd makes a call to Julia and gives her instructions. When the team notices that Surd's accessed a phone line, they cut his access and hold him to keep his side of the deal.

Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji call Benton and Race, giving them Surd's instructions on what to do to disable the bomb. But when they cut the indicated wire, there's an explosion. Surd lied to them. As Surd laughs, the door is broken down and tear gas is thrown in the room.

Act 2
During the attack, Julia and her team fight Jonny and escape with Surd.

In Chicago, Benton and Race are okay, but Race's suit has torn. Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji contact them just as Benton seals Race's suit with tape. They only have eight hours left on the timer. Hadji notices that Surd has stolen their portable QuestWorld system.

Jonny and Jessie go into QuestWorld to track Surd. In QuestWorld, Surd is altering the program and has taken control of it. Hadji pulls Jessie and Jonny out of the program. Jessie has a bruise on her arm, showing that Surd has altered the programming to inflict physical harm.

Commander Bennett checks in with Race. They only have four hours left.

Jonny and Jessie go back into QuestWorld. They set off a sonic detonator in Surd's design, forcing Surd to log out, and giving Hadji the time to find the backdoor that Surd's been using.

Surd logs back into QuestWorld, and the team traces his location as heading south on I-95, which is 50 miles away from them. Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji confront Surd.

With a minute left, Jonny relays Surd's instructions to Benton and Race. Between two wires, Surd tells them to cut the orange wire, but Race stops him and tells Benton to cute the blue one instead since he doesn't trust Surd. Jonny believes Surd is telling the truth. Benton cuts the blue wire and there's an explosion. The truck they're in begins moving and they fight with Lorenzo, and Jonny, Jessie, and Hadji jump onto the road. They pick up their phone to hear Benton talking to them; he and Race are okay and the bomb is defused. Jonny jokes that he's glad that his father didn't listen to him this time.

Characters
Main characters:
 * Jonny Quest
 * Hadji Singh
 * Jessie Bannon
 * Dr. Benton Quest
 * Race Bannon

Supporting characters:
 * Commander Bennett

Villains:
 * Dr. Jeremiah Surd
 * Julia
 * Lorenzo

Other characters:
 * Sims

Locations

 * Chicago, Illinois
 * Belle Isle Institute for the Insane
 * Pentagon
 * Maine
 * Quest Compound
 * I-95
 * Big Al's
 * The White House
 * Questworld

Objects

 * Questworld portable computer
 * Questworld chairs
 * Questworld visor

Vehicles

 * Bella Fortuna
 * Dinghy
 * Power sled
 * Quest jet

Notes/trivia

 * There isn't a Quest Byte.
 * Michael Ryan is also credited for script polishing.
 * Race starting as a cop in Illinois makes sense, as the original series episode Double Danger mentioned he was born from there.
 * Surd mentions flippantly about watching Scooby-Doo, another Hanna-Barbera cartoon that was played on the same stations as Real Adventures. Coincidently, Surd was voiced by veteran voice actor Frank Welker, who had played the character of Fred Jones in every Scooby-Doo cartoon (except for A Pup Named Scooby-Doo) since the original cartoon in 1969.

Goofs

 * The flashback is set in 1978, presumably as a retcon, yet the reality of this means very little as Race, Lorenzo, and perhaps even Julia, haven't aged the same rate as Surd.
 * In the flashback, Surd might refer to Race by the name "Ben"; he alternatively might be saying "then". In the original series, Race's real name is Roger, and in the second season of Real Adventures, it is also Roger.
 * Hadji says that the facility where Surd was sent is called "Belle Isle Institute for the Insane", while the sign above the gate reads "Belle Isle Asylum".
 * When they log Surd into Questworld at the asylum, the image on the laptop is the "JQ" symbol that's used for the show, rather than the "Q" symbol used in-universe for Dr. Quest's equipment.
 * After Surd is logged out of Questworld, a closeup shows that he does not have the Questworld visor ear pierce on, but a moment later it's back on for Jessie to remove.
 * When Dr. Quest and Race are locked in the compromised room, a timer starts counting down from 24 hours. Bennett tells them that they have only 22 hours until their suits are compromised. But they remain in the room for the full 24 hours, 2 hours past when their suits would be compromised.

Home media

 * 🇺🇸 The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest: Season One, Volume One DVD set released on February 17, 2009 by Warner Home Video.