Village of the Doomed

Village of the Doomed is the fourteenth episode of the second season of The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, and the fortieth overall.

Premise
Out for some father-son bonding over fishing, Dr. Quest and Jonny get stuck in a small town of Wychford where everyone is tranquil and happy.

Teaser
Devon, England. Benton is driving Jonny out for some father-son bonding over fly fishing. A man leaps onto the hood of the car and punches the windshield. They swerve off the road, crashing into a tree, and Benton is knocked out. The enraged man attacks Jonny, who fights back and runs from him. Jonny trips, and the man catches up to him, raising a large piece of wood to strike him.

Act 1
The man attacking Jonny is hit with a taser gun and collapses next to Jonny on the ground, and Jonny sees a small bandage on the back of the man's neck. The two men who tasered Jonny's attacker pick up the man, calling him Mr. Innes and telling Jonny that he's "an escaped mental patient." Jonny goes back to check on his father, who's dazed but conscious. The two men offer to give them a ride to the clinic and send a tow truck for their car.

Smallwood Clinic in Wychford. Benton is checked out by Dr. Hugh Smallwood, who tells him theirs is a peaceful town, and the nurse Miss Holloway agrees, saying no one ever wants to leave. Dr. Smallwood says there's good fishing and recommends they stay at the Wychford Arms.

After Benton and Jonny leave the clinic, Dr. Smallwood and Nurse Holloway go to tend to Mr. Innes. He pulls off the bandage from the back of Innes's neck, revealing a computer chip marked 9055, and removes it say it's "another malfunction." He has the two men who brought him take Innes "back to Mr. Darcy at the plant."

The Wychford Arms hotel. Mrs. Cadbury signs them in and gets them two rooms. Jonny takes a liking to her dog Winston. As Jonny and Benton go to get their gear from the car, Jonny calls to Winston, who comes running after him.

Wychford Garage. The car is being assessed, and the mechanic tells Benton it'll take a few days for the necessary parts to come down from London to get the car running again. Benton is glad to hear this, since they can get some fishing done. Jonny and Benton get their gear from the car.

Benton and Jonny go fishing in the river, and Winston accompanies them. Benton asks Jonny if he needs help, but Jonny says that Race already taught him when they went fishing in Montana. A fish takes the bait on Benton's line, and Jonny teases him asking if he needs help, but Benton says no, since Race taught him when they went fishing in Alaska. They net the fish.

Jonny's line catches on a branch so he steps out of the river to untangle it. He's by a road, and a man rides by on a bicycle. The man smiles and greets him "afternoon," but Jonny notices that it's Mr. Innes. Jonny walks up the path past a "keep out" sign to find a building with a large transmitter on the roof. A man tells him that's he's on private property and to leave. Jonny does so. Inside the building, a group of men watch him on surveillance footage.

When Jonny gets back, Benton's left him a note that he's gone to speak with Dr. Smallwood. Jonny heads back to the hotel and throws a stick for Winston, who knocks himself on a tree. Elsewhere, in a surveillance room, a chip malfunction is alerted and they send men to retrieve Winston. On the road, Winston begins growling at Jonny and foaming at the mouth. Jonny runs and locks himself in a shed, but Winston breaks through the door. He leaps at Jonny, who blocks him by getting a handle in Winston's mouth.

Act 2
As Jonny and Winston struggle, Jonny notices the bandage on the back of Winston's neck, and he pulls it off and removes the chip. Winston stops attacking him and runs back out of the shed.

Outside, Winston is tranquilized by the men sent to retrieve him, and they notice that Winston's chip is missing. One of the men, Moffat, takes a call and reports back. Jonny stays hidden, watching the men take Winston back to their van. He looks at the chip marked 9055.

At the clinic, Dr. Smallwood tells Dr. Quest about his chip and his plans to use it to make the world better and non-violent. Benton is concerned that it sounds like mind control. Smallwood reveals that the man who attacked him and Jonny was in the control group, and he wants Dr. Quest's help to fix it, and Benton says it's wrong and he'll inform the authorities. Darcy and another man arrive with guns to stop him.

Jonny runs back to the Wychford Arms. He tells Mrs. Cadbury about Winston, but she's not bothered about it. Jonny stops trying to get her to understand when he sees the bandage on the back of her neck. Jonny goes to the clinic where Nurse Holloway tell him that Benton and Smallwood are out, and he leaves after noticing the bandage on her neck. Outside, he sees one of the mechanics from the garage who tells him that it might be another week before their car is ready, and the man also has the bandage.

Jonny goes back to the hotel where he hooks up the 9055 chip to his computer and uses Questworld to scan it. Iris says "it appears to be synthetic neurotransmitter circuitry, microwave controlled cerebral cortex stimulation." Jonny realizes the transmitter on the roof of the building he saw earlier is where the controlling microwaves are coming from. Iris also says that chip will cause passivity and tranquility, and Jonny recalls what Smallwood said about the town being tranquil. Iris assesses that the aggression is also built into the chip. Jonny wonders aloud, "Why?"

He's answered by his father who asks if he's ready for dinner, and Jonny logs out of Questworld. Jonny starts telling his dad about the chip, but Benton responds oddly, saying Wychford is a wonderful place and he's thinking of staying. Jonny sees the bandage on the back of his father's neck as he heads for dinner. Jonny tries to stop him, but he's attacked by two men with taser guns. Jonny dodges the attack and runs, escaping out of a window.

At the surveillance center, "pursuit attack mode" is initiated, and Jonny's likeness is transmitted too everyone in Wychford with a chip. The chipped people turn aggressive and begin looking for Jonny. Darcy informs Smallwood of what he's done to the chips and Smallwood wants him to stop. Jonny escapes on a bike, and tricks two goons to get out of their van to investigate him, and he steals their van.

Benton steps into the road, causing Jonny to swerve and crash. He gets the van going again, but Benton jumps on the back and gets into the van. Jonny slams on the breaks, causing Benton to fall forward, and he pulls the chip off his father's neck. They run for it.

At the control center, they see that Dr. Quest's chip has gone offline. They send out the order to pursue Dr. Quest as well.

Jonny and Benton run to the building with the transmitter and plan to shut down the transmitter. They get onto the roof, but they're chased. Benton holds off their pursuers as Jonny tries to shut down the transmitter, but they're overrun and stopped before Jonny can complete it. Darcy confronts them, and Dr. Quest realizes he changed Smallwood's chip, and Darcy admits he did it for profit. Jonny breaks free and pulls the last plug on the transmitter, and the people come to their senses. They taser Darcy.

New day, Wychford Garage. Their car repairs are done. The mechanic Quentin mentions that thinking of Dr. Smallwood makes him angry, and Benton says that's a normal emotion. Across the street, Mrs. Cadbury shoos Winston out, chastising him for coming in with muddy paws. Mr. Innes rides by and uncheerfully says it looks like rain. The town is back to normal.

Benton and Jonny decide to stay a few more day and get some more fishing done. Winston happily runs after them.

Characters
Main characters:
 * Jonny Quest
 * Dr. Benton Quest

Supporting characters:
 * None

Villains:
 * Dr. Hugh Smallwood
 * Darcy
 * Darcy's lackeys:
 * Moffat
 * Greene
 * Trench
 * Hunters 1 & 2
 * Techies 1 & 2
 * Mind-controlled residents:
 * Mr. Innes
 * Miss Holloway
 * Mrs. Cadbury
 * Winston
 * Quentin

Other characters:
 * Bandit
 * Race Bannon
 * Iris

Locations

 * England
 * Devon
 * Wychford
 * Smallwood Clinic
 * Wychford Arms
 * Wychford Garage
 * Institute
 * London
 * Montana
 * Alaska
 * Questworld

Objects

 * Chip 9055
 * VR headgear
 * Jonny's laptop

Vehicles

 * Dr. Quest's car
 * Dragonfly

Notes/trivia

 * Hadji, Race, Bandit, and Jessie are absent.
 * There is no Quest Byte.
 * The number on the malfunctioning chips is 9055.

Goofs and inconsistencies:
 * When Winston's chip malfunctions he crouches and growls; when he lifts his head, there should be a shadow beneath him from his body, but his shadow remains outlined where his face used to be. When he leans slightly to the left, the shadow again doesn't follow him, leaving an open light next to his paw on the left and the shadow overlaps his paw on the right.
 * Jonny asks his father, "Doesn't it feel weird driving on the wrong side of the road?" and Dr. Quest responds, "A little," as though he's not used to it. But Dr. Quest has driven on the "wrong" side of the road before, such as in Ndovu's Last Journey. Additionally in that episode, Dr. Quest drives a Quest Rover, indicating that the Quest team drives on that side of the road enough to have a customized Quest vehicle just for doing so.
 * After his visit, Dr. Quest asks Dr. Smallwood, "What do I owe you?" and Dr. Smallwood says not to mention it, implying he's waiving a fee. But healthcare in the UK is free.

Home media

 * 🇺🇸 The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest: The Complete Second Season DVD set released on November 10, 2015 by Warner Archive Collection.