The Bard, The Emancipator, and the Girl from Calumet
Wherin we continue our discussion of the possibility of playing a Primetime Adventures series based on the following premise:
“a show about a time-traveling William Shakespeare and Abraham Lincoln zooming across the heartland of America in a stolen ‘67 Mustang with a goth-chick waitress who’s on the run from the Irish mob in Chicago.”
Daniel Perez, Chuck Hedden and I have been flirting with the notion of taking this seriously. Some ideas came up in another thread and this post is here to keep the pitch discussion going, should anyone wish to do so.
9 Responses to “The Bard, The Emancipator, and the Girl from Calumet”
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Rock on.
To copy the last comment I added to the previous thread:
Random thought that entered my mind as I waited for the bus this morning:
Will has lost his fancy words. Abe has lost his unflinching morality. Goth Chick (whom came out being named Dusk) has the key but not her memory. They all have a metallic red ‘57 Chevy convertible and a map of Route 66. And someone on their trail.
Daniel M. Perez´s last blog ..Vampire and My Humanity
Thanks dude.
I’m intrigued by everything you wrote – except I REALLY want it to be a ‘67 Mustang.
Also, I hope “lost” is a relative term.
For personal reasons, I would also suggest keeping it a ’stang. And it should go without saying, I’d like you guys to compare this blog post pitch to your Skype one.
I only said Chevy cause I don’t believe there was a car model mentioned on the blog post, though you did say it when on the Skype call.
67 Mustang it is.
Convertible, of course.
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e30/highmoon/mump_0909_011967_ford_mustang_conve.jpg
Daniel M. Perez´s last blog ..Vampire and My Humanity
… except that quoted bit in the OP, which includes a reference to the Mustang, was pulled directly out of the blog post.
Nevertheless, cool pic. That is totally what we ought to drive.
An extrapolation off of the idea that the two historical characters have “lost” the essential qualities they’re known for – I’m thinking that this could be the thing the show is about – In other words, it’s about what remains of a person’s essential identity when their most profound quality is taken?
I suggest that these guys are fully aware they had these qualities, that they were both living at the high point of their talents when they were pulled out of their realities … and suddenly they awaken in the Now, and realize those qualities – the very qualities that they believed were at the core of their identity – are taken away. Who IS Shakespeare when his way with words is ripped away from him? Who IS Abe Lincoln when his moral center and inner strength are stolen?
And … since I’m using words like “ripped” and “stolen”, WHO took them? Is a quest to regain them going to be the main thematic push of our series?
This sort of feels to me like it is the TV show LOST, if written by Nail Gaiman and Tim Powers, and produced on HBO.
And I find it cool to note that Springfield, IL – Lincoln’s home town and burial site – is on Route 66. And in Amarillo they have a decent Shakespeare festival. Also, Vegas is not technically ON Route 66, but it’s close enough that we could actually loosely pencil it in as the end point of the series.
Ideas? Thoughts?
I can only claim a moment of Duh in missing the car reference, sir.
I *really* like how you framed my rambling into a very compelling seed for the series. A quest to find the self, when the self has been lost. And indeed, who/what took these? And what’s with the girl? What did she lose that she’s now seeking, that led her to end up with these two temporal refugees?
Daniel M. Perez´s last blog ..My Bike Was Stolen
If we’re willing to be really overt in our ripping-off of Neil Gaiman, I TOTALLY know who the goth chick could be.
http://www.darkfriends.net/princessmoo/extras/BacholoDeath.jpg
And if someone has stolen the thing that forms the core of HER identitly, then the whole world is in a shitload of trouble.
I’d certainly have fun taking it there – what about you guys?
I’m so in.
Daniel M. Perez´s last blog ..My Bike Was Stolen
Ok, as audience I want to throw this out:
>The three are pursued by a group of Valkyrie in the form of a female biker gang.
>An ankh full of strange powers falls into the hands of an amoral LA plastic surgeon.
These came to me before I fell asleep last night; I’m glad I was able to remember them this morning. Hope that doesn’t disrupt your plans. Obviously you can take it or leave it.
PS. Mick, The CommentsLuv never seems to work for me, it shows a broken image place holder. I’ve tried in IE7 and Chrome. I know it works for others that have posted. No biggie, just wanted to make you aware.