Absolution Discussion

[Adam]

A place to discuss the upcoming feature-length special episode, due to air on MZP at Christmas. Fire away!

[Raul Bloodworth]

Well, this gives me another a reason to catch up on my Walker reading!

[Adam]

Not out while Christmas, so no rush...

...but yeah.

[Trix]

Woop, looking forward to it.

Wait, how did I get here? :slinks back to Season Two thread:

[TylerMoody]

Say whaaaaaaaaat.

[Adam]

Thought you'd be pleased.

Very different beast this - there's only one member of the regular cast in this (Alec) and only one other character we've seen before (Baines). So writing-wise, it feels completely brand new, which is what it should feel like. I'm seriously excited about this film.

[Raul Bloodworth]

I, er, may have shamelessly 'borrowed' from this for Nightwing. But it's like they say, imitation is the greatest form of flattery.

EDIT: Because Jake can't spell.

[TylerMoody]

'course, Nightwing has Sam Neill in it.

So, battle's already won.

[Pete D. Gaskell]

Bill Nighy > Sam Neill.

Then again, it's pretty much Bill Nighy > anyone.

[Raul Bloodworth]

But Nightwing has a pretty girl. Surely that trumps anyone?

[Adam]

Who's already been in Walker. As has Sam Neill.

[Raul Bloodworth]

...yeah, I got nothing. I tip my hat to you, sir.

[Adam]

And, on the basis that I might not get a chance to do this tomorrow morning, this year's Walker Christmas special is premiering a little early as a special Christmas treat!

Enjoy it, everyone, it was a blast to write this. Any comments, let's have them here.

[Pete D. Gaskell]

ABSOLUTION

And so the Walker saga continues with this special episode set in between Series Two and Three. This is notable not only for its Christmassy flavour, but for the fact that of all the regulars, only Alec appears here.

That might be construed as a brave move, but it's entirely the right one, as this episode gives Adam the opportunity to really delve into the character of Alec, exploring just how badly the shocking events of 2x13 have affected him.

Pairing him with Baines is another good move, as Baines was always one of my favourite supporting characters, and it's good to see him have more screen time. The chemistry between him and Alec is clearly visible, and he remains the only character who really understands Alec, up to and including Jackson.

The scenes between Alec and Baines are the undisputed highlights, as Adam uses this episode as an opportunity for Alec to come to terms, at least a little, with what happened, and Alec's character arc takes on an almost "Christmas Carol" flavour, as he slowly realises what he has to do, and stop languishing in the past. The title, Absolution, explains this perfectly.

There's also some good interaction between Alec and Erica, who is developed more than just a stock female lead for the episode - and the characterisation stretches through the small cast, who are all distinguishable and well-drawn.

The plot itself is fairly simple, being a standard base-under-siege, before it gets maybe a tad overcomplicated in the final act. The pace itself is also a bit slower than I'm used to, although that was probably necessary to detail the atmosphere.

The lack of the usual supporting cast is also felt at times, with the lack of the brand of comic relief that Flame or, on occasion, Boone provides, and it takes a while to really empathise with the new characters. A nature of the beast situation, I suppose, and one which couldn't really be avoided.

All in all, though, this episode works very well as a bridge between Series Two and Three, with a strong focus on Alec and his inner turmoil, and a solid plot to boot. Good stuff.

Character of the Week:
Alec. A close thing between Alec and his mentor, but Alec's arc here is very strong, and in the quieter moments between him and Baines, and with Erica, we see just how deep his character is. There's plenty of range seen here.

Quote of the Week:
Baines: Alright you lot, you've got three seconds to surrender. (beat) Unfortunately for you, it took me five seconds to say that.

Rating:
7/10

[Tony O'Stark]

^And if anyone OTHER than a Walker staff member wants to review this (or Nightingale), we'd be very grateful. 

[Chris Wilson]

Open wide and say SPOILERS!

...

Loved it.

When Absolution was announced, I wasn't sure if having a feature-length story was necessary. What possibly could go in here which couldn't be done within the confines of the series? Thankfully you justified it and then some. Walker the show is as much about Alec as it is about Boone, Jackson, Chloe etcetera. Putting this into a series would require interaction with the other main characters, and that isn't what Alec needed here. He needed to be in a scenario more or less on his own to go through his inner turmoil.

And it was Alec's characterisation that shone through. The ghoul story was entertaining enough - it had the epic scale, atmosphere, and action sequences needed for a film - but I was so engrossed in Alec's behaviour that if he'd spent ninety minutes contemplating suicide, triggered by not knowing whether to have a latte or cappuccino at Starbucks, I would've zipped through the 90 or so pages like I did with this script. Okay, I never believed he would go through with it  (it would be weird to have a show where the titular character is dead), but the final moments where he is on the brink were thrilling to read... Among my favourite moments of Walker so far.

For a one-off, the secondary characters were decent, with Erica being the intended highlight. She seems to act like a surrogate Chloe in the conversation parts, and a surrogate Kate in the "oh shit, we're in danger" parts. I also liked Nikolai but I have no idea why. Must be the name.

The story itself, along with what I've already said, was good. A bit too "monster of the week" at times, but I was glad it didn't overwhelm any chance of characterisation. The reasoning for the ghouls attack was extremely well done. I expected something much more generic for some reason, so I was glad it turned out to be a misunderstanding gone horrifically out of hand.

I can't wait for season three now. The suicide narrative was wholly necessary here because we get onto the meaty question right away - how does Alec's inevitable reunion with the gang go? I'm expecting at least two brawls. 

On a final note, this was the first script I read on my shiny new Kindle. I was quite surprised to see Alec Walker in a Santa hat. Wonder if anyone else on the train saw it too...

[Adam]

And Chris Wilson becomes the first person other than the Walker staff to read it! Well played mate, nice to see you aboard.

Loved it.

 

When Absolution was announced, I wasn't sure if having a feature-length story was necessary. What possibly could go in here which couldn't be done within the confines of the series? Thankfully you justified it and then some. Walker the show is as much about Alec as it is about Boone, Jackson, Chloe etcetera. Putting this into a series would require interaction with the other main characters, and that isn't what Alec needed here. He needed to be in a scenario more or less on his own to go through his inner turmoil.

The front half of that was pretty much word for word what Pete said to me when I first decided I was going to do this. The last sentence was my reasoning. I needed Alec, away from the gang, to have come to terms with what he was forced to do in 2x13, and for that to be given the time it needed to play out. The original plan was to have the arc of this episode be what Alec goes through in 3x01, but Alec's grief is so powerful here that it would have pretty much overwhelmed the first half of the new season, and given that I want to hit the ground running in year three, this needed dealing with. Hence this script.

And it was Alec's characterisation that shone through. The ghoul story was entertaining enough - it had the epic scale, atmosphere, and action sequences needed for a film - but I was so engrossed in Alec's behaviour that if he'd spent ninety minutes contemplating suicide, triggered by not knowing whether to have a latte or cappuccino at Starbucks, I would've zipped through the 90 or so pages like I did with this script.

Hah! Thanks, I'll take that as a compliment.

I also liked Nikolai but I have no idea why. Must be the name.

I liked Nikolai too, actually. He's a bastard, makes no pretence otherwise, but he's a bastard with a twinkle in the eye and characters like that are always fun to write.

The story itself, along with what I've already said, was good. A bit too "monster of the week" at times, but I was glad it didn't overwhelm any chance of characterisation.

Well, given the nature of the piece it couldn't really be anything other than monster of the week. Zulu aside (which I namechecked) the overriding influence here was the work of Neil Marshall, specifically Dog Soldiers - I wanted to have a situation where it was a bunch of guys cut off and under attack where everything, even the weather, was out to kill them.

The reasoning for the ghouls attack was extremely well done. I expected something much more generic for some reason, so I was glad it turned out to be a misunderstanding gone horrifically out of hand.

There's no point bringing back an old monster unless you do something new with them, and I felt it was important that there be an actual, relateable agenda going on here, otherwise they're just monsters and nobody cares.

I can't wait for season three now. The suicide narrative was wholly necessary here because we get onto the meaty question right away - how does Alec's inevitable reunion with the gang go? I'm expecting at least two brawls. 

Well I'll promise you this much - it won't be pretty. That was one of the reasons for doing this episode, actually - dealing with Alec's situation here, away from season three, means we're dealing with the gang's reaction to him exclusively, as opposed to that plus Alec's guilt and suicidal feelings.

On a final note, this was the first script I read on my shiny new Kindle. I was quite surprised to see Alec Walker in a Santa hat. Wonder if anyone else on the train saw it too...

Tip of the Santa hat to Trix, who made that apropos of nothing and it was so good it had to be used.

Major thanks for reading, mate, can't wait to see what you make of season three when it comes around. Head over to the s3 forum if you like, there's some nice hints about what's coming there.

[Adam]

Your turn Pete:

Pairing him with Baines is another good move, as Baines was always one of my favourite supporting characters, and it's good to see him have more screen time. The chemistry between him and Alec is clearly visible, and he remains the only character who really understands Alec, up to and including Jackson.

Yeah, exactly. I never for a second considered it to be anyone other than Baines - it had to be him as the only person who could actually knock some sense into Alec. Plus, the chance to write the guy is always great fun.

The scenes between Alec and Baines are the undisputed highlights, as Adam uses this episode as an opportunity for Alec to come to terms, at least a little, with what happened, and Alec's character arc takes on an almost "Christmas Carol" flavour, as he slowly realises what he has to do, and stop languishing in the past. The title, Absolution, explains this perfectly.

As I said to Chris, the main influences here were both Zulu and the work of Neil Marshall, but yeah, I can see the Christmas Carol element to it. It's not something I really thought about when I was writing it (I think I'd have pushed that side of it a bit more if I did) but if it's there and it resonates, I'm a happy man.

There's also some good interaction between Alec and Erica, who is developed more than just a stock female lead for the episode - and the characterisation stretches through the small cast, who are all distinguishable and well-drawn.

The trick with Erica was not making sure she just became a clone of Chloe, despite her filling a similar role (and that was a bit deliberate on my part, hence choosing an actress who even looks, broadly speaking, a little like Miranda Raison). So that was a fine line to tread, but I'm glad it worked.

The lack of the usual supporting cast is also felt at times, with the lack of the brand of comic relief that Flame or, on occasion, Boone provides, and it takes a while to really empathise with the new characters. A nature of the beast situation, I suppose, and one which couldn't really be avoided.

I have to admit, I felt the lack of the other regulars when writing this. Ultimately though, that's probably a good thing because it's meant to be about Alec on his own and out of his element. And despite some funny banter in there, I deliberately made sure nobody fell into the 'comic relief' character trap here, it just wouldn't have been appropriate. This was very much a hats off, heads down, this is serious moment.

Character of the Week:
Alec. A close thing between Alec and his mentor, but Alec's arc here is very strong, and in the quieter moments between him and Baines, and with Erica, we see just how deep his character is. There's plenty of range seen here.

I'm pleased with that. This was a chance to really strip everything away and show Alec at his core, who he really is, which was important at this stage of the game. I'm really glad that worked enough for you to pick him as character of the week.

Quote of the Week:
Baines: Alright you lot, you've got three seconds to surrender. (beat) Unfortunately for you, it took me five seconds to say that.

Hah! I knew that'd get picked. Baines at his most badass.

[Trix]

On a final note, this was the first script I read on my shiny new Kindle. I was quite surprised to see Alec Walker in a Santa hat. Wonder if anyone else on the train saw it too...

Tip of the Santa hat to Trix, who made that apropos of nothing and it was so good it had to be used.

The picture was just asking for it!

I really enjoyed the script too and think it was nice to move away from the group and see Alec handles things with Baines which is a different dynamic than he's used to recently. It also gives us a nice jumping off point for the beginning of season three.

[Adam]

Thanks Trix. The one unexpected downside of having you aboard Team Walker means I miss out on your reviews, but given your notes helped make this script infinitely better than it was, I can live with that. Really glad you're happy with how it turned out.

And yes, that graphic was just too good to not use.