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Lesson 1
Reply to Post your assignment.
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11 Replies
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Based on a true story w/fascinating characters whom I’ve interviewed, & packed with galvanizing incidents, the show is shaped & guided by facts & history.
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Per request that we watch the BREAKING BAD PILOT, I watched not only the PILOT plus 2 additional episodes & will continue enjoying many more.
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<div>Mr. Robot 5 Star Model</div>
What I learned from this assignment is how far removed from binge-worthy my pilot is currently. I learned how much each character has to be individually intriguing with an element of mystery. It should be as though they could each have their own show.
1. Big Picture Hooks.
What if a potentially schizophrenic hacker were tasked with taking down the most powerful and corrupt global corporation?
2. Amazing and Intriguing Character:
The main character, Elliot is brilliant, extremely drug-addicted and potentially delusional. On top of this, he is truly pure-hearted and well-intentioned.
3. Empathy / Distress:
Elliot is lonely and isolated, yet means well in his own boundary violating way. He wants to protect those he cared deeply about. He even steals a relative stranger’s dog that he knows is being mistreated. He is probably in some sort of danger, so we feel distress.
4. Layers/Open Loops:
Is Elliot even in reality?
Is he in withdrawal?
Are we in linear time?
Who is Mr. Robot?
Will the credit hack be a success?
Will he end up with Angela?
What is the role of Tyrell — the Linux E-corp guy?
How do you define stealing?
What will scratch a part of Elliot’s mind next?
5. Inviting Obsession.
We want to know if Elliot is living in a fantasy or reality.
We want to know if the credit-wiping hack will be a success/
We want to know who the real good guys and bad guys are –right now it’s unclear and morally ambiguous.
Who will/ Will Elliot survive all this deceit?
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What I learned doing this assignment is to dig into sorting the 5 * elements from the pilot of Super Girl.
Super Girl
the older but now on planet earth younger cousin ,Kara, of Superman turns into the female protector of the world while all the bad asses of the universe heading to take revenge that Super Girl’s mother sentenced them to an eternal jail.
Kara is calling herself to action while we watch how she needs to refine her superpowers. Will she have them at hand sometimes soon and in time to succeed with her mission?
We are intrigued watching Kara in the field of friction between being the not-so-appreciated underling-assistant of the self declared most powerful media-bitch in town, while being herself the most powerful woman and protector of the planet world.
Will her Aunt find a way to destroy Kara before she refines all her superpowers that she will need to protect the city and herself from all the bad guys of the universe?
How will Kara manage to be the protecting heroine of the city, form a team with her cousine and protect her best buddy, develop a romance with the guy who speaks personally with her super brother and stay uncovered by her boss as well as survive all the assassinations ordered by her aunt?
And will she protect superman which was her first assignment and she promised lightyears ago to do so while finally protect world in her own way?
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Walking Dead 5 Star Model
What I learned doing this assignment is I got clearer on why I enjoyed watching scene by scene.
1. Hook: Surviving a zombie apocalyptic
2. Intriguing Character: As we follow Rick, his reactions and emotion mirror how I’m feeling watching it.
3. Empathy/Distress: Every new place Rick goes into, will he meet a zombie or a human. Every time Rick kills we know its out of necessity but feels sympathetic for their death.
4. Layers/Open Loops: How to survive? Is there a zombie cure? Will Rick make it to the rufugee group and be reunited with his family? The son and dad that Rick meets will they survive and meet back up with Rick? Lori, Rick’s wife now with Rick’s best friend Shane, how/when and will they stay together?
5. Inviting Obsession: The cliff hanger at the end who is that voice talking to Rick? Curious to see what new situations arise when facing zombies and how to get out of it.
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“What I learned doing this assignment is these five points need to be in a series if it is going to snare an audience and hold on to their attention.”
Project: Scandal
Big Picture Hooks
Ask this: What is the big hook of this show? A Black woman being in control at the highest level of society.
Amazing and Intriguing Character
Ask this: What makes these main characters intriguing and interesting? For me nothing. I suppose to others seeing, a black woman operate at the high levelest political level of our country is interesting.
Empathy / Distress
Ask this: What situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress for this character? Olivia Pope is portrayed as a strong woman but has no control over her personal life and involvement with the President.
Layers / Open Loops
Ask this: What questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season? How her affair with the President started knowing he was married and continues despite the fact he is married.
Inviting Obsession
Ask this: How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode? “We are not a law firm because we do not follow the rules”, how is this obsession going to impact all their lives. -
5 star model of Sweet Little Lies.
What I learned from this assignment: First of all that I love the 5 star model 🙂
1. Big Picture Hooks:
After a brutal murder during a charity event at elementary school of Monterey first grader Ziggy and his mother, both new in town, and 4 other families become embroiled in the investigation.
2. Interesting and Intriguing Character
There are 5 mothers, their husbands and their kids who all have their own stories, struggles and secrets.
Focussing on the moms:
Madline – calls herself fulltime mom though she works for 20 hours in a little theatre, fears to loose her 2 daughters (one a teenager and one just started first grade), still hurt and in rage about her first husband who is now in a relationship with …
… Bonnie – a spiritual and grounded person, wants to build up a good relationship with Madline, and is bestie with Abigail, Madlines first daughter.
Celeste – former lawyer, mother of twins, wife of Perry. Their relationship seems mostly sexual and violent (without their kids knowing). Perry adores their 2 sons, but shows signs of a control freak. Celeste herself is hiding something we do not know in the first episode.
Jane – single mother, new in town with her little son. She has had a different life before and she seems to have fled from her former place. Her son is sleepwalking. She trusts him when he is accused to have choked Renata´s daughter.
Renata – the “super woman” in this group, very successful in business, eagerly wanting to show everybody (and herself) that being successful and a loving and caring mom is possible.
3. Empathy / Distress
Madline – We feel that she deeply loves her daughters and her new husband Ed, while at the same time they all seem to withdraw. Strong sense of justice – which end in a fight with Renata and her supporters.
Jane – We feel sympathy that she loves, protects and trusts her son, giving her very best to create a safe and nice place for them to live. Avoiding to answer her son´s questions why they moved to Monterey.
Celeste – We feel empathy when we see how much she loves her sons, and how rude and rigid Perry becomes when told that Jane´s son is under a cloud of being violent to other kids.
Bonnie – we can feel her nice personality and understand why Abigail feels attracted to be friends with her. She becomes even more likeable when excusing and offering to start a new petition.
Renata – though she seems very tough we can feel her inner struggle and her doubts whether she´s a good mom. We also feel that Madline has many supporters and is a strong force and opponent in the attempt of stopping the mobbing of Jane´s son.
4. Open Loops / Questions:
Who has been murdered and why?
Who´s done it?
Which secrets carry Jane and Celeste?
Why has Jane moved away from her town and family?
Why has Celeste retired at such a young age?
Will Ed stay together with Madline – feeling the role Nate still plays in her emotions?
Will Madline overcome her fears of loosing her kids?
Will she overcome the feeling that Nate won it all?
Who attacked Amabella? Was it Ziggy though he denies it?
Is Perry a violent controlfreak, and will he and Celeste solve their problems in a therapy?
What kind of secret or burden carries Celeste?
Will Bonny and Madline manage to have a good or at least less emotional relationship?
Will Jane stay in Monterey or flee again?
What is with Ziggy´s dad, does he play a role?
Who will win the fight between Renata and Madline?
>> tons of questions, which is great, because I want to know all the answers, and watch every episode. I want this for my own pilot as well 😉
Which takes us to obsession:
5. Inviting Obsession:
We want to know who was murdered and why – was it one of the moms or a kid and who did it?
We feel the pressure and threat upon Jane and her son and also on Madline in her fight against Renata and others.
On each of the women – and obviously on their husbands as well – lies a pressure and the feeling that something important and life changing will happen. And if they are the victim of a crime – or the suspect.
The flashbacks of Janes former life and the scenes showing the interrogations add another layer that provides us with intriguing insights about the characters and how they are perceived from other parents.
Parallel to this I noticed that the setting by the Sea with his changing atmosphere, the pictures and music are perfectly put together. I am really happy to have watched this super well-crafted first episode.
Watching this episode for the second time revealed even more information I hadn´t noticed before.
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SUPERGIRL 5-Star Model
What I learned doing this assignment is…
a) How to identify the 5 points that make a binge-worthy show; and
b) Wow, the segment of the American public that made SUPERGIRL successful must be easily amused. The only good part about this show was seeing Calista Flockhart playing a megabitch. I spent over an hour looking at trailers of the shows on the list, but there weren’t really any that are like the show I want to write and unfortunately, I chose poorly. I’ll try and find another one before the next exercise.
1. Big Picture Hooks
Superman’s cousin is in the package of a sweet young woman, who is trying to lead a normal life.
2. Amazing and Intriguing Character
Cara Danvers is an innocent who realizes her potential and becomes a crime fighter.
Calista Flockhart plays a tough-as-nails boss, who seems to be modeled on the character in The Devil Wears Prada. In fact, all of the characters seemed derivative, 2-dimensional, and just not that interesting.
3. Empathy / Distress
Cara is excited to be fulfilling her potential, but gets blamed for the mess. (Fortunately, the writers dropped that angle since it’s lifted directly from the Superhero movie HANCOCK.)
Cara has to hide her identity to avoid Vartox… until she doesn’t and manages to kill him.
Cara misses her deceased mother, who speaks to her via hologram
Cara discovers her step-sister is actually part of a government program to monitor aliens
4. Layers / Open Loops
Will Cara be able to save humanity and avoid getting harmed or killed by the criminals? (Gee, I wonder what the answer is.)
5. Inviting Obsession
Although Cara kills Vartox, he has warned her that “you have no idea what’s coming.”
This kind of warning was done so much better in Men In Black, and maybe even Ghostbusters.
Although we were encouraged to watch the episode a second time, I’d rather do anything, even community service, maybe clean cat boxes at the shelter. SUPERGIRL is too shallow to merit extra excavation.
Here are shows that I have found binge-worthy:
- Call My Agent
- Severance
- Fleabag
- Ted Lasso
- The Old Man
- The Office (Ricky Gervais)
- Staged (David Tennant and Michael Sheen)
- In Treatment
- The Handmaid’s Tale
- Walking Dead (until I couldn’t take the extreme violence anymore)
And while the last two are on the list, I wanted to watch something new for this exercise.
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THE 100 Five-Star Model
What I learned doing this assignment is how to analyze a TV pilot for the elements that make it binge-worthy.
1. Big Picture Hook
100 teenaged offenders on the Ark, a space station that was in space when a nuclear apocalypse happened, are sent back to Earth, which may be uninhabitable due to radiation contamination. What will they find there? Will they survive?
Meanwhile, back at the ranch, the Ark is running out of oxygen & food to support its large population. Will they survive without the evil second-in-command purging the population?
2. Amazing and Intriguing Characters
- Clarke Griffin – level headed daughter of Dr. Griffin and the engineer who was “floated” for wanting to tell The Ark residents that they were running out of supplies
- Octavia – Rebel hottie
- Bellamy Blake – Octavia’s brother. He shot the Chancellor in order to board the ship and watch over his sister, so he has a vested interest in ensuring that the adults from The Ark never make it to Earth.
- Finn – risk taker, love interest
- Son of the Chancellor – one-legged and despised by Bellamy and other rough characters
- Dr. Griffin – mother of Clarke and principled opponent to the 2nd in command
- Second-in-command – wants to start killing residents of The Ark to reduce the population
- Jasper – goofy stoner
- Chancellor – father of one of the kids, has to enforce strict policies on The Ark, but is way better than the second in command.
3. Empathy / Distress
- The communication system is destroyed as the pod carrying the teenagers is thrown off course, so The Ark won’t be able to help the kids
- Dr. Griffin is worried about her daughter
- Small group of teenagers treks towards Mount Weather
- One faction of teenagers heading toward a “Lord of the Flies” reality
- Rough characters want to kill the son of the Chancellor, who enforced the rules on The Ark
- Octavia is nearly eaten by a giant water snake, but saved by Jasper
- Jasper, hoping to hold on to Octavia’s admiration, is the first to swing on a vine to cross the river… and gets a spear through the chest
4. Layers / Open Loops
- Will the teenagers survive?
- Will the bad teens kill the Chancellor’s son?
- What are the consequences of the teens removing their wrist monitors?
- Will the second-in-command gain control of The Ark?
- Will the residents of The Ark follow the kids to Earth?
- If the adults from The Ark come to Earth, will they punish Bellamy?
- Will Clarke and Octavia compete over Finn?
- Will Bellamy take control?
- Who killed Jasper with the spear? Who else is on Mount Weather?
5. Inviting Obsession
There are so many questions posed and storylines started in the pilot that I can imagine wanting to binge-watch all of the episodes.
Although sci-fi is not my thing, I really enjoyed this pilot script and want to know what happens in the story.
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What I learned doing this assignment: how brilliant it can be when all FIVE Star Points fit into each other so seamlessly – and what it really means to have every single scene serving a purpose related to those 5 Star Points.
Doing MR. ROBOT – which is fantastic so far!!
WHAT IS A BINGE-WORTHY SHOW?
MR ROBOT
5 STAR POINTS
1. BIG HOOK: A brilliant but paranoid cyber-security engineer decides to take down E Corp, the biggest conglomerate in the world (and the main client of his firm), to cancel debt for people worldwide – the biggest wealth redistribution in history.
2. INTRIGUING CHARACTER: Elliot desperately wants to save the world for the “innocents” – including his one friend (who he may be in love with). He is brilliant, but also suffers from paranoid delusions, so is in doubt about whether the conspiracy of E Corp is even real.
3. EMPATHY/DISTRESS: Elliot suffers from crushing phobias, social anxiety and loneliness, and does what he does to take down the “bad guys” – like the Company that gave his now-dead father cancer (the only one he could really talk to). And Elliot’s acknowledged susceptibility to delusions makes us doubt everything we see – as he does.
4. OPEN LOOPS:
– Can Elliot bring down E(vil) Corp? How will he reconcile destroying that company
with the damage it may do to people he cares about (Gideon, Angela losing their
jobs)
– Is Elliot in love with Angela? Is there a future for them?
– is Mr. Robot real? Is he a good guy?
– is Elliot imagining all of this??5. INVITING OBSESSION:
– How can Elliot outwit and escape from E Corp, now that they know who he is?
– Can Elliot maintain his hold on sanity?
– Can Elliot find happiness/escape his crushing loneliness?UPON SECOND WATCHING, NEW INSIGHTS:
Every SINGLE scene in the Pilot episode deals with or provides insight into AT LEAST one of the 5 Star Points. EVERY SCENE. And KEY SCENES (the inciting incident, the turning point at end of Act 3, and the final cliff-hanger scene) deal with ALL FIVE STAR POINTS AT ONCE.
Technical note: Inciting Incident for the season comes at the HALF-WAY POINT of the episode (30 minutes in).
Also a note about Elliot’s FIRST LINES OF DIALOGUE:
ELLIOT: Hello, friend. “Hello, friend.” That’s lame. Maybe I should give you a name. But that’s a slippery slope. You’re only in my head. We have to remember that. Shit. It’s actually happened, I’m talking to an imaginary person. What I’m about to tell you is top secret – a conspiracy bigger than all of us. There’s a powerful group of people out there that are secretly running the world. I’m talking about the guys no one knows about, the guys that are invisible. The top 1% of the top 1%, the guys that play God without permission. And now I think they’re following me.This opening monologue ITSELF deals with all five Star Points, which is astounding:
1 – BIG HOOK (the men who play God without permission – and they’re following him)
2 – INTRIGUING CHARACTER (we see Elliot’s paranoia, and his awareness of his own delusions.
3 – EMPATHY/DISTRESS (if Elliot IS being followed by these men, he’s in grave danger. If NOT, his paranoia is out of control)
4 – OPEN LOOPS: (who are these men? What do they want with Elliot, and can he possibly escape? And, are they even real?)
5 – INVITING OBSESSION: (we’ve GOT to know more about who these men are instantly, and what Elliot has done to get on their radar) -
What I learned doing this assignment is the need to build into the pilot season-long questions about character and story that the audience cares about.
Example Show: The Morning Show
What is the big hook of this show?
The big hook is what happens to the characters as the scandal that follows Mitch Kessler’s firing for sexual misconduct plays out. Said another way, “What would happen to the nation’s most popular morning show if one of its beloved, iconic hosts is fired for sexual misconduct.”
What makes the main characters intriguing and interesting?
Alex deals with the fallout of Mitch’s firing, while trying to keep the show’s ratings up, especially with the hiring of Bradley Jackson—someone who appears, in many ways, to be Alex’s opposite.
Bradley is the least qualified to take the job, but her outspoken nature makes her a candidate to replace Mitch—especially since her real purpose is much more than becoming the replacement host.
Mitch simply can’t understand why cheating on his wife and “fucking a couple of PAs” is wrong. Hopefully, this is the starting point of an arc in which he redeems himself, because as the story begins, he represents the worst abuse of power, hiding behind the face America loves. At this point, he is irredeemable, unlikeable, and a genuinely bad person.
What situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress?
Alex is torn between her loyalty to Mitch and her own personal goals for the show’s ratings and her career. We witness the pain she goes through as she explains to her viewers across America that she’s lost the man she thought she knew and loved for fifteen years.
Bradley is a fish out of water, and it’s clear she’s being used, but this opportunity is too great to pass up. Every relationship Bradley is in is fractured. She’s frustrated because she passionately believes she’s right and nobody will listen (this is setting up the opening for her to have a national platform from which to speak).
Bradley’s relationship with her mother and how it’s strained by bringing her brother home—he’s an addict and bipolar.
What questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season?
What will happen to/with Mitch “The dad of morning TV”?
Who will replace Mitch?
How will Alex’s deal pan out?
Will Alex get fired?
What does the future hold for Bradley?
Alex and Charlie’s (her EP’s) relationship.
What is Cory’s ultimate plan?
Alex’s relationships w/her daughter and ex husband.
How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode?
The audience cares about the main characters, and how they deal with the fallout of Mitch’s firing as it affects them, each in a different way.
MAJOR BEATS:
- Alex’s morning routine starts at 3:30AM.
- Teaser ends with a mystery: Alex asks, “who died?”
- We meet Bradley and her small-town crew on their way to a story.
- We discover Mitch was fired from the morning show.
- Fifteen years and 12 Emmys. Only show to dodge #MeToo until Mitch.
- Alex states the problem: “Her on-air partner for fifteen years and best friend is a sexual predator.”
- Alex discovers the execs have known about this, and thinks this is why the’ve been dragging their feet on closing her deal.
- She demands she, alone, faces the cameras and tells the nation about Mitch.
- On location at a mine protest, Bradley discovers she’s lost the night anchor position to a less experienced reporter who is more likable than she (introducing character as driven and unlikeable) From coworker: “Try to be more agreeable for Christ sakes.”
- Big moment when Bradley loses it and goes off on a protestor before doing her live hit.
- We watch Alex give her first public remarks along with Mitch and his team (and his wife) as they take in her statement. As she makes her emotional heartfelt remark, we cut to Bradley, who says, “What a load.”
- Bradley discovers that her rant was recorded on a phone and her rant went viral, and is confronted by her boss who says he gave her a shot when nobody else would because she gets too hot. She quits.
- The network, looking for strong women to do a piece about finds Bradley’s viral video.
- Mitch tries to rationalize his horrible behavior: “Everything’s changed but they forgot to give me the memo.” His wife tells him she’s divorcing him.
- Charlie tries to get the show back on track / Cory has an agenda, makes no comment to the press.
- Cory shows up in Charlie’s office: Cory says they’re going to make change and nobody’s going to like it.
- NOTE: set up one character, set up a second character, then put them together against each other.
- Alex’s PR team coaches her that she was too sympathetic toward Mitch in her first public statement. They want to spin the situation to work for Alex’s upcoming negotiation.
- We get a hint about Alex’s home life, specifically w/her daughter. Then Alex’s ex shows up.
- Again: show one character, then another, then put them together in a blender. We see that Alex’s relationship w/her ex is “good” sort of.
- Alex’s daughter mentions “The Event” on Friday, setting up something big.
- Bradley comes home to discover her mother has taken Bradley’s brother, Hal, out of rehab. We learn Hal is bipolar and an addict. Through one dialogue exchange we learn this, and learn that Bradley’s mother took Hal out because she didn’t want to be alone. This brief exchange, and Hal’s response, succinctly sets the relationship between the three of them. We learn how committed Bradley is to her brother, and the cost of his well being is on Bradley’s life.
- This is interrupted by Hanna (head booker for the Morning Show) showing up at Bradley’s door, inviting her to fly to New York for an interview the next day because her video from the mine went viral—and ALEX WILL INTERVIEW HER. This is clearly the biggest event in Bradley’s career so far.
- Bradley asks how they found her, which leads to a thematic statement from Hannah, “We’re The Morning Show, we can do anything.”
- Daniel complains he’s only given fluff pieces, hints that this might be borderline racism “Tokenism at its finest.”
- Cory and Charlie meet alone in a big restaurant (setting hints at power). Cory lays out why Alex was on her way out, but a new co-anchor could save her. He sets up the rivalry w/the other network morning show.
- Cory speaks the truth of the culture (and the business) today to Charlie: people get their news from their phone. What they do is provide escape, a dream world for America, saying the sexual chemistry between Alex and Mitch was a big part of their appeal, but now, Alex is Mitch’s widow, and “Nobody wants to watch a widow get fucked.” All of this is subtext for: big things need to change and nobody’s safe.
- Bradley shows up in New York. Intercut her doing research w/Alex trying to sleep/deal with everything.
- A somewhat tipsy Alex shows up at 2AM at her dressing room. This does not go unnoticed. Alex cries, and we see the toll all of this is taking on her (undeserved misfortune).
- At 45 minutes, through Bradley’s eyes, we see the same electronic billboard we saw in the opening, but now, instead of Alex and Mitch, it’s only Alex. Change.
- Alex interviews Bradley live. She turns what’s supposed to be an easy piece into a confrontation. Alex is warned over her earpiece to “be nice’ but she continues to press Bradley. Cory sees something in Bradley. Alex creates an uncomfortable moment about a reporter making the story about them. The interview ends in a war of subtext between Alex and Bradley calling each other, and every word is beneath the surface, but they’re actually going after each other. Cory loves this. Bradley deftly ends the conversation, and one-ups Alex.
- Off camera, Alex subtly insults Bradley. Cory watches, and sees the conflict between them.
- Mitch gets a late-night intruder. Gun drawn, he heads downstairs to discover that it’s Alex, who came to secretly see him—they still love each other and start to work through their issues. Alex is going to lose everything because of Mitch—their star was build on chemistry and he blew it up. Mitch denies, and says they were consensual affairs. Mitch accuses her of being jealous. She retorts: “Do you think that I’m jealous because of the two times you got on top of me…” Very specific wording (not saying they made love or had sex—“You got on top of me” says the same thing but with so much beneath the surface. They discuss their unique and special relationship, how close they were, and Alex tells him they can never be friends.
- After a heartfelt moment, Alex leaves. Mitch stops her w/a big revelation, “They’re going to replace you.”
- The episode ends w/Bradley leaving town, taking a call from Cory, who invites her to meet him for a drink and “talk about her future.”
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