Lesson 4

[Lloyd Shellenberger]

Working hard everyday to become the best writer I can be and as a result I do become the best writer in Hollywood.

What I learned from this exercise is how to connect previous season cliffhangers to next season episode openers.

Lloyd Shellenberger

WBWTV Module 2 Lesson 4 Generating episode Ideas

PILOT Opener for:

THE PUZZLE WORKS

Note this is my new working title that could change.

Not in my house!

Benjamin Greene is brutally recruited into the Puzzle Works. On his first deadly mission, he and his crew receive orders from the rogue agency to end the drug pipeline from Afghanistan to Ft. Bragg using any means necessary. Col. Greene and his crew are stopped on the tar mac while trying to leave. They are put back on the plane 24 hours later. The crew find out the the drug world has nestled in closer than they would have preferred.

Episode 2

Not In my house-continued

Greene is recovering in a Fort Bragg hospital. He wakes up and realizes he was set up. What’s more, he realizes that the leak was from Fort Bragg! He and his crew find out Commanding General, Edwin Mosley, who he served with in Afghanistan is behind the trafficking. It is being done from a warehouse in Fort Bragg and being distributed on the East Coast. The illegal operation suddenly and literally goes up in a blaze of glory!

My brothers keeper

Episode 3

The unit armorer, SPC. Allan Jones who’s family is becomes the target of gang leader from Philly. The local gang boss hatches a plan to kill his little brother and threaten his family to force him to hand over the units M-16 and M-4 gun stock. Col. Greene finds out about it and decides to protect SPC. Jones. The Crew primes the streets of Philly for a gang war the local thugs wish they had never started!

The dead of night!

Episode 4

After the successful rescue attempt of several “Oil workers” the crew is tasked to dispose of their captors once they are no longer of use. Ironically, extraditing the prisoners would give away the true identity of the “Oil Workers”. The crew is forced to take the prisoners out of Venezuela in the dead of night and make sure they are never seen again.

The Patsy

Episode 5

A Special operations soldier is recruited to covertly raid a Taliban village in Afghanistan. After the soldier is arrested, he faces a very public and messy trial. Before the media can find out the full truth, The Crew must make sure the true story never sees the light of day. Col. Greene likes the soldier and decides to help him rather than kill him, because he realizes the soldier did exactly what he would have done.

The Banker.

Episode 6

After the crew delivers $434 Million in cash to Iraq, it comes up missing in the State Department books. Some of the cash was stolen by Iraqi soldiers but the crew is having none of it and is tasked to get that money back and teach them a painful lesson. In the end, the Crew doesn’t exact the justice demanded by the Puzzle Works and walks away from the mission after retrieving the money.

The spy that stayed for dinner.

Episode 7

The Crew takes over a Baccuba Radio and TV station formally under the control of ISIS and hands it over to the Lincoln Group to broadcast Iraqi propaganda. During the takeover, Col. Greene suspects an Al-Quida mole and sets out to uncover him.

We’ve packed your bags for you.

Episode 8

Local gangs in Greens-Borough, NC outside of Fort Bragg are killing American solders and terrorizing neighborhoods. The Pentagon and the locals are tired of it. The local police chief contacts The Crew and asks them to fix it. Col. Greene Initially denies the request but the Puzzle Works green lights the project and the game is afoot.

The entrepreneur

Episode 9

Nothing is as it seems in the drug trade. Early in Season One the crew raided the drug warehouse on Ft. Bragg. They killed the drug crew and decided to go into business for themselves or it would appear that way. The fruits or that labor cannot go unrewarded as Lt. Greene and First Sergeant AKA “The Chaplain” send shock waves up and down the East coast drug world.

Cliffhanger end of Season 1

Payback

Episode 10

A new player in the drug world is not an invited guest and the local bad guys decide to teach The Chaplin and his crew a lesson. In an ambush Lt. Greene and First Sergeant Desmoines are critically wounded. Several of his crew are killed. Agent Stockton is right there and ready to take the entire operation down.

SEASON TWO

The Courier Part 1

Episode 1

When a Psychological Operations courier traveling from Bothel, Washington to Rome Georgia is murdered on a public highway Col. Greene and his crew are sent in as undercover CID agents to investigate. Col Greene discovers the agent was carrying non classified documents but also a trove of top secret documents that would turn Washingtons world upside down in the press. The documents contained damaging secrets about the drug interdiction program in Columbia. Those same documents would also reveal the names and identities of the 4th POG and its agents. Col. Greene and Sgt. Jones must locate those documents before it is too late. The clock’s ticking and secrets are about to be revealed.

The Courier Part 2

Episode 2

Upon further investigation of the murder Col. Greene suspects this was a contract killing and believes a community of ex-Iraqi patriots may hold the key. When Col. Greene digs deeper he realizes a sleeper cell of Iraqi terrorists are behind the killing of a Pysop agent for a bounty of fifty thousand dollars. This bounty was put on place during the Iraq war and many believed it was no longer honored. After Col. Greene and Sgt. Jones retrieve the documents they realize they cannot leave the sleeper cell in place and they must eliminate it. No one is left to tell the story and the papers are delivered to the appropriate authorities.

The Informant

Episode 10 Season Finale

Local drug lords devise a plan to ambush and kill Lt. Greene and First Sergeant Desmoines AKA the Chaplin. They are distributing the remains drugs and robbing the local drug lords. Both Lt. Greene are shot and remain in critical condition while Agent Stockton swoops in to find out what happened. Agent Stockton arrest Col. Greene only to find out the drug operation was a sting put together by the DEA and the local Fayetteville PD. Col. Greene is released. This is unfortunate for the men who tried to kill his son because they will never see the inside of a courtroom.

SEASON 3

Hell hath no fury…like a father scorned.

Episode 1

Nothing in the drug world is as it seems. The entire operation run by Lt. Greene and Desmoines was a ruse authorized by the local police chief. As a result most of the Eastern drug lords are brought down.

Unfortunately for Col. Greene, this is of little solace as they almost killed his son and the First Sergeant. What happens next will make the remaining drug lords wish they had never laid eyes on “The Crew”.

I’m outta here!

Episode 10 Cliff Hanger

In the seasons final episode the walls are closing in for the crew and First Sergeant Desmoines decides it is time for a curtain call. In an extraordinary chain of events Desmoines dies at sea. Just hours from arresting him, agent Stockton is not happy and he is not buying it.

SEASON 4

Give your best shot!

Agent Stockton investigates Desmoines murder and finds evidence that he may not have died. He brings in Col. Greene and tries to lean on him only to see how cool of a customer Greene really is. In the end Stockton is forced to abandon his search and release Col. Greene.

Forever is not forever!

Episode 10 Cliffhanger

SGT. Jones is brutally murdered on the Streets of Fayetteville, NC in a drive by shooting that doesn’t add up. Lt. Greene finds evidence to the contrary and digs deeper.

Episode 2

SEASON 5

For my beloved

Episode 1

Lt. Greene and SPC. Jones set out to make those responsible for the death of SGT. Jones pay but what they find at the bottom of the rabbit hole may not be what they wanted.

The King has fallen

Final Episode

In this final Episode, Col. Greene faces the ultimate betrayal as Major Greene set his father up to kill him for the murder of his fiancé SGT. Jones. He also has had enough of Agent Stockton and ends his life and career. Because of evidence showing Stockton’s true colors as a corrupt player no charges are ever brought in his death.

[Hilton Garrett]

Hilton Garrett, Episode List Rough Draft

What I learned – That this is a really good way to build the episodes for a season

Episode 1 – Broken Shell

Will is jolted out of his comfortable malaise when he learns new information about his parents’ death

• Will finds Howard Goldstein murdered in his office

• Will takes photos of the trucks and fights the thugs

• Will fights Vinnie over deadlines

• Becca has had enough, tells Will she wants a divorce

• Will is assigned to cover Rountree’s campaign

• Rountree announces his candidacy at Warm Springs, Roosevelt’s little White House

• Will meets Mary-Grace

• Will discovers Rountree – Santorro connection

• Will discovers Rountree’s obsession with the occult; meets Madame Tiffany

• Martaan appears with mysterious information

Episode 2 – Leftover Dreams

Will returns to Ashton after twenty years

• Will goes to Ashton

• Will returns to his childhood family home and learns that Santorro now owns it

• Will goes to his parents’ graves and finds fresh red roses on his mother’s headstone

• Will meets Millie

• The sheriff suspects a fireball on the bridge

• Mary-Grace tries to help Will overcome his guilt

• Martaan shows Will the tree where his father was lynched

• Will and Martaan fight at the bridge

• A white man comes on the scene, intercedes and holds Martaan at gunpoint as Episode ends

Episode 3 – Who do you trust?

Will learns more about Rountree’s past

• Will learns that Santorro rescued Rountree’s bank twenty plus years ago

• Rountree is stopped for speeding by a county deputy and released with an apology

• Rountree and Santorro meet and discuss Will’s interference in their plans

• Santorro wants to eliminate Will; Rountree wants to wait until after the election

• Will becomes friends with Millie who holds an old and important secret

• Tension between Rountree and Santorro escalates

Episode 4 – A Cold Dish

Martaan exacts revenge

• Rountree rekindles an old relationship with a former KKK leader

• The former KKK leader mobilizes a small armed group as Rountree’s defense against Santorro

• Martaan recognizes one of the KKK men as part of his father’s lynching party

• Martaan sets a trap and captures the man

• Martaan takes the man to the same tree his father died on and lynches him

• The sheriff pulls up as Martaan is about to leave the scene

Episode 5 – Who’s the Boss?

Rountree chafes under Santorro’s expansion into Georgia

• Santorro becomes more assertive as he takes more control of events

• Rountree exhorts the sheriff to find the killer of the KKK man

• Rountree meets with the leader of his KKK army and sets out an agenda

• Will uncovers more shady dealings in Rountree’s past

• Will learns that Martaan is a major cocaine distributor

• Will learns that Martaan has been supplying cocaine to Santorro

Episode 6 – In Bed with a Killer

A full-on partnership with Martaan seems to be the only way to find the truth of how his parents died

• The tension between Will and Martaan reaches the breaking point

• They argue and fight and reconcile and agree to work together

• Will and Martaan break into the bank and find the records of Santorro’s dealings

• The bank manager discovers the break-in and notifies Rountree

• Rountree turns Santorro loose to do as he pleases with Will

Episode 7 – New Jersey Cats

Santorro’s men have a mission – kill Will

• Mary-Grace offers to help Will evade the killers

• Martaan becomes Will’s eyes and ears

• Will learns the secret Millie has held all these years

• Santorro’s men attack Will on a lonely country road

• Martaan has followed them and kills them both

• Santorro orders reinforcements from New Jersey

Episode 8 – Traffic at the River

Will sets a trap for Rountree

• Rountree makes a campaign speech in Ashton

• Will confronts him with news from Millie’s revelation

• Will enlists Millie’s help in setting the trap for Rountree

• Will and Mary-Grace and Martaan coax a confession out of Rountree

• Santorro’s men capture Mary-Grace

• Will knows a way in to rescue Mary-Grace

• Santorro’s men corner Will as the season ends

______________________________

[CJ Lyons]

CJ’s Episode List Rough Draft

What I learned from this assignment was how difficult it is to choose the highlights and distill them into bullet points! This was the most challenging assignment yet!

EPISODE 1: ER doctor Angela Rossi suddenly experiences bizarre symptoms that give her the ability to “talk” to dying patients.

* a dead nun orders Rossi to “save the girl”

*Devon finds the love of his life murdered and his daughter missing

*Ryder tries to stop her searching when he learns the girl witnessed the nun’s murder

* Devon shows her a secret way into tunnels…

…Where she discovers a serial killer’s lair.

EPISODE 2: “living before the dead” while Ryder hunts killer, Rossi and Devon searching for missing kids

*Rossi goes catatonic, forced to tell Devon about her symptoms

*Devon saves them from drug dealer traps in the tunnels

*Ryder discovers killer’s victims all missing their brains!

*Rossi’s powers lead them to missing kids, they’re safe but…

…no sign of Esme, does the killer have her?

EPISODE 3: Killer strikes again

*Kids all have similar symptoms as Rossi!

*Ryder learns nun hid the children but no idea why

*Devon recruits his old gang to search for Esme

*Rossi tries to explore nun’s memories, searching for clues, overwhelmed when realizes she has them ALL, not just the ones around her murder, and collapses

*Ryder discovers all the killer’s victims lived in Kingston Tower…

…where another woman was just abducted, same MO as the killer!

EPISODE 4:

*Rossi tells Louise about her symptoms, including her new psychic powers

*Devon and Ryder clash as they both investigate

*As Rossi waits for answers, she hears the nun’s voice again, and retraces her final day, convincing Ryder to return with her to the tunnels

*Together they follow clues gleaned from Rossi’s new powers, entering a part of the tunnel not on any maps…

…where Rossi leads him to the abducted woman, unconscious but alive!

EPISODE 5: Rossi learns her fate

*Ryder insists on answers: how did Rossi know where the woman was?

*Rossi’s tired of hiding and she’s not sure she can face the truth alone, so she brings Ryder with her to Louise to learn her diagnosis: Fatal Insomnia

*Devon’s certain Esme’s mother’s killer was involved with the Kingston Tower gang, confronts their leader, barely escapes alive

*Rossi has a vision of Esme… does that mean she’s dying?

EPISODE 6: Esme found and lost

*Rossi and Devon follow clues from her vision of Esme but they lead to the Kingston mansion!

*Devon confesses that old man Kingston is his father, he’d come to the Tower and rape women there

*Ryder discovers who killed Esme’s mom and the nun

*Louise figures out how the children were infected: a new flu vaccine provided by Kingston pharmaceuticals

*Devon and Rossi break into the Kingston mansion only to find the old man is bedridden with cancer—he can’t be the killer—but where’s Esme?

EPISODE 7: Rossi enters victim’s mind

*forces her to relive attack, Rossi experiencing it as well

*vows never to use her powers like that, like a weapon, again

*But pieces together clues and…

…Kingston’s son is the killer!

EPISODE 8: Rossi confronts Kingston and steals his memories

*Kingston holds Esme hostage, demands Rossi’s surrender

*Devon begs Rossi to save Esme, they go to Kingston

*Ryder follows, is shot!

*Rossi fights Kingston, Devon escapes with kids

*Rossi stabs Kingston, as he dies steals his memories…

… The woman behind all of this is her own mother!

[Brian Bull]

BRIAN BULL – Episode List Rough Draft

“What I learned from doing this assignment is…
I have a LOT MORE work to do on my season arc. I need to keep at it.

ASSIGNMENT

Use the Cheat Sheet to do Step 1 – 5, answering the questions.

THE CHEAT SHEET

Beginning……………………………………………….Season End/Cliffhanger

1. What is the Beginning of the season and the End of the season? Jim creates the “psychic” glasses ………….Jim ”sees” himself being straggled by a serial killer.

What possible cliffhanger could be in that last scene of the season, thus demanding that we watch the next season? Jim ”sees” himself being straggled by a serial killer.

2. Season 1 Mystery Set up………………………………Season 1 Mystery Solved

What is the mystery? There is a serial killer roaming the town and there are no leads.

How could the mystery be set up? Splatterings throughout the season of killings taking place around town.

What parts will be left out that must be solved? Who is this killer and why is he strangling Jim?

What is the ultimate solution that the characters must work to discover? Jim knows who the killer is, he just doesn’t know when and where it will take place.

3. Journey begins…………………………………….Journey peaks, but continues.

Where does the Lead Character journey begin and end for this season? Jim creates a pair of “psychic” glasses and he must use them to figure out how to stop his own strangulation from a serial killer.

4. ……Layer.…..Layer……Layer……Layer……Layer……Layer……Layer

What layers have you already discovered in your BW Framework? Invades the privacy of others, overly-protective of his mother, tells people their future without their consent, intervenes in the lives of others knowing their future, Jim doesn’t believe in the Psychic Realm and Delores does, everyone else seems to be in a love relationship but not Jim, Jim and Howard compete for Jim’s moms attention.

Are there any other layers that you could think of? Jim uses the future to resolve the past – his dad mysteriously went missing/died and Jim “sees” him alive.

5. Make a list of the Major Story Lines.

What main characters have story lines that affect everyone else?
Jim’s storylines affect Delores, Gloria, his mom.
Delores’ storyline affects Jim and Gloria’s
Gloria’s storyline affects Jim, Delores

What are the most important story lines of this show?
Gloria, Jezebel are looking for the crystal ball Jim used to make the “psychic” glasses from.
Jim must avoid being killed by Jezebel who wants the crystal ball she thinks Jim has.
Jim is “in-love” with Gloria who isn’t “in-love” with Jim.
Jim is overly-protective of his mom.
Jim’s mom is dating Howard, a younger man.
Jim and Howard compete for his mom’s attention.

Jim interferes with people’s lives by telling them their future though most of the time he misinterprets his visions.
There is a serial killer terrorizing the town and it gets progressively worse as the season goes on.

2. Turn those answers into a list of 8 to 13 Episodes with one sentence explanations.

Episode 1 – Jim creates the “psychic” glasses, Jim sees Jezebel attempt to murder Zelda
Episode 2 – Jim “sees” Gloria as his wife
Episode 3 – Jim meets Howard, visits Zelda in the hospital, Jezebel’s there
Episode 4 – Zelda goes into coma, Jezebel and Gloria are sisters
Episode 5 – Jim and Gloria connect as “just” friends
Episode 6 – Gloria confides in Jim regarding Jezebel, Zelda comes out of coma
Episode 7 – Jezebel plots to kill Jim, Zelda mentors Jim
Episode 8 – Jim plots to kill Jezebel making it look like an accident
Episode 9 – Jim uses Gloria in his plot to kill Jezebel, Jezebel kills Zelda
Episode 10 – Jezebel dies “accidentally”, Gloria moves into Zelda psychic shop

3. With each episode, make a list of bullet points that describe the most important events of that episode.

Episode 1
Zelda “sees” Jezebel in a psychic reading; fears for her life
Zelda tries to give Jim the crystal ball for safe keeping
Zelda has a heart attack, crystal ball splits in two
Jim creates the “psychic” glasses
Jim experiments with the “psychic” glasses
Jim “sees” Jezebel attempt to murder Zelda in the hospital

Episode 2
Delores meets Gloria
Jim “sees” his mom, JoAnn, being molested by a man
Jim visits Zelda in ICU
Jim and Gloria meet
Jim “sees” Gloria as his wife

Episode 3
Jim meets the “man” who molests JoAnn
The “man” is JoAnn’s young new boyfriend
Jim and Gloria visit Zelda in the hospital…
…Jezebel’s there to kill Zelda!

Episode 4
Zelda goes into coma
Jezebel and Gloria are sisters of Zelda’s, they want the crystal ball
Jim and Gloria have coffee and discuss Zelda’s condition
Jim “sees” Gloria moving into Zelda’s psychic shop

Episode 5
Jim and Gloria connect as “just” friends

Episode 6
Gloria confides in Jim regarding Jezebel, Zelda comes out of coma

Episode 7
Jezebel plots to kill Jim
Zelda mentors Jim

Episode 8
Jim plots to kill Jezebel making it look like an accident

Episode 9
Jim uses Gloria in his plot to kill Jezebel, Jezebel kills Zelda

Episode 10
Jezebel dies “accidentally”
Gloria moves into Zelda psychic shop