STORY MAPS: TV Drama: The Structure of the One-Hour Television Pilot
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MAESTER LUWIN
If this news is true and the
Lannisters conspire against the
throne, who but you can protect
the throne?
CATELYN STARK
They murdered the last Hand, now
you want Ned to take the job?
MAESTER LUWIN
The king rode for a month to ask
Lord Stark’s help. He’s the only
one he trusts. You swore the king
an oath, my Lord.
CATELYN STARK
He spent half his life fighting
Robert’s wars. He owes him
nothing. Your father and brother
rode south once, on a king’s
demand.
MAESTER LUWIN
A different time. A different
king.
(This discussion touches on the theme of the first season, the damage caused by the unquenchable thirst for power, and it foreshadows how Ned’s sense of honor and tradition will do nothing to save him from treachery.)
ALL IS LOST: What choice will Ned make?
ACT FOUR
50-52 Dothraki wedding reception for Kal and Dany. Public sex acts and fights to the death are the highlights of this event. (Downton Abbey this is not!) Dany is uncomfortable and scared. SIR JORAH MORMONT (Dany’s Dynamic Ally) greets Dany and brings her gifts. He is a former servant of her father. She immediately takes to him, but Veserys doesn’t trust him.
53-54 Dany is gifted three dragon eggs, told they are merely rocks now.
55-57 CLIMAX (“B”): Dany rides off on a white horse with Kal. Kal forces her to have sex on a cliff-side facing the ocean. She begins to cry. (End “B” story)
ACT FIVE
57-58 CLIMAX (“A”): Ned rides off with the King to go on a hunt. Ned has accepted the position. (End “A” Story)
58-60 CLIMAX (“C”): Bran climbs the tower again. He reaches the top floor, comes upon Sir Jaime Lannister having sex...with his sister Cersei. Jaime pushes Bran out the window! As Bran falls from the high tower, we CUT TO BLACK.
BREAKING BAD “PILOT”
Written By Vince Gilligan
Breaking Bad has an incredibly tight pilot episode, consisting of several economical 2-minute scenes in a Teaser plus five act structure. This wasn’t always the case. If you’ve read the original script, you’ll notice that a number of trims were made before air. The result is a near-perfect example of the Beat Sheet template.
At 57 minutes, the pilot episode is long for a basic-cable network show with commercials, but it flies by because we are constantly meeting interesting characters as we are taken into this new, dangerous, yet thrilling world. I love how everyone has their own particular “voice” in dialogue. There’s the macho DEA brother-in-law, the teenage son with cerebral palsy, the former student turned drug dealer, the Middle-Eastern car wash owner, etc.
The story is told from Walt’s POV – we discover things as he does. He undergoes a dramatic arc from start to finish, which is not always the case in pilots, which sometimes center on a character who is unwavering in their view of the world and unchanged by episode’s end. This emphasis on change was built into creator Vince Gilligan’s plan from the start; in fact, he even gives Walt the line, “Chemistry is the study of change,” a not-so-subtle clue of the crucible to come.
The era of the anti-hero may have already been in full swing when Breaking Bad debuted, but those dark protagonists (e.g., Tony Soprano, Vic Mackey, Al Swearingen) were always bad. Walt’s radical transformation (the “Mr. Chips to Scarface” arc) was gradual, and unheard of in previous generations of television. One can’t imagine Jim Rockford of The Rockford Files or Noah Wyle on E.R. turning into unforgivable monsters. By series’ end, Walt’s arc had become so popular with audiences that AMC couldn’t help but greenlight the story of the transformation of another key character from the Breaking Bad universe; thus, Better Call Saul was born.
BREAKING BAD
“Pilot” (2008)
Written and Directed by Vince Gilligan
TEASER
1-3 OPENING: A man in his underwear wearing a gas mask, WALTER WHITE, drives an RV with three unconscious men inside the car. (“A” story: Walt’s meth business) Walter crashes the RV, gets out and records a first-person message into a video camera to his family, Skyler and Walter Junior: “No matter how it may look, I only had you in my heart.”
CATALYST: Walt points a gun at oncoming sirens.
ACT ONE
4-6 Walt wakes up, exercises. We see awards on the wall for science achievements. He wife SKYLER gives him his 50th birthday breakfast, with veggie bacon, no cholesterol...yippee. (“B” Story: Walt’s family) Skyler tells him to leave at 5:00, don’t let his boss dick him around again. Their son WALTER, JR., who has cerebral palsy, clashes with Skyler. She’s clearly the authority in the household.
7-8 Walt teaches high school chemistry to lethargic teenagers. Chemistry is the “study of change.” The cycle of life. Growth...decay...transformation. (Foreshadowing of Walter White’s epic character arc.) Punk kid CHAD makes a scene, Walt fails to discipline him.
9-10 Walt works the register at a Car Wash. His boss BAGDAN makes him wash cars when an employee quits. Walt coughs. Chad takes a photo of him washing his car. How humiliating.
11-13 Walt comes home to a surprise 50th birthday party! We learn Skyler is pregnant and her sister MARIE is a bitch. Dynamic Ally*: Marie’s husband HANK, a DEA agent, shows off his gun, impressing Walter Jr. (“C” Story: Hank) Hank gives Walt a hard time in jest, then offers a toast to Walt, the smartest guy he knows. INCITING INCIDENT: Hank turns on the TV so everyone can see a news interview he gave after his team made a big meth lab sting. Walt is impressed that the DEA nabbed $700,000 in dirty cash.
*NOTE: Although Hank will go on to become an Antagonist and Shadow to Walt throughout the series, in the pilot he is essentially an ally in that he facilitates Walt getting into the meth business with Jesse. Jesse will become a Dynamic Ally later on, but in the pilot he is Walt’s Shadow because he is the polar opposite of Walt in every way (age, home life, career, morals, etc.) and his incompetence creates major obstacles for Walt.
14-15 In bed that night, Skyler gives Walt a special birthday hand job as she reads on her laptop. As he gets worked up, she also gets excited...for her eBay sale.
16-17 TURN: Next day, Walt collapses at the car wash.
ACT TWO
17-18 AFTERMATH: The Doctor tells Walt he has inoperable lung cancer. With chemo, he’ll live maybe another couple years. Walt is in a daze.
19-20 COMPLICATIONS (“A” and “B”): Skyler and Walt are having money problems. Walt doesn’t tell Skyler he’s sick. At the car wash, Walt explodes, tells Bagdan to fuck off and storms out.
21 Walt throws matches into the pool, depressed. Calls Hank to set up the ride-along he mentioned at the party.
22-25 FIRST TRIAL: Walt rides along with Hank as they take down the meth lab of the infamous “Cap’n Cook.” Walt is fascinated by the lab equipment.
26 FIRST CASUALTY: Walt spots JESSE PINKMAN (Shadow), his former student, escaping the scene. Jesse drives off in his car, license plate: “THE CAPN!”
27-30 MIDPOINT: Walt blackmails Jesse to partner with him to make and sell meth, or he’ll turn him in.
ACT THREE
30-31 Skyler with Marie at home, boxing items for Ebay.
32-35 Walt steals chemistry equipment from school storage, brings it to Jesse’s house. SHADOW SHOWDOWN: They immediately clash as Jesse tells him his meth is “art,” not chemistry. Walt insists on proper scientific methods and safety, muscling Jesse. Jesse suggests buying an RV from his friend.
36-37 ASSUMPTION OF POWER (“A” Story): Walt empties his savings to pay for the RV. $7,000. Jesse asks him to level with him: Why is he doing this? Walt says “I am awake.”
38-39 ASSUMPTION OF POWER (“B” Story): Walt and Skyler with Junior at a clothing store, helping him try on jeans. W
hen a group of kids make fun of Junior, Walt goes nuts and takes out the head bully. Walt is a bad-ass!
ACT FOUR
40-43 Skirmishes and Complications: In desert, in the RV. Walt works in his underwear so his clothes don’t smell of chemicals; Jesse mocks him. Chemistry montage – Walt is serious and Jesse is unfocused. Jesse proclaims their product “art!” Jesse wants to sample it, but Walt stops him. This is serious work, not party time. The next step is selling it, and that’s Jesse’s department.
44-46 Jesse at Chris’s (KRAZY-8) home, looking to set up a deal. Krazy-8 is the cousin of Emilio, Jesse’s old partner who was arrested by Hank in the seizure witnessed by Walt. Emilio just got out of jail and is pissed at Jesse, thinking he ratted on him.
47-48 TURN: Back in the desert as Walt is cooking in the RV. Krazy-8, Emilio and Jesse pull up. INTEGRATION (A & C): Emilio recognizes Walt from Hank’s DEA sting, thinks he’s a cop. They pull guns on Walt and Jesse! ALL IS LOST: Desperate, Walt offers to teach them his recipe if they spare their lives.
ACT FIVE
49-51 BIG RISK/DECLARATION OF WAR: Walt cooks for Emilio and Krazy-8, with Jesse tied up outside. In a bold move, he makes a bomb with red phosphorus and takes out the gangsters! He unties Jesse, puts a gas mask on him and drives like mad out of there. We are BACK AT THE OPENING SEQUENCE FROM THE TEASER...
52-54 CLIMAX (“A”): Walt with the gun aimed as sirens approach. He puts the gun to his chin, pulls the trigger...nothing. He can’t even kill himself. He puts up his arms, sobbing, waiting for the police to take him...but it’s the fire department. BIG WIN: They drive right past him! He’s safe.
55-57 CLIMAX (“B”): Walt dries his cash in the dryer. In bed, Skyler asks him not to shut her out; to talk to her. NEW WORLD: He makes passionate love to her, in stark contrast to the lame hand job scene earlier. Skyler asks, “Walt, is that you?” Walter White is a new man.
CLIFFHANGER: Will Walt tell his wife about his side job?
HOUSE OF CARDS PILOT
“CHAPTER 1”
Written By Beau Willimon
House of Cards was the first major one-hour drama series to come from a streaming provider, in this case, Netflix. It paved the way for future Netflix series like Orange is the New Black, Bloodline and Daredevil, and ensured that online platforms would be taken seriously by the industry and audiences, alike.
When Kevin Spacey won the Emmy for his gripping, frightening performance of Senator Frank Underwood, it signaled a watershed moment in television. Netflix, Amazon and their ilk were now players in the game, just as basic cable networks like AMC and FX had fought their way out of the shadows of the major networks with breakout hits like Mad Men and Sons of Anarchy.
From the get-go, the producers of House of Cards were swinging for the fences. With a huge budget, big screen talent and cinematic production values, the goal was to deliver a TV series that was indistinguishable from a feature film.
The pilot script for House of Cards was written like a feature screenplay, and the resulting episode was helmed by well-known feature director David Fincher. The episode looks and feels like an R-rated drama film, yet it promises a sprawling story we can get lost in for days. The script did not contain labeled act breaks, but the structure clearly follows the classic TV drama structure discussed in this book, so I’ve inserted my own act breaks below in what feel like the natural positions.
HOUSE OF CARDS
Pilot “Chapter One” (2013)
Written by Beau Willimon / Directed by David Fincher
TEASER
1 OPENING: A dog is hit by a car outside the home of Senator FRANCIS “FRANK” UNDERWOOD. Frank orders his bodyguard to find the owners as he consoles the crippled pooch. He speaks into the camera...
FRANCIS
There are two kinds of pain, the
sort of pain that makes you
strong or useless pain. The sort
of pain that is only suffering,
the sort of pain that's useless.
I have no patience for useless
things. Moments like this require
someone who will act, do the
unpleasant thing. The necessary
thing.
(chokes the dog)
There. No more pain.
2-3 WORLD: Frank and his wife CLAIRE attend a New Year's Eve party hosted by President-elect GARRET WALKER. (“A” Story: Frank’s master plan.) Walker is Frank’s ticket up the ranks so he can rise above House Majority Whip. CATALYST: Frank got Walker’s Chief of Staff, LINDA VASQUEZ hired, and now he expects her to return the favor. Give and take. Welcome to Washington.
4-5 [OPENING TITLES.]
ACT ONE
5-6 On the limo ride home, we learn Claire runs a non-profit and is also very ambitious. (“D” Story: Claire’s non-profit.) She wants Frank to help her procure a large donation from Sancorp. She says, “This is going to be a big year for us.”
6-7 New Arrival and Shadow: ZOE BARNES, young cub reporter at The Washington Herald. (“B” Story: Zoe’s rise as a reporter.) She tries to convince her editor LUCAS to promote her. She wants to "lift the veil” on Washington.
7-9 Dynamic Ally: PETER RUSSO, young Senator, meets with an angry union guy who wants the zoning laws that Russo promised in his election. (“C” Story: Peter’s decline.) Peter fakes a call from the President-elect but it's actually from his secretary/mistress, CHRISTINA, who talks dirty to him.
9-11 INCITING INCIDENT: Linda Vasquez breaks the news to Frank that they are not nominating him for Secretary of State. Frank is livid but puts on a positive face, agrees to stand by them. Michael Kern is their choice over Frank.
11-12 Claire at her environmental firm. She is excited for their new direction, to be hiring new people. She calls Frank but gets his voicemail.
13- Zoe is rebuffed by JANINE, a senior reporter.
14-15 FIRST TRIAL/FIRST CASUALTY: When Frank tells Claire about his passing-over, she dresses him down for not returning her calls and for underestimating Vasquez and Walker. She won't accept his apologies.
CLAIRE
My husband doesn’t apologize.
Even to me.
16-18 TURN & DECISION: Later, Frank and Claire reconcile and agree to dedicate to a plan of action that will take them to the top.
FRANCIS
I love that woman. I love her
more than sharks love blood.
HINT AT MORE: How will they work together?
ACT TWO
18-19 AFTERMATH: Frank lays out a plan with his right hand man, DOUG STAMPER. First, they will take out Kern, then hand-pick his replacement. They need an errand boy, someone who they can control completely.
25-26 Zoe researches Frank.
27-28 MIDPOINT: Vasquez needs the education bill drafted, more centrist, in the first 100 days. Frank takes the job, plans to use it to destroy her.
ACT THREE
29 AFTERMATH: Frank’s office is bustling. He tells Doug to set up a meeting with Catherine Durant.
30-31 ROADBLOCK (“D” Story): Claire's office. She breaks the news to her office manager EVELYN that they lost Sancorp's donation and Claire needs her to fire half the staff. Evelyn objects, but Claire is adamant.
31-35 SHADOW SHOWDOWN: Zoe shows up at Frank's brownstone, talks her way in with sex appeal. They find they have a connection: they are both people who think they are worth more than their current position. She correctly deduces that education is the first agenda of the new administration. He sends her on her way.
35-36 COMPLICATIONS: Peter is pulled over, drunk, with a hooker in his car. He is arrested.
37 Frank sends Doug to meet with the POLICE COMMISSIONER and offer their help for him to become Mayor if he lets Peter Russo free.
38 TURN: Peter is bailed out, lies to Christina that he was alone.
38 Claire asks Frank for two more tickets to the ball for potential investors. She's happy he's making progress.
39 ASSUMPTION OF POWER: In his office, Frank shreds th
e education bill in front of its author, DONALD BLITHE. Frank is manipulating Blithe well so as to eliminate him.
ACT FOUR
40 Frank meets with CATHERINE DURANT, offering her Kern’s position of Secretary of State. She is dubious but intrigued. He asks for her trust in him.
41 Doug recovers the half-shredded education bill from the trash dumpster.
42-43 INTEGRATION (“A” & “B”): Zoe meets Frank in a museum. He tests her to prove she has the chops to be an effective ally.
43 DECLARATION OF WAR (“A”): Frank leaks the shredded education bill to Zoe. She stays up late writing her story.
44 Vasquez is frustrated with Frank, but he assures her that he can work with Blithe and make the 100 days deadline. Asks for two extra tickets to the Jefferson Ball (as per Claire’s request). ALL IS LOST: Frank’s plan is getting more complicated, may be derailed by Vasquez.
45-46 CLIMAX (“C”): Frank reveals to Peter that he was the one who bailed him out of jail and blackmails him for his absolute loyalty. (End “C” Story)
47-49 CLIMAX (“B”): Zoe delivers the education bill and her analysis to her editor. Janine is given second billing to Zoe. (End “B” Story)
ACT FIVE
49-50 NEW WORLD: Frank sits 15 feet from President Walker as he is inaugurated. Walker pledges to deliver a comprehensive education bill in the first 100 days.
50-51 Inaugural Ball. Frank schmoozes, dancing with Catherine, wooing her.
52-54 CLIMAX (“A”): Next morning, Frank eats ribs for breakfast at FREDDY’s restaurant as we see Zoe Barnes’ exposé of the education bill on the front page of the Washington Herald. A montage shows the impact on all the players. Heads will certainly roll, and the first stage of Frank’s plan is complete. A young man is arrested for the canine hit and run (from the Teaser). Frank orders another rack of ribs.
FRANCIS
I’m feeling hungry today.
MAD MEN PILOT
"SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES"