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Day 3 Assignments
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13 Replies
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Suzanne’s Engaging Main Characters
What I learned doing this assignment is how far you can move the needle of a character if you do it incrementally.
1. Five strangers need to get to an outlawed island in the Gulf of Mexico. “Environmental terrorists” are holding the Gulf hostage. New Orleans has become its own state. World governments and international corporations are attempting and failing to regain control.
2. “Harmony” (placeholder name)
A: She is the first POV character, the guide through the slightly distant future, changed NOLA, and drive to get to the Aisland.
B: Her purpose is to unify everyone; her expertise is all things medical. She thinks she can help.
C: She lost her job after “helping” several patients die.
D: Death doesn’t frighten her, she doesn’t see it as an end or something to avoid. She thinks it is the answer in some cases–and will administer it when she feels it’s the answer to bring peace.
E: Since she is guided by her feelings, and they change with circumstances, she’s a bit of a wild card. However, she is aware that her secret needs to stay that way, so is deceptive and tricky.
F: She longs to help, she’s eager to join in, she truly sees people … she seems to be the friend you want in your corner.
2. “Pilot”
A: Blackmailed to be the antagonist and get on the Aisland
B: His expertise is opening doors/finding opportunities (because he is part of the set up). He’s also mechanically skilled.
C: He crashed a plane that killed several passengers, but he ran away instead of helping the survivors. The government will pardon him IF he is the trojan horse onto the Aisland.
D: He lives in shame, but has to keep adding on betrayals and lies in order to maintain his freedom.
E: The deeper he gets in with the group and understanding about the Aisland, the more he dreams of freedom and what it might cost to get it.
F: He is repentant, but scared. He screwed up, he knows it, but there is nothing he can do to make it right. So he’s trying this …
3. Zephyr
A: The mentor. She’s watched the entire saga of the Aisland unfold from her tarot reading spot in NOLA.
B: She’s spooky–psychic skills, native NOLA, reads people.
C: She used to work for one of the “terrorists,” which makes her an international criminal–except in NOLA.
D: She lies; especially to herself.
E: Because she has access to information “from beyond” she reverses decisions, changes direction, flips on people.
F: She lost everything and sees no future, until she decides to go to the Aisland.
Assignment One/Watchmen
Laurie Blake is an antagonist
She is a former superhero turned vigilante hunter with the FBI
She is the former love of Dr. Manhattan; she knows all the “masked man” tricks
She’s living in a personal hell, so does her work to ease that pain. Consequently, she just cares about unmasking, anyone, anywhere. It makes her suspicious, ruthless and very, very effective and amoral.
After leaving a long message, a joke that carries the entire third episode, on Dr Manhattan’s Martian answering service, that ultimately ends in an insult, she is almost killed by his response in dropping space junk on her head … a sign that he heard and still cares. And she laughs with joy. After 30 years of messages, he’s responded.
She is and broken hearted and hopeless, jilted by her lover and forced to create a whole new self because of it. Her loneliness is masked by being a badass, and we see that.
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Megan’s Engaging Main Characters – Part 1
What I learned doing this assignment is…that every main character needs intrigue and a moral issue they grapple with. They need to be unpredictable yet empathetic. I also learned that it takes several episodes to reveal these traits in all of your main characters, but they should all be developed during planning.
TITLE: Riverdale
A. Role in the show:
Archie: the popular football player heartthrob
Betty: the All-American good girl next-door
Veronica: the mysterious, rich, misunderstood newcomer
Cheryl: the bitchy cheerleading captain
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise:
Archie: Purpose: the popular kid who’s trying to find himself
Betty: Purpose: the reporter seeking truth and justice
Veronica: Purpose: the sex appeal
Cheryl: Purpose: the tragic but bitchy sister of the victim
C. Intrigue: What is the secret beneath the surface?
Archie: heard the gunshot when he was hooking up with the teacher
Betty: her sister is in a psych ward; good girl who comes up with a plan for vengeance against the football players; is she crazy as well? (why does she dress up like her crazy sister?)
Veronica: ??? (nothing I’ve caught yet)
Cheryl: was there something more between her and her brother? Did she have something to do with his death?
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
Archie: hooking up with the music teacher; sneaking out while grounded
Betty: breaking into the school to investigate; disobeying her mother
Veronica: breaking into the school to investigate
Cheryl: was there something more between her and her brother? Did she have something to do with his death?
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
Archie: decides to come clean about Mrs. Grundy
Betty: good girl who breaks into the school to investigate
Veronica: hooks up with Archie, comforts Cheryl unexpectedly, always on the edge of a fight
Cheryl: declares she’s guilty of her brother‘s death
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
Archie: he’s a misunderstood musician who tries to do the right thing
Betty: she loves someone who doesn’t love her back
Veronica: she’s trying to be different now and make friends
Cheryl: she lost her brother; she apologizes for Jason‘s mistakes
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Tom’s Engaging Main Characters
ASSIGNMENT 1:
What I learned from this assignment was to really think about the journey of these characters, and how their interconnectedness continue to push the boundaries of the world they are experiencing. It was really interesting to see how in the third episode of the Good Place, Eleanor receives a mysterious note slipped under her door indicating that someone knows she is a fraud. By the end of the episode we not only learn that Jason gave her the note, but also that he is a fraud and maybe even worse than Eleanor, raising the stakes of the situation.
The Good Place
Main Character – Eleanor
Role in show:
Eleanor – a relatively terrible person who dies and undeservingly ends up in the good place.
Unique Purpose/Expertise:
To become a good person so that she can earn her spot in the good place, or at least not be discovered and sent to the bad place.
Intrigue: What is the secret beneath the surface?
She is not supposed to be in the good place, and will likely be removed if discovered.
Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
By staying in the good place and doing less than good acts, she is destroying paradise for everyone else.
Unpredictable: What will they do next?
Desperation leads Eleanor to coerce Chidi to help her and potentially jeopardize his spot at the good place.
Empathetic: Why do we care?
Eleanor isn’t that different from us, and we know if we were in her position we’d do everything possible to stay there as well.
ASSIGNMENT 2:
Now, do the process with your show.
1. Tell us the journey of your show.
The journey of the show for each of the main characters is to understand that they are mirrors of one another, and connected to all things. They have each lost something significant to them as a result of the pandemic and through the sessions will come closer to understanding this ultimate truth.
2. Who are the main characters that will sell your show?
F.M., Florida Man, and Angela
3. Answer these questions for each of those characters.
F.M.
Role in the show:
After losing the family farm, FM decides to risk it all and follow his dream of becoming a rapper, he begins going to group meetings to get support.
Plot line: an innocent on a mission in a strange world
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise:
To help his family survive after the loss of their farm.
C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface?
He believes he could be a great rapper because of cattle auction chanting ability, but is terrified to actually step into the music industry.
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
F.M. came to a realization that he lived a very sheltered life, and puts himself in precarious positions to gain “life experience” for his music such as joining a group of illegal aliens crossing the border into Texas.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
The more of these “life experiences” he gets, the more he wants—it turns into a dangerous addiction.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
Undeserved fortune: His family lost everything. He is also gaining the courage to follow his dream.
Florida Man
Role in the show:
Florida Man was arrested and faced jail time, but defended himself and convinced the judge to reduce the sentence to house arrest if he did community service and joined a support group.
Plot line: An outsider disrupts the current world.
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise:
He lives his life through the lens of conspiracy theories, and is immediately suspicious of Claire and Eddie despite them doing everything possible to be good hosts.
C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface?
Florida Man believes he’s been abducted by aliens multiple times, and believes that the reality they are experiencing isn’t real, and that Claire and Eddie are controlling their minds.
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
He takes nothing at face value and assumes there is an underlying and generally sinister motivation behind everything he experiences. He tries to live within the system so that no one catches on that he is onto the “greater narrative,” but yet does a terrible job actually being an upstanding citizen.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
Florida Man’s picture should be posted in the dictionary next to unpredictable. This is his M.O.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
He means well. Ultimately he wants to help protect people from their oppressors, he just gets in his own way around every corner.
Angela
Role in the show:
Angela is a young gothic girl who was lost before the pandemic, but when it began life got very dark for her. She was only able to focus on everything bad happening and it felt like the world was crumbling around her. She joined this group as a last attempt to find purpose in her life.
Plot line: An innocent on a mission in a strange world.
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise:
Everyone in this group has lost something significant from the pandemic, and Angela listens to everyone’s hopes for a new world where we’ve learned something, trying to gain a reason for continuing her own life.
C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface?
She is in the middle of an existential crisis and suicidal.
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
Angela is staring into the void and flirting with death leading her down a path of exploring methods of dying.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
Angela has a tendency to self-sabotage herself as a result of past trauma and a belief that she doesn’t deserve happiness, leading her to making poor choices.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
She is in a very vulnerable state and in some cases can be easily swayed into doing the exact opposite of what she should do.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 12 months ago by Tom Minier.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 12 months ago by
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Lesson 3, Assignment 1:
The character from The Young Pope I am commenting on is Cardinal Voiello, the Vatican Secretary of State.
His unique purpose is to stop Benedict XIII who he considers to be a threat to the survival of the church. He is determined to save the church no matter what it takes.
Intrigue: Pius XIII is as much a threat to Voiello as Voiello is to him. Who will gain the upper hand?
Moral Issue: Voiello does not stop at anything to stop the young pope. He uses black mail and calumny as well as threats of force to accomplish his ends.
He is unpredictable in that he at times appears remorseful for his deeds and then turns his back on his remorse and repeats them.
Empathetic: Voiello is persecuted by the pope who goes out of his way to humiliate him. Voiello is soft-hearted when it comes to the handicapped boy he cares for. He evokes mixed reactions of revulsion and empathy both. We care because we understand his concerns without approving of his methods.
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Jeff Glenn’s Engaging Main Characters
Assignment 1
Example show: The Night Of
Journey: Naz is arrested and goes on trail for murder.
Characters that sell the show: Nasir Khan and John Stone
A. Role in the Show:
Nasir, a man Muslim in his mid-twenties, goes on trial for murder.
John Stone, a defense lawyer argues in a courtroom for first time.
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise:
Purpose: Nasir, faces consequences of impulsive decisions and is exposed to life in prison.
Expertise: John, has a lot of experience getting clients to a settlement. He helps guilty people get their best possible outcome and then he moves on to the next case.
C. Intrigue: What secrets are beneath the surface?
Nasir doesn’t abide by all Muslim teachings. This fact becomes more and more apparent as the trial progresses.
How much ability John has to try the case is questionable. Whether or not he is being fair with Nasir’s parents about fees is also unclear.
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
Nasir crosses more and more boundaries as the stories progresses. Some of the boundaries are his own while others have been placed on him. He steals, drinks, does drugs, has sex, associates with unsavory people, smuggles drugs into prison, and gets tattoos.
John’s boundary crossing is a bit less obvious. He turns away from traditional medicine for a holistic cure for his feet. He sticks with Nasir after the deal is rejected.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
The farther into prison like Nasir gets the more he becomes and inmate. The less he is the boy who was excited to be invited to a party.
John, so sure of his brand of practicing law, takes a backseat for most of the trial.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
Nasir finds himself in a situation that is relatable until it becomes a horrific crime scene. Then everything spins out of control so fast he cannot get a handle on it again.
John is a jaded man with severe eczema. He doesn’t care about his clients; he just wants to get through the cases. There is something about Nasir that makes him care what happens.
Assignment 2
My show: Farmland
A. Role in the show:
Cody Lesueur a man navigating whether or not he can “come home again.”
Tracy Butchart the outsider who becomes the voice of reason
B. Unique / Expertise
Cody Purpose: to forge his own life, regardless of his family’s opinions
Tracy Expertise: she is far down the path Cody is embarking on
C. Intrigue: What is the secret beneath the surface?
Cody there are more secrets than Cody could ever confess. He knows his family knows he’s gay, even though it’s ever been spoken out load. But they don’t know he’s been living according to his desires.
Tracy she’s been places and seen things, yet she is still insecure, there is an unnamed pain below the surface. For as much as she wants to help Cody, she takes advantage of him too.
D. Moral issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
Cody there are the obvious offences, sex and drinking. But what is more troubling is that Cody is no longer a believer. He is not going to be satisfied by his grandfather, father and brother’s life of farm work and churchgoing. Though he still wants the family life they have.
Tracy she has no desire for a husband and children. She doesn’t care about recipes and she doesn’t want to take care of anyone, that’s why she left her dying mother.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
Cody goes from him brother’s (Cooper) funeral to a public rest room for an anonymous blow job, to the funeral reception. Coming back home to the farm makes him feel like a failure, he thinks his life is at rock bottom.
Tracy most people have some kind of code, she really doesn’t. Tracy is stopped at the Snake River as part of a vagabonding journey. She’s only looking around before moving on. Because of this she feels her actions have no consequences.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
Cody though it takes him time to figure it out, Cody only wants to have a family and a life he cares about preserving. But he lives in a time, place and environment that puts up many roadblocks. Often these roadblocks are presented by the people and institutions that profess to help and love him.
Tracy on the surface she seems like the best friend everyone wants, but there is trauma in her past that can be difficult to pick up on. Everyone she has known (including Cody’s family) has treated her as vaguely less than, or not quite good enough.
What I learned doing this assignment is characters doesn’t come fully formed, you have to form them. It is easy for me to think of a character and assume the work on them is finished, but it takes time and asking many questions about them to get a character that will function in the story.
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What we learned doing this assignment is that this is a really good model to focus the characters and to make sure they have deeper levels to them. We also found it easy to come up with the answers for our lead character (Liz), but a little harder for the husband (Eric). We also think the role and unique purpose/expertise are important to make sure the character is in the script for a specific reason and to show how they will support the journey of the lead character (s).
ASSIGNMENT 1:
Example Show: The Righteous Gemstones
Journey of the show: The Gemstone family tries to keep their mega-church thriving after the matriarch dies.
Character: Judy Gemstone
A. Role in the show: She is the daughter and middle child in the Gemstone clan.
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: She is street smart and a fixer.
C. Intrigue: What is the secret beneath the surface? She was supposed to be the youngest child, but after a surprise pregnancy and the birth of Kelvin, she resented her parents for making her the middle child.
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? She will do whatever it takes to prove she’s good enough, i.e. she bails Jesse out of the ransom situation by giving him the money she’s been stealing from the family church and hiding for herself.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? She has constant emotional outbursts.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care? She feels that her family doesn’t let her shine the way she’s meant to and that she’s in the shadows.
ASSIGNMENT 2:Our Show: Couple Goals
1. Tell us the journey of your show.
Liz wants to be out about her swinging lifestyle.
2. Who are the main characters that will sell your show?
Liz
Eric3. Answer these questions for each of those characters.
Liz
A. Role in the show: The expert and guide into the swinger lifestyle
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: After 14 years, she’s a badass in the swinger lifestyle and knows what works and what will blow up a relationship. She wants to help others that consider Liz and Eric “couple goals” and want what they have.
C. Intrigue: What is the secret beneath the surface? Liz’s Mom, who is a principal of a Catholic school, is still married to her Dad despite the fact that he is a cross-dresser because divorce is against her religion (and also to keep up appearances).
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? Liz believes that being non-monogamous is the most natural way for humans to behave and trying to hold other humans to being monogamous is what causes so many divorces and miserable relationships in modern society.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? When Liz sees a red flag in a relationship or swinger situation, she feels compelled to interject, come to the rescue, and/or give helpful advice even when it’s not wanted. She literally can’t help herself and I’m no psychologist, but it’s like some primal subconscious reptilian brain shit where it’s life or death to her if she doesn’t speak up. This can lead to angry outbursts as her “hood” comes out.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care? Even though Liz is confident in the swinger world, she can’t live with being inauthentic and hiding this part of her life outside of it. But, she also still fears being judged and the unknowns of coming out and how it will affect her reputation, her marriage, her relationships with her daughter, family and friends, her business, income, etc.
Eric
A. Role in the show: Liz’s husband
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise: He tries to be the voice of reason for Liz.
C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface? When he was 14, a female cousin played a practical joke on him where she left a note from a “secret admirer” inside one of his textbooks. When he confided in her about it, she kept the gag going, making him try to guess who it was in his school. Eventually, she revealed it was a prank. That caused him to have trust and confidence issues especially when it comes to girls.
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing? His beliefs about monogamy are aligned with Liz, but he has the extra burden of dealing with society’s morals when it comes to women and sex, how can he let other men have sex with his wife, etc.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next? He will do anything in his power to prevent attention from being drawn to him and will avoid confrontation at all costs. He will also try and intercede if he sees a situation that will cause Liz to go nuclear.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care? Eric is cozy in the swinger closet, but Liz keeps pushing the boundaries as she explores wanting to be out. The stakes for Eric are having to live with the attention and potential shame of being outed, while also fearing that he won’t be able to provide for his family if this comes to light.
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Megan’s Engaging Main Characters – Part 2
What I learned doing this assignment is… that I can’t expect all the answers to all the questions right away.
TITLE: My Future Self
1. Tell us the journey of your show.
Lexie is an intellectual with almost no real-world experience. Everything scares her, even when she doesn’t show it. Yet she longs for a more interesting life. She lives vicariously through her future self but in the process becomes braver and more daring in the present.
Alexis, Lexie’s future self, has screwed up more times than she can count. She’s pushed friends and family away. She is utterly alone. She sees Lexie as her opportunity to not only make amends but to possibly get back what she’s lost.
2. Who are the main characters that will sell your show?
Lexie: 15-year-old freshman in high school who has no idea how to begin to live
Alexis: 33-year-old undercover operative who loathes herself, her life, and her life choices
3. Answer these questions for each of those characters.
A. Role in the show:
Lexie: the naive innocent with everything to learn
Alexis: the jaded professional with nothing left to lose . . . or live for
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise:
Lexie: Purpose: to give Alexis a project to make her life meaningful again
Alexis: Expertise: she knows where she went wrong (hindsight is 20/20) and she’s hoping with the right advice she’ll make a positive impact on Lexie’s life and, therefore, on her own
C. Intrigue: What is the secret beneath the surface?
Lexie: contemplated running away from home before she got Alexis’s email response? She would love to go to college out of state just for a fresh start.
Alexis: on the verge of suicide the night she got Lexie’s email; Alexis is helping Lexie more for herself than for Lexie?
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
Lexie: considers get-rich-quick schemes using future knowledge
Alexis: messing with the past for selfish reasons could completely change other people’s presents and futures
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
Lexie: the more she interacts with Alexis, the bolder should becomes; the change surprises everyone: family, friends, teachers
Alexis: sometimes she is the moral compass, sometimes she is not; we never know if the advice Alexis is giving is good for Lexie or good for herself; she is still a trained operative
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
Lexie: she’s the one in her family who gets left out because she’s unexceptional
Alexis: she’s entirely alone
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Rodney Brunken’s Engaging Main Character’s
What I learned form this assignment: I learned how to apply my own past history and experience to create characters.
The journey of the show centers around Brooks and his arrival as a stranger to Catfish Bend as an outsider to his becoming the center of the town’s power.
Main Characters:
Brooks:
His role is as protagonist who upsets the power structure of Catfish Bend. His expertise is in the area of the law and knowing how to use it. His secret is that he has an insider who provides him with knowledge of what is happening. His moral issue is that he doesn’t always play by the rules with his use of the law. He is unpredictable in that he can be charming in a way that throws people off of his true intent. He is empathetic because he is in town for his dad’s funeral when he uncovers evidence the his dad did not commit suicide but was murdered.
Boggs:
Boggs is the corrupt mayor of Catfish Bend, a town filled with white supremacist leanings. His purpose is to stop change. His secret is that he arranged for the murder of Brooks father. His moral issue is that he will use any thing needed to get his way. He is unpredictable because he may murder Brooks too. He is empathetic because he wants to maintain law and order.
Ana: She is a Cuban-American pediatrician in Catfish Bend, a town with an anti-hispanic bias. Her expertise is that she knows the particulars of how to survive in Catfish Bend. Her Moral issue is her desire to help Brooks in ways that may violate her professional ethics. She is unpredictable in that she and Brooks have times of falling out. She is empathetic in that she is a woman who is both a professional and a hispanic in a town that is dominated by a white male oligarchy.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by Mr. Brunken. Reason: I deleted this post because I originally posted it in the wrong location
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This reply was modified 2 years, 11 months ago by
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Rebecca’s Engaging Main Characters, Module 1 – Lesson #3
What I learned from doing this assignment is that I didn’t have to know these answers to get started and fill in the blanks. I didn’t come in to class knowing what I wanted to write about nor did I have characters in mind. And now I have an inkling with some fun ideas that are open for drastic change. My goal is to stay on point and learn the processes and hope that a decent story unfolds.In the meantime, make it up.
Example show title: Secrets and Lies
A. Role in the show:
Ben: Family man finds neighbor’s boy dead in the woods.
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise:
To prove his innocence of murder.
C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface?
He had an affair with the neighbor/mother of the murdered child. He is the father of the child.
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
He had an affair with the neighbor. Lies.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
Incriminate himself by going to see the neighbor. Lie. Second guess himself. Look guilty.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
He doesn’t remember what happened. His family is not being supportive. Nobody believes him. He’s the father and loves the boy who was murdered. Nobody believes him.
My show title: Mother Nature Calls
Journey: Tanya is an ex con working as a nail technician in a salon while seeking revenge on childhood bullies when she is suddenly forced to acknowledge her untapped super powers in order to help Mother Nature rehabilitate the planet Earth to its original state.
A. Role in the show:
Tanya/Taina: Is a 50 year old ex-con back in “Name of Town” to seek revenge on her high school bullies/nemesis, a trio of wealthy princesses, when she is suddenly called on by Mother Nature to save the Earth and must learn to navigate her untapped super powers to rehabilitate the planet.
Lupe: A 50 year old log sawer champion is summoned from reclusion to accompany and serve by Tanya’s side.
Maeve: Is Tanya’s #1 bully from the past. Also 50, she is now a high powered socialite and attorney running for office. She is humbled and invests when Tanya creates a popular fountain of youth product. Is she just vying for campaign support? Is she deeply jealous or in awe of Tanya, still? Or will she support the militia?
Mother Nature: Calls to action
B. Unique Purpose / Expertise:
Tanya: An ex convict nail technician with a pension for holistic mixology and anti aging products, suddenly discovers her unknown super powers and greater purpose/destiny, all while attempting to seek revenge on her childhood bullies. Irony: All of her little idiosyncrasies she was made fun of for as a child, were just inclines and mishaps due to her untapped super powers that will in the end make her a super hero.
Lupe: A champion log sawer. Super powers?
Maeve: A high powered attorney. Super powers?
Mother Nature: Mother Nature calls to rehabilitate her planet. Her super powers are waning and she needs to be powered by Tanya, ie. Taina, her daughter’s powers.
C. Intrigue: What is secret beneath the surface?
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Tanya: Goes back to her “home town” and seeks revenge. She was recently released from lock up (for?) … She knows she is different but hasn’t figured it out yet… Is chosen and called upon by Mother Nature herself to spearhead the saving Earth from climate change and distress.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Lupe: Like Tania, she doesn’t know her origin. Was raised by frontier folks who “tamed” her.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Maeve: Has always secretly been jealous of Tanya’s rebellious and adventurous nature? She was the leader of the girls who tortured Tanya in high school. Wants to go on this adventure even if it means losing an election. She can come back and say ..?
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Mother Nature: May be washed up. Has a drug problem that is interfering with the well being of Earth. Dementia is clouding her perception and decision making, as well as her powers. Her super powers are waning and she needs to be powered by Tanya, ie. Taina, her daughter’s powers.
D. Moral Issue: What moral boundaries are they crossing?
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Tanya:Revenge. Deceit by making a fountain of youth product that would have the opposite effect on her childhood bullies, which backfires as it goes against her chosen destiny. ?????
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Lupe: ???
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Maeve: Walking away from family post and expectations of carrying on tradition. Breech of some kind of investigation against Tanya..?
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Mother Nature: Has to lie. Puts the others lives in danger. Makes mistakes. Trusts the wrong people.
E. Unpredictable: What will they do next?
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Tanya: Self sabotage when her cream backfires and everyone loves it and they start to love her. She purposely doesn’t try to be good at her super powers. Resists the calling by trying to prove her unworthiness whenever she can’t figure out the lesson or can’t access the appropriate super powers accordingly. Lies. Runs away. Abuses her power to boost her ego but then beats herself up for it.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Lupe: Change. Discover Super Powers. Heal the Earth.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Maeve: Change. Discover Super Powers. Heal the Earth.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Mother Nature: Alienate Tanya. Threaten to remove nature all together. Create bad weather/storms/natural disaster, ie. temper tantrum when she doesn’t perform well or gets angry.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care?
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Tanya: Her life has been filled with injustices. She did time for reacting to being abused. Has scars. She numbs out with drugs and alcohol. Has an unexplainable passion for nature and animals until we find out why. Tries to end climate change, take out adversity and save Earth, all while leading a mediocre at best posse of characters who she’s had no choice but to assemble for war.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Lupe: Has trouble accessing Super Powers. Humiliated. Makes a lot of mistakes. Misses her family, children. Completely out of her element.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Maeve: Also way out of her element, especially environmentally. Has to rid herself of precious material objects to make the trip. Has to toughen up. Has to pee outside. Wear dirty clothes.
<b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>Mother Nature: Her sole purpose is to recreate a planet free of climate disaster and free of those who abuse their planet. She is passionate to start over, but can she. Is it too late? She sacrificed her babies to keep her position but for a good cause even though it backfired eventually. Are these 3 her babies? Hmmmm
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What I learned doing this assignment is…the main characters have to grab you enough for you to want to watch the next episode.
My show’s journey: In “8Bytes” the phone camera of a bedridden six-hundred pound pretty millennial is hacked by a needy XXX-engineer. She unknowingly goes viral as her struggles with food, family, friends, and of course, her fat, circulate. Confronted with her notoriety, she must choose between fat shame or porn fame.
“Big Little Lies” Renata “8Bytes” ERIN PATTY MS. CHEN WALLEY
1. Role in the Show: Antagonist Protagonist Sidekick Foil Antagonist
2. Purpose: Oppose Madeline Lose weight Support Erin Push Erin Oppose Erin
Expertise: Belittling others Eating, bilingual Fashion/Make-up Organizing Hacking
Boss-Bitch teaching Come-backs Care-taking
3. Secret: Wants 2 B liked Adopted Does not want the Still married School & accepted by the “operation” Drop-out
Parents No formal ed.
4. Moral Issue: Mean to kids Will do anything Will do anything Humiliates Hacks for $
to lose weight for $$ as she helps Erin
5. Unpredictability:Vulnerability Weird things she Angry outbursts
does w/food
6.Empathy: The only one who Her weight=pain Her fierce Her MamaBear Was
confronts Madeline of rejection loyalty makes courage bullied
on her shit you love her encourages
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Evelyn’s Assignment # 1 – Characters that sell a show & what makes them intriguing
Doing this assignment, I learned that doling out a character’s secrets and sins little little by little in each episode and making the character at times unpredictable in their actions creates more intrigue, suspense & bingeworthiness than showing everything they’ve got early in the series, or all at once. Character complexity is what we are after.
Big Little Lies (S1/E3)
I see that the writer of this series is developing reasons why the characters in the show all have motives for murder. But who’s the victim? To be revealed in the final episode? I found many of the characters in this series to be intriguing, but IMO the most intriguing ones so far were the three I list below. I don’t include Renata because, though interesting, she is too “out there” expressing her emotions (mainly rage, “on the nose”) too consistently, especially relative to the abuse suffered by her little girl, but perhaps we’ll discover more layers of her character in later episodes.
Madeline Martha Mackenzie
A. Role: She’s like ‘Martha’ in the Bible, a woman who is always doing things for others and trying to right wrongs. A stay-at-home Mom/theater volunteer with a “picture-perfect life” except for bland sex & fears of losing her daughtersas they grow up and fly the nest, needs “causes”’ & excitement in her life. She is a catalyst for other people’s actions.
B. Unique purpose/Expertise: She’s a “fixer.” Empathetic, with strong opinions, she tries to fix problems in her close circle of family & friends perhaps to avoid facing/solving her own.
C. Intrigue/The secret beneath the surface: the 3rd episode reveals her passionate feelings for the man she broke up with before marrying her husband Ed and settling for a marriage that is emotionally and financially stable but lacking in romantic thrills & excitement. She feels she’s missing something.
D. Moral Issue: Conflicted, guilty & horrified for cheating on her husband, she also blames herself for causing Joseph’s car accident. She doesn’t want anyone to know about her past with him, or her present “indiscretion” for fear of hurting her family and giving ammunition to gossips who would ruin her prominent social standing in Monterey.
E. Unpredictable/What will they do next: Will she let herself go with her passionate feelings for Joseph and risk her marriage, or keep fighting them and make herself more nervous and high-strung than she already is? Will she cause trouble by arranging the investigative visit to the interior designer to determine whether he is Jane’s rapist?
F. Empathetic: Why do we care? Because she’s a kind and friendly woman with good intentions, though her “good deeds” often backfire.
Celeste Wright
A. Role: This gorgeous woman is the victim and enabler of an abusive husband. She’s given up her profession for her family and is trapped in a violent marriage which she hides for fear that leaving will negatively impact her children’s lives.
B. Unique purpose/Expertise: She has legal skills she is starting to resurrect which could help restore her self-respect and give her courage to face the sordid facts of her marriage and do something about it. But will she use these skills to help herself?
C. Intrigue/The secret beneath the surface: In denial about the seriousness of her husband’s violence and its impact on her and her kids, she won’t admit that she fears he might kill her. The secret is very gently dragged out of her by the couple’s marriage counselor, who sees that Celeste is protecting her husband by accepting blame for his abuse and for hitting him back.
D. Moral Issue: Should she continue to accept her husband’s abuse, or leave him and strike out on her own with her kids, which terrifies her?
E. Unpredictable/What will they do next: How long will she continue to try to “protect” Perry? Will she resurrect her career and become less dependent on her husband? Will she demand that he respect her by stopping his psychological, verbal, and physical abuse? Will she stop blaming herself, and accept the consequences of leaving? Or will she kill him if his abuse escalates, or if it impacts her two boys?
F. Why do we care: No one wants to see husbands abuse their wives physically, emotionally, or verbally!
Jane Chapman
A. Role: She’s one of the walking wounded, the mysterious single mother, a waif and an outsider with hidden trauma, obviously not rich, who arrives in Monterey with unknown motives to start a new life with her son.
B. Unique purpose/Expertise: This emotionally frail, soft-spoken young woman is trying hard to fight off her demons by dancing, running, and practicing at a shooting range.
C. Intrigue/The secret beneath the surface: Since she’s not working full-time, where is she getting the money to support herself and her little son? From her mother, or from the rapist? And does he live in Monterey? Is that why she moved there? She reveals the secret of her rape at the hands of Ziggy’s father to someone she trusts and who is sort of a mother figure to her—Madeline. But why does she have a gun? Is it for protection, or is she planning to kill someone?
D. Moral Issue: She loves her new friends, Madeline & Celeste, but Renata hates her, as do other mothers whose kids go to school with Ziggy and accuse him of bullying and physical abuse, so should she leave Monterey, or stay where the hateful atmosphere could worsen?
E. Unpredictable/What will they do next? Will Jane move away or stay in Monterey where her son is accused of abusing a little girl? Will she try to kill the man who raped her when she finds out who he is? Will she punish Ziggy if she learns he did harm Amabella?
F. Why do we care: She didn’t deserve to be raped, one of the worst things that can happen to a woman. No woman deserves that.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by Evelyn Petros. Reason: My formatting was screwed up. I had to correct it
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This reply was modified 2 years, 10 months ago by
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Evelyn’s Bingeworthy TV/Module 1/Lesson 3/Assignment 2
What I learned from doing this assignment: I need to add more intriguing layers to my main characters. A quartet of mismatched lovers playing musical chairs may sell this series:
MIRA SANTIAGO
A. Role: A mouthy, NYC-based, Mexican American opera singer with a string of romantic flops and a dwindling bank account who wants the whole enchilada (career, marriage, kids) but finds her goals elusive.
Love Journey: She starts off repeating her pattern of picking the wrong man, but ends up wiser, and with a better understanding of what real love means.
Career Journey: She starts as a pawn of her unscrupulous agent but ends up as the agent of her own operatic career.
B. Unique purpose/expertise: she’s a fine singer/actress but is tired of stepping in last minute to save a show! She wants to be first choice in both love and career!
C. Intrigue/The Secret/s beneath the surface: 1) Her fear of flying comes from a tragedy in her past and requires her to perform certain rituals to keep the planes she’s in from crashing.
2) She keeps track of her romantic relationships with a certain ritual that involves houseplants.
3) Her identity is so wrapped up in her career as an opera singer that she fears without ‘The Voice’ she would be too much like everyone else. Will ‘The Voice’ stand up to the pressure?
D. Moral Issue: Can she protect her moral sensibilities and also avoid getting fired?
E. Unpredictable/What will she do next? Will she successfully dodge musical and theatrical grenades lobbed at her by a verbally abusive conductor, an avant guard director, and a sabotaging cast member? If so, how? Will she discover the identity of the mystery person who’s been sending gifts that follow her from Hawaii to Florida, from New York City to Vienna, Austria? Will she also discover the identity of “La Nariz,” the nosy resident who lives in the apartment across from hers in NYC who’s been disrupting her practicing?
F. Empathetic: Why do we care? Because we may know or might even be a complicated human like Mira, who wants the whole enchilada but is having a hard time getting it. Up against career and romantic challenges, we don’t want Mira to make another romantic mistake, and we want her to win!
JAKE SUTHERLAND:
A. Role: a diamond-in-the-rough, opera-hating Vietnam Vet, successful cookbook writer, foster father of a Vietnamese teen; Kris’ friend & neighbor in Hana, Maui.
Journey: At the start, Jake blames himself and his PTSD for the breakup of his relationship with Daphne Dee Bliss. Mourning the loss for a year, he has let himself go, physically and emotionally. By the end of the series, he undergoes a self-imposed transformation to save the woman he loves from making a terrible mistake, in the process becoming an opera fanatic.
B. Unique purpose/expertise: Jake is an expert chef who will do almost anything for those he loves. He is meticulous, or as Kris describes him, obsessive compulsive when it comes to work, home, and his relationships with women. But when is it all too much?
C. Intrigue/The Secret beneath the surface: He blames himself for the tragic loss of his Vietnamese fiancée during the fall of Saigon in 1975 and tries to be a good father to her son.
D. Moral Issue: What he is doing for the next woman he loves might be considered borderline stalking, so he must tread a fine line to not offend, but will he succeed?
E. Unpredictable/What will he do next? To what lengths will he go in his wooing? His shenanigans get him into several scrapes that nearly cost him his life, including getting chased by a bull at the foot of a mountain overlooking Kailua.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care? Because despite his flaws, Jake’s a good-hearted soul whose teddy-bear eyes and romantic nature are irresistible. We want to see him shape up and find happiness.
DAPHNE DEE BLISS: A predatory interior designer, art & antiques dealer from Houston.
A. Role: A major blister to any man who falls in love with her.
B. Unique purpose/expertise: She uses her expert interior design and sales skills to target bachelors with deep pockets in need of home renovations and furnishings.
C. Intrigue/The Secret beneath the surface: The antiques and art she sells are fakes, and the FBI is on to her.
D. Moral Issue: She has none. She adores using her feminine wiles to get what she wants.
E. Unpredictable/What will she do next? After she’s done with Jake, who will be her next victim? And what will she do to female rivals?
F. Empathetic: Why do we care? We are amused and/or outraged at her antics and want to see the bad girl caught.
WYNSTON IRVING TRAPNELL (“Wyn”) – the charismatic architect of Opera Aloha’s Samuel Yee Memorial Opera House in Honolulu; a jock whose favorite sport is collecting opera sopranos.
A. Role & Journey: he goes from being the honeypot that attracts women, to getting his just desserts.
B. Unique purpose/expertise: Besides his architectural expertise, he’s brilliant at entrapping women in his web and reeling them in, and when they’re caught …wham!
C. Intrigue/The Secret beneath the surface: He’s a serial bridegroom who’s been married 3 times already and all three divorced him.
D. Moral Issue: All’s fair in love and war, no?
E. Unpredictable/What will he do next? Good question.
F. Empathetic: Why do we care? We want to see his karma catch up with him.
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