Friday, 15 March 2019

POWER


HABRIS: 
Lord Aukon himself is here.

(Aukon enters and inspects the line.)

AUKON: 
Interesting -

(He goes back to Adric.)

Lord AUKON : 
A mind that shields itself.
 One who pretends to be a dull and stupid peasant, 
but who is different.
ADRIC: 
Who, me?

Lord AUKON : 

You. 

You. 

Come with me.

ADRIC: 
Why?

Lord AUKON : 
Spirit too, I see. 
Excellent.

ADRIC: 
Come with you? 

What's in it for me?

Lord AUKON: 
Wealth.

Power.

Dominion over This World.... 

....and over Many Others. 





EXT. BALCONY - GOETH'S VILLA - NIGHT
 Distant music, Brahms' lullaby, from the Rosner Brothers way down by the women's barracks calming the inhabitants. Up here on the balcony, Schindler and Goeth, the latter so drunk he can barely stand up, stare out over Goeth's dark kingdom.


 SCHINDLER 

They don't fear us because we have the power to kill, they fear us because we have the power to kill arbitrarily. 




A man commits a crime, he should know better.



We have him killed, we feel pretty good about it.



Or we kill him ourselves and we feel even better. 

 
That's not Power, though, that's Justice. 


That's different than Power. 

 
Power is when we have every justification to kill -- and we don't. 


That's Power.



That's what The Emperors had. 

A man stole something, he's brought in before the emperor, he throws himself down on the floor, he begs for mercy, he knows he's going to die... 






And The Emperor pardons him. 

This worthless man. 

He lets him go. 




That's Power. 

That's Power.
 It seems almost as though this temptation toward restraint, this image Schindler has brush-stroked of the merciful emperor, holds some appeal to Goeth. 


Perhaps, as he stares out over his camp, he imagines himself in the role, wondering what the power Schindler describes might feel like.

 Eventually, he glances over drunkenly, and almost smiles.


 SCHINDLER 

Amon the Good.

 EXT. STABLES - PLASZOW - DAY

 A stable boy works to ready Goeth's horse before he arrives.

 He sticks a bridle into its mouth, throws a riding blanket onto its back, drags out the saddle Schindler bought Goeth.

 Before he can finish, though, Goeth is there. The boy tries to hide his panic; he knows others have been shot for less.
 STABLE BOY 

I'm sorry, sir, I'm almost done.

 GOETH 

Oh, that's all right.

 As Goeth waits, patiently it seems, whistling to himself, the stable boy tries to mask his confusion.

 EXT. PLASZOW - DAY

 Goeth gallops around his great domain holding himself high in the saddle. But everywhere he looks, it seems, he's confronted with stoop-shouldered sloth. He forces himself to smile benevolently.

 INT. GOETH'S VILLA - DAY

 Goeth comes into his bedroom sweating from his ride. A worker with a pail and cloth appears in the bathroom doorway.

 MORE TO THE FLOOR --

 WORKER 

I have to report, sir, I've been unable to remove the stains from your bathtub.

 Goeth steps past him to take a look. The worker is almost shaking, he's so terrified of the violent reprisal he expects to receive.

 GOETH 

What are you using?

 WORKER 

Soap, sir.

 GOETH 

(incredulous) 
Soap? Not lye?

 The worker hasn't a defense for himself. 


Goeth's hand drifts down as if by instinct to the gun in his holster. 

He stares at the worker. 

He so wants to shoot him he can hardly stand it, right here, right in the bathroom, put some more stains on the porcelain. 

He takes a deep breath to calm himself.

 Then gestures grandly.

 
 GOETH 
Go ahead, go on, leave. 

I pardon you.
 The worker hurries out with his pail and cloth. Goeth just stands there for several moments -- trying to feel the power of emperors he's supposed to be feeling. 


But he doesn't feel it. 

All he feels is stupid.

 EXT. GOETH'S VILLA - MOMENTS LATER - DAY


 The worker hurries across the dying lawn outside the villa.

 He dares a glance back, and at that moment, a hand with a gun appears out the bathroom window and fires.





(Habris enters.)

HABRIS: 
My Lord, it is time.

ZARGO: 
How dare you interrupt us!

HABRIS: 
Aukon has seen The Sign. 
The Arising is at hand.

CAMILLA: 
The Arising? Leave us.

(Habris leaves.)

ZARGO: 
We must go to him.

CAMILLA: 
We shall resume this later. 
If you need anything, there are guards outside the door. 

Many guards.








The Great 1 :
You took the one, last 
PERFECT Crystal of POWER. 

I searched all Time, and all Space for it....!!!

I MUST have it! 

The Established Dandy : 
No! No, never. 

GREAT ONE [OC]: 
You are PROUD, Little Man. 

I see that I shall have to teach you to have respect! 

Round you go, Doctor. 

DOCTOR: 
No. No! 
No, I will not! 

(Against his will, the Doctor turns left, stepping high, as the Great One laughs.) 

DOCTOR: 
No! No, I will not! No! 
(The Doctor has turned right round and back to where he started.) 


GREAT ONE [OC]: 
Is that FEAR I can feel in your mind...? 

You are not ACCUSTOMED to feeling FRIGHTENED, are you, Doctor? 

You are very WISE to be afraid of ME...!!!. 

Go now. You must hurry back and fetch the crystal. 

I MUST have it, don't you understand? 

I must have it! I must! 
I must! I must! 

Go now. Go! 
Go! Go NOW! 






K'ANPO: 
We are all apt to surrender ourselves to domination. 
Even the strongest of us. 

DOCTOR: 
...Do you mean me? 

K'ANPO: 
Not all spiders sit on the back. 

SARAH: 
Oh, I don't understand. You're not saying they've taken over The Doctor, are you? 

DOCTOR: 
Oh no, Sarah, no. 
No, he's talking about my GREED. 

SARAH: 
Greed? You? 

DOCTOR: 
Yes, my Greed for KNOWLEDGE , for INFORMATION. 

He's saying that all this is basically My Fault. 

If I hadn't taken the crystal in the first place.....

I know who you are now!

K'ANPO: 
You were always a little slow on the uptake, my boy. 


GREAT ONE [OC]: 
Stop! Have you brought the crystal to me? 
DOCTOR: 
Well if I had not, why should I have returned? 
GREAT ONE [OC]: 
Very well. Very well, advance. 
(The Doctor walks around a corner and sees the universes biggest spider.) 

DOCTOR: 
I've brought you the crystal. 
Now why don't you just take it and leave the humans in peace, both here and on Earth? 

GREAT ONE: 
You think I care for the puny plans of my subjects? Earth? 

One paltry planet among millions? 
Give me the crystal. 
I thirst for it! 
I ache for it! 

DOCTOR: 
Well, why is it so important to you? 

GREAT ONE: 
You see this web of crystal above my head? 
It reproduces the pattern of my brain. 
One perfect crystal and it will be complete. 
That is the perfect crystal I need. 

DOCTOR: 
And then? 

GREAT ONE: 
My every thought will resonate within the web, and grow in power until, until, until....!!!

DOCTOR: 
But you've built a positive feedback circuit. You're trying to increase your mental powers to infinity. 

GREAT ONE: 
Exactly! 
I shall be the ruler of the entire universe! 

DOCTOR: 
Now listen to me. Listen. 
I haven't got much time left. 

What you're trying to do is impossible. 

If you complete that circuit, the energy will build up and up until it cannot be contained. 
You will destroy yourself. 

GREAT ONE:
 You waste the little time remaining to you. 
Even now the cave of crystal is destroying the cells of your body. 
I will grant you one last favour. 

You may watch the completion of my triumph before you die! 

(The crystal flies out of the Doctor's hand and becomes the keystone of the web lattice.) 

GREAT ONE: 
I am complete! 
Now I am total power! 
All praise to the Great One! 

DOCTOR: 
Stop. Stop! 
Don't you see what's happened to you? 

GREAT ONE: 
All praise to the Great One! 
All praise to me! Bow down before me, planets! 
Bow down, stars! 
Bow down, all galaxies and worship the Great One! 
The me! The Great, all-powerful me! 

Argh! 

(The giant spider starts to glow red.) 

GREAT ONE: 
I hurt! Help me! 
I am burning! My brain is on fire! 

(The Doctor runs out of the cave.) 

GREAT ONE: 
Help me!




DOCTOR: 
Compressed information, streaming into her. Reports from every city, every country, every planet, and they all get packaged inside her head. She becomes part of the software. Her brain is the computer. 

ROSE:
 If it all goes through her, she must be a genius. 
DOCTOR: 
Nah, she wouldn't remember any of it. There's too much. Her head'd blow up. 
The brain's the processor. As soon as it closes, she forgets. 

ROSE: 
So, what about all these people round the edge? 

DOCTOR: 
They've all got tiny little chips in their head, connecting them to her and they transmit six hundred channels. 
Every single fact in the Empire beams out of this place. 
Now that's what I call power. 




EDITOR: 
I started without you. 
This is fascinating. 
Satellite Five contains every piece of information within the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. 
Birth certificates, shopping habits, bank statements, but you two, you don't exist. 
Not a trace. No birth, no job, not the slightest kiss. 
How can you walk through the world and not leave a single footprint? 

ROSE: 
Suki. Suki! Hello? 
Can you hear me? Suki? 
What have you done to her? 

DOCTOR: 
I think she's dead. 

ROSE: 
She's working. 

DOCTOR: 
They've all got chips in their head, and the chips keep going, like puppets. 

EDITOR: 
Oh! You're full of information. But it's only fair we get some information back, because apparently, you're no one. It's so rare not to know something. Who are you? 

DOCTOR: 
It doesn't matter, because we're off. 
Nice to meet you. Come on. 

(Suki grabs Rose's arm. Two other zombies grab the Doctor.) 

EDITOR: Tell me who you are. 

DOCTOR: Since that information's keeping us alive, I'm hardly going to say, am I. 

EDITOR: Well, perhaps my Editor in Chief can convince you otherwise. 

DOCTOR: And who's that? 

EDITOR: 
It may interest you to know that this is not the Fourth Great and Bountiful Human Empire. In fact, it's not actually human at all. It's merely a place where humans happen to live. 

(Growl, snarl.) 

EDITOR: 
Yeah. Yeah, sorry. It's a place where humans are allowed to live by kind permission of my client. 
(Who we finally see is a giant lump hanging from the ceiling, with a very nasty set of teeth in a mouth on the end of a pseudopod.) 
ROSE: What is that? 
DOCTOR: You mean that thing's in charge of Satellite Five? 
EDITOR: That thing, as you put it, is in charge of the human race. For almost a hundred years, mankind has been shaped and guided, his knowledge and ambition strictly controlled by it's broadcast news, edited by my superior, your master, and humanity's guiding light, the mighty Jagrafess of the Holy Hadrojassic Maxarodenfoe. I call him Max. 
(Down on Floor 139 Adam avoids Cathica as she goes to take another look at the schematic that the Doctor called up. Then she goes to the lift and punches in the code for Floor 500. 
Meanwhile, the Doctor and Rose have been placed in hefty sets of manacles.) 
EDITOR: Create a climate of fear and it's easy to keep the borders closed. It's just a matter of emphasis. The right word in the right broadcast repeated often enough can destabilise an economy, invent an enemy, change a vote. 
ROSE: So all the people on Earth are like, slaves. 
EDITOR: Well, now, there's an interesting point. Is a slave a slave if he doesn't know he's enslaved? 
DOCTOR: Yes. 
EDITOR: Oh. I was hoping for a philosophical debate. Is that all I'm going to get? Yes? 
DOCTOR: Yes. 
EDITOR: You're no fun. 
DOCTOR: Let me out of these manacles. You'll find out how much fun I am. 
EDITOR: Oh, he's tough, isn't he. But, come on. Isn't it a great system? You've got to admire it, just a little bit. 
ROSE: You can't hide something on this scale. Somebody must have noticed. 
EDITOR: From time to time, someone, yes, but the computer chip system allows me to see inside their brains. I can see the smallest doubt and crush it. 
(Cathica arrives on Floor 500. Adam goes to the broadcast room on 139.) 
EDITOR: Then they just carry on, living the life, strutting about downstairs and all over the surface of the Earth like they're so individual, when of course, they're not. They're just cattle. In that respect, the Jagrafess hasn't changed a thing. 
(The Doctor and Rose spot Cathica behind the Editor's back.) 
ROSE: What about you? You're not a Jagrabelly 
DOCTOR: Jagrafess. 
ROSE: Jagrafess. You're not a Jagrafess. You're human. 
EDITOR: Yeah, well, simply being human doesn't pay very well. 
ROSE: But you couldn't have done this all on your own. 
EDITOR: No. I represent a consortium of banks. Money prefers a long-term investment. Also, the Jagrafess needed a little hand to install himself. 
DOCTOR: No wonder, a creature that size. What's his life span? 
EDITOR: Three thousand years. 
DOCTOR: That's one hell of a metabolism generating all that heat. That's why Satellite Five's so hot. You pump it out of the creature, channel it downstairs. Jagrafess stays cool, it stays alive. Satellite Five is one great big life support system.

[Adam's home]

(Adam settles in the broadcast chair and opens his portal, then phones home.) 
ADAM [OC]: It's me again. Don't wipe this message. It's just going to sound like white noise, but save it because I can

[Newsroom]

ADAM: Translate it, okay? Three, two, one and spike. 
(Information beams into Adam.)

[Floor 500]

EDITOR: But that's why you're so dangerous. Knowledge is power, but you remain unknown. Who are you? 
(The Editor snaps his fingers and energy surges through the manacles. Back in the now, the little dog watches energy encircling the telephone answering machine.) 
DOCTOR: Leave her alone. I'm the Doctor, she's Rose Tyler. We're nothing, we're just wandering. 
EDITOR: Tell me who you are! 
DOCTOR: I just said! 
EDITOR: Yes, but who do you work for? Who sent you? Who knows about us? Who exactly 
(He stops. The Jagrafess growls.) 
EDITOR: Time Lord. 
DOCTOR: What? 
EDITOR: Oh, yes. The last of the Time Lords in his travelling machine. Oh, with his little human girl from long ago 
DOCTOR: You don't know what you're talking about. 
EDITOR: Time travel.

[Newsroom]

(Adam screams as information is sucked out of his brain.) 
ADAM: Help!

[Floor 500]

DOCTOR: Someone's been telling you lies. 
EDITOR: Young master Adam Mitchell? 
(The Editor calls up the holo-monitor showing Adam in the broadcast chair.) 
ROSE: Oh, my God. His head! 
DOCTOR: What the hell's he done? What the hell's he gone and done? They're reading his mind. He's telling them everything. 
EDITOR: And through him, I know everything about you. Every piece of information in his head is now mine. And you have infinite knowledge, Doctor. The Human Empire is tiny compared to what you've seen in your T A R D I S. Tardis. 
DOCTOR: Well, you'll never get your hands on it. I'll die first. 
EDITOR: Die all you like. I don't need you. I've got the key. 
(The Tardis key rises from Adam's pocket.) 
DOCTOR: You and your boyfriends! 
EDITOR: Today, we are the headlines. We can rewrite history. We could prevent mankind from ever developing. 
DOCTOR: And no one's going to stop you because you've bred a human race that doesn't bother to ask questions. Stupid little slaves, believing every lie. They'll just trot right into the slaughter house if they're told it's made of gold. 
(The Jagrafess snarls, and Cathica leaves.)

Don’t Be Sorry, Make it Right




Sorry! is a Game of NEGATION






Making Amends has nothing to do with saying “I’m Sorry”.

Crucial Point.








Plot

Sorry! is based around Timothy Lumsden who, 41 years old in the first three series (his age increased to 42 and then 48 in subsequent series – Corbett was actually 50-57 during the series’ run), is a librarian who still lives at home with his domineering mother Phyllis and henpecked father Sidney. Although quite shy around women, Timothy longs to find love and leave home, but Phyllis is always against the idea, and constantly manipulates her son into staying at home. One of the running gags of the series is Sidney frequently shouting “Language, Timothy!” when he feels Timothy has said something inappropriate (though most times nobody would typically find the words even close to offensive). Timothy usually responds “Sorry father”, but sometimes snaps “Shut up, father!” to which Sidney always replies “Fair enough”.

In contrast, Timothy’s friend Frank and sister Muriel urge Timothy to stand up to his mother once and for all. Muriel had successfully left home, and married Kevin, and as a result is viewed with distrust by her mother.

Classic rules

  1. Each player chooses four pawns of one colour and places them in their Start. One player is selected to play first.
  2. Each player in turn draws one card from the deck and follows its instructions. To begin the game, all of a player’s four pawns are restricted to Start; a player can only move them out onto the rest of the board if he or she draws a 1 or 2 card. A 1 or a 2 places a pawn on the space directly outside of start (a 2 does not entitle the pawn to move a second space).
  3. A pawn can jump over any other pawn during its move. However, two pawns cannot occupy the same square; a pawn that lands on a square occupied by another player’s pawn “bumps” that pawn back to its own Start. Players can not bump their own pawns back to Start; if the only way to complete a move would result in a player bumping their own pawn, the player’s pawns remain in place and the player loses their turn.
  4. If a pawn lands at the start of a slide (except those of its own colour), either by direct movement or as the result of a switch from an 11 card or a Sorry card, it immediately “slides” to the last square of the slide. All pawns on all spaces of the slide (including those belonging to the sliding player) are sent back to their respective Starts.4
  5. The last five squares before each player’s Home are “Safety Zones”, and are specially coloured corresponding to the colours of the Homes they lead to. Access is limited to pawns of the same colour. Pawns inside the Safety Zones are immune to being bumped by opponents’ pawns or being switched with opponents’ pawns via 11 or Sorry! cards. However, if a pawn is forced via a 10 or 4 card to move backwards out of the Safety Zone, it is no longer considered “danger” and may be bumped by or switched with opponents’ pawns as usual until it re-enters the Safety Zone.

2013 Edition rule changes

In the 2013 Edition, several rules were changed. Each player only has three pawns. A pawn can be moved out from Start upon any positive number card. A Sorry! card gives the alternative option of moving forward 4 spaces. The 2 card no longer allows one to pull another card.
Furthermore, two additional items known as Fire and Ice were added, and depending on which card is drawn, can be placed on certain pawns on the board, modifying the playing rules for those pawns. In short, fire gives a pawn the ability to move ahead quickly before the player’s turn, and ice stops a pawn from being moved (or removed from play) at all.
There are some corner cases that are not well explained in the rules, such as “What happens to fire if one pawn removes the pawn with fire by landing on its square?”. Should the fire be set back to out of play, or should it transfer to the attacking pawn?

Classic cards and function

The modern deck contains 45 cards: there are five 1 cards as well as four each of the other cards (Sorry!, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 12). The 6s or 9s are kept out to avoid confusion. The first edition of the game had 44 cards (four of each) and the extra 1 card was soon introduced as an option for quicker play.5 A 1996 board from Waddingtons had 5 of each card.
Cards are annotated with the following actions:
1Move ice6, then either move a pawn from Start or move a pawn one space forward.
2Move fire6, then either move a pawn from Start or move a pawn two spaces forward. Drawing a two entitles the player to draw again at the end of their turn. If the player cannot use a two to move, he or she can still draw again.
3Move a pawn three spaces forward.
4Move a pawn four spaces backward.
5Move a pawn five spaces forward.
7Move one pawn seven spaces forward, or split the seven spaces between two pawns (such as four spaces for one pawn and three for another). This makes it possible for two pawns to enter Home on the same turn, for example. The seven cannot be used to move a pawn out of Start, even if the player splits it into a six and one or a five and two. The entire seven spaces must be used or the turn is lost. You may not move backwards with a split.
8Move a pawn eight spaces forward.
10Move a pawn ten spaces forward or one space backward. If none of a player’s pawns can move forward 10 spaces, then one pawn must move back one space.
11Move eleven spaces forward, or switch the places of one of the player’s own pawns and an opponent’s pawn. A player who cannot move 11 spaces is not forced to switch and instead can forfeit the turn. An 11 cannot be used to switch a pawn that is in a Safety Zone.
12Move a pawn twelve spaces forward.
Sorry! cardTake any one pawn from Start and move it directly to a square occupied by any opponent’s pawn, sending that pawn back to its own Start. A Sorry! card cannot be used on an opponent’s pawn in a Safety Zone. If there are no pawns on the player’s Start, or no opponent’s pawns on any space you can move to, the turn is forfeited.4
View Table

Strategy

Players who have a pawn that has not moved too far away from its start area, and draw a card that allows them to move a pawn backward, can (and should) elect to move this pawn backward. Move a pawn in such a situation backward enough, and the pawn is suddenly almost home.
The 7 can be split; it is often possible to do so such that one of the pieces ends up on a slide, thus increasing the value of this card. It also provides an additional opportunity for pawns to get Home, so long as there’s another pawn on the board to use up the remaining spaces.
All other things being equal, moves that cause a pawn to end up in front of an opponent’s start square are poor choices, due to the high number of cards that allow that opponent to enter. Some feel that leaving a pawn on one’s own square just outside “Start” (also known as the “Dot”) is a poor position to be in since new pawns are blocked from entering play.
There are numerous strategies and tactics employed by skilled players. One such strategy is to leave the last pawn in the “Start” square and move the other pawns around the board while waiting for a “Sorry” card.
Due to the 11 (switching places), 4 (moving backwards, as noted above), and “Sorry” (allowing the player to send virtually any pawn back to its start) cards, the lead in the game can change dramatically in a short amount of time; players are very rarely so far behind as to be completely out of the game. This should be considered when playing a “Sorry” or an 11.
Slowing the game down is a risky yet effective move when given the opportunity. Essentially, when a player has the chance to switch with or hit the apparent leader, even though the move will not be to the player’s immediate advancement around the board, the move should be made to keep the leader out of “Safety” and more importantly, out of “Home”.

Profiles in Mentorship : Matt




"Matt, Danny, we have this opportunity to do this thing at FOX. Will you help us out?"  

That's how a Man talks. 

Do you care that we didn't do a very good show tonight?

 




CAL
Excuse me. Sorry about the timing.

MATT
What happened?

CAL
It was my fault.

MATT
What happened?!

CAL
It was my fault.

MATT
I'm about to go to a party where 17 people will ask me what happened.

CAL
Tell them it was my fault.

MATT
I can't blame other people for the same reason you can't blame other people so I need to blame him. What happened?

CAL
Ricky and Ron didn't switch the format back to 40-second page.

MATT
Why didn't you say so? I'm never so happy as when it's Ricky and Ron.

CAL
That's why I didn't say so.

DANNY
Switch back from what?

CAL
What?

DANNY
Why were they off 40-second page?

CAL
They were working in half-hour format.

DANNY
Why?

MATT
They're writing a pilot script.

DANNY
Do you know anything about this?

MATT
No, do you?

DANNY
No. Do you?

CAL
No.

DANNY
Do you?





MATT
Are they allowed to shop a pilot?

JORDAN
What do you care?

MATT
Aren't they exclusive?

JORDAN
I'm sure they can write whatever they want on spec.

DANNY
Not if they're banking good material instead of giving it to him.

MATT
I don't think Ricky and Ron have a secret treasure trove of good material they've been saving for an occasion.

JORDAN
Then why do you care?

MATT
I don't; I just want to screw with them? How can we find out if they're allowed to do this?

JORDAN
All right. My assistant Kevin is still at the office. If I have him pull the contract and read it, will you two have a serious conversation with me about product placement?

DANNY
What's serious?

JORDAN
You have to listen while I speak.

DANNY
Hmm. No, this I cannot do.

MATT
Call your assistant.

JORDAN
What was it you wanted to talk to me about?

DANNY
Just something Jack said on the way to Nevada.

JORDAN
What?

DANNY
We'll do this first.

JORDAN
I won't be able to concentrate! [on phone] Kevin, it's me. Can you pull the contracts on Richard Tahoe and Ron Oswald? I'm going to hang on. [to Matt and Danny] While I'm thinking of it, are either of you particularly attached to Peripheral Vision Man?

DANNY AND MATT
No.

DANNY
Why?

JORDAN
There's an option on underlying material that expires today. I can renew it for about a hundred dollars if you want.

MATT
Save the money.

DANNY
And now I don't have to fire anybody.

JORDAN
[on phone] Thank you. [to Danny] If 15 people are willing to split 100 dollars. [on phone] Can you search for language about exclusivity and call me back? I'll be on my cell. Thanks. [hangs up]





MATT
Do we have an answer on "Can Ricky and Ron be writing a pilot?"

JORDAN
Kevin hasn't answered my call back yet. It should be any minute.

MATT
All right, watch this. Rrrrrrrrrrrrrring! [He points, and her phone rings.] There it is!

DANNY
Whoa, check it out!

MATT
That is mojo, baby!

DANNY
My boy's got skills!

MATT
Mad skills.

DANNY
That was sick!

MATT
That was some Vulcan mindmeld mojo and I was right in the kitchen!

DANNY
I think you're a prophet.

MATT
How do we find out something like that?

DANNY
Things like this.

MATT
Where was that mojo when I needed it?

DANNY
You had it when you needed it.

MATT
Get the audience back, let me do it again!

JORDAN
Would you shut up?! [on phone] Yeah.

DANNY
I'm going to take you on tour with that phone thing you can do.

MATT
Once the show gets out there you cannot get it back. You cannot unring a bell.

DANNY
It was a good sh --

MATT
Stop saying it was a good show!

JORDAN
Shhh!

DANNY
We're talking quietly.

JORDAN
They're exclusive.

MATT
Well, I don't know what that was about, then.

JORDAN
Wait. They have an exception.

MATT
For what?

JORDAN
You're kidding.

DANNY
For what?

JORDAN
They have an option for Peripheral Vision Man. Thanks, Kevin.

DANNY
When's the option up?

JORDAN
In about an hour and a half.

CAL
It's tied again.

MATT
Are Ricky and Ron still here?

CAL
They're supervising the as-aired script. What's going on?

DANNY
We're pretty sure the co-execs are going to quit tonight.

CAL
Huh, well.






MATT
Guys --

RICKY
You haven't gone to the party yet?

MATT
No. Lucy, Darius, can you give us the room a second? [They leave.] What's going on with Peripheral Vision Man?

RICKY
You know, maybe it'd be better if we let the agents do their jobs at this point.

MATT
Okay. [He goes to leave.]

RON
No, wait. Hold on. Ricky --

RICKY
We set Peripheral Vision Man up at FOX. They ordered six half-hours for midseason, Ron and I are going to run it, we weren't allowed to say anything because --

MATT
You weren't allowed?

RICKY
You know how it is.

MATT
I don't, actually.

RICKY
NBS Studios has the option until midnight, so --

MATT
You left final draft in half hour format instead of 40-second page! That's why we got a plea for peace in Indiana from Jessica Simpson!

RON
We know, we're sorry about that.

RICKY
I'll tell you what, we thought you'd be thrilled.

MATT
Yeah?

RICKY
You get us out of here without having to eat our contracts!

MATT
Peripheral Vision Man isn't any good, Ricky. And Studio 60 is a brand, and so am I, and people are going to assume that I had something to do with it!

RICKY
Why isn't it good, Matt? Because you didn't write it?

MATT
It isn't good because it isn't good.

RICKY
Then have McDeere tie up the option again; she'll do whatever the cool guys tell her to do.

MATT
That's the first time anyone's accused me of being cool. 
And I don't think you know Jordan McDeere very well, because she has yet to do anything that anyone has told her to do.  

"Matt, Danny, we have this opportunity to do this thing at FOX. Will you help us out?"  

That's how a Man talks. 

Do you care that we didn't do a very good show tonight?

RICKY
I thought it was fine, Matt. But I'm sorry if your ego can't sustain a week of not being called a genius.

MATT
[looking at script] Descent is spelled with a "s".

RON
Are you going to let us have it?

MATT
I don't know. Without the "s" it's "decent."






MATT
Yeah, it's all true.

JORDAN
What?

MATT
They've got a set-up at FOX for midseason. It's a put pilot with six on the air. You didn't know about any of this?

JORDAN
Business affairs asked me if I wanted to hold on to the option and I asked you.

MATT
With an hour and a half left.

JORDAN
I really didn't anticipate anyone wanting to do Peripheral Vision Man as a series.

MATT
Nether did I, but I also didn't anticipate FOX airing a contest of strength between an Elephant and a Group of Dwarves.

JORDAN
That one caught us all by surprise. Hey, lighten up, Matt. You've been wanting to get rid of these guys since you got here.

MATT
It's going to cut into work time if I have to go door-to-door to everyone in America and explain to them that I didn't write Peripheral Vision Man. 
The show is making a massive comeback. This is the world's stupidest time to have an ugly stepchild out there!

JORDAN
You want me to pick up the option?

MATT
Yes, please. Lock up the option and shut the thing down.




JORDAN
What was I doing?

DANNY
Jordan.

JORDAN
What was I doing?

MATT
You were calling to tie up the option.

JORDAN
Yeah.

MATT
Wait.

JORDAN
What?

MATT
This just doesn't feel right. How much time can you give me?

JORDAN
The option's up in an hour and 13 minutes, so I can give you about an hour.

MATT
All right, I'll be back in a few minutes.

DANNY
Where are you going?

MATT
Just walking around.

DANNY
Listen --

JORDAN
No.


[Writers' room.]
LUCY
I am finished.

RICKY
It's done.

LUCY
I meant my career.

RICKY
That is just not true. Plus, if things don't work out for you here, you can always go back and write Benny Hill.

LUCY
Bite me.

RICKY
Give me a kiss.

LUCY
Don't think so.

MATT
Hi. [Lucy stand up and snogs him.]

LUCY
[to Ricky] That was to be mean to you. Goodbye.

MATT
[to Darius] You just keep on walking.

DARIUS
Yes, sir.

MATT
I think you both put up with a lot of crap and humiliation from me, and I'm going to let you go.

RON
Really?

MATT
Yeah, but I don't think you should.

RICKY
Why not?

MATT
Because Peripheral Vision Man isn't going to be good. It'll get canceled, you'll be out of work, and I won't be able to hire you back here.

RICKY
I knew it. You couldn't let us out of the door without a handshake.

MATT
Rick, I'm not talking... I'm not talking about old stuff. I'm telling you this writer to writer. You're going to get killed and you're taking him with you.

RICKY
He is a grown man who makes up his own mind. And he's not the only one I'm taking with me.

MATT
Who else?

RICKY
Everybody.

MATT
Yeah?

RICKY
You get Lucy and the new guy.

MATT
Darius.

RICKY
Yeah.

RON
Guys, let's not end it like this.

RICKY
I don't care how we end it, as long as we end it.

MATT
Rick --

RICKY
Listen --

MATT
Rick! The primetime landscape isn't the same as when we were coming up. There are maybe half as many jobs for comedy writers now as there were then. Stop being mad at me.

RICKY
We should stop being mad at you? We could write the greatest sketch in the world, we could write the damn 2000 year old man, and you wouldn't recognize it because it came from us!

MATT
Maybe, but that's not why I'm telling you this.
You're two of our guys, you have a history here, and I'm looking out for you.

RICKY
I'm moved. That is so typically --

RON
Ricky --

RICKY
-- condescending of you, you narcissistic horse's ass!
When Harry realizes she's already found the man of her dreams, I hope she screws him right in front of you.

RON
Rick! Enough!

RICKY
The writers all have options to come work with me on this.
You can keep them here with a salary and title bump.
The show sucked tonight, and no, I don't care.

RON
I've been his partner my whole career.
You know, it's like you and Danny.

MATT
Ron --

RON
And nobody noticed he got dropped on his head when you guys came here.
In the press, in the network... in this building, Matt.
Nobody noticed in this building. I'll see you.

MATT
Ronny?

RON
Yeah?

MATT
You're using voiceover?

RON
We need it for the exposition.

MATT
Voiceover's going to kill you.
Use a sidekick, a character you introduce in the beginning of the first episode.
Colorblind Boy, Cataract Kid... give him somebody to talk to.

RON
That's a good note.
I appreciate it.

MATT
Don't tell him it came from me.

LUCY
Are we going to be fired?

MATT
Nope, you're just going to wish you'd been.



DANNY
Room in the budget, words I love.

MATT
Actually, there's going to be a lot more room in the budget than you think for a while.

JORDAN
Why?

MATT
Let the rights go. Let Ricky and Ron go, too.

DANNY
You sure?

MATT
Yeah. And we're going to be letting most of the writing staff go with them.

DANNY
How many is most?

MATT
Everyone except Lucy and Darius.

DANNY
Lucy's never had a sketch on and Darius has been working here 5 days.

MATT
We'll staff back up.

DANNY
Until we do it'll just be you and two freshman writers.

MATT
That's two more than I had before. It's going to be fine.

They’re Coming to Get You, Barbara






BARBARA: 

Did you see that, Jenny? That's the way they control the Robomen. 


DALEK 3: 

Herd all humans to galleries to nine, ten and fifteen. 


JENNY: 

Perhaps we could put it out of action? 


BARBARA: 

We could do better than that, we could give it new orders. 

Tell them to turn on the Daleks. 


JENNY: Yes! That's a great idea. 


DALEK: They are the prisoners that reported the imminent revolt. 


BLACK: Speak! 


BARBARA: (reading Dortmun's notes.) 

This bomb is the one with which —


BLACK: 

We are not interested in the bomb. 

Give your information! 


BARBARA:

 Right. This revolt is timed to start almost immediately. 

As in the case of the Indian mutiny, which I am sure —


BLACK: 

Indian mutiny? 

We are the Masters of India! 


BARBARA: 

I was talking about Red Indians in disguise! 

The plan will run parallel with the Boston Tea Party. Naturally, you already have information about this. 


BLACK: 

Wait! Why have I not been informed of this? 


DALEK 2: 

There has been no information. 


BARBARA: 

Good! That means the first part of the plan is a success. 

Now, I warn you, General Lee and the four, the fifth cavalry are already forming up to attack from the north side of the crater. 

The second wave, Hannibal's forces, will of course come in from the Southern Alps. The third wave

 
BLACK: 

Attention! Attention! Mobilise defence forces! 


(Barbara dashes to the Robomen control panel) 


BARBARA: 

Robomen, this order cannot be countermanded. You must 


BLACK: 

Take them! They are lying! 

Take them! Take them! Take them! 


DALEK 3: 

I will arrange for their extermination. 


BLACK: 

No. Secure them. They will be killed in the explosion. The countdown must proceed to schedule. 


(Barbara and Jenny are fastened by collars to a pillar.) 


BARBARA: 

Sorry, Jenny. 


JENNY: 

What for? It was a marvellous attempt and it nearly worked too. 


BARBARA: 

Yes, it didn't and we won't get a second try. Look. That must be the bomb shaft.



Thursday, 14 March 2019

BEAR







“I just had the strangest dream.

It's Friday.
We're at the hospital.
But it's not a hospital.

It's a forest of sorts.

And l know that because right next to you there's a Bear.

A Grizzly, cooling his feet in a stream.
And all of a sudden, you begin to deliver and l can't get to you.

But The Bear can.

And next thing l know he is holding our beautiful baby boy.
And here's where it gets odd. Uh....
He chews The cord.

But, strangely, l'm okay with it.

That's Gotta Be a Good Sign.