I surrender!
sabinelagrande , this is all for you. (you don't even know. Seriously, my dormies all think I went crazy.)
THE MEME
1. Comment to this post with "I surrender!" and I'll assign you the basis of some TV show idea. (Science fiction show, medical drama, criminal procedure, etc...)
2. Create a cast of characters, including the actors who'd play them
3. Add in any actor photos, character bios and show synopsis that you want.
4. Post to your own journal.
Now with photos! I had to get a photobucket to make this work, so y'all better appreciate! *g* Sorry about the inconsistent sizing; I did the best I could but I don't really know how it works.
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The premise for the CW’s newest show seems utterly preposterous, until you remember this is the network that also brought us the teen years of Clark Kent, eight years of our favorite vampire slayer, and more recently, the shenanigans of two demon-hunting brothers who travel America in an awesome classic car. Next to those, who are we to argue with a show based on the tragically underused mythology of golems…updated to the twenty-first century?
We at S.Q.U.E.E. are delighted to present to you our latest addiction, the wonderful, the fantastic Circuitry Sorcerers!
Our tl;dr: Robot wizards in California!
The show’s set several years in the future, in the fictional town of Emet (o hai writers who do the research-WE SEE WAT U DID THAR*), located on the rugged coast of Northern California. While it often seems that settings are picked for narrative convenience (we’re looking at you, Stargate Atlantis), in Circuitry Sorcerers the scenery is brilliantly showcased not only during the opening credit sequence, but also during the show, where the moments of highest emotion are set in places that could have been specifically designed to complement them. (We dare you to watch Randall’s argument with his mother at the ocean overlook in the pilot without bursting into tears when she does. We dare you.)
Temporally, the show is set a few years in the future. We must admit, it doesn’t seem that different…except for the robots. To be more specific, the robots painstakingly engineered to look and act like humans and perform an enormous spread of tasks, from fixing cars to casting spells.
(A sidenote-one of the show’s weak points does seem to be the place of non-magical robots in ordinary society. We see them now and then, but what do they do? Where are they? Is there a robot civil rights battle going on? Writers, we want to see more normal robots!)
In this world, magic is very much real, but humans as a general rule are incapable of using it. Unless you’re a Zen master or a super-rabbi who’s trained for seven years, it’s impossible for a human to maintain the level of concentration required to channel magic without getting distracted and burning alive. This, incidentally, is where the first golems came from-a group of rabbis in Eastern Europe, centuries ago, spent nearly a decade crafting a construct to do spells for them that are utterly beyond human scope. The stories faded to myth, and it was thought the art was lost, until someone had the bright idea of programming a robot to do a spell from an old book…and was surprised as hell when it worked. The rest, as they say, is history.
At the time of the show, robot wizards are regarded much in the same way as we (at least at S.Q.U.E.E.) regard hydrogen-fuelled cars; efficient, and certainly a scientific marvel, but far too much risk and inconvenience to deal with every day. Also, like the aforementioned hydrogen cars, even ordinary robots are expensive; we shudder to imagine how much a magic-using robot must cost! Add to that you pretty much have to be a linguistics professor to find a spell that will do what you want, and a computer engineer to get the robot to do it correctly, and you wind up with something that’s frankly not got much practical value, however much of a scientific curiosity it is…
*for those of you who didn’t, Emet is one of the Hebrew words traditionally used to animate a golem.
Character Bios:
Main Cast:
Lt. Randall Paige (Michael Rosenbaum) is recently back from two tours in the Middle East. He received a medical discharge with honors after saving the lives of two of his squad members, at the cost of his mobility; he can only walk now with the help of a cane. Randall has been struggling to resume something resembling normal life for six months, with very limited success. After a recent suicide attempt, at the insistence of his mother he has moved in with family friend Dr. Gary Mercet.
Trivia: Randall’s favorite flavor of ice cream is pistachio.
Dr. Gareth “Gary” Mercet (Callum Keith Rennie) was one of the chief researchers of the now-disbanded G.R.A.G., the secretive research group behind the design of the few robot wizards in existence. Before joining this research group, Gary traveled the world, studying mythology, linguistics, and computer engineering. He is level-headed and extremely patient, and cares deeply about Randall, who he regards as family. Gary makes his living as a professor at Emet University, but no professor we’ve ever seen needs a lab like that…
Trivia: Gary speaks four languages fluently and three passably. He can swear very creatively in an additional six, his favorite of which is Polish.
AG-831, a.k.a. August (Misha Collins) is one of the scant handful of robot wizards in the world. Gary was his chief designer, and when G.R.A.G. was disbanded, August chose to go into the world as Gary’s robot instead of remaining at the facility. What records there are list his Wizard programming as deactivated, but August is in fact a functioning wizard and Gary’s full partner in magical research. August has been in existence for eight years.
Trivia: When he’s not doing magic, August enjoys cooking, Halloween, and the mathematical analysis of Broadway musicals. (S.Q.U.E.E.-We don’t know either.)
Dr. Trevor Sands (Joe Flanigan) was one of the other head researchers at G.R.A.G., until he went rogue and stole the latest prototype of robot wizards. Very little is known about his past before G.R.A.G. Public record has him as a graduate of Caltech, with a Master’s from Cambridge and a PhD from MIT. As a member of G.R.A.G., he developed an extremely close friendship with Gary, who was completely devastated when Trevor ran. (S.Q.U.E.E.-We’re just waiting for it to be confirmed as canon.) His motivations are unclear, but he seems utterly remorseless about his betrayal, and has so far shown no regard whatsoever for his fellow humans.
Trivia: Trevor is a certified pilot. No one seems to know when, how, or why this happened.
AW-137, a.k.a. Isis (Summer Glau) was the last robot wizard prototype manufactured by G.R.A.G. Almost all of the information about her is classified; what is known is that she is the most advanced wizard created before the group shut down. She is very devoted to Trevor, and looks with extreme suspicion on any stranger. By now, she has been in existence about five years.
Trivia: Isis is fond of saying, “Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.”
Recurring Characters:
Mariah Paige (Samantha Ferris) is Randall’s mother, who earns a living as a brilliant prosecuting attorney. Unfortunately, the very qualities that make her a bulldog in the courtroom can wreak havoc on her home life; while she only wants the best for her shattered son, her tough-minded, no-nonsense attitude leads to extreme tension between them. She lives in Monterey, but travels regularly up to Emet to visit. While she apparently trusts Gary enough to watch over her son, it seems she may have some doubts as to his efficiency…
Katie Limon (Eliza Dushku) is Randall’s best friend from childhood. Currently she is working on her master’s in botany at Emet University, where Gary teaches. Katie and Randall dated briefly in high school, but broke it off when Randall joined the Army. Their friendship remains very close, but it remains to be seen whether they’ll get back together.
Dr. Davis Bedford (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is Gary, Randall, and August’s next-door neighbor. He is a highly skilled electronic engineer, and Gary occasionally consults him when August needs a tune-up. Davis is also an excellent cellist and is the best barbeque man in the state, bar none.
Lynn Wright (Annette O’Toole) is Randall’s psychiatrist. She has lived in Emet for twelve years and is also an old friend of Gary’s. Lynn is excellent at what she does, and despite Randall’s occasional explosions of rage, maintains a constant level of calm competence.
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So, there you have it! I may edit sporadically to add critic reviews or something. I'm having way too much fun to stop right away. (I'll be glad to answer questions, btw!) And remember, if you surrender, I'll come up with a premise JUST FOR YOU! <3
~dreamwaffles
PS: Here's sabine's. It's brilliant. Just fyi. sabinelagrande.livejournal.com/253479.html And it's why David Hewlett isn't on my show. :P
ETA: romanshoes finished hers! It's AMAZING! :D :D :D romanshoes.livejournal.com/95242.html
And rhea314 has joined the party! rhea314.livejournal.com/212680.html
THE MEME
1. Comment to this post with "I surrender!" and I'll assign you the basis of some TV show idea. (Science fiction show, medical drama, criminal procedure, etc...)
2. Create a cast of characters, including the actors who'd play them
3. Add in any actor photos, character bios and show synopsis that you want.
4. Post to your own journal.
Now with photos! I had to get a photobucket to make this work, so y'all better appreciate! *g* Sorry about the inconsistent sizing; I did the best I could but I don't really know how it works.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The premise for the CW’s newest show seems utterly preposterous, until you remember this is the network that also brought us the teen years of Clark Kent, eight years of our favorite vampire slayer, and more recently, the shenanigans of two demon-hunting brothers who travel America in an awesome classic car. Next to those, who are we to argue with a show based on the tragically underused mythology of golems…updated to the twenty-first century?
We at S.Q.U.E.E. are delighted to present to you our latest addiction, the wonderful, the fantastic Circuitry Sorcerers!
Our tl;dr: Robot wizards in California!
The show’s set several years in the future, in the fictional town of Emet (o hai writers who do the research-WE SEE WAT U DID THAR*), located on the rugged coast of Northern California. While it often seems that settings are picked for narrative convenience (we’re looking at you, Stargate Atlantis), in Circuitry Sorcerers the scenery is brilliantly showcased not only during the opening credit sequence, but also during the show, where the moments of highest emotion are set in places that could have been specifically designed to complement them. (We dare you to watch Randall’s argument with his mother at the ocean overlook in the pilot without bursting into tears when she does. We dare you.)
Temporally, the show is set a few years in the future. We must admit, it doesn’t seem that different…except for the robots. To be more specific, the robots painstakingly engineered to look and act like humans and perform an enormous spread of tasks, from fixing cars to casting spells.
(A sidenote-one of the show’s weak points does seem to be the place of non-magical robots in ordinary society. We see them now and then, but what do they do? Where are they? Is there a robot civil rights battle going on? Writers, we want to see more normal robots!)
In this world, magic is very much real, but humans as a general rule are incapable of using it. Unless you’re a Zen master or a super-rabbi who’s trained for seven years, it’s impossible for a human to maintain the level of concentration required to channel magic without getting distracted and burning alive. This, incidentally, is where the first golems came from-a group of rabbis in Eastern Europe, centuries ago, spent nearly a decade crafting a construct to do spells for them that are utterly beyond human scope. The stories faded to myth, and it was thought the art was lost, until someone had the bright idea of programming a robot to do a spell from an old book…and was surprised as hell when it worked. The rest, as they say, is history.
At the time of the show, robot wizards are regarded much in the same way as we (at least at S.Q.U.E.E.) regard hydrogen-fuelled cars; efficient, and certainly a scientific marvel, but far too much risk and inconvenience to deal with every day. Also, like the aforementioned hydrogen cars, even ordinary robots are expensive; we shudder to imagine how much a magic-using robot must cost! Add to that you pretty much have to be a linguistics professor to find a spell that will do what you want, and a computer engineer to get the robot to do it correctly, and you wind up with something that’s frankly not got much practical value, however much of a scientific curiosity it is…
*for those of you who didn’t, Emet is one of the Hebrew words traditionally used to animate a golem.
Character Bios:
Main Cast:
Lt. Randall Paige (Michael Rosenbaum) is recently back from two tours in the Middle East. He received a medical discharge with honors after saving the lives of two of his squad members, at the cost of his mobility; he can only walk now with the help of a cane. Randall has been struggling to resume something resembling normal life for six months, with very limited success. After a recent suicide attempt, at the insistence of his mother he has moved in with family friend Dr. Gary Mercet.
Trivia: Randall’s favorite flavor of ice cream is pistachio.
Dr. Gareth “Gary” Mercet (Callum Keith Rennie) was one of the chief researchers of the now-disbanded G.R.A.G., the secretive research group behind the design of the few robot wizards in existence. Before joining this research group, Gary traveled the world, studying mythology, linguistics, and computer engineering. He is level-headed and extremely patient, and cares deeply about Randall, who he regards as family. Gary makes his living as a professor at Emet University, but no professor we’ve ever seen needs a lab like that…
Trivia: Gary speaks four languages fluently and three passably. He can swear very creatively in an additional six, his favorite of which is Polish.
AG-831, a.k.a. August (Misha Collins) is one of the scant handful of robot wizards in the world. Gary was his chief designer, and when G.R.A.G. was disbanded, August chose to go into the world as Gary’s robot instead of remaining at the facility. What records there are list his Wizard programming as deactivated, but August is in fact a functioning wizard and Gary’s full partner in magical research. August has been in existence for eight years.
Trivia: When he’s not doing magic, August enjoys cooking, Halloween, and the mathematical analysis of Broadway musicals. (S.Q.U.E.E.-We don’t know either.)
Dr. Trevor Sands (Joe Flanigan) was one of the other head researchers at G.R.A.G., until he went rogue and stole the latest prototype of robot wizards. Very little is known about his past before G.R.A.G. Public record has him as a graduate of Caltech, with a Master’s from Cambridge and a PhD from MIT. As a member of G.R.A.G., he developed an extremely close friendship with Gary, who was completely devastated when Trevor ran. (S.Q.U.E.E.-We’re just waiting for it to be confirmed as canon.) His motivations are unclear, but he seems utterly remorseless about his betrayal, and has so far shown no regard whatsoever for his fellow humans.
Trivia: Trevor is a certified pilot. No one seems to know when, how, or why this happened.
AW-137, a.k.a. Isis (Summer Glau) was the last robot wizard prototype manufactured by G.R.A.G. Almost all of the information about her is classified; what is known is that she is the most advanced wizard created before the group shut down. She is very devoted to Trevor, and looks with extreme suspicion on any stranger. By now, she has been in existence about five years.
Trivia: Isis is fond of saying, “Any sufficiently advanced magic is indistinguishable from technology.”
Recurring Characters:
Mariah Paige (Samantha Ferris) is Randall’s mother, who earns a living as a brilliant prosecuting attorney. Unfortunately, the very qualities that make her a bulldog in the courtroom can wreak havoc on her home life; while she only wants the best for her shattered son, her tough-minded, no-nonsense attitude leads to extreme tension between them. She lives in Monterey, but travels regularly up to Emet to visit. While she apparently trusts Gary enough to watch over her son, it seems she may have some doubts as to his efficiency…
Katie Limon (Eliza Dushku) is Randall’s best friend from childhood. Currently she is working on her master’s in botany at Emet University, where Gary teaches. Katie and Randall dated briefly in high school, but broke it off when Randall joined the Army. Their friendship remains very close, but it remains to be seen whether they’ll get back together.
Dr. Davis Bedford (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is Gary, Randall, and August’s next-door neighbor. He is a highly skilled electronic engineer, and Gary occasionally consults him when August needs a tune-up. Davis is also an excellent cellist and is the best barbeque man in the state, bar none.
Lynn Wright (Annette O’Toole) is Randall’s psychiatrist. She has lived in Emet for twelve years and is also an old friend of Gary’s. Lynn is excellent at what she does, and despite Randall’s occasional explosions of rage, maintains a constant level of calm competence.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
So, there you have it! I may edit sporadically to add critic reviews or something. I'm having way too much fun to stop right away. (I'll be glad to answer questions, btw!) And remember, if you surrender, I'll come up with a premise JUST FOR YOU! <3
~dreamwaffles
PS: Here's sabine's. It's brilliant. Just fyi. sabinelagrande.livejournal.com/253479.html And it's why David Hewlett isn't on my show. :P
ETA: romanshoes finished hers! It's AMAZING! :D :D :D romanshoes.livejournal.com/95242.html
And rhea314 has joined the party! rhea314.livejournal.com/212680.html