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kleenexwoman) wrote2010-02-13 03:51 am
kleenexwoman) wrote2010-02-13 03:51 am
"Strange Angels," 1956-1963
1. Comment to this post with "I surrender!" and I'll assign you the basis of some TV show idea. (Science fiction show, medical drama, criminal procedure, etc...)
2. Create a cast of characters, including the actors who'd play them
3. Add in any actor photos, character bios and show synopsis that you want.
4. Post to your own journal.
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nextian gave me: Fifties sitcom.
Strange Angels ran from 1956 to 1963. Originally conceived as a miniseries about the life and times of rocket scientist John Whiteside Parsons, the proposal was bounced around and reshaped by the network until it had turned into a wholly fictionalized domestic melodrama.
The show was set in the fictional Southern California town of Sandoma. As the demographic for the show slowly changed, the setting changed from a windswept, isolated factory town in the desert to a fashionable suburb of Los Angeles.
The series focused on the Angel family and the boarders to whom they rented out the room in their iconic house.
Arthur Angel
played by Adrian Hoven, was the leading man in the series. He was the patriarch of the Angel clan as well as landlord, and was a slightly bumbling, absentminded, but kindhearted and wise paternal character. He worked for Zanadyne, the defense contractor that seemingly employed most of the town, as an engineer in the Death Ray Division. Oddly, the majority of his research seemed to take place in the family's basement, which was not shown on camera for the first two seasons of the series (during the third season, the show's budget was doubled and they were finally able to afford the special effects which made the eerily glowing lab such a memorable image). Arthur-centric plot lines often revolved around a Death Ray component that had malfunctioned somehow, or a breach of security at the Death Ray Division that Arthur was charged with covering up.
Anita Angel
played by Corinne Calvet, was the leading lady. She was one of the most glamorous and sultry TV mothers onscreen at the time, somewhat more knowing and sarcastic than the typical June Cleaver role. Along with being a housewife and mother, Anita Angel was the high priestess of the local Thelemic Temple (meetings of the Thelemics were usually portrayed as something between the danger and gravitas of a Satanic High Mass and the overblown pomp and silliness of a Raccoon Lodge meeting). While Anita was frequently relegated to a secondary character, solving the problems of the family or boarders with an intricate magical ritual that usually caused problems for others, several overarching story arcs did see her tracking down or battling ill-defined elements of cosmic evil somehow only accessible to a housewife.
Alice "Allie" Angel
played by Donna Corcoran, was the daughter of the household. Alice started as a precocious and slightly bloodthirsty tomboy, fond of creating explosions with her chemistry set and making trouble for her teachers. Over the course of the season, she grew into a rebellious beatnik, torn between a life of bohemian freedom, artistic expression, and interesting drugs, and a life working for "the establishment" at Zanadyne, putting her expertise with chemicals to more constructive use. As the series went on, Alice's plot arcs went from easily-solved school confrontations to more "topical" teen issues, such as drug use, peer pressure, and free verse.
One recurring guest star was Cousin Alec Angel
played by Darry Cowl. Cousin Alec would stop by to "cool his heels" in the Angel house whenever the producers couldn't line up anyone else they particularly liked, usually three or four times a season. Arthur's younger brother, he was the black sheep of the Angel family, a ne'er-do-well and schemer rather than a scientist or professor. He outwardly disparaged the Angel residence, often calling it "the ol' shack" or "this ramshackle heap," as well as the "one-rocketship town" of Sandoma, but clearly enjoyed the relative sense of safety and domesticity the place gave him. He had a tight bond with the mischievous Allie, and would often set aside his own labyrinthine schemes in order to assist her in her simple, direct plots.
Strange Angels featured a wide range of guest stars as temporary boarders. Some of the more memorable performances included:
Actress Jayne Mansfield, trademark platinum locks dyed red as the seductive Scarlett Baby, a possible "fire demon" summoned by a Thelemic ritual gone awry.
Author William S. Burroughs as the mysterious Ben Waye, the man who kept everyone guessing--was he a mole from Ultradyne, Zanadyne's rival? A Communist spy? An accountant? We never found out...
Physicist Richard Feynman as "himself but more so, if that's at all possible", manically cavorting about the house and bonding with Allie over his bongos.
The show was canceled after a disastrous shoot with guest star Anton LaVey as rival Thelemic priest Dagger LaRue. The shoot didn't go very well--LaVey was reportedly unsatisfied with his lines and was not pleased that he wasn't allowed to ad-lib. The episode was shot, but the day after shooting for it had wrapped, the entire set burned down to the ground. The episode was never aired, but bootlegs of it have been passed around fan communities for decades.
2. Create a cast of characters, including the actors who'd play them
3. Add in any actor photos, character bios and show synopsis that you want.
4. Post to your own journal.
nextian gave me: Fifties sitcom. Strange Angels ran from 1956 to 1963. Originally conceived as a miniseries about the life and times of rocket scientist John Whiteside Parsons, the proposal was bounced around and reshaped by the network until it had turned into a wholly fictionalized domestic melodrama.
The show was set in the fictional Southern California town of Sandoma. As the demographic for the show slowly changed, the setting changed from a windswept, isolated factory town in the desert to a fashionable suburb of Los Angeles.
The series focused on the Angel family and the boarders to whom they rented out the room in their iconic house.
Arthur Angel
played by Adrian Hoven, was the leading man in the series. He was the patriarch of the Angel clan as well as landlord, and was a slightly bumbling, absentminded, but kindhearted and wise paternal character. He worked for Zanadyne, the defense contractor that seemingly employed most of the town, as an engineer in the Death Ray Division. Oddly, the majority of his research seemed to take place in the family's basement, which was not shown on camera for the first two seasons of the series (during the third season, the show's budget was doubled and they were finally able to afford the special effects which made the eerily glowing lab such a memorable image). Arthur-centric plot lines often revolved around a Death Ray component that had malfunctioned somehow, or a breach of security at the Death Ray Division that Arthur was charged with covering up.
Anita Angel
played by Corinne Calvet, was the leading lady. She was one of the most glamorous and sultry TV mothers onscreen at the time, somewhat more knowing and sarcastic than the typical June Cleaver role. Along with being a housewife and mother, Anita Angel was the high priestess of the local Thelemic Temple (meetings of the Thelemics were usually portrayed as something between the danger and gravitas of a Satanic High Mass and the overblown pomp and silliness of a Raccoon Lodge meeting). While Anita was frequently relegated to a secondary character, solving the problems of the family or boarders with an intricate magical ritual that usually caused problems for others, several overarching story arcs did see her tracking down or battling ill-defined elements of cosmic evil somehow only accessible to a housewife.
Alice "Allie" Angel
played by Donna Corcoran, was the daughter of the household. Alice started as a precocious and slightly bloodthirsty tomboy, fond of creating explosions with her chemistry set and making trouble for her teachers. Over the course of the season, she grew into a rebellious beatnik, torn between a life of bohemian freedom, artistic expression, and interesting drugs, and a life working for "the establishment" at Zanadyne, putting her expertise with chemicals to more constructive use. As the series went on, Alice's plot arcs went from easily-solved school confrontations to more "topical" teen issues, such as drug use, peer pressure, and free verse.
One recurring guest star was Cousin Alec Angel
played by Darry Cowl. Cousin Alec would stop by to "cool his heels" in the Angel house whenever the producers couldn't line up anyone else they particularly liked, usually three or four times a season. Arthur's younger brother, he was the black sheep of the Angel family, a ne'er-do-well and schemer rather than a scientist or professor. He outwardly disparaged the Angel residence, often calling it "the ol' shack" or "this ramshackle heap," as well as the "one-rocketship town" of Sandoma, but clearly enjoyed the relative sense of safety and domesticity the place gave him. He had a tight bond with the mischievous Allie, and would often set aside his own labyrinthine schemes in order to assist her in her simple, direct plots.
Strange Angels featured a wide range of guest stars as temporary boarders. Some of the more memorable performances included:
Actress Jayne Mansfield, trademark platinum locks dyed red as the seductive Scarlett Baby, a possible "fire demon" summoned by a Thelemic ritual gone awry.
Author William S. Burroughs as the mysterious Ben Waye, the man who kept everyone guessing--was he a mole from Ultradyne, Zanadyne's rival? A Communist spy? An accountant? We never found out...
Physicist Richard Feynman as "himself but more so, if that's at all possible", manically cavorting about the house and bonding with Allie over his bongos.
The show was canceled after a disastrous shoot with guest star Anton LaVey as rival Thelemic priest Dagger LaRue. The shoot didn't go very well--LaVey was reportedly unsatisfied with his lines and was not pleased that he wasn't allowed to ad-lib. The episode was shot, but the day after shooting for it had wrapped, the entire set burned down to the ground. The episode was never aired, but bootlegs of it have been passed around fan communities for decades.
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I wish I'd run the Fifties, too. Maybe next decade...
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Anyway, I surrender.
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Semi-comedic spy show set in an alternate history!
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Also, I surrender. Albeit somewhat reluctantly ;]
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Soap opera set in a fantastical setting.
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CW show about two sisters who are rivals in something.
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I surrender!
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