A special present for this last Blakeday before the shortlist is prepared, the first season of the "Five Year Arc" prepared for the Harold Greenberg Fund representatives to show them where I intend to take Blake Undying as a...
A special present for this last Blakeday before the shortlist is prepared, the first season of the "Five Year Arc" prepared for the Harold Greenberg Fund representatives to show them where I intend to take Blake Undying as a television series. Hope that you enjoy it! ;)
BLAKE UNDYING - YEAR ONE
1. FAILURE (Pilot - 1x01)
- Blake's unique malady is introduced, and the purpose of the whiteboards and his research materials established as he kills himself, only to return to life moments later.
- Seeing the failure of his most recent attempts, he enlists the help of his family doctor, Dr. Kristopher Wallick, to try to unravel the mystery of his existence. When Dr. Wallick doesn't believe his claims, he is forced to demonstrate in the most shocking manner imaginable.
- On his way home Blake gets caught up in an armed robbery at a liquor store. His blatant disregard for the robbers goads them into opening fire, forcing him to respond with physical violence.
- At his job the next day, Blake gets a call from his ex-girlfriend Cassidy who is frantic after getting a call from the NYPD to identify Blake's severed head at the morgue.
2. CIRCLES (1x02)
- Blake attempts to cash in a life insurance policy on his twin brother "Drake" from whom he was separated at birth.
- While on the phone, call waiting shows that Cassidy is calling Blake back, touching off a flashback sequence that tells the story of Blake's life.
- Blake's childhood as an orphan and subsequent adoption is shown, ending with the car accident that takes the life of his adopted parents.
a. SUBPLOT - Blake's adopted father gives him a reprint of "Action Comics" #1, saying it was from his real father.
b. SUBPLOT - Blake survived the death of his parents in the crash, perhaps revealing the first instance of his death and return.
- Blake goes to college and meets Cassidy, changing his major to Journalism to be in her class. They fall in love, only to have the uncertainty of life get in the way of their relationship.
- Blake's internship at the New York Daily News prompts his life to settle into a slow downward spiral as the harsh realities of the world are forced upon him.
- It worsens when he loses his job at the Daily News and goes to work at the Infiltrator. Eventually when it becomes too much for him, he attempts suicide, only to discover his abilities.
- Back in the present, Blake again has a short conversation with his ex-girlfriend, with mixed results. He is forced to cut the call short to get to work on time.
3. NIKKI (1x03)
- Picks up immediately after 1x02
- On his way to work, Blake happens across a tenement on fire with a young girl trapped inside. In a rare moment of heroism, Blake saves the girl, hurling imprecations at her addict mother in the process.
- Blake comes to work, smelling of fire and covered in soot. Lee tells him to save orphans on his own time, and docks his pay for work inappropriate attire.
- The following morning, Blake's friend Jeff brings him a copy of the early edition that has a picture of him with the addict mother under the headlines "UNKNOWN HERO SAVES CHILD"
- After his encounter with Jeff, Blake decides that he needs to know more about superheroes. Going to Jeff's favorite comic haunt, Blake discovers the door locked and the cashier, Nikki, about to be raped.
- After saving her from the assault, Blake walks Nikki home only to be asked some difficult questions regarding his quest for death.
4. WHAT DOES NOT KILL YOU (1x04)
- Dr. Wallick calls Blake into his office to discuss some disturbing test results. It seems that Blake's durability is increasing causing him to be harder to kill, probably triggered by his recent spate of suicides. Dr. Wallick asks Blake to hold off on any further attempts until they can establish a baseline for his regenerative abilities.
- Blake's identity has been discovered by one of the robbers from 1x01 (Punk #2, AKA "Murray"), and he ambushes Blake to prevent him from testifying against his brother who remains in prison. After a firefight on a subway platform, Blake is forced to flee into the tunnels and escapes.
- Two weeks later Dr. Wallick reveals that Blake's regeneration is still increasing despite his avoiding death. Blake decides to "celebrate" by tracking down the punk that ambushed him and having a "chat".
5. DOWNWARD SPIRAL (1x05)
- Blake's efforts are back in full swing, and with the specter of his increasing strength hanging over his head, he is forced to take drastic action. Contacting his former boss David H Craven, editor of the National Infiltrator, Blake asks to be put in contact with some of his more shady sources for illegal substances.
- Craven agrees but only on the condition that Blake do a story for him, like the good old days. It is some horrible high profile murder involving the star of a network TV show.
- Swallowing his pride, Blake writes the story, twisting the facts into a horrible slanted piece that skewers the star, effectively ending his career.
- Sickened by his own compromise, Blake finds small comfort in the fact that he got a name and number from Craven, and puts the next phase of his plan into action: C4.
6. ESCALATION (1x06)
- Armed with the contact information from Craven, Blake gets in contact with one of his old sources, "Morty". Blake learns from Morty that all the explosives in the city are being bought up.
- Morty's supplier "The German", a mid-level thug with apparent mafia ties, tells Blake about Sudden Dawn, a domestic terror group who is stockpiling weapons and explosives. Blake learns of a buy taking place on a construction site, and attempts to make contact.
- Blake arrives at the construction site, which is plastered with glossy billboards announcing the construction of the Pinnacle Building, prominently featuring the name and logo of Jack Mason Architecture.
- When the exchange devolves into a firefight, the Sudden Dawn cell making the buy detonate the explosives, bringing down the partially constructed building on Blake's head.
- Having survived the blast, Blake emerges from the rubble, only to be surrounded by FBI agents from the National Security Branch who take him into custody.
7. GOVERNMENT (1x07)
- Two weeks have passed since Blake was taken prisoner by the NSB. He has been tested by doctors and scientists to uncover the secret of his abilities.
- Blake is interrogated by Special Agent Markus Samuels from the NSB, questioning his ties to Sudden Dawn and The German.
- Blake learns that Samuels has been investigating this cell of the Sudden Dawn organization for a year and a half, and are on the verge of discovering their contact within the leadership of the group.
- When Blake learns that they have no idea how his abilities work, Blake reveals that he'd been staying in captivity willingly, demonstrating this fact by snapping the cuffs between his thumb and forefinger.
- After a brief fight during which Agent Samuels is injured, Blake strongly suggests to him that since the FBI cannot stop him, they should stay out of his way.
- He smashes through the wall of an 18th story building and jumps to the street below.
- Two unknown shadowy figures are seen against the one-way glass looking into the interrogation room that Blake just escaped from.
- "What now?" "Bury the whole thing. No mention of Sudden Dawn in the press, or our new friend's involvement in the incident. Still, keep an eye on him. You never know when we might need Mr. Carson, in the future."
8. KNOW YOUR ENEMY (1x08)
- Blake reveals to Jeff his abilities and his desire to die, bringing him into the fold.
- Jeff unknowingly echoes Nikki's sentiment, saying that Blake should use his abilities to become a super-hero.
- Enlists Jeff to hack the NSB's database for information about the Sudden Dawn investigation that Agent Samuels is assigned to.
- Blake busts up the terrorist cell, turning them over to the police, ruining months of Agent Samuels' investigation.
- Samuels confronts Blake, telling him that he only managed to capture a small portion of the New York cell, and now that they had been tipped off to the investigation they would go into hiding.
- Blake realizes that his revenge was costly but cannot help but goad the Agent, increasing the enmity between the two men.
9. OPEN SEASON (1x09)
- Frustrated by the government's inability to learn anything new about his abilities, Blake turns to the general public offering a $1,000,000 reward for anyone who can successfully kill him.
- Almost immediately the idea reveals itself to be a bad one, as he is beset by potential murderers, who only serve to make him suffer through death after death.
- He is hit by a car, which is driven by a woman who later reveals herself to be the assassin Nepenthe. In disguise, she feigns sympathy for Blake, claiming that she knew nothing of the reward and offers to take him to the hospital. Blake agrees mainly due to Nepenthe being very attractive.
- When Blake gets to the hospital, he refuses to go in to the ER, saying it really isn't necessary. She reveals herself in that moment, when she injects him with a drug that simulates a heart attack. She calls for an intern, who take him inside. Shortly thereafter, Blake goes into arrest and dies.
- In the ER, one of the doctors trying to revive him stops for a moment and notes that Blake is worth a million dollars dead.
- Blake wakes up in the ER, just seconds before being shocked by the defibrillators. Nepenthe watches as Blake is successfully "saved", and decides to take a more direct approach. The two do battle and are evenly matched, Blake showing off his superior strength and brute force, while Nepenthe is a master of martial arts and acrobatics.
- After fighting to a standstill, Blake cancels the contract on his own life, and Nepenthe makes her escape.
- Cheeseburger ending - At the end, after a long day of being murdered, an old woman comes up to Blake and hands him a Big Mac. There's a moment of silence as Blake looks from her to the burger, then she says simply, "cholesterol". Blake looks back at the burger, shrugs and eats it, walks away saying "I'll let you know."
10. STARTING OVER (1x10)
- After his failed attempt to enlist the public's help in his death, Blake is finally ready to accept the fact that he needs a new strategy.
- Nikki gets Blake's address from Jeff and shows up at his door, seeing the whiteboards and his research for the first time.
- She reveals to him her theory that he needs to become a super-hero, not to help people as she'd previously tried to convince him, but instead to attract a super-villain. She brings up a number of comic book references to near deaths and actual deaths for seemingly invincible super-heroes with specific weaknesses.
- Blake is convinced after some effort, but refuses to wear a costume. Saying he's unbreakable not Liberace.
- Montage of Nikki and Blake making preparations. Shots include Nikki loading Blake up with comic books and DVDs, brainstorming on a whiteboard about superhero attributes, purchasing a police scanner.
- Blake hears about a hostage situation at a Bank in lower Manhattan, races to the scene... by subway. Play on the irony of superhero fiction vs "reality".
- As Blake tries to breach the cordoned area, Blake hands the policeman running interference a newspaper. It is the "UNKNOWN HERO SAVES CHILD" headline from 1x03, distracting the policeman just long enough for Blake to slip past him.
- Blake saves hostages, captures criminals, holds a press conference to announce his existence and that criminals should beware.
- Blake writes "KRYPTONITE?" on the board.
11. EXCLUDED (PART ONE) (1x11)
- Blake is flipping through the news channels to hear stories about the "real life superhero" that has emerged in New York City. Several video clips of Blake's "heroism" are shown, while other talk shows paint Blake differently, showing his harsh treatment of victims who got into trouble for being stupid (maybe have the crack mom on Springer).
- Nikki calls Blake, telling him to turn on the TV. Blake obliviously starts talking about how he's been all over the news all morning, wondering if it will really have the desired effect.
- Eventually Nikki shouts him down, telling him to turn on channel 56. He flips over to it, and sees the anchor talking over an insert of the rapist from 1x03. Blake listens to Nikki devolve into hysterics as she explains what's happening. The crawl at the bottom of the screen shows "EXCLUDED EVIDENCE MAY HAVE PLAYED A PART IN DISMISSAL OF CHARGES AGAINST ACCUSED RAPIST JAMES MACKENDRICK"
- Since the story first appeared in the National Infiltrator, Blake goes to see Craven to find out what happened. He discovers that the arresting officer never properly Mirandized the suspect. His lawyer got the evidence recovered during the investigation thrown out as "fruit of the poisoned tree", and as such got the case dismissed.
- Craven has somehow gotten a copy of the arrest report. Blake notes Mackendrick's address on the report, and goes to pay him a visit. Mackendrick feigns innocence unconvincingly, and threatens to call over the two police watching his apartment. He is suitably smug, almost daring Blake to attack him.
- Nikki starts getting threatening phone calls, and flowers being sent to her at home and work with suggestive notes.
- Blake offers to walk her home to grab her things so she can stay at a hotel. They walk in to discover Nikki's roommate bound hands and feet with duct tape, naked on the floor in a pool of her own blood. Scrawled across the floor in the woman's blood are the words "YOU'RE NEXT"
- (Mid-season hiatus)
12. EXCLUDED (PART TWO) (1x12)
- Blake goes to Mackendrick's apartment to confront him, only to find that he is nowhere to be found. Blake's search of the apartment is interrupted by the police watching the apartment.
- Blake is questioned by Det. Standish, the detective in charge of the serial rapist investigation, about Blake's connection to the suspect.
- While Standish questions Blake, Blake uses his reporting abilities to lead the conversation down specific avenues, getting information about the case, and about the previous rapes and murders that Mackendrick had been suspected of.
- Standish stops short of giving him too much information, claiming that he knows who Blake is and thinks that his vigilantism is only going to taint their investigation and get more people killed.
- As he is leaving, Blake is stopped by Mackendrick's arresting officer, who explains that his daughter had been raped, and he was goaded into attacking Mackendrick. His attack interrupted the reading of his rights, and caused the statements and evidence to be excluded. The officer gives Blake a copy of the case file, and arrest report. Blake realizes that the cop is Craven's source.
- Blake uses the information to track down James Mackendrick, and after a prolonged fight where Mackendrick shows off his military hand to hand training, Blake is faced with a moral dilemma. Without any new evidence to link him to the cases, Mackendrick will only go free again.
- Mackendrick goads Blake, telling him that there's no way he'll ever do time in jail. Enraged, Blake drops him off a roof, killing him on the street below.
- Later the arresting officer plants a suicide note on the corpse indicating that Mackendrick could no longer take the guilt, apologizing for his crimes.
- Episode ends with Blake returning to his apartment, where Nikki has been staying. Scene plays out with background music instead of dialogue. Nikki begins to cry with relief and release, falling into Blake's arms and finally knowing that it is over.
- Blake stares over her head, a million miles away. He has crossed a line that he can never return from.
13. THE HANGED MAN (1x13)
- Blake is interviewed by a local talk show about his sudden appearance, and his abilities. During the interview he is asked about what death is like, and if any of the beliefs are true about a white light, a tunnel, loved ones greeting you or what have you.
- Blake's contradiction of many religious beliefs touches off an uproar of controversy. Religious groups alternately claim that Blake is a demon, a heretic or in extreme cases the Antichrist himself.
- One minister even draws a parallel to a description of Lucifer in Milton's "Paradise Lost", pointing out that Lucifer was supposed to have regenerative abilities as well.
- Blake is confronted by a dirty street preacher named Thomas, who claims that that Blake doesn't understand his place in the universe. The implication is that Thomas works for a higher power who is pissed at Blake for going against the natural order
- "Look, man. I feel your pain. I really do. I understand this...this whole...well no, I don't. Why the fuck can't you just die like regular folk? You're making things really difficult, man. I got my bosses shitting on me left and right. You can't keep pulling this crap, okay? We got rules, you know, and you're pissing all over them."
- An investigation of Thomas shows that he has a history of mental illness and commitment. When Blake confronts him, Thomas shoots him in the head and escapes.
- While dead, Blake has a vague disturbing vision which foreshadows the rest of the season, including a massive hulking giant with shaggy hair.
- When Blake returns to life, Thomas is gone, leaving Blake to question his beliefs.
14. A JOKE TOO FAR (1x14)
- Another run-in with Murray's crew prompts Blake to do more digging into their unusually well organized gang. It is revealed that they are "under new management", and have been working under the direction of a criminal mastermind.
- Blake starts working through the ranks of punks, eventually getting the information out of Murray how to find the kingpin.
- Murray lures Blake into a trap, and he finds himself surrounded by men who attack him. When he survives their brutal assault, he goes on the warpath. In the end, the criminal kingpin reveals himself as the dastardly mastermind, THE NIPPPLER!
- "You have got to be fucking kidding me. You're the best arch-villain I rate? Was Colostomy Man sick today?"
- The Nippler actually reveals himself to be a capable adversary, producing a number of weapons and gadgets that cause Blake a lot of problems.
- Blake fights against the onslaught of technological gimmicks, affirming that "there's no goddamn way I'm gonna let tomorrow's headlines read "BLAKE TWEAKED BY THE NIPPLER""
- In the end The Nippler makes his escape while Blake is recovering, leaving him to bemoan his fate.
15. PLAN FOR THE WORST (1x15)
- Cassie-centric episode / intercut with Jack Mason scheming to get back at Blake.
- Cassie had previously been writing a story on architect Jack Mason, which her magazine just killed a day before press as it was revealed that the Pinnacle Building collapse was attributed to poor design.
- Her architect boyfriend had suggested the society piece on his friend, and when he heard about the article's cancellation, he refused to believe the inquiry's results. He claimed that he had looked over the plans himself prior to construction and that they were brilliant.
- Throughout the episode, Cassie has moments of reminiscence and regret surrounding reminders of her time with Blake. She struggles to suppress them, but they don't seem entirely unwelcome to her.
- Further investigation begins to turn up more information on the now ruined Jack Mason, leading Cassie to his new place, to talk to him.
- After the FBI coverup of the Sudden Dawn incident at the Pinnacle Building, Mason was wiped out financially, his company forced to declare bankruptcy, and his high-society girlfriend dumped him. With pending lawsuits and settlements in his future, Jack Mason is a shell of a man.
- Mason gives her a security tape from a building across the street that shows Blake entering the site just minutes before the collapse.
- Cassie confronts Blake, asking him about his involvement in the incident, and taking him to task about his recent media fame.
- Meanwhile, Mason's first plan comes to fruition. The intercutting of scenes throughout the episode showing a sequence of unlikely events getting Nikki to be in Blake's apartment when Cassie comes to question him, further deepening the rift between them.
o Mason handing Nikki a flyer for 2 for 1 coffee at a new shop.
o Mason entering Blake's apartment to sabotage the electrical system.
o Mason texting Nikki with Blake's phone "I need to talk to you. My place. Bring coffee"
o Mason putting an "Out of Order" sign on Blake's elevator.
o Nikki and Blake having to walk up eight flights of stairs, with coffee in hands. She is showing Blake the text on her phone.
o As they get near Blake's apartment, a disguised Mason bumps Blake, causing him to spill coffee all over his shirt.
o Mason taking the "Out of Order" sign off of the elevator panel, passing by Cassie on her way into the elevator.
o Blake clicks on the lights in his apartment only to have them short circuit and fail. Blake tells Nikki that there's some candles in the kitchen she can light while he changes his shirt.
o Cassie comes to the door with Blake buttoning his shirt, candles lit, Nikki in the apartment and him breathing heavily. The effect on is immediate and chilling.
o Back in Jack Mason's apartment, he unlocks the door to a room that has newspaper clippings all over the walls about Blake and his recent heroics, on the other side of the room are clippings about the Pinnacle Building collapse and his disgrace.
o Among the clippings is a list with three items on it. "1. Love. 2. Career. 3. Life" Mason puts a checkmark next to #1 with a large black marker, then moves to the clipping directly above the list who's headline reads "FALL OF THE ARCHITECT". Mason slashes through the word FALL with precise strokes, writing in the word "RISE" above it.
16. VISIONS & REVISIONS (1x16)
- While dead, Blake has a vision of his birth, prompting him to further investigate his adoption and the fate of his natural parents.
- Through bribery and coercion he eventually learns that his mother gave him up for adoption when he was very young. The official record states that the unnamed father had been killed while she was pregnant.
- When his investigations hit a brick wall, Blake is led into a number of different suicide attempts to get more information from the other side. He sees his parents, first happy, then fighting, then his mother crying and father silent. The images are disjointed and confusing. They keep flashing back and forth on images of an idyllic backyard and people setting up a camera to take a picture.
- Eventually Blake learns that the mother was diagnosed with cancer when she gave up Blake, and died shortly thereafter.
- Through his visions however, Blake sees a moment, a fragment of a memory that reminds him of a photo that his adopted parents had.
- Blake overturns box after box frantically, sending papers and mementos everywhere. Eventually they turn up an old photo album which he pages through, fumbling with the corners in his frantic state, stopping at about halfway, The photo shows his natural parents, standing side by side with his adopted parents, The Carsons. Blake sits back on his ass hard, as his world collapses.
17. HYPERION ARMS (1x17)
- Blake is contacted by Danica Sterling, CEO of Hyperion Arms, asking him to come to their offices for a discussion.
- Lured by curiosity, Blake takes the meeting. Danica wows him with a detailed recounting of his life and both personal and private, including an accurate account of the Pinnacle Building collapse, completely free of the FBI coverup story that had been fed to the press.
- Danica offers Blake a substantial reward to eliminate the New York cell of Sudden Dawn, and to secure their cache of explosives and weapons.
- Danica gives Blake the location of their weapons dump, heavily guarded and full of explosives. Blake does not waste time in wading in.
- After incapacitating most of the group, Blake runs into the leader of the cell. "I've read about you. You're the one they call Blake, aren't you. Well I suppose that makes me Travis"
- After a few minutes conversation, and a tour of their facility, Travis is able to convince him that Danica Sterling knew the location of Sudden Dawn's weapons dump because Hyperion Arms had been supplying them with weapons up until recently. Their idealism was being used by the corporations for nefarious purposes. Only now that they had become a splinter faction of Sudden Dawn were their actions deemed unacceptable.
- Blake offers a compromise, allowing Travis and the members of Sudden Dawn to escape, but not with their weapons. Blake destroys the warehouse in a massive explosion, obliterating the building and all the explosives inside.
- Blake reports back to Danica Sterling that the cell was destroyed, and that he was unable to secure the weapons. Sterling fires back that Blake knows that isn't entirely true. She somehow knows that Travis is still alive, prompting Blake to confront her with the information that Travis gave him.
- Not bothering to confirm or deny the accusation, Sterling launches into a speech about there not being countries anymore only corporations, with employees swearing allegiance to logos not flags. She states that Blake must learn to think on a global scale before questioning her actions.
- Once Blake leaves, she makes a phone call to a man who is watching another man in an adjacent building with a pair of binoculars. She asks for a report, and the man says 'The Senator has reconsidered his options"
- A moment later the Senator in the adjacent building walks to his balcony and pitches himself off the edge, falling to his death. The watcher is Thanatos, and he reports his success in his mission. Danica Sterling informs him that the payment is in his account, and that she needs him to come to New York.
- She has another job for the assassin. One of her assets has attempted to deceive her, and must now be eliminated. The name of the target is Blake Carson.
18. BECAUSE I COULD NOT STOP FOR DEATH (1x18)
- The Nippler sends a threat to Craven at the Inquisitor, claiming that he is Blake's arch-nemesis, and that he is going to bomb the Yamamoto Labs laser research facility that evening, knowing that Blake does not dare show up to stop him.
- When Blake attempts to foil the Nippler's schemes, he is attacked with an ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) weapon, liquefying his internal organs. The effects are incredibly painful. While he recovers, the Nippler gets away. Investigations reveal that there were no charges set anywhere in the building, but some of the equipment had been stolen.
- The Nippler's next target is announced as the Advanced Fusion Systems test facility on Three Mile Island. Again the Nippler confronts Blake, this time with thick black gloves and pressurized hose attached to his backpack. Again Blake meets a grisly fate as he is doused with a pressurized blast of highly corrosive acid. Several layers of Blake's skin bubble away in screaming agony while he stumbles about looking for a solution, eventually using a fire hose to blast his ruined body clean of the corrosive acid. Again, no charges, but missing equipment.
- Another target is announced, but Blake says forget it. While on the phone with Craven calling the Nippler every name in the book, Craven shouts him down, saying that he has taken Cassie. Forwarding Blake the email, an attachment is a photo of the Nippler standing next to Cassie with a gun to her head and a manic smile on his face. With his other hand, the Nippler is pointing at a sign indicating warehouse 23.
- Blake arrives and meets with the Nippler. The Nippler shows Blake the plasma bolt weapon that he constructed from the stolen components from the previous robberies.
- Though he agrees to let Cassie go, at the last moment the Nippler fires the plasma bolt at her, forcing Blake to dive in front of the blast to save her life. Battle ensues and the weapon is destroyed, but rather than risk further danger Blake carries Cassie to safety.
- When they have reached a safe distance, Blake collapses. Rolling him over to look at the wound left by the Plasma Bolt, Cassie sees that the wound is dire. However what she does not realize is that the wound is not regenerating at all.
19. DAMAGE (1x19)
- Cassie takes Blake to see Dr. Wallick, who closes up his office to deal with Blake's injuries.
- When Dr. Wallick hesitates to begin treatment of the injury, Cassie forces him to explain Blake's condition and his desire for death.
- Blake had left instructions to contact Jeff Albright if some judgment had to be made regarding Blake's health, due to his unswerving loyalty and blatant disregard for conventional morality.
- When Jeff gets the call, he is at the comics store with Nikki, who demands to be brought along. She gets a cold reception from Cassie who sits nervously at Blake's bedside holding his hand.
- The debate rages between the four, with Jeff advocating doing nothing and letting the wound run its course, Dr. Wallick torn between studying the effect of the injury on Blake's regeneration and the duty of his Hippocratic Oath, and the unlikely alliance of Cassie and Nikki who advocate treating the injury.
- During the argument, Blake begins to regain consciousness and does so in screaming pain. The injury and Blake's regeneration have reached a homeostasis resulting in continuous cell death around the wound, and incredible pain for Blake.
- Blake is sedated and again the four debate, questioning allegiances and what Blake would want, revealing their particular ties to Blake and each person's agenda.
- When it comes out that Blake was injured while saving Cassie, Nikki can't help but be jealous in a perverse way that it hadn't been her that was kidnapped as the object of Blake's affections.
- Blake begins to overcome the sedative more rapidly each time, leading Dr. Wallick to believe that his body is overcoming what it perceives to be a improper state for Blake's body. Soon they will have to force the issue.
- Eventually Blake wakes up and excises the wound himself, cutting it out of himself with his pocket knife amidst incredible pain. After the job is done, he passes out and the new flesh is able to regenerate. The tissue samples are preserved for further study.
20. THANATOS (PART ONE) (1x20)
- Blake's desire for suicide inexplicably increases, prompting random attempts at inopportune times. Blake finds himself attempting methods that he has already tried, unable to control his compulsions to end his own life.
- Blake begins to suspect something when he begins having death visions of a shadowy figure watching him from a seemingly great distance. He feels another presence within his mind as he returns to life, whispering at the edge of his hearing the word "Thanatos"
- Asking Jeff to research the term, he uncovers scattered information about an assassin who performs impossible acts of murder. The few accounts that had been linked to him indicate that the victims were always in public in plain view or in a locked room, and always the victim's wounds were self-inflicted.
- Jeff locates a dossier on the assassin in the NSB database which speculates that Thanatos has a method of "pushing" his victims into committing suicide, giving in to their "death drive" as speculated by Freud, hence the significance of his name.
- Anecdotal evidence on the internet from the tinfoil hat crowd speculate that he may have some form of psychic ability.
- A number of different pictures were attached to the file, all listed as associates, but not one photo of Thanatos existed.
- The episode comes to a head when Cassie unexpectedly drops by Blake's apartment, the apartment that they once shared, and begins making overtures at getting back together with Blake. Her responses and reactions times seem somewhat off to Blake, and when she begins to press him for information about his suicidal tendencies, showing a great deal more acceptance towards the subject than she's ever done before, Blake knows that she is being manipulated.
- Under domination, Cassie jumps off the balcony of Blake's apartment. A moment behind her, Blake leaps off the balcony as well. Catching a railing of a lower floor balcony, he propels himself downward, and catches her. In a moment of incredible dexterity, he twists in flight, and throws her upward with all his strength before impacting on the concrete sidewalk below. Cassie's upward arc smashes her through a plate glass sliding door of a higher balcony, much to the shock and terror of the apartment's occupants.
- The episode closes with Blake and Jeff standing outside Cassie's hospital bed. She has many injuries and is in a coma near death. Blake vows vengeance.
21. THANATOS (PART TWO) (1x21)
- Thanatos begins to probe Blake's mind, taunting him with mental images of his dead parents, of his failed relationship with Cassie, with his growing attraction to Nikki despite his unresolved feelings for Cassie, and how any emotional attachment to either woman is entirely incompatible with Blake's ultimate goal of self-destruction.
- The frequency and duration of the mental assaults lead Blake to believe that Thanatos can only use his powers against him for a certain amount of time before having to rest in order to try again. These assaults grow progressively more intimate and detailed as Thanatos becomes accustomed to the geography of Blake's mind.
- Thanatos plays on Blake's fears and insecurities, pushing Blake to the brink of madness. A loss of control, of identity, rapidly becomes one of Blake's greatest fears.
- Blake, used to solving issues with brute force, finds that his physical abilities are entirely useless against an enemy that attacks his mind. His impotent rage leads him to adopt a radical strategy.
- He visits Cassie one last time, then enlists Dr. Wallick to use a defibrillator to stop his heart. Blake kills himself over and over again, concentrating on the shadowy figure in the deathscape, willing himself towards it. Each death brings him closer, closing in on the watcher. Dr. Wallick cautions him that each death is only serving to make him stronger, but Blake is driven by revenge for the attempt on Cassie's life.
- When he reaches the place where the shadow crouches in the deathscape, Blake is able to push back into the mind of the observer, seeing Thanatos' location in the real world, his real face. Blake races to the scene for a final confrontation, pushing past the mental assault of illusion and compulsion and murdering the assassin with his bare hands.
- Later, by Cassie's bedside, Jeff brings Blake some disturbing news. The man that Blake had killed had been identified as an accountant from New Jersey who had never travelled abroad, who had an alibi for several of the assassinations believed to have been committed by Thanatos. He had gone missing six weeks before, having not come back from his lunch break at work.
- Blake and Jeff put it together from the pieces; psychic ability, a number of different pictures listed as associates, no photo of Thanatos himself. The man believed to have been Thanatos was merely a "relay", a disposable face man for dealing with clients. Blake had murdered an innocent man, and the real Thanatos was still out there.
22. HALF BLAKED (1x22)
- The streets erupt in random gang warfare as the Nippler launches a crime spree of unprecedented proportions amidst the chaos. Blake and the police cannot keep up with the rash of crime and panic that has descended upon the city. Looting and vandalism are everywhere as madness seizes New York.
- The threat level is significant enough to warrant the intervention of the National Security Branch of the NSB, considering the acts of the Nippler as domestic terrorism. Blake and Agent Samuels are forced to work together with the local police to coordinate their efforts and try to bring the situation under control.
- It becomes obvious in short order that the Nippler is gathering components again to reconstruct a plasma bolt weapon. Blake attempts to get ahead of the madness by setting up an ambush at the next component location.
- What Blake does not realize is that he has played into the Nippler's hands. The location is a trap, the Nippler having gotten there first and waited for Blake's arrival. Blake is peppered with tranquilizer darts, knocking him unconscious.
- Blake awakens, strapped to a table with a section of his spine removed to prevent him from moving. The Nippler has reconstructed a larger version of his plasma bolt device, and takes a second to monologue about earthworms.
- He compares Blake to a worm and how the largest piece always regenerates into a whole worm. The Nippler thinks back to his childhood and how he discovered that they don't regenerate if you sliced them right down the middle.
- Activating the plasma bolt, Blake is sliced from the groin upwards, screaming in agony the entire time as his body is split in half.
- During the process, but too late to stop it, the NSB raids the facility, gunfire erupting all around as the Nippler's minions and SWAT teams led by Agent Samuels do battle.
- After completing the process, the plasma bolt sustains fire and explodes, sending shrapnel and debris everywhere. In the confusion, the Nippler escapes, heavy losses sustained on both sides of the conflict. The remaining SWAT agents and Samuels go after the Nippler, leaving Blake's body alone in the wreckage.
- The two halves of Blake and the table that he was strapped to have fallen outwards, dumping Blake's half corpse unceremoniously to the floor amidst the rubble.
- A slow fade to black on an ominous musical cue, interrupted by a sudden close up of Blake's eyes snapping open. The view slowly pulls out as Blake looks around in a daze. An indeterminate amount of time has passed, and the right half of Blake's body has regenerated, his wardrobe neatly charred down the middle, leaving him with clothes on the left side of his body only. Literally half naked, Blake sits up and puts a hand to his aching head.
- Wearily he mutters "What the fuck?" only to hear his sentiment echoed in stereo five feet away. Sitting up further, Blake peers over the severed table and is shocked to look into his own eyes. Sitting on the opposite side of the wreckage is an exact mirror image of himself, clothed only the right side of his body.
- After a few beats of shocked silence, the words come again in stereo "What the fuck!"
Comments
20:29 Wed Oct 8th, 2008
Buddy, this is fantastic and incredible. Part of me wishes I had not read it for when this baby comes to light it is going to be awesome!
22:02 Wed Oct 8th, 2008
Based on what Asclepius and Juiceboy said, I think I'm going to skip reading this so that I can enjoy it unspoiled when it comes to TV!
22:17 Wed Oct 8th, 2008
genre - I hope to make a fast buck selling what I know to the tabloids! ;) But if I was on the minion payroll....
22:29 Wed Oct 8th, 2008
There's four more years too. This is only a small taste of what I have planned for the story.
06:18 Thu Oct 9th, 2008
I had a question about something Hughsie suggested about the Nippler, but in case you used that suggestion, I'll keep my question to myself for fear of ruining the show. I could still use it to make a quick buck off the tabloids though!
06:57 Thu Oct 9th, 2008
See if that was the case, I could have just not answered. No, the identity of the Nippler and the exact nature of his abilities (if any) are of no consequence to the story.
07:00 Thu Oct 9th, 2008
Good to know Blake's arch nemesis is of no consequence to the story!
11:16 Thu Oct 9th, 2008
Maybe it's nitpicking, but that's not really how earthworms work. But being a guy named The Nippler maybe he's supposed to have incorrect information.
11:32 Thu Oct 9th, 2008
Other than that, though, a tremendous amount of work. Not that I'd expect anything less. However, these are half-hour shows, right? They'd have to be based on these episode outlines. If you look at your first issue, if you timed it out to an on-screen type thing, it'd take maybe 15 minutes to get through, so I think you might be protracting stuff a bit. I think a better tactic, especially since you seem to be aiming this at a cable-type network [which you have to be, really], is condense the number of episodes to 12, each one being longer, and have more actually happen in each episode.
11:53 Thu Oct 9th, 2008
JMc: "Arch Nemesis" would be using his words, not Blake's. And it's not that he's of no consequence, it's his identity that is. He's just some guy in stupid tights with a stupid name.
Will: Ideally on a network like FX or HBO, 13 episode seasons would be very compressed. I'd end up with a seven or eight year run of shows, and I'd probably still have to cut out some of the sub-plots. However 22 episodes was the structure I was asked for, so 22 episodes I've provided.Â
And I'd be able to extend the pilot to 44 minutes without a problem, considering all the additional character introductions, and the scenes that I cut out of the original issue, plus it would give me a chance to give the fight scene the love it deserves.Â
09:27 Sun Nov 30th, 2008
This is incredible. I'm trying to forget everything I read so I 'll be surprised when I see the show! Good job!
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Asclepius
15:02 Wed Oct 8th, 2008
Wow, this is a really great outline for a first season. Someone would be crazy not to pick this up, I enjoyed reading the outline more than I enjoy watching most current television shows.