Meme: "Island Latitudes" (shows they should have made)
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.
(#4 is optional)
The_Grynne prompted me with Period drama. Spies at Elizabeth I's court.
unfortunately, my got excited and stoppoed paying attention at Period drama. Elizabethan spies, and thusly...
ISLAND LATITUDES
A tale of spies and maps, alliances and exploration, in the Elizabethan British Isles.
(slated originally to be a 5-episode mini-series, with BBC North Ireland promising to pick it up for 24 episodes if the miniseries does well)
(sorry)
Starring...
Scathach Bourke - Alexandra Silber
Sandra Kemp - Claudia Black
Niamh Fitz - Honeysuckle Weeks
James Sydney - Jim Caveziel
Anne Cook - Barbara Bel Geddes
Eamon Ford - Trevor Peacock
Scathach Bourke
Named after the accomplished warrior who later tutored the legendary Cuchulain, this Scathach is a double agent in the pay of both Kemp and Fitz.
She is also the individual whose perspective and travels are what comprise most of the show. For better or worse, we learn about Scathach as the series progresses, with next to nothing in her IMDB entry until the end of the final episode. (this may be why she's not the most popular character)
Sandra Kemp
"She has tried to get into bed with the Russians, with the Ottomans, with - I half expect the Irish to be next."
"She is our Queen, Sandra."
"I would die for her, Thomas, as would you. I would sacrifice all my contacts and agents to keep her secure. But she cannot continue to court alliances and then look surprised when our neighbors come to kill her."
Head of England's finest spy ring, personally answering to {and reporting to} Queen Elizabeth I's spymaster... though there are times it seems she is the more powerful one.
The biggest headache in Kemp's life could easily be having to deal with her Queen's tries at diplomacy, but it is in fact one of the foremost spies in the employ of Granuaile of the clan Uí Mháille: Niamh.
At one point in her career, Sandra created a cypher which bordered on being a language of its own, and used this to great effect in her spycraft. Unfortunately, now that one of her enemies can read in the cypher, Sandra considers it useless. Some have suggested she use the cypher for disinformation...to which Sandra says "What would be the point? Only one of the people we're trying to get disinformation to, can read it - and it's been so long since I've used this language, that they would know right away that it's misleading."
Niamh Fitz
"Why did you cut off his ear?"
"He was a traitor."
"And leaving him in my bed?"
"You know why."
"So I would know none of my security could stop the great Niamh."
Born to a maid, she is what would in later times be known as a street-smart kid with no fixed address. While Niamh began as a source of information, she proved a quick study and rose rapidly in the ranks of those loyal to Granuaile of the clan Uí Mháille, or, as the English know her, Grace O'Malley, the Pirate Queen.
Though this ascent has left its marks. Niamh is not fully comfortable among children her own age, nor among other spies.
From time to time, Niamh tries to enact a family life, hiring a couple to treat her as their prized daughter. But this never lasts long, and Niamh leaves.
Niamh has few possessions she has not had to give up at one point in her life or another, but one of the few is a book filled with a half-pictographic mneumonic of parts of the Bible. Not simply a religious keepsake, but a guide to strategy: Niamh is one of those people who learns military strategy from its pages.
James Sidney
"You made it possible for the Queens to meet, Sidney."
"That would be an accomplishment for anyone. Why give it to me?"
"You earned it."
"You say so."
Humble to the point of being self-effacing, James is hard to pin down - he's rumored to be a paramour to any number of women (Grace O'Malley and Queen Elizabeth I included, which some think is how they were able to be convinced to meet)
But if you met him, you would see a hard-working tutor of English and Latin. In the course of his career, James has also picked up pieces of various Gaelic languages, Russian, Italian dialects, Portugese, Ottoman, and others. Some consider him a now-retired galloglaigh (foreign warriors - anglicized "gallowglass")
As one reviewer phrased it, "Here, he has a role which is neither Jesus, Kainan, nor Mr. Reese, but a man distinct from either, rich in his own complexities and past."
Anne Cook
"Which would you like, Sandra? New Holland, Xingu, or Atlantis?"
"All three, Anne."
"Our arrangement was for two."
"Arrangements can change."
"As can maps."
"That's why I only hire the best."
Recently returned from the Low Countries, and Spain before then, she gathers up maps for her Elizabethan masters - maps showing lands which other nations want to keep the existance of to themselves. (one of which, is the land we call Australia)
She works hard to keep her two lives separate - housewife and mapcopier - which is easier for her than it may have been for others, given that her husband is in the retinue of the English Ambassador - thus it is expected of her to travel.
She does, however, have a secret: neither England nor the rest of Europe is a safe place for a cryptoJew such as herself. Thus if anyone learns of it, they would have considerable leverage over her actions (not that she would accept it sitting down - in series 1, one man's position at court and reputation are ruined by her sub rosa actions, without revealing Anne's Jewishness)
Eamon Ford
"I sit on the side of history."
"I thought you hated cliches, Eamon."
"No, I'm not talking in the cliche-ed sense."
Here sits a man with great loyalty to the Throne of Scotland, whomever may occupy that seat.
Born in Ireland, Eamon has proven - "more than proven" some say - his loyalty to Scotland.
But, though he sits at the center of a ring of spies, Eamon's focus is...different. To his confidantes, he says he is in communication with - in addition to his spies - a person from the future {hence Eamon referring to England's Queen as "Elizabeth the First"} and one in the past - none other than Muirisc, ancestress of Grace O'Malley herself. Regarding Eamon's claim, Kerrick says "I tried to disprove it. But his contact talks just like how you'd expect, based on all there is written about her."
The major players want Eamon working for them, but they're also prepared to destroy him - if he grows too powerful or is about to side with "the wrong side" as Chambers phrased it.
Memos, spare bits, and notes:
* Sandra Kemp's cypher-language, when we hear it, is based upon the Sabacean language in Farscape.
* Ireland's Pirate Queen: the true story of Grace O'Malley by Anne Chambers, was used to make this.
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.
(#4 is optional)
The_Grynne prompted me with Period drama. Spies at Elizabeth I's court.
unfortunately, my got excited and stoppoed paying attention at Period drama. Elizabethan spies, and thusly...
ISLAND LATITUDES
A tale of spies and maps, alliances and exploration, in the Elizabethan British Isles.
(slated originally to be a 5-episode mini-series, with BBC North Ireland promising to pick it up for 24 episodes if the miniseries does well)
(sorry)
Starring...
Scathach Bourke - Alexandra Silber
Sandra Kemp - Claudia Black
Niamh Fitz - Honeysuckle Weeks
James Sydney - Jim Caveziel
Anne Cook - Barbara Bel Geddes
Eamon Ford - Trevor Peacock
Scathach Bourke
Named after the accomplished warrior who later tutored the legendary Cuchulain, this Scathach is a double agent in the pay of both Kemp and Fitz.
She is also the individual whose perspective and travels are what comprise most of the show. For better or worse, we learn about Scathach as the series progresses, with next to nothing in her IMDB entry until the end of the final episode. (this may be why she's not the most popular character)
Sandra Kemp
"She has tried to get into bed with the Russians, with the Ottomans, with - I half expect the Irish to be next."
"She is our Queen, Sandra."
"I would die for her, Thomas, as would you. I would sacrifice all my contacts and agents to keep her secure. But she cannot continue to court alliances and then look surprised when our neighbors come to kill her."
Head of England's finest spy ring, personally answering to {and reporting to} Queen Elizabeth I's spymaster... though there are times it seems she is the more powerful one.
The biggest headache in Kemp's life could easily be having to deal with her Queen's tries at diplomacy, but it is in fact one of the foremost spies in the employ of Granuaile of the clan Uí Mháille: Niamh.
At one point in her career, Sandra created a cypher which bordered on being a language of its own, and used this to great effect in her spycraft. Unfortunately, now that one of her enemies can read in the cypher, Sandra considers it useless. Some have suggested she use the cypher for disinformation...to which Sandra says "What would be the point? Only one of the people we're trying to get disinformation to, can read it - and it's been so long since I've used this language, that they would know right away that it's misleading."
Niamh Fitz
"Why did you cut off his ear?"
"He was a traitor."
"And leaving him in my bed?"
"You know why."
"So I would know none of my security could stop the great Niamh."
Born to a maid, she is what would in later times be known as a street-smart kid with no fixed address. While Niamh began as a source of information, she proved a quick study and rose rapidly in the ranks of those loyal to Granuaile of the clan Uí Mháille, or, as the English know her, Grace O'Malley, the Pirate Queen.
Though this ascent has left its marks. Niamh is not fully comfortable among children her own age, nor among other spies.
From time to time, Niamh tries to enact a family life, hiring a couple to treat her as their prized daughter. But this never lasts long, and Niamh leaves.
Niamh has few possessions she has not had to give up at one point in her life or another, but one of the few is a book filled with a half-pictographic mneumonic of parts of the Bible. Not simply a religious keepsake, but a guide to strategy: Niamh is one of those people who learns military strategy from its pages.
James Sidney
"You made it possible for the Queens to meet, Sidney."
"That would be an accomplishment for anyone. Why give it to me?"
"You earned it."
"You say so."
Humble to the point of being self-effacing, James is hard to pin down - he's rumored to be a paramour to any number of women (Grace O'Malley and Queen Elizabeth I included, which some think is how they were able to be convinced to meet)
But if you met him, you would see a hard-working tutor of English and Latin. In the course of his career, James has also picked up pieces of various Gaelic languages, Russian, Italian dialects, Portugese, Ottoman, and others. Some consider him a now-retired galloglaigh (foreign warriors - anglicized "gallowglass")
As one reviewer phrased it, "Here, he has a role which is neither Jesus, Kainan, nor Mr. Reese, but a man distinct from either, rich in his own complexities and past."
Anne Cook
"Which would you like, Sandra? New Holland, Xingu, or Atlantis?"
"All three, Anne."
"Our arrangement was for two."
"Arrangements can change."
"As can maps."
"That's why I only hire the best."
Recently returned from the Low Countries, and Spain before then, she gathers up maps for her Elizabethan masters - maps showing lands which other nations want to keep the existance of to themselves. (one of which, is the land we call Australia)
She works hard to keep her two lives separate - housewife and mapcopier - which is easier for her than it may have been for others, given that her husband is in the retinue of the English Ambassador - thus it is expected of her to travel.
She does, however, have a secret: neither England nor the rest of Europe is a safe place for a cryptoJew such as herself. Thus if anyone learns of it, they would have considerable leverage over her actions (not that she would accept it sitting down - in series 1, one man's position at court and reputation are ruined by her sub rosa actions, without revealing Anne's Jewishness)
Eamon Ford
"I sit on the side of history."
"I thought you hated cliches, Eamon."
"No, I'm not talking in the cliche-ed sense."
Here sits a man with great loyalty to the Throne of Scotland, whomever may occupy that seat.
Born in Ireland, Eamon has proven - "more than proven" some say - his loyalty to Scotland.
But, though he sits at the center of a ring of spies, Eamon's focus is...different. To his confidantes, he says he is in communication with - in addition to his spies - a person from the future {hence Eamon referring to England's Queen as "Elizabeth the First"} and one in the past - none other than Muirisc, ancestress of Grace O'Malley herself. Regarding Eamon's claim, Kerrick says "I tried to disprove it. But his contact talks just like how you'd expect, based on all there is written about her."
The major players want Eamon working for them, but they're also prepared to destroy him - if he grows too powerful or is about to side with "the wrong side" as Chambers phrased it.
Memos, spare bits, and notes:
* Sandra Kemp's cypher-language, when we hear it, is based upon the Sabacean language in Farscape.
* Ireland's Pirate Queen: the true story of Grace O'Malley by Anne Chambers, was used to make this.