"Being Human" Episode 1 SHOOTING SCRIPT 17th September 2008 - being human script writers (short story to read txt) 📗

Pride
and Prejudice. If anyone said
anything, I’d bite their head
off!
(beat)
Though I guess in your case
that’s actually a possibility.
George just looks at her. Thanks. Mitchell sniggers.
MITCHELL
We’ll see you later.
And they go. Annie looks around at the house, suddenly
empty and lifeless.
18 EXT. HOSPITAL. LATE AFTERNOON 1. 15:56. 18
The hospital. Patents and visitors and doctors mill about.
MITCHELL (V.O.)
Y’know, you should be pleased for
her. She can be seen by other
people now, she can step out of *
the house. That’s down to us.
"Being Human" Episode 1 SHOOTING SCRIPT 17th September 2008 9.
17 CONTINUED: (3) 17
19 INT. THE HOSPITAL. STAFF ENTRANCE. LATE AFTERNOON 1. 15:57 19
Mitchell and George trudge into work. They clock in / sign
in / whatever. They lower their voices. *
GEORGE *
Why is she here anyway? Other *
people move in somewhere, they *
have damp, they have woodlice. *
Why do we get Casper? *
MITCHELL *
We’ve been over this. There must *
be something unresolved about her *
death. That’s what’s keeping her *
here. *
GEORGE *
It’s not fair... *
MITCHELL *
Exactly. Whatever happened to *
her, it was unfair. Unjust. *
GEORGE *
No, I mean her being here is *
unfair. The amount of washing up *
she generates... *
Mitchell rolls his eyes, he isn’t getting into this. *
MITCHELL *
So what you gonna do? *
GEORGE
I’ll work for an hour, then say
there’s a family emergency and
scoot down to the isolation room
before the moon comes up.
MITCHELL
Cool. I’ll come and let you out
in the morning.
There is a gesture between them, a hug maybe, something
unspoken. This is a familiar routine now but Mitchell knows
the horrors his friend is about to endure.
George peels off. Mitchell is by a couple of screens. Flat
grey footage from CCTV cameras dotted around the hospital.
Something catches his eye.
One camera looks on to an empty corridor. Lift doors. They
open. No one gets in, no one gets out. The empty lift just
sits there. The doors close again. Mitchell watches the
screen.
"Being Human" Episode 1 SHOOTING SCRIPT 17th September 2008 10.
(CONTINUED)
20 INT. HOSPITAL. CORRIDOR. LATE AFTERNOON 1. 16:04. 20
Mitchell walks down a corridor. It's empty. A patient
maybe, wandering along. Mitchell looks around. It's as if
he's trying to find the thinnest trace of a scent on the
air, or a distant sound.
21 INT. HOSPITAL. WARD. LATE AFTERNOON 1. 16:11. 21
A ward, with private rooms at the end. Mitchell slips down
the aisle, past the nurse at the Nurse's Station. There's
nothing here. Nothing out of the ordinary. But his eye is
drawn to a room, the door firmly shut, the blinds down.
22 INT. HOSPITAL. PRIVATE ROOM. LATE AFTERNOON 1. 16:12. 22
There's one bed in the room, one patient. Deeply asleep,
wired up to beeping monitors. And standing over him is
Seth. He looks up at Mitchell as Mitchell enters. They keep
their voices low.
SETH
Jesus, Mitchell, how are you
supposed to find anywhere in this
place? I followed the signs for
Intensive Care, I ended back
where I came in!
MITCHELL
What are you doing here, Seth?
SETH
Herrick thinks recruitment should
be more tactical. People with
money and influence. No more
tramps or people who fall asleep
on the Night Bus. Our gatherings
are starting to look like the
seating area in Argos.
(a grin)
You had the right idea with
Lauren. ‘Least she’s easy on the
eye.
Seth takes his coat off, preparing to feed.
SETH (CONT'D)
This guy, I think he’s on the
council or something...
"Being Human" Episode 1 SHOOTING SCRIPT 17th September 2008 11.
19 CONTINUED: 19
(CONTINUED)
MITCHELL
Leave him alone.
SETH
What, you want to share?
MITCHELL
No, I’ve... I’ve stopped.
SETH
Yeah we’ve had this conversation.
What blood type is he anyway?
(the chart)
A Positive. Hmmm. A bit Jacob’s
Creek-y for me, but there you go.
MITCHELL
Move away from the bed, Seth.
Seth stops, looks at Mitchell. Fuck, he’s serious...
SETH
Remember that guy, the student.
When was it? 58, 59? Or you and
Herrick and the girl in the
hotel? What about that couple in
the park? You can’t stop,
Mitchell. This is what we are.
(a grin)
Come on. Just a taste. A sip.
The temptation, the urge to drink, is so strong Mitchell
literally shudders. This is torture. He has to wrench the
words out.
MITCHELL
I said... leave him alone...
Seth’s grins fades into a sneer of contempt.
SETH
Or what? Look at you, when was
the last time you fed? You’re
shaking, you’re sweating. You
really think you’re up to getting
busy with me?
Mitchell says nothing. Seth snorts - he thought as much.
SETH (CONT’D)
Now get into character and watch
the door. I’ve got a job to do.
He pulls the sheet down, exposing the patient’s neck.
Mitchell grips Seth by the arm and tries to yank him back
from the bed. Seth swings his arm back, knocking Mitchell’s
hand away. Mitchell slams Seth back into the wall.
"Being Human" Episode 1 SHOOTING SCRIPT 17th September 2008 12.
22 CONTINUED: 22
(CONTINUED)
They face each other, nose to nose. Mitchell clearly had
more fight in him than Seth suspected.
MITCHELL
I don’t care if the coolest kid
in school is suddenly your mate,
Seth. To me you’ll always be that
milky little creep who smells of
biscuits. Tell Herrick the
hospital is out of bounds.
He lets Seth go. Seth says nothing. Then shrugs, smiles his
yellow smile and heads for the door. He stops.
SETH
A word of warning. One ‘friend’
to another. It’s cold out there
without us.
Seth leaves. Mitchell takes a deep breath. And another.
23 INT. THE HOSPITAL. CORRIDOR. EARLY EVENING 1. 17:16. 23
George is chatting to a nurse - Becca. She’s in her 20s,
pretty, but homesick and a little shy. She has an armful of
laundry, George pushes an elderly man in a wheelchair
BECCA
Yeah, just outside Leeds. I mean,
I loved it, but I thought “if I
don’t get out now...” Coz mates
of mine, some are married or with
kids, and they’ve just stayed.
They’ve stopped by a little makeshift shrine. Cards and
photos and flowers (withering a little now) are pinned and
pasted to a wall. One photo dominates and provides the
focal point. A woman in her 20s. Beautiful. Happy. Utterly
alive and vibrant. This is Lauren. George looks at the
flowers and cards. Becca watches him.
BECCA (CONT’D)
Who was she?
GEORGE
Lauren. Worked in A+E.
BECCA
When did she die?
GEORGE
A couple of months before you
started. Heart attack. She was
20, 21? I know, mad, isn’t it.
"Being Human" Episode 1 SHOOTING SCRIPT 17th September 2008 13.
22 CONTINUED: (2) 22
(CONTINUED)
He looks at the main photo. Lost for a moment.
GEORGE (CONT’D)
She was beautiful...
BECCA
Look. They’re doing a little
memorial thing. Planting a tree.
Mitchell approaches them quickly.
MITCHELL
George.
BECCA
(beams, smitten)
Hiya, Mitchell.
MITCHELL
Yeah, hi.
(to George)
Shouldn’t you be going?
GEORGE
(looks at his watch)
Shit.
(to the old man)
Sorry.
(to Becca)
Shit, I’ve got to be somewhere.
Kind of now.
He quickly takes the laundry from Becca, pops it on the old
man’s lap and hands the wheelchair over to Becca.
BECCA
(to Mitchell)
I’ve got a break in 10 minutes.
GEORGE
(to Becca) *
I’ll see you around then.
MITCHELL
(just GO)
In your own time.
George scurries off. Sneaks a glance back at Becca as he
goes.
BECCA
I was saying, I’ve got a break in
10 minutes.
"Being Human" Episode 1 SHOOTING SCRIPT 17th September 2008 14.
23 CONTINUED: 23
24 INT. STAIRWELL / ISOLATION ROOM. EARLY EVENING 1. 17:22. 24
George trots down the stairs towards the isolation room.
Voices ahead make him stop. Shit, there are people in
there... He creeps closer to the door. Two maintenance men
are clearing out the battered old desks and boxes.
GEORGE
Hello? Uh, what are you doing?
MAINTENANCE GUY
This is gonna be the site office
when they start building the
admin wing. You should have seen
the state of it! The furniture
all smashed, these marks on the
walls... They been keeping the
mentals in here or what?
George looks at his watch and stumbles back up the stairs.
The other workmen is brandishing a drill. He rams it into
the wall. The growl and squeal of the drill is magnified.
Then it changes, into a scream of metal and wild creatures.
Deafening and painful, like a giant engine grinding and
roaring. The kind of sound that swallows your own scream
whole.
FADE TO:
Mitchell’s face. A brittle smile fixed in place as he tries
to ignore the fury of the scream inside him. Something else
cuts through the noise. A voice. Insistent.
BECCA (O.C.)
Mitchell... Mitchell.
He blinks. Snapped back to reality. Bolsters the smile. The
scream fades out and we pull out to find ourselves in...
25 EXT. HOSPITAL. CANTEEN. EARLY EVENING 1. 17:47. 25
Mitchell and Becca having coffee.
BECCA
I said are you Ok? Your hand is
shaking.
MITCHELL
Oh. Yeah, I quit, uh, smoking a
few weeks ago. I’m still at the
twitchy stage. I’m hoping -
BECCA
So are you seeing anyone?
"Being Human" Episode 1 SHOOTING SCRIPT 17th September 2008 15.
(CONTINUED)
Mitchell laughs, taken aback by her directness.
BECCA (CONT’D)
Ok, that was me trying to be all
sophisticated and Marie Clare,
but it came out really Special
Needs, didn’t it. I’m such an
idiot. I shouldn’t be allowed
near people.
MITCHELL
It’s fine, it’s fine.
Mitchell swills his coffee in his cup. Choosing his words.
MITCHELL (CONT’D)
But in answer to your question:
no. My relationships have always
followed a similar pattern.
They've been brief, they...
haven't ended well. That has to
change. I can't keep hurting
people. I just want something
good and normal. But there are
those who say I can't do that.
BECCA
Who says that? Your friends?
MITCHELL
Not my friends, no.
BECCA
Your family?
MITCHELL
I guess you’d call them that.
BECCA
(solemn, wise)
Families are wankers.
MITCHELL
(laughs)
Families are wankers.
Mitchell looks up. George has scurried into the canteen,
his eyes searching frantically for Mitchell. Mitchell
stands, excuses himself from Becca and trots over.
GEORGE
The isolation room I transform
in, it’s full of people! We need
to get somewhere, I’ve got about
40 minutes before I change!
That’s all Mitchell needs to hear. They hurtle out.
"Being Human" Episode 1 SHOOTING SCRIPT 17th September 2008 16.
25 CONTINUED: 25
(CONTINUED)
26 EXT. COUNTRY ROAD. EVENING 1. 18:07. 26
Mitchell’s car splashes along the country road and comes to
an abrupt stop. George scrambles out.
27 INT. MITCHELL’S CAR. EVENING 1. 18:07. 27
MITCHELL
George, wait. It’s too risky.
GEORGE
What?!
MITCHELL
You haven’t had time to find
somewhere. You can’t just run
into some random bit of
countryside. You’ll kill someone.
GEORGE
Well what else can I do?
MITCHELL
Come back to the house.
GEORGE
(appalled)
I’m not doing this in the house!
MITCHELL
For God’s sake, George, you can’t
always keep it separate. This is
happening. This is part of you.
George bolts into the woods. Mitchell yells after him.
MITCHELL (CONT’D)
It’s safe there! We can contain
you! George! George!
28 EXT. WOODS. EVENING 1. 18:09. 28
George crashes through the bushes and branches, already
tugging at his clothes.
"Being Human" Episode 1 SHOOTING SCRIPT 17th September 2008 17.
25 CONTINUED: (2) 25
29 EXT. WOODS. CLEARING. EVENING 1. 18:11. 29
George stumbles into the clearing. Stops dead. There’s a
family there. Parents and two kids. Camping. A tent and
stove. They stare at George.
GEORGE
Hi, how are you?
He turns, crashes back into the woods.
30 EXT.