Premise

The show begins with the catastrophe of losing four astronauts on an EVA mission on Mars. This mission is Ares VII is the third manned mission to Mars to employ twenty-four people, with a previous four employing six each. The program has come under fire recently for costing too much money and not being a worthwhile cause (a carbon copy of the same type of criticism NASA has always faced) and there is pressure to cancel it.

A major public failure is the last thing that NASA needs. It is on the verge of expanding the Mars base yet again, this time into a permanently staffed and fully-fledged research station. In addition to that, there are also plans to finally approve a civilian funded and operated station. But this will also be delayed terminally if the government decides to prevent it.

NASA must do something to make up for this loss and restore public, media, and governmental confidence, and without delaying the program. The answer lies in Benjamin Stewart. Stewart was the second person to set foot on the surface of Mars on the first Mars mission, Ares I. After returning from the first mission in 2023, he entered NASA management, serving as the Director of the Mars Exploration Office. In that position, for the past thirteen years, he has directed and furthered Mars exploration.

Like John Young before him, he has remained on active astronaut status, in the slim hopes of flying again. But where Young didn't, Stewart will. Congress will allow the next Mars mission, Ares VIII, to proceed on schedule on the condition that Stewart commands it. But if a similar disaster befalls this mission, then there will be no stopping Congress from canceling the program.

The series follows the mission of Ares VIII and its various discoveries, adventures, and close calls. There will be twenty-four crew members and five or six main characters among these. The rest will be cast in the beginning of the series and be exposed at various points throughout the show. Though a research station may seem like a boring place to set an hour long show, it has two things going for it: the fact that its set on Mars, and the reservoir of accumulated stories from isolated research stations and expeditions that have ever taken place. With twenty or so other characters to draw upon, there are plenty of opportunities for character exploration.

Though it may appear that we are confined to simply twenty-four people in one location cut off from all resources from Earth, it is not the case. In television, it has already been done to have a main character separate from the others in a different location and under different circumstances. Another major focus of the show would be NASA and the NASA Administrator, Janice Hancock and the struggles to make the base expansion and civilian station a certainty.

Discussed so far have been the linear possibilities of the show's premise. But there is nothing preventing the shows writers from exploring tangents of the show that have little to do with the usual focus of the show.

Possibilities include flashback episodes which feature Benjamin Stewart during the Ares I mission and some drama that afflicted it, including major points, such as the landing and first steps. The flashback concept could be taken even farther back and show Stewart as a shuttle astronaut. If done skillfully and tactfully, the writers could present the problems that infect the space program today (without angering NASA too much). Another possibility would be to depict a conflict of a family in which the Ares VIII mission plays an unusual prominence and in the course of this, expose the viewpoint of the general public through this.

Along a more lighthearted vain, there can be completely absurd spoofs upon other examples of science fiction, such as Star Trek or the X-Files. These would have nothing to do with the main plot or incur any consequences in the 'reality'of Ares VIII, but would still be entertaining and enjoyable. The merit behind this idea comes from its innovation when taken as a whole. But when any of the individual pieces are looked at, all of the elements that make it innovative have been tried before, with some success, in other series and genres. The show could take on a serious or a comical tone, be ultra realistic or be absurd.

Arc Outline

There will be two and a half years of series time from the end of the pilot for the original cast to operate under the premise of being on Ares VIII before the crew would have to return home. During this time, such issues as human relations in confined environments, the reaction of people living in such an environment, exploring with humans versus robots, emergencies and the danger of being so far away from safe haven, the possible discovery of life on another planet, ethical issues concerning terraforming, can all be explored. Most likely, they will be done in largely stand-alone episodes, with continuing subplots exploring the personal relationships between the different crewmembers.

At the end of the two and a half years, the mission of Ares VIII can be considered such a success and political winds alter to such an extent that it is decided to expand the base into a permanently staffed facility at the end of Ares VIII. Command of the facility is offered to Benjamin Stewart and the crewmembers of Ares VIII are also offered to crewmembers first, so they are given the option of staying or returning to Earth. Any minor character actor who wishes to stay on the show can at this point, or leave the show at the end of the two and a half years. A major theme covering many episodes would be the crewmembers changing attitudes towards being on Mars. It could be established early on that some characters would most likely stay or go home at the conclusion of the two and a half years. Then, depending upon the attitudes of the actors and actresses themselves and whether they would want to stay or not, storylines involving their shifts in opinions of the characters would play a large role in the continuing arc.

Besides the stand-alone topics of terraforming, exploration, etc. is the overall arc of the danger of cancellation and the struggling of the program against political forces. During the course of the series, a new president could be elected and he supports the base by expanding it ahead of schedule. But this is a blessing in disguise as he has ulterior motives for doing so, and wants the Mars program to do something that it can't or won't do. Stewart and the program is then caught in the position as being the recipient of much more support than they ever had before, but only if they do something they can't or won't fulfill. If they refuse (and they somehow must be given the option of refusing) out of integrity, then it places the program in danger and can produce any number of political consequences.

One possibility for this is the creation of the Space Force, the dissolution of NASA and Space Command and integration of their functions into a new branch of the uniformed services. The president would support the creation of the Space Force, where NASA would be opposed to it. Though NASA would have political reasons to oppose it, Stewart and (possibly) Hancock would oppose it because of the belief that the Space Force is too military of an organization to conduct what is supposed to be peaceful exploration (the Space Force would actually be more similar to the Coast Guard and be placed under the Department of Transportation). If this were to be the crisis, then the outcome would be that the Space Force is created, and that operation of the base is transferred.

Stewart would keep command (though the possibility of him being ousted could be used as a plot), and the drama of the operation of the base being transferred could be the overriding plot for several episodes. A stand-alone plot could feature the Space Force trying to impose a police force upon the civilian colony. In addition to this, many plots dealing with the dynamics of the Space Force could be explored after its introduction into the series.

[ November 06, 2001: Message edited by: OnToMars ]

quote:

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the danger of cancellation

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"Why is it always 'Ares?' Why not Tyr?"

Because "Ares" is the original name for Mars, and "Tyr" is... a big guy w/ spikey arms on "Andromeda"? :-)

[ November 06, 2001: Message edited by: TSN ]

Oh, and since NASA has a habit of usng Greek names as program titles, it only made sense.

[ November 06, 2001: Message edited by: OnToMars ]

I'm guessing, based on your name, that you've read Kim Stanley Robinson's "Mars" trilogy, OnToMars? I see a number of similar themes here. The small group of astronauts on Mars, building the first permanent planet-based colony. Stewart reminds me of one of the main characters in "Red Mars" -- I forget his name, but IIRC he was the first astronaut to set foot on Mars.

Now, I'm not saying this as criticism. Your outline is a great idea, sort of a "Red Mars" adapted for TV. As I said, it has lots of possibilities.

One thing I'm not clear on, is just how big is the colony/settlement on Mars in total? Is it just the 24 people on the mission, the only Humans on the planet? Or are there others?

I'm asking because while limiting the possibile characters to 24 gives the writers a wide enough base to develop plenty of the characters, and maintain enough interaction, it also might limit the possible external conflicts that the crew would encounter. Having only 24 people, with a very small number of possibile externally based problems, would probably limit the number of potential dramatic problems for the series to address.

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Originally posted by Balaam Xumucane:
Sounds like a pretty good idea, OTM. How old is Stewart. I'm picturing him, kind of like a Story Musgrave. A very energetic fifty-something, who many view as being past his prime, but with mad skillz and sharp as a tack. The one problem with the series that I can see would be the limited dramatic opportunities. There could only be so many dust-storms, meteor showers and 'I'm-lost-here-in-the-cave' episodes. The human drama part could very easily dissolve into a mundane soap opera on Mars. Maybe they find something: maybe some kind of ruins of a long-dead culture; maybe it's life (easy to do poorly and get cheesey); something dramatic and not colored red would really be necessary to keep the show vital. Maybe one of them gets cabin fever and kills off a character every four or five episodes an we don't find out until the end that it's... I dunno. Stewart! No seriously, I don't know. It just needs a little more. But I love the characters and the pre-built tensions with the program and possible earth v. mars militarization. Sounds good. You could get a bunch of unknowns and do it on the cheap!

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Those are good suggestions, Balaam, but the one element of Ares that I would absolutely want to set it apart from other shows would be its realism. I would want it to be ultrarealistic in terms of space exploration, and I think there is enough drama in isoalted research stations from the past (Sealab, Skylab, Mir, McMurdo Station, Devon Island soon, etc.) to fuel this series. Also, Janice Hancock would be considered a major character and would be featured in some way just about every episode. When the program is in danger of cancellation, she plays a major role, and when the Space Force is being thrust upon them, she plays a major role.

Like I wrote, anything unrealistic would have to be patently absurd (Drew Carey and X-File spoof episode absurd). The possible discovery of life would absolutely be at least one episode, most likely two or three. But any life discovered or possibly discovered would have to be limited to one celled or less. No alien civilizations or anything like that. I would even go so far as to say that Ares borders on whether it's science fiction or not, as there would be no speculative science in it whatsoever. Think "West Wing" on Mars.

As the human drama part dissolving into a mundane soap opera; it is a concern. But as long as it's well and tastefully written, then it obviously won't be badly done. If done carelessley, it could very easily turn into Survivor: Mars. Above all, even in the failings of the crew to cope, should be the message that humanity is supremely adaptable to all conditions (and particularly that people can make a viable home on Mars). In other words, the underlying message is upbeat - unlike soap operas and reality T.V.

Nobody can die on the crew. If it happens, than the powers that be would surely kill the program and the show would end. If this show were made, my hope would be that it would be written well enough that it gets the audience excited about the finding of water. That when it sees the crew overjoyed by some discovery, then it connects with them. The end result being a better understanding among the general public about what scientific and space exploration is all about. Resorting to murders and alien civilizations would - well - be a cop out of what I want to do with this show.

Though, just as note, well into the third or fourth season: when the civilian station is established, and everybody is really settled in for the long haul to have the first murder on Mars at the civilian station. Thus, Stewart becomes the first detective on the Red Planet.

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Stewart!

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I'm not sure what that's in reference to exactly, but just as an FYI: Benjamin Stewart is named for my father; Stuart B. Finifter. I named the character when I thought my father's middle name was Benjamin. It was, however, Barry. But Benjamin Stewart sounds a lot better than Barry Stewart. And the Patrick Stewart coincidence is pretty cool too.

And Stewart is somewhat of a Story Musgrave type. Past his prime, a man of supreme ambition whose accomplished all of his ambitions. Also a man of authority - actually, somewhat like Picard in his handling of his authority. He regrets somewhat focusing his entire life on a single thing to the exclusion of all else, and he wonders what he missed from the paths he didn't take. A faithful man, deeply devoted to his wife, but there is romantic tension between him and the CMO, Dr. Samantha Ross, and we get the implication that he might've been unfaithful in his earlier days. I wrote up a full character bio on him, which I might post later.

quote:

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One thing I'm not clear on, is just how big is the colony/settlement on Mars in total? Is it just the 24 people on the mission, the only Humans on the planet? Or are there others?

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Ok, to be clear:

Humans have been exploring Mars since 2021, the date of Ares I. Between 2021 and 2027, four missions are carried out with six man crews each. This places four habitats capaple of supporting six people each all at the same location, creating a base. Then, more habitats are landed so that 24 people can be supported (with suitable redundacy). Between 2029-2036, three missions with twenty four people are carried out. All of these are done NASA style, with the first four done like super long Apollo missions and the next four (including Ares VIII) done somewhat like the Station program.

During all of this, NASA astronauts are the only ones on the planet. At the completion of Ares VIII, the civilian base is landed, which is totally free of NASA control. Through the next two and half years, they will be the only other people on the planet. Also at this time, the NASA base is expanded to sixty-some and operations take on a McMurdo, Antarctica dynamic. Then the Space Force takes over and operations become entirely new and different. With the third conjunction of the series, we can land as many people as we want, making it resemble more the Mars depicted at the beginning of KSR's "Red Mars".

The idea behind this is the series is supposed to document the transisition between NASA Mars and New World Mars. Between Apollo Mars and colony Mars. The XO character, Peter Young, is the same age during the series as Stewart was at Ares I. He is supposed to somehow represent in personae his generation as the generation that will take Mars and make it a colony world.

And yes, I'm a big fan of the "Mars Trilogy". This is definitely influenced heavily by it, though the original idea did not come from it. Kim Stanley Robinson is of the opinion that the first mission really doesn't matter (thus the lack of any information in the trilogy about the early or first mission[s]), however, I am of the opinion that it does. John Boone was his name, and his birthyear is one off of mine. And guess when Benjamin Stewart was born - hey look at that - same age as me, what a coincidence!

As for the limited possibilities of character drama; twenty-four different and varied people, some engineers, some scientists, some Russians Americans or Europeans, living in cramped quarters trying to do different things, I think offers plenty of oppurtunities for character exploration. Like I said, we have the full range of stories from the past from expeditions, research stations, space stations, Antarctica/Arctic, submarines, etc. to pull stories from. M*A*S*H did it by pulling war stories from Korea and elsewhere and using them. Also, like I said, we're not confined to Mars. There's Janice Hancock, who would be a title character back on Earth heading NASA and fighting politicians and media at every turn. There would be other Earth-bound characters as well though I haven't really explored the possibility.

The problem I have right now is two-fold: (1)being able to create twenty-four fully fleshed out three dimensional characters that will combine with each other to be interesting and to offer interesting options to explore and (2) actually writing the bloody thing. Format, pacing, and all the skills it takes to actually write a script are beyond me.

But here, without further ado is everything you ever wanted to know about Benjamin Stewart:

Benjamin Stewart
Physiology
Sex: Male
Age: 53
Height: Six feet.
Weight: 165 lbs.
Hair: Black and graying.
Eyes: Brown
Skin: Fair
Posture: Straight but relaxed.
Appearance: Slender, well toned, good looking, tidy but not neurotically so.
Heredity: English and German

Sociology
Class: Upper middle origin, wealthy from Ares I and previous celebrity status.
Occupation: Fighter pilot turned engineer turned astronaut turned scientist turned celebrity turned hero turned private citizen turned manager turned astronaut again.
Education: Formal in engineering at undergrad and masters level. Informal in everything relating to Mars - including all science. Also knowledgeable in psychology.
Home Life: Married to a loving wife whom he is devoted to and has been for many years. He has two sons who are adult and out of the house.
Religion: Humanist
Race, nationality: Caucasian. English and German lineage. American from East coast.
Place in Community: Leader, father figure, undisputed authority.
Political Affiliations: Strongly non-partisan
Amusements, hobbies: Literature. All amusements typical to confined research stations.

[*]Benjamin Stewart: I've already explained
[*]His wife is Melissa - a girl I was madly in love with for 10 days and madly love sick over for several months thereafter.
[*]Peter Young is a combination of the two astronauts that I admire most - Charles "Pete" Conrad and John Young.
[*]Arkady Burkavich is a comination of Arkady Bogdanov from the "Mars Trilogy" and a high school class mate of mine whose last name is Burke. Both are very philosophically active thinkers, which is a major element of Arkady Burkavich's character. I'm not sure whether Burkavich is an actual Russian name, but eventually I will find the closest sounding actual name.
[*]Samantha Ross is named after the girl I took to the Junior Prom. Its a very long story that I won't get into, but she was a bit of a wild girl and really my first major crush. the first names are the same and Ross is a simplified derivative of her last name; Rohaus. She of course, is the temptation to Stewart (who is...SLIGHTLY...based upon myself). Ross is also going to be the looker of the crew.
[*]I've recently decided that I'll need another major character, the Chief Science Officer, though I haven't done anything concenring his character make-up besides his name; Eugene Schmitt, which is a combo of Eugene Cernan and Jack Schmitt, the Apollo 17 astronauts to walk on the moon. Jack Schmitt being the first and so far only scientist to walk on the moon.

The only reason I did the names was because I like to give names of characters some personal meaning where ever possible. Gene Schmitt I'm not attached to at all and could very easily change.

Here's a further posting of everything else I've written so far:

Benjamin Stewart - Mission Commander
One of the first explorers of Mars, Stewart was the second person to set foot on the planet, being the pilot on Ares I. As such, he enjoyed the celebrity status of that crew comparable to that of the Original 7. After returning from that mission approximately twelve years ago, he became the head of the Martian Exploration Office, where he has served up until the events of the pilot. Originally a naval aviator. With Ares VIII he becomes the first man in history to travel to Mars twice. Though this is another thing that he will be remembered for in the history books, he does not seem affected by it at all.

Peter Young - Executive Officer
Originally one of the many candidates for the spot of Mission Commander for Ares VIII, though he was not specifically aware of it (though it was obvious he was in the running). He is an astronaut of seven yeas experience. Typical personality of a former fighter pilot - self confident though mellowed by several years of experience, still quite ambitious though. All around, a very likable person. A younger version of Benjamin Stewart - or in other words Benjamin Stewart is like Peter Young though more tempered by time and experience.
Younger version of Stewart. Slightly more brash. He is approximately the same age as Stewart was during Ares I. When Young reaches Stewart’s age as of Ares VIII, Mars will be substantially colonized. Young is the generation bridge between NASA Mars and colony Mars.

Dr. Samantha Ross - Chief Medical Officer
A brilliant biochemist/medical doctor. Very much like Dr. Crusher from Star Trek: The Next Generation. There is a playful flirtation between Ross and Stewart, but Stewart is deeply devoted to his wife.

Arkady Burkavick - Chief Engineer
The Russian Chief Engineer. Part of the new generation of Russians who have not lived under the yoke of communism and instead under the yoke of capitalism. Rather disdainful of all politics, though he holds his own off-the-wall but logical theories of them.

Janice Hancock - NASA Administrator
A woman who is constantly in a struggle to appease politicians and international partners while at the same time trying to further space exploration. She has a lot of integrity but she is constantly forced to compromise what she would like to do to make politicians and international partners happy. Similar in elements to Dr. Cary Weaver from ER, though not as malevolent as she is at times.

Focus of Show

The focus of the show is not about any outlandish and traditional science fiction stories (i.e. aliens from outer space or anything similarly outrageous). The primary focus of the show is upon three things:

1. The characters - How people (these twenty four specifically) interact in a hostile, isolated, and confined environment. Furthermore, the effects of space exploration upon the psyche of those who do it and the rest of the world in general. This is without a doubt the most important element of the show, and this must be interesting to viewers.

2. The science - In the most effective blend between laymen and accurate terms possible, describing major questions and objects of research to be discovered using humans on Mars. The science must take a secondary role to the character and human element. The most unrealistic element enters in at this point. Which is that all the major discoveries that could be made on Mars will be made, either one way or another on Ares VIII. The advancements of previous Mars missions cannot be ignored, but they should be exposed only to further the specific situation of Ares VIII. Otherwise, the general implication of the series will be that nothing much was accomplished on previous missions. The most important thing to be done with these is to exposition science in the human interaction.

3. The technology - Along the level of the science. There will be certain stories that revolve around technological elements of Mars exploration. But as with the science element, these must belong to human dialogue, interaction, and motives. The machines of the series should serve as tools for the furtherance of the human plot. Writers must be careful about deus ex machina. Certainly technology plays a central role to the future and Mars exploration in particular. Certainly advanced technology is involved in every facet of an astronaut’s stay on Mars. But a writer must take care as to not have the astronauts be rescued in the last five minutes of the show by some miraculous application of their equipment (Star Trek: Voyager comes to mind as the worst offender). Technology, above all, is an ends to a means, with the ultimate destination always being humans and the astronauts themselves.

Timeline

2007: International Space Station is completed.
2010: United States begins development for the Ares Project.
2014: Two shuttle missions are launched, which use their External Tanks as structures for constructing space stations a la Skylab. The potential of the technology is not fully explored.
2015: Benjamin Stewart is selected for the Astronaut Corps.
2017: The International Space Station is sold to private investors.
2018: The orbiter fleet (Columbia, Atlantis, Discovery, Endeavour) is retired.
2020: The International Space Station reenters the atmosphere and burns up. Benjamin Stewart and the rest of the Ares I crew is selected.
2021: Ares I is launched using a Mars Direct similar style mission with six crewmembers. The mission commander is James Calhoun. The pilot is Benjamin Stewart. They are the first and second people to set foot on the Martian surface, respectively.
2023: Ares I returns to Earth. While his crewmembers retire from NASA, Stewart enters NASA management, while retaining his active astronaut status. In short time, he becomes the Director of Mars Exploration, overseeing all manned exploration of the Red Planet.
2027: A research station is constructed on the moon, using duplicate hardware from the Ares program.
2023-2027: Ares II, III, IV are all launched and carried out, each with six person crews.
2029-2036: Ares V, VI, VII are carried out, each with twenty-four crewmembers. These missions utilize a Crew Transfer Vehicle whose sole purpose is to transport astronauts from Earth to Mars and vice versa.
2036: (Pilot) Four astronauts on Ares VII are lost in a massive dust storm and are never heard from again, and their remains are never found. If public and government opinion turn against NASA, the expansion of Mars exploration and settlement will be severely hindered. In order to prevent this, NASA assigns Stewart to be mission commander of Ares VIII. If this mission experiences any significant difficulties or any crewmembers are lost, Mars exploration will surely be set back decades. Ares VIII launches, and the series begins.
2039: Following the successful completion of Ares VIII, the Mars base is further expanded into sixty-people with a permanent crew. The Mars Society, in partnership with NASDA, establishes a civilian run base.
2040: The Space Force is created as a branch of the Armed Forces, and is placed under the Department of Transportation. The operations of the base are transferred to it. The Space Force attempts to impose a police force on the civilian run station, which resists.

Pilot Outline

�Opens with Stewart at home.
�Stewart and Hancock speak. Exposition of events of Ares VII and relationship between Hancock and Stewart.
�Press Conference/Congressional Hearing (probably Congressional hearing). Exposition of danger of cancellation.
�News Program. Exposition of NASA’s answer.
�Stewart comes home to pack and leave. Exposition of devotion to wife.
�Training base. Exposition of other main characters. Exposition of boredom and possible physical dangers (through sims). Crewmember cracks under pressure, action of him breaking down and being removed. Builds tension about future possibility.
�Stewart and main characters meet in Houston.
�Last days on Earth at Kennedy. Contrasting life of Earth and desolation of Mars.
�Launch day. Builds tension with foreshadowing of Apollo like launch. Anti-climax with an SSTO launch reminiscent of 2001: A Space Odyssey. Quick cut to:
�Journey out. Showcase of typical boredom associated with long duration space flight. Action sequences of major systems failure and the beginning of a relationship between two crewmembers and of a depressed crewmember (scaled up version of Astrotel transfer system – likely using STS External Tanks).
�Landing day. Building tension with exposition of how hard it is to land on Mars. Depicted with style as if it were momentous first landing. Accomplishment of each time is showcased. Last shot, extreme pan out of landing site and heroes on the landscape of Mars.

[ November 13, 2001: Message edited by: OnToMars ]

Anyway, thanks Balaam for the further suggestions. I'll post some episode summaries and any further work later.

The national make-up of Ares VIII is as follows:

12 Americans
4 Russians
2 British (1 English, 1 Irish)
2 Japanese
1 Canadian
1 Chinese
1 German
1 Sri Lankan

Would anybody care to offer suggestions as to personalities, lives, histories, or other identity elements to some of these? Offer things from your life, perhaps?