Clean: Pilot A social worker trying to help the people he cares about (including himself) through a dark world of addiction. Rick Patel Occupation: Social worker Relationships: - Addictions: Minor OCD, Ms. Pacman Crystal G. "CG" Ko Occupation: Political aide to Mayor Frost Relationships: Rick's girlfriend Addictions: faith (idolizes Frost), cigarettes Eddie Patel Occupation: Barback Relationships: Rick's junkie brother. Buys from/deals for Slade Addictions: Chemicals Hobbies: Disney movies Mayor Jamison Frost Occupation: Senator. Ostensible civic benefactor Relationships: Celebrity Addictions: Power. Bad habit of beating up prostitutes Ryu Banks Occupation: Software engineer Relationships: ?. Hung up on Jenna (buys cigarettes at her shop every week and throws them away) Addictions: Theft Alvin "Slinger" Slade Occupation: Small time dealer Relationships: - Addictions: meth Hobbies: Tropical fish Michael Banks Occupation: Vice cop Relationships: Ryu's father Addictions: Gambling Andy Mendez Occupation: Vice cop Relationships: Banks' partner. Single father Addictions: Food Jenna Karrigan Occupation: Convenience store clerk Relationships: Slinger's girlfriend Addiction: faith (religion) "Fast" Steve McCoy Occupation: Line cook Relationship: One of Rick's regulars. Recovering heroin addict Addiction: - Hobbies: Cover band (singer) Jenna: I wish I had a buck for every time you idiots play that thing. Rick: [Distracted] 'quarter's not good enough? Jenna: They've made video games since 1981, you know. Fast: Like this one, huh? Marvel vs Capcom 6? Rick: [Still distracted] None recapturing the glory of seminal number 4. Fast: Vega vs Wolverine. Now there's a slap in the face to Stan Lee's litigious benevolence. Ryu: [Sliding a pack of chewing gum into his pocket as he heads for the register] What are you talking about? Fast: Come on, they're the same character. Ryu: The hell they are. Fast: They both have claws, right? Ryu: Which is where the similarity ends. Beyond that, you've got one guy who's a matador in a hockey mask and the other an ex-military lumberjack with amnesia and unbreakable bones. Jenna: [At the register] Wow. Is that Kevin Smith in your pocket or are you just derivative to see me? Ryu: [Taken off guard by the direct attention, laughs weakly] Heh... ? Fast: You say potato. Jenna: [Past Ryu] 'should have seen the obscur crap they replaced that with, "Kingdom Hearts vs Pokemon" or something; some guy with a giant key and a turtle/dolphin/orangutan duking it out made me pine for the simple days of aura waves. Rick: U.S. Presidents vs "The Gang" from Scooby Doo. Fast: [Announcer voice] Shaggy vs William Howard Taft. Rick: Fight! Jenna: [To Ryu, who's just staring at her awkwardly] At least they're paying me nickels. Ryu: Oh, I'm sorry. Uh... The usual, huh? Hardpack of Marlboro. Jenna: [Reaching above the counter] How about pinball? They brought that one next to you in about a week ago. Lighting up all eight of those... I don't -- whatever they are -- unleashes multiball madness that would blow your mind. Rick and Fast trade places. Jenna: At least switch over to Galaga once in a while. Fast: [Distracted] Galaga sucks. Jenna: [Leaning back a little and glowering at the cigarettes] I'm through with you. Rick: [Disdainfully examining pinball machine] There's something pure about Pacman, though. Fast: [Correcting] Ms. Pacman. Rick: Something elemental. Jenna: [Finding pack] Really. Rick: Sure, the rules are simple. Jenna: Don't die? Fast: Dammit! Jenna: [To Ryu] Wait; Marlboro? Your usual's a pack of Camel Lights. Fast dies and Rick takes up the joystick. Rick: Or melt. Or whatever it is that happens. Jenna: So to do that you basically run away from ghosts collecting dots and vegetables-- Fast: [Correcting] Fruit. Jenna: --and pretzels, which are neither, in a meaningless bid to get a higher score than the next guy. That's pretty elemental alright. Ryu: No, I-- er-- I'm a Marlboro man. Like clockwork. Just a creature of habit, I suppose. Jenna: [Ringing up cigs] Wouldn't be the first time memory's failed. Rick: You're forgetting the best part, Jenna. Fast: [Concentrating on Rick's game] Bah-nanas. Jenna: [Making change] I mentioned fruit. Rick: The part where you stop running and chase down the monsters chasing you. 'gobble those sadistic vapors up in a table-turning tide of ghastly goodness. Just. Like. That. Ha ha! So fucking long, ugly! Jenna: [Handing Ryu change] Here you go, cowboy. [To Rick] But what's the point anyway? They always come back. And you just run in circles as the levels get tougher and the ghosts get trickier until you're all out of power pills and quarters. Then: curtains. Fast looks stricken. Jenna becomes sullen. Pacman "wah wah waah"s and Rick curses quietly. Ryu mumbles thanks, stuffs the pack of cigarettes in his pocket, and leaves. Rick: Shit. Fast: [Looking at the pinball machine] Multiball action, you say? Outside, Ryu tosses the cigarettes in the garbage can. -- A member, "Guy", takes the podium as Rick steps to one side, clapping in support. He looks nervously at the microphone and then even more nervously beyond it at the others seated in the room. Guy: My name's Guy. All: Hi, Guy. Guy: I'm an addict. A beat while he gathers his courage and thoughts. Guy: When -- uh -- about a month ago now, I lost my job. Boss said I was showing up late too much. Wasn't doing enough when I was there. I worked down the street at the -- well, it doesn't really matter where I worked. I'm not there anymore, but uh -- shortly after that, the wife left. Pause. Someone coughs. Guy rubs his neck and gets a little conviction in his voice. Guy: And you know what's weird is -- well, what I felt wasn't shame or depression or fear for the future. I mean, I should have felt those things but I didn't. I just felt -- relieved. Like I didn't have to lie anymore. Like the world had finally left me the fuck alone and I could breathe again. Pause. Exhales. Guy: As a consequence, I got good and fucking loaded for a week and don't remember much... guess that was my way of breathing. But I did do a little thinking and well... you know, I used to marvel at how my love for one thing could override my need for others like community, intimacy, and a sense of purpose, but now -- I'm not sure they're different, I mean maybe they aren't ends competing, maybe they're means to the same one. And maybe the more I take the short-cut to that end, a sense of comfort, familiarity, and happiness, instead of the longer roads condoned by society like family, friends, and a job, well -- the less likely I am to be able to later (even if I wanted to) -- and I'm aware of it. And it scares me, you know, and I need the end so much more. A vicious cycle, I guess, 'cause I'm sure as hell not setting back down the long road to get there. It's like I made my bed and now the shortcut's all I have. Pause. Guy: [Looking up] Okay, so my point is maybe this. Maybe we're all addicts. I mean not just here -- yeah, we're all addicts here -- to the fucking [gestures to the side table with standard offering of aenemic refreshments] coffee if nothing else -- Random in the First Row: [Unmic'ed and almost unintelligable] Is that what that is? Guy: [Laughing] Yeah, seriously -- heh. Yeah, but... [recomposing himself] but maybe we're all of us addicts to that same end, you know, to comfort: something to still the nashing, learing anxieties of pain, hunger, sickness, infirmity, age, death -- I mean, I guess we all need that desperately. There's just good and, well, not so good ways to get there is all, and my addiction probably isn't what I'm up here for so much as a reliance on the wrong way to feed it. -My- reliance on that shortcut. My cross to bear. Pauses and scowls like he's thinking something else but can't articulate it. Or he's just registering what he said for the first time. Guy: Thanks for hearing me. Guy smiles shyly and steps down amid ardent clapping. Rick takes the mic back up. Rick: [With support, intended flattery, and a little laugh] Holy shit, man... --- The title sequence of the show should culminate in a shot of a nametag (support group style) on a stack on a table ("Hello, my name is") with "Clean" written out it large, urban handwriting. Rick and Eddie have a father who's either dead or fatally ill, and living up to his expectations is a motivation for Rick and a constant source of depression/angst for Eddie. The Strokes "1251" would be a good choice of music for the ending collage of the pilot, intercutting shots of everyone's progress (or lack thereof). "Who should live" activity (from a list of 10 people, choose 4 to receive a needed heart-transplant)