FACE IN THE CROWD

created by OC,SH’s founder & Erika E, while in college, spring 1995
further written by OC,SH’s founder & now adapted for publication here

LAST TIME:
Character sketch (Jefferson)

SETTING THE STAGE
When Erika & I originally wrote this, we didn’t consider timelines & how long it would take action to transpire on TV. However, when I started working on this for my college honors thesis, I was forced to think & project how the action might work on screen. Part of that process was to establish the “general breakdown”, or what took place in each day of a 3-month time span, starting with Month 1, Week 1, Day 1 & ending with Month 3, Week 4, Day 5. Within that structure, I also had to determine when days within the story changed; in some cases, each day’s episode was a different day, while in others, 1 day lasted 2-3 days of actual “air” time. Once I established those time constraints, I wrote full scripts for 4 TV episodes. After college, I continued writing the tale for ~4 years, adding characters as I wrote. What unfolds HERE is a combination of all of this. Along the way, I will include all 4 completely-scripted episodes & character sketches as new characters are introduced.

PLOTS OF THE TIMELINE’S 1st 3 MONTHS
* on-off marriages of Steve-Jackie, Michael-Cathy & Michael-Jackie (see below note)
* Tammy’s obsession with her sister, Christine
* Donnie’s kidnapping
* Rockingham legacy
* Jake-Amy’s affair
* Jenna’s murder
* hostile takeover attempt of the Manchester Phoenix

marriage note:
Michael-Cathy are in their 2nd marriage. They were originally married years ago & had twins Timothy & Michelle. After they divorced, Michael married Jackie. While Michael-Jackie were married, Jackie had an affair with Steve, with Julia the result. But, Jackie convinced Michael that Julia was his & Michael-Jackie stayed married. After Michael-Jackie had Erika, Michael discovered the truth about Julia & became an alcoholic. After Michael divorced Jackie, Cathy helped & re-married Michael, while Jackie married Steve.

NEXT TIME:
The tale starts to unfold, beginning at Month 1, Week 1, Day 1….