Create A Show: Utopia
Sep. 19th, 2010 03:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meridian_rose
Utopia: reality is over-rated anyway
For the
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif){kind=small}
scifiland challenge "Create Your Own Show".In the future, a virtual environment that rivals reality itself has been constructed. It is called Utopia. Within it, people choose avatars that may or may not resemble their real world forms, and explore whatever scenarios they desire. From isolated beaches to crowded cityscapes, Utopia can provide whatever the client desires. While a certain level of pleasure and pain can be fed-back to the client, the intensity can be adjusted – and no real physical harm can ever come to the physical form of the client.
Utopia's membership is strictly controlled. It is an experiment in healing and all the clients have reasons to want access to Utopia. Some are physically incapacitated, even comatose; others have mental and emotional issues that impact on their lives. Utopia is an environment where people can't just walk, they can fly. Utopia also lets people face their inner demons and greatest fears. The translator is constantly active, letting everyone hear others speak in a language they understand. And clients can learn new skills in perfect safety.
For most of the staff and clients, Utopia is as heavenly as the name implies. However there are those who distrust Utopia and feel it is somehow immoral. There are also those who seek to warp Utopia for their own ends; a comatose prisoner could be interrogated for information within the virtual environment, for example, tricked into thinking they are with friends or tortured mercilessly without fear of killing them.
Of late, several incursions have been made into Utopia's mainframe and so far the Guardians and the inbuilt safeguards have repelled the invaders. However a more concerted approach is now being taken by a shadowy task force and this will challenge the very existence of Utopia.
Alongside the story arc, there will be episodic elements as various guest clients use Utopia to enhance their lives and we meet other staff members and their avatars.
The Staff
Amethyst/"Amy" – Annabel Jones – Guardian [Tabrett Bethell]
Amethyst was the name chosen by Annabel Jones for her avatar but this quickly became "Amy" since it was so "unwieldly" as one client put it. She does still wear a lot of purple.
Amy's purpose is to safeguard Utopia and assist the clients, dealing with as many problems as possible without needing to alert Cee-Cee. Amy has access to a wide range of skills – practically unlimited due to her work – but prefers Tasers and handguns as weapons and Tai Chi and kickboxing for unarmed combat, while painting and riding are her favourite leisurely pursuits.
Unlike most other staff members, it's possible Annabel is as damaged as the clients she serves – she gives cryptic hints about her life that suggest Amethyst is an ideal rather than a real representation of Annabel Jones; we see glimpses of her real life but only her home office, her hands, and her profile in shadow. Amy is working closely with Erin when the trouble starts.
Cee-Cee/ Command and Control– unknown – Chief Moderator [Charles Mesure]
Cee-Cee rarely appears the same way twice, from a wearing a variety of outfits to being clean-shaven/bearded, with or without glasses, and with hair of varying lengths and even colours. Cee-Cee is short for "Command and Control" for he (or indeed, she, for the person behind the avatar is unknown) is the Chief Moderator of Utopia. Any staff member or client can call upon Cee-Cee when needed. His job is to ensure the smooth running of Utopia – as Ricky explains to new clients, Cee-Cee is practically God in Utopian terms.
Various theories circulate amongst the staff and clients as to Cee-Cee's identity. Speculations include
* he is the avatar of one individual, possibly even the creator of Utopia
* he is the avatar worn by various high-level moderators, hence the varying appearances
* he is actually a physical representation of the AI that controls Utopia
* he is "client zero", as incapacitated in the real world as any other client
As the series progresses the question of Cee-Cee's real identity becomes of increasing importance.
Kerem - Kerem Demir – Therapist [Ennis Esmer]
Kerem wears an avatar that matches his own appearance. As a therapist he aims to help and support the clients. He is a shoulder to cry on, someone to lean on, someone to help them explore their fears, and he is a vital support for those who – like Ricky – have little or no real life to get back to.
Kerem sees the virtual world as a fantastic opportunity. Clients can face venomous snakes or confront dead authority figures. They get the opportunity to try out new ways of dealing with conflict or social interaction. In Utopia, they can live out fantasies or learn new skills. He hopes to help Erin gain confidence, but for Ricky, all Kerem can hope for is that Utopia gives him some semblance of a life until such time his physical body might heal.
Kerem is also available to the staff, should they want to talk to him. He wants to help Amy, feeling she has issues of her own, but while she values his friendship, she is reluctant to open up to him.
The Clients
Ricky – Ricardo Valdez – Client [Amaury Nolasco]
Ricky is the first client and he considers it his duty to assist new clients in settling in to, and learning to get the most out of, Utopia. A decorated soldier, Ricky was badly injured in a friendly fire incident. His physical form is comatose in a veteran's hospital while his avatar was constructed by Utopia technicians to closely resemble his own form – a form Ricky hasn't changed much despite this being a simple matter within the virtual world.
Ricky loves being able to carry out physical actions in Utopia – swimming, running, hang-gliding, surfing, shooting, and boxing are just a few of the activities he enjoys. He also enjoys being at the Taverna, the social room of Utopia where all clients can visit and meet other, real, people as opposed to merely NPCs. He teaches Erin to play pool here.
In the real world we see his wife, Sonja, visit him – but as events threaten Utopia, it seems Sonja might not have Ricky's best interests at heart.
Erin – Erin Sanders – Client [Rachel Luttrell]
Erin's avatar is merely a mildly romanticized version of herself. She suffers from a wide range of phobias that have left her housebound. Utopia allows her to interact with others in a safe environment, learn martial arts without danger of injury, and face fears when she is ready to. Her therapist, Jonathan Tate, despises Utopia and told her not to sign up for the programme, but Erin longed for human contact in an environment over which she had control.
Erin loves the countryside and beaches of Utopia and favours practical hiking gear for the former and flowing dresses and going barefoot for the latter. Erin's avatar has been gifted with a range of psychic powers. Under Amy's gentle urging, Erin finally visits the Taverna, where she first meets Ricky. Erin has a Lynx (see below) in the form of a wolf-like dog called JD.
Flick – Sarah Deveraux – Client [to be decided]
Flick is the avatar of Sarah Deveraux – it is not revealed at this time why she requires Utopia's services. Flick's avatar takes two distinct forms: a beautiful human woman and a sleek black cat. It is this "wish fulfilment" fantasy appearance that Tate is particularly leery of, but Sarah adores Flick's abilities and ways of seeing the world.
One of her tricks is to greet new clients as the cat and rub at their legs for affection, then turn back suddenly leaving them astonished. Amy has chastised Flick for this several times but until someone is hurt or traumatised no action will be taken against her.
Flick wanders freely around Utopia because she enjoys meeting people. Her Minx (see below) is an attractive female companion.
Darien – unknown – client [Matthew Bomer]
Darien is a handsome male avatar but rumour is that his avatar is a completely artificial construct and that only is his real form not as conventionally handsome as Darien, but that he suffered disfiguring injuries that made him eligible for Utopia.
Darien tends to keep to himself, so not much is known about him. He has so far even declined an NPC Minx/Lynx to be his companion. As he settles into the Uptopian lifestyle he begins to visit the Taverna though he is still wary of anything beyond superficial human interaction. But he may soon be forced to help defend Utopia – unless he is secretly on the side of those hoping to destroy it.
Other Characters
Tate – Dr Jonathan Tate – Therapist in the real world [to be decided]
Tate distrusts and dislikes Utopia. He thinks it encourages people to retreat into fantasy rather than face their problems, enabling rather than helping them. That people can change their appearance to be as beautiful as they want to be – or even take on a non-human appearance – makes him think that it stops people learning to accept themselves as they are. He told his client, Erin, not to join up, but she got a new therapist to recommend her for the programme and did so anyway.
Tate is determined to find any dark secrets about Utopia and expose them to the world – he may have gotten himself in deeper than he'd ever wanted to be when he is approached by Destiny for his help.
Destiny – unknown – shadowy government official [to be decided]
An enigmatic woman known only as Destiny, she is the face of a secret task force that seeks to use Utopia for it's own ends. While she has been unable to infiltrate the virtual world for herself, she has been stalking those who have access to Utopia, and recruits Tate to help her – whether he wants to or not.
Minx/Lynx – none – NPC avatars [various]
Non-player characters (NPCs) are avatars created by the Utopia AI. They fill in the spaces, especially in the cityscapes – selling coffee, buying newspapers, walking in the park – or in more complex interactions can resemble particular people the client wishes to engage with.
Every client has the option of having an NPC specially assigned to them and their appearance is tailored by the client. Female forms are nicknamed Minx and males are called Lynx although clients often bestow given names on these constructs who can be friends, confidents, advisors and even lovers. Erin is initially too paranoid to have an NPC follow her around but is persuaded when she realises she could have an animal companion.
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Date: 2010-09-19 05:31 pm (UTC)Everyone is doing such an amazing job with this challenge, I just couldn't come up with anything!! XD
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Date: 2010-09-19 05:35 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2010-09-19 07:41 pm (UTC)This challenge makes me so mad at network television. There's so much good stuff on this comm alone! Dear TV Industry, please be hiring brilliant people. Kthnx.
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Date: 2010-09-20 06:30 pm (UTC)I agree, there's been so many great ideas for this challenge from the serious to the purely crack-tastic that would be fantastic to watch! And I love the cross-section of characters/cast. The industry really ought to be paying attention to the fans :D
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