TV Show Pilot Thesis
When allowing for patriotism, pride, and ego, it is
easy to feel insulted when someone point out flaws in one's identity. And yet, this is all too often the main downfall of most
villains, whether they be written into novels or filmed onto movies.
How unstoppable would a villain be, one has to ask, if they
just listened to the criticism and warnings of their footsoldiers? Why is modesty so hard to
come by for fictional comic book conquerors? Surely the self improvement of one is
cumulative, much like compound interest. The better you get, the better
you get at being better. How could any true strategist fail to come to
such conclusions?
Why do villains always prefer to simply appear superior to others while
actually forgoing real chances to actually become superior? Surely they did not get to where they currently are by allowing for such hubris.
But then, couldn't we all ask ourselves the same question? America is
said to be the best country in the world, and yet we are neither
calculated to be No. 1 at public education, healthcare, or quality of
life. Meanwhile, our response to such assertions is so very often anger
and defensiveness. Where is the room for progression in that? Even if
the people calculating such statistics about who has the best what and
where were wrong, would it really be such a terrible thing if we
accidentally made our country even BETTER as a result of taking their
research to heart?
It then becomes important to realize if Bad Guys can fail to realize
their flaws and become superior then it is just as possible for us Good
Guys as well. And if the Good Guys don't improve, then someday the Bad
Guys very well may. "Hench-Man" is the story of such dynamics. It is the story of the Proactive Evil vs. Lazy Good. It is a story that aims to ask: "If Good allows itself to fail because of it's own vanity and righteousness, then was it really good?"
The 22 minute pilot focuses on two primary characters:
Meet "Bob"
Life is rough when you're awkward and young. Harder still when you
suffer from crushing anxiety during speech class and father abandonment
issues elsewhere. So is too much to ask that when your estranged father
does die that he just leaves it at that? Or must he leave in his will
to young, awkward Bob his super evil villain organization on the brink
of falling completely to pieces too?
I mean, it's not like he could possibly have anything in common with a bunch of dopey, down-on-their luck henchmen...right?
Meet "Henchman 80"
You've seen them get their heads eaten off by sharks
in 'James Bond' films, explode in freak hovercraft accidents in
episodes of 'Jonny Quest', and get utterly humiliated by men and women
in brightly colored leotards in 'Power Rangers'. But no one ever
asks...'Henchmen... Who ARE these people? Why are they so poorly
trained? And do they at least make decent money at their jobs?'
Life as a henchman is tough. Your chances of making it through the day
are questionable at best, you see things on a daily basis that would
make a vulture puke its guts out, and you're regularly pitted against
top secret agents and super powered individuals with close to no
training at all.
And Henchman 80 (serving under the nefarious Dr. Komodo) is close to
retirement. In fact, he's the only henchman to ever be close to retiring
- and to flipping his boss off in the process. But in order to do that
he's gotta stay alive. Even if that means playing dead, paying off
superheroes and secret agents to pretend they never saw him, or using
his own comrades as human shields. They say 'A new broom can sweep, but
an old broom knows what dust is,' well it's time for Henchman 80 is
start sweeping things under the rug.
It's time to Retire.
"Hench-Man" is a 22 minute TV show pilot written and directed by Joseph
Sweredoski, and made with $6000 across three years and with the help of
his best friends.
