Introduction
Last year I wrote three teleplays in the style of a "Twilight Zone" episode when it was announced that Jordan Peele would be reviving the classic show for a modern audience. I wrote two original stories "Monster in the Closet" and "All I Want", as well as, a remake of 'Where Is Everybody?". I decided to write this blog post because I noticed they became much more relevant in 2020 than when I wrote them back in 2019.
Where Is Everybody?
The original episode aired on October 2nd, 1959 and I saw the episode early on in 2019 and enjoyed it. But I saw ways it could be improved and seeing Jordan Peele announcing a reboot I wrote a remake.
The episode dealt with a man who finds himself alone in a small, American town and slowly loses his mind due to the isolation. The protagonist has all the other essential human needs (shelter, water, food) but loses his mind due to a lack of the most important need - companionship. In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic had us all stay home for months and for some of us away from our family and friends all alone. Back when I wrote this teleplay in 2019, I had no idea we would be forced to stay home in isolation.
Monster in the Closet
This was an original story based on my experiences with childhood trauma. 2020 was a year filled with events and experiences that deeply hurt us with events that will ripple through time until we find a way to stop and overcome them. The protagonist is haunted by an event from her childhood which comes back to her when she finds her younger self hiding in the closet, they then work together to overcome the trauma and set things right.
All I Want
This was another original story I wrote that deals with similar themes of companionship like "Where Is Everybody?" but is more about artificial companionship versus real companionship. The protagonist struggles to start romantic relationships until he goes to the Life Corporation which helps him find the perfect companion but something is off but he doesn't care. Due to the lockdowns of 2020, many of us had to interact with our loved ones through a screen in an artificial manner which worked but didn't feel nearly as rewarding as traditional face-to-face interaction.
Conclusion
This was just a short post reflecting on some teleplays I wrote which each have their own separate posts that go into more detail. Feel free to read them. Enjoy.
