Dead Set at Comeback

Dead Set at Comeback

“He´s dead, but tell that to his ego”

It sucks being dead. Tommy Steele had it all, and now he´s but a ghost of himself. Literally. For a while, he was the hottest star of Hollywood. Shooting bad guys on celluloid was what he did best, and it seemed he could do no wrong.

Tommy cemented his status as an action-star with Deadly Annihilation- and Turbocop-franchises. The comedy Diaper Patrol did solid business, but people preferred him as a one-liner bad-ass, killing bad guys.

An unhealthy diet of alcohol, bacon and pain killers took him to an early grave. He was survived by a loving wife Doreen, and a 9-year old son Dexter.

Death is something that doesn´t suite Tommy´s plans at all. He is simply not having any of it, and he is determined to make a comeback.
There are bumps on the road, nonetheless. Such as the fact, that a ghost cannot be photographed or consequently, filmed. His agent Mark Maximus is happy to be visited by a ghost of an old friend, but there is no way he can get Tommy back in movies.

Some of us simply won´t take no for an answer, so Tommy decides to make a leap from movies to theater. Mark is on board.

Time moves differently on the other side, so while Tommy was still coming to terms with his sudden death, he had already been buried. When he finally decides to step back to our world, three years have passed.

Doreen has re-married during Tommy´s absence. Her new husband Dan is a personal trainer for the rich and famous. Tommy is not really jealous, but is secretly pissed off Dan is now basically living his life. His old house, boat, son, and wife. In that order. His family is pleased to see him after all these years, but there is a mutual feeling, dead should stay on their own side. Tommy won´t hear of it.

The leap to theater proves to be an interesting career move. A new, flamboyant production of Macbeth is in development, and the theater is very keen on the idea of having a ghost in their play. Tommy will settle for nothing less than the lead part.

The 10-episode arc follows Tommy´s new career development, reconciliation with his family, and the eternal raft between the dead and the living. In that order. We see glimpses of the afterlife as flashbacks throughout the series, but the main focus is on Tommy´s new “life” on this side.

There is an element of sadness hidden in the background. The show deals with the meaning, or the meaningless of it all. There is nostalgy, and we are constantly faced with our mortality. How brief our time here is, and does one´s existence make a damn bit of difference. When a loved one comes back, and we get a second chance to talk to him, this is just plain wrong, but also oddly comforting.

Series bible available on request.