Big Miracle Page #7

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to lick my eye!

- Yeah?

- Yeah.

- Yeah?

- Yeah!

All right!

Now whatever you do,

you don't blink!

Yeah!

That got

a little weird!

Whoo!

Oh, God.

You got it?

Let's go to the other side of the ice.

Get the shot

looking back.

Right here.

In three, two...

Okay.

The temperature, minus 50.

The situation, critical.

The three mighty leviathans,

a family on the brink.

With ice,

aggressive and merciless,

easily outpacing the heroic

rescuers struggling to clear it,

their only hope now,

one last ditch effort

by two mystery men

from Minnesota

and their homemade

de-icing machines.

You ready?

Yeah!

It's safe, right? They're

not going to get electrocuted?

Good question.

Okay.

Yeah.

Is this

going to work?

Hell if I know, Rachel.

I'll take

the Breakfast Burrito.

All right. That will come with

a side of reindeer sausage.

Mine won't.

Okay.

From panicked to playful.

The hum of motors

inside these strange boxes

is the sound of salvation.

For, in dramatic fashion,

these odd machines have

turned what might have been

a dark, watery Arctic grave

into a bubbling Jacuzzi.

How the hell did

they get that story?

This is Jill Jerard with

Adam Carlson, Barrow, Alaska.

Well, I was just doing my job, but

I'm glad that you enjoyed it, Ed.

Peter Jennings said that?

It's going national.

Yes, sir.

He is. He's right here.

My producer

wants to talk to you.

Adam Carlson.

Thank you, sir.

Well, we were...

I've actually been

in Alaska for four years, now.

Before that, I...

Yes.

I would absolutely

love to send you my reel.

Thank you, sir.

Yeah.

Thank...

Oh, my God.

We make

a pretty good team.

I think we do.

I think we do.

My absolute favorite whale

is the mommy, Wilma,

because she's a gentle mommy that loves

and cares for her cute little baby.

And that must mean

she has a big heart.

She also has big lungs.

I mean, look how long

she can stay underwater.

And she's huge!

I hope they make it

to freedom.

Thank you, Shayna,

for the seventh report

about the whales today.

Who would like to talk about

something else?

All right.

Who wants to do the next

report on the whales?

Who will win in Alaska,

the ice or the whales?

Experts now fear

for Bamm-Bamm...

You have a phone call,

Mr. McGraw.

Here we go.

Thank you.

Hey.

McGraw.

Hello, Colonel.

How are you doing?

We're all waiting

for you up here.

It what?

We have just received news

that the hover barge will

not be arriving in Barrow.

Not now, not ever.

The massive craft careened

into an Arctic pothole,

even bigger

than the barge itself,

nearly causing a midair

collision between the two sky cranes

tasked with pulling it.

Colonel, why didn't

you tell the President

how badly the rescue

was going when he called?

Did you deliberately mislead

your Commander in Chief?

Ma'am, we took on

a monumental challenge

in a difficult

work environment.

Our immediate goal was

the delivery of the barge

and now it's obvious

that we lost that battle.

But there's still

a mission to complete.

The National Guard isn't going to stop

fighting until those whales are free.

Thank you.

We all tried our hardest.

I'm proud of you guys.

I want you to clear out.

Go find yourself some chow.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Those guys set me up.

This is the worst day

of my life!

You know, they can take

that out of your pay.

Kelly?

I was in the neighborhood.

If I'd known

you were this pretty,

I would have returned that first

phone call of yours right away.

So, does my Commander in Chief

have a Plan B, by any chance?

I was hoping

you'd have one for us.

We need to make a

path out to the open water.

Otherwise, the whales

will die here waiting.

Let's start cutting

holes every 60 feet.

But what makes you think

they're going to follow our path?

We have no choice

but to try.

The struggle to save three

gray whales took an unexpected turn

as local Eskimos

began the daunting task

of cutting a path of breathing

holes, five miles long.

Their hope, to lure

the whales to open water.

There appears to be no other

option for the trapped whales

and to many, the Eskimos'

audacious plan seems insane.

But with a few chainsaws

and a prayer,

hopefully, these three unfortunate

giants will be free again soon.

Mr. President, I was

assured by Alaska Northern

that the barge

was a viable option.

We're doing all we can to minimize

your exposure on this thing.

Uh-huh.

Sir, the press has been all over

us about some Soviet icebreaker.

We told them

it's a no-go.

No, maybe we should

consider it.

Gorbachev's been telling us to

trust him on this glasnost thing.

This might be

a good first step.

Well, I like

Mr. Gorbachev

but I am not ready to

play the trust card.

Not for this.

Gentlemen,

if you'll excuse me, please.

Ladies and gentlemen,

the President

of the United States.

USSR Admiral Arsenyev,

Bering Sea

The only available icebreaker

within navigable distance

belongs to the Soviets.

The Presidential candidates

are weighing an opinion.

The Dukakis camp is giving

indications that this is a perfect...

How much you want to bet

they'll call?

How much?

Fifty rubles.

A hundred...

...and bubble gum.

Bubble gum it is.

Why aren't

they moving?

They can't leave

until the baby's better.

The US Government

is not going to let

a Russian icebreaker

come and save the day.

Neither am I.

Who knows

if they would even come?

Please, they'd all come for the

same reasons that you're doing this.

Good PR.

Excuse me, young lady,

but this is no PR stunt.

I'm in for $2 million

for gas and equipment.

And I care about those

whales, just as much as you do.

Maybe even more so.

What the hell is

that supposed to mean?

It means that J.W.

is spending his money,

while you're making it

hand over fist.

Yeah, thank you.

Thank you.

Don't act like you're not

piling up on the donations.

Well, we're going to

need every penny

to fight what

you and your boss

have done to the environment

over the last eight years.

Excuse me,

I couldn't hear you

over the sound of the booming

economy and massive job creation.

At the expense

of everything else.

Okay. All right.

And that's why

you're here, right?

To erase

the embarrassing parts

of your record that's not playing

out too well on the campaign trail.

No, she's here to represent the

President of the United States

and so am I.

And if Washington puts a little extra

funding in your budget as a thank you...

I'd be careful

if I were you, miss.

Guys? Guys, the whales.

Let's get back to the whales.

That's why we're here.

It sounds like the only viable

option is to call in the Soviets.

No. No, it's not!

I cannot recommend

that to the President.

It's not going to work.

You think I like

calling the Soviets?

They're some of the worst

whalers in the world.

And now they're

going to come in here

and look like

environmental heroes.

But, as much

as we hate it,

Greenpeace is willing to

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