| The Booth at the End | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Web series Science Fiction |
| Distributed by | Vuguru |
| Creator | Christopher Kubasik |
| Directed by | Jessica Landaw |
| Produced by | Stephen A. Cohen Noel Bright Lou Fusaro John H. Radulovic |
| Written by | Christopher Kubasik |
| Starring | Xander Berkeley |
| Music by | Tree Adams |
| Editing by | David Dawes Jessica Landaw Richard Choi |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Original channel | FX |
| Original airing | 08/27/2010 |
| No. of episodes | 5 |
| Official website | |
The Booth At The End is a 2011 science fiction web series consisting of 5 short episodes created by Christopher Kubasik, directed by Jessica Landaw and starring Xander Berkeley. The series asks one question: "How far would you go to get what you want?"[1] The series originally ran from August 27, 2010, on the Canadian network Citytv.[2]
Contents |
The series follows the storylines of several characters who visit a mysterious figure in the corner booth at the back of a diner. Each character has heard rumors that this Man is able to grant desires, provided that a task is performed. Upon receiving the task, the Man's only other demand is that the character continually update him on his or her progress. Once the task is complete, the character's desire is always fulfilled.
Played by Xander Berkeley, The Man sits in the far corner booth of a diner. Characters who approach him with a specific desire are given a task. If you complete the task, the desire is always fulfilled; his only other demand is to be updated on the thoughts and feelings of the characters as they progress in completing the task. Oftentimes he emphasizes that it does not matter to him whether or not the task is completed: the choice is always up to the other person.
James (Matt Nolan) is married, in his early 30's. He has a wife and two children: a young boy and girl. His son has leukemia and is currently hospitalized. To save his son, he has to select and murder a little girl, and once chosen, he cannot pick another child. The Man tasks another client, Willem to protect the child (Elizabeth); this ultimately results in Willem kidnapping Elizabeth to keep her safe from James' attempts to kill her. Willem attacks James, and James kills him in self-defense. James decides not to kill Elizabeth. Despite not fulfilling the task, James' son is cured of leukemia. James demands answers from the Man, who simply replies that he never guaranteed a refusal to carry out the task would result in his son's death.
Jenny (Kate Maberly) wants to be prettier, and is told to steal $101,043 from a bank. She prepares to steal from a bank by buying a gun and scoping out possible banks. During her preparations, she meets Richard, who makes his living by stealing from banks. Jenny brings Richard to meet the Man, and Richard tells the Man that he wishes his father, a cop, would leave him alone. For his task, Richard is told to help Jenny rob banks. She and Richard then attempt to rob a bank, but a shootout occurs and Jenny is shot in the arm. Rather than continue the task, Jenny and Richard decide to leave town and stop robbing banks.
Willem (Matt Boren) has a friend who attributed his success to the Man at the booth at the end. He approaches the Man hoping for the same. The Man tasks him with protecting a little girl, Elizabeth. In order to protect the girl, Willem takes up jobs as a janitor at Elizabeth's school and as a gardener on Elizabeth's street. Realizing that there is a man after Elizabeth's life, Willem kidnaps Elizabeth to keep her safe under his watch. Feeling inferior, Willem wants to be a hero, so he doesn't have to get his happiness from making deals. Willem soon realizes that James is following him to gain knowledge on the whereabouts of Elizabeth. Unnerved, Willem decides to kill James to protect Elizabeth. He breaks into James' house and attempts to stab James with a knife; however, James manages to take the knife away and kills Willem in self-defense.
To cure her husband's Alzheimer's, the elderly Mrs. Tyler (Norma Michaels) is expected to build a bomb and use it to kill an unmentioned number of people at a coffee shop. She builds the bomb using information she finds on the internet. She plans to place the bomb at a coffee shop at a time when many people would frequent it. The next time she sees the Man, she claims to have set it off; however, she had been lying. The Man knew she was lying because if she had set it off, she would already have what she wanted. Mrs. Tyler wavers, unwilling to set the bomb off, yet strongly desiring to have her husband whole again. Before actually detonating the bomb, she finds out that her husband has been spontaneously cured: he never had Alzheimer's, but a mis-diagnosis gave him the same symptoms.
Melody (Jennifer Del Rosario) is a 17-year-old girl, charming and positive. She loves her father, and wants him to be happy again – like he was before his business started having trouble – and the Man tells her to get a shut-in out of his home. Melody volunteers with a shut in and slowly builds his trust. He remains unwilling to leave his house and she discovers evidence that he is actually a serial killer. When the police ignore her she plans to drug the shut in and drag him out of the house. While she successfully drugs the man, he is not completely unconscious and kills her. She is able to drag him out of the house first and her wish is fulfilled.
A detective in his 40s, Allen (Jack Conley) is a hard-edged man with a violent streak he tries valiantly to control. He is expected to kill a man in order to locate the money stolen from a bank. Allen initially lies to the Man and does not receive the money, until he later kills the person in his lie. When complete he is angered that he found the money, but not the bank robber (who turns out to be his son), leading him to ask for a second deal, for his son to come home. For this, he has to hide a fellow cop's criminal behaviour. He tracks down a corrupt cop, a homicide detective who has been stealing from murder victims. However when his son, Richard, calls him and tells him he loves him, Allen realizes that he himself is a corrupt cop. He decides to turn himself in for his earlier murder.
Sister Carmel (Sarah Clarke) is a nun in her mid-30s who is losing her faith. She says God once spoke to her, but she no longer hears him. The Man tells her to become pregnant. Sister Carmel sneaks out of the convent to start dating. Eventually she meets Simon and begins a relationship with him. In the end she happily tells the Man that she is certain she is pregnant and God is talking to her again.
Simon (Timothy Omundson), an artist in his early 40s, has devoted his life to painting. Despite technical craftsmanship, he has yet to make paintings as beautiful as he wants to make. He will do anything to finally accomplish this, and is tasked with becoming a father. He finally succeeds by painting a portrait of Sister Carmel, with whom he begins a relationship.
Doris (Jenni Blong) is a waitress in the diner the Man operates from, observing the comings and goings of his "clients." Curious, she strikes up a conversation with the Man, trying to find out who he is and what he's doing with all these people. Unlike the other characters she isn't looking for anything and has no need to make a deal with the Man. This throws the Man off guard, and causes him to reveal things about himself that no one else would discover. This leads to him making a request, rather than soliciting one.
Richard (Jake Richardson) is Allen's son, and is part of Jenny's story. He is tattooed, hotheaded and a thief. He ends up making a deal with the Man to be left alone by his father, for which he has to help Jenny rob banks. Subsequently, he wants to stop Jenny wanting what she wants, and is tasked with telling his father he loves him.
Gerald (Anthony Brandon Wong) is Melody's father. His role is to mainly reveal the results of Melody's task: she succeeded in dragging the shut-in out of his apartment, but died as a result of the injuries the man gave her. Since she succeeded in her task, Gerald's money problems disappeared. He comes to the Man wanting to bring his daughter back to life, and The Man tells him this is possible. The series ends before he is given his task.
The series can be seen streaming in America via Hulu. The Hulu version consists of 5 twenty-three minute episodes.