Lesson plan:

This episode raises issues about grief, dealing with loss and letting go of the past in order to get on with the future. Play the tape up to the point of the exchange between Nikki and Tony Masters. Write their dialogue on the board:
"Some things are best left alone" (Tony)
"Or worked out once and for all" (Nikki)

Have the class discuss the possible meanings of these two phrases and their own reactions to the points of view expressed in them.

• What sorts of things are best left alone?
• When is it advisable to confront an issue?
  

Encourage students to draw from and share their own experiences of comparable situations when they have decided to 'leave things alone.' Watch the rest of the tape and then come back to these issues after viewing. Where did the students' sympathies lie? Do they accept the solution to grief adopted by Mike and his Dad?

Analyse a narrative device - passing of time

The sequences on the lake are useful for looking at how time is manipulated in film. Establish with the students the filmmaker's problem - how to show that the event took many hours although it lasts only a few minutes on film. Play the sequence and ask students to note the number of different locations and the order in which they are connected. They should be able to recognise that the sequence uses only three locations - underwater, in the boat, and the diver surfacing. Each sequence would have been shot independently and then edited together. The grid map acts as a timer, as each square is filled in the viewer recognises that time has passed.

Analyse the importance of sound in film

The flight simulator sequence demonstrates the importance of sound in establishing mood. Play the sequence with the sound turned off. Ask students to comment on the impact of the scene. Play it again with the sound up and compare their reactions.

Draw a storyboard

This episode has a classic plot structure - introduction, conflict, rising action, climax, denouement and conclusion. Write these plot elements on the board and ask students to identify the matching sequences in the episode. The flight simulator sequence performs the function of a flashback in that past events are recalled for the audience. The filmmaker could have chosen to insert a visual flashback at this point but instead chose to suggest past events through the soundtrack. Ask students to explore other alternatives by having them draw a storyboard for a flashback sequence of the plane crash.