TV Show Meme: Criminimancy
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.
noveltea Gave me: A police/procedural show with a magic division. Obviously she knows me and my brain.
Speaking of which, this absolutely ate my brain. I'm not entirely convinced on the title. I wanted something along the lines of "Magical Crimes" without using "Magical Crimes" and came up with this. There's a bit of handwaving on the Greek as the "-mancy" ending translates to "divination" rather than magic. But I figure that if "necromancy" can be used to mean all kinds of dark magic as the general connotation is today, then I could go with this. I then went a little crazy with side characters. I would have liked to fill out some families more, but this was turning into a "if I don't post this now I never will" thing. (It also turned into a "oops, I spent and extra half hour at lunch looking at pretty people" thing.)
"You see that man there? He's a witch, High Priest of his coven and one of the most powerful you'll ever meet. Your neighbor? An alchemist. That family the next block over? Yeah, they're magical too.
"Magic exists throughout world. You just don't realize it because you can't see it. You don't want to see it. Magic users are real, and they're just like me and you. Which means they're human, just like me and you. And humans aren't perfect. They commit crimes.
"That's where my team comes in. We're the ones called on to solve magical crimes."
"And your butcher? Is a haruspex. Oh, don't look at me like that."
Criminimancy
Most people don't realize that magic really exists in the world around them. They eat, sleep, go to work, and come home, never knowing that their next door neighbor isn't just an accountant, but also a wizard. They don't know that demons can be summoned, people and things can be banished, and you can, if you know what you're doing, get to Monte Carlo without a long flight. (You'll still have to deal with customs, though. Sorry.)
With the ability to use magic comes the possibility to use magic for the wrong purposes. From robbery to murder, the magical crime rate has been going up in recent years, and that's where the ViMAC (Violent Magical Crimes) unit comes in. This newly created team is based in the New York City FBI Field Office and charged with investigating magical crimes around the country.
Cast
Mina Said (Hiam Abbass)
+ Special Agent Mina Said has been with the FBI for almost thirty years, working not just at Quantico but also in an assortment of Field Offices around the country. Her chameleon-like ability to step into so many different teams and immediately pick up what they're doing has made her invaluable. Even more-so are the two years she spent "on loan" to Interpol, working with them as they built their first Magical Crimes Investigation Unit. From the minute she returned to the states, she's campaigned to get a similar team set up within the FBI. While she's pleased that someone finally listened and saw the light, letting her pull together a team of the FBI's magicals, she's concerned about what it means that the team is based out of the NY Field Office instead of at Quantico.
+ Despite her "Mom" status when it comes to the team, not much is known about her home life. (And she prefers it that way, thank you.) Medina jokes that she goes home to the "bat cave", Asha says that she's probably a real party animal when she isn't with the team, and Billy likes to point out she's the first in and last to leave: obviously she sleeps in her office.
+ While she learned to teleport to other places and call items, as most other magic users can, she's more comfortable driving her car or walking across the room to get what she needs. (If anyone is to ask, she'll say it's because she feels it is important to not be totally dependent on magic, the truth is that her magic doesn't lend itself well to these types of uses and she'd prefer to not get a black eye from that file she's trying to call from across the room.) But her magic is what allows her to take on almost any job within the FBI seamlessly, quickly learning new roles without trouble, usually picking up something new the first time she tries.
Benjamín "Ben" Medina (Jon Huertas)
+ The first person Mina hired after getting the team approved. She had worked with Ben extensively in the past and knew that he wanted to be a part of this team if it ever got off the ground. His office was the first place she stopped when she got out of her meeting with the Director after she got the news.
+ Ben started as a cop in Miami before going to the FBI Academy, and still considers the city his stomping grounds. His family still lives there, it's where he met his wife, and where they regularly return to visit family. Ben has said, more than once, that if the justification for putting the ViMAC team in NYC was that it has the highest magical crime rate in the country, then the second team should be down in Miami (which has the second highest). He doesn't need to say that he'd be the first to join it. Mina sees the success of the team as a double-edged sword - fail and the team will be disbanded, succeed and she'll lose her right hand to start a new team.
+ One of the top transmutationists in the FBI, though he tries to keep that quiet (you wouldn't believe the things people want him to make when they find out). He's the best person to go to when trying to determine if something has been altered into something new and what it was originally.
Abigail "Em" Emerson (Emmanuelle Vaugier)
+ She was born in the United States and named after both of her grandmothers (her middle name is Brigitte). Abigail was raised in France by her mother and her family after her parents divorced. Her mother came from an old magical family and insisted on rejoining them so that Abigail would receive the proper magical training. She and Mina met when Mina was working with Interpol. A reconciliation with her American father and subsequent falling out with her mother's family led her to jump at the chance to work for the FBI.
+ Formally she's "on loan" to the FBI, but also undergoing the additional training required for her to officially transfer to the Bureau. At the beginning of the series she regularly travels to Quantico and back for classes and training.
+ Much to her annoyance, her colleagues apparently are incapable of calling her by her full last name, leading to her being stuck with the nickname "Em".
Billy Park (Terry Chen)
+ Billy is a charmer. His ability to be-spell just about anyone and anything first caught Mina's attention when he was in the Academy. She's kept an eye on his career, as he's made a name for himself in the Bureau. One thing that has always made her proud is that while he'll use his skill to some extent on the job, he has never used it improperly, despite the temptations that come with such a powerful skill.
+ His family is very important to him, so even though he's long since moved out to his own place, he goes home at least once a week for dinner. He often brings friend with him, which means everyone on the team (and Asha's roommate) has been a few times.
+ While Billy's magic works on more than just people, it's stronger on people than than objects. Because of this, and the resulting temptation to enspell people into doing anything he wants, he's developed his own code of honor over the years. He has also worked hard to fully develop his magic, becoming quite proficient at transmutation and other forms, so that he isn't seen as just someone who can manipulate people.
Asha Starr (Jasika Nicole)
+ Adding Asha to the team was a given, if you ask Mina. She just ended up one of the last brought on because Mina literally had to fight to get her. Asha calls herself a "technowitch", prompting Billy to tease her about watching too much "Buffy". But no one argues that when it comes to technology, Asha really does magic. It doesn't matter what you're looking for, if there's a paper trail - electronic or otherwise - she can find it.
+ She answered a roommate wanted add when she moved to NYC and now lives with someone who is not magical. It was a little weird at first when they moved in together, Asha kept trying to hide her magic and failing miserably because she wasn't used to living with nonmagicals. To her relief, Lori's cousin is a wizard and she already knew about the existence of magic.
+ Like Mina, Asha doesn't put much stock teleportation. But that's probably because her other speciality is portals. While most magic users are taught as teenagers to teleport, its rare for most to learn to create portals. Asha, on the other hand, created her first portal when she was ten. Her best friend Michele was grounded to her room and Asha wanted to play. Once her family got over their surprise at her new gift, they saw to it that she was thoroughly trained. Most of the time when the team travels out of NYC for a case, they go "Air Asha".
Matthew "Matt" Ryan (Eddie Cahill)
+ Special Agent Matt Ryan is a part of the FBI's Boston Field Office when he requests the ViMAC team's assistance on a case. While he wasn't particularly enthused by the prospect of working with a bunch of magical types - he was done with that part of his life thank you very much - he knew that they needed someone with more experience with magic on the case. To his surprise, he's offered a position on the team at the end of the first episode. He agrees because he has personal reasons to return to New York, and because he's intrigued by the concept of the team.
+ He's fourth generation law enforcement, but the first in his family to become a fed. Much to the approval and disapproval of said family, depending on what day it is.
+ If anyone asks he's completely nonmagical. (Except when he isn't.)
Recurring Characters
Richard Sampson (Laurence Fishburne)
+ SAC Sampson is the head of the New York City Field Office. He's about as pleased to have the new ViMAC team stationed there as Mina is. That said, one of the first things he learned as he moved up the ranks of the FBI is that if you have your people's backs, they'll have yours. He's willing to give them a chance, knowing that if this works it'll be huge (and it'll look good that it worked on his watch). He'll let Mina know about his misgivings when it comes to her team, and he has several times, but as long as her group is doing their jobs and doing them well, he'll fight for them with Quantico. He knows as well as Mina does that someone isn't pleased with this new development within the FBI.
Clayton Reed (Richard Dean Anderson)
+ Part of the "old guard" of magicals who think they've been doing a fine enough job as it is, no need to start something new. He's said since the beginning that this project was going to fail and he doesn't intend to be proven wrong. Reed leveraged for the team to be assigned to New York City instead of Quantico hoping that it'd be a case of "out of sight, out of mind" and that without the support they'd have at Quantico they'd fall on their collective asses.
Elaine Jameson (Melissa George)
+ Accidentally said the wrong thing in front of the wrong person, getting herself transferred to the Anchorage Field Office for her troubles. Reed meets hers when she's in Quantico for a training session, arranging for her to be transferred to NYC. While she doesn't end up on the ViMAC team, she's closer to them than he is. Park flirts incessantly with her. At first she flirts back because she wants to stay in Reed's good graces and not get sent back to Alaska. Later she finds herself flirting back because, well, he's a lot of fun.
Malik Said (Bobby Naderi)
+ Mina's son who works with the team half-way through season one, much to everyone but Mina's surprise (they didn't know she had any children). He works in research for one of the largest magical product development companies in the US and assists the team on a case. His research division is transferred to NYC near the end of the season and he becomes a semi-regular visitor to the office.
Angela "Angie" Medina (Valerie Cruz)
+ A doctor with a knack for healing magic, married to Ben Medina. They went to high school together, though they didn't know each other at the time. They later met through a mutual friend and hit it off.
Lori Allen (Rachel McAdams)
+ Asha's roommate. Her cousin is a wizard, so she grew up knowing about magic even though she isn't magical herself. She tends to meet up with the team when they go out after a case, ostensibly because she likes them and says they're a lot of fun to spend time with. It has nothing to do with her crush on Agent Park. Really.
Dan Emerson (Joe Mantegna)
+ Em's father. He agreed to let her live with her mother while growing up, believing that it was necessary for her to do so to get the proper magical training. He's trying to be a part of his daughter's life now. It's a little strained at times while they get to know each other again, but most of the time they get along well enough.
Erin Ryan (Kathleen Munroe)
+ The older of Ryan's two younger sisters. Erin is the only one in the family to have inherited their mother's auburn hair. Erin currently works in an expensive boutique on Fifth Avenue, though she's thinking about going back to school to get a degree in social work.
+ Matt takes long enough to decide to take the job offer, that he only moves back to NYC the weekend before he starts. Most of his stuff goes into storage while he crashes at Erin's. He says he's looking for a place of his own, he's just busier with the new job than he expected. She doesn't mind as much as she lets on, it's kinda nice having someone other than the cat to come home to. It does cramp her social life a little. She hasn't quite figured out how to tell her family that she's interested in women, not men.
Kaitlin "Katie" Ryan (Meghan Ory)
+ Ryan's youngest sister. Last Matt heard, she'd dropped out of college and was taking classes at beauty school. Not that he's heard anything lately. Of course, it would help if she hadn't stopped returning both his and Erin's calls. Matt's certain that if she's having problems their father is the last person she'll go to, so he feels that moving back to NYC is his best chance find a way to help her. Or at least figure out what is wrong. She was young enough when their mother died that she can't remember her.
Ethan Ryan (Emilio Mazur)
+ The eldest of the Ryan siblings, Ethan died in a magical accident when he was twelve. Only seen in memories and flashbacks.
Megan Ryan (Christina Hendricks)
+ James's wife and mother of Matt, Erin, Caitlin, and Ethan, she died trying to protect her son. Her and Ethan's deaths were the catalyst for her husband to declare magic off-limits for the Ryan family. Only seen in memories and flashbacks.
James Ryan (Aidan Quinn)
+ Patriarch of the Ryan family. He's NYPD through and through, third generation. Didn't think much of it when he found out his fiance, and later wife, was a witch. But when she and Ethan died, he refused to let his other children study magic and cut the family off from his magical in-laws. He doesn't yet know that his son transferred to NYC to be on the ViMAC team, and Matt isn't certain he wants to know how he'd take the news, so all he said was that he was transferring to NYC. He has a fairly good relationship with his son and oldest daughter, but Kaitlin, the youngest, has always been someone he couldn't quite connect with.
comments at Dreamwidth.
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.
noveltea Gave me: A police/procedural show with a magic division. Obviously she knows me and my brain.
Speaking of which, this absolutely ate my brain. I'm not entirely convinced on the title. I wanted something along the lines of "Magical Crimes" without using "Magical Crimes" and came up with this. There's a bit of handwaving on the Greek as the "-mancy" ending translates to "divination" rather than magic. But I figure that if "necromancy" can be used to mean all kinds of dark magic as the general connotation is today, then I could go with this. I then went a little crazy with side characters. I would have liked to fill out some families more, but this was turning into a "if I don't post this now I never will" thing. (It also turned into a "oops, I spent and extra half hour at lunch looking at pretty people" thing.)
"You see that man there? He's a witch, High Priest of his coven and one of the most powerful you'll ever meet. Your neighbor? An alchemist. That family the next block over? Yeah, they're magical too.
"Magic exists throughout world. You just don't realize it because you can't see it. You don't want to see it. Magic users are real, and they're just like me and you. Which means they're human, just like me and you. And humans aren't perfect. They commit crimes.
"That's where my team comes in. We're the ones called on to solve magical crimes."
"And your butcher? Is a haruspex. Oh, don't look at me like that."
Criminimancy
Most people don't realize that magic really exists in the world around them. They eat, sleep, go to work, and come home, never knowing that their next door neighbor isn't just an accountant, but also a wizard. They don't know that demons can be summoned, people and things can be banished, and you can, if you know what you're doing, get to Monte Carlo without a long flight. (You'll still have to deal with customs, though. Sorry.)
With the ability to use magic comes the possibility to use magic for the wrong purposes. From robbery to murder, the magical crime rate has been going up in recent years, and that's where the ViMAC (Violent Magical Crimes) unit comes in. This newly created team is based in the New York City FBI Field Office and charged with investigating magical crimes around the country.
Cast
Mina Said (Hiam Abbass)
+ Special Agent Mina Said has been with the FBI for almost thirty years, working not just at Quantico but also in an assortment of Field Offices around the country. Her chameleon-like ability to step into so many different teams and immediately pick up what they're doing has made her invaluable. Even more-so are the two years she spent "on loan" to Interpol, working with them as they built their first Magical Crimes Investigation Unit. From the minute she returned to the states, she's campaigned to get a similar team set up within the FBI. While she's pleased that someone finally listened and saw the light, letting her pull together a team of the FBI's magicals, she's concerned about what it means that the team is based out of the NY Field Office instead of at Quantico.
+ Despite her "Mom" status when it comes to the team, not much is known about her home life. (And she prefers it that way, thank you.) Medina jokes that she goes home to the "bat cave", Asha says that she's probably a real party animal when she isn't with the team, and Billy likes to point out she's the first in and last to leave: obviously she sleeps in her office.
+ While she learned to teleport to other places and call items, as most other magic users can, she's more comfortable driving her car or walking across the room to get what she needs. (If anyone is to ask, she'll say it's because she feels it is important to not be totally dependent on magic, the truth is that her magic doesn't lend itself well to these types of uses and she'd prefer to not get a black eye from that file she's trying to call from across the room.) But her magic is what allows her to take on almost any job within the FBI seamlessly, quickly learning new roles without trouble, usually picking up something new the first time she tries.
Benjamín "Ben" Medina (Jon Huertas)
+ The first person Mina hired after getting the team approved. She had worked with Ben extensively in the past and knew that he wanted to be a part of this team if it ever got off the ground. His office was the first place she stopped when she got out of her meeting with the Director after she got the news.
+ Ben started as a cop in Miami before going to the FBI Academy, and still considers the city his stomping grounds. His family still lives there, it's where he met his wife, and where they regularly return to visit family. Ben has said, more than once, that if the justification for putting the ViMAC team in NYC was that it has the highest magical crime rate in the country, then the second team should be down in Miami (which has the second highest). He doesn't need to say that he'd be the first to join it. Mina sees the success of the team as a double-edged sword - fail and the team will be disbanded, succeed and she'll lose her right hand to start a new team.
+ One of the top transmutationists in the FBI, though he tries to keep that quiet (you wouldn't believe the things people want him to make when they find out). He's the best person to go to when trying to determine if something has been altered into something new and what it was originally.
Abigail "Em" Emerson (Emmanuelle Vaugier)
+ She was born in the United States and named after both of her grandmothers (her middle name is Brigitte). Abigail was raised in France by her mother and her family after her parents divorced. Her mother came from an old magical family and insisted on rejoining them so that Abigail would receive the proper magical training. She and Mina met when Mina was working with Interpol. A reconciliation with her American father and subsequent falling out with her mother's family led her to jump at the chance to work for the FBI.
+ Formally she's "on loan" to the FBI, but also undergoing the additional training required for her to officially transfer to the Bureau. At the beginning of the series she regularly travels to Quantico and back for classes and training.
+ Much to her annoyance, her colleagues apparently are incapable of calling her by her full last name, leading to her being stuck with the nickname "Em".
Billy Park (Terry Chen)
+ Billy is a charmer. His ability to be-spell just about anyone and anything first caught Mina's attention when he was in the Academy. She's kept an eye on his career, as he's made a name for himself in the Bureau. One thing that has always made her proud is that while he'll use his skill to some extent on the job, he has never used it improperly, despite the temptations that come with such a powerful skill.
+ His family is very important to him, so even though he's long since moved out to his own place, he goes home at least once a week for dinner. He often brings friend with him, which means everyone on the team (and Asha's roommate) has been a few times.
+ While Billy's magic works on more than just people, it's stronger on people than than objects. Because of this, and the resulting temptation to enspell people into doing anything he wants, he's developed his own code of honor over the years. He has also worked hard to fully develop his magic, becoming quite proficient at transmutation and other forms, so that he isn't seen as just someone who can manipulate people.
Asha Starr (Jasika Nicole)
+ Adding Asha to the team was a given, if you ask Mina. She just ended up one of the last brought on because Mina literally had to fight to get her. Asha calls herself a "technowitch", prompting Billy to tease her about watching too much "Buffy". But no one argues that when it comes to technology, Asha really does magic. It doesn't matter what you're looking for, if there's a paper trail - electronic or otherwise - she can find it.
+ She answered a roommate wanted add when she moved to NYC and now lives with someone who is not magical. It was a little weird at first when they moved in together, Asha kept trying to hide her magic and failing miserably because she wasn't used to living with nonmagicals. To her relief, Lori's cousin is a wizard and she already knew about the existence of magic.
+ Like Mina, Asha doesn't put much stock teleportation. But that's probably because her other speciality is portals. While most magic users are taught as teenagers to teleport, its rare for most to learn to create portals. Asha, on the other hand, created her first portal when she was ten. Her best friend Michele was grounded to her room and Asha wanted to play. Once her family got over their surprise at her new gift, they saw to it that she was thoroughly trained. Most of the time when the team travels out of NYC for a case, they go "Air Asha".
Matthew "Matt" Ryan (Eddie Cahill)
+ Special Agent Matt Ryan is a part of the FBI's Boston Field Office when he requests the ViMAC team's assistance on a case. While he wasn't particularly enthused by the prospect of working with a bunch of magical types - he was done with that part of his life thank you very much - he knew that they needed someone with more experience with magic on the case. To his surprise, he's offered a position on the team at the end of the first episode. He agrees because he has personal reasons to return to New York, and because he's intrigued by the concept of the team.
+ He's fourth generation law enforcement, but the first in his family to become a fed. Much to the approval and disapproval of said family, depending on what day it is.
+ If anyone asks he's completely nonmagical. (Except when he isn't.)
Recurring Characters
Richard Sampson (Laurence Fishburne)
+ SAC Sampson is the head of the New York City Field Office. He's about as pleased to have the new ViMAC team stationed there as Mina is. That said, one of the first things he learned as he moved up the ranks of the FBI is that if you have your people's backs, they'll have yours. He's willing to give them a chance, knowing that if this works it'll be huge (and it'll look good that it worked on his watch). He'll let Mina know about his misgivings when it comes to her team, and he has several times, but as long as her group is doing their jobs and doing them well, he'll fight for them with Quantico. He knows as well as Mina does that someone isn't pleased with this new development within the FBI.
Clayton Reed (Richard Dean Anderson)
+ Part of the "old guard" of magicals who think they've been doing a fine enough job as it is, no need to start something new. He's said since the beginning that this project was going to fail and he doesn't intend to be proven wrong. Reed leveraged for the team to be assigned to New York City instead of Quantico hoping that it'd be a case of "out of sight, out of mind" and that without the support they'd have at Quantico they'd fall on their collective asses.
Elaine Jameson (Melissa George)
+ Accidentally said the wrong thing in front of the wrong person, getting herself transferred to the Anchorage Field Office for her troubles. Reed meets hers when she's in Quantico for a training session, arranging for her to be transferred to NYC. While she doesn't end up on the ViMAC team, she's closer to them than he is. Park flirts incessantly with her. At first she flirts back because she wants to stay in Reed's good graces and not get sent back to Alaska. Later she finds herself flirting back because, well, he's a lot of fun.
Malik Said (Bobby Naderi)
+ Mina's son who works with the team half-way through season one, much to everyone but Mina's surprise (they didn't know she had any children). He works in research for one of the largest magical product development companies in the US and assists the team on a case. His research division is transferred to NYC near the end of the season and he becomes a semi-regular visitor to the office.
Angela "Angie" Medina (Valerie Cruz)
+ A doctor with a knack for healing magic, married to Ben Medina. They went to high school together, though they didn't know each other at the time. They later met through a mutual friend and hit it off.
Lori Allen (Rachel McAdams)
+ Asha's roommate. Her cousin is a wizard, so she grew up knowing about magic even though she isn't magical herself. She tends to meet up with the team when they go out after a case, ostensibly because she likes them and says they're a lot of fun to spend time with. It has nothing to do with her crush on Agent Park. Really.
Dan Emerson (Joe Mantegna)
+ Em's father. He agreed to let her live with her mother while growing up, believing that it was necessary for her to do so to get the proper magical training. He's trying to be a part of his daughter's life now. It's a little strained at times while they get to know each other again, but most of the time they get along well enough.
Erin Ryan (Kathleen Munroe)
+ The older of Ryan's two younger sisters. Erin is the only one in the family to have inherited their mother's auburn hair. Erin currently works in an expensive boutique on Fifth Avenue, though she's thinking about going back to school to get a degree in social work.
+ Matt takes long enough to decide to take the job offer, that he only moves back to NYC the weekend before he starts. Most of his stuff goes into storage while he crashes at Erin's. He says he's looking for a place of his own, he's just busier with the new job than he expected. She doesn't mind as much as she lets on, it's kinda nice having someone other than the cat to come home to. It does cramp her social life a little. She hasn't quite figured out how to tell her family that she's interested in women, not men.
Kaitlin "Katie" Ryan (Meghan Ory)
+ Ryan's youngest sister. Last Matt heard, she'd dropped out of college and was taking classes at beauty school. Not that he's heard anything lately. Of course, it would help if she hadn't stopped returning both his and Erin's calls. Matt's certain that if she's having problems their father is the last person she'll go to, so he feels that moving back to NYC is his best chance find a way to help her. Or at least figure out what is wrong. She was young enough when their mother died that she can't remember her.
Ethan Ryan (Emilio Mazur)
+ The eldest of the Ryan siblings, Ethan died in a magical accident when he was twelve. Only seen in memories and flashbacks.
Megan Ryan (Christina Hendricks)
+ James's wife and mother of Matt, Erin, Caitlin, and Ethan, she died trying to protect her son. Her and Ethan's deaths were the catalyst for her husband to declare magic off-limits for the Ryan family. Only seen in memories and flashbacks.
James Ryan (Aidan Quinn)
+ Patriarch of the Ryan family. He's NYPD through and through, third generation. Didn't think much of it when he found out his fiance, and later wife, was a witch. But when she and Ethan died, he refused to let his other children study magic and cut the family off from his magical in-laws. He doesn't yet know that his son transferred to NYC to be on the ViMAC team, and Matt isn't certain he wants to know how he'd take the news, so all he said was that he was transferring to NYC. He has a fairly good relationship with his son and oldest daughter, but Kaitlin, the youngest, has always been someone he couldn't quite connect with.
comments at Dreamwidth.