WARNING: This treatment contains a full description of the plot including all spoilers

Arial views over London, buses driving over London bridges.

Dominick's face in the glow of his crafts instrument lights.

The title music “Are there somewhere Islands (You Better Believe It Babe)” plays over the images and title credits.

Dominick has returned late from a journey to the “flipside” - the past. He is a “Corro”, someone who reports on what happened in the past, analysing every trivial detail.

Dominick's job is to report on the bus Transport in London in the 1980s.

Alaric, who looks after Dominick's craft and runs his missions for him from the present tells Dominick that Caleb, their boss, want to see him.

Dominick enters Caleb's office. Caleb reprimands Dominick for returning late. “Are you getting complacent, Dominick”, Caleb asks. Dominick enthuses about what he saw, the buses and the people. Caleb tells him that it's not his job to watch people. “if you want to study people, watch old films”.

Dominick goes home to Ava, his wife. Ava tells him he must be careful when he is on the flipside. She tells him about a “Tom Cook” (i.e. Thomas Cook) traveller who tried to get out of a time craft when visiting the Olympics in 1936.

A message comes in on their wall sized video-phone screen from Dominick's mother. She says that Aunt Mavis has found details of Dominick's Great Grandma and her son, his Grandfather, also called Dominick. She knows she has some video somewhere. The Great Grandma was living in London 1980s, somewhere called Port Beal.

Alaric comes round with his latest girlfriend. Quietly Dominick tells him that he must land on the flipside. Alaric reminds him that it is forbidden, and talks about Eddie Cochrane, who killed a dog on the flipside. Becuase the dog died it couldn't raise an alarm, so an architect died, and all his “future” buildings fell down. Thousands died.

Alaric concedes, and tells Dominick he has masked the trip from Caleb, and gives Dominick a hat for protection from the UV rays.

Dominick's saucer lands on some disused ground. As he crawls under fence a fence he meets a policeman who tells him to be off home.

Outside a pub he meets 3 youths. He asks them where Port Beal is, they interpret interpret Port Beal as Portobello, and give him an A to Z ( a London street directory) to help him find it.

Arriving back, Dominick shows Alaric the A to Z, but it disintegrates, having suddenly “aged” hundreds of years.

At home Ava is just back from playing zero-G volleyball, and listening to holo images of a guitarists playing Beetles numbers in a classical style. They go to bed.

Dominick lands again, in a fun fair. He walks down Portobello Road looking for some sign of his ancestors. He stops a passerby, Jim, and asks for Dominick Hide. He says is a “cousin”. Jim calls out, someone says “he's over there”, and Dominick is pointed to someone - who is of course the wrong person.

Dominick refinds Jim, and follows him into a shop.

The shops owner, Jane, is playing with some kittens. Jane tells Dominick that the person he's look for isn't there. Dominick doesn't go. Jane asks Jim about Dominick.

Approaching Dominick, she feels his suit and asks Dominick about the material. He says he bought it in Dakota.

Jim takes Dominick down the pub. Felix (an economist) and Midge (his girlfriend) arrive. Jim asks Dominick his first name, Dominick looks up sees a gin bottle and says Gilbey (a brand of Gin).

Jane arrives. Dominick gets Jane a drink, but has no money. He walks away without paying. A rose seller comes in, Dominick says he wants one, Jane buys him one. “We dont have these in Rayners lane” he says. Then he says “Must go - another flip”, and abruptly leaves.

“Who was the rose for”, asks Jane

Back at the funfair the owner, Harry Shoe, thinks has been sent by Barney. Dominick says he wants some money, and Harry gives him £15 - for what he thinks is hire of the saucer. Harry goes to phone to sort things out with Barney, and as he does so Dominick flies away.

Dominick gives Ava the rose in clear box, he tells hers it's “150 yrs old”, and that she must never open it or it'll wither and die. He tells Ava he's landed, twice. Ava upset he's broken rules. He says he has friends on the flipside. It's “not our function to seek knowledge - we're not trained for it”, she says. “Do you wish to be reprogrammed” she asks.

Dominick walks into Jane's office. He thinks thinks Jane's been looking for his cousin. She says she hasn't. She looks up in phone book, she finds a DA Hide in Maida Vale, but when they phone that's a Donald.

He tells Jane he's looking for “Great Aunt Mavis's long lost Grandson”, and that Great Aunt Mavis lives in Hemel Hempstead.

Jane asks Dominick to help close up and get stuff to flat - just round the corner. Once there she asks Dominick to make her coffee whilst she has a bath. Dominick hunts around the kitchen, finds the Nescafe, but when told to put two spoonfuls in he puts 2 tablespoons in. Jim rings, hears the noise of someone else there, Jane says that the “celibate priest” is there.

Dominick gives up and says he can't make coffee, so Jane shows him how to use kettle. As Jane goes to the bath Dominick looks through mail, and notices a calendar showing a picture of Quito, Ecuador. When the kettle boils he's not quite sure what to do. Coffee made he walks into bathroom, oblivious to the fact that Jane is naked in the bath. Jane asks him to wait outside, and when asked if she minds him being there she says she does mind “actually”.

Dressed, Jane asks him where he is from - “Quito” he says remembering the calendar. He also “agrees” that he is church man. Dominick suggests they go to supper, saying that he now “has P's” (i.e. money).

At the restaurant they are talking, a guitar player plays the Beetles quietly in the background. Jane says she doesn't believe in god. “Few do, they mostly live in woods and sing old songs” replies Dominick. Then abruptly he says must go, and that no she can't come. “Who says?” asks Jane, “Great Aunt Mavis?”. “Yes” says Dominick. As he walks up to go he walks straight into the guitar player (which he assumed was a holo projection).

Jane chases him out. “Will I see you again?” she asks. “Yes” he says, and kisses her goodbye.

Returning, Caleb is waiting. Dominick's on time. But Caleb says that Dominick made the “return” at 12,000 ft - too low. Caleb tells him not too do it again, and that the 1980s “saucer sightings” were are due to corros making themselves visible as they make the return. “Of course” says Dominick - a give away 1980s phrase. “Cricket on Sunday?” asks Caleb.

At home Dominick is watching old cine of a boy on beach. With his mother and Great Aunt they are trying to make out the legend on the boys T shirt. “Olympics” 198? 196?“. “Did you ever make footprints in the sand” Dominick asks Mavis. And “what's the point of making sandcastles” asks?

<img src=“http://www.converj.com/sites/flipside/images/janeson.jpg” width=200>

Dominick says he assumed that the other Dominick was grown up. Mavis says that his Great Great Grandfather grew up to make millions of pounds making swimpools and jacuzzi during the health care boom. She says he may not have survived holocaust of 1999. Dominick says that they are not allowed to flip there. He promises his mother that he's not doing anything silly.

In response to a question Dominick says “No actually”. Mavis picks up on this anachronism. Dominick leans over and discretely gives Mavis a yellow rose in a box which “bloomed 35 yrs before you were born”.

Dominick flips again back to Jane's house and finds her birthday party in progress. Felix jokingly says its her 65th, Dominick believes him.

Then Jim announces that he has found Dominicks's long lost cousin - and introduces a young man to him. They start talking, the man asks if Mavis sent Dominick, Dominick is overjoyed, but the man can't keep a straight face. He's really Carl Morgan, a mate of Jim's. Dominick and Jane don't get the joke.

Back in the “present” Ava asks SOO - the house computer - where Dominick is.

She is looking at the Rose. SOO scans Rose, but says she can't answer. Ava opens the box, sniffs the rose's beautiful sent, but then watches it whither and die.

Its after the party, just Dominick and Jane left. Jane apologises for the air freshener she's spraying and the cigarettes. Dominick says they are forbidden, and she musn't use them. Jane asks Dominick to kiss her, “and there are some things that you simply must obey” she says.

Dominick says he must go first light. They kiss. “Thank you, again, without light”. Dominick falls over the clutter. “So many things”. He says, then adds “Do you wish for sex?”. Yes, says Jane. “Then I'll take my shower”, says, Dominick. Jane is fascinated by the clothes and fastenings (wrap around shirts) as Dominick undresses.

It's Sunday morning. Dominick oversleeps. The clock moves from 4.30am to 8.30am. Dominick wakes, dresses. He's panicking, he's too late. Jane wakes up, says she's fed up with Dominick's job, the way he has to keep rushing off. “What is he, head of the secret service?”.

“After this I've no idea”

Dominick rushes out.

“Don't I even get a kiss”.

Dominick gets to the funfair - buts its gone. Someone tells him the fair and saucer are on their way to Herne Bay. Dominick see the saucer and lorry disappear over a flyover.

Dominick returns to a surprised Jane and says “let's go to Herne Bay”.

There's a montage of them driving through a seaside town (actually Swanage in Dorset, not Herne Bay), and then walking through dunes and beach ( Studland, between Swanage and Poole).

Dominick says he wont paddle in the sea. It's “forbidden”. They watch a seagull - Dominick is entranced.

Jane says she just wants her shop and stable man. She's getting fed up with Dominick's “mock” naivety.

“Let's go to the fair” says Dominick.

At the fairground Dominick meets up with Harry. Harry is overjoyed at the popularity of the saucer, and gives him the money for saucer. Jane realises only reason they are in Herne Bay was for saucer. She storms off.

Dominick chases after her. He suggests they could stay the night. Jane suggests they “could have a dirty weekend in a guest house”.

Morning. Jane wakes up, the teddy they'd won has a note under its arm. Money. £15.

Dominick flies away.

Dominick arrives back, panicking. Alaric calms him. It's Caleb's annual flipside trip to see Moses and the 10 commandments.

Ava has spoken to Alaric about Dominick's trips. “No more landings, thought I'd lost you” warns Alaric.

Dominic goes back to Ava. She's in bed, worrying. Dominick says it was a machine fault.

Dominick sees the empty rose box. He tries to tell her about the sea, the gulls, but she's trying not to listen. Ava calls up sea video on the wall screen. She says that they can't go to the sea. She says there are “tours in Cornwall”, but you're “not encouraged to step in it”.

Dominick is getting passionate, he throws Ava's tea tray away.

“SOO - seaside” - says Ava

“She can't help. You smelt the rose”

“I'm not - composed” - says Ava, trying to resist Dominick's advances.

“It's our fault - you shouldn't be” - says Dominick

As they start Ava says “You've done this with another”. “She's different” says Dominick

–

Back in the 1980s, Jim and the gang lament Dominick, Jane is sad, staring into space.

Ava talks to Alaric on the videophone. He says that Dominick's trips are over. He also introduces his new partner.

The gang are watching a TV programme on saucers. Jim talks about a newspaper report of a saucer landing by a pub a few days ago (Dominick's first landing).

Dominick walks in and sees the video of own saucer. In the corner there's a bloke doing the pools. Dominick walks over to the gang with drinks. Jane is pleased to see him.

Dominick asks “Pools? Jacuzzis?”.

Felix talks about war - Dominick says that there'll be a war in 1999 “you must be out of London then. South America wont recover - London will”.

He also says that “Midge and Felix will have home, money and babies.”

Jane walks out, Dominick chases. He accidentally knocks a pushchair which begins to roll into path of a truck but is stopped just in time.

Dominick is shocked. The stories of the Berlin Olympics and Eddie Cochrane come flooding back to him.

In Jane's flat, Dominick says he wants to tell the truth, but she isn't listening.

“I love you” he says.

“I come from the future, The year 2130”, says Dominick. He tells Jane the whole story, Eddie Cochrane and all.

“But you give me such life, vitality” he tells her. “There's so much we've lost”.

Jane is trying to block all this out.

He tells her that he isn't allowed back, but wanted to say goodbye. He couldn't find a safe place to land until today, when he saw that the fairground was back. He wants to say goodbye.

Jane finally bursts, telling him to “just piss off”, and storms into bathroom.

“It's the truth” pleads Dominick

She throws open the door. “You want the truth - I'm pregnant” says Jane.

Dominick storms back to the “present” and into Caleb's office.

It was “all a set up, 1 in a million”, explains Caleb.

“Your Great Grandfather was born 1981, or should have been, and now will be”.

He explains that they had “scanned ahead” to ensure that there would be no problems while Dominick went back to “ensure” his own existence.

“I must see her again, to provide for her and my son” - demands Dominick

“Not granted - officially” says Caleb with a wink.

“Dominick - do come back - wont you”

Jane is doing her hair. Dominick walks in with roses.

“You're 3 months early” she says

“They're for my great great grandmother” he says, meaning Jane.

Jane says she's not sleeping well, “having nightmares, almost believing”.

Dominick says it's all calculated. The baby will be a boy.

“You do pools?” Dominick gets out a paper - next Sundays!

“I can't, its cheating” says Jane. “What's cheating mean?” replies Dominick

Jane says that Jim is doing well selling copies of Dominick's wide brimmed hat.

“Not ??? 0 Spurs 3 - that's impossible” she says, reading the pool's results.

Jane asks if people from other planets also come in flying saucers. “People from other planets come in different containers” he says.

“There's so much I want to know” says Jane. She says that Jim asked to marry her, she refused.

Dominick promises “I wont spy on you”.

“Will I ever marry, if I can't marry you?” asks Jane.

Dominick says he can't stay to see the birth and the baby. He can only stay til tonight. Jane says she will believe everything if she can see him take off. They post pools.

That night they go back to the fairground, Dominick powers up the saucer and gets in.

What shall I call him?” asks Jane

“My name, Dominick, Dominick Hide”.

“Be a good mother”

Dominick closes the lid, and flies away.

The theme music starts, pictures of the beach, and then Jane filming her son, Dominick, the same film as Dominick had watched as cinefilm.

The credits roll

Another beach, another time. Ava and Dominick and their son.