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Lesson 3 Assignments
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What I learned doing this assignment is that I had a lot more of the story stuffed away in my brain than I knew. Once I began flushing out the seasons, the story line for the 5 seasons came into view.
Jack Young’s Five Seasons for “STREAM”
SEASON I: Michael Must Die
A. Major hook of the season: Michael dies and enters the Stream
B. Big Picture Season Arc/Journey: Michael takes step in his journey to see what exists on the other end of the Stream.
C. Main Conflict: Michael is dying, being pursued by the government, and dealing with forces that are trying to stop him from entering the Stream.
D. Main Mystery/Open Loops: Can Michael get to the other end of the Stream and stop it?
E. Cliffhanger: Michael is plucked from a version of Heaven and finds himself in a synthetic skin.
SEASON II: There’s a Bigger Problem
A. Major hook of the season: Michael discovers that a bigger problem than the Stream exists – The Sacred Seals…
B. Big Picture Season Arc/Journey: Michael searches for answers about the Stream while the Professor visits the Ocean of Souls looking for his deceased wife.
C. Main Conflict: The government steps up its investigation of the professor, convinced he’s responsible for the no-birth epidemic.
D. Main Mystery/Open Loops: Can Michael find the source of the Stream and shut it down?
E. Cliffhanger: Thomas gets killed while protecting Michael’s body and finds himself in the Ocean of Souls.
SEASON III: Ocean of Souls
A. Major hook of the season: Thomas searches for Michael and a revolution grows.
B. Big Picture Season Arc/Journey: Michael hesitantly accepts his role as leader as momentum builds for the revolution against Cronus.
C. Main Conflict: Cronus steps up crushing dissidence and removing the final sacred seals. War is imminent.
D. Main Mystery/Open Loops: Will the revolution succeed and will Cronus remove the final seals?
E. Cliffhanger: Michael falls onto the seals and isn’t immediately disintegrated like others. He accepts his destiny. He is chosen.
SEASON IV: Son of Cronus
A. Major hook of the season: Cronus’ concubine returns to Earth carrying his child…the son of Cronus.
B. Big Picture Season Arc/Journey: Michael returns home, having destroyed the Stream. Babies are born again. The epidemic averted.
C. Main Conflict: The birth of Cronus’ son has brought the evil to Earth.
D. Main Mystery/Open Loops: What will the evil that was brought back to Earth do?
E. Cliffhanger: The son of Cronus is elected as VP of the United States.
SEASON V: The Battle for Earth
A. Major hook of the season: The son of Cronus gains power in the political world as a small group of rebels grows having perceived his evil intentions.
B. Big Picture Season Arc/Journey: Michael finds himself and family drawn into a new war against evil that he thought had been destroyed.
C. Main Conflict: The son of Cronus and his armies against the rebel force being led by Michael.
D. Main Mystery/Open Loops: Can the son of Cronus gain power over the world and will the sacred seals now be successfully removed by the son of Cronus?
E. Cliffhanger: Newly designed “Military” skins guard the sacred seals on a foreign planet, forever guarding against the evil returning.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by Jack Young.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by Jack Young.
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This reply was modified 2 years, 7 months ago by
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Cathryn Atkinson’s Five Seasons for Run Angelita
What I learned doing this assignment is – this is the first time I have ever tried to do an exercise like this, and I love it. It really helps me think about my plans and the story. Wonderful exercise.
1. Brainstorm to find the arc of the entire journey, from Season One to Five.
Season 1: Angelita on the run from cartel in America carrying digital links to $500m stolen from cartel. She kidnaps Chance and for his own reasons he agrees to help her look for her “mother”. Discovers the money and decides to be Robin Hood and give it away
Season 2: Angelita acting as Robin Hood, giving away the cartel’s money/FBI after her, Chance and Veronica/She learns her grandmother is alive but held captive.
Season 3: Chance and Angelita begin a serious relationship. Angelita finishes high school, but turns to Enrique when he says they can rescue her grandmother. They kill Moneda, but grandmother dies in the rescue attempt.
Season 4: Enrique is appointed underboss after Moneda’s death, by el Jefe (name: Aquilla). Chance finds Angelita with Veronica’s help, Enrique kills Veronica.
Season 5: Angelita finds out she is pregnant with Chance’s baby, decides to get rid of the remaining money ($400m) by xx. Angelita kills Enrique when he comes for the money. Angelita starts medical school (what her grandma wanted her to do). Angelita and Chance look into how much it will cost to “disappear” and do it. El Jefe swears he will continue to search for them, and just as they are about to hit the button to wipe out the money Angelita and Chance hesitate.
2. Brainstorm the Stair Step version.
Season 1: Wealthy, sheltered Latinx teen Angelita goes on the run to America from her brother’s cartel, unknowingly carrying digital links to $500m stolen by him. She is chased by Enrique, the cartel’s top assassin, who is her estranged oldest brother. Angelita kidnaps Chance and for his own reasons he agrees to help her look for her “mother”, who ends up being a plant by the cartel to catch her. When she discovers the money, Angelita decides to become a latter-day Robin Hood and give it away to those in need.
Season 2: Angelita – helped by Chance and Veronica – has turned herself into Robin Hood, giving away the cartel’s money. She starts to gather supporters who protect her. The FBI uncover the activity and go after her, even as the cartel sends Enrique to try again. Angelita learns her grandmother is alive but held captive and reaches out to Enrique, and they plan to rescue her.
Season 3: Chance and Angelita begin a serious romantic relationship. Angelita finishes high school, but turns to Enrique when he says they can rescue her grandmother. They kill Moneda, but Nana dies in the rescue attempt.
Season 4: Enrique is appointed underboss after Moneda’s death, by el Jefe (name: Aquilla). Angelita now goes to work for Enrique under an assumed name. Chance finds Angelita with Veronica’s help and they escape, Enrique kills Veronica.
Season 5: Angelita finds out she is pregnant with Chance’s baby, and they decide to get rid of the remaining money ($400m). Angelita kills Enrique when he comes for the money. Angelita starts medical school (what her grandma wanted her to do). Angelita and Chance look into how much it will cost to “disappear” and do it. El Jefe continues to search for them, starting an all-out war. Just as they are about to hit the button to wipe out the money Angelita and Chance hesitate.
3. For each season, brainstorm the Building Blocks.
RUN ANGELITA by Cathryn Atkinson
Season 1: (CREDIBLE FEAR)
Angelita’s life falls apart when she must run away to America to avoid the cartel, without knowing she has codes that access their money, and they want to kill her and get it back. America is not welcoming.
A. High Concept or major hook of the season:
Escaping the cartel and securing millions in stolen funds.<div>
</div><div>B. Big Picture Arc/Journey:
From a spoiled teenage migrant to a rebel fighting those who abuse refugees.</div><div>
</div><div>C. Main Conflict:
Finding safety while running away from a cartel mob trying to kill her.</div><div>
</div><div>D. Mystery/Open Loops:
Will Angelita succeed or be killed? What will she do with the money?</div><div>
</div><div>E. Cliffhanger: The cartel holds Angelita’s grandmother, who she though had died, and have leverage against her.</div><div>
</div><div>Season 2: (LEGENDARY OUTLAW)
Angelita, Chance and Veronica hide in Point Roberts, WA, and start to build a pipeline that allows her to spend the cartel money. Enrique is told he must find them, and is shown a captive – Angelita’s grandmother (and his), who they thought had been shot.
A. High Concept or major hook of the season:
Angelita transforms herself into a kind of Robin Hood, taking from the rich and giving to the poor.<div>
</div><div>B. Big Picture Arc/Journey:
From a hideout in Washington State, Angelita – helped by Chance and Veronica – cartel money pours out to the poor and those who help them, as Moneda’s tries to track them down. <div>
</div><div>C. Main Conflict:
The FBI is now involved, and the cartel continue to hunt down Angelita, while her supporters grow in numbers. Angelita learns her grandmother is alive but held captive and plans to rescue her. <div>
</div><div>D. Mystery/Open Loops:
Will Angelita and her supporters be killed/stopped?<div>
</div><div>E. Cliffhanger:
Angelita needs to save her grandmother.<div>Season 3: (Title? Thinking about it – I want them all to connect)
Angelita and Enrique try to rescue Nana and become cautious friends. Chance tells Angelita that he loves her and they start an affair, which crashes when he finds out about Enrique.
A. High Concept or major hook of the season:
Angelita and Enrique rescue Nana and get to know each other.<div>
</div><div>B. Big Picture Arc/Journey:
Angelita reaches out to Enrique to help her rescue her grandmother, and they get to know each other behind the cartel’s back. Chance and Angelita begin a serious romantic relationship that quickly falls apart.C. Main Conflict:
Chance finds out about Enrique and is furious. When Enrique and Angelita find Nana, theykill Moneda, but Nana dies in the rescue attempt. Distraught, Chance reaches out to his old life and ex-girlfriend at home.D. Mystery/Open Loops:
Will Angelita and Enrique stay together, brother and sister? Will they be pulled into the cartel by tempting offers?
E. Cliffhanger:
The FBI scoops Angelita up and jails her, but as she lives under an assumed name, they don’t know who they have.<div>Season 4: (Title? Thinking about it)
Angelita is freed from prison after two months (or something) and starts to sit in on medical classes without being enrolled. Enrique convinces her that Chance has gone forever, and that family must stay together.
A. High Concept or major hook of the season.
Freeing Angelita from prison for robbery, Veronica has taken over the money and needs sorting out. In prison, Angelita starts studying medicine (what her grandma wanted her to do).<div>
<div><b style=”font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit;”>B. Big Picture Arc/Journey:
<div>Enrique is appointed underboss after Moneda’s death, by el Jefe (name: Aquilla). He works with Chance to get Angelita out of jail, but Enrique forces her to stay with him when she gets out. </div><div>
</div><div>C. Main Conflict:
Veronica is abusing her position with the money, Enrique kills her.
Angelita fights Enrique, and also Chance. The FBI gets their hands on $100m.</div><div>
</div><div>D. Mystery/Open Loops:
How will they hang onto the money? Have they forgotten why they wanted to help people?</div><div>
</div><div>E. Cliffhanger:
Angelita’s hold over the money leads to corruption in a supporter and a catastrophe and the deaths of 200 people.</div><div>Season 5: (Title? Thinking about it)
Angelita and Chance decide to get out of handling the money because if the accident that killed migrants, and Angelita learns she is pregnant.
A. High Concept or major hook of the season.Angelita finds out she is pregnant with Chance’s baby, and they decide to get rid of the remaining money ($400m).</div><div>
</div><div>B. Big Picture Arc/Journey:Angelita and Chance look into how much it will cost to “disappear” and do it, and their pipeline and supporters are furious.</div><div>
</div><div>C. Main Conflict:El Jefe continues to search for them, starting an all-out war. Enrique decides not to protect Angelita anymore and demands the money. She kills him after he shoots Chance (who lives).</div><div>
</div><div>D. Mystery/Open Loops:
What will the future hold for Angelita and Chance? Will they really offload the money? Who do they hurt with this plan? Who is angry?</div><div>
</div><div>E. Cliffhanger:Just as they are about to hit the button to wipe out the money Angelita and Chance hesitate.
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Madeleine Vessel’s Five Seasons
What I learned doing this assignment is that even though it seemed impossible to think ahead five seasons, using the stair step process made it happen. My draft is VERY ROUGH, but it’s a lot further along than I ever imagined it would be. It’s also taking a very different turn than I imagined. Yay!!
Series Title: Out From the Shadows
SEASON 1 Title: THE HIDDEN HOARD
A. High Concept or major hook: Vanquishing the murderer and art thief without being exposed to the FSB.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: From risk averse art professor to globetrotting art theft investigator.
C. Main Conflict: Following the trail of a killer/art thief while keeping out of the public eye.
D. Mystery/Open Loops: Will Sophie be recognized and killed by FSB?
E. Cliffhanger: Sophie experiences a freedom that she hasn’t felt since she was a child. More daring now, she’s eager to go boldly out into the world .
SEASON 2 Title: THE HOLY GRAIL
A. High Concept or major hook of the season. While on vacation in Rome, Sophie thwarts a terrorist takeover to capture The Holy Grail on tour at St. Peters Cathedral in the Vatican.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: From being a San Francisco researcher/teaching professor to saving The Holy Grail from terrorists.
C. Main Conflict: Negotiating with terrorists without being killed; without being recognized by FSB, still hot on her trail.
D. Mystery/Open Loops: Will Sophie’s newly earned reputation for outfoxing terrorists expose her to the FSB?
E. Cliffhanger: Sophie decides to shop her art expertise out to law enforcement to recover stolen masterpieces.
SEASON 3 title: THE FORGERY
A. High Concept or major hook of the season. On a visit to an art exhibition at Oxford University in England, Sophie suspects the most valuable painting displayed is a fraud.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: She goes from being a successful negotiator to being a fraud detector.
C. Main Conflict: Someone at Oxford is a thief and a forger and will do anything to stop Sophie from finding out the truth.
D. Cliffhanger: Sophie sets a trap for an art forger.
SEASON 4 Title: THE RESTORATION
A. High Concept or major hook of the season. After agreeing to restore a wealthy family’s family portrait, Sophie discovers an Old Master underneath.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: She goes from being an art restorer to being a finder of a lost masterpiece.
C. Main Conflict: Someone in the family is a thief.
D. Mystery/Open Loops: Will her notoriety for finding the lost master lead her into the hands of the FSB?
E. Cliffhanger: Sophie is targeted by an art thief.
SEASON 5 Title: THE TRAP
A. High Concept or major hook of the season. Sophie is asked by an insurance company to authenticate and appraise an Old Master, but it’s a trap set by FSB.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: Sophie goes from moving freely about the world to being trapped and taken prisoner by the FSB.
C. Main Conflict: Negotiating and fighting her way out of captivity.
D. Mystery/Open Loops: Will Sophie be killed by FSB?
E. Cliffhanger: Sophie turns the tables on the FSB.
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Eric Humble’s Five Seasons
What I learned doing this assignment is: This assignment has given me a lot more clarity on my concepts, because finally working out how the storylines may progress has caused me to focus on the hooks and to feel more confident that no matter how extreme I may choose to go with the big hook of each show, I’ll be able to flesh out a full five seasons’ worth of story even if they’re not used once the shows get produced.
Season One:
Yesterday, he was just an esteemed cancer research specialist. Today, he’s a target–and the ones chasing him are everywhere. Jude enjoys a comfortable life of high income and accolades, reaping the benefits of “the business of cancer”… until his wife contracts inoperable cancer. But Jude has stumbled onto something that may finally provide a cure – an element in a blood sample given by Dres, a homeless con artist. Only problem: someone’s trying to kill Dres – and now Jude as well. To keep his only hope of developing the cure alive, Jude infiltrates a secret cabal operating at the highest echelons of the healthcare and insurance industries. Dres is their target because she is an immortal, over a century old, and the cure for cancer she holds within her will break the cash cow that is the cancer business. She cannot be allowed to survive!
But unbeknownst to anyone, Jude’s wife is also an immortal. Immortals aren’t supposed to get sick, yet here she is, dying… and she needs the kind of answers only the cabal has. Except it’s a trap – to ferret out the traitor in their midst…Jude!
Season Two:
Just as Jude has made it into the inner circle of the cabal, his rival, the powerful CEO Marks, reveals that he has Jude’s wife in captivity. Jude reveals himself to save her, but Marks can’t let him go with what he knows… but he can’t afford to kill him either. So he relegates Jude to the brutal training program of the cabal’s assassins. He’ll be indoctrinated fully into the cabal – if he survives. But as he undergoes an inhumane regimen, he’s inching closer to the cabal’s secrets regarding Dres… including which of the cabal members killed her mother. Because the cabal has been hunting immortal bloodlines for over a century, not only to keep the healthcare business booming, but to control which diseases get cured and which are allowed to run rampant. Whoever controls sickness and cures controls human history.
Finally, Jude is ready to be released into the field… as the cabal’s best-trained assassin. But does he have it in his heart to kill people like Dres and his own wife? It’s then that he discovers the cabal is waging a clandestine war with the immortals across the globe… because immortals only cure diseases for 200 years, then their DNA mutates, making them plague carriers – forever. This is what’s happening to Jude’s wife. Humanity is in jeopardy so long as even one immortal is allowed to live!
Season Three:
The war plays out quietly in seedy backalleys and abandoned buildings across Europe and Asia – and Jude is now the top assassin in the field. But he’s still in league with Dres, still searching for a cure for his wife, and trying to find a way to keep those close to him safe and removed from this fight. But his wife is getting sicker – with more than cancer. She’s carrying some mutated germ that will explode into an unbeatable pandemic unless Jude can contain her somewhere and use his research skills to develop a cure… before it’s too late. Dres is at odds with Jude, who, in her eyes, is now no different than the assassin who killed her mother. And Marks becomes disenchanted with the cabal’s insistence on self-dealing to keep the business in the red as humanity’s survival is at stake. But Jude is able to bring Dres back under his protection as he and his wife work their way up the chain of command to the head of the global cabal – the one pulling all the strings…
It’s Dres’s mother! Long thought dead, she’s actually been using the cabal to take out her immortal peers and clear the field for her ultimate plan: unleashing the pandemic that Jude’s wife holds inside her, designed to kill humans while leaving immortals untouched. Just as Jude has embraced his role in this conflict, he discovers he’s fighting for the wrong side after all! But it’s too late, his wife has already exposed a sizeable number of people to the disease. The pandemic will spread. Humanity will be lost.
Season Four:
Dres’s mother embodies the most dangerous aspect of immortality – she has lived so long that mortal lives are just blips on a timeline to her. Her humanity has drained away and actions are motivated by macro-level thinking… such as, destroy humanity and immortals, the only ones with a direct stake in the survival of this planet, can correct all the things Big Business has done to corrupt it. There is no reasoning with her and she’s too powerful and well-protected to kill. Jude has no choice but to form a splinter cabal of his own – comprised of both humans and immortals – to take her down. But are there enough powerful people who will want to join/finance his operation, or are they all aligned with Dres’s mother? And can he defeat a plan centuries in the making?
His surprising ally is Marks, one-time head of the cabal’s US chapter. Jude and Marks work together and establish a base on Antarctica to keep Jude’s wife – and the pandemic – contained… when Dres’s mother finds them and, bringing her full forces to the continent, declares open warfare. If only Jude’s meager forces were ready… and not starting to succumb to the pandemic…
Season Five:
It’s war at the icy bottom of the world – will the immortals destroy humanity or vice versa? Jude’s small splinter group is waylaid as the disease takes hold, with only Dres and a few immortal allies unaffected. Luckily, Jude’s time as a brilliant medical researcher has allowed him to discover a cure. The bad news? The only way to complete the formula and stamp out the pandemic is to acquire Dres’s mother’s DNA. Dres would be the ideal agent for such a mission – except extracting the DNA would involve killing her own mother, the woman whose death she has been grieving for decades until her recent reappearance.
But Dres, a lifelong con woman who has preyed on innocent people, sides with humanity. The DNA strand allows for the completion of a cure and a vaccine should the disease ever reach the mainland. In the aftermath, Marks stays to establish a safe haven for immortals on Antarctica while Jude becomes a peacemaker and arbitrator between the healthcare community and the businesspeople who stand to lose billions with cures for cancer, etc. widely available…
But there’s still an immortal out there old enough to be seeing present-day life as a blip on the timeline… what will his next move be? Is he the next threat? Is the whole colony that Marks is gathering out in the ice?
Concept Two:
Season 1: (Title?)
Darren, a by-the-book FBI Agent is about to close in on mob boss Scoleri – when, inexplicably, Scoleri is entered into the race for U.S. President by a mysterious website run by persons unknown… and, under a new law, is protected from prosecution so long as he is running for or serving in federal office. Darren’s career is ruined by the collapse of his years-long investigation. He quits the FBI, leaving his partner Bender to handle the fallout… but hatches a new plan. Counseled by his Congresswoman wife Rebecca, Darren joins the sitting president’s campaign for reelection, so that he’ll be in a position to expose their opponent as a gangland thug to the world… when the time is right. But to do this, Darren must get the campaign chief of staff’s job – and the only way to get him out is to set him up for a crime he didn’t commit.
Scoleri, meanwhile, must hide his illicit business from prying watchdogs investigating him as an unknown new player in national politics… all while needing to advance in the race in order to avoid the life sentence awaiting him the second he loses or drops out. But the first step is winning his party’s nomination, over the established and beloved presumptive nominee… whom Darren is now propping up with campaign funds intended for the sitting President. Prior to this, Scoleri would kill his way to the top, but with all eyes on him, he does the unthinkable – uses his fortune to revitalize a waterfront community that he himself has spend decades running into the ground with drugs. Coupled with a little gangland-style blackmail of the party leadership, Scoleri wins the nomination.
But who is behind all this? And what to they hope to gain by forcing Scoleri to keep winning in the race to the White House? Unbeknownst to anyone, the answer is Rebecca. In addition to being a powerful Congresswoman, she’s also a Russian spy, and her goal is to get a puppet in the White House. And if there’s one thing the Kremlin knows it’s how to control a gangster oligarch…
Season 2:
As the party’s unbeloved nominee, Scoleri is now facing the sitting President. Darren, now seated as chief of staff to the campaign, reveals Scoleri’s crimes to the President. Scoleri is a sitting duck. But he has underworld resources and brutal methods to dig up dirt on the President… starting with looking into why exactly the President–along with his cronies in Congress–engineered and passed the bill currently protecting Scoleri from prosecution? It turns out the President embezzled funds from a federal financial institution when he was starting his political career… and wants to ride out the statute of limitations in office. But Darren has also figured this out. His goal: finally nab Scoleri for the gangster he is and blow the whistle on the President for using the law to his own ends… allowing a vicious mobster to go free.
But instead of exposure, Darren blackmails POTUS to announce he’s not running for reelection. In exchange, Darren won’t have Bender or the FBI prosecute him. He gets this done before Scoleri can beat him to the punch… then details who Scoleri is and what he’s done to the world. Scoleri’s prospects in the presidential race are in serious jeopardy.
Then, drunk on the power and freedom from bureaucratic norms, Darren unexpectedly announces his own run for the presidency in POTUS’s stead and forces POTUS to make an endorsement.
Season 3:
It’s Darren vs. Scoleri for the presidency, heading into the home stretch. Darren pummels Scoleri in the polls and on the debate stage. Scoleri is also under threat as his former underling Eco moves to shut him out of his own criminal empire. Feeling defeated, Scoleri returns to his roots, to the neighborhoods he started his empire from… and starts piecing together the way Darren’s investigation into him started—and uncovers that Darren and Bender committed an armed robbery at one of Scoleri’s mob fronts, resulting in the accidental shooting of an innocent kid who worked there… all as a cover to steal intel into his criminal empire. And he’s not the only one walking this trail—the President has detailed his best Secret Service agent to get leverage on Darren and the agent is picking up the trail to the robbery as well.
The agent confronts Darren about what she’s learned… and Darren murders her. It’s the most extreme violation of his rules and he’s both guilt-ridden and exhilarated by the raw power he has. Meanwhile, Scoleri finds the kid Darren shot, who is paralyzed from the waist down… and kills him. Scoleri then stages an elaborate funeral in the old neighborhood, televising it, using it to connect to the people he came up around and apologizing to the nation for his misdeeds. He comes across as genuine and tries to energize the base… but the attempt fails. Everyone is clamoring for an investigation into him. Meanwhile Darren gets away with murder… and pledges that his first act as President will be to have the FBI arrest Scoleri and uncover everyone who aided him in his empire. The public laps it up.
But Rebecca is in hot water with her Russian handler now that Scoleri is losing. She pledges to correct this–but is abducted by her handler’s people. Will she be executed for failure?
Season 4:
A flood of cash is funneled through the mysterious website to Scoleri’s campaign, resulting in a media blitz smearing Darren, hinting at his plan in the robbery and the death of the kid. The people still aren’t in support of Scoleri, but they’re seeing Darren as a villain, too. Darren has been distracted in recent weeks, keeping it quiet that his wife remains missing without a trace. But Scoleri’s turning up the heat. In an attempt to bring the conversation back to Scoleri, Darren uses Bender to spark a gang war between Scoleri’s mob and a Syrian gang… not realizing the gang is affiliated with a terrorist organization who threaten to destroy a major city with a bomb attack. Darren’s gang war has escalated to a real war.
Both Darren and Scoleri have to stop it… because both have inroads into the organization from their previous lives. Darren musters the FBI into action with the inside information he has from setting this thing into motion. But to shield himself from political blowback, Darren throws Bender under the bus, ruining him and putting him under arrest. Scoleri, meanwhile, engaes the terrorist cell with the ruthlessness of a gangster, bringing them under his heel and stopping the bomb attack. Scoleri emerges as a hero, hailed as a diplomat for diffusing the situation–pulling ahead of Darren in the polls…
…when Rebecca, still alive, is released with this order from her handler: don’t interfere with what happens next. Because the Kremlin has never been interested in a puppet POTUS. All the drama Darren and Scoleri have served up has been enough to distract tfrom Russia launching a major offensive on US soil – using thousands of sleeper agents like Rebecca. And that has been the whole point all along.
Season 5:
A Russian invasion is underway, targeting key points of infrastructure across the US, which has been caught unaware and unprepared. Darren wants back in with the FBI to help – but he’s the target of their main investigation now that Rebecca’s status as an agent has been found out. Scoleri convenes a meeting of the major criminal gangs – the Feds aren’t going to be able to handle this, and all the mobs’s money and operations are at stake… the underworld will unite to slaughter these Russians and scare the Kremlin into never doing anything like this again. Scoleri and his underling Eco procure a list of the sleeper agents from Rebecca’s handler – and the mobs do their work in one bloody night… but a TV news crew captures Scoleri violently killing the Russian handler on live TV. He’s done in the Presidential race – and, coming to an epiphany that he needs to do what’s right for the country at this moment, submits himself for arrest… although he’s hailed as a hero for stopping an invasion of the US.
Darren, meanwhile, is under investigation for being the husband of a Russian agent… and for the murder of the secret service agent. He goes on the run… then learns one of the sleeper agents has been assigned to assassinate Rebecca for turning over the list to Scoleri. Darren goes to rescue her, gets in a shootout with Russian agents, and is killed. The sitting president announces his bid for reelection against a new candidate the opposing party is nominating. All is as it should be…
…when a representative of a small Central American country visits Scoleri in jail with an offer – he can get him sprung… if Scoleri is still interested in the presidency… just not one in this country. His country is known for growing drugs. There’s money to be made, so long as they install the right leader. Scoleri considers it from his cell…
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George Petersen – FIVE SEASONS
What I learned doing this assignment is how much writing goes into a project before you write it.
SEASON 1 – THE RED BALLOT
High Concept or major hook of the season: will Lincoln make it through Baltimore alive? How close did he come to not making it?
Big Picture Season Arc/Journey: from Springfield to Washington / Kate and Pinkerton grow from amateur detectives to professional “secret service” detectives
Main Conflict: As Kate and Pinkerton struggle to uncover the assassination plot, Ferrandini struggles to strengthen and execute it
Main Mystery/Open Loops:
Will the KGC get it together and kill Lincoln?
Will Ferrandini get the street gangs under control and ready to kill the President?
Will Kate get the information she needs from the ringleader, Ferrandini himself?
Will Pinkerton ever be able to get Lincoln to exercise some caution as he passes through Baltimore?
Will Lincoln’s friend and bodyguard, Ward H. Lamon, sabotage all efforts to create an impenetrable veil of secrecy around the President?
Cliffhanger: Are Mary’s fears hysterical? Will the angry mobs rioting in Baltimore march out of the city and invade vulnerable, unprotected Washington? Perhaps attack the capital itself? Or is Lincoln right to believe that such a thing — American citizens attacking the capital — will never happen?
“In 1835, the would-be assassin of Andrew Jackson was declared insane. It was a fluke, not to be taken seriously. Assassination, that is. And so, as 1861 unfolds, no American President had ever been assassinated. Assassinations were a thing in Europe, but not here, in America. No president had protection of any kind. They all walked the streets of Washington alone, unescorted. And no American President ever resisted protection more fiercely than Abraham Lincoln. But Baltimore was in turmoil with Southern sympathizers agitating for rebellion. And Lincoln was scheduled to pass through the city — unprotected.”
— Alan Pinkerton
It was in this powder keg environment that detectives Kate Warne and Alan Pinkerton found themselves. The rumors spreading through Baltimore of an assassination plot… were they true? Imagine Pinkerton’s surprise when Kate tells him that his barber, the one he pumps information from as he gets his beard trimmed, is the ringleader. Is everything he knows misinformation? Now it so happens that this ringleader, Ferrandini the barber, is quite taken with Miss Dixie, an attractive young Southern socialite new to the city. He loves the way she dresses in a long, flowing dress covered with Confederate flags with an umbrella to match, and the way she facetiously pleads with him to bring her Lincoln’s heart after the assassination. As his fondness for her grows, a date is set for their wedding, but, on her insistence, it will be the day after the assassination, thereby making for a double celebration. Of course, that day will never come because, as Kate, accomplished Union spy, she will be busy getting Lincoln through Baltimore in one piece.
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SEASON 2 -THE WAR COMES
High Concept or major hook of the season: Will Kate survive being a Union spy deep behind the lines of the raging Confederacy?
Big Picture Season Arc/Journey: Kate uses her acting skills to grow from unseasoned detective to battle-scarred Union spy
Main Conflict: Confederate agents kill Kate’s partner and are on the lookout for her
Main Mystery/Open Loops:
Will Confederate agents find and kill Kate?
Can Kate get sensitive military information to Pinkerton in time before the next battle begins?
Will Pinkerton’s experience in the Underground Railroad help him go deeper behind Confederate lines?
Cliffhanger: If Lincoln loses the election, the Democrats will end the war with slavery still intact and all will be lost.
At first, being a spy didn’t seem all that different from being a detective, but when her partner is hunted down and hanged for all to see, Kate decides to go deeper into Confederate social circles and get the intelligence Pinkerton needs to present to generals on the battlefield. But speed brings risks and one untrue move and the Confederate agents will string her up too. Battlefield victories, after all, are essential for Lincoln to win; otherwise, the Democrats will end the war with slavery still intact and all will be lost.
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SEASON 3 – END OF DREAMS
High Concept or major hook of the season: Kate returns to Baltimore. Her objective is to infiltrate the wives club of a secret society, the Knights of the Golden Circle, but she needs help, someone younger. She finds and recruits the captivating, Abrielle.
Big Picture Season Arc/Journey: Kate grows from spy to spymaster.
Main Conflict:
Kate’s assistant, Abrielle, falls for John Wilkes Booth, after seeing him perform on stage. Booth’s a heartthrob among the young ladies. Kate must use her past experience with Ferrandini to help Abrielle break free from what’s happening to her. Or use it to penetrate the KGC.
Main Mystery/Open Loops:
Will Kate succeed in teaching Abrielle how to deal with her romantic feelings?
Will Wilkes Booth convert Abrielle to the Southern cause?
What message does Lincoln bring to Pinkerton when they meet in the battlefield tent?
Cliffhanger: Lincoln wins reelection, but Pinkerton’s clashes with Lamon aren’t enough to stop the assassination of Lincoln. Pinkerton pushes for a better “secret service,” which could have made a difference. His ideas are rejected.
When Kate first meets the captivating, Abrielle, she wastes no time recruiting her to be a Union spy. Baltimore is a rebel hotbed and Kate knows she will need someone young and vulnerable to help form enduring relationships with the wives of KGC members. All goes well until Abrielle attends a stage performance of one of the visiting KGC members, an actor by the name of Wilkes Booth. Kate must use her past experience with Ferrandini to help Abrielle break free from what’s happening to her. Or use the relationship to penetrate the KGC. Lincoln and Pinkerton clash over security issues when they meet in the battlefield tent. Pinkerton and Lamon, just like they did years ago, clash again over Lincoln’s lack of a modern security service. A few weeks later, Wilkes Booth assassinates Lincoln. Pinkerton goes into a deep depression; Kate struggles to help Abrielle understand that being a spy is dangerous, but also heartbreaking.
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SEASON 4 – A NEW BEGINNING
High Concept or major hook of the season: The first female detective division opens up in Chicago
Big Picture Season Arc/Journey: Kate grows from spy to division chief of a new female detective division of the Pinkerton Agency
Main Conflict: working a bank fraud case, Kate and Abrielle become intrigued with a story about a lost gold shipment of the KGC. Pinkerton opposes the investigation, wanting to let go of any memories of the war.
Main Mystery/Open Loops:
Shaken by the experience of providing security for the Lincoln’s funeral train as it travels back to Springfield, will Pinkerton revive the detective agency in Chicago — or let it go?
Will the female detective division be successful?
Will Abrielle adapt to detective work?
Cliffhanger: Will Kate and Abrielle discover the truth behind the story of the missing KGC shipment of gold?
Shaken by the experience of providing security for the Lincoln’s funeral train as it meanders through mourning crowds on its way back to Springfield, Pinkerton considers letting go of the detective agency in Chicago. It seems like a lifetime ago that he helped Lincoln get from Springfield to Washington in a spirit of hope; now he helps him make the trip back home to Springfield in a spirit of despair. Kate and Abrielle give him a burst of optimism by opening a dynamic female detective division. Working a bank fraud case, Kate and Abrielle become intrigued with a story about a lost gold shipment of the KGC. Pinkerton opposes the investigation, wanting to let go of any memories of the war. Will Kate and Abrielle discover the truth behind the story of the missing KGC shipment of gold?
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SEASON 5 – HOME AT LAST
High Concept or major hook of the season: How Kate helps Pinkerton defend Lincoln post-assassination
Big Picture Season Arc/Journey: “Who Knew Lincoln the Best” becomes a money-making industry of books and speaking engagements, forcing Pinkerton to go public with his personal account of life with Lincoln
Main Conflict: Pinkerton’s reputation is attacked by his enemies
Main Mystery/Open Loops:
Kate helps Pinkerton write his book about what happened in Baltimore. Will it be successful?
Kate becomes ill. Will Abrielle be able to fill her shoes?
Kate takes one last case. Will she be able to complete it?
Will Kate and Abrielle finish their investigation of the missing KGC gold shipment?
Conclusion: Pinkerton buries Kate in the family plot. He completes his thoughts on her life and adventures: “And that’s how women became detectives in America.”
When people who knew Lincoln firsthand came to realize that there was money to be made in books and speaking engagements, Pinkerton’s reputation was viciously attacked, especially by Lanon. After all, Pinkerton alone knew the details of many crucial events in Lincoln’s life. Kate helps him write a book detailing what really happened. When Kate becomes ill, she decides to take one last case. Abrielle makes a shocking discovery about the missing KGC gold shipment. After Kate dies, Pinkerton decides to have her buried in the family plot — the daughter he never had. He concludes his commentary: “And that’s how women became detectives in America.”
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Rafal’s Five Seasons
What I learned doing this assignment is…
2. Brainstorm the Stair Step version.
Season 1: Arcadia is a pleased with herself retired doctor on her deathbed who must gain a new life energy resources and question many of her professional achievements if she wants to investigate reasons of her beloved granddaughter life endangering aggression disorder and to punish those responsible and help her to recover.
Season 2: W tajemnicy przed synem, który przejął po niej prowadzenie szpitala Arcadia zaczyna propagować metody leczenia, które wcześniej odrzucała jako nieopłacalne dla szpitala i demaskuje mechanizmy korupcyjne dostawców zyskując sympatię wnuczki, ale jednocześnie niszcząc relację z synem.
Season 3: Alternatywne studia, które Arcadia przechodzi z pomocą Christine prowadzą je do przekonania, że dla odzyskania spokoju ducha rodzina musi naprawić błędy przeszłości, w 18 urodziny Christine odbierają od Matthew kontrolę nad szpitalem, żeby zmienić model jego działania.
Season 4: Arcadia mierzy się z Christine, która jako główny właściciel odkrywa skalę nadużyć babci i ojca oraz ogrom cierpienia, które spowodowali i karze ich za to prowadząc rodzinny biznes do zniszczenia.
Season 5: Arcadia zraziła do siebie wszystkich i zaczyna rozumieć, że to ona jest odpowiedzialna za śmierć swojego męża i próbuje uzyskać wybaczenie od wszystkich po kolei.
Season 1: Must Do Before You Die
A. High Concept or major hook of the season:
Arcadia, satisfied with her life retired doctor on her deathbed must not die to rescue her granddaughter from self aggression and she starts pursuit for the treatment methods that she did not recommended as a doctor.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey:
Arcadia must question her medical routine if she really cares about how to help her granddaughter. She begins the journey back to her life and opens for spiritual dimension that she never treated seriously, just for any case.
C. Main Conflict:
Arcadia opposites her son (and doctor in one person) about growing treatment methods and the way of upbringing her granddaughter.
D. Mystery/Open Loops:
What is it that everybody hides from Christine? What is the reason of Christine’s vulnerability?
E. Cliffhanger:
The family internal fights make Christine’s life disorder even worse.
Season 2: A Little Bit Of The Truth Will Set You Little Free
A. High Concept or major hook of the season.
Arcadia questions the practice of her son and successor whom she taught everything which does more harm than good to the patients, but also reveals corruption based policy of the hospital which affects some of the youth which affects some of Christine’s colleagues.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey:
From relation mother – son, to accusations, open conflict and competition with him. From being focused on herself to having remorse charlatan ready to burn herself in favour of other patients regardless whether it is profitable for the hospital.
C. Main Conflict:
Matthew tries to deprive her of her entitlements, while she tries to prove his corruption and justify her acting against her own son.
D. Mystery/Open Loops:
Matthew is acting in the same way as she did before, that is why she can easily expose him, only that her wrongdoings expired, she denies them and thinks it is her dead husband who helps her investigate the truth. What will Christine do when she discovers all of that?
E. Cliffhanger:
Arcadia realises that her past deeds might be part of the reason for present Christine misfortune and vulnerability. Learning the first bit of the truth works as an empowering to Christine, she feels like going for a mission to change the world.
Season 3: Genetic Of Remorse
A. High Concept or major hook of the season.
Arcadia finds scientific proves which support her remorse and she believes revealing to Christine more truth about the darkest corners of the family past will help her to inherit the hospital shares from her and recover, while Matthew tries to deprive Arcadia from her entitlements and suggests that she has an esoteric mania.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey:
Arcadia: From denial to investigating all of her medical negligence, corruption and mistakes. Christine: From victim to activist.
C. Main Conflict:
Arcadia wants to take back control over the hospital from her son and transfer her shares and power to Christine when she becomes 18 years old. Christine taken to
D. Mystery/Open Loops:
How this nearly 18 years old, vulnerable girl will manage to stand up to her parents.
E. Cliffhanger:
18 years old Christine becomes the hospital manager, while Arcadia’s diseases return.
Season 4: Christine’s Mission
A. High Concept or major hook of the season.
Christine’s auto-aggression changes to the great punishment of the whole family and fight against the system, she destroys the hospital.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey:
Arcadia: From the good and powerful grandma to a fragile, hampered by the illnesses fighter against Christine.
C. Main Conflict:
Arcadia and Matthew contra Christine who, having the power, naively starts acting like a real avenger.
D. Mystery/Open Loops:
Why does Christine destroy everything what Arcadia has built for the family, even if the guilt was admitted and mostly forgiven? Is there more lie and false unrevealed?
Arcadia was cheating on her husband.
E. Cliffhanger:
How Christine’s grandpa died?
Season 5: The Root Fake
A. High Concept or major hook of the season.
Arcadia (young) starts her great career with cheating and then builds her perfect denial which affects next generations.
Arcadia (dying grandma) Arcadia admits her responsible for her husband, Christine’s grandpa, death.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey:
From condemned wreck to finally reconciled human being.
C. Main Conflict:
Arcadia contra her dead husband who died because of her.
Arcadia contra her living family who does not want to forgive her.
D. Mystery/Open Loops:
Will the family forgive her? Will Christine forgive her?
E. Cliffhanger:
Arcadia dies and her real life judgment begins :).
Arcadia, satisfied with her life retired doctor on her deathbed must not die if she wants rescue her granddaughter from self aggression, so she pursuits for the treatment methods that she would not recommend ever before as a doctor.
But that some positive effects visible on herself makes her questioning her past practice. She begins the journey back to her life and opens for spiritual dimension that she never treated seriously, just for any case. Her unusual sincerity brings her some sympathy of Christine and gives chance of helping her. They become friends which gives Arcadia some even insight into the world of teenagers. But she does not want to say all.
Feeling more power Arcadia opposes her son and Christine’s father Matthew, but the family internal fights make Christine’s disorder even worse. What is the reason of Christine’s vulnerability?
Season 2: A Little Bit Of The Truth Will Set You Little Free
Arcadia questions the practice of her son and successor whom she taught everything and this way she does more harm than good to the patients. But she also reveals corruption based policy of the hospital which affects some of the teenage patients, Christine’s colleagues. Arcadia gains the trust her granddaughter but goes to an open conflict with Matthew. Having remorse for some of her past deeds she becomes charlatan ready to burn herself in favour of present patients regardless whether it is profitable for the hospital. Yet her new methods are danger too.
Matthew tries to deprive her of her professional entitlements, while she tries to prove his corruption and justify her acting against him. Christine admires Arcadia who seems to be fast and ruthless as like she knew everything in advance. She does not know however that it is possible only because Matthew is acting in the same way as grandma did before. But Arcadia denies her wrongdoings and thinks it is her dead husband who helps her investigate the truth.
Christine realises however that her grandma past deeds might be the part of the reason of her present misfortune and vulnerability. Learning the first bit of the truth works as an empowering to Christine, she feels like going for a mission to change the world.
Season 3: Genetic Of Remorse
Arcadia finds scientific proves which support her theory that revealing to Christine more truth about the darkest corners of the family past will help her to recover and then she will be suitable heir to inherit the hospital shares from her which would give them advantages over Matthew. But at same time he tries to deprive Arcadia from her professional entitlements and suggests she has an esoteric mania. Arcadia transforms from denial of her medical errors to investigating all of her negligence, corruption and mistakes. That process sorts of fascinates Christine and she really recovers, changing from being victim to activist.
Arcadia wants to take back control over the hospital from her son and transfers her shares to Christine on her 18 birthday, thinking she solved the problem. But 18 years old former victim likes very much the power she got over the adults and she does not listen to the grandma anymore. Arcadia’s diseases return.
Season 4: Christine’s Mission
Christine’s autoaggression changes to the great punishment of the whole family and fight against the system. Christine who, having the power, naively starts acting like a real avenger. She destroys the hospital, while Arcadia is changing from the good and powerful grandma to a fragile, hampered by the illnesses antagonist of Christine.
The good thing is that she is again on the same side with Matthew and they can witness how Christine destroy everything what built together. Matthew also starts to investigate the past, especially when discovers the parallels in his and is dead father lives. Is there more lie and false that Arcadia unrevealed?
How and why Christine’s grandpa died?
Season 5: The Root Fake
Arcadia back in her deathbed finally faces her past: Arcadia (young) starts her great career with cheating on her husband and than builds her perfect denial which affects next generations.
When she finally gets out of her denial she might gain some peace, yet she needs forgiveness, a lot of it. Eg. from her dead husband who died because of her.
But why would Matthew and Christine ever forgive her. Maybe Matthew yes, because he has already he has a very dirty conscience, but Christine? She is almost clean, she happily seems to be recovered, yet not quick to forgive. She starts her own path of errors.
Arcadia dies and her real life judgment begins :).
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Quinn’s Five SeasonsWhat I learned doing this assignment is how open I am to discovering “unknown middle arcs” as my source material stretched, fun!
Brainstorm to find the arc of the entire journey:
Start Season One
Haunted by emotional wounds from her dimly remembered past, Blythe hunts exotic monsters masquerading as women, obsessed with revenging the death of her lover, Ian.
End Season Five
Blythe leads a team of allied “sister” creatures to destroy Ian’s final plan, execute Ian and use his science to reclaim their lost humanity and embrace death by natural causes.
Season 1: A Game of Sharks
A. High Concept or major hook of the season. Blythe kills creatures of the night masquerading as human and stalking Boston; she is ruthless, angry, traumatized – and for reasons we don’t understand yet, only she can see the creatures hiding among the human herd
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: Blythe confronts her own human feelings avenging her murdered lover
C. Main Conflict: Blythe kills creatures, and even partners with Alice James, her former lover, to outsmart and destroy creatures before they destroy her
D. Mystery/Open Loops: Why does Blythe keep remembering her lover, Ian? (PTSD) What caused the “sisterhood” to transform? Why do they want to kill Blythe? For all these questions, can Blythe live with the answers if she finds them?
E. Cliffhanger: A major answer rips the floor out from under Blythe’s feet: Alice James betrayed Blythe, for Ian – who is alive, the creatures never killed him; he hid from Blythe and continued his experiments, while manipulating creatures against Blythe.
Season 2: The Hundred Year Hunt
A. High Concept or major hook of the season. Ian’s manipulating creatures against Blythe opens a bigger arena for the fight – one hundred years of urban hunting.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: Blythe Avenges Herself Over One Hundred Years of an Urban Night Life Dominated by Shapeshifting Killers How has Blythe lived so long?
C. Main Conflict: Blythe kills creatures in different decades / cities – some survive
D. Mystery/Open Loops: How has Blythe lived so long? Are the survivors following Blythe through the decades, flirting with teaming up? What caused the “sisterhood” to transform? Why do they want to kill Blythe? For all these questions, can Blythe live with the answers if she finds them?
E. Cliffhanger: In the present day, the survivors have covertly joined together to capture Bythe – she is taken prisoner just after she discovers where Ian is hiding!
Season 3: The Trial
A. High Concept or major hook of the season. Captured, enraged, humiliated Blythe stands trial, aware that Ian is watching. Survivors of the sisterhood accuse her. Where?
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: Blythe stands trial and her biggest mysteries are exposed and solved – her new truth is the worst she could imagine
C. Main Conflict: As the trial goes, episodes are evidence. Ian interferes, and his drama of wanting to be a hero plays out.
D. Mystery/Open Loops: What caused the “sisterhood” to transform? Why do they want to kill Blythe? For all these questions, can Blythe live with the answers if she finds them?
E. Cliffhanger: Major layer exposed – Blythe was the first creature; all creatures were transformed when they had sex with Ian over the last century.
Season 4: Damned Angels
A. High Concept or major hook of the season. For the first time, Blythe now allies herself with a group of rebel creatures who also want to kill Ian.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: Calling herself a “lucifer,” Blythe and “rogue angels” take the war to “god.” (Ian)
C. Main Conflict: Angels hunt Ian. Blythe no longer pretends to be human, or even alive. (Yet she feels more powerful in herself and her resolve than ever!)
D. Mystery/Open Loops: What is Ian’s final solution he obsesses over?
E. Cliffhanger: Blythe leads a team of allied “sister” creatures to destroy Ian’s final plan, which he claims has already been triggered and cannot be stopped! (The virus has been mutated to be airborn. Earth will be nothing but creatures.)
Season 5: Darkness, Mine
A. High Concept or major hook of the season. Blythe leads a team of allied “sister” creatures to destroy Ian’s final plan.
B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: Blythe has accepted her dark existence, empowering her to destroy Ian
C. Main Conflict: Can Blythe set aside her old sick love for him that’s been driving her for 100 years?
D. Mystery/Open Loops: Can Blythe set aside her old sick love for him that’s been driving her for 100 years?
E. Cliffhanger/Resolution: Blythe executes Ian. With the help of Alice James and the creatures, she uses his science to reclaim their lost humanity (how?) the last thing we see is Blythe saying farewell, looking forward to embrace darkness and death by natural causes.
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