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.