create a show: prospect theory
For TV Realm, we had a challenge to ~make a TV show! Mine is under the cut. I chose the characters and writing option, though I threw in little character graphics just to break it up a bit.
Prospect Theory
Summary
Mae Marceau has a pretty good life. She has close ties with her family, a best friend who means the world to her, and success in one of the hardest careers out there: the CIA. However, when she's taken aside and briefed on a less than savory mission, Mae breaks her silence and goes into hiding. Quickly labeled a terrorist, Mae finds herself not only entangled with a couple on less than favorable terms with her former employers, but also estranged from her family and pursued by her best friend. The series follows her through her attempts to hide from the government all the while amplifying her voice to give voice to the secret the CIA would give anything not to unearth.
Characters
Mae Marceau
Played by Grace ParkAdopted as a baby by her single mother, Mae grew up with a close attachment to family. When Jo comes into her life, this loyalty is quickly extended to her. Mae's a person of few words, but a lot of thought; she gives valuable insights into things, and is fast to internalize change and adapt. She's a strict believer in actions speaking louder than words, and so she tends to waste no time giving voice to her thoughts. This can often be an issue when working in groups, as she is very independent and has a tendency to just go off by herself. She has a very black and white view of right and wrong and a strong sense of empathy toward others.
Josephine "Jo" Tyre
Played by Sandra OhJo, Mae's biological sister, has recently tracked down Mae. Even though their mother chose to remain anonymous, Jo was a toddler when the two were given up for adoption, and somehow managed to retain the name of the town that she came from. Known for her spirit and bullheadedness, Jo managed to track Mae down largely by bullying people in the agency and playing on their empathy. Jo is fighting a losing battle with an unknown fatal disease; one that very few doctors even acknowledge the existence of. She used to be a sales director, but gave up the job when she started recognizing symptoms of what a small faction of people online refer to as the new plague.
Daniel "Danny" Williams
Played by Callum BlueMae's best friend when she was in the CIA, Danny moved from England in college to study a plethora of languages at Harvard. Exceptionally gifted, he was almost immediately scouted and recruited as an analyst. Mae was the first friend he made in the CIA, and the longest lasting relationship he's had since he jumped the pond. When Mae left the CIA, his higher ups were quick to take advantage of his knowledge of her and recruited him on the team to track her down. Danny was told that she was a terrorist and her time as an operative was a cover to get information, and he felt deeply betrayed. Driven by this anger, he has thrown himself into her pursuit by any means necessary. Danny is occasionally questioned by other members on the team for being too emotional, but his drive gets results more than anything else they have tried.
Jonathan Byrnes
Played by Harry LennixWhen Mae goes on the run, Jonathan Byrnes becomes her first worthwhile contact. A journalist, he runs a column in a small Texan newspaper which barely gets attention from the locals, but easily gets attention from the CIA. A few months back he stumbled across a topic that bought him a ticket to Langley and an investigation into his work. Mae, one of the agents on the mission, was sent to extract potentially dangerous information from his home in Texas. Nothing was found, and he was let go. That incident only deepened his curiosity into the topic, and since then, he's been publishing work that's been getting him even more under the government's scrutiny. He and his wife Leota take Mae in.
Leota Byrnes
Played by Gina TorresA woman born into extraordinary wealth and possessing remarkable intellect, Leota should by all stretches of the imagination be a leader in the scientific community. However, her reputation is as a person who is generally intolerable. She's an alcoholic, argumentative, and has a tendency of insulting everyone she gets close to. She tends to do all of her work on the heavily illegal side of things, but until she flagrantly disregards an utterly dangerous law, people try to look the other way as when she gets results, she gets big ones. The only person she really accepts as an equal is her husband, Jonathan, which tends to stump people, as outside of his investigative skills, he's a rather unremarkable, kind man.
Writing
(Also known as Kit plotted out all of season one for no particular reason.)
The show opens with a conversation between Mae and Jo. It's the first time they've met; they've sent a few letters before as a way of reconnecting, but Mae has kept it quiet. They've met at a cafe, and over it they discuss their lives. Jo reveals that she's gay through smalltalk, and Mae talks generally about her life so far. There's slight awkwardness, but nothing too insurmountable. When Jo reveals that she has an incurable disease, scene ends.
Within the pilot episode, Mae is briefed on something called Operation Silent; the audience doesn't find out what it is until the end of the episode. In the TV show verse, a new disease has come up, one that the CDC has calculated has the potential of at least decimating the US population before a cure can be found. They've coordinated with the CIA on the matter, and their solution is to instead spread an accelerant to target people with the disease, killing them and the "new plague" before it gets attention by the media. Mae's higher-ups, unaware of her conflict with her sibling, deemed her appropriate to bring onto the team they're sending out to scout out the victims. Mae successfully convinces them that she's interested, but immediately packs her bags and flees.
Mae reaches out to several contacts whom she thinks might be able to help her, but none pan out. She finds Jonathan and Leota after recalling her former mission to investigate them, and despite reluctance from Leota, they take her in. It turns out that Jonathan has already been publishing about the virus in his column, but to little response from the public; it's viewed as a crackpot little newspaper to begin with. Leota, on the other hand, is more active; she's been working on creating an antidote. Episode to episode is a struggle to remain concealed; Danny and his team end up getting too close to comfort, and at some point they're forced to escape into Canada.
Meanwhile, Danny's pouring all of his efforts into finding Mae in a separate plotline. His boss paints it as a personal betrayal to get everything out of him, but as time goes on, he slowly picks up something being not quite right. It's left ambiguous as to whether or not the CIA actually believes what they're telling Danny, but either way, with little else to go on, he believes it. At some point, he uncovers Jo, who has been in contact with Mae through various means -- most notably an untraceable cell phone Leota rigged up for Mae. Jo calls Mae on that line, compromising her and resulting in the aforementioned flee to Canada.
Before Mae makes it to Canada, there's a brief encounter between Danny and Mae, during which she kisses him to stun him for her escape. Danny is left conflicted and unsure of himself, allowing Mae time to establish herself as a voice online, spreading information about the disease.
The season finale is a tentative meeting between the two sides. The CIA releases a public promise to not harm Mae if she comes in, as Mae has been starting to gather followers. Mae goes alone, expecting to find Danny and his team. Instead, she finds Jo, who is in some latter stage of the disease. A voice over a speaker tells her that she's dying, and that millions more will if she keeps up her game. Infuriated, Mae shoots out the security cameras, puts Jo in a wheelchair, and runs, only to be shot in the back as she leaves.
End season one.
Prospect Theory
Summary
Mae Marceau has a pretty good life. She has close ties with her family, a best friend who means the world to her, and success in one of the hardest careers out there: the CIA. However, when she's taken aside and briefed on a less than savory mission, Mae breaks her silence and goes into hiding. Quickly labeled a terrorist, Mae finds herself not only entangled with a couple on less than favorable terms with her former employers, but also estranged from her family and pursued by her best friend. The series follows her through her attempts to hide from the government all the while amplifying her voice to give voice to the secret the CIA would give anything not to unearth.
Characters
Mae Marceau
Played by Grace ParkAdopted as a baby by her single mother, Mae grew up with a close attachment to family. When Jo comes into her life, this loyalty is quickly extended to her. Mae's a person of few words, but a lot of thought; she gives valuable insights into things, and is fast to internalize change and adapt. She's a strict believer in actions speaking louder than words, and so she tends to waste no time giving voice to her thoughts. This can often be an issue when working in groups, as she is very independent and has a tendency to just go off by herself. She has a very black and white view of right and wrong and a strong sense of empathy toward others.
Josephine "Jo" Tyre
Played by Sandra OhJo, Mae's biological sister, has recently tracked down Mae. Even though their mother chose to remain anonymous, Jo was a toddler when the two were given up for adoption, and somehow managed to retain the name of the town that she came from. Known for her spirit and bullheadedness, Jo managed to track Mae down largely by bullying people in the agency and playing on their empathy. Jo is fighting a losing battle with an unknown fatal disease; one that very few doctors even acknowledge the existence of. She used to be a sales director, but gave up the job when she started recognizing symptoms of what a small faction of people online refer to as the new plague.
Daniel "Danny" Williams
Played by Callum BlueMae's best friend when she was in the CIA, Danny moved from England in college to study a plethora of languages at Harvard. Exceptionally gifted, he was almost immediately scouted and recruited as an analyst. Mae was the first friend he made in the CIA, and the longest lasting relationship he's had since he jumped the pond. When Mae left the CIA, his higher ups were quick to take advantage of his knowledge of her and recruited him on the team to track her down. Danny was told that she was a terrorist and her time as an operative was a cover to get information, and he felt deeply betrayed. Driven by this anger, he has thrown himself into her pursuit by any means necessary. Danny is occasionally questioned by other members on the team for being too emotional, but his drive gets results more than anything else they have tried.
Jonathan Byrnes
Played by Harry LennixWhen Mae goes on the run, Jonathan Byrnes becomes her first worthwhile contact. A journalist, he runs a column in a small Texan newspaper which barely gets attention from the locals, but easily gets attention from the CIA. A few months back he stumbled across a topic that bought him a ticket to Langley and an investigation into his work. Mae, one of the agents on the mission, was sent to extract potentially dangerous information from his home in Texas. Nothing was found, and he was let go. That incident only deepened his curiosity into the topic, and since then, he's been publishing work that's been getting him even more under the government's scrutiny. He and his wife Leota take Mae in.
Leota Byrnes
Played by Gina TorresA woman born into extraordinary wealth and possessing remarkable intellect, Leota should by all stretches of the imagination be a leader in the scientific community. However, her reputation is as a person who is generally intolerable. She's an alcoholic, argumentative, and has a tendency of insulting everyone she gets close to. She tends to do all of her work on the heavily illegal side of things, but until she flagrantly disregards an utterly dangerous law, people try to look the other way as when she gets results, she gets big ones. The only person she really accepts as an equal is her husband, Jonathan, which tends to stump people, as outside of his investigative skills, he's a rather unremarkable, kind man.
Writing
(Also known as Kit plotted out all of season one for no particular reason.)
The show opens with a conversation between Mae and Jo. It's the first time they've met; they've sent a few letters before as a way of reconnecting, but Mae has kept it quiet. They've met at a cafe, and over it they discuss their lives. Jo reveals that she's gay through smalltalk, and Mae talks generally about her life so far. There's slight awkwardness, but nothing too insurmountable. When Jo reveals that she has an incurable disease, scene ends.
Within the pilot episode, Mae is briefed on something called Operation Silent; the audience doesn't find out what it is until the end of the episode. In the TV show verse, a new disease has come up, one that the CDC has calculated has the potential of at least decimating the US population before a cure can be found. They've coordinated with the CIA on the matter, and their solution is to instead spread an accelerant to target people with the disease, killing them and the "new plague" before it gets attention by the media. Mae's higher-ups, unaware of her conflict with her sibling, deemed her appropriate to bring onto the team they're sending out to scout out the victims. Mae successfully convinces them that she's interested, but immediately packs her bags and flees.
Mae reaches out to several contacts whom she thinks might be able to help her, but none pan out. She finds Jonathan and Leota after recalling her former mission to investigate them, and despite reluctance from Leota, they take her in. It turns out that Jonathan has already been publishing about the virus in his column, but to little response from the public; it's viewed as a crackpot little newspaper to begin with. Leota, on the other hand, is more active; she's been working on creating an antidote. Episode to episode is a struggle to remain concealed; Danny and his team end up getting too close to comfort, and at some point they're forced to escape into Canada.
Meanwhile, Danny's pouring all of his efforts into finding Mae in a separate plotline. His boss paints it as a personal betrayal to get everything out of him, but as time goes on, he slowly picks up something being not quite right. It's left ambiguous as to whether or not the CIA actually believes what they're telling Danny, but either way, with little else to go on, he believes it. At some point, he uncovers Jo, who has been in contact with Mae through various means -- most notably an untraceable cell phone Leota rigged up for Mae. Jo calls Mae on that line, compromising her and resulting in the aforementioned flee to Canada.
Before Mae makes it to Canada, there's a brief encounter between Danny and Mae, during which she kisses him to stun him for her escape. Danny is left conflicted and unsure of himself, allowing Mae time to establish herself as a voice online, spreading information about the disease.
The season finale is a tentative meeting between the two sides. The CIA releases a public promise to not harm Mae if she comes in, as Mae has been starting to gather followers. Mae goes alone, expecting to find Danny and his team. Instead, she finds Jo, who is in some latter stage of the disease. A voice over a speaker tells her that she's dying, and that millions more will if she keeps up her game. Infuriated, Mae shoots out the security cameras, puts Jo in a wheelchair, and runs, only to be shot in the back as she leaves.
End season one.