Pilot/Sample Page
Station 17 Radio
Characters:
JAMES: Age 8-10 year old boy. Looks smart but not too nerdy. He is mischievous. Does not have to look a specific way.
JAMES’ MOM: Preoccupied with her own life more than James’.
Graffiti Gang: Lanky, tattooed, pierced and drugged. These guys are scary.
6 FRAMES
PAGE 1
FRAME 0
Close-up of James. This is our main character. He is clever, frustrated and tortured with his current life. Age 8-10.
TEXT:THOUGHT:JAMES: Tuesday. They said it’s my last chance to turn in my final project today.
FRAME 1
James is pretending to be sick. He is in his bedroom with a thermometer in his mouth.
His home is quaint and through the window you can see that the neighborhood is a sprawling slum. His room has some posters and graffiti on the wall.
TEXT: THOUGHT: JAMES: I can’t believe this keeps working.
SPEECH: MOM: If you’re sick again don’t go to school. I don’t want you spreading germs.
FRAME 2
SPEECH: MOM: I’m going to work. There’s food for you in the kitchen.
JAMES flies out of bed as his mom leaves.
FRAME 3
TEXT: NARRATION: This is my second sick day this week. There’s got to be another way to get out of school.
James is wandering into a subway full of graffiti, shaking a spray paint canister on the way. Aboveground there is a lot of rubble and hobbles as well as quaint suburban looking houses.
TEXT: JAMES:
FRAME 4
TEXT:THOUGHT:JAMES: Stupid gangs.
James is painting on the walls when a gang of lanky druggy looking graffiti artists see him and start running towards him. One of them has a laser guide on his glasses and another is flying a drone with his watch.
FRAME 5
James slips into a maintenance room in the subway after passing a corner to get away from the graffitis. We should see a sign for “Station 17 Nearby”
FRAME 6
James sees a radio broadcast console (like a desk for a DJ) and puts the headphones on over his head.
TEXT: JAMES: Woah. No way.
PAGE 2
FRAME 1 (small)
James flips a switch
FRAME 2 (small)
We see some movement and static on an old receiver.
FRAME 3
TEXT:THOUGHT:JAMES: I’ve heard this on the radio.
James grabs a record
FRAME 4 (small)
James puts the needle on the record.
FRAME 5
SPEECH:JAMES: I wonder if this works…
FRAME 6
The sun is setting.
PAGE 3
FRAME 1
James is back home, in bed, with a thermometer in his mouth. Music is playing on the radio. The number “17” can be seen on the radio.
TEXT:NARRATION: Later…
JAMES:THOUGHT: Holy crap… it works!
FRAME 2 (small)
James’ mother is going upstairs.
FRAME 3
James’ mother puts her hand on James’ forehead.
MOTHER:SPEECH: Are you pulling my leg again? You don’t have any kind of temperature.
FRAME 4 (small)
Closeup of James’ face as his mom’s hand slaps him.
MOTHER:SPEECH: Your father would roll in his grave if he knew what a mess you were! All he wanted was for you to make something of yourself!
FRAME 5
SPEECH:JAMES: Dad… did they kill him?
FRAME 6 (small)
Closeup of James’ face with his mother’s finger pointing at him
SPEECH:MOTHER: Keep your mouth shut! Never talk about those things.
PAGE 4
FRAME 1
James’ mother is reading a book in the bath while drinking some heavy looking liquor.
FRAME 2 (small)
Closeup of James crying while under his blankets and looking up at the ceiling.
FRAME 3
From outside the house, we see James sliding down a pipe beside his bedroom window that leads to the ground. There is a lot of rubble and strange signage around.
FRAME 4
James approaches some shops with his hands in his pockets. The signage is neon, futuristic and also run down with grime and rubble.
FRAME 5
Inside one of the shops, James is window shopping some food behind a glass counter in a deli.
FRAME 6
James stands out as cold, hungry, alone and childlike.
DELICATESSEN: Hey, you, get the fuck out of here! You’re breathing all over my glass.
PAGE 5
James exits the store, sadly.
FRAME 2 (small)
Outside the shop, the delicatessen tosses James a wrapped sandwich.
DELICATESSEN: Hey, take this. Also, get the fuck out of here.
FRAME 3
James stands at an intersection. There are some cars flying every which way. They are futuristic, but the most run down and old of what’s new.
He looks lost.
FRAME 4
A small drone approaches James while he is standing. Various lasers scan him.
DRONE:SPEECH: identify yourself.
FRAME 5
James reacts quickly and runs. He heads towards a subway.
FRAME 6 (small)
James enters a subway through a stairway and the aboveground signage for the subway stop can be seen.
PAGE 6
FRAME 1
The drone is moving slowly through a crowd of people at a subway train stop.
FRAME 2
James has hopped down by the tracks and on to a maintenance path.
FRAME 3 (small)
The drone has floated to the tracks and it’s lasers are scanning towards James. We see a headlight in the background.
FRAME 4
A train crushes right through the drone and towards James.
FRAME 5 (small)
James crouches and reacts to the wind and noise as the train passes fiercely.
FRAME 6
James is standing and looking at a crossroads of tunnels. There is graffiti. Some of it matches what we see in James’ bedroom and has his name.
PAGE 7
FRAME 1
James goes to the familiar path where there is a STATION 17 sign above a door.
FRAME 2 (small)
James enters the door.
FRAME 3
James is at the radio broadcast booth with his hand on a radio dial and headphones on his head.
SPEECH:RADIO: Tunneling of the new high-speed subway will continue this week. The tragic accidents at tunnels 32, 39, and 60 have not slowed progress. The myth of the resistance is becoming a distant memory.
***
James is building a bed in the Station 17 Radio room to sleep on by piling up some old cloth.
***
James is fast asleep on his haphazardly-built bed.
END OF EPISODE. TBC.
Mirage Insight 