T.O.A.S.T.T - 2001
I
had been working on a novel for several years about a government project that
used criminals as time-traveling agents with weird code names. Each criminal would be given a second
chance when the project was complete if they did well.
It
was set to star Morgan Thomas as the anti-social yet brilliant computer hacker and
expert forger, Melantha Kalahi, who was given the code name Coyote. She was
both intellectually snobbish and deviously clever, but has a terrible time
getting along with anyone.
Actually most of them have trouble getting along with other people in
general and each other in particular. Coyote has serious trust and abandonment issues but I can't remember why.
Brittany
Ann Whalen was cast as the sexy con-artist and pyromaniac, Selena
Pipilini. Her code name was
Delilah, because she was beautiful, charismatic, and had a way of getting men
to do whatever she wanted. The
fact that she was a pyromaniac was an unusual addition to the sassy vamp style
of character she had going, but that made her more interesting.
Michelle
Chapman was cast as the mentally unstable assassin/serial killer Amelia Brenchly. Her code name was Sage, although now I
can’t remember why I gave her that code name. She definitely was the character
with the most layers and depth, and she had more of a dark history and secret
past than any of the others did.
Sage was a psychotic who was used as a guinea pig by the government to
see if they could cure and control a psycho to use as a weapon. She had a device implanted in her head
that prevented her from being able to kill anyone and there was an episode
towards the end of the season that had a plot revolving around what would
happen if her impulse control device stopped working during a mission (in
Victorian London of course).
In the grand yibble tradition of having
three female leads and one male, the last agent of the Time Team was a
guy. Mike D was cast as
the dark and brooding Jason Nevers (a name I am reusing because I like it so
much). His code name was Sorcerer
because he was good at making things disappear. He was the only agent who was not a convicted criminal. He was a former government agent on the
run from his employers because he knew too much and tried to quit. Somehow the
scientist in charge of the super secret project was able to let the government
give him a second chance as long as he stayed with the project, thus allowing
him to stop running for a while.
His main character traits resulted in him being the dark and brooding
nay-sayer of the group. His
biggest job in the group was the keep the others in line and out of trouble, so
he was the leader.
It
would also have starred Michael Meyer as Dr. Ross Gennings, the leading scientist
in charge of the operation. When I
asked Mike if he would be interested in playing the part he said he would only
do it if he could have a bionic eye and a robotic arm. I wasn’t sure how I was going to work
that, but I agreed. So in the
script, Ross is described as having a bionic eye and a robotic hand/arm, as
well as a partial prostheses leg so he walks with a limp. I came up with an explanation for it at
one point that somehow involved Jason saving him, but I can’t remember what it
was and apparently didn’t write it down.
On the surface he was a funny, honest, hard-working scientist with a
heart of gold, but he was not nearly as nice as he pretended and could bring
the rambunctious agents to standstill with a few strong words. He was in many ways like a father and
the agents were like his kids.
Most
of the modern scenes for the show took place in an underground super secret
military base, as you would expect.
The first episode was titled “Anything But Angels”. It was the pilot where all the
characters are introduced and the main plot of the series is set up. The characters go on a modern mission
to steal an ancient Egyptian statue of the cat goddess Baste named the Gift
Bearer, primarily to see if they can work together. Here’s an excerpt from this part of the script that I have to share
because I think it's funny and it sets up the initial interaction of the characters very nicely:
Of
course they completely and totally fail,
which results in Dr. Ross insisting on a music montage of team building excercises
such as go-cart racing, bowling, and a bad movie marathon. By the time the next mission comes up
they have a much better repoire with each other. The second mission takes into the home of a billionaire who
received stolen information about the project and they are tasked with getting
it back (someone else will do the “clean up”). Of course they manage to infiltrate the mansion while the
host is throwing a masquarade ball (of course, since it’s me), which included a
scene where Brittany and Michael’s characters had to do a dance routine as a
distraction while Michelle’s character beat up bodyguards and Morgan’s
character hacked into the host’s computer. They succeed with their mission, but just barely.
The
second episode introduced the first time-traveling mission. The agents are never told why they have
to change that moment in history, save that person’s life, etc., but they do it
in order to get their reward and avoid being killed for failing their
mission. The episode takes place
in Champaign, Illinois (gee wonder why I chose that place) in April of 1912,
and their mission is to stop a young widow from committing suicide after she is
told that her husband died on the Titantic.
Other
episodes would have included a trip to the Wild West, a mission in Ancient
Rome, a murder mystery in the Middle Ages, a trip to 17th century
France, and a misguided mission in match-making set in Regency England, as well
as a few episodes that take place entirely in the base.
This
show was actually the closest to be filmed than any other of the “lost”
productions, even Devil in Disguise.
Scripts for the first two episodes were written and the other ten episodes for the show were outlined and had some dialogue scenes written. There
were costumes designs, a few set designs, props had been purchased, I’d
actually written up a budget (that I can’t seem to find now), and locations
that were set, although nothing was scheduled. I gathered contact info from the cast and made sure they
were willing to film in the summer before school began. It was fully cast and ready to go. We even did a read through.
 |
| Background images are from graphicstock.com |
TOASTT,
also known as The Organization of Assassination, Spying, and Time-Travelling
was the TV show I started to produce after The Curse. It was set to be filmed during the summer and the 2001/2002
school year at SIU in Carbondale.
I
wanted to do a show about time traveling since I had found some great historic
locations in Southern Illinois and because I wanted a project that could use
costumes from several time periods. A time-travel adventure just sounded
fun.
I
had been working on a novel for several years about a government project that
used criminals as time-traveling agents with weird code names. Each criminal would be given a second
chance when the project was complete if they did well. 
It
was set to star Morgan Thomas as the anti-social yet brilliant computer hacker and
expert forger, Melantha Kalahi, who was given the code name Coyote. She was
both intellectually snobbish and deviously clever, but has a terrible time
getting along with anyone.
Actually most of them have trouble getting along with other people in
general and each other in particular. Coyote has serious trust and abandonment issues but I can't remember why.
Brittany
Ann Whalen was cast as the sexy con-artist and pyromaniac, Selena
Pipilini. Her code name was
Delilah, because she was beautiful, charismatic, and had a way of getting men
to do whatever she wanted. The
fact that she was a pyromaniac was an unusual addition to the sassy vamp style
of character she had going, but that made her more interesting. 
Michelle
Chapman was cast as the mentally unstable assassin/serial killer Amelia Brenchly. Her code name was Sage, although now I
can’t remember why I gave her that code name. She definitely was the character
with the most layers and depth, and she had more of a dark history and secret
past than any of the others did.
Sage was a psychotic who was used as a guinea pig by the government to
see if they could cure and control a psycho to use as a weapon. She had a device implanted in her head
that prevented her from being able to kill anyone and there was an episode
towards the end of the season that had a plot revolving around what would
happen if her impulse control device stopped working during a mission (in
Victorian London of course). 
In the grand yibble tradition of having
three female leads and one male, the last agent of the Time Team was a
guy. Mike D was cast as
the dark and brooding Jason Nevers (a name I am reusing because I like it so
much). His code name was Sorcerer
because he was good at making things disappear. He was the only agent who was not a convicted criminal. He was a former government agent on the
run from his employers because he knew too much and tried to quit. Somehow the
scientist in charge of the super secret project was able to let the government
give him a second chance as long as he stayed with the project, thus allowing
him to stop running for a while.
His main character traits resulted in him being the dark and brooding
nay-sayer of the group. His
biggest job in the group was the keep the others in line and out of trouble, so
he was the leader.
It
would also have starred Michael Meyer as Dr. Ross Gennings, the leading scientist
in charge of the operation. When I
asked Mike if he would be interested in playing the part he said he would only
do it if he could have a bionic eye and a robotic arm. I wasn’t sure how I was going to work
that, but I agreed. So in the
script, Ross is described as having a bionic eye and a robotic hand/arm, as
well as a partial prostheses leg so he walks with a limp. I came up with an explanation for it at
one point that somehow involved Jason saving him, but I can’t remember what it
was and apparently didn’t write it down.
On the surface he was a funny, honest, hard-working scientist with a
heart of gold, but he was not nearly as nice as he pretended and could bring
the rambunctious agents to standstill with a few strong words. He was in many ways like a father and
the agents were like his kids.
Other
characters included the chief medical officer, Dr. Terri Wilson, the
coffee-break loving technician Trent, and the wise-cracking, semi-arrogant
super computer that operated the Time Machine, control room, and several parts
of the base, named Tempest.
Most
of the modern scenes for the show took place in an underground super secret
military base, as you would expect.
The first episode was titled “Anything But Angels”. It was the pilot where all the
characters are introduced and the main plot of the series is set up. The characters go on a modern mission
to steal an ancient Egyptian statue of the cat goddess Baste named the Gift
Bearer, primarily to see if they can work together. Here’s an excerpt from this part of the script that I have to share
because I think it's funny and it sets up the initial interaction of the characters very nicely:
Scene 7
Setting: Outside Complex entrance Above Ground
(at Night)
Jason
emerges from the shadows of the doorway, then beckons behind him and one by one
the girls step out of the shadows.
All four are dressed in black, with black backpacks and headsets
on. Only Jason carries a gun.
SELENA: Why are
you the only one who gets a gun?
JASON: Because
I'm not a criminal.
MELANTHA:
That's not fair! What if we
get attacked?
JASON: (smiles) Run. Preferably towards me, and I'll shoot around you.
MELANTHA: (suspicious) Really? Do you have good aim?
JASON: That
depends.
MELANTHA: On
what?
JASON: On how
much you piss me off between now and the time I'm shooting at you.
(Melantha
glares at him and reaches for the gun)
MELANTHA: Give
me that!
JASON: Back off!
(they
wrestle for the gun. Finally Amy
breaks them apart and grabs the gun, returning it to Jason)
AMY: Can it,
you two! Let's get the knick-knack
and get back -- I'm hungry.
(they
move away from the base and over to a black car)
SELENA: This is
the get away car?
MELANTHA: Maybe
it's faster then it looks.
AMY: Who's
driving?
JASON: Who
brought the keys?
(they
all check their pockets. No one
has them)
SELENA: Damn
it!
JASON: Oh
come on!
MELANTHA: I
thought the slut was supposed to bring them?
SELENA: I told
you to get them, freak geek!
AMY: Hold on! So, no one brought the fucking car keys?!?
SELENA: It's
her fault!
MELANTHA: No,
it's not!
JASON: I don't
believe this!
Of
course they completely and totally fail,
which results in Dr. Ross insisting on a music montage of team building excercises
such as go-cart racing, bowling, and a bad movie marathon. By the time the next mission comes up
they have a much better repoire with each other. The second mission takes into the home of a billionaire who
received stolen information about the project and they are tasked with getting
it back (someone else will do the “clean up”). Of course they manage to infiltrate the mansion while the
host is throwing a masquarade ball (of course, since it’s me), which included a
scene where Brittany and Michael’s characters had to do a dance routine as a
distraction while Michelle’s character beat up bodyguards and Morgan’s
character hacked into the host’s computer. They succeed with their mission, but just barely.The
second episode introduced the first time-traveling mission. The agents are never told why they have
to change that moment in history, save that person’s life, etc., but they do it
in order to get their reward and avoid being killed for failing their
mission. The episode takes place
in Champaign, Illinois (gee wonder why I chose that place) in April of 1912,
and their mission is to stop a young widow from committing suicide after she is
told that her husband died on the Titantic.
Of course the mission isn’t really that simple and there
ends up being a murder mystery that has to be solved in order to save their
target. The episode includes lots of corset jokes, a food fight in period garb
during breakfast, and a scene in a horse drawn carriage. It’s a short scene, obviously, and I did
research on carriage rentals and actually had calculated exactly how much time I could afford
to film with it.
Other
episodes would have included a trip to the Wild West, a mission in Ancient
Rome, a murder mystery in the Middle Ages, a trip to 17th century
France, and a misguided mission in match-making set in Regency England, as well
as a few episodes that take place entirely in the base. This
show was actually the closest to be filmed than any other of the “lost”
productions, even Devil in Disguise.
Scripts for the first two episodes were written and the other ten episodes for the show were outlined and had some dialogue scenes written. There
were costumes designs, a few set designs, props had been purchased, I’d
actually written up a budget (that I can’t seem to find now), and locations
that were set, although nothing was scheduled. I gathered contact info from the cast and made sure they
were willing to film in the summer before school began. It was fully cast and ready to go. We even did a read through.
So
what happened? Why wasn’t it
filmed? Why did the show have a silly name like TOASTT? What legacy did it leave behind, if
any?
Find out the answers next month in Part Two of Lost Productions: TOASTT!
And just for fun here's a "poster" I whipped up and outlines for two of the episodes:
 |
| Images are from graphicstock.com |
Ep 3 – WESTWARD ‘HO
Coyote
and Sorcerer are sent back to the Wild West as bounty hunters chasing after a
pair of devious train robbers.
When they accidentally save the wrong train from being robbed they
discover a boxcar full of prostitutes moving west to join a new brothel that’s
opening in the nearby town.
Eventually the agents discover the brothel is really a cover for the
robbers, who are actually the sisters running it. The boxcar full of prostitutes were coming west to join the
sisters and make a gang of outlaws, eventually planning to earn enough money to
quite the business for good. Can the agents help the women and still complete their mission?
 |
| Background from graphicstock.com Drawings of the girls by Ayrayus at https://www.fiverr.com/ayrayus |
Ep 7 – MISS MATCHED
Coyote
and Delilah are sent back to Regency England to play matchmaker for Augustina
Coverly and Lord Josiah Evergreen.
Only one is a hopeless halfwit and the other is a pompous twit. Somehow Delilah and Coyote have to get
the two together, avoid being matched up themselves, and keep everyone out of
scandal before they say “I Do”.
Hopefully they can accomplish their task before they kill each other.
Jason Nevers isn't the only name you reused. I didn't think you'd be able to get away with having another character name Melantha. And I swear I've encountered Amelia Brenchley before, but for the life of me I can't remember where.
ReplyDelete