'Very Strange Things' - Short Character Bios & Brief Outline (27/11/2014)

Basic Outline: Set in an animated anthropomorphic world, "Very Strange Things" is a 12 episode mystery-adventure series for all ages. The series is headed up by two agents from an enigmatic 'Bureau', Dan and Risa, who combat all sorts of bizarre villains and phenomena week to week. However, it’s not all what it seems, the bigger mysteries being much, much closer…

Originally based on my own writings from college as a means of creative amusement between the occasional mundaneness of studies, the series was birthed very much from my love of adventure stories as a child, with key influences including the likes of: Doctor Who, The Adventures of Tintin, Blake and Mortimer, as well as 1930s pulp characters like The Shadow and Doc Savage.

Naturally, having written these a few years back has since given me much time to think and mull over how to fit them together into a half hour weekly format for a television series, as well as add an extra layer beyond the simple nature of the one-off adventures. In an age where children's entertainment seems to be dominated more by comedy (Phineas and Ferb, My Little Pony, Gravity Falls etc.) this would make for a refreshing change of pace, with its slightly darker and more serial-esque adventure flavour. Furthermore, it also serves as an introduction for children to the more dramatic and arc-heavy style of television storytelling that has become more mainstream over the past decade, and as shown by series like Doctor Who and the tragically defunct Sarah Jane Adventures, children do respond to this, and given criticism levelled at Who recently with Series 7 and 8 for maybe being too complex, this series would offer a much more even playing field for this young audience.

As for ethos, it’s really quite simple: Children love to see the fantastic and sometimes scary. However, it also deals with issues that as they grow, children face; choice, morality, the nature of lengthy platonic and romantic relationships, consequences and atonement. It’s this balance of elements that I greatly and sincerely hope ‘Very Strange Things’ will help impart and inspire within each and everyone who watches this series for years to come.

MAIN CHARACTER PROFILES:

Dan Clancy: Our protagonist; a self-styled man of action, the ‘coolest guy in the room’ sort. Underneath his brashness though lies a strong concern for those around him, and a manic desire to see right be done. However, all this hides a secret that even Dan himself is not fully aware of.

Risa Velton: Dan's partner, herself a former member of Britain’s secret services. She is very spirited and feisty, but is no one’s fool. Of course, this drive is partly brought by a less than tender past with her family.

Heidi Clairemont: The woman in charge of the Bureau and former field agent/companion of Dan (More on that below in the outlines). Despite her matter of fact exterior, she still harbours feelings for Dan with whom she has many fond, even personal, memories.

Rucard: Dan's brother and seeming archnemesis. He is a supremely intelligent and conniving criminal who is also rather unnerved by his brother’s lack of ‘remembrance’, and decides to set that straight in his own vicious, cruel way.