James B Brandt

Tagline: How can a God create Order from the Chaos created by murder for revenge?

 

Logline: An ancient Egyptian Goddess has returned. Her mission is to push back the growing domination of Chaos in the modern world. To do this, she eliminates people who generate chaos or who may generate chaos in the future. But she is constrained… she must have human support. So she trades: elimination of people in power who have abused their authority in exchange for the removal of more common mortals that she perceives to be agents – or potential agents – of chaos.

 

Treatment:  Sunset over Egypt’s Valley of the Kings. A torch-bearing procession weaves its way through the desert toward the base of a pyramid-shaped mountain. We can see an opening in the lengthening shadows leading into the depths of the mountain, framed by two base-relief figures, 100-feet tall, of a cobra-headed, bare-breasted, female goddess. They are lead by the SUPPLICANT, similar to a prosecutor.  He is followed by FOUR GUARDS, FOUR BURLY SLAVES, another FOUR GUARDS, and a variety of witnesses. The slaves are carrying a stretcher with ACCUSED strapped in tightly. They move in eerie silence.

 

The procession enters the temple and approaches an altar. The guards part and the slaves stand the stretcher upright. Inside, the tomb is lit with torches. There are several priestesses in the temple in various stages of undress. When the procession stops, then stand to watch as the Supplicant calls out for the Goddess.  A fog forms on the altar and a figure rises… a huge snake body with the head and torso of a woman. The Supplicant accuses the Prisoner of desecrating a tomb. The Prisoner explains that Mustafa, a well-guarded brothel owner, has stolen his sister and he is trying to buy her freedom, as she is being abused.  The Goddess spits venom on Prisoner and the shape of a cobra is burned into his shoulder. She tells him he will be forgiven if he brings her the heart of a chaos-prone, noisy, laborer and she will take care of Mustafa.

 

In Dothan, Alabama, a man with a limp leaves a strip bar featuring an exotic snake dancer. We follow him as he tracks and kills a local, red-neck football player, bringing the heart back to the bar. Inside, SAHARA (who may double as the GODDESS) accepts the offering and tells him his wish will be granted. The next day, a local criminal boss is attacked by a snake when he is in his hot tub with a couple of hookers.  He dies and the snake vanishes… the man responsible for knee-capping the limping man is eliminated.

 

Another night: A woman enters the bar. She has been raped by a gang and seeks justice and a way to prevent the gang from attacking more girls. In exchange for killing a noisy, crooked used car salesman. She goes on a test drive with him into the country. It is time for him to pay for the problems he has created by selling junk to unsuspecting customers. The Goddess MERETSEGER eliminates the gang one at a time with a variety of snakes.

 

Week to week, people wronged by men or women of power and authority, will seek out Meretseger for assistance in righting their grievances… which she does in exchange for the beating heart of an individual who she has identified as a potential disruptor of order. Sometimes they succeed and their wrongs are righted. Sometimes they become their own victims…

THE GODDESS is the age old tale of Chaos vs. Order, told here with Set (the destroyer, chaos) and Meretseger (the Goddess of the tombs, order and mercy). Meretseger has grown tired of Set’s free hand in the world and has come to impose a little order – through death. She can see a person’s potential to add to chaos, even unwittingly, and her goal is to take them in death before they can assist Set. But she has restrictions – she cannot move without the request from a mortal. People, who have been done harm by those beyond the reach of the law or personal revenge, often are Chaos minions. When asked, she can take them through the snake realm that she commands.

 

However, there is a price: the human supplicant must pay with another life, one who Meretseger sees as a potential – or maybe just the potential ancestor – of a chaos-creator. If the humans can take their prey in a hunt and deliver the still-beating heart (magically preserved), Meretseger will kill their victims no matter who or where they are. Meanwhile, the string of serial killings with the same methods grows… but each is the victim of a different killer, be they a gang member or government official or business magnate.

 

The series moves around the country, looking at new scenarios weekly with occasional trips to Egypt to help explain the myth behind the Goddess Meretseger, build tension, and foreshadow conflict between Meretseger and Set. But the Goddess is not omnipotent. She is in a constant battle against Set, the God of Chaos… she needs to move, as he is a more powerful God. Sometimes they come face-to-face and the magic fills the screen with lightening and smoke.

 

Each episode will be semi-self contained… meaning it will go with the story and carry on to the next episode if necessary. The underlying question is: how far will you go for revenge. The first season can be filmed largely in Louisiana, which offers incentives. The Valley of the Kings scenes can be shot in Texas, Arizona, or Israel, all of which offer some incentives.

 

Week by Week:

 

Episode 1:  REBECCA MORRIS, 20’s is running through a wooded area when WILSON JONES, 40’s, steps out in her path. “Rebecca Morris?” he asks. When the startled girl affirms, he pulls a silenced pistol and tells her he needs her heart. She bolts and he waits a few beats before starting after her. The hunt is on. He catches her by shooting her in the leg… and tells her that he must deliver her still-beating heart to his benefactor for the greater good of the world. We come back from break to ancient Egypt with the scene detailed in the treatment. The episode wraps with Jones delivering the heart to SAHARA. As he exits, he passes KIMBERLY MORGAN, who enters to tell Sahara about the gang rape. At the FBI, SPECIAL AGENT ELLIOT BAILEY is given an assignment – find out why Congressman Marshal Sinclair died of a snake bite in his shower.

 

Episode 2:  Kimberly Morgan leads a used car salesman into the swamps and gives him the chance to run for his life or pay for his crimes. He fails to escape. Meretseger eliminates the gang members, each in a uniquely gruesome way.  A man and his son are in a store. Two men enter and rob the business, killing the boy in the process. The driver of the car is “BUDDY" JONES, who has been duped into being part of the robbery.

 

Episode 3: ROBIN FULLER, 30’s, waits in the shadows of an abandoned factory. CHRISTOPHER KNOWELS shows up, mentioning her intriguing note. She makes him a deal which leads to a hunt through the factory and Knowels’ eventual death. Robin enters the bar where Sahara works with a small box. The head of a large banking conglomerate enters his Lear Jet. He sits down and curtly tells the Hostess to get a drink. A snake drops down from above, strikes, and then slithers away. Bailey is called while he is investigating the Congressman’s house. SET confronts Meretseger, telling her to stop interfering with his work.

 

Episode 4: Bailey is barely beginning his work on the Banker’s plane when he is called to the Morgue about the dead gang members. The doctor says that the technology reports indicate each was killed by a different, some exotic, snake. The weird is piling up for him. He is also shown Knowels’ body, and they discuss possible ritualistic murders. No connection is made but Bailey is concerned. He is there when the police wheel in the three bodies of the men from the robbery.

 

Episode 5: The three men from the robbery are brought before Meretseger in her temple/courtroom. They are confused. Except for Buddy, they are defiant. Meretseger condemns them and they vanish. She is known to be a merciful Goddess, and sentences Buddy to serve Sahara until he has compensated for his crimes against order. His life is returned. A pimp kills one of his whores and beats another. Set, in the form of a large jackal, tries to attack Sahara, but Buddy arrives just in time. The beaten whore goes to Meretseger.

 

Episode 6: Meretseger and company move to a different town. The who is told to eliminate a “sweet” cheerleader who is a backstabbing manipulator. That chase is through a closed fun house at a carnival. The pimp meets his end through the grip of an anaconda. Bailey continues to struggle in Dothan. In the Valley of the Kings, Meretseger shows mercy on a merchant who pleads forgiveness.

 

Episode 7: The Mayor of a small town uses his influence to push a poor family from their property so he can expand his nearby business. Their daughter meets Buddy, who sends her to Meretseger. She must hunt and kill an insurance salesman who has been selling bad paper to the poor. Bailey is called away from Dothan when the Mayor is killed by a viper… in a crowded bar. He is getting pressure from above, but his superiors are not buying a conspiracy or vigilante theory. Set confronts Meretseger in the Valley of the Kings. There is an extensive confrontation but Meretseger prevails with the help of her temple maids.

 

Episode 8: The manager of a band refuses to let his group play until the bar owner – known as a crook – pays upfront as contracted. The manager makes a call and is told to pay this time, but the crime boss he calls sends his goons to go after the manager. They beat him to death and Buddy sends his girlfriend to see Sahara, who is performing down the street. The fiancé is ordered to hunt a reporter who twists or invents the truth for his own ends. He is lured to a quarry. The girlfriend is badly injured but makes it back to Meretseger with the still-beating heart. The girl is healed, and the crime boss dies of a snake attack in his limo. And for good measure, the bar owner is killed, too. The additional snake murders prompt Bailey to visit Sahara, looking for information.

 

Episode 9: Bailey teams up with local detective MARC CARSON. They compare the evidence from Dothan and now Tallahassee. No question that there is a serial killer who steals hearts… but the MO is different and there is no solid evidence. And how do the snake murders connect? Different social strata, no direct connection. It is Marc who notes the pattern:  All the dead people on their list are known to be “not nice.” An apartment catches on fire, trapping several people inside. Buddy talks to a survivor and sends her to Meretseger. PHILIP WATKINS kills a young co-ed and takes her heart. He is sloppy and caught, but right when everyone thinks they have one mystery solved, Marc discovers a journal which clearly indicates it was a first-time copycat killing.

 

Episode 10: The fire survivor tracks a banker who has been cheating old people on reverse mortgages. The construction company owner who was responsible for below code building is killed by a snake. Bailey and Marc go back to Sahara, but Meretseger hypnotizes them into thinking there is nothing there. The mortgage banker dies quickly and Bailey starts a search for people with missing hearts. Sure enough, two are found. Set sends a pack of maddened dogs against Sahara and Meretseger, but Bobby again comes to the rescue, in a bumbling awkward way.

 

Episode 11: Meretseger decides to take the offensive. Through her Goddess abilities, she uncovers a plot by Set to cause a major disturbance at a county fair. There are 20 in a biker gang, and they are protected somewhat by Set. If Bobby can get within eyesight of any member, Meretseger can overcome the wards and eliminate the gang member. Sahara refuses to help SAM MONTIGUE, who wants revenge against the IRS for some stupid rulings… Meretseger is too occupied. Once a dozen gang members are removed, the rest disperse. Bailey has a WTF moment at the morgue, wondering if there are a dozen heartless bodies waiting to be discovered.

 

Episode 12: Twelve year old ASHLEY is molested by an online sexual predator she foolishly agrees to meet. She has no idea how to find him and is too ashamed to talk to anyone but the snake lady. She is also too young to hunt and adult and Meretseger will not hunt children under the age of 16. Meretseger allows Buddy to hunt with her, but she must participate to allow Meretseger to do her part. We learn Buddy does not like blood. The predator is lured to a location after a cam chat with a young girl. When he arrives, the girl morphs into the half-human half-snake persona of Meretseger who takes personal joy in eliminating this pro-football player/criminal.

 

Episode 13: Set attacks Meretseger in Tallahassee, sending the remnant of the gang, wolves, and magic against her. Sahara and Buddy are hard pressed to defend themselves. Montague goes to Bailey with his tale about Sahara selling death-for-death. The battle rages and slides over to a confrontation in the Valley of the Kings, between two different ancient Egyptian cults, pulling Meretseger out of this realm. Bailey and Marc arrest Sahara for questioning, their arrival chasing the surviving dogs and thugs away. Buddy is not caught. The battle in Egypt is going against Meretseger.

 

 

 

CHARACTERS

 

REGULAR

 

Meretseger – A Beautiful GODDESS of the Egyptian Parthenon who appears as a woman, half-snake-half woman, or large Boa Constrictor or cobra.

 

SAHARA – 30’s, pretty, exotic dancer and high priestess. May consider using the same actress as the Egyptian High Priestess.

 

SET – Jackal-headed Egyptian God, well-built, 30’s maybe.

 

SPECIAL INVESTIGATOR ELLIOT BAILEY – 30’s, brought in to investigate high-profile deaths. Always poking around but Meretseger always diverts his attention.

 

REOCCURRING

 

SUPPLICANT – 40’s, stocky, stocky, bald. Chief human servant of Meretseger in ancient Egypt.

 

HIGH PRIESTESS – Early 30’s, similar or same as Sahara, in Ancient Egypt.

 

“BUDDY” JONES – 20’s, a not-very-bright assistant to Sahara, a recruiter and bodyguard.

 

INCIDENTAL

 

Victims – both modern and in Ancient Egypt

Witnesses

Police Officers

Strip Joint Patrons

Egyptian Temple slaves and women – may be in multiple episodes