Where to begin. . . by Cybersnark

OTHER SCIENCE FICTION SERIES

Where to begin. . .

POSTED BY: CYBERSNARK
UPDATED: Saturday, November 17, 2007 17:18
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VIEWED: 2377
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Monday, November 12, 2007 12:56 PM

I'm stumped by a script, so here I am to throw ideas around.

I know what form the script will take; it's a dark-fantasy action series (like Buffy, Angel, Supernatural, or The Collector), set present-day. I've built the world, populated it with characters (both older, played by established, marketable actors, and younger, played by the less-experienced Beautiful People), and figured out the conspiracy that'll slowly be revealed through the series. This likely won't be produceable, BTW, it's just another portfolio piece.

Only problem is that my lead character (Alex) is Ordinary Guy (like Xander if he had never met Buffy or lived in Sunnydale). He doesn't believe in magic, secret societies, or government conspiracies, and has no curiosity or desire to step out of his comfort zone. He wears a suit, has a steady girlfriend (they're waiting until they have enough saved up to get married), lives in an apartment, works in a cubicle (in fact, he's about to get a big promotion, and his own office), reads the Washington Post, and has Dilbert strips on his bulletin board.

I've been looking to the work of others for inspiration, but I can't really find anything that won't seem derivative.

So, what are some of your favourite "outsider becomes insider" moments from other shows/movies?

Some of mine:
-Xander overhears Buffy & Giles in the library. (Won't work, 'cause Alex would just assume they're talking about a TV show and ignore it.)

-Matt spies on Will, and follows her through a Portal to Meridian (W.I.T.C.H.). (Alex has no reason to follow and spy on anyone. At most, he'd hire a detective or call the police.)

-Simon rescues his sister and goes on the run. (Alex doesn't have any family connection to the Game.)

-Sketchy becomes a tabloid reporter, and discovers Max, Logan, and Alec's collective secret (Dark Angel). (Alex is not interested in tabloid journalism.)

-Elisa investigates a battle at Xanatos Enterprises and comes face-to-face with a Gargoyle (Gargoyle). (Alex is not a cop.)

-Dean comes to get Sam after their father goes M.I.A. (Supernatural). (Needs the protagonist to already have been an "insider" before leaving the fold.)

-April is a lab-tech, who gets chased by Mousers and rescued by the Turtles (TMNT). (Again, assumes she had a reason to be involved [via Stockman's labs].)

-April is a reporter who angers the Foot clan and gets rescued by the turtles (TMNT: The Movie). (Again, she brought it on herself, and the turtles went out of their way to save her.)

-Manta takes a shortcut through the cemetary, sees ghosts, blabs about it, and draws the attention of Yoh (Shaman King). (Alex wouldn't take such a shortcut, and wouldn't talk about what he might see.)

-Sakura discovers a strange book in her father's library, and accidentally breaks the seal on the Clow Cards (Cardcaptor Sakura). (Alex isn't that curious.)

-Chuck gets an Email from an old acquaintance, pulling him into the conspiracy (Chuck). (Been done.)

-Winston answers an add in the paper (Ghostbusters). (Thousand-year-old demon-run conspiracies do not advertise their job openings.)

-Sam turns 18, and the contract his parents signed comes into effect (Reaper). (Alex is too old; other people don't make deals for him.)

-Trinity and Morpheus contact Neo, and rescue him from Agents (The Matrix). (Alex has to get himself into the Game --he isn't any kind of "chosen one.")

-Sam buys a car, it turns out to be an alien robot (Transformers). (Again, Sam was chosen beforehand, due to his ancestry.)

-Link (an orphaned Hylian) is raised as a Kokiri, and the Deku tree gives him a quest (LoZ: Ocarina of Time). (Again, Alex isn't "The One.")

-Kagome gets pulled through the Bone-Eater's Well (InuYasha). (Because she was the reincarnation of Kikyo [Chosen One].)

-Apropos kills his friend and unwittingly usurps his destiny (Sir Apropos of Nothing). (Alex is too civilized to murder anyone.)

-Rose (and Martha) get themslves caught up in the Doctor's misadventures (Dr. Who). (The Game takes place far outside of any areas where Alex would reasonably be [sewers, rooftops, back alleys, secret sub-basements, private mansions, the deep forest, etc].)

-Umi, Hikaru, and Fuu are (randomly) transported to Cephiro by Guru Clef (Magic Knight Rayearth). (Those inside the Game have no need to call outside for assistance.)

-A bunch of teens are accidentally transported to a magical kingdom (Dungeons & Dragons). (The Game is far too secretive to allow tour groups.)

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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Monday, November 12, 2007 1:15 PM

RALLEM

Well as Shakespear once said, "There are only forty stories and after that everything is just a copy of those forty stories," [sic]so I wouldn't be too worried about seeming derivative.

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Monday, November 12, 2007 1:59 PM

REGINAROADIE

Well, that is a pretty comprehensive list. But here are three moments that stick out in my mind.

ALIAS - In it's first season, Will spent that first season investigating the death of Sydney's fiancee. By the second last episode, I think, he was in Paris tied to a chair and getting tortured by the bad guys Sydney was tracking. Sydney busts in, takes them all out, Will is just looking in amazement, and then then Sydney looks up.

Will makes eye contact, and then give the funniest gasp/scream I've ever seen and snaps his head back hard enough to probably give him whiplash. It was always one of my favorite moments from the series and a great example of a character int eh dark finally learning everything all at once.

BUFFY - In season 2 when Buffy stakes a vampire on the front porch in front of Joyce, and Joyce finally find out that her daughter is The Slayer. I always loved that turning point between the two of them because you saw a side to Joyce that you wouldn't have if she had been kept in the dark about what her daughter does for the longest time. You saw that even though she knows that her daughter is this super-powered heroine with the task of keeping the creatures of the night at bay, she still treats her like her daughter and is always the concerned parent.

SHREK - Near the end of the movie when Fiona allows herself to transform into an ogre in the church in front of everyone, and then Shrek says "Ah, well...that explains a lot." Great character moment followed by one of the funnier jokes.

**************************************************
"And it starts with a sentence that might last a lifetime, or it all might just go down in flames. If I let you know me, then why would you want me? Each day I don't is a shame. Each day I don't is a great shame."

Loudon Wainwright III - "Strange Weirdos" off the "Knocked Up" soundtrack

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Monday, November 12, 2007 3:16 PM

BLUEBOMBER

Well, first we need to know more about the universe in which Alex exists. It's modern fantasy, sure, but just what does that mean? Are there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose? (Heh, just a little "Train Job" joke, there...) What is the purpose of The Game - and more importantly, its nature? I am also inclined to agree with Rallem, in that I wouldn't worry too much about whether or not it's derivative (cuz it's ALL been done before). As long as it's honest and consistent, and the audience can relate to Alex's motivations and experiences, then no one will mind.

"Mwah ha ha ha...mine is an evil laugh. Now die."

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007 4:38 AM

IMNOTHERE

Well, secret conspiracies (or their front organizations) probably have lots of boring paperwork, ICT support and accountancy work that no self-respecting fantasy character wants to bother with. Perhaps Alex just thinks he's handling the tax returns for an online retailer of fantasy games and goth paraphernalia.

I'm sure that's not original, either.

Wasn't there a Simposns ep. where Homer unwittingly gets job as a gopher at Bond-style supervillian's HQ and foils his world-domination plan through sheer incompetence without ever really realizing what is going on?

Other classics:

This Island Earth - engineer orders some parts, but what arrives are incredibly more compact and efficient than ususal. Noticing that they hadn't arrived from the usual supplier, he gets a catalogue and orders a mysterious device... (the book is better than the MS3K-fodder film!). Obviously not for you, but its still a good setup.

The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Arthur Dent discovers that his best friend is from a small planet in the vicinity of Betelgeuse, and not from Guildford after all. (Don't even mention the film!)

Brazil A bug gets into a machine in the office of Information Retrieval and prints the name "Tuttle" instead of "Buttle" on a form...

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007 6:14 AM

GWEK

There's no completely Ordinary Guy, so maybe he's got a hook that somehow gets him involved.

--Sure, Alex doesn't believe in magic, but maybe he plays a MMORPG to exercise his inner fantasy world, and one of his fellow players lets slip something about how some of it is REAL.

--Or maybe Alex goes to the food court at the local mall every Tuesday because there's this hot chick there for lunch too and he flirts with her. Turns out SHE'S part of something.

--Or smack Alex in the face: No matter how secretive things are, someone screws up somewhere along the line. It's human nature. Tough for Alex to deny magic when a fireball thrown by a troll wizard destroys half his car!

--Might also be worth exploring some of the ideas you've already nixed and saying "Okay, but what IF..."

For example: The Game takes place far outside of any areas where Alex would reasonably be [sewers, rooftops, back alleys, secret sub-basements, private mansions, the deep forest, etc]. Sure, but what if he winds up in one of those places for some crazy reason at the exact wrong time? Maybe his car breaks down, and he winds up taking a short cut through the wrong alley. Or he's invited to a work party and takes a wrong turn and ends up at the wrong private mansion.

Or maybe he's got an interesting hobby or pal: "ordinary" doesn't mean BORING. My friends and I all have pretty "normal" jobs, but periodically like visiting sites from WEIRD NJ magazine. I've been in two different abandoned insane aslyums, for example. But that doesn't prevent me from being engaged to a normal girl or holding down a normal job.

Or: Those inside the Game have no need to call outside for assistance. Sure, they NORMALLY don't, but as I said before, things can always go wrong. Random stuff happens. What if some Game-related fella is leaping from rooftop to rooftop and he screws up and falls? Or gets hit by a car? Or shot as part of an attempted robbery or mugging? Alex can help out, or even simply WITNESS events, and his world is changed forever.

www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007 9:34 AM

PDCHARLES

What happened? He see your face?

Quote:
Originally posted by GWEK:
--Or smack Alex in the face: No matter how secretive things are, someone screws up somewhere along the line. It's human nature. Tough for Alex to deny magic when a fireball thrown by a troll wizard destroys half his car!

I love this method. Take normal guy and put the heat on him in an instant. Maybe the "explosive" event kills his co-worker, friend, lover, etc. causing him to vow to figure out the mystery, magic stuff. He realizes quickly maybe he is not so prepared for the world he lives in. ...and most of his preparations for his "5 minutes ago" reality mean nothing anymore.

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007 10:00 AM

SPACEANJL

Neil Gaiman 'Neverwhere'

Richard Mayhew is a very normal bloke who works in an office in London. He has a boringly normal life and a normal, if scarily efficient, fiancee.

Then he stops to help the victim of a mugging. (He's not a native Londoner, after all; they will cheerfully step over, or on, someone who has fallen flat down an escalator. I had the shoemarks on my nice smart suit to prove it.) His girlfriend will have nothing to do with it, since helping homeless people only means they will bother you for money...

Anyhow, some very...interesting people start to turn up in Richard's life after that. The sort of interesting that make Jules and Vincent look cuddly. And his old job doesn't seem to exist, and nobody from his old life, including his fiancee, seems to remember him. And his landlord lets his flat out to some other people. Even ticket machines and ATM's don't recognise his existence.

And that's how he finds out about London Below. Old Bailey, who keeps pigeons on the roof of St. Paul's. The Rat Speakers, and the Knight's Bridge. The Marquis de Carrabas, Hunter, Mr Croup and Mr Vandemar, the Floating Market, the Black Friars, and the Lady Olympia, oldest of the Seven Sisters. And then there is the Angel Islington...

Brilliant, bonkers and bizarre.

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Tuesday, November 13, 2007 10:52 PM

JEWELSTAITEFAN

I think there are generally 2 option categories.

Out of the blue, like in Pay It Forward when the Jay Mohr reporter gets the car, just out of nowhere, and needs to investigate.

The other is The Chosen. Whether you know it or not, destiny has some root cause for you to follow a path.
What if Neo wasn't the One, but while they were searching for the One, Neo was one of the candidates that didn't bear out.
What if some school friend, or other Alex met in a bar, mistakenly mentioned something they shouldn't have, and now Alex knows something he doesn't realize is improtant, or they just think he knows, or might know. Perhaps like The Man With One Red Shoe, they draw him in under false assumptions, then he is involved.

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Wednesday, November 14, 2007 5:04 AM

GRIZWALD

The girlfriend. If he really loves her, he'll follow her into danger, rescue her, be jealous of her, whatever.

___________________________________________________
High Priestess of Pork and Ag-Related Activities of the MYTHICAL LAND OF IOWA

Click on my profile for my Annoyingly Long List of Firefly Links.

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Saturday, November 17, 2007 11:24 AM

CYBERSNARK

*struggles free of unforseen work-flood*

Quote:
Originally posted by BlueBomber:
Well, first we need to know more about the universe in which Alex exists. It's modern fantasy, sure, but just what does that mean? Are there monkeys? Some terrifying space monkeys maybe got loose? (Heh, just a little "Train Job" joke, there...) What is the purpose of The Game - and more importantly, its nature?

It's kinda a cross between The Lost Room, Dungeons & Dragons (the 80s cartoon, not the regrettable movie), Fight Club (with added magic), and a little bit of Fear Factor (as Lost has a bit of Survivor, and Drive had a bit of The Amazing Race). Also a dash of Lovecraft's Great Old Ones. . .

The Game has been going on for centuries, if not longer. Underneath the surface world, in the hidden places, lies an Underground world. Huge and ancient structures, called Dungeons, are hidden under modern cities, scattered all over the world.

Inside the Dungeons, you can find various items and treasure, most of which confer some minor magical abilities (remember Jack's compass in Pirates, or Sting, Frodo's Orc-detecting sword?). The magic only works inside the Dungeons (or at least, it's supposed to only work there), which is how items can be lost, stolen, or destroyed (and why the Game has remained secret for centuries). New items are constantly appearing inside the Dungeons, but who makes them and who places them there is still a mystery.

There's an international community of collectors, and some of these items can be sold for millions of dollars. You don't think Donald Trump got all his money from sheer business savvy, did you? One good find, and you could be set for life.

Or you could die. To some, it's worth the risk.

Of course, avarice is only one aspect of the Game's allure. The modern world (especially the Western world) is civilized, sterilized, and politically corrected. Ruled by science (that exists mainly to suck all the mystery out of everything), it's as safe as we can make it. There are people who have lived their whole lives without ever experiencing mortal peril. As a certain blond vampire (or a psychotic brunette Slayer) woud point out, once you do experience that kind of terror, it can be a real rush. Addictive, even.

The Game is the ultimate extreme sport. Where else do civilized people --high school students to housewives to businessmen-- get to wield swords, swing across chasms, duel on hanging catwalks, and survive on nothing more than their own skill, wits, and luck?

There are other things in the Dungeons as well, things that can't emerge into the light. Most of them seem like robots (golems, constructs), animals (hell-hounds, wyverns, giant bats, rodents-of-unusual-size), or insects (giant spiders, death-worms), but there are rumours of things living in the deeper levels. Things that were once human, but have since forgotten how to be. This is the fate of players who get lost; many who enter the labyrinths never return.

Who started the game, who created the Dungeons, and who keeps hiding new and more powerful items, is a mystery that has yet to be fully revealed (that's what the rest of the series is for).

Select to view spoiler:

The Dungeons aren't treasure hoards or temples. They're traps, and the treasure is bait.

Magic is a lot like radiation. When you handle mystical artifacts, it gets into you. The Dungeons reek of it. Spend enough time down there, and it begins to change you. Mutate you. This will make you more powerful, but less able to leave, until you forget that you ever were human.

The deepest Dungeons are portals, places where non-corporeal beings can emerge into the physical world (or where physical beings can cross bodily into the Astral plane). Of course, the emerging astral beings need spirits to feed upon, and bodies to inhabit.

Of course, there's another aspect to the Game, one that defines the script; it brings people together. Outside, teenagers never interact with anyone over 25. The wealthy never hang out at the bus stop. Supermodels and computer hackers never cross paths. In the Game, however, it doesn't matter who you are, where you're from, what you do for a living, or how old you are. Everyone is equal, and everyone has something (the Game itself) in common.

My lead characters include Alex (Mr. white middle-class office-drone), Thomas (Alex's future boss), Donna (15 year old high school kid), Caitlin (Thomas' teenage daughter), and Jake (Caitlin's boyfriend). Alex is only the newest addition to the Game, once I actually figure out how to get him there..

Hmm. Maybe I'll just sideline this one for now and work on the "Werewolf" story ('cause that one already has an opening scene and well-defined plot).

-----
We applied the cortical electrodes but were unable to get a neural reaction from either patient.

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Saturday, November 17, 2007 12:11 PM

THESOMNAMBULIST

Originally posted by Cybersnark:

Quote:

So, what are some of your favourite "outsider becomes insider" moments from other shows/movies?

Joel Fleishman's introduction to Cicely Alaska in Northern Exposure. Of course with that show he spent most of his time being an outsider and never quite becoming an insider. However his introduction to Adam was very clever.

Adam was a shadowy bigfoot type character that lived in the woods of Cicely. The locals bestowed beast like qualities upon him, giving him a mythical persona, which both scared Joel and intrigued him. So much so that when more and more evidence arose that Adam might well be a real 'thing' in the woods Joel finds himself powerless to resist trying to find out more about him. Even if his life is in danger.

So that is one angle. Curiosity. Amazing what curiosity will allow you to do with a character and the audience. It's a little like having a person look beyond the camera and react. It makes the audience want to see what the character is seeing also.

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Saturday, November 17, 2007 5:18 PM

SCHOONER

Curiousity is not necessary to start. I would suggest avarice instead. How about something like this:

Start at an estate auction. As part of the "saving enough for marriage" plan, Alex and his girlfriend attend the auction looking for bargains they can sell for more on ebay. There's a good crowd, and a lot of boxes of "miscellaneous items" for participants to bid on. In the bustle, Alex accidentally knocks over two boxes. He apologizes and places the items back, not really paying attention to what was originally where (often in auctions like this, cheap items aren't even catalogued). He does notice one has a couple nice things, so bids on that. He doesn't even pay attention to the somewhat...out of place couple bidding on the other box. He wins his, the auction ends, everyone gone home happy.

Damn shame he put a couple of items into his box from the other. You can include everything from really interested messages via ebay, to business meetings, to muggings, break-ins, and espionage. Eventually, some player will try for a home field advantage and lure him into a Dungeon, figuring he won't believe of survive the experience.

I'm sure something like that's happened before, but does it sound like something that'd hook interest?

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