Module 2 – Lesson 3: Easy Way to Five Seasons

[Brenda Boddy]

Brenda Boddy – 5 seasons
What I learned. This was hard and I didn’t finish the loops for the last two seasons, but I’ve learned that if I keep going, I can sometimes circle back with new ideas. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about stimulating my mind to keep moving.
ASSIGNMENT:
1. Brainstorm to find the arc of the entire journey, from Season One to Five.

START: A Texas Ranger from 1908 reincarnates into a corrupt BORTAC (Border Patrol) agent and attempts to right the wrongs of his predecessor, while Internal affairs works to prove and prosecute his criminal activities.

MIDDLE: Justice discovers he did not reincarnate, but his boss and mentor, Tom was part of a secret government agency that implanted an A.I. chip in his memory testing the theory that given a set of moral parameters and its ability to learn, the chip could creatively design a crime fighting personality that would serve America.

FINISH: Justice discovers that the A.I. chip malfunctioned and did not integrate with his brain. He actually did reincarnate.
2. Brainstorm the Stair Step version.
• Season 1: Justice reincarnates and must cope with his predecessor’s crimes. Internal affairs is hot on his trail.
• Season 2: Having killed Miguel, son of the cartel, Justice becomes a target.
• Season 3: Justice is angry that he’s been targeted as a test dummy for A.I. but he has already bonded to a biracial daughter that he thought was actually his bloodline. When the Cartel kidnaps his family, he begins a campaign to take down the cartels in the states.
• Season 4: Justice expands his crimefighting to Mexico to eliminate cartel’s operating on both sides of the border.
• Season 5: Justice becomes a target at a worldwide level of persons interested in the technology he was implanted with.
3. For each season, brainstorm the Building Blocks.
Season 1: A CHANGE OF VENUE:
• A. High Concept or major hook of the season. Justice dies and a Texas ranger reincarnates into his body.
• B. Big Picture Arc/Journey: The New Justice must learn to operate under a modern set of rules, different from his era.
• C. Main Conflict: His predecessor was involved in criminal activities. He is trying to find a way back to his time which gets him involved with the office of paranormal activities. His old-fashioned ways conflict with new law enforcement tchniques.
• D. Mystery/Open Loops: Internal affairs is investigating him. Tom, his boss, is a familiar face from his past. He is having flashbacks. The office of paranormal events is showing an interest in him.
• E. Cliffhanger: Justice discovers that Tom is part of a secret government agency. Justice did not reincarnate. He is a test subject that had an A.I. chip planted in his memory that gave him a creative identity.
Season 2: THE EVOLUTION OF MAN
High Concept or major hook of the season. Justice is working as an A.I. test dummy in the BORTAC unit.
Big picture arc or journey: Justice doesn’t trust his dreams and flashbacks anymore. He becomes unsure of his instincts not sure of what is him and what is the A.I., all while the Cartel is trying its best to kill him. When the Cartel kidnap his family, he realizes he has bonded with his new bi-racial daughter (his granddaughter) and must use a combination of his old-fashioned skills and modern technology to safeguard his family. He needs to shut down the cartel to keep them safe.
Main conflict: The cartel will sell his family to sex traffickers.
Mystery/open loops. He is having more intense dreams and flashbacks. The office of internal affairs intensifies collecting evidence about his predecessor’s past criminal activities.
Cliffhanger: They rescue Samantha, but Kenzie is sold on the black market.
Season 3: THE POWER OF CHARACTER
High concept or journey: Justice begins his own covert operation, outside BORTAC protocol, to hunt down Cuervo and kill him, pushing his own moral code of honor, and giving Internal Affairs the proof they need to prosecute him.
Big picture arc or journey:
Mysteries or loops:
Cliff hanger: The cartel blows up Justice’s house (Killing Kenzie?).
Season 4:
High Concept or journey: Justice takes the fight to Cuervo and engages in battle on both sides of the border.
Big picture arc or journey: Justice realizes he has to take out the head of the snake or his family will never be safe.
Mysteries or loops:
Cliff Hanger:
Season 5: High concept or Journey: Justice becomes the target of overseas smugglers as he shuts down the cartels at the border and stops the cash flow.
Big picture or journey:
Mysteries or loops:
Cliff Hangar:
SEASON 1: A CHANGE OF VENUE.
Justice is a reincarnation into a world a hundred years in the future. Ending up in the body of a corrupt border patrol agent, his value system and law practices no longer match his contemporaries. His life becomes increasingly complicated when he realizes that he’s inherited an abused bi-racial daughter and black wife, who are trying to kill him, a BORTAC (Border Patrol) unit that begins to crack as his mannerisms effect their performance, and a boss who looks exactly like a man from his past. Add to this to a gang of cartel criminals who think he’s their partner and Internal Affairs that’s investigating his predecessor and he’s in over his head.

SEASON 2: THE EVOLUTION OF MAN.

Justice is reeling from his discovery that he did not reincarnate but is the test dummy for a secret government agency who planted an A.I. chip in his memory. His foundation of being a lawman, no matter what century he resided in, is shaken as he questions whether it is him or the A.I. chip that is channeling his actions, which doesn’t make his life any easier when the Cartel is trying to kill him. When his family is kidnapped, he discovers it doesn’t matter why but what he’s willing to do to get them back, even if it means crossing the lines within his BORTAC agency to get the job done.
As law enforcement he has hit a dead end and lost faith in himself. As a surrogate father he is a force that is unstoppable. He needs to shut down the cartel and Internal Affairs be damned.

SEASON 3: THE POWER OF CHARACTER.
Justice finds an ally in his hunt for Cuervo, as a BORTAC partner reveals her own past in the clutches of the cartel. Together, they enter Mexican territory and begin a covert operation to take out the gang. Internal Affairs issues a warrant to bring Justice in but he’s not about to let them catch him before he rescue’s his wife, a process that ends up in the death of Cuervo, the cartel leader. While he’s successful in getting his wife home, he’s raised the wrath of the cartel’s heir to the throne who puts out a high stakes bounty to all cartels take out Justice.