Wednesday, 23 December 2020

Volunteer Victims


Parks and Recreation - Bird Flu



 Give yourselves a hand. 
But your applause is premature. 


You just told us to applaud. 

Well, if I told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it? 
I hope so, because the only way that this gala is going to happen is if you do everything I say. 
Tom, I need you to contact three more food vendors on this list, and they need to do it for free. 

I'm omelet. 
Get it? "I'm on it," 
"I'm omelet"? 

I get it, and I love it, but I don't have time for food puns right now. 

Okay, I'm heading out. 
Good-pie. Go. Gurt. Go-gurt. 
I'm incredible. - See you guys.

Okay. Donna, Jerry --  Leslie! 
Leslie, we need you back at The Command Centre right now! 

We have a class-one city emergency. 


Oh, my God. Gayle. 
My girls! 

What's The Emergency? 

Oh, This is Just a Drill, but I am having so much fun pretending it's Real. 


Are you kidding me? 
The Disaster-Preparedness people picked today? 

Each year every city in Indiana is reviewed by The Department of Emergency Preparedness. 
And Pawnee has failed 12 years in a row. 

On last year's report, they stated, 
"Every time it so much as drizzles in Pawnee, the town is in danger of collapsing into Thunderdome-style, post-apocalyptic mayhem." 

Okay, we don't know how long Leslie's going to be gone, so let's just knock some of this stuff off. 

Should someone stop Jerry? 

Gayle! 

Eh, he'll figure it out eventually. 


My name is Leonard Tchulm. 
I'm Head of the Indiana Department of Emergency Preparedness. 
And Today I'm going to bring Death and Destruction to your town. 

I am Leslie Knope. 
I am the Pawnee Emergency Czar. 
And this year, we are more than prepared for your test, but, um, it just so happens, today is a little inconvenient. 

Good, because The Best Day for a Drill is when it's inconvenient for everyone. 
My Mother is getting a colonoscopy today. 
I'm not even sure there's anyone there to drive her home, so we're all making sacrifices, Ms. Knope. 

Well, I'm very sorry to hear about Your Mother. 

Mm, we're not that close. 

Oh. Good. 


Okay, Volunteer Victims, please put your identification placards on now and go to your designated areas throughout Town. 

First Responders, return to your stations, and the simulation begins... N-n-n... 
Went past The zero. 
I got to wait till it goes... 

Okay, now. 
All right, officers, bolt the doors. 
We are officially in Lockdown Mode. 
The Doors will not open until Leonard announces that This Drill is complete. 


The most important event that I have ever organized in my entire life is happening in eight hours, and I am stuck in This Room. 
This is a nightmare. 
Wait. Maybe this is a nightmare. 
Nope, can't fly away. 
This is Real Life. 

And now, I'm going to open one of these ten envelopes at random to determine your simulated disaster. 

Pawnee has been hit by... 
A strain of Avian 'flu. 

Yes! Avian 'flu! Jackpot. 
This is a simple one, guys. 
Everybody open their binders, okay?
"The Knope Protocol"?

Uh, correction. That's 
"Mission Im-Pawnee-able: Knope Protocol." 

Now, if everyone just follows my instructions, we will ace this Test, and we will be done in 90 minutes. 
"Step one-- insert the DVD scenario." 

Hmm, what could be on this? 
Good evening, this is Channel 4 lead anchor Willow Tremaine, with breaking news. 
Avian flu has just hit the town of Pawnee. 
We go live now to St. Joseph's Medical Center for an update. 

Hello, my name is Donatella Breckinridge, M.D. 
I graduated first in my class from Harvard Medical School, so I know what I'm talking about. 
This is the avian flu, or we call "H5N1."

Donna, are we on schedule for the tent setup? 
The tables showed up, which is good, but there are no chairs, which is bad. 

Okay, well, get some chairs from somewhere. 

Great Leadership-- inspiring. 




Hey, can you hear me? 
Oh! Leslie, you on The TeeVee! 

Well, you're on mine, Brett.

We're having a video conference.

Oh, okay. 

Pawnee has been hit with the avian flu.

Tight. 

No, this is bad news. 
I need everyone there at Animal Control to eradicate all the infected birds in town. 


"Kill all birds."
This is for The Drill, right?

Yes. 

But I'm actually gonna kill these birds for real? 

No. No, just pretend. 

Right. So how do I kill 'em-- like, with a gun? 

No. 

I could fill up a bathtub and just drown 'em one at a time. 

Okay, let's forget we ever talked. 

Got it. Kill 'em. 

Okay, casualty update-- only four dead, two of whom were already gravely ill and brothers. 
That Family took a terrible hit. 
Well, that's Great News. 

Not so fast. I regret to inform you that someone in this room has begun exhibiting symptoms--

Christopher Traeger.


What? 


A few months ago, the thought of an infectious disease, even hypothetical, would have sent me careening towards Bummerville, but now I am infected with a Killer Virus, and I feel fine. 
Therapy! 

This is highly irregular. 
We have followed protocol to the letter. 


No, you did not. 
Unfortunately, no one contacted the transit department to shut down bus service. 

So you rode a bus with a contagious man, and he infected you and 39 others. 


That is impossible. 
I do not ride the bus. 
I ride my bicycle behind the bus as a windbreak. 

Doesn't matter. 
Prepare for The Diarrhea. 

Okay, who was supposed to deal with Transit? 

My bad, guys. That's my bad. 
Chris, very sorry. 

Damn it, Jamm. 
I should've had animal control kill you. 

Oh, who you want me to kill?

No one. 


I'll kill him... As soon as I'm done with these birds. 




Hey, how's it going? 

Uh, well, this simulated Disaster is a Total Disaster. 
How are you? 

Ron subbed for you on Pawnee Today. 

Ron who? Ron Swanson? 
On television? 
You know we want people to come, right? 

Donna still can't find any chairs. 
We don't know where Jerry is. 
And now some Firemen are using the lot as a Triage Center for The Emergency Drill. 

Okay, here's what you do. 
Listen to me caref-- 

Attention :
Panic from The Outbreak has overloaded cell phone towers. 
Please deposit your phones into this box. 

Oh, my God, this drill will never end.


Okay, tell the firefighters... 


All phones. 


To set up triage at the high school... 

All phones.

And then to-- but I'm talking to someone important.

All phones. 

Let me tell him something important.
Fix it, Ben! Fix it!


Okay.

 What?

 I found one chair, got a lead on a second. 
Keep me posted. 



I'm afraid I have some very bad news :

"I, Chris Traeger, after several sustained hours of diarrhea, combined with violent coughing and a devastating fever, followed by even more diarrhea, have succumbed to the avian flu." 

I'm Dead. 

I got to say, Leonard, it kind of feels like you're putting us through the ringer here. 
Can you us an idea how long this is gonna take? 

Uh... Probably six to eight more hours. 

Eight more hours?

Nine. 

Are all state emergency drills this intensive? 

Oh, no, hardly ever. 
Councilman Jamm requested it. 

Oh, really? 

Specifically asked that the drill to be done today and said I should give you everything I got. 

Mmhmm. Guys! Come here. 
The Game is rigged. 
Jamm invited Leonard here, and he screwed up the bus thing on purpose to slow us down. 

It is with a heavy heart that I say, 
"We have been jammed." 
God, that guy is The Worst! 

Look, we are stuck in this room until The Drill is over. 
What are we gonna do? 

The Only Thing We Can Do. 
In order to save Our Park... 

We have to Destroy the entire town. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, we are making some changes to the Knope Protocol. Ann, how much flu vaccine does the hospital still have? Enough for 2,000 people. Great. Why don't you tell the hospital director - to flush them down the toilet. - You got it. Chief Fugleberg, I want you to order your officers to find all the infected birds in the area and perform CPR. Sorry. Won't they become infected? That's a risk we're gonna have to take. Our top priority is now saving all the birds. And you know what? Why don't we just kick this up a notch? Oh, no! Pawnee has been hit with... A tornado quake! This is Ron. Go ahead, caller. Hi. My Yorkshire Terrier has chewed up the legs on my kitchen table. Is there a cheap way to repair that? Great question. Take a walnut and rub it into the legs of your table. That'll mask the scratches. Next thing you want to do is ditch the Terrier and get yourself a proper dog. Any dog under 50 pounds is a cat, and cats are pointless. Come to the gala. Next caller. Grapes of Wrath, chocolate-chip ice cream, and Johnny Cash. Don't trust big banks or small banks. Banks are Ponzi schemes run by morons. Your house isn't haunted. You're lonely. Whatever happened to, "Hey, I have some apples. Would you like to buy them?" "Yes, thank you." That's as complicated as it should be to open a business in this country. I've seen three movies in my life-- Bridge on the River Kwai, Patton, and Herbie Fully Loaded. My girlfriend's kids love it. It's pretty funny. Next caller. Good morning. And... it is a wrap. Everyone in Pawnee is dead. Including Councilman Jamm. What? No, no, you can't do that. It says right there, you're dead, so is everyone you care about. Oh, well, joke's on you. I don't have anyone I care about. Ms. Knope, I'm afraid I have to once again give Pawnee a failing grade. This was bad-- Fort Wayne bad. Bummer. Thank you for your time. I think we're done here. I will see everyone at the gala, and I will see you in hell. Yeah, you're too late, Knope. That lot is mine. I can't hear you. I'm a ghost. Yeah, well, so am I, so you can hear me! Ghost jammed! We got all the way to Muncie before we realized that it was just a drill. I mean, all I'm saying is you could've called. No one had your cell number, Big "J." I find that hard to believe. Oh, my God, why is everyone standing around? We have work to do. Status report. - Status report! - Well-- Nope, we don't have time for that. We're gonna have to postpone the gala, but we can't, because the deadline is tomorrow. Oh, my God, I destroyed the entire town for nothing. Leslie, it's okay. Oh, my God. You did all this? How did you get food? I had a classic stroke of Haverford genius. Who has the most to lose from a new Paunch Burger? Their competitors. I got all the other fast-food places in town to donate food. I know black tie and chicky tenders isn't the best mix, - but-- - No, Tom, I love it. And more importantly, so will all of our more ample citizens. How did you get the word out? Well, Ron went on Joan's show and kicked ass. I also helped a child perform a tracheotomy on his elderly uncle. It's been a very rewarding day. Also, I told the firemen they should use the lot as triage and then gave them and all the dead and wounded - two free drink tickets. - Wow. This is great. Thank you so much. Let's start the gala. Oh, and thanks for dressing up, Jerry. - Hello, Chief Fugleberg. - Hey. That's your buddy Andy Dwyer over there, isn't it? - Such a shame. - Oh, no. - Did he fail his test? - It's weird. He got 100% on his written test-- first guy in history to do it-- but he failed his personality examination. He's a sweet kid-- just doesn't have what it takes to be a cop. Oh, Andy. Too bad. He's certainly something of a genius. We could use his brains on the force. Official police wrist lock. You can't hit me. Try to hit me. Or here, no, try-- it's this hand. Wrist lock. Boom, too much pain, you can't even hit me. Try to hit me. If I had my gun, you wouldn't try to hit me, though, is the thing. Uh, if I could have everyone's attention please? I am so happy to announce that as of one minute ago, we have reached our fund-raising goal. Every dollar spent here tonight by you, the community, will be poured right back into this wonderful project. And speaking of community, I'd like to thank my community-- my friends. It's a lesson that I have learned over and over again, but it bears repeating-- No one achieves anything alone. Without further ado, the best band in Pawnee-- Mouse Rat. ♪ Park ♪ we will build it, the park ♪ 


Tuesday, 22 December 2020

Liar.










Governor: 
I have to talk all of you into doing something. 
Something I know we need to do. 
And I don't know how to talk about it. 

What do you want us to do? 

Governor: 
I want you to Survive. 
We're not gonna last here. 

The biters, there'll be a herd of them. 
They'll fill the pits, they'll crawl over one another. 

There'll be enough to tear right through our camp. 

Or it'll be People

There's nothing between Us and The Rest of The World. 
Nothing between Us and Them. 

We stay here, we'll die. 

The people who destroyed the camp I was in with Martinez... they live in a prison. 
It's north off Highway 51. 

They got Walls... fences, plots of land for farming. 
We could live there. 

Uh-uh.
 
Governor: 
If we're willing to take it from 'em. 
I have a plan to do it without anyone getting hurt. 

I captured two of them. 

What? 

Governor: 
I was scouting The Prison and our paths crossed, so I took 'em. 

TARA :
You took them? 

Governor: 
They're The Key. 

They're gonna help us take that prison without firing a shot. 

We can have it 
and we don't need to kill anyone. 

But... we need to be prepared to. 

( theme music playing ) 

Governor: 
The people in this prison, 
not all of them are bad. 

But most of them are thieves, murderers. 

Now why should people like that have peace of mind when we're burying our own just about every day? 

These people, they mutilated me... burned my camp... killed my daughter. 

Now you saw me-- I tried. 
I tried to die. 

'Cause I didn't want to accept that you couldn't live in This World without getting blood on your hands. 

I found You People 
and I don't want to die. 
I don't want you to die. 

Now we need to move -- now. 

They're gonna realise Their People are gone and they're gonna start getting ready for whatever's next. 

We need to surprise them. 
Scare them. 

Huh? 

Governor: 
And we will win. 

I'm in. 

I'm in. 

Man: 
Me, too. 

Governor: 
Pack up and get ready. 
We'll go over the plan in half an hour. 
Come on. 

Man: 
Let's do it. 

Governor: 
Where's Megan? 

Lily: 
She's reading in the trailer. 

Governor: 
You hear all that? 

Lily: 
I said we didn't have to fight for another place. 

Governor: 
I know. 

Lily: 
Killing People? 

Governor: 
No. Killing Killers

Lily: 
You said they weren't all bad people. 

Governor: 
Well, they're with bad people. 

Lily: 
Am I? 

Governor: 
I'm gonna keep you alive. 
I'm gonna keep Megan alive.
 
The only Judgment on me I care about is whether you two are still breathing. 

It's good that you heard, that you know. 
Lily... I love you. 

Lily: 
I don't know Who You Are. 

Governor: 
Hey, you told me there has to be someplace better and that I was gonna help you find it. 

You knew me, Lily. 
It was always gonna be like this. 

You need to pack up, too. 

Michonne:
Don't touch me.

Stay still. 

Michonne: ( hisses ) 
Get off me. 

Governor: 
You should eat. 
It's gonna be a long day. 

Nobody's gonna hurt you. 

Hershel: 
I don't believe that. 

Governor: 
Well, I don't care. 

Hershel: 
Just tell us what this is. Please. 

Governor: 
It isn't personal. 

Hershel: 
Then what is it? 

Governor: 
Michonne, I want you to know... 
Penny, my daughter, she was dead. 
I know that now. 

Now, I don't want to hurt you. 
I don't want to hurt anyone. 

I need the prison, that's it. 

There are people I need to keep alive. 
You two are gonna help me take it. 

No one needs to die. 

Michonne: 
I'm gonna kill you. 

Governor: 
No, you won't. 

Michonne: 
I'm gonna take my-- 

Hershel: 
Stop it. You want the prison? 

Governor: 
Yeah. And I'll take it as peacefully as I can. 

Hershel: 
Governor-- 

Governor: 
Don't call me that. 

Hershel: 
Your People, Our People, 
we can find a way to live together. 

These People you need to keep alive, 
do you love them? 

Governor: 
You're a Good Man, Hershel. 
A Better Man than Rick. 

Hershel: 
Everything you've said, the way you've said it
you've changed

So has Rick. 

Governor: 
The two of us will never be able to live together. 
Michonne and I, we'll never be able to live together.

Hershel:
We'll find a way. 

Governor: 
I found a way! 

I'm trying hard.
 
There's all kinds of ways I could do this. 
This way, you get to live and I get to be... 

Hershel : 
You say you want to take this prison as peacefully as possible. 
That means you'd be willing to hurt people to get it. 

My Daughters would be there. 
That's who you'd be hurting. 

If you understand what it's like to have a daughter, then how can you threaten to kill Someone Else's? 

Governor: 
Because They aren't Mine

( door closes )



Liar.

Monday, 21 December 2020

That's How You Lose People... Even After They're Gone.






Look in the Bibles, too. 
Could've hollowed out the pages. 

Are you serious? 

We have two bullets. 
People holed up in here-- 
People hide guns, ammo. 
Maybe something to start a fire. 
It's getting dark out soon. 
Maybe we can distract them.
We need sheets, ropes, towels-- 
Anything Maggie can use to climb down the other side.
How things turn. 
Enid

When I wanted to run... You said, 
"That's how you lose people... even after they're gone." 
What The Hell does that mean? 

Glenn: 
People You Love... 
They Made You Who You Are. 

They're still part of you. 
If you stop being you, that last bit of them that's still around inside, Who You Are... it's gone. 

ENID :
Who are those people to you? 

GLENN :
My Parents. 
A Man named Dale.
Maggie's Father, Hershel. 
A Woman named Andrea. 
A Man named Tyreese. 

Who are they to you? 

ENID :
My Parents. 

GLENN :
Then They're Still Here... 
'cause You're Still Here. 


When there's an opening, we'll make a break for that tower. 

Hmm? No, I'll just slow you down. 

Denise. Denise, You're Here... with Me. 
I need you. Maybe I want you to stay 'cause I'm enjoying your company so much. 

( chuckles ) 


I want you to stay put. 

What? 

I wanted you to come back. 
I can handle myself. 


You said you wanted Help. 


No, I didn't want you to give up on This Place
on These People
To Be Afraid. 


You Were Right. 
So I'm Here Now. 
And I'm Going Out There and I'm Helping You
We have to get her off that platform. She's Hurt. 
She needs help getting over The Wall. I can climb up The Gate. 
You can distract them. 
We do it together. 
chuckles
I'm just gonna follow you, anyway. 
You keep looking for the Bible Glock... 
I'll make her something to climb down. 


Okay. I like What You Said Before. 
That I wasn't born This Way. 
You're right. I changed. 
And now I want to Help You Change.
 Hey. You were right. 



Let's get Maggie. 
Can't you just stay here? 

Nope. 

You've been given A Gift, Denise. 
You'll see that one day. 
Or maybe you won't. 


( exhales ) 
( growling ) 
( growling continues ) 

Carol's voice: 
The Monsters will come, and you won't be able to run away when they come for you. The ones out there. And they will tear you apart and eat you up all while you're still alive. ( growling )

There are worse things in the world than no longer being alive.

 INT. PRESS CONFERENCE - DAY


WILL 

Someone who will fight for world-class schools. 

Someone who will take medical decisions away from HMO's and give them to Doctors. 

Someone who will make polluters pay for the pollution they cause right here in Orange County.


REPORTER 

And what are your plans for the final week?


WILL 

Volunteers are going door-to-door in every neighborhood. 

We've got six busloads of AFT and AFL volunteers coming down. 

We've got six get-out-the-vote rallies in the next six days. 

We're in this to win it. Yeah.


TED WILLARD [REPORTER] 

Mr. Bailey, Ted Willard Orange County Post-Gazette. 

What happens if that happens?
What happens if your candidate wins?


WILL 

A special election will be held after no more then 90 days.


TED WILLARD 

Does the party have someone in mind?


WILL 

We're vetting Wendell Wilkie. 

What do you think?


The reporters laugh.


TED WILLARD 

Seriously?


WILL 

Seriously, one election at a time. Beth?


BETH [REPORTER] 

60% of Orange County residents disagree with the Horton Wilde gun position which doesn't distinguish it from many other issues important to voters here. 

Is the Wilde campaign out of touch?


WILL 

60% is six of ten in a focus group. 

You change one mind, it's a dead heat. 

We change two, it's a landslide. 

This campaign's a mechanism of persuasion. 

We're not asking for a show of hands.


JUNE WHEELER [REPORTER] 

June Wheeler, San Jose Mercury News.


WILL 

You're a long way from home.


JUNE 

This is a fun story.


WILL 

Glad I could help out.


JUNE 

Mr. Bailey, we're all sitting here pretending this is a regular press conference, and you're very engaging up there, but your candidate died, so why isn't this all a little preposterous?


WILL 

Chuck Webb is a seven-term Congressman who, as Chairman of not one but two Commerce sub- committees, has taken money from companies he regulates. 

He's on the board of the NRA and once challenged another Congressman to a fistfight on the floor, over an amendment to make stalkers submit to background checks before buying AR-15s, AK-57s, Street Sweepers, Mac-10s, Mac-11s. 

He's joined protests designed to frighten pregnant women.


JUNE 

What's your point?


WILL 

There are worse things in the world than no longer being alive. 

Yes?


REPORTER 

You said earlier this morning that the 47th pays more in taxes...


FADE OUT. END ACT ONE