ACE OF WANDS

NOTES FOR WRITERS

Ask any child his or her favourite television programme and invariably the answer will be one of the adult series. With ACE OF WANDS we want to play down the hard line of distinction between child and adult viewing, we aim to produce a programme that might be shown equally well at 9 pm as 5 pm. The basic formula is a strong inventive storyline, a slightly larger than life villain (the sort of guest part that will attract a name actor) tight, dramatic writing with the emphasis on excitement and pace, jump cuts, montage, the use of music and creative sound all high on the list of priorities. Since we have to appeal to a wide age range stories have to work on two basic levels, lots of visual action to hold the attention of the younger viewer and strong imaginative stories that are always developing to keep the older children. TAROT is a super hero, a righter of wrongs, solver of mysteries, he solves his mysteries with a pot-pourri of advanced intuition, premonition, ace sleuthing, inscrutable logic and a deep sense of human weakness combined with what might be called unusual psychic powers, hypnosis, telepathy and E.S.P His justice is a poetic justice rather than a more prosaic, merely lawful one, he’s a twentieth century Robin Hood with a pinch of Merlin and a dash of Houdini. However, TAROT faced with a threatening situation cannot melt walls with Kryptonic eyesight, cannon gain advantage with science fictionish powers, he is essentially a man anchored in reality, the reality of our times. Sometimes his methods might be questionable but his battle of wits always concludes with the triumph of good over evil. Our stories centre around Tarot, his accomplices and his clients, desperate people to whom the normal procedures of justice are inadequate or impossible.

A short list of do’s and don’ts-: Justice must be seen to be done, the villains must get their true deserts in the end. We want to avoid killing known characters if possible, in fact assassinations murders etc., don’t really belong in this series. The police are rarely involved, Tarot has no particular senior officer at the Yard that he contact, studio punch ups are rarely successful , of course confrontations must occur, direct threat, capture and escape, inquisition of the hero by villain and minions, cliff hangers are all part of the whole concept of this type of serialisation. Mad scientists out to revenge themselves on mankind, ex S.S. escapees from Nuremberg determined to establish a fourth Reich, threatened atomic holocaust, the military in general are undesirable subjects.

Microcamera cufflinks, instant solution by computer, boffinism must be played down, we want to develop an antithesis to the technocratic detective. No knives, nooses or cigarettes (sorry). Lots of space age magic for Tarot and Lulli to perform. Here we can use the full range of television techniques to obtain desired effects. We have a full time magic advisor who will be delighted to sort out any problems, give advice etc.

TAROT: Late twenties, attractive, very intelligent, physical. If he has to defend himself he does so with the grace of a matador rather than the savagery of a commando. His basic interest s to solve mysteries, combat crime, not prove how tough he is. When not involved with a case, Tarot works as a stage magician and escapologist, his act is ultra sophisticated and very well paid, he would for instance pop across to Monte to perform at a private dinner party given by Princess Grace. He lives in a very private pad at the top of a London skyscraper, he drives a Lotus Europa and has a unique and distinct way of dressing, contemporary clothes with a twist. He performs his act wearing a mask and is a total enigma to the world outside. Mr Sweet is the only one who knows who Tarot’s parents were and he’s not saying anything, not even to Tarot.

LULLI: Lulli met Tarot when she drove her beach buggy into his car, they discovered that there was a strong telepathic communication between them.  Tarot asked Lulli to be his assistant.  She is approx eighteen, very beautiful, vital, amusing, at times naive, vulnerable because of her femininity, but also has the guile unique to females.  Lulli is an orphan. Her father, a famous bridge builder, died when she was five, she lived with an aunt until she was sixteen, then she went to university to study philosophy, but got bored and quit in fact, boredom is Lulli's arch enemy, she is a compulsive activist and but until she met Tarot she had no burning ambition to burn up her excessive energy.

SAM: Sam has been a seaman, gravedigger, fish porter, fair booth boxer and body guard, but when he met Tarot he had hit an all time low and was busking around the smoke as a sack and chain man for an old escapologist.  Sam has been to nick twice, now he lives with Tarot and is his best friend, accomplice, and also proves invaluable as stage manager for the act, he constructs all the trick cabinets etc., and sees to the setting up and operation of lights and music.  Sam has incredible connections and there are a lot of people that owe Sam "favours".  Although Sam is at times very funny, he should not be developed as the cliche cockney light relief nor as the East End heavy, but as a very hard, likeable guy who has crammed a lot of living into his thirty short years, he should be a natural con-man, and yet every child's favourite uncle.

MR SWEET: Mr Sweet owns an antiquarian bookshop in Bloomsbury and has an international reputation as an lepidopterist and entomologist.  But he is known by a much smaller enclave of people as the only person who can put them in touch with the famous yet anonymous Tarot. Mr Sweet has a photographic memory that can almost always be relied upon to provide Tarot and co with obscure items of information and because of his amazing capacity for absorbing facts he is a sort of walking computer but with a distinct edge over his transistorised counterpart in that he as the under human understanding of the illogical. He is aged appx sixty, dresses in tweeds and rides a Moulton bicycle.

OZYMANDIAS: is a Malay fishing owl, Tarot’s pet, lives in the pad with Tarot and Sam on an open perch, is a great bird guard, loved by all, especially Lulli.  He has a special love hate thing with Sam who refers to it as a "mangy lump".  Ozzie is a great actor and one can write scenes that include him, without fear of wasting recording time.