Spaceport Earth®

Ladies, gentlemen, droids and aliens, welcome to Spaceport Earth®!

Let’s break this world down:  As the name suggests, it takes place in a space port, similar to an airport, just situated just outside of Earth’s atmosphere.  It is an undisclosed number of years in the future – mankind has ventured beyond the solar system, finding a plethora of planets inhabited by all kinds of alien species – both advanced and primitive.

As such, came the development of various space ports across the galaxy to facilitate legal, safe travel between planets.  These stations are pristine, clean and regularly maintained by the hardworking staff and systems.

The ‘internal logic’ of this world draws many parallels with the workings of a ‘real’ airport – similar rules and methodologies apply, trading an international background for an intergalactic one.

Something I’d imagine what the space port interior would look like.  This would be the airport lounge/shops. [GOOGLE IMAGES]

 

The decision to present this world amongst a space setting opens endless possibilities.  Alien planets, customs and characters can come, practically from anywhere, and I think the juxtaposition with Earth culture will make way for numerous gags, and hilarious parallels.

As with most science fiction works, this world will feature an ensemble cast, drawn from different parts of the space port; I can imagine episodes centric around alien customers, security guards, duty-free store workers, flight attendants.  But nonetheless, the focus will still fall back on two leads, who gradually expand their group over the course of the season.

So, with that said, this is (mostly) the story of two customs and immigrations officers.

CHARACTERS:

Samuel Sears, 26, is a stoic and sensible officer who handles arrivals – he hails from a busy American metropolitan city, and took on this job because he couldn’t cut it as an explorer/astronaut and he figured working at a space airport was the next best thing.  A reasonable guy, someone you’d trust to hand in an assignment on time, but also eager to experience new things. Sears is incredibly self-conscious and self-aware.

I don’t know why, but I always envisioned Sears as Joe Gordon Levitt – the straight faced, reliable middle man who is absolutely relatable and just a little disgruntled.

 

GRS-34 (Generic Robotic System-Unit 34, or Grease for short) is a snarky, slacker.  A mechanoid with a quick wit and a love for jokes, he always manages to complete the bare minimum somehow.  Amiable, loveable but sometimes a stooge, he always manages to make Sears at the butt of his jokes.  He works in departures and is hardwired to translate over 43904 different languages.

You ever see Neil Blomkamp’s Chappie? The movie itself aside, I found the art direction fantastic, especially the titular robot Chappie, so expect Grease to look along the lines of this.  It absolutely oozes personality.

 

The pair work next to each other in cramped cubicles – Sears is in cubicle 125, the final block in the arrivals bay, whereas Grease is in cubicle 126, the first in the departures bay.  It is a multi-level, exceedingly complex labyrinth of walkways and tunnels, and although the staff know their way around, they constantly complain about it day in day out.

Both are what the average person would consider veterans in their line of work – Sears has been employed ever since he graduated from university (4-5 years), and GRS-34 used to be stationed on the Mars branch, but applied for a relocation because he wanted a change of scenery (3 years).

The format of this media project is most definitely going to be a mockumentary-esque production in the style of The Office and Parks and Recreation.  It will follow a single-camera set-up featuring interviews with the characters sprinkled between scenes, blending documentation and reflection.

Again, like The Office, I am looking for a similar tonal style, with plenty of sarcasm, cold opens and unamused head shakes.  There will be a script of some sorts for a potential pilot, and who knows, if time allows me, I could even start filming a mock sequence (on an extremely tight budget, of course)!