(Auto) Pilot: A Review of the Kings Pilot Script
Again and again you hear people complaining: “There’s nothing smart on TV. Shows talk down to their audiences. They don’t think we can handle nuance and complexity.” Okay, probably not those words exactly, but you know what I’m talking about. Well, people of the world, I present to you Michael Green’s ambitious Kings pilot script. And wish you good luck. Part West Wing, part Dirty Sexy Money, part Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, part Biblical/Arthurian/Carnivale-style grand mythology, Kings is a lot to digest on the page, so I can only imagine what it will be like to watch. But if you can absorb the complexity, wow, what a rich world you’re rewarded with.
Kings has the feel of a grand legend made gritty, realistic and modern. We begin with David Sheperd, a young soldier on the frontlines of the stalled war between Gilboa and Gath. His platoon occupies one hill; the armies of Gath, with their monstrous Goliath tanks, occupy the hill facing them. And so it has been for apparently quite a while. The Gilboans don’t attack the Gathans for fear of the tanks, and the Gathans seem content to hold their ground. Until a separate Gilboan platoon is overrun and soldiers are taken hostage.
Acting on feelings he doesn’t really understand, David disobeys orders and crosses enemy lines to rescue them. He succeeds, and the hostages make it back safely, but one of the Goliaths spots David and pins him down in the valley between the hills. What follows is not really an epic battle–call it luck, fate, whatever–but suffice it to say that David manages to take down the Goliath (get it?!) and return to his comrades a hero. Then fate really deals David the high card, as we learn that one of the soldiers he rescued is none other than Prince Jack, the only son of Silas, the Gilboan king.
From there David is whisked off to the capitol city of Shiloh, and the formal banquet in his honor is only the beginning of his meteoric rise. He treats with the king, wins the attention of the princess, generally annoys Prince Jack, and becomes the C.J. Cregg of Silas’ administration. Yes, crafty King Silas decides to make David the Military Liaison to the Press Corps and use his popularity and cute “aw, shucks” yokelism to deflect their scrutiny.
What follows involves a missing Blackberry, health care reform, an all-powerful pharmaceutical company, an all-knowing Reverend, hidden sexuality, war, sacrifice, and butterflies. Can’t forget the butterflies. You see, they serve as more than just the symbol of Gilboa–the same symbol you’ve been seeing on all the promos for the show–butterflies here are like The Sword in the Stone. The Lady in the Lake. They gave Silas the God-granted right to be king by alighting on his head in the shape of a crown many years ago… at least, that’s the story he likes to tell at parties. The exploration of this story’s validity–and whether Silas is still the chosen-by-God ruler–appears to be one of the central questions of the show.
So how is it to read? Fascinating. Page-turning. Amazing. And, by the end, a little overwritten and novel-like in the description. But those are problems that won’t show up on the screen unless they translate the action into dialogue. Instead, you’ll see an incredibly dense and beautifully crafted world being laid open to you, bit by bit. No one doles out the rules, you figure things out scene by scene, line by line. You want smart, complex, nuanced television? Look no further. But be careful what you wish for; this is one show that seems like it’s going to ask as much from its audience as that audience will ask from it.
Tune in to NBC tonight 8/7c, and tell us what you thought of the pilot in the comments.
Josh Roessler is one half of an aspiriting TV writing team in Los Angeles.You can read his TV spec scripts and other writing here. Josh also writes a blog called Boring Future Generations.
I'm really looking forward to this show. There's never actually been a dedicated paralell world/alternate history show on American TV before. A few episodes of SF series here and there, sure, but never a start-to-finish "Same world, different history" series before this. And beyond that, the premise looks pretty intriguing.
Wow. For the most part I think they did a great job translating what was great on the page into a fantastic pilot. What I'm most curious about… How did a 64 page script become a two-hour pilot? Because with a very few exceptions, what was on the page made it to the screen.
Will we be getting a formal review on Pink Raygun? Because I think it really deserved it. I was particularly moved by the confrontation on the steps when Gay Prince Jack gets dressed down by his dad. The way "Jack" played it was pretty amazing – he goes white, he gets the shakes, he actually starts to tear up while his dad is talking to him. That was pretty amazing acting…and everyone on the show was good.
I'm rather intrigued by the alternate universe concept, less so by the society portrayed within it. The heavy-handed patriarchy inevitably (at least on American TV) leads to sexism and homophobia. ::sigh::
The main thing that kept tripping me up was trying to figure out the geography of the world of Kings. I'm assuming that the capital city is Shiloh, Alabama, but I don't think we can equate the Gilboa/Gath war with the American Civil War, because the go to "the Vineyard", which means Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts in our world. So what are the national boundaries? When and where were the lines drawn? Has the lack of a united United States influenced the rest of the global culture? Looks like I'll have to keep watching in order to find out. (Ah ha. So that's the writers' dastardly plan. And it's working too.)
Robin —
While Gilboa is definitely meant to reflect the U.S. in certain ways, I don't yet get the feel that it's intended to be so literal in terms of geography, a la Alvin Maker or something like that. But what do I know? It is just the pilot, after all.
Robin –
I gotta' feel you're way off here: "Shiloh" is clearly, clearly, clearly intended to be an alternate-world version of New York City, which has been rebuilt after having lain in ruins for generations. Even the dumbasses over at Republibot got that right. Whether there ever was a "New York City" in this universe, or wether it was called "Shiloh" before it got destroyed, dunno. I think The Vinyard was probably Long Island.
Also, *maybe* the point of the show is to comment on the inequities of a heavy-handed patriarchy? In which case you've got to set that up onscreen before you can tear it down. And King Silas flat out said he believed in God *and* evolution, and his speech made it very clear that he personally didn't care about his son's orientation (Even going so far as to say it's the way God made him!), simply that it was unacceptable if he intended a political career.
Nothing evangelical in *any* of that.
Well, it could be trying to comment on patriarchy, and maybe even to some extent vilifying it, but in my opinion, the pilot supports the notion of patriarchy.
The real power struggles are between men — the king (obviously), the king's brother-in-law, the king's son, the preacher, and David. Also, I may be wrong, but I believe the king's panel (or whatever) largely, if not entirely, consisted of men. Sure, the princess spoke up about health care, but they make a point of the fact that she wasn't taken seriously. As far as the promos show, it seems that her purpose in the story is as the romantic interest. The king's wife certainly makes no play for power, instead she supports her son's attempt for power. And the king's mistress also makes no play for power, instead she supports his power. I would not be surprised if ultimately the princess takes a back seat and supports David's power. In the end, the women appear happy to let the men run the show.
That being said, I really like the princess character, and I hope they make use of her. I also loved the twist on the party boy. It made what could have been a very boring character really interesting. And I found the king's mistress interesting. I would love to understand more about what goes on in her head.
To me, it's an exploration of patriarchy as well as the women who (knowingly or not) support it, and I do find that interesting. Plus kings, princesses and god-sent butterflies are all really cool. Overall, I loved the show and will be tuning in again.
Yeah, I really liked most of that stuff, too, but I suspect the women will be playing more of a role as the show goes on. I don't know how closely they're going to follow the source material (My hunch is not too closely), but there's plenty of room for some of the women to become "The power behind the throne" kinds of things.
See, but that's where it really bothers me. Why must the women be behind the throne? Why can't they be on it? I realize that it's only the first episode (or two, depending on how you count such things), but the only woman we've seen who has what I consider autonomy is Mama Shepherd.
If they are, in fact, trying to shine a light on the inequities of patriarchy, I really hope they get to it soon. I can only take so much of "There, there, little woman, don't worry your pretty little head" before I have to walk away. Or punch the TV, but that's painful and expensive.
Well, I don't actually think they're trying to bust the evils of a male-centered world wide open, when it comes right down to it. Bottom line is that they're telling an updated version of the story of King David, which is one of the central tales of western society, and has been for millenia. I don't think they intend to be culture warriors about it, they're simply telling one of the root stories of the west in a new and entertaining fashion. Assuming they stick close to the source material (Which they've already diverged from considerably), the fact is women won't have too much of a role because there are no particularly prominent women in the story. Excepting, perhaps, Abagail and Bathsheba. And maybe the witch of Endor (And I don't know why I think this, but for some reason I suspect the king's mistress is going to be the witch)
If anyone's interested, I just posted a blog about the differences I noticed between the script I read and the episode that aired.
Yeah! WHere is it?
I just read somewhere that this show as at one point intended to replace ER in the Thursday Night Lineup, but given it's terribly awful ratings on sunday…
And again, I ask: where is it?
If you click on Josh's name above his comment, the link will bring you right to his blog.
Or you can just copy/paste this
http://boregenerations.blogspot.com/2009/03/scrip...
Oh. Duh. Thanks!