The Golden Years - a show by me!

[Caesar of Bread]

Due to some of my neighbors and my dad having nostalgia for the late 60s and early 70s, I created a TV show idea. Here is the first 12 episodes of season 1. Any advice?

Episode number and title	Plot description
1. Fresh Start	On January 30, 1968, the Viet Cong started the Tet Offensive. In the city of Hue, Private Joseph Bradley fights alongside other members of his platoon. Meanwhile, at Richard Nicolls High School in Lutetia, New York, Elisa McNelley meets Jean Francois after creating a Beatles fan club. Nicole Lancey and Elisa head back home together. Fyodor Yakovich, a diplomatic attache, feels love for Beata, a girl in Prague. In Prague, the attache to the Soviet ambassador Fyodor Yakovich is kidnapped by the KGB for not caring about the Prague Spring. Back in Hue, 8-year-old Bian Nguyen is attacked by American soldiers. All 6 of them are accidentally killed on January 30, 1968. Somehow, their binding force lets all of them come back to life.
2. Everyone’s Afraid of Death	Jean wakes up, and realizes that he did not die. He remembers seeing 6 other people right when he was supposed to die. Not caring at all, Francois decides on going to school. Bian Nguyen wakes up and finds Joseph Bradly. Since Nguyen is an orphan, Joseph decides that it is his deed to take care of the child. Nicole and Elisa go to school and talk to Jean about what happened. The three decide to find out more about what had happened. Fyodor Yakovich escapes KGB apprehension and finds himself in Thuringia. Finally, the day comes. On February 24, 1968, the Americans retook Hue.
3. The Battle of Hue	In Hue, Joseph Bradley and Bian continue fighting the Viet Cong. Bian is nearly hit in the arm, but Joseph saves her. The two continue fighting the Viet Cong. In Lutetia, New York, Jean invites Elisa and Nicole to his house. Bradley and Bian find an injured North Vietnamese soldier. The two take the soldier in. Elisa and Nicole discourage Jean’s nerdiness after Francois says that he loves reading Issac Asimov. Fyodor Yakovich is found by the Stasi and the KGB and is sent to Moscow.
4. March 16	On March 16, Jean expresses his joy when Robert Kennedy is proclaimed as the Democratic candidate, and his family switches parties. Meanwhile, Joseph, Bian, and a former North Vietnamese soldier Chien Thiem accidentally witness parts of the My Lai massacre. Bian starts to cry, causing Chien Thiem to wipe her tears. Joseph is horrified by what his fellow soldiers did and thinks about going AWOL.
5. Heroes Don’t Last Forever	Fyodor is ordered to return to Prague by Leonid Brezhnev and become the diplomat’s second attache. Meanwhile, Joseph Bradley is shocked when he sees a member of his platoon dead. Nicole gets a call from Memphis from her aunt, who says that MLK, Jr. was shot. When Jean hears about MLK’s death, he cries (alongside Elisa and Nicole). Joseph Bradley and Chien Thiem bury the grave of his friend. Jean finds out that the bonding is due to the 6 people sharing something in common: a karass.
6. Karass	Francois tells Elisa and Nicole what karass means by summarizing Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle. Elisa and Nicole laugh and call him a nerd. Fyodor asks the lady what her name is, and she tells him that her name is Beata Svoboda. Chien Thiem and Bian Nguyen teach Joseph how to say a few words in Vietnamese. Jean decides on trying to find a way to contact the rest of the karass.
7. 2001, A Space Age Odyssey	School is finally out! Francois decides to read Arthur C. Clarke’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, while Elisa and Nicole watch it in theaters. Elisa and Nicole hang out with a couple of jocks in 12th grade when watching the movie. The jocks reveal that they had dodged the draft (Elisa and Nicole punch them). Joseph Bradley, drafted in 1965, remembers earlier in 1968 when he saw the kids enlisted for the draft. Fyodor goes on a date with Beata. Jean finishes the book and hears that Bobby Kennedy was shot. Wilfrid decides on abstaining from voting, as Robert Kennedy was the only good choice, and plans a trip in October to their homeland, Quebec. In a post-credit scene, Joseph Bradley remembers a young, snobby Donald Trump dodging the draft.
8. Crackdown	Beata goes out on a protest against the Soviet government, with Fyodor strongly advising Beata not to protest, as the Soviets are planning to invade Prague. Elisa and Nicole go to Memphis, Tennessee to visit Nicole’s family. Finally, the Soviets invade Prague. Fyodor finds his brother in the midst of the invasion and fights his fellow Yakovich. Elisa and Nicole meet Nicole’s sisters, who show the two how life in Memphis is different than life in Lutetia. Joseph Bradley, Bian, and Chien Thiem secretly cross borders into North Vietnam. Fyodor is scarred by his brother. Beata runs to help him but is shot in the process.
9. It’s Not Right	Fyodor rushes Beata away from the fight, as he kicks back his brother. Fyodor’s brother rushes away and vows vengeance. Elisa and Nicole watch Nicole’s sisters get harassed by the police, and Nicole shoves the police away. Joseph finds out the horrors both sides are committing and realizes that Chien Thiem also wants to desert the army. Fyodor tries to heal Beata but starts to miserably fail. Beata tells Fyodor that she knew about the karass. Before she dies, Beata tells Fyodor that they will see each other again. In the end, the song “Yesterday” plays out as Fyodor mourns Beata. In a post-credit scene, Jean packs clothes for Quebec.
10. The Francois Family	It is finally October, with school starting again. Jean, Wilfrid, and Margaret Francois go to Montreal, where Jean meets his cousins Anna and Louis, and his uncle and aunt, Henri and Maria. Joseph and Bian fight off some North Vietnamese soldiers and realize that they are just civilians. The North Vietnamese officer in charge kills the soldiers for failing to kill Bradley. The October Crisis ensues in Montreal, and Henri decides on joining the Quebec Nationalist side. The Francois family is left divided. Jean meets Pierre Trudeau, who requests that Jean help the Canadians take down the Quebec nationalists. On the other hand, Jean sees the Mounties beat a Quebec protester. Jean is left without a decision, as Fyodor is sent to Montreal by Brezhnev to give arms to the nationalists (who are Marxist-Leninists).
11. Sunny Ways	Jean and Louis discuss which side to choose, in which Jean chooses the Canadian side (even though in the past he has had not a good relationship with the Mounties). The Mounties argue with Jean, but give him a sword to fight with. When Jean finds Fyodor, the two fight each other on a bridge of the Parc Jean-Drapeau. Henri and Wilfrid fight on the same bridge, but Jean and Fyodor push each other into the freezing water. The two suddenly realize that both are part of the karass together. Chien Thiem shoots the Vietnamese officer and runs away with the group. Guanyin teaches Jean about the mythological bonding in which he is connected to Fyodor and others. with Fyodor pulling Jean out of the water and saving him with CPR. Jean thanks Fyodor Yakovich, who cries and walks away because he could not do the same to Beata.
12. Midwinter	Before winter break, Jean tells Elisa and Nicole about the bonding and how it is mythological, which the two somewhat believe (with doubt). When going to New York City during Christmas, Jean meets John Lennon and Yoko Ono. He decides on taking a tour of the Beatles’ workshop, in which Jean suggests using some riffs (the riffs to Sweet Child of Mine, Hotel California, Stairway to Heaven, and Never Gonna Give You Up), but Ringo Starr thinks of those ideas as useless. Chien Thiem, Bian Nguyen, and Joseph start a fire for warmth during a winter monsoon. Fyodor, in Moscow, remembers Jean and realizes that the Soviets killed Beata. Guanyin reports to the Council of Gods that she knows that Jean is aware of the karass. In the end, the song “California Dreamin” plays as Joseph, Bian, and Nguyen celebrate Christmas by exchanging gifts with each other and telling stories.

 

[Valka D'Ur]

First off, I commend you for your ambition. Creating a series isn't easy, and neither is scriptwriting (I tried it for the now-defunct Script Frenzy competition that used to be part of NaNoWriMo and had to give up on page 2 as I really had bitten off too much).

That said...

There are a LOT of characters you've dumped in these plot summaries. A list of them would be helpful - names, which other characters they're associated with/related to, and where they are. A brief background would also help.

Secondly, I have to say that I know very little about the Vietnam war. It's not a subject that ever interested me, though I did read a bit about it when watching an episode of The Crow: Stairway to Heaven in which it's revealed that the main character (Eric Draven) was a Vietnam war orphan adopted by the Draven family and brought to the U.S.

How much research have you done on the October Crisis? Gotta say, the RCMP would never give anyone a sword...

 

[Caesar of Bread]

I'll do Jean, Joseph, Bian, and Fyodor for now.

Jean Francois - A French Canadian that lives in Lutetia, New York, Jean Francois is a freshman at the start of the series. He is a nerd who likes science fiction and the Beatles. Francois is friends with Elisa McNelley and Nicole Lancey, who go to school with him (at Robert Nicolls High). His parents are Wilfrid (who is 1/2 Metis and from Montreal) and Margaret Francois (from Boston). His cousins, Louis and Anna, along with his uncle Henri and First Nations aunt Maria live in Montreal. Francois meets Fyodor at the end of the first part of season 1, and has a feud with the Mounties.

Joseph Bradley - Bradley is an American private in Vietnam who has feelings to leave the army. Originally from Lutetia, Bradley joined the military to help out his family. He adopted Bian after the Battle of Hue, and is taking care of a North Vietnamese soldier named Chien Thiem. Bradley is a traumatized man after seeing the atrocities committed by his fellow Americans.

Bian Nguyen - A Vietnamese orphan, Bian joined Joseph Bradley for protection, and later becomes friends with Chien Thiem. She is a very energetic child who learns to become mature.

Fyodor Yakovich - Fyodor Yakovich is a Soviet diplomat and spy. Due to his multilinguality, Yakovich is assigned to go to Western countries like America, England, and France. When in Prague, Fyodor meets Beata Svoboda, his true love. Svoboda is killed in front of him during the Soviet invasion, causing Fyodor to vow for vengeance. When in Montreal, Fyodor saves Jean's life after fighting him. Yakovich is found out to have Western media with him, such as records of the Beatles, Bob Dylan, and Three Dog Night.

 

[Takhisis]

/subscription post

 

[Caesar of Bread]

Yeah, I know. They go back to Montreal. Hey, it's not that bad...
Also added two new characters, Frank and Jim (John Douglas will be with the Mounties in the earlier set of episodes).

Any suggestions?

13. Screaming Fire	It is 1969. Joseph Bradley, Bian Nguyen, and Chien Thiem find out that there is to be a napalm strike coming their way. Joseph joins a platoon and hides Bian and Chien. The soldiers fight on a beach near the Mekong in the south of Vietnam. Meanwhile, Fyodor finds a KGB agent and knocks him out. Yakovich feels the desire for vengeance. Elisa, Jean, and Nicole come upon Journey to the West at the town library. The napalm strike occurs, and Bian finds out that the strike is aimed at a small village. Joseph Bradley orders Chien Thiem and Bian Nguyen to shoot down the helicopters burning the village. Bradley is shot in the shoulder, with many members of his platoon dying. His platoon leader is killed by the napalm blazes, along with many members of the small village. Joseph buries the dead. When Jean goes to read Journey to the West, he is summoned to the Council of Gods.
14. Where No Man Has Gone Before	Joseph Bradley decides to mutiny against his commanding general or go AWOL. Jean talks to the council messenger, Guanyin, about the origin of the karass and why he was chosen. Guanyin and Zeus (one of the leaders of the council) tell him that the council needs him to stop an infernal force planning to attack the realms, which could cause Ragnarok. Bian Nguyen and Chien Thiem are captured by US soldiers. Zeus and Odin argue over if Jean should lead the attack against the invasion force, and recall the deaths of Balder and Osiris. Joseph Bradley is assigned to kill Bian and Chien Thiem in April of 1969. Policemen Frank Douglas and Jim Saint are introduced in a traffic jam.
15. Return To Montreal	Bian, Chien, and Joseph plan an escape, while John Lennon goes to Montreal during the “bed-ins for peace” era. Guanyin meets with Joseph Bradley and Bian Nguyen and helps their plot. Joseph’s friend, Randy Jefferson hears about their idea and is promised to keep it secret. Jean and Wilfrid go to Montreal, while Margaret goes to Houston to work for NASA. Henri and Wilfrid reconcile their past spite for each other. Maria fights Mounties Chief John Douglas because she wants First Nation rights in Canada. Fyodor returns to Montreal to find Jean Francois. Jean, Anna, and Louis take a walk and find Fyodor in the Biosphere.
16. Vengeance	Fyodor tells Jean that all he wants is revenge for Beata’s death. The Mounties accept a deal from a Soviet spy named Jakob Burovich, who killed Beata. Guanyin and Joseph Bradley fight off a couple of American soldiers. The Mounties arrest Henri again for suspicious activities, which leads to Maria, Wilfrid, and Anna protesting against Douglas. Fyodor, Louis, and Jean hide in the Biosphere while Douglas tries to find the three. Jim Saint and Frank Douglas go to a donut shop and meet Elisa and Nicole, who tell them to get back to work. Fyodor, Jean, and Louis visit John Lennon in his hotel room. The episode ends with John Douglas finding Jean.
17. Give Peace A Chance	Joseph is held captive by his commanding general, who orders Bradley to join Chien Thiem and Bian Nguyen in death. Fyodor finds Jakob Burovich and duels him. Louis frees Henri. The two run away from prison but are found by Douglas’ assistants. Some of the Mounties in Montreal decide on going on strike. Burovich and Yurovsky continue fighting as Douglas tries to arrest Jean for alleged conspiracy with the Soviets. Louis whacks Douglas with a rifle, causing Jean to retrieve the sword he used against Fyodor back in October.
18. Two Sides	Jean and Douglas duel on a bridge in the Parc Jean-Drapeau, while Louis fights Douglas’ assistants in the Biosphere along with Henri. Joseph frees Bian and Chien Thiem, with Guanyin and Randy Jefferson fighting off the other American soldiers. Elisa and Nicole read Journey to the West, but are attacked by 2 police officers. Fyodor continues fighting Jakob but is shot in the chest by Burovich. Douglas slashes at Henri, who is partially blinded and falls to the ground. Louis gets Henri to the Biosphere, while Jean finds out that Fyodor was shot. Thor finds Fyodor in a near-death state and decides to give Fyodor Mjolnir.
19. The Bridge	Fyodor obtains Mjolnir, which indirectly gives Fyodor temporary control of thunder. Yakovich blitzes Burovich, and the two continue fighting. Joseph is encountered by General Marshall Ryan, who fights Bradley. Jim Saint and Frank Douglas find the police officers. The two seize them and find out that they were mind-controlled. Elisa and Nicole meet Aphrodite of the Council, while Jean and Louis continue their fights. Joseph kills Marshall Ryan. Anna rushes to the Biosphere, while Henri kills a Mountie that is beating him. Jean stabs John Douglas, while Fyodor gives Mjolnir back after killing Burovich. Jakob tells Fyodor that it was General Iosef Durovov that ordered Burovich to kill Beata. John Douglas spends the last minutes of his life with Jean, to who he apologizes. In a post-credits scene, Wilfrid talks to Pierre Trudeau.
20. Forever	Elisa, Nicole, Bian, Fyodor, Jean, and Joseph meet at the Council of the Gods. Zeus and the Council declare them the people to save the world from the underworld, as Ragnarok is appearing to start. Fyodor talks to Hades if he can see Beata again. Jim and Frank find Wilfrid and talk to him about what happened. Margaret gets Jean, Elisa, and Nicole a plan to go to Houston for the Apollo 11 launch. Fyodor rushes to the gates of the Underworld but is stopped by Hades and Anubis. Jean finds out about his grandfather’s use of alchemy, and the season ends with the Vietnam crew walking away from the setting sun. A post-credits scene introduces Chernobog and Beelzebub, two demons.