Welcome back to the Pilot Pirate, where we preview the latest scripts looking for a home on the 2011-12 primetime TV schedule. Each week, we read and preview some of the projects interest to the AfterEllen.com community, breaking down scripts to help you, the optimistic TV fan anxiously awaiting the next Modern Family or Glee, keep up with the onslaught of pilots in contention.
A reminder: These are early stage scripts that are likely to be revised and, in some cases, drastically change before filming, and only some of which will make it to the airwaves.
This week:
Pilot: Hallelujah (drama)
Writer: Marc Cherry (Desperate Housewives)
Network: ABC
Logline: A stranger arrives in the small Tennessee town of Hallelujah to restore the faith of its residents.
Cast: Jesse L. Martin, Donal Logue, Terry O’Quinn, Arielle Kebbel, Della Reese, Robbie Amell, Zoey Deutch, Frances O’Connor.
Director: Michael Apted (Stardust, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader)
The characters:
Caleb Turner, a boozing self-professed “sinner,” skirt-chaser and younger brother to Rye (Jonathan Scarfe)
Rye Turner, the town’s most upright citizen (Logue)
Ruth Turner, Rye’s wife and the organ player at the local church (O’Connor)
Matthew Turner, 8, the special needs son of Ruth and Rye (Griffin Cleveland)
Willow Turner, 18, Ruth and Rye’s loyal daughter
Del Roman, the polar opposite of Rye and the wealthiest guy in Hallelujah (O’Quinn)
Veda Roman, Del’s 26-year-old bride (Kebbel)
Gideon Roman, Del and Veda’s upstanding son who is nothing like his father (Amell)
Dulcie Prejean, the free-speaking townie who, while blind, sees everything that goes on in town and isn’t afraid to stir things up (Reese)
Jared O’Neal, a mysterious stranger who rolls into town (Martin)
Hallelujah takes the age-old and clichéd Hatfields vs. McCoys family drama story here and kicks it up two notches, adding a mysterious stranger with healing powers and a gospel choir to the story of a town whose residents could use a lot of help.
On one hand, there are the Turners, a family led by Rye (Donal Logue, Terriers), who is an upstanding family man who does his best to take care of his family and the town in general. With wife Ruth (Frances O’Connor, Cashmere Mafia), he has two kids: Willow, who works at the family’s diner, and son Matthew who, at age 8, has yet to speak. Doctors have told Ruth and Rye that their son will likely never lead a normal life and will need constant care.
On the other hand are the Romans, with Del (Terry O’Quinn, Lost) at the forefront. He’s powerful, wealthy and has everyone – including the town’s sheriff – in his back pocket. He’s got a fancy May-December marriage to Veda (Arielle Kebbel, Life Unexpected), a beautiful woman who is fooling around behind his back. Married because he liked the way she looked, Del is completely consumed by jealousy and will do anything, including murder, to make sure Veda remains by his side, despite how miserable they both are. Veda, meanwhile, has her own reasons for staying and has more character in her pinky finger than Del has in his entire body.
Enter Jared O’Neal (Jesse L. Martin, Rent), a mysterious drifter who arrives in town and immediately sees the best in just about everyone, especially the Turners. At the same time, Jared also has no problem seeing the worst in the Romans and encourages Rye to keep the faith and do what’s best for himself and the community at large.
With church the regular meeting place for both families, the gospel choir touch is interesting, if not effectively conveyed through the script. How it translates to the screen will be interesting as it is peppered throughout the script.
Reading the script before casting, I could only picture Logue as Jared; his casting as the upstanding Rye seems more suited to Martin and Logue was beyond terrific as the scrappy private investigator in FX’s critical favorite Terriers. O’Quinn as the primary villain is a somewhat curious role for the Lost alum to take here as the part seems pretty straight villain while the actor is capable of so much more.
Among the subplots are a (predictable) budding romance between the feuding families’ offspring and a murder mystery that will match Del against Jared. Should Hallelujah move beyond the pilot stage, what it could stand is a gay story line examining the way homosexuality is viewed when it comes to organized religion.
Overall, the script from Desperate Housewives mastermind Marc Cherry seems to replace the lunacy of the long-running ABC drama and replace it with religion, delivering the ultimate message of you reap what you sow.
Pilot Pirate outlook: Interesting premise but the religious component could turn viewers off should it go to series.
Pilot: The Doctor (drama)
Writer: Rina Mimoun (Privileged)
Network: CBS
Logline: A mother joins the family medical practice and reconnects with her adult children after the death of her husband.
Cast: Christine Lahti, Eva Amurri, Scott Foley, Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Boatman.
Director: David Nutter (Shameless, ER, The X-Files)
The characters:
Emily Campbell, a former stay at home mother who has transitioned to a stay at home wife of Ben, a doctor who runs a family practice (Lahti)
David Campbell, 30s, Emily’s cocky son, a brilliant surgeon (Foley)
Natasha Campbell, 26, Emily’s daughter (Amurri)
Jason Walden, Ben’s business partner and best friend (MacLachlan)
Robert Brody, the chief of staff at Hartford Medical Center (Boatman)
It’s been nearly 30 years since Emily Campbell (Christine Lahti, Chicago Hope) graduated from Harvard Medical School. In that time, she has devoted herself to her family: Husband Ben runs a family medical practice; son David is a brilliant doctor who also works at the practice; and daughter Natasha, well, every family has its dark horse.
Emily’s perfect life is thrown upside down when Ben dies: David begins to explore selling the family practice as his ego begins to take over and Emily’s already-strained relationship with Natasha – a recovering addict – is pushed to near total silence. Neither kid knows what to do with mom, who’s struggling to get through each day six months later until Natasha discovers her mother’s history as a brilliant surgeon who finished at the top of her class at Harvard and was among the leaders in her field until she gave it up to focus on her family.
Lahti, who spent five years practicing medicine on Chicago Hope, is perfect for the part. She’s smart without being over-the-top, a family woman who is still a feminist at heart and sharp enough to use a fellow doctor’s admiration in a fun way.
Scott Foley (Grey’s Anatomy) will make for a solid David: the first born who has no idea about the extent of his mother’s abilities who goes head-to-head with his sister after she stumbles on Emily’s numerous accolades and pushes for mom to return to medicine. David will be tasked with working with his mother at both the family practice and Hartford Medical, where she’ll be a resident.
There’s also a love triangle ready and waiting to happen should The Doctor get picked up to series: Ben’s business partner and former best friend, Jason (Kyle MacLachlan, How I Met Your Mother) and Robert Brody, the chief of staff at Hartford Medical – who had a crush on Emily when he was an intern – both make no secret about their feelings. Emily will be navigating both doctors’ affections in addition to processing the grief over the loss of her husband.
Natasha (Eva Amurri, Californication) is reminiscent of Lauren Ambrose‘s Claire Fisher in early seasons of Six Feet Under. The character is emotional and bold despite being 26-years old and still struggling to figure out who she is and where she fits in.
Overall, it’s a promising series with a stellar female lead in Lahti.
Pilot Pirate outlook: A family medical drama.
What do you think? Would you watch Hallelujah or The Doctor if they showed up come fall?
