Épisode Retour à la maison S01E03 - Dead Like Me Saison 1

Épisode 103


Rube et George se rendent à une station service qui arrondit ses fins de mois en exhibant un ours en cage. Une manifestation contre l’utilisation abusive de cet ours se prépare. Geoge vient récupérer l’âme du meneur de cette troupe tandis que Rube, affublé d’un sac poubelle en guise de KWay, conseille à sa chère protégée de faire de même… Celle-ci, intriguée, se demande bien comment la mort va frapper… Un cheeseburger atterrit près de la cage de l’ours ! Un geste pourtant bien attentionné de la part du meneur va le conduire à sa perte… l’ours s’empare du bras au lieu du cheeseburger et massacre deux personnes ! Mason, en retard, n’a pas pu récupérer l’âme de l’autre victime afin qu’elle ne meurt… elle restera donc défigurée à « vie ».

Au boulot, George a vraiment dû mal… Elle doit sans arrêt inventer des excuses pour ses retards répétitifs, supporter ses collègues qui l’a remarquent à peine, caresser dans le bon sens du poil sa chef toujours sur son dos et le plus dur… c’est vraiment un boulot de naze !

Reggie porte les vêtements qu’elle avait à l’enterrement de sa sœur… sa mère lui interdit d’aller à l’école ainsi… et l’oblige à se changer. George, qui épie encore sa famille, assiste à une scène de plus. Une fois tout le monde partit, George pénètre chez elle et commence à fouiller un peu partout. Les objets, pourtant si insignifiants lorsqu’elle était en vie, deviennent étrangement précieux maintenant qu’elle est morte ! Elle en profite pour faire les exercices de maths de sa sœur et compte récupérer des affaires… Mais submergée par l’émotion que lui renvoie sa propre odeur sur les vêtements, elle se relâche et finit par s’endormir. La famille est de retour est George est encore sur les lieux… Elle s’enfuit par la fenêtre, ramasse le sweet de Reggie avant de disparaître sous les yeux de sa sœur.

Bettie accompagne George qui doit, à nouveau, récupérer une âme d’un homme perché sur un arbre dont le corps est resté bloqué par les branches. Elles essayent de faire redescendre le corps en lui jetant des pierres tout en discutant. George lui parle des liens qui la relient encore à sa famille alors que Bettie, elle, persuadée qu ces liens ne peuvent être positifs, lui conseille d’éviter tout contact.

Flash back : Bettie est morte et ouvre sa tombe sur laquelle est inscrit : 1899-1926 et récupère sa bague avec laquelle elle avait été enterrée.

Reggie pose des questions essentielles sur la vie après la mort à l’aide son « oui-jà». Mason et Roxy ont une discussion au sujet de l’amitié qu’apporte les animaux et en l’occurrence ici un oiseau. Bettie informe George qu’elles ne seront jamais amies…

Mason rentre chez George à la recherche d’un objet. Celle-ci, a demi réveillée, a rêvé de grenouilles. Son appartement est sans dessus dessous et Mason le lui fait remarquer. IL s’empare d’un immense couteau de cuisine et disparaît.

Une fête est organisée au travail de George en l’honneur d’un collègue, promu à de plus hautes responsabilités. George s’étonne d’être ravie de faire la fête mais elle déchante vite lorsqu’elle se retrouve affectée au standard… Vexée, elle raccroche à tous les appels sans même se cacher.

Mason et Bettie font un test de la personnalité en attendant leur future victime. Mais malgré les efforts de Mason, ils ne sont pas du tout compatibles. Mason, après avoir récupérer son âme et pourchassé par son meurtrier. Bettie poursuit son test, tranquillement installée dans sa voiture.

George, à peine arrivée au café, que Rube la menace et lui interdit de retourner chez elle. Mais George n’est pas impressionnée ; elle ne voit pas ce que Rube pourrait lui faire de pire que sa propre situation ! Rube distribue les HEM et George remarque qu’elle doit retourner à la station service…

La manifestation s’est développée et, malgré la mort de 2 de leurs compatriotes, l’ours reste la préoccupation de ce groupe. Un journaliste est présent et tente un enregistrement. Roxy accompagne George dans sa tâche et toutes deux se préparent à une nouvelle mise en scène de la mort. Roxy a une idée totalement farfelue quant à cette issue tandis que George, sac poubelle sur le dos, s’attend exactement à la même version que la veille. Toutes deux ont tort ! L’ours se libère, se dresse hors de sa cage et grogne sous le nez du journaliste qui effrayé se pisse dessus et s’électrocute !!!! L’ours s’échappe à travers la fôret grâce à George qui détourne un tir de carabine.

George, décidé à révéler à sa famille qui elle est, se rend chez elle et sonne à la porte. C’est Reggie qui lui ouvre… George la complimente sur sa nouvelle coiffure ; Reggie semble réceptive mais Joy intervient. Elle se souvient de George présente à la vente d’objet… George a pensé et repensé 100 fois cette scène… et normalement ça devait plutôt se passer comme ça :

- 1ère version : Quand j’avais 5 ans, j’avais un ami imaginaire et tu me disais que blablabla… sa mère comprend alors que sous cette apparence trompeuse se cache en réalité sa fille décédée ! Elles s’enlacent tendrement…

Mais, ça se passe plutôt comme ça :

- 2ème version : Quand j’avais 5 ans… je, je un ami, je … euh ! Je sais plus… mes souvenirs ont disparus… !

Bref, Joy furieuse de ce comportement de cinglée, la jette dehors comme une malpropre et se permet même de l’insulter. George disparaît, complètement désemparée… sous le regard de Reggie, plantée à sa fenêtre.

Roxy vient récupérer George dans sa «papa mobile»… et George s’effondre dans ses bras. Roxy laisse passer un tout petit geste d’affection et toutes deux se rendent au resto où les autres les attendent.

Rube lui révèle que les faucheurs ont la faculté de préserver leurs souvenirs mais qu’ils ne peuvent pas, face à leur famille ou une quelconque connaissance, les faire ressurgir. C’est ainsi, tout est cruellement pensé !

L’épisode se termine sur la nouvelle photo de famille qui trône sur le buffet des LASS où n’apparaît plus que Joy, Clancy et Reggie !


FIN -

Start episode flicking through a book of the dead, then clip of piano falling on
woman head
(pilot) guy going off the road with his car (ep. ) building blows up (pilot)Der
Waffle
haus manager with the sign dropping on his head (episode The cook)

GEORGE (VO)Everybody dies, that's just the way it is. I'm told im not suppossed
to argue or
question or even try to understand. I'm told a lot these days. ever since my
life was
snuffed out by a toilet seat and I joined the ranks of the undead. This is Rube,
he's
my boss, he's undead too. He's the one who gets the list to who's die when and
where,
which he passes them onto the rest of us grim reapers(clip of Rube handing out
post its
to Betty, Mason and Roxy)

MASON: This what we look like to the living
GEORGE: Holy shit

(VO) My name is George Lass, I take souls for a living.(pilot. George taking her
first soul)
  This was my home and this was my family, Dad, Reggie, Mom, they're having
trouble coping

(toilet seat missing from the toilet)

JOY: How do you know it was her?
REGGIE: I only took one(woman and man standing at the front door of the Lass
house take out
toilet seat out of Reggie's school bag)
REGGIE: Do I have to go for therapy?

(ep.)George looking through the bushes see's Reggie's toilet tree

Der Waffle haus. George talking to Rube

GEORGE: I dont think I'm supposed to be going this
RUBE: Be patient, for christsakes....
(George takes a soul from guy in morgue Ep.)
RUBE: your learning, you gotta to be thinking about all the things you like and
decide
whether they are worth sticking around for and if they are then you find a way
of doing
this
GEORGE: What if I dont (sitting outside on the wall of the Lass's house)
RUBE: Then you go away

(CREDITS)

(Red pulse pulsing, camera pans out and it is a clock reading 6.59. Joy in bed)

GEORGE (VO) The average heartbeats about 4,300 times an hour, that's 800,000
times a week,
9 million times a crisp fall and 2.7 billion beats in a lifetime, well what is
an average
heart anyway? and how many beats do broken hearts get?

Joy gets up. the alarm goes off

Transition
Sign of a big bear saying "Live bear Come and see Dora while you fill up" A
female brown
bear locked up, whining

GEORGE (VO) If I had to chose between being a heart or a brain, I would
definitely chose
a heart because at least you do something (george passes the cage with two cups
of coffee
and a newspaper covering her head because it is raining. cuts to roaring picture
of the sign,
the docile dora, the roaring sign)If you are a brain at the end of the day all
youre ever good
at is settling for shitty situations

(goes over to the car where Rube is sitting in the drivers side)
GEORGE: Here
RUBE: Thank you
GEORGE: (looks up) Where did everyone go?
RUBE: I don't know, maybe one of them had to make a cissy

(toiet flushes,camera comes round to the Ladies bathroom, a man comes out,
followed by a woman
and then a whole chain of people who are locked together, they pass a placard
saying Hunger
strike for Dora, a woman picks it up as the man hears a truck pull up)

MAN PROTESTER: (to the others) Hey customer! Sir please don't buy gas, okay,
ther's another
   gas station about three miles down the road
WOMAN POTESTER: This bear should be set free
MAN PROTESTER: Yeah
WOMAN PROTESTER: What if this was your mother in this cage?
MAN PROTESTER: Yeah your mother, okay the bear is depressed and it will
die(another truck
pulls up) Hey
WOMAN PROTESTER: Hey, hey. Please don't buy gas here. We haven't eaten for six
days

(Rube gets out of the car)
GEORGE: What's the name?
RUBE: R. Luber
GEORGE: You know you don't have to be here with me, do I really need a
chaperone?
(Rube takes the bin liner from the bin and puts it on)
RUBE: yes, actually you do. How's your apartment working out?
GEORGE: Fine
RUBE: You need to get a slicker, shiny rubber's is the best, you can hose it
down, if you
  don't want to look like a fireman. A trench is alright, but you gotta
scotchguard the heck
  out of it
GEORGE: do you really care how it's going with me?
RUBE: Sure, I make my face look like this and the concerned words come out
GEORGE: So how do we know which one is Luber?
RUBE: A little trick I use. (shouts) Who's R. Luber?
(VO) Slick
MAN PROTESTER: Who are you?
RUBE: we're from The Northwest association for the protection of wild animal
abuse
MAN PROTESTER: oh yeah
GEORGE: You've never heard of NAFPOWAA?
MAN PROTESTER: Yeah!
RUBE: You and your crew are doing a fine thing here, I just want to shake your
hands
  (goes down the line shaking everyone's hands)Thank you, thank you, thank you
so much,
  thank you, (to George)come on
GEORGE: Umm, good job (takes his soul)
(someone beeps their horn) I see, I get it (they move out of the way) Thanks for
nothing
(As the car passes a kid blows a raspberry and throws a sandwich at him, which
hits him on
   the shoulder. The sandwich moved towards the cage. George looks up and can
see a
   graveling on the cage)
MAN PROTESTER: see that, people just don't care anymore, I mean we have been
hear for six
   days huh you fucking hicks just don't give a shit
FEMALE PROTESTER: Can you get us any press? what's with the trash bag?
(Dora is trying to get the sandwich, so is the man protestor)
RUBE: If there is anything you guys need...
GEORGE: Cheese burgers?
RUBE: no no no, she's just joking. Just give us a call (man protester is trying
to get
   the sandwich with his foot. Dora paws his foot and the whole line goes
flying, splattering
   blood across George and Rube)
GEORGE: Shit
(Mason pulls up in a back of a truck and jumps out)
RUBE: Youre late
MASON: Sorry. (to George) You need a slicker
RUBE: Now she owns that face, that's why you pop the soul before they die
FEMALE PROTESTER: Am I really really dead?
GEORGE: Really, really

(Mason, George and the two protesters walking up the hill)
FEMALE PROTESTER: Why didn't you say anything?
MALE PROTESTER: I thought you were into Joni
FEMALE PROTESTER: That was just to piss off my parents, I completly thought you
were hot
MALE PROTESTER: We could have been doing it all this time
FEMALE PROTESTER: Yeah!

Transition
George walking into the Happy Time offices, holding a folder to her chest

(VO) Late again but what am I really late for? The marketing team's latest porn
recreation of
  Cassie from Human Resourses, naked with areolas, scanned from the polariod of
Joe's wife
  nursing their newborn baby, (man blowing out candles)Frank from E-commerce's
going away
  party(cake saying Frank We wont remember you tomorrow), Barbara's underground
movement
  to institute two casual fridays. (boss comes in the room and the group get
busy doing
  other things) One desperate attempt after another to find something in common
with
  someone else and then cling "Hey you have ten fingers" (camera to newspapaper
with ad
  circled. [b]Attractive and virile[/b] Real pal in his 50's, financially
secure. down to
  earth but preferable on water, is looking for mermaid to share life and future
on charter
  boat 555-0102)
  "I have ten finger, let's be friends we'll make rules and slogans then if we
find someone
  with nine fingers, we can beat the crap out of them". It bothered me she was
in my
  workspace, it bothered me more that I had started to feel some for three
felt-covered
  walls and a chair that smelled like Pine-Sol when it warmed my body
tempurature

GEORGE: Uh, what are you doing?
DELORES: (looks at her watch) Are you just getting in?
GEORGE: Looks that way. The password is rimjob if you want to get on
DELORES:  I'm the system administrator I don't think I need a password and I
don't have to
   tell you that you are late...........

(VO) What kind of universe would give me the power to extract souls from peoples
body, but
  still force me to keep a suck ass job, if I want to eat

GEORGE: I'm sorry, I guess (looks down)I'm still shaken up about the car
accident
(removes the folder)
Dolores:(she gasps) My are you hurt?
GEORGE: I, uh... clot fast
DELORES:  I think you should take the rest of the day off
GEORGE: (happy shocked) Really?
DELORES:  Of course, go home
GEORGE: (extatic) Why thank you
DELORES:  (grabs George's hand) Why rimjob?
GEORGE: It was the name of my.... hampster when I was growing up
DELORES:  My grandfather's cat was named "Odd Job"
GEORGE: Wow (looks incredulous at Dolores, Dolores looks happily amazed)

(VO)I wish people were more complicated, but they are not

GEORGE: Ahh Delores, am I still going to get paid for today, if I go home?
DELORES:  Actually

Cuts to George in a football shirt in the copy room

(VO) So Delores lent me her softball shirt, which wasn't so bad except that
human beings
  have eyeballs
(guy passes the copy room, then comes back)

GUY:Hey

(VO)and mouths

GUY: Are you joining the Heffalumps?
(ignores him and carries on doing what she was doing, he looks embarassed and
carried on
  walking)

Transition Waffle Haus. Yodelling music playing. Guy in a white shirt and black
tie show a
family of mum, dad and daughter to their seats. George, Rube, Betty and Mason
sitting eating
their breakfast

(VO) Maybe it was the uniform, but it did make me wonder, what team was I on

BETTY: ....and always be nice to the woman at the DMV
ROXIE: I told that bitch her weave looked like carpet and now my social security
number
  pulles up two bankruptcies 
BETTY: See!
ROXIE: Don't see me, that's a shit's a major violation
RUBE: (to George) so still loving you day job, peanut?
GEORGE: I don't know
RUBE: Remind me
GEORGE: Office assistant?
BETTY: You got a "Breck girl" thing happening
GEORGE: I don't know what that means
RUBE: It means you got too much stuff on your face
BETTY: Fuckable is promotable
MASON: Does anyone what tickets for a hockey game?
BETTY: Ooh when?
MASON: um, 7.30 tonight
RUBE: Duuuke
ROXIE: Two tickets?
MASON: Yup and blue line and parking pass, I think
RUBE: DUUUKE
(George looks over to Rube looking confused)
GEORGE: Who's Duke?
RUBE: Pierrot Le Duc. Took a puck to the head last night
BETTY: Concussive brain injury?
RUBE: Asphyxiation 
BETTY: No!
RUBE: Yup
ROXIE: Didn't have any teeth to stop the thing
BETTY: Where did you get the tickets?
MASON: His widow
RUBE: How do you know he doesn't have any teeth?
ROXIE: Now, now

Transition Joy goes into Reggies bedroom

JOY: Reggie, are you even ready yet? (she pauses) Take that off
(Reggie is sitting on her bed, dressed)
REGGIE: Why?
JOY: You know why

(VO)That's the dress that my sister wore to my funeral

REGGIE: I like this
JOY: You have other clothes

(Joy opens the wardrobe doors)

(VO)And those are my pygamas

(gets a dress out for her)

JOY: Same stockings, same shoes

(takes the coat hanger from her and walks into the closet and closes the door)

REGGIE: I don't want to have my picture taken
(Joy sits on the bed and gives a big sigh)

JOY: Youre just lucky we are not doing this with my mother, She used to make us
practice
  smiling before we left the house
REGGIE: That's because she doesn't like your smile
JOY: Did she tell you that?
REGGIE: yeah, she said it was fake
JOY: (Sighs and says under her breath) That bitch
JOY: Ahh yeah, see that's pretty, youre going to need a sweater
No I won't (walks out of the room. Joy goes into the closet, gets a sweater and
follows her)


Transition
George is behind a tree looking at the lass's house. She sees her father Reggie
and Joy
coming out of the house

JOY: Did you finish your homework?
REGGIE: No
JOY: Oh, god

(Joy tries to give her the sweater but Reggie doesn't accept it, so she drops it
on the
ground, where they then get into the car and they drive off)

(George comes to pick it up)

(VO)In 8th grade Grade Danny Burkoff told me if you dropped a penny off the
Empire state
building, it could kill somone, This is how I feel about this. It doen't make
any sense but
I still have to try it.(goes up to the house and gets the spare key from under
the plant
pot) Going home was fucked up, but I couldn't help myself. (Enters) I didn't
give a
gerbil's ass about all this crap when I was alive. Now it all suddenly seems
precious.
(looks around, see a cabinet and open it up) I remember playing with this do I
remember
playing in the back yard sandbox, that smelt like cat piss. (flashback to 6th
birthday
party birthday) I remember inviting her to my sixth birthday party, taking her
to the
summers in New Hampshire (green fields and bales of hay)
We never went to New Hampshire!(cuts to picture of galaxy and the noise of the
projection
screen going up)

PHOTOGRAPHER: Alright, Have you stand right there
JOY: I'd prefere to be here
PHOTOGRAPHER: Oh okay
(click of the camera)
PHOTOGRAPHER: Sweetie, right in there
Oh yeah you look so good. alright let's go guys (photograpgher stands behind the
camera)
And "Wheaties!"

(picture of all four of the Lass's, george is sitting on her parents bed, she
picks it up
and looks at it. Starts walking around the house and she sees a math book)

(VO) I never knew much about my sister, but I do remember she hated Math (starts
doing the
work)

PHOTOGRAPHER: Hey Reggie, Reggie, right here (with a soft toy waving it
fanatically) come on
give to Monty, give to Monty (gritted teeth) Happy everyone, happy (grips
Reggie) Come on
reggie, smile

(George goes into her old room)
(VO) Before I could go I had to grab some clean undies from my old bedroom

(two pictures of Clancy, two pictures of joy and two pictures of Reggie
Click to her room - She looks inside and all her things are boxed up)

(VO) Shit! (walks in) God bless my mom. If she ever put a bullet through her
head, it probably be labeled. (putting some clothes in a bag) When I was
little, my parents would go out and leave us with a babysitter, I would
sneak into my mom's closet, press her dresses to my face and breath her in as
close as I could. but there was one smell I didn't realise I would miss so
much, my own (curls up on her bed with a pile of clothes using as a pillow)

(flashack - cereal on the table, tv on cartoons. Reggie is on the floor with
pillows around
her stretching)

JOY: Dammit, Georgia will you get off your ass and give me a hand


GEORGE: (lying on the couch)Mom?
JOY: Don't let the cat out

(door closes and George wakes up, she hears her mother's voice)

JOY: Reggie, those are still clean, hang them up
CLANCY: Ill probably miss dinner
JOY: I'm so glad we spent all that money on your home office
CLANCY: (putting books in a pile, talking to himself) it's mid-terms
JOY: That aeron chair and the pentium whatever
CLANCY: Well, just let the girls use it
GEORGE (VO)(sound effect, car screeches) Whoops
CLANCY: She can do her homework on there (he closes his case)
GEORGE: Nice save
CLANCY: My cell phone's on (he leaves the house)
GEORGE: (panicking) Fuck

(Clancy leaves on his scooter. George jumps down from the room with her bag)
GEORGE: Ahh Shhh.....
(shouting from inside the house)
JOY: Reggie, would you please go get that goddamn sweater?!
(George passes the sweater and pauses, picks it up and throws it towards the
house)
(Reggie comes to get it and sees it on the step, she picks it up and looks up
and sees someone
running off)

GEORGE (VO)You know the story of the princess and the pea?(Joy goes to the
dresser, then stops and
goes to their bedroom, looks behind the bed) It was based on my mom

Transition
Joy is sitting on the bathroom toilet. The shower curtain is pulled closed and
there is water
being sloshed around. Reggie is behind there.

JOY: I think of cats, stray cats, if you keep putting out the food, they'll keep
coming back
(looks towards the curtains, then sighs deeply) If thinking about your sister is
painful, then you
have to decide not to, it's up to you (takes a tissue from the side of the
basin) I know
you can do it (starts to rub the rim of the sink)
REGGIE: Mom?
JOY: Yes!
REGGIE: I didn't know if you were still there
(Joy looks dejected)


Transition
Reggie is sitting on the floor in George's old room with a ouija board

REGGIE: Do you still wear clothes? (points to no)
REGGIE: Where do you live now? (goes to nothing)

Transition
George is trying to climb a tree in a big field. Betty is standing watching

GEORGE: OW. Can I get ten fingers?
BETTY: The nails
GEORGE: (she tries again)This is impossible
BETTY: Saps a bitch
GEORGE: Well, what am I supposed to do? Is there some kind of trick? Am I
supposed to take
the tree soul and ask to climb itself and get the guy down?
BETTY: Here (tries to give George a rock)
GEORGE: No way
(Betty throws the rock)
GEORGE: Wow, it moved (george picks up a rock, it comes back down) Oh
shit(scream and falls on
the ground)
BETTY: Ahhh, You throw like a girl
GEORGE: Can you take tree souls? Do trees have souls?
BETTY: Don't know
GEORGE: What about animals? Or rocks or if you tried to take a soul soul
(Betty sighs and raises her eyes to the sky)
GEORGE: Dont you ever wonder about this stuff
BETTY: I asked Rube once. (George throws another) Nice. He says you just don't
do it, so I
don't (throws again. A footaball helmet falls down)
GEORGE: I went home
BETTY: Everybody want to go home, it doesn't make it right
GEORGE: Nobody saw me
BETTY: It's not about them, it's about you, it's what you see. Swipe anything?
(looks sheepish)
BETTY: It's very tepmting to think that the little jewels from our lives will
bring it all
back, but they don't
(close up of Betty's ring)

(flashback - Betty opening her coffin, she is wearing a 1920's shaped
hat. A grave stone says RHOMER Betty 1899-1926. She brings up a
skeleton hand and pulls a ring it off and puts it on her own finger.
Closes the coffin)

(Betty throws another rock)
BETTY: Unh! You can't go back (the branch creaks and breaks and the body comes
with it, with
a parachute)
GEORGE: Are you going to tell Rube?

Transition
Mason and Roxie sitting in a booth at Der Waffle Haus

MASON: Where's Betty?
ROXIE: Babysitting
MASON: I never had a babysitter
ROXIE: That doesn't mean you didn't need one
(pause, looking at menus)
ROXIE: I'm going to get a pet bird
MASON: Don't get a bird
ROXIE: Why not?
MASON: Because they're weird, man I can't relate to a bird, they are
so far removed, theyve got different chromosomes.and they come from
eggs
ROXIE: They've got faces
MASON: So do cockroaches
(longer pause)
MASON: I mean, what you going to do with a bird?
ROXIE: Stick it in a cage and feed it, what do you think i'm going to
  do with it
MASON: I think you should get one that you can eat

ROXIE: (looks agast)Im going to get a freind, I'm not going to eat my
  friend
MASON: They have brains the size of pistachios, it's not smart enough to be
  your freind
ROXIE: You dont know what you are talking about, I saw this special on PBS
  called "Animal Miracles" and they did a dramic re-enactment of a guy
  being robbed and he had a parrot or a cockatiel or something and that
  bird lost its shit when it's owner was attacked, it opened up it's
  cage...
MASON: Woah, why would you put a bird in a cage if it can open the
door?
ROXIE: Where else are you going to put it?
It opened up it's cage and went crazy, pecked out the guy's eyes,
  scratched his face, messed his face up like Tippy Hedren or some shit
  so don't tell me that's not friendship (Annoyed at Mason for being
  Mason. Both of them pick up the menus again and after a pause)
MASON: How big was this parrot?
ROXIE: I don't know, parrot size
MASON: Well a parrot can't take on a fully grown man, unless this man
  is a big pussy
ROXIE: I didn't say the parrot won. The robber stabbed it with a fork
  and killed his owner. the bird is dead
MASON: So why do you want a bird?
ROXIE: It's not about Homeland security you stupid motherfucker, I'm
   going to get a friend
MASON: (under his breath)Jesus

(VO)She wasn't the only one looking for a friend

Transition
back at the field, the parashutist is following George and Betty

GEORGE: So what are you going to do now?
PARACHUTIST: I was kinda hoping you were going to tell me
(both of them stop walking and look back to him. He whispers) Oh you
  are taking to her
GEORGE: cos if you want to get dinner or something
BETTY: Don't take this the wrong way, but I'm just not up to the whole
   bonding buddy girl thing, Okay?

(VO) Hard to think what the wrong way to take that would be

GEORGE: Hey I don't want to bond either, just hungry
PARACHUTIST: Is that the...?
GEORGE: The great.... whatever
PARACHUTIST: (in awe)Shut up
(his lights is a snakes and ladders board. The ladder comes down for
  him and he climbs up. George looks after him)

Transition Joy goes into the spare room wanting to excersise. she
looks around, then leaves the room

Transition
A television broadcast from George's place

REPORTER: This is Bill Bright reporting from Route 7. Controversy
   continues to build over the decision to put down the bear. Animal
  control has said it was a matter of policy but Dora's supporters
  contend that the animal should not be put to death
(camera pans out from the TV. George is still in bed and mason is
wondering around the room)It was following it's natural instincts when it
killed
  two hunger strikers........(TV  still on)

(George open her eyes)

GEORGE: Are you robbing me?
MASON: No there's nothing to fucking rob
GEORGE: I was dreaming about frogs
MASON: Real ones, or like kermit?
GEORGE: Real ones
MASON: I saw a movie of frogs. They got pissed and they ate a bunch of
  people on an island, I think it was called "Frogs!"
GEORGE: Were they bad people?
MASON: Nah, Nah, they littered or something
GEORGE: I only like it when bad people die
MASON: I like it when nobody dies, so I don't have to work
GEORGE: What would happen if everybody died? (squirts some perfume
  under his arms)
MASON: What do you mean?
GEORGE: Like if we were the only ones left
MASON: Oh, like if the frogs ate everyone on the planet?
GEORGE: Yeah!
MASON: I reckon we'd be shoveling alot of frog shit. Did you shovel
  frog shit in your dream?
GEORGE: No. The frog was carrying me on his back over a river of lava
MASON: A frog?
GEORGE: Yeah
MASON: (smirks a little) I have to go. Ive got a business meeting. Got
  to get our ducks in a row, fine-tune the language. You know what I
  mean. (starts rummaging round in kitchen cupboards) You know you
  should really do something with this place, Ive been in crack houses with more
style. Do
  you need this back? (He picks up a big kitchen knife)
GEORGE: No
MASON: Cheers

Transition
Happy Time. George is clearing up in a board room. Delores sees her

DELORES:  Hello, Hi I dont know if you got the email but Harry F in
Web Design is moving to corporate, we are all meeting in here for cake

(VO)Im pretty sure they put mind control pills in the water cooler,
    because I'm actually a little excited

DELORES: Can you cover the phones?
GEORGE: Oh
DELORES:  Michael's already  group-forwarded to voice-mail, but the
main line will ring through to your extention, Okay?
GEORGE: Yeah
(signals with a thumbs-up and walk off, george gets a knife and
starts cutting it furiously and puts it into a lunch box)

(VO) Little moments like that prove to me that there is some kind of
all powerful, all knowing force, that controls everything in the
universe and it is so fucking bored, (George is back at her desk,
with various pink post-its stuck everwhere, paper clips round her neck)it will
actually take
time out to orchestrate a petty let-down like that
(the telephone rings, she stops painting her nails with Tip-ex, picks
it up and puts it back down again)It's not that I even cared about the cake or
conversation
(She looks over to the board room and sees everyone having a good time)

HARRY F: The latest Java patch is completely kick-ass

(VO) But I guess standing outside all that bullshit, I started to
  realise how warm and safe that bull shit might actully feel
  (Crystal waves at her, George waves but by that time she has
   already walked off)

Transition. At the Lass household

JOY: You know the sad thing here is that you can't come up with an
  original way to act out
REGGIE: I don't have the television
JOY: If you are testing me reg, you are going to lose, I don't care
  what you do. You can set the car on fire, eat the cat, I will not
  give you extra attention because you won't let go of this


(VO) If there is any poetry in being a reaper, is in combining the
business of taking souls with the pleasure of making money. If you
can get a little self awareness too then you are the walt fucking
Whitman of reapers

fades into transition.
Betty and Mason in a car. Betty has a
questionaire that she is doing with Mason as they wait for an
appointment

BETTY: When you deliver critism, do you? are you direct or tactful?
MASON: Im I telling the truth?
BETTY: Tactful. You consider yourself to be resonable or exeptionally kind?
MASON: Uh... exeptionally kind
(Betty raises her eyebrow at him)
MASON: Well I'm not particularly resonable
BETTY: Fine. Kind, me too. Do you tend to see the trees or the forest?
MASON: Well, how many trees?
BETTY: Well how many do you want?
MASON: Well in chinese there is a symbol that is a tree and it means tree but if
there are
two of them it means forest, so....
(looks at him again)
MASON: Uh... Trees
(nods then looks down at the paper)
MASON: Why what do you see?
BETTY: The forest
(Mason starts pulling faces and mumbles)
MASON: Okay, how do I look really?
BETTY: Swarthy
MASON: Well is that good?
BETTY: Depends on if you like swarthy
MASON: Do you like swarthy?
BETTY: Not particularly
(Mason picks up the knife that is on the dashboard and gets out of the car, he
turns
around and faces Betty)
MASON: Okay(gets out the car)
MASON: Hey don't put me down as trees, okay?
BETTY: Okay
(Mason runs back to a door in a dark and bangs on it. Betty hears a gunshot
looks up
with the rear veiw mirror. Three more shots are fired. A man runs limping from
out of the
building, Mason is chasing the man)

MASON: Give me the damn bag

(starts running round the car trying to get him)

BETTY: You're an N.F. You are an intuitive feeler. You trust your intuition, you
yearn for
romance and you prize meaningful relationships
MASON: What?
(man is standing by the door shoots out)

BETTY: (under her breath) like he's an intuitive thinker.
(guy tries to get into the back of the car)
BETTY: N.T.s are the worse
(two more shots are fired from the man by the door into the robber. Mason Rugby
tackels
him to the ground while taking his soul. shoots again and as Mason gets up, he
shoots Mason
in the head)

MASON: Arggg. I'll take that cheers

(Mason runs and the guy runs after him. Betty sees the guys soul looking a bit
confused)

BETTY: Excuse me mister dead guy. On a long airplane trip, if you are seated
next to
someone, do you prefere to make conversation or read a book?

(VO) One soul and fourteen hundred dollars later, it was time for lunch

At the Waffle Haus. Roxie, Mason, Rube and Betty are sitting having breakfast

ROXIE: They wouldn't even let me talk to a human being. I'm going to change
banks
MASON: You have to press 0
ROXIE: You think I don't know to press 0?
BETTY: Sometimes it's star
MASON: You know what, computers are going to like take over the whole world
RUBE: Never happen. Computers won't get smarter than people
BETTY: I think they already are
RUBE: Yeah when a computer looses it with a meter maid - no offence or kills
it's self
because it thinks its too fat then I will believe in artificial intelligence
ROXIE: This juice tasts funny
(Betty tries some)
BETTY: Tastes like Fresca
(George comes strolling in. The table goes silent)
GEORGE: Hi
KIFFANY: (says to George) Know what you want?
GEORGE: Yeah, Banana Bonanza...
RUBE: I heard you went home again
GEORGE: Wheat toast....
RUBE: Big fucking mistake
GEORGE: ....and a glass of water
RUBE: I'm a resonable George, is that what i'm supposed to say
KIFFANY: (closes pad)I'll come back
RUBE: (flings down the pen)I'm a resonable man George, even though you flip me
off. um...
you frustrate me peanut, If I hear you have any contact with your old life
again, you will
have a torment down upon you that you cannot imagine
MASON: Cheque please
(everyone else sniggers)
GEORGE: I know that's supposed to scare me but I don't know what possibly could
be worse
than what's already happened
MASON: (Kiffany comes over) Oh I was only joking
(roxie snorts)
RUBE: We'll take it
ROXIE: Oh could you add a grapefruit juice
BETTY: Then she's got to go back
ROXIE: And?
RUBE: you get it to go out
MASON: Has anyone got two fives?
BETTY: Oh could you cover me?
MASON: Yes
RUBE: One for you (gives Roxie a post it) and you (for Mason) and you (for
Betty)and you
(for George)
GEORGE: Again?
RUBE: Here you go (gives her a slicker. To Roxie) You give her a ride

At the protest. There is a large vat with a sign saying "DANGER Live bear trap
Stay back".
Fast tracking around the site. The police and a larger amount of people are
standing
around with placards. andd the crowd shouting Bill the reporter is reporting

BILL: Chris, Ally they're still waiting for conformation for a powerful
tranquilizer used to
sedate Dora has taken full effect. When that happens te plan is to move her out
of the
cage and into that trailer wherre she will make the ride to Animal controls
folding
facility...fuck...I'm sorry. Alright holding facility, go again Chris, Ally
they're
still...(camera moves away. Roxie's van goes passed. next shot is George and
Roxie sitting
and waiting)

GEORGE: So what's your guess?
(Roxie ignores her)
GEORGE: How do you think it's going to happen?
(ignores her again)
GEORGE: Professor in the library with a candlestick?
ROXIE: Parking brake on the truck fails, the truck runs into other gas pump as
the
antenna tower sparks the lights on the canopy
GEORGE: Is it like a reaper thing to take the long shot?
ROXIE: I could be getting something done today
GEORGE: There's a man in a cage with a bearly sedated bear
ROXIE: V Kostakovich
GEORGE: What?
(looks at the post it, looks at the guy)
GEORGE: it's not possible

(gets out of the van and puts the slicker on)

BILL: Whether or not that show of support will be enough to prevent Dora from
being put
down remains to be seen. This is Bill Bright reporting from Route 7
CAMERAMAN: Got it. Nice job

GEORGE: What time is it?
ROXIE: you smell like garbage
BILL: It's always such a relief when I get to my name
CAMERAMAN: It's hard to mess up
BILL: You should hear my real name
GEORGE: Kostakovich!
BILL: Huh?
(Dora gets out. There are screaming from the protesters)
BILL: Roll tape. roll tape.
CAMERAMAN: Were rolling
(George takes his essence, as he walks over some cables from the television van)
BILL: Great. What started as a typical animal rights protest has escalated to a
dangerous
This is Bill Bright reporting from Route 7
CAMERAMAN: Uh Bill
(Bill turns round and sees Dora really angry. The roar is so loud that he pees
himself
that goes onto the cable that electricutes him)
CAMERAMAN: Bill? Bill?

(VO)I know a couple of things, I know that a few hours from nowsomebody will be
standing in
this guy's closet, smelling his shirts. Trying to reconnect. And I know where
that bear
is going.

At Happy Time party

(VO) She's going in search of the relationship all of us are trying to recreate
in one
way....(hugs him into her bosom) or another

(Ranger tries to shoot the bear, George pushes him so he misses and hits a
chair. The
bear gets away)

(VO) You would think that since I know so much about everything, I wouldn't do
what I'm
about to do

Lass's household
George rings the doorbell

(from in the house Reggie says: got it)
REGGIE: Yeah?

(VO) I could do this. It was no big deal. After all, reapers look different to
the living

REGGIE: Do you want something?

GEORGE: How are you?
REGGIE: Okay
GEORGE: Good.I'm a freind of your mom's. I like your hair like this (touches her
hair,
Joy come to the door)
JOY: What are you doing?(looks to Reggie) Get in the house
JOY: I remember you
GEORGE: The yard sale
JOY: You should leave (goes to shut the door)
GEORGE: Joy?
JOY: I don't have time for this
GEORGE: Please!
JOY: No
GEORGE: MOM!
JOY: What!

(VO) I figured I wouldn't have a load of time at this point so I worked out just
the right
thing to say It was supposed to go like this....

GEORGE: When I was five I had an imaginary freind
named Broccoli Bee and you took out one of your steno pads and we wrote a story
with
picture on one side and words on the other

JOY: Georgia?(happy and sad look on her face)

(VO)But it kind of looked like this...
Millie:  When I was five. I. um... I. um. I had a friend and. um. I. um. That's
it,
that's all that would come out.

JOY: Get out

(VO)I had lots of other things to say but somehow they all kind of melted into a
fine mist.
Mom on the other hand

JOY:(her rage building) You are a real fucking piece of work, arn't you?
Get out! get the fuck out of here! You think you can just show up here and pull
this kind
of shit?! Do you know what it feels like to loose a daughter? Get your skanky
ass out of
here! that's right! you run bitch! Run (Reggie is looking out of the window
seeing he girl
run. As George is running Roxie pulls up in her van, opens the door and George
gets in)
(George is sobbing, Roxie gives her a reassuring pat, then they drive to Der
Waffle Haus,
where Rube is sitting down)

GEORGE: Thanks
ROXIE: Mm-hmm
GEORGE: Are you going to tell him?
ROXIE: If you don't

George goes into Der Waffle Haus picks up a menu and hides behind it. Rube is
doing a
crossword puzzle in the paper

RUBE: I know the menu like a first phone number, still have to read it to know
what I want.
(Kiffany comes over)
GEORGE: Can I get a number 6?
RUBE: Want this? (gives her the paper)
GEORGE: I went home again
RUBE: Pass me a napkin (she gives him the napkin amd he wipes up) You okay?
nods)
You lose anything? Memories?
I don't know. I tried to tell my mom a story and... now I can't even remember
what it was.

(VO) Its' cruel and simple, the more I held onto my life the less there was to
hold on to

GEORGE: So...my whole life.. all I get to keep are thoughts and memories
RUBE: It's all we have peanut. I'll se you in the morning?
Yeah (touches her hand to reasure her)

(VO) At the end of the day  all you have are your experiences. I spent so much
of my life
avoiding experiences, I didn't have much to lose. I was just thinking that maybe
I'd done
the whole thing wrong, when breakfast came (makes her smile)

(the photographs are being printing out)

END CREDITS