Module 1 – Lesson 1: What is a Binge Worthy Show?

[Brett Born]

American Horror Story 5 Star Model

What I learned doing this assignment is not only do I have to think of the pilot as its own story, but I need to consider how every scene can help set the story and tone for the entire season… full of open loops and a multitude of reveals to come. In a way, a binge worthy series is like the daytime soaps used to be, except on steroids.

OUTLINE:

Show opens in a flashback at the Murder House. We meet a young girl, Addie, as she confronts twin boys planning to vandalize the house. Addie acts as harbinger of doom, and warns the twins about going inside, but they ignore her. She taunts them, “you’re going to regret it.” They are killed in the basement by a creepy baby monster.

We flash forward and meet one of the protagonists, Vivien. She’s at a doctor’s appointment. Her doctor is working to get her hormones back in order and we learn that her and her husband, Ben, have been struggling sexually. She returns home and thinks she hears intruders. She grabs a knife and investigates only to catch Ben in the act of sleeping with one of his students. She cuts his arm… Addie’s haunting taunt, “you’re going to regret it,” plays in VO, and show rolls opening credits.

Credits include a number of disturbing images of babies and very young children who have died.

The family is making a new start and moving to Los Angeles. We meet their daughter, Violet. Her relationship with her parents is strained. At first, it appears Vivien and Ben are getting along, but when he reaches for her hand, she yanks it away.

The family meets a real estate agent at the Murder House. Turns out the previous owners died in a murder-suicide, which happened in the basement. Violet loves this detail. Family buys the house.

First night in the house, Ben is trying to get back to normal romantic relations. Vivien is trying to be open to the idea, but she’s simply not ready, yet.

Violet starts school and gets bullied by three girls. Vivien is home trying to unpack when Addie wanders into the house. She is followed by her mother, Constance, who seems to know the house has a lot of ghosts. She offers sage as a house warming gift. Before she leaves, she steals some silverware and admire’s Vivien’s earrings.

Vivien cleanses the house with sage. Discovers a latex suit in the attic. Ben throws the suit away, but seems to have second thoughts.

Ben is a psychiatrist and treats one of his patients, Tate, at his home office. Tate is a troubled teen with violent thoughts who wants to shoot up his school. Violet is in the bathroom, cutting herself, when Tate walks in on her. He gives her advice on how to commit suicide.

Ben sleepwalks and lights the fireplace. Vivien pulls him out of it.

Vivien meets Moira, the caretaker of Murder House. She knew the previous owners. She knows the house. Vivien decides to hire Moira and introduces Moira to Ben. However, Vivien sees Moira as an older, tired looking woman. Ben sees Moira as young and vivacious. Violet spies on a counseling session between Ben and Tate. Tate is off his meds. After the session, Tate and Violet bond over their scars.

Ben gets out of the shower. Can’t find his razor blades. Leaves the bathroom. Catches Moira masturbating. He resists her and goes to his bedroom and masturbates too. Breaks down and cries after. Looks out the window and catches a Burnt Man watching the house. Runs downstairs, but Burnt Man is gone.

After Vivien catches Addie in the house again, Vivien and Ben meet with Constance and Addie. Vivien tells Addie to stay out of the house. Gets physical with her. As Constance and Addie leave, Constance lets Vivien know never to touch her daughter again.

Ben tries to report Tate to the police, but they aren’t interested. Moira makes a pass at Ben. Violet sees them.

Violet is attacked by the bullies at school, again. This time it’s more violent. Violet burns Leah.

Ben and Vivien have a big argument. They talk about the miscarriage. The fight ends in the first sex between them in almost a year.

Violet and Tate plan revenge on the bullies.

Vivien has sex with the Latex Man. She seems to think it’s Ben in the suit, but Ben is downstairs playing with fire. This time, Constance stops him from purposely burning his hand.

Leah is lured to the house by Violet. Leah is led to the basement where she is attacked by Tate and the creepy baby monster. The attack freaks out Violet. She rejects Tate and doesn’t want to see him anymore.

Ben goes for a run. He is stalked by Burnt Man. Ben confronts him. Finds out Burnt Man heard voices in the house that made him murder his own family by burning them to death. Ben knows that he and Burnt Man may have a connection.

Moira catches Constance going through Vivien’s jewelry. Tries to defend Vivien. This upsets Constance, who tells her don’t mess with her or she’s going to kill Moira… again.

Vivian tells Ben that she’s pregnant. He’s very happy but also, he is deeply concerned.

1) What is the big hook of the show? A broken family moves into a haunted house full of ghosts who will prey on their darkest secrets.

2) What makes these main characters intriguing and interesting? Ben and Vivien have suffered tremendously from the loss of a child, but despite their unhealthy ways of trying to cope, they seem to really love each other and want to be together, even as the Murder House tries to further destroy them.

3) What situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress for this character? Vivien has had a brutal miscarriage and is isolating herself as a form of protection. Ben has had an affair for which he clearly feels a lot of remorse, but he is hurt and feels alone.

4) What questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season? What is the monster in the basement? Who is Latex Man? What led to the murder-suicide of the previous owners? Who is Moira and what’s her backstory? What is the backstory of the next door neighbors, Constance and Addie? Why did Burnt Man murder his family and what’s his motive for speaking with Ben? Will Violet tell Vivien about seeing Ben mess around with Moira? How crazy is Tate and why does he seem to be at the house so much, even though Ben doesn’t trust him? Will Tate and Violet get back together? Will Tate find out that Ben tried to report him to the police and retaliate? What will be the fallout from Violet and Tate attacking Leah? Will Vivien be able to deliver this baby?

5) How does this pilot create the need to see every single episode? How are Vivien and Ben going to reconnect as a couple, fix their family and have this new baby when they have a house full of evil spirits that are conspiring against them? You can feel the intense love that Vivien and Ben have for each other, so the audience is cheering for them, even though there’s nothing about the show that even hints that it could have a happy ending.

[Gregory Olson]

The Americans 5 Star Model

What I learned doing this assignment is to look at the main characters in terms of layers. Over the course of the first episode, we see both Elizabeth & Phillip in a variety of situations that reveal them as loyal patriots, trained spies, devoted parents, naive youth (through flashbacks, with conflicting priorities and values as adults. They are also in very different places in their marriage with Phillip obviously more enamored with his wife while Elizabeth is cold and distrustful of her husband. The exercise forced me to reevaluate not only the layers of character development for my own story, but also to create new and more interesting situations through which to reveal these traits.

“The Americans” dives straight into a 1981 spy mission wherein Elizabeth is seducing a potential informant from the Department of Justice in Washington, DC. followed by a scene where Phillip & Elizabeth and a third member of their spy cell capture a Russian defector with the intent of returning him to the Soviet Union. Unfortunately, the third member of their group is stabbed and creates a delay in their mission’s timing causing them to miss their drop off and take the prisoner back to their home for safe keeping.

Next we meet a group of FBI agents at work providing exposition on the state of affairs on foreign espionage before we are back at the me of Phillip & Elizabeth where we meet their children before flashing back to Elizabeth’s spy training in the mother land where we learn that she was raped by the same man who they now have tied up in the trunk of their garage. We soon learn the Phillip is unaware of this past incident through his confusion over why she seems so intent on killing their hostage rather than wait for another opportunity to deliver him.

After a father/daughter shopping trip that brings Phillip to the edge when his teenage daughter is propositioned by an imposing adult male/pedophile. While he stays composed, we notice how quickly he locks in on the man’s name on his visible credit card. Upon the return home, they discover they have new neighbors. The husband is one of the FBI agents from earlier which visibly concerns Phillip & Elizabeth for obvious reasons.

In a brush with fate, the new neighbor comes over to borrow jumper cables and Phillip immediately realizes that he is suspicious of them already. He then learns from their captive how much money they could make if they agreed to turn him over to the FBI and switch loyalties. He confesses his concerns that their cover might be blown to Elizabeth and makes a case for cashing in for the sake of their family. She is outraged at the idea.

While on a jog the next day, we get an insight into Phillip’s past for the first time. A younger Phillip is introduced to Elizabeth for the first time as they have been paired together for a mission and instructed only to discuss their fake backgrounds to ensure that their true identities are never known to one another. All we know of Phillips past is through the photo of a young woman which he rips in half prior to his introduction to Elizabeth.

Back at home, Elizabeth catches Phillip attempted to turn the captive over to the neighbor. A struggle ensues and Phillip learns that Elizabeth was raped by him. Suddenly, she gives up her assault, but Phillip loses control and snaps his neck. We instantly see a shift in the way Elizabeth now looks at Phillip and after a drive out of town to dispose of the body, they have sex in the car and seem to be back in a mutually loving marriage.

After Phillip exacts his vengeance on the man who propositioned his young daughter, we see Elizabeth meeting with the KGB General in a Russian safe house where we learn that she has reported Phillip as a potentially untrustworthy comrade in the past but find she now defends his loyalty and covers for him. Afterwards, at home, she finally confides things from her true past to him. Later that night, the neighbor breaks into the garage to get a look into the trunk of their car which is now empty. Phillip is there watching but unnoticed.

5 Star Points

1. The main hook of this show is the idea of the enemy living in plain sight. The mystery and intrigue of this scenario and the juxtaposition of the FBI living next door to Soviet spies creates an immediately fascinating story line.

2. Phillip & Elizabeth are amazing characters because they are both incredibly talented at their chosen profession while at the same time committed to their family but also human and vulnerable as we learn about their past, their doubts and their personal conflicts.

3. We empathize with Elizabeth because of her past having lost her father as a child and having been raped as a young woman. While we don’t yet know the details of Phillip’s past, we wonder about the woman in the photo and empathize with his fear for his family in light of the botched mission and the new neighbors.

4. There are so many open loops in this pilot episode including whether or not they will get caught by. the new neighbor, whether they will stay together as a couple and, if so, if they defect or not. Will the daughter and the new neighbor’s son start dating? Will Elizabeth report Phillip to the General? Will they ever tell their children who they really are?

In terms of layers, we see them both in terms of loyalty to country and to family as well as to one another. Experts at disguise and combat, they are very real people with everyday trust issues with one another and a very concerned and earnest love for their children. We get the sense that country is more important to Elizabeth than it is to Phillip which seems to be their primary source of conflict.

5. The immediate threat of capture now that they are in the FBI’s crosshairs and the number of intriguing mysteries surrounding their past and present situations makes this the type of series I can see wanting to binge watch as every scene creates a desire to know what is going to happen next. Just as questions are answered, new and more interesting ones come to light.

Upon watching the episode a second time, I was really able to focus more on the subtle insights into their internal conflicts such as Elizabeth’s concern with what she sees as an education system for her children that is poisoning them against her country. Her feeble attempts to instill her personal values is clearly something she struggles with. For Phillip, he too is looking out for his family but it appears that he has already defected in his heart and sees life as an American to be an opportunity rather than the threat he was made to believe it was. In fact, the layers for all four members of the family as well as the neighboring FBI agent really revealed themselves to me more clearly upon rewatching the episode.

[Keema Mingo]

Keema Mingo: Scandal

What I learned is that inviting obsession is intentional and strategic. You have to write in a way that makes people want to come back and binge on the whole season.

1. Big picture hook:

*what is the big hook of the show?

The show is about a political fixer who can’t fix her personal life

2. Intriguing characters

*what makes the lead characters intriguing and interesting?

They call themselves “Gladiators in a Suit”. They handle business with precision. Non nonsense. Fast talking but very clear. They make it cool to do back door, dangerous deals. They have dynamic chemistry and each person’s purpose is evident.

Olivia Pope has a hypnotic spell on her team. People stop when her name is said bc of who she is and what she does. She is firm, bold, forthright and a great negotiator. She is a leader who has surrounded herself talented people who do her bidding and gets the job done by any means necessary. She follows her gut.

Harrison is clean cut, suave, focused, confident.

Tuck is the muscle. Mysterious. Loyal.

Abbey-investigator: she asks for what she wants and if she doesn’t get it, she throws dirt to influence the outcome. She isn’t easily moved by emotions when confronting people.

Steven-litigator, insecure

Quinn-new, inexperienced, nervous, eager to please, learning how things work

3. Empathy/Distress

*what situation causes us to feel both empathy and distress for this character?

For Olivia, being with the Russian mobsters and being short $3M the figuring out how to get by with the kj Neg they had been given without being shot or killed.

The main story is about with Amanda Tanner. The president wants to silence Amanda bc she claims they are having an affair. He says they aren’t. He lied and made Olivia doubt her fit bc she loves him.

She struggles to prove Sully is innocent and when she does, he sabotages it.

4. Open loops

*what questions are created by this first episode that can only be answered by watching the entire season?

Who is Quinn and why did Olivia hire her to work with them? Why did Olivia leave the White House? Why is she having an affair with the president? Why didn’t he tell his right hand man? Does his wife know about the affair?

5. Inviting obsession

*how does this pilot create the need to see every single episode?

We now want to know more about the affair and see what other cases she solves. Also, why is each person on her team…what did she save them from? What’s going to happen between Olivia and the president?

[Vicki Hansen]

I only have Netflix, and only 6 shows are available from your list on Netflix in Luxembourg: Walking Dead, Riverdale, Vampire of Diaries, The 100, Gossip Girl and Super Girl.
None of these attract me.
May I do Blacklist instead?

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by  Vicki Hansen.