THE BOTTOM LINE
'First things first, let me make it
abundantly clear that you're all safe job-wise. Just because we're bringing
back Reactor Cannon doesn't mean that
any of what you're doing has to come to an abrupt halt.
'Now then, this is a rough breakdown
of what we're going to do with the reboot. Yes, I did just use that dreaded
word. I feel that it would work best in the current climate if we started
fresh, returning to the TV show's sci-fi serial roots. Namely the 8-12 year old
demographic. So as not to confuse the new audience, it just makes sense that we
bring in an all-new cast.
'But that doesn't mean we're
dismissing the original 70's cast outright. In fact I have a rather crafty way
of bringing them into the new series later on. However I think it'd be wiser if
we focused on the new lot for the time being for obvious reasons.
'To answer the question I see
playing on John's lips, seen as how you have the original cast on contract for
the 'Continued Adventures' audio dramas, you needn't worry. Carry on until the
ends of their contracts and then we'll arrange something new. Love to them all
by the way.
'As for the novels, Tom, it'd be
great if you could create a new series to follow the rebooted show. It'll mean
splitting focus, perhaps toning down your magnificently rich and complex
current series, but I'm confident you can manage it. I will, of course, be
getting out a rundown of the first series episodes to you all as soon as we've
settled on the order. We certainly don't want any crossed wires. I have a list
of writers I want involved in the first few books. You included too, of course,
Tom.
'Now I just want to say welcome to
the team, Pat, I've been hearing some fantastic things about your editorial
skills on the web comics. I want to get in contact with you ASAP; as I'm sure
you know we're bringing back the good old Reactor
Cannon Monthly magazine and we'll need comics from the get-go. Am I right
in thinking you have nothing in the works at the moment? Great.
'Now I've got to be going; we're
starting bright and early for auditions. Tomorrow we're looking for the next
Estefan and Lorna. Trust me, we will find the best. Thanks, guys.'
TIME'S UP - Novel Extract
'Shit,' Tom said. He sat at the
corner of the bed. John was switching off the laptop at the table and Pat was
just stepping into the bathroom. No matter how much they tried, they couldn't
seek out enough space for themselves in the rather small hotel room. It was
under Tom's name.
Tom swept back his curly brown hair
and bit his bottom lip with his overbite. He pulled his tie out from under the
stiff collar of his cream shirt and threw it behind him.
'Shit,' he said again.
John looked back at him. The scrawny
old man with snow-white hair looked anxious himself but he was holding a lot
back, Tom could tell. There was a small rivalry between them.
'Not to worry, old chap,' John
eventually said. 'At least our projects are still green-lit.'
'Oh fuck off, John,' Tom grumbled.
'Your radio series is fine.'
'For the time being,' John said.
Pat switched the light off in the
bathroom. She was still brushing her short black hair. Tom realised that he
could actually look her in the eye whilst sitting down, she was so small.
'I don't really see what the problem
is,' she said. 'Just more work.'
'Weren't you listening?' Tom
snapped. 'That was Peter's awfully polite way of telling us that our hard work
for the past twenty years has just been largely disregarded.'
'When did he say that exactly?'
'It was in the subtext!'
'Really, Tom.' John stood up. 'I
don't think you need to shout at the girl.' He turned to Pat. 'I think what Tom
is really angry about is the sudden change of canon.'
'Canon?' Pat frowned.
Tom sighed. 'She doesn't even know
what canon is...'
'You're familiar with how the
original Reactor Cannon series ended, yes?' John said.
Pat nodded. John smiled.
'The satellite was destroyed with
everyone on board. It was the king of all cliff-hangers. Now Tom and I have
been working together since then to carry on the series, first as well-meaning
fans then as thriving businessmen. We continued the story. I picked up from the
cliff-hanger with my audio drama Remnants
and then Tom began the novel line with his book Days of Reconstruction.
'Since then we have taken the story
in several directions. It was our story really until Peter announced he was
bringing the show back. The story we had made was canon as far as the other
fans were concerned. We had the license, we had the characters, we took them to
hell and back.
'However now Peter has just told us
that the show is starting from the beginning, our story has to come to an end.
It may no longer have meaning to the show's future, it may no longer be canon.'
Pat shook her head. 'Sorry. I kept
hearing canon as cannon.'
Both Tom and John frowned at her.
'As in Reactor Cannon,' Pat said. 'Two
'n's instead of one.'
'Three 'n's,' Tom interrupted.
'God's sake.'
'Look, do you remember what we were
talking about in the lobby?' John said.
Tom watched the old man run his lovable
granddad routine on the little woman. She looked off into the distance above
his head, one eye squinting. 'I have a vague recollection.'
AN HOUR AGO - Comic Script
PAGE
1
1.1
PAT,
steps through the hotel entrance doors, her scarf eschew. She isn't quite
certain where to go and quite frankly the bright lights in the lobby are a
little blinding. Perhaps we can show this through a slight squint in her eyes
and flailing hands. Or is that too cartoony? I know, I know, this ain't the
funny pages.
1.2
Close-up
of JOHN, a rather dashing mature gentleman. He has his green coat folded over
in his arm. He offers his other hand.
JOHN
1: You are Patricia May, yes?
JOHN
2: I'm John Bradford. Hello there.
1.3
PAT
is quite taken with JOHN; she's always had a thing for older men. Make her a
bit starry-eyed for me. She takes his hand.
PAT
1: Yes. Hi, John.
PAT
2: Sorry, who do you represent again?
1.4
They're
moving up the lobby now, towards the stairwell. Long-shot, I suppose. JOHN is
smiling.
JOHN:
Grand Flourish Studios. I'm the chap who makes the audio adventures. CDs and so
forth.
PAT:
With the Reactor Cannon cast?
JOHN:
Yes.
1.5
JOHN
holds open the door for PAT. She's still gazing at him as she passes.
PAT:
I'm the new editor of Space Age Comics.
JOHN:
I heard.
1.6
They
ascend the stairs. Is there a clean way of going from behind them to straight
in front of them? Perhaps I'm over-thinking this. Either way, they're now side
by side.
JOHN:
I've even picked up a few issues.
PAT
1: I used to script a few. Perhaps you've read them?
PAT
2: I was sort of fast-tracked to this position.
JOHN:
I see.
PAGE
2
2.1
Long-shot
- now it might be a good time to show them from behind again. Come to think of
it, we should vary up the perspectives of this conversation. They've reached
the first landing.
PAT:
Do you know what's going on here today?
JOHN:
Well, I've been led to believe that we're having a video call in Tom's room. You've
met Tom, right? Tom Wallace?
PAT:
Oh yes. The one with the teeth and curls?
2.2
Mid-shot
- focus on JOHN. He's laughing at that one. He has quite a warm laugh if you
can show that.
JOHN
1: Ha, ha. Yes, I suppose that's a good description as any.
JOHN
2: He's the chief editor of Beyond the
Reactor Cannon novel series, by the way.
2.3
Mid-shot
- focus on PAT. She's got an embarrassed smile on her face.
PAT:
I know.
2.4
Long-shot
behind - they start ascending the next set of steps.
JOHN
1: We often work together.
JOHN
2: We do squabble though.
2.5
Mid-shot
in front of them - PAT turns to JOHN with a frown.
PAT:
Squabble?
2.6
Mid-shot
of JOHN.
JOHN
1: Oh, yes. Mostly about what's
canonical.
JOHN
2: Nearly there now, I think.
PAGE
3
3.1
They
reach the top of the stairs. Didn't really want that entire sequence to go on
for that long. I'm starting to think an elevator would be a little less
laborious.
PAT:
Canonical?
JOHN:
He thinks that not everybody got off the ship in the cliff-hanger. He says that
there were prisoners still aboard.
3.2
They
move towards the next set of doors. There's a sign beside them - ROOMS 40-50.
PAT:
I thought it was a weapon satellite.
JOHN:
It was.
3.3
They
start up the corridor.
JOHN:
They just kept a few dangerous characters in the lower parts. Nasty alien types
that couldn't be just booted out into space.
3.4
I'm
quite comfortable keeping behind them as they move up the corridor but it is of
course up to you what would look more visually pleasing.
JOHN
1: I think they kicked the prisoners out before the final series but Tom
insists that they were still aboard.
JOHN
2: He's written about them but I haven't once acknowledged their death in that
way.
3.5
Mid-shot
- they're standing outside Room 46, one on either side. JOHN knocks.
PAT:
Oh. Okay.
JOHN:
Fans never completely agree.
3.6
The
door opens. TOM, all teeth and curls, is stood in front of them.
TOM
1: Come in, come in.
TOM
2: The computer's already booting up.
'Well I'm glad she understands now,'
Tom said, though he didn't really mean it. 'I suppose comics aren't too
concerned with knowing the finer details.'
'Excuse me?' Pat said.
'It just doesn't seem to me like you
know much about this show. You haven't really read up on it. Or even what John
and I have done to keep the show going.'
'Well, I'm very sorry that I'm not
up to your level of knowledge,' Pat snapped, folding her arms. 'In case you
didn't know I've only just taken this job. The previous editor never really
told me much about the 'canons' of all our licenses. He just told me to keep an
eye on the quality of the stories, run them by whoever owns the property from
time to time.'
'Please, Pat,' John said. 'Try not
to take too much of what Tom says to heart. He's hurt because he now has extra
work on his hands.' He turned to Tom. 'Which might just be a blessing, you
know. For both of us.'
Tom stood up. 'What do you mean?'
'Like the man said, a fresh start.
Isn't this what we both want, Tom? Reactor
Cannon back on the air. What's more, we're going to help bring it back.
This is our opportunity.'
'And what will the original cast
say?'
'Oh, I've talked to most of them,
they agree that they couldn't really re-enter the roles. It's a young man's
show.'
'Then why are they still doing the
audios?'
John sighed. 'Do I really have to
spell it out, Tom? Their voices haven't changed much but their bodies have.
There's no double standard here.'
'Look, do we really have to argue?'
Pat said.
'You don't.' Tom turned to her.
'You're safe. Peter said as much.'
'For goodness sake! We're all safe!'
John raised his voice. 'We'll probably have to phase out our current projects
eventually but that's it. The show is back, Tom! We've done our bit to keep it
going and yet we're still wanted. Reactor
Cannon hasn't been cancelled again, it's been rebooted!'
Tom moved back to the bed, laying
down. 'I hate that term.'
'It's an Americanism, isn't it?' Pat
said.
'Yes.' John scratched his nose. 'I
believe so.'
Tom folded his arms. 'Always so confident,
John.'
'And what's wrong with that?' Pat
said.
John laughed. 'What's wrong with
that indeed?'
EARLIER IN THE HOTEL LOBBY -
Radio Script
SCENE
1 - INT Hotel Lobby. Background noises - guests booking in at the front desk,
the clack and roll of wheeled luggage across linoleum floor, doors closing
heavily, occasionally a phone ringing.
JOHN:
Hello, Peter. This is John.
PETER:
John? [beat] I thought we weren't holding the meeting for another hour or so
yet.
JOHN:
We still are. I just wanted to make a quick phone call before then.
PETER:
What's up, John?
JOHN:
I just wanted to let you know that our recording studios are ready for you as
and when you need them.
PETER:
Well that's great, John, but we didn't ask for that.
JOHN:
I know. I'm just [beat] planning ahead, as it were.
PETER:
John. I hope this isn't an attempt at bribery.
[JOHN
laughs]
JOHN:
Of course not, Peter! Perish the thought! I just thought you might need to
borrow some of the sound effects and what not. Do you have everything you need?
PETER:
Right now, yes.
JOHN:
Fantastic. That's fantastic. I just wanted to let you know that all you have to
do is ask. Grand Flourish is very happy to get involved with Reactor Cannon's
comeback, very happy to ally our unique resources with yours.
PETER:
That's great, John. Your enthusiasm is commendable. Just maybe tone it down a
bit until we've got everyone on board. [beat] Okay?
JOHN:
Yes. Yes, that is okay.
PETER:
Talk again in a bit, John.
[SFX:
a button being depressed on a phone]
JOHN:
Okay.
[JOHN
sighs]
'Fine,' Tom said. 'I suppose it
won't kill me to bring out a new line. I am a bloody publisher after all, I
have to get stuff out no matter how much it compromises my previous work.'
'That's good.' Pat smiled. 'And, worst
comes to worse, we can always meet to discuss the new canonical state.'
'That's just canon, Pat,' John said.
Tom stood up. 'I don't think she
quite has it yet.'
'I don't think any of us have it
yet.' John approached him.
'Well, I'm going downstairs for a
drink.'
'We'll join you,' Pat said.
They all moved towards the door. Pat
looked up at John.
'So, John, are you available?'
He frowned. 'What do you mean?'
'Sorry, got that out a bit wrong.
Are you single?'
'Oh. Yes.' John's face softened as
he held open the door for her. 'Who would have me anyway?'
Pat gave him a wry sideways glance.
Tom was already at the elevator, thumbing the button and muttering to himself.
He had something of a plan fixing together in his head, very simple but
relevant.
'It'll have to do,' he said.
