meme: tv show
...
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.
Mustangcandi requested How about a TV show about a network of spies, all formerly FBI agents and soldiers, working for a secret government organization that provides intel to branches of the military as well as CIA, FBI, and all manner of intelligence seeking institutions... Danger, mystery, intrigue... and of course romance all mingle to create a hot new drama.
I call it Cal's Immortals.
Now, part of the idea for this layout is as a rebuttal of the Stargate Effect, where there's dozens of teams, yet only one of those teams is any good at all. In Cal's Immortals, technically everybody is a recurring character and you never see the team composed of the exact same people any two episodes in a row.
(to use a Numb3rs analogy, on any given episode, Colby might be working with the Portland FBI, and his desk is filled by Matt Li or an FBI agent from the other side of the building; etc)
But anyway...
Cal's Immortals
It is said that, in the heyday of the Persian Empire, the Emperor had a hundred soldiers who were the finest of the best his army had to offer...the elite of the elite, and the Emperor knew them each by name. And when one Immortal died in battle, his place was taken by a soldier joining the ranks of Immortals.
The idea of the Immortals has come back to life in the 20th Century. Like back then, one's placement in the ranks did not itself confer advantage in any way - chain of command is separate from what the number you have.
When assigned a number, each Immortal may chose to use a name other than their birthname for the duration of their employment.
CAST:
02 Callie Walker - (?)
09 Trace McKay - Bipasha Basu
74 Grace Hammett - Gina Bellman
20 Elsbeth Wolfe - Aya Sumika
43 Hannah Marlowe - Michelle Ryan
Wren Min - Sarah Wayne Callies
Colonel Zane Szalankiewisz - Timothy Hutton
91 Janet Kotsonis - Kelly Hu
39 Molly Mai Philips - Christina Chang
50 Rani Miranslaw - Juhi Chawla
94 Maxwell Flask - Jamie Farr
Cal's Immortals
Heroes
{photo withheld by order of Immortal Internal Security}
(02)
Callie Walker
"Don't try to describe her. If you do, you'll just be saying 'emerald' over and over." -Janet to Poe.
You wouldn't think that a tall, strikingly green-eyed, long-haired redhead would make a very good master of disguise - but that's exactly what Callie Walker is: good at vanishing into crowds. And like her colleagues, she can go from unnoticed to drawing the eye in under a minute.
One of the few Immortals with no record of service in any Departments or agencies, Callie does not answer questions about if she got this job because of a relative. While there may not be any record of training, Callie is no slouch at defending herself, subduing a target, or crossing a series of physical obstacles.
To those who know her, Callie is "good people." Polite, friendly, and not afraid or ashamed to curse.
(09)
Trace McKay
"She gets cranky if she doesn't get her jogging in." -Philips to Poe in passing, episode 1.
Callie's favorite person to work with, though a far cry from Callie's best friend Emily. A fellow North Carolinian, McKay was employed by the CIA as a cryptographer before being selected for duty as an Immortal.
Though she appears easygoing, McKay is actually patient (she says there's a difference between the two); and is using that patience to try to get Callie as hooked on linguistic riddles and word puzzles as she is - though once Poe arrives, she tries to get both of them hooked on it.
(74)
Grace Hammett
"The first thing you need to know about Grace is that she doesn't have multiple personalities. No, she just has a fluid sense of who she is. You know how after a good book or movie, some people walk around thinking they're someone from in there? Grace's like that every minute of the day." -McKay to Poe, episode 2
Grace considers her brain to be a boon to someone in her line of work: malleable insofar as she can adapt to any situation she finds herself in - her pitch, her accent, carriage, it all changes to match whomever she is near. Her friends and colleagues worry that Grace is only an assignment or two from meltdown (so they sometimes change the drapes and blankets in Grace's apartment, adding new books and movies for her as well)
No matter what, Grace knows who is who and what's right and wrong. And she doesn't get drunk, much to the annoyance of people who want to drink with her.
(77)
Nathaniel Poe
"If finding out the loo and the showers are women-only, are the biggest shocks you've had so far since you joined us, then you're doing better than most do." -Janet to Poe.
Assigned to the Immortals during the pilot episode, he was FBI, and quite comfortable in his role in the FBI.
Now he's a fish out of water in more than one way; not only are only a handful of Immortals drawn from the FBI, but Poe is one of only three men in the ranks of Immortals in the last twenty years.
He likes mountaineering and not card games, light sodas and not the heavy stuff or wine.
Villains
(20)
Elsbeth Wolfe
"She was one of the best of us, back before. With luck, she'll be so again." -Callie to Poe.
Considered a defector by everyone in the Immortals (though Callie may have some sympathy for her). Prior to her defection, Elsbeth had wanted to retire from Immortal work and be a civilian - a desire that was rejected by her superiors. While she doesn't attack US sites or interests, Wolfe also doesn't help the Immortals or anyone else - which is why she's considered a defector. (she can be convinced to help, though - though it won't be easy, nor will it be cheap in terms of favors and obligations).
Fluent in kali and several other fighting styles, she grew up a Navy brat that instilled in her both a strong sense of self and a willingness to sacrifice to accomplish the goals before her.
She'll help her fiance Zane (Timothy Hutton) whenever he needs it, but no matter how much she wants to get back together, she feels it's safer for him if he doesn't see her. Particularly with Hannah (Michelle Ryan) out there now.
(43)
Hannah Marlowe
"We're dammned lucky Marlowe likes to take down a minimum of two birds with every stone." -Callie to Poe and Min.
Defected; sort of: she escaped from the prison the Immortals keep for themselves. But unlike Wolfe, Marlowe is actually taking aim at the Immortals. And that includes aim at Elsbeth, who had a hand in Hannah's arrest.
While some Immortals, like are well-suited to search-and-rescue; Hannah's experience has been primarily in internal investigations, much like Rani (Juhi Chawla). But Hannah took it too far, deciding that a lesson must be taught, that there needs to be oversight within and above the Immortals - though her methods were too extreme, resulting in her arrest and imprisonment.
Once considered the Watson to Rani's Holmes, Hannah is utilizing everything she learned in the Immortals and her pre-Immortals life to bring an end to organized (and unorganized) crime...each masterstroke also delivering a blow to the Immortals, either to one of their members or to the reputation of the Immortals.
Recurring Characters
Wren Min
"What did you think I meant when I said 'dragon lady'?" -Janet to Poe.
Nobody mocks her twice, at least not for the name. Though Wren's used to the comments about her parents being hippies when she was born. Wren applies the same "give it 100%" attitude to her job at Homeland Security as she did in scholarship and trying to move away from her parents' lifestyle.
While she's not the only one who is very good at making connections between people through common organizations, Wren doesn't hold it against the people who aren't actually affiliated to that group.
Wren finds Rani Miranslaw (Juhi Chawla) the most trustworthy; and if she's going to confide in any of the Immortals about family and other personal things, it'll most likely be Rani - while the Eastern European side of Rani's family didn't chop their surname upon emmigrating, Wren's did.
Zane Szalankiewisz
"Yeah Wolfe doesn't deserve him. But we all love his loyalty." -Janet to Poe.
He was Elsbeth's fiance when she defected, and he's not straying even in her absense.
If he gets into trouble (ie is one of the hostages in a bank), Elsbeth will get him out of there.
Colonel Szalankiewisz was offered Compassionate Leave when his wife vanished, but he resigned from service - or he tried to (he knows his commanding officer buried the paperwork, leaving Zane on one of the longest Compassionate Leave in the history of the Marines)
(91)
Janet Kotsonis
"Don't make direct eye contact - you do, she'll challenge you to checkers." "What's wrong with that?" "Every day." -McKay to Poe.
An incident on the job in Fish & Game ended with Agent Kotsanis being given a choice: accept a transfer to Angel Island, or take orders from Agent Walker; Janet's boss at the time didn't and still doesn't like Callie.
Very comfortable in the mountains and moving up or down goat trails.
If you ask her about her name, she can spin as many explanations as The Dark Knight's Joker - she's Greco-Chinese, Anglo-Sino-Armenian, Turco-Thai, and a hundred others. That she says it all with a grin on her face is why nobody ever asks more than twice.
Janet is a good person to have cover your six, though she's a little too zealous at providing cover fire for any of her fellow Immortals, witnesses, or whatever they're getting out of the fire zone.
(39)
Molly Mai Philips
"She can shave your cajones from five hundred yards." -Min to an FBI agent who thinks Philips is an absolute doll.
While not the only sniper present in the Immortals, she is the best - ranked "one of the top three in the world, sorry, top two" - out of the world's snipers, not simply the Immortals' snipers.
While pretty much everyone else thinks that Agent Philips attends AA meetings to maintain a cover ID, Walker and Wolfe know that Philips is a recovering alcoholic who uses her sniper skills to cope.
Molly is easy to get along with when she's not on an assignment - when she is on assignment and she's not in a good location to get a shot, she gets jittery.
(50)
Rani Miranslaw
"Sherlock Holmes wasn't reincarnated into a girl. Rani here's going to reincarnate into Holmes." "Wouldn't that be a demotion?" -McKay to Poe, Min's interjection.
Did a brief stint on Angel Island between two jobs running in-house investigations in police departments {Florida and Idaho}.
Not afraid of heights - does her best thinking at altitude.
Like Agent Min, Rani makes fast and accurate connections - but Rani does allow blame to be shared (unless and until that particular person proves they don't share the blame).
While usually internal investigations rarely use the same people twice in a row, Rani tends to get selected for the task more often than not, and while she recognizes that the job needs to get done, and that she's picked so often because of her expertise in the field...it still grates on her. Rani enjoys the fact that Agent Min trusts her more than Agent Min trusts the other Immortals.
(94)
Maxwell Flask, (RET.)
"We'll meet God when we die. For now, Flask is His son as far as you or I are concerned." -McKay to Poe.
While retired from from Army life, Max was invited to be one of the founding members of the Immortals back during the Korean War.
Max's job is, boiled down, to be the final arbiter of all Immortal decisions (when two teams conflict, when a high-level choice needs to be made) and dealing with politicians, military brass, and foreign diplomats when the occassion calls for it.
Quotes
* "You want recognition, this isn't the work for you." "Can I at least get a 'thank you'?" "If they're feeling generous, you get a 'you did good'."
* "You changed your name? Seriously?" "Really really." "What did it used to be?" "Trace Dee McGuffin."
* "Since you're new here when we have a few openings, you get to pick what number you want. You just can't pick oh-seven, twenty, and twenty-two." "Why not?" "Respectively, copyrights, none of your business, and another copyright."
* "Slow your breathing, relax your muscles, be a stone in the river." "Well that's very helpful when I want to avoid a fight, but we're going to miss the waitress." "Which is the point." -Philips and Poe undercover at a restaurant (ep6)
* "The line in the pilot episode about not being allowed to use 07 and 22, that's our tip of the hat to James Bond and Sherlock Holmes." -the Director, 'behind the scenes of 'Cal's Immortals''
*
Others by me in this meme: At The Gates & Caroline & Time Enough & 1st Time, 2nd Time.
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.
Mustangcandi requested How about a TV show about a network of spies, all formerly FBI agents and soldiers, working for a secret government organization that provides intel to branches of the military as well as CIA, FBI, and all manner of intelligence seeking institutions... Danger, mystery, intrigue... and of course romance all mingle to create a hot new drama.
I call it Cal's Immortals.
Now, part of the idea for this layout is as a rebuttal of the Stargate Effect, where there's dozens of teams, yet only one of those teams is any good at all. In Cal's Immortals, technically everybody is a recurring character and you never see the team composed of the exact same people any two episodes in a row.
(to use a Numb3rs analogy, on any given episode, Colby might be working with the Portland FBI, and his desk is filled by Matt Li or an FBI agent from the other side of the building; etc)
But anyway...
Cal's Immortals
It is said that, in the heyday of the Persian Empire, the Emperor had a hundred soldiers who were the finest of the best his army had to offer...the elite of the elite, and the Emperor knew them each by name. And when one Immortal died in battle, his place was taken by a soldier joining the ranks of Immortals.
The idea of the Immortals has come back to life in the 20th Century. Like back then, one's placement in the ranks did not itself confer advantage in any way - chain of command is separate from what the number you have.
When assigned a number, each Immortal may chose to use a name other than their birthname for the duration of their employment.
CAST:
02 Callie Walker - (?)
09 Trace McKay - Bipasha Basu
74 Grace Hammett - Gina Bellman
20 Elsbeth Wolfe - Aya Sumika
43 Hannah Marlowe - Michelle Ryan
Wren Min - Sarah Wayne Callies
Colonel Zane Szalankiewisz - Timothy Hutton
91 Janet Kotsonis - Kelly Hu
39 Molly Mai Philips - Christina Chang
50 Rani Miranslaw - Juhi Chawla
94 Maxwell Flask - Jamie Farr
Cal's Immortals
Heroes
{photo withheld by order of Immortal Internal Security}
(02)
Callie Walker
"Don't try to describe her. If you do, you'll just be saying 'emerald' over and over." -Janet to Poe.
You wouldn't think that a tall, strikingly green-eyed, long-haired redhead would make a very good master of disguise - but that's exactly what Callie Walker is: good at vanishing into crowds. And like her colleagues, she can go from unnoticed to drawing the eye in under a minute.
One of the few Immortals with no record of service in any Departments or agencies, Callie does not answer questions about if she got this job because of a relative. While there may not be any record of training, Callie is no slouch at defending herself, subduing a target, or crossing a series of physical obstacles.
To those who know her, Callie is "good people." Polite, friendly, and not afraid or ashamed to curse.
(09)
Trace McKay
"She gets cranky if she doesn't get her jogging in." -Philips to Poe in passing, episode 1.
Callie's favorite person to work with, though a far cry from Callie's best friend Emily. A fellow North Carolinian, McKay was employed by the CIA as a cryptographer before being selected for duty as an Immortal.
Though she appears easygoing, McKay is actually patient (she says there's a difference between the two); and is using that patience to try to get Callie as hooked on linguistic riddles and word puzzles as she is - though once Poe arrives, she tries to get both of them hooked on it.
(74)
Grace Hammett
"The first thing you need to know about Grace is that she doesn't have multiple personalities. No, she just has a fluid sense of who she is. You know how after a good book or movie, some people walk around thinking they're someone from in there? Grace's like that every minute of the day." -McKay to Poe, episode 2
Grace considers her brain to be a boon to someone in her line of work: malleable insofar as she can adapt to any situation she finds herself in - her pitch, her accent, carriage, it all changes to match whomever she is near. Her friends and colleagues worry that Grace is only an assignment or two from meltdown (so they sometimes change the drapes and blankets in Grace's apartment, adding new books and movies for her as well)
No matter what, Grace knows who is who and what's right and wrong. And she doesn't get drunk, much to the annoyance of people who want to drink with her.
(77)
Nathaniel Poe
"If finding out the loo and the showers are women-only, are the biggest shocks you've had so far since you joined us, then you're doing better than most do." -Janet to Poe.
Assigned to the Immortals during the pilot episode, he was FBI, and quite comfortable in his role in the FBI.
Now he's a fish out of water in more than one way; not only are only a handful of Immortals drawn from the FBI, but Poe is one of only three men in the ranks of Immortals in the last twenty years.
He likes mountaineering and not card games, light sodas and not the heavy stuff or wine.
Villains
(20)
Elsbeth Wolfe
"She was one of the best of us, back before. With luck, she'll be so again." -Callie to Poe.
Considered a defector by everyone in the Immortals (though Callie may have some sympathy for her). Prior to her defection, Elsbeth had wanted to retire from Immortal work and be a civilian - a desire that was rejected by her superiors. While she doesn't attack US sites or interests, Wolfe also doesn't help the Immortals or anyone else - which is why she's considered a defector. (she can be convinced to help, though - though it won't be easy, nor will it be cheap in terms of favors and obligations).
Fluent in kali and several other fighting styles, she grew up a Navy brat that instilled in her both a strong sense of self and a willingness to sacrifice to accomplish the goals before her.
She'll help her fiance Zane (Timothy Hutton) whenever he needs it, but no matter how much she wants to get back together, she feels it's safer for him if he doesn't see her. Particularly with Hannah (Michelle Ryan) out there now.
(43)
Hannah Marlowe
"We're dammned lucky Marlowe likes to take down a minimum of two birds with every stone." -Callie to Poe and Min.
Defected; sort of: she escaped from the prison the Immortals keep for themselves. But unlike Wolfe, Marlowe is actually taking aim at the Immortals. And that includes aim at Elsbeth, who had a hand in Hannah's arrest.
While some Immortals, like are well-suited to search-and-rescue; Hannah's experience has been primarily in internal investigations, much like Rani (Juhi Chawla). But Hannah took it too far, deciding that a lesson must be taught, that there needs to be oversight within and above the Immortals - though her methods were too extreme, resulting in her arrest and imprisonment.
Once considered the Watson to Rani's Holmes, Hannah is utilizing everything she learned in the Immortals and her pre-Immortals life to bring an end to organized (and unorganized) crime...each masterstroke also delivering a blow to the Immortals, either to one of their members or to the reputation of the Immortals.
Recurring Characters
Wren Min
"What did you think I meant when I said 'dragon lady'?" -Janet to Poe.
Nobody mocks her twice, at least not for the name. Though Wren's used to the comments about her parents being hippies when she was born. Wren applies the same "give it 100%" attitude to her job at Homeland Security as she did in scholarship and trying to move away from her parents' lifestyle.
While she's not the only one who is very good at making connections between people through common organizations, Wren doesn't hold it against the people who aren't actually affiliated to that group.
Wren finds Rani Miranslaw (Juhi Chawla) the most trustworthy; and if she's going to confide in any of the Immortals about family and other personal things, it'll most likely be Rani - while the Eastern European side of Rani's family didn't chop their surname upon emmigrating, Wren's did.
Zane Szalankiewisz
"Yeah Wolfe doesn't deserve him. But we all love his loyalty." -Janet to Poe.
He was Elsbeth's fiance when she defected, and he's not straying even in her absense.
If he gets into trouble (ie is one of the hostages in a bank), Elsbeth will get him out of there.
Colonel Szalankiewisz was offered Compassionate Leave when his wife vanished, but he resigned from service - or he tried to (he knows his commanding officer buried the paperwork, leaving Zane on one of the longest Compassionate Leave in the history of the Marines)
(91)
Janet Kotsonis
"Don't make direct eye contact - you do, she'll challenge you to checkers." "What's wrong with that?" "Every day." -McKay to Poe.
An incident on the job in Fish & Game ended with Agent Kotsanis being given a choice: accept a transfer to Angel Island, or take orders from Agent Walker; Janet's boss at the time didn't and still doesn't like Callie.
Very comfortable in the mountains and moving up or down goat trails.
If you ask her about her name, she can spin as many explanations as The Dark Knight's Joker - she's Greco-Chinese, Anglo-Sino-Armenian, Turco-Thai, and a hundred others. That she says it all with a grin on her face is why nobody ever asks more than twice.
Janet is a good person to have cover your six, though she's a little too zealous at providing cover fire for any of her fellow Immortals, witnesses, or whatever they're getting out of the fire zone.
(39)
Molly Mai Philips
"She can shave your cajones from five hundred yards." -Min to an FBI agent who thinks Philips is an absolute doll.
While not the only sniper present in the Immortals, she is the best - ranked "one of the top three in the world, sorry, top two" - out of the world's snipers, not simply the Immortals' snipers.
While pretty much everyone else thinks that Agent Philips attends AA meetings to maintain a cover ID, Walker and Wolfe know that Philips is a recovering alcoholic who uses her sniper skills to cope.
Molly is easy to get along with when she's not on an assignment - when she is on assignment and she's not in a good location to get a shot, she gets jittery.
(50)
Rani Miranslaw
"Sherlock Holmes wasn't reincarnated into a girl. Rani here's going to reincarnate into Holmes." "Wouldn't that be a demotion?" -McKay to Poe, Min's interjection.
Did a brief stint on Angel Island between two jobs running in-house investigations in police departments {Florida and Idaho}.
Not afraid of heights - does her best thinking at altitude.
Like Agent Min, Rani makes fast and accurate connections - but Rani does allow blame to be shared (unless and until that particular person proves they don't share the blame).
While usually internal investigations rarely use the same people twice in a row, Rani tends to get selected for the task more often than not, and while she recognizes that the job needs to get done, and that she's picked so often because of her expertise in the field...it still grates on her. Rani enjoys the fact that Agent Min trusts her more than Agent Min trusts the other Immortals.
(94)
Maxwell Flask, (RET.)
"We'll meet God when we die. For now, Flask is His son as far as you or I are concerned." -McKay to Poe.
While retired from from Army life, Max was invited to be one of the founding members of the Immortals back during the Korean War.
Max's job is, boiled down, to be the final arbiter of all Immortal decisions (when two teams conflict, when a high-level choice needs to be made) and dealing with politicians, military brass, and foreign diplomats when the occassion calls for it.
Quotes
* "You want recognition, this isn't the work for you." "Can I at least get a 'thank you'?" "If they're feeling generous, you get a 'you did good'."
* "You changed your name? Seriously?" "Really really." "What did it used to be?" "Trace Dee McGuffin."
* "Since you're new here when we have a few openings, you get to pick what number you want. You just can't pick oh-seven, twenty, and twenty-two." "Why not?" "Respectively, copyrights, none of your business, and another copyright."
* "Slow your breathing, relax your muscles, be a stone in the river." "Well that's very helpful when I want to avoid a fight, but we're going to miss the waitress." "Which is the point." -Philips and Poe undercover at a restaurant (ep6)
* "The line in the pilot episode about not being allowed to use 07 and 22, that's our tip of the hat to James Bond and Sherlock Holmes." -the Director, 'behind the scenes of 'Cal's Immortals''
*
Others by me in this meme: At The Gates & Caroline & Time Enough & 1st Time, 2nd Time.