On Board
A "ship of fools" indeed: madcap teenagers, a lush head of security, a priest who loves riddles, a captain off death-row, a martial artist challenging a boxer — and a serial killer. Come on board for the cruise of a lifetime.
The captain of a cruise ship, saved from death-row by Martin, goes to search for him, with the aid of the ship’s priest, who has a touch of the other-worldliness. They find Martin in a dark lane: a derelict.
The captain takes him on board and makes him head of security in the hope of giving him dignity, a seeding – in a normally futile attempt – to wean him off his alcoholism.
The captain organises for Martin’s family – wife Francine and daughter Petra – to be on board in the hope of reuniting the family after nearly a year’s estrangement.
When a girl is raped-and-killed on board, Martin comes alive to the task of finding the murderer, whom he believes has all the signs of a serial killer in the making.
There are many suspects. There is too the fear of a second killing.
Meanwhile, a group of teenagers seeks romance and adventure.
The priest tries to tell truths about certain passengers by giving them riddles to work out that may lead to self-discovery.
A teenage karate expert is determined to challenge a young boxer on his way to America to fight for the world middleweight title, unaware of the boxer's violent history.
In a Poirot-like dénouement, Martin gathers the suspects and explains his efforts in finding the killer before naming him.
There is the promise of a sequel. In the last scene, Petra proclaims to her father they should go to Florida and resume the search for the serial killer responsible for wiping out three single-parent families.
On Board caters to many demographic groups and serves several genres. It has the promise of being a huge commercial success should it be made into a film.
LATEST NEWS. Today (7 January 2025), I have completed a thorough revision of On Board. Wow, some 50 outright errors have been spotted and corrected. Many stilted action / descriptive paragraphs have been rewritten. Dialogue has been fine-tuned. The result: reading On Board will be smoother as there will be less jarring due to encountering errors, stilted / ambiguous action paragraphs and bloated / unflowing dialogue.
ScriptLinks
Post Your Script Here!The Confession (Elevated Horror/Drama/Thriller)
A shy eight-year-old Catholic girl commits a petty crime to have a "sin" to confess to her priest, thus setting up a cascading series of horrifying events.
Radioland! (Coming of Age/Psychological/Comedy/Drama/Memoir
A naïve 12-year-old boy, falls in love with a fantasy, learns the truth about his fatally flawed hero -- a 1960s Top 40 radio deejay -- and discovers the bittersweet meaning of life.
We Wrestle Not With Flesh And Blood - 2nd TV episode of Free Indeed
Our hero is gifted to see into the supernatural if someone is in need.
Free Indeed
When our heroine sees more than what meets the natural eye, she knows she is on a divine assignment, if she doesn't free a woman from spiritual bondage the woman will die.
HOSEA
The son of the superintendent of international churches is convinced he hears a divine word which he follows, only to face ridicule from his family circle and friends and threats to lose his life from the drug and human trafficking world.
SEE JANE RUN
A young teacher moves back into her hometown.
FINDING CHRISTMAS
A woman gets threatening emails and anonymous calls about her little girl, who had drowned with her husband three years ago.
True Tears - Timeless Fairy Tale
A young princess who grew up hidden in the woods must find her father, the King, to save the kingdom from doom – His twin sister and self-appointed Sorceress Queen, who banished him about 18 years ago, uses all her powers to prevent a successful journey.
The Puzzle People
Berlin cold war aftermath: A Woman reconstructs shredded Stasi documents and stumbles upon a murder committed days after the Fall of the Berlin Wall.
Adapted scene from The Seven Rays
This was the Seven rays Script-a-Scene contest, for the book THE SEVEN RAYS, by Jessica Bendinger.