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- A serialized Drama for Television
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- the Crew is a serialized drama following story arcs built around a Five
Member Contracting Team living in a major Mid Western Metropolis.
- The Five Members of the Crew are all Handsome, and Rugged, and
respectful and deferential in working with their female boss.
- The Five Members of the Crew are a bit like a “boy band” pitched for a
more mature demographic (with greater buying power!)
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- the Crew is a Television marketing opportunity built to appeal to the
following key demographics.
- Blue Collar Working class.
- Single Women
- Young Women
- Impressionable Young Males seeking Role Models
- Gay Community
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- Pharmaceuticals:
- Anti Depressants.
- Pain Killers.
- Nicotine Gums & Patches.
- Insurance.
- Healthcare.
- Automotive (Pickups).
- Finance Industry
- Credit Refinancing.
- 2nd Mortgages.
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- Pharmaceuticals:
- Cosmetics.
- Feminine Hygiene.
- Pet Care.
- Diet Industry.
- Desert / Snacks.
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- Pharmaceuticals:
- Cosmetics.
- Credit / Financial
- Feminine Hygiene.
- Diet Industry.
- Desert / Snacks.
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- Cola / Snacks / Fast Food / Sport
Drinks.
- Targeted Films (Summer Movies).
- Automotive.
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- Pharmaceuticals:
- Credit / Financial
- Travel
- Retail
- Automotive
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- the Crew is a Blue Collar Working Drama.
- In Tone it is similar to CBS’ Hack, or NBC’s ER. It is somber with a
tone of “Realness” though it must avoid ever becoming too gritty or male
in a way that might alienate female viewers.
- The Serial nature of the show will parallel programs like Love American
Style or The love boat.
- Each week the Crew will be at a different job site and encounter
different celebrity guest stars.
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- Tom Chapman aka “Chappy” and “The Chap.”
- Divorced.
- Lives alone.
- Plays Jazz drums.
- Foreman of “the Crew”.
- Hard Working.
- Tough as Nails
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- Ideal actor: Mercedes Reuhl.
- Owner / Operator and business manager of “the Crew”.
- Took over Crew from her now deceased father, Alan, a mentor of “The
Chap’s”.
- Sass with Class!.
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- Ideal actor: A contemporary Adrian Zmed..
- Ethnic Hot Head!
- #2 on Da Crew!
- Family man w. Young wife and 2 children.
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- Ideal actor: Troy from The Apprentice
- Southern Charmer.
- Firecracker wit.
- Self Confident.
- Ladies Man with a gentleman’s touch.
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- Ideal actor: Anthony Montgomery from Star Trek Enterprise
- With it.
- DJ in his spare time.
- Good to his mom.
- Working to keep his little bothers and cousins out of trouble.
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- Ideal actor: This guy from China Town..
- Karate master
- Punctual
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- Ideal actor: Judd Hirsch
- Arch Nemesis of the Crew.
- Chief planner for the City Zoning commission.
- Used to work in business with Miranda’s father Alan.
- Resentments from that relationship in the past carry over to his
treatment of the Crew today.
- Constantly butting heads with Tom Chapman.
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- Ideal actor: John Mahoney.
- “The Chap’s” estranged father.
- Owner of local watering hole “Sully’s” frequented by other members of
“the Crew”.
- Sully let’s Crew members drink for free just to keep up to date on his
son’s exploits.
- Major season 1 story arc will involve repairing relationship between
father and son.
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- The Crewcible Shel Feinman wants to close down a local orphanage and
change the city zoning laws around it to open a new bank in it’s place.
When Chappy finds out, and offers to work on the orphanage facilities to
bring them up to code for free, Shel retaliates by demanding City
authorities review the Crew’s insurance status.
- As a result each member of
the crew undergoes an intrusive probing interview with insurance
investigators. When the Crew finally prevails, Shel’s plans are thwarted
as a local reporter, a friend of the Chap’s, learns about the city’s
unfair treatment of the innocent orphans.
- In the episode’s closing scene Shel confronts the Chap in the orphanage
lobby, noting it’s peculiar the city zoning plans have been foiled by
someone who just happens to be the Chap’s personal friend.
- “You know what.” Shel tells the chap “at the end of the day you’re
nothing but a mole, a sewer rat, a ditch digger, and that’s all you’ll
ever be.”
- “That may be” the Chap responds in the powerful climax “But these kids
are going to grow up having the opportunities I never had, and nothing’s
going to change that, not you, or your fancy clothes, or your city hall
friends. Nothing. These kids are going to make it.”
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- The Main on Main St. A gas main threatens to explode causing the
evacuation of an entire neighborhood. This episode will echo the British
mini-series Danger UXB. Anthony Andrews guest stars.
- The Crewton The insurance company offers the Crew a rebate on their
rates if they become part of a trial test period for a robotic cable
splicer called “Crewton”.
- Voiced by Denis Haysbert “Crewton” is no mere device for Comedic
relief. He’s a complicated character in his own right.
- Crewton really proves his worth when he helps rescue a cat from an
electrical tower by precision targeting it with a tranq dart.
- “The Chap” recognizes the
potential of Crewton, but in a climactic scene with Judd Hirsch’s Shel
Feinman he declares: “If men can’t even dig in a ditch … then there’s no
place left for us!”
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- The dug out of my heart When The Chap travels to Chicago to see his
ex-wife, Santori tries to lead the Crew in digging a ditch that can only
be dug with Excalibur, the powerful hydraulic jack hammer Miranda’s
father Alan bequeathed to Chappy in his will.
- The other members of the Crew warn Santori that only “The Chap” can
handle the powerful jack hammer, but Santori is determined to show he
can handle “The Chap’s” tool.
Tragedy strikes as Santori tries to wield the Jack hammer, but is unable
to control it.
- Injured in a jack hammer accident Santori spends two days in a coma.
Chap returns to visit the hospital where Santori delivers a tearful
apology.
- “I thought I could handle it. I thought I could be as good as you… I
was wrong.”
- When Santori leaves the hospital, his young wife Esmeralda encourages
him to quit the Crew saying “Your children don’t even know you anymore
Johnny!”
- After a Crew Softball game with another Crew, Santori heads home with
Chappy intending to quit the Crew.
- “Santori” Chappy explains “you’re a part of something with the rest of
us… something that’s bigger than us all. Without any one of us, there
would be no Crew… tell your wife, tell Esmeralda she’s one of us too.
All of us… together, we’re more than a family. We’re a Crew!”
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- 2 live crew Johnny Santori’s band “Truth Squad” signs up for a battle of
the Bands. When a local bar the contest is slated to take place in burns
down, Sully Chapman offers to host the event in his bar for free.
- Sully is nervous about the event, anticipating it will provide him with
his first opportunity to introduce his new flame Kate to The Chap. Chap
is uncomfortable with his dad meddling with his Crew. The two have an
after hours heart to heart at Sully’s and share an emotional break through as they realize the way
the death of “The Chap’s” mother has influenced them both.
- Meanwhile, Johnny’s band faces stiff competition from a competing crew
of contractors lead by guest star Keifer Sutherland. Things look grim
for Johnny’s band until they agree to take a chance on his latest anthem
“Victory for Truth!”
- After Johnny’s band wins, they call The Chap to join them on stage, and
take a guest turn playing Jazz drums. As the crowd starts ball
room dancing to “The Chap’s” smooth brush work, Kate asks Sully “Is that
your son?”
- “Him?” Sully replies looking at the Chap. “He’s my friend.” He proudly
replies.
- Fade to black. End Season 1.
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- The life cycle of a television series is something which can be taken
into account from the earliest stages of development.
- It is anticipated that after an initial season the Crew will need to be
restructured to maintain viewer and advertiser interest.
- Two key innovations are intended for the series as it enters into it’s
second year.
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- Key Innovations for Season Two.
- New Story Arc.
- New Character.
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- the Crew Accepts contracting work from Kellogg Brown & Root.
- Chappy leads the Crew building oil pipe lines, and schools for children
in IRAQ!!!
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- Adoption of a New Character is a time honored strategy for rejuvenating
a television series.
- Utilization of an actor, or ideally, character with a pre-established
fan base is also an effective way of increasing a program’s viewership.
- Consider the series Trapper John MD on CBS loosely based on
reintroducing a character from M*A*S*H in a different context.
- In season two the Crew can reintroduce a character that has already
proven effective in reviving a network television series during it’s
second season.
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- Last of the Bird People.
- Alien from another planet.
- Loyal to Chappy for giving him a job without a green card.
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- Hawk’s combat skills will come in handy in season two when the Crew
travels to Iraq.
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- The first half of Season Two will closely follow the tone of Season one.
- Gritty
- Realistic
- Blue Collar
- The only change for the first 10 episodes will be the introduction of
Hawk to the Crew, otherwise the series tone remains the same until the
Crew is hired by Kellogg Brown & Root and ships out to Iraq Midway
through the season.
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- The Crewl truth In an early episode before the shift to Iraq, Chappy and
the Crew work to provide support on a construction site where they
encounter a bitter Native American steel worker with a troubled past.
Played by Star Trek Voyager’s Robert Beltran this Native American picks
fights with every member of the Crew and avoids them by climbing high
above the city on the steel framework of the building they are erecting.
- Finally he pushes the Crew too far, and Hawk demonstrates his amazing
bird like powers by climbing to confront the Native American.
- “You couldn’t possibly understand what the white man has done to my
people.” The native American will exclaim during the encounter.
- “Do not be so certain.” Hawk will reply. “My people were destroyed by
humans. I am the last of the bird people.”
- An Emmy contender to be sure this dramatic episode will force America
to confront it’s violent past through allegory in the best traditions of
thought provoking fiction and Science fiction.
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- Crew’s Missile While in Iraq the Crew gets loaned out to a group of
security contractors responsible for overseeing the reconstruction of
Abu Gharib.
- Guest Star Ed Harris plays “Sarge” a former army colonel who assigns
the Crew to restore electricity to the prison sufficient for running
several high powered search lights.
- As work progresses on installing specialized fuses, circuit breakers
and lighting systems, “The chap” begins to get suspicious.
- “What are you making a movie here?” The Chap asks.
- “Just take care of business” Sarge replies.
- Eventually The Chap figures out Sarge’s diabolical plan to use
Hollywood lighting and cameras to stage images of actors dressed as
American soldiers appearing to torture Iraqi prisoners who are actually
played by Mexican Extras.
- “What the hell are you doing?!” Chappy will ask confronting the Sarge.
- “When I get these pictures to my liberal friends at the New York times
there won’t be anymore war!!” Sarge declares.
- Chappy confiscates Sarge’s gun, reveals the deception, and saves the
day.
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- The life cycle of a television series is finite and this is something
which can be taken into account from the earliest stages of development.
- It is anticipated the Crew will last from 1 to 3 seasons.
- One of the Crew’s upsides will be the potential for Spin-offs.
- America! Prepare yourself for your next GREAT Romantic Comedy!!! A
revived CLASSIC with a whole new TWIST!!!
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Notes
