Liberty Television Network

The Lower Ninth (TV Concept) (2007 Drama)

I was lucky enough to visit New Orleans a few years before Hurricane Katrina decimated the city in 2005. That's why I was drawn to produce a fictional show idea back then to pay tribute. At the same time NBC ran a show called K-Ville which only lasted 10 episodes in the fall of 2007. "Police officers patrol the streets of New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. My show took a different path, a cross between the movies like Do the Right Thing and vigilante movies like The Principal and Death Wish. 

"The Lower Ninth"

Airing time; Friday @ 10:00pm

status; picked-up, ordered 22 episodes

Category; Drama
Production Company; Insight Film Studios
Running time; 60 min

Theme song; "Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans?" Louis Armstrong

~creators~
Steven Seagal
Douglas Brinkley

~cast & series synopsis~
Steven Seagal plays Dyson Lott a former Army Ranger who moves into the midst of the rebuilding of the Lower Ninth district of New Orleans; a predominatly poor black neighborhood. While he goes out of his way to help out his new neighbors he keeps his reasons close to the vest.

Ice-T plays the disillusioned "go-to" guy in the neighborhood Eric Stanback. A former social worker now unable to find employment his level of bitterness towards the establishment is at an all-time high. He too keeps his true feelings close to the vest.

Producers of this new drama coming to TBA in the fall of 2008 feel it is important to keep the rebuilding of New Orleans in the forefront of the public eye. They promise to hold back no punches in their treatment of the show.

"There is a bit of a conspiracy going on in New Orleans...an overt effort by the minority white groups of the city to rebuild with a new look...a whiter look. The displaced black citizens are hardly welcome back."
Or as one Republican congressman incredibly said, "God did what we could not do...solve the New Orleans public housing problem."

It is in this background that the forgotten citizens of the Lower Ninth ward try and rebuild their neighborhood in one of the most vulnerable sections of the city, try and fight for their basic human rights, and try and reconcile the past with the future.
"You don't make an omlette without breaking a few eggs."

~Also starring~
Shakara Ledard as Latisha
Jermaine Washington as Jerimah
and
Demore Barnes as Sgt. Walls

Episode Guide

1.01 - "Pilot"
As the sun rises on another muggy day in the projects we see Dyson Lott (Steven Seagal) pull up in his beat up jeep. On his dashboard is a clipped out newspaper article with a quote from a US Senator "What we could not do ourselves, the Lord took care of for us...eliminating the housing problem in New Orleans' Lower Ninth". The few eyes that are open in the morning suspiciously watch Lott unpack into his walk-up 2nd floor apartment.
He unpacks a picture of himself and the rest of his military buddies in Bravo Company and has a short flashback to Iraq before being startled by a knock on the door.
It is Latisha (Shakara Ledard) who talks him up about what a white guy is doing here, if he's met Eric yet, and then asks for a cigarette. Lott doesn't smoke but he has a light when she produces her own cigarette. She asks if he at least has a beer but he tells her it is 8 in the morning, so no. She storms off saying he's a real pill.
Lott is out walking the project later in the day. He is cruised by a cop car with a black officer inside (Demore Barnes), see's a drug dealer selling, a couple of three year olds playing in the street with a stray dog, some young kids trying to play basketball but the post and backboard are all crooked. He returns with a bag of groceries to his apartment where he is met by Eric Stanback (Ice-T).
Eric starts to give him the 3rd degree about what he's doing here in the projects. At first he thought he must be hiding out from the army, but now that he's seen him walking around he figures he must be some white honky do-gooder. Lott lets himself into his apartment and says he's only trying to live here. Stanback follows without invitation. Lott offers him some tea, which Stanback turns down as being the drink of the oppressors, the English empire. Finally Stanback cuts to the chase and tells Lott he doesn't belong here. Lott shakes his head and says he should be having this conversation with the prostitutes and the drug dealers. Stanback says they belong here, this is where society dumps them, away from their own backyards. Lott just shakes his head and says thats whats wrong with your thinking, you don't think of this as being part of society. Stanback says it ain't, and leaves.
As the sun is setting Lott goes out for a run. If he's trying to attract trouble he finds it. Four wayward gang youths accost him. They heard about him, mister military man, and they want him out of their projects. But when they try and rough him up, even aided by a couple of knifes and a pipe they are overmatched by the hand to hand specialist Dyson Lott. Lott says these projects don't belong to the gangs, they belong to the people, the good people.
Morning breaks, and as the sun rises and the kids start to fill the lot to play they find Dyson just putting away his tools into his jeep. He is staking up the basketball pole and net. One of the youths with a ball asks him about it and Dyson apologizes. He says the cement is still wet so they need to not only leave it alone until tomorrow morning but they need to stand guard over it all day today to make sure no one knocks it over. They seem excited about the duty.
As Lott is climbing into the Jeep a cop car pulls up behind him. It's the same cop Sgt. Walls. He's black but he speaks in perfect English, with even a hint of the Queen's English. He starts to tell Lott the same things Stanback said, and Lott interrupts him and says he's just like Stanback. This really pisses off Walls though who gets out the car and into the face of Lott. He says he is nothing like Stanback. He says Eric is a racist who gave up a long time ago. Lott asks about his English and Walls admits to having been born in New Orleans but lived in Canada all his life, and educated at Cornell, an Ivy league school. Lott laughs and says just another do-gooder trying to make a difference. Walls changes the subject to the 4 youths, saying he's lucky they aren't pressing charges. Again Lott has a laugh and says they never do. Walls tells Lott to watch his back as those guys roll with Jerimiah, and he isn't your average hooligan. He's huge, and smart enough. Lott says he'll be fine.
Another nightfall, and this time Lott heads out in his jeep to where the drug dealers and prostitutes are plying their trade. He drives by the basketball court, and while it is still standing, the previous white backboard he painted is now filled with graffitti. He watches the nice cars with mostly white young males come and go, buying drugs and girls. Finally he picks one out and follows it for 20 minutes out to the burbs while he listens to some Creedence Clearwater Revival "Fortunate Son". He returns to the projects and talks up a couple hookers, offering them $200 each for about an hour of their time, and there is a slight chance they will get arrested. They make it $300 each and climb in.
Lott retuns to suburbia and squeals tires up by the big house where he had followed the teens. The girls get out and start to ply their trade along the deserted suburban sidewalk at 2 in the morning, while Lott stands there too. As a car slows down Lott yells at them asking if they need a hook-up. They pull away fast, with their cell phones up to their ears.
Within a minute a private security car pulls up, followed later by a cop car. They try and get Lott and his girls to move on, or be arrested. Lott seems intent on putting on a show though and wakes the neighbors.
When people come out from the one particular house Lott tells the homeowners, a couple in their 50's that their son spends so much time up in the hood buying dope and girls, that he thought it would be much easier if they moved the action here to his front lawn. The man gets extremely mad and retreats back inside yelling for his son. Point taken Lott and the girls pile into the jeep. As they drive away they tell Lott he is one crazy mother trucker. They ask if they are going back to the Ninth now, but Lott just smiles and says we should stop at the local IHOP for some pancakes first.

1.02 - "Uniforms"
Latisha apologizes to Lott for her earlier behaviour, she says sometimes she discredits herself because thats what people around here expect. Lott asks about Eric and she tells Lott that he was a well respected social worker before Hurricane Katrina. He chose to live here and work here and was well respected. He didnt take the gangbangers head on though, he had to have his boundaries and work with those who asked for his help. Then after Katrina his job wasn't available anymore. It was just sort of eliminated in the shuffle. There were more important things to spend money on then social workers.
Lott continues to patrol the streets and watching the mayhem but not interfering. As he cruises and watches he is pulled over again by Sgt. Walls. The cop tells Lott he heard what he did over in the Hills, and says he got a good laugh on that one, but now he's a marked man. Walls tells Lott to get off the streets and leave it to the police. He doesn't appreciate it when Lott says they haven't done a very good job so far. Just think of him as a one man neighborhood watch. Walls is furious and says next time he goes vigilante he'll lock him up. Walls warns Lott that Jerimah is looking for him.
Minutes later Lott is tricked into an alley by what looks to be a mugging. Instead the three youths, including the supposed victim, pull guns on Lott. They are then joined by a muscular black man with dreadlocks who confirms himself as Jerimah "the Bullgod" around here. Lott says it smells more like Bull...
The youths ask Jerimah if they should cap him but the leader says no, he's ex military so it might draw some attention. Just mess him up a bit. They grin but Jerimah says, he's one tough bugger theres no way you three can take him in a fair fight. So Jerimah pulls out his gun and fires a shot into the foot of Lott, and then lets the youths loose as he walks away.
When Lott wakes up he is in a hospital bed and beside him is Sgt. Walls. He tells Lott he won't arrest him this time because he got so messed up. He tries to take a statement but Lott says it was dark, so he doesnt know who it was.
When Lott returns home on crutches he finds his apartment has been broken into and ransacked. Latisha is there cleaning up but she has a long way to go. Eric drops by just to say "I told you so", and when Latisha tells him to help out Eric just walks away saying it ain't his mess to clean up.
Latisha finds a broken picture, its the one of Lott and Bravo Company. She asks him about his military career and he says it was fine until Iraq. Through flashbacks he says he got tired of not knowing who the enemy was, of not knowing if they were doing any good, of not even liking the people you did manage to help. He says he got shot in the arm one day in Kabul, and as he was recovering in the hospital he saw a special on the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Lower Ninth. He saw that the gangs and drugs were just as bad as ever. But what he saw was clear, he could tell who the bad guys were and who the innocent ones were. So when his time was up, instead of re-enlisting he got out and came here, where the bad guys wear a uniform. Latisha says its not that easy to tell the good from the bad here either. She says her younger brother was a good kid until he got hooked on meth and now he runs with a gang, and then there's Eric; is he a good guy or a problem?
Latisha says he can't sleep here and offers her couch to Lott. She makes another play for Lott that night but he once again gently turns her down. She misinterprets it as a racial thing, and kicks him out. Lott mutters to himself that she is right about one thing, its not easier to figure out people here then in Iraq.

1.03 - "Lock and Loaded"
After a 12 year old boy dies of a Meth overdose, Lott and Stanback put aside their differences to step up the pressure on the neighborhood's drug dealers. Stanback saves Lott's life from another gang ambush, and tries in vain to get Lott to start carrying a gun. Surprisingly its Sgt. Walls who gets in the way of the vigilante justice, refusing to let the duo take matters into their own hands. Stanback accuses Walls of being on the take but Lott just chalks it up to a man doing his job, despite its futile nature. Latisha continues to give Lott the cold shoulder despite his attempts to make peace with his neighbor.

1.04 - "Clean Streets"
A city councillor feels betrayed when she brings press to cover her congratulating Walls, Lott, and Stanback on their progress to clean up the streets of the Lower Ninth. Stanback says its nice during the day but maybe she should try and come back at night, without the reporters. He goes on to challenge the mayor to do the same. Lott is turned to as the voice of reason but he only agrees with Stanback's assessment saying the war is far from over. Latisha receives another mouth to feed, her infant niece, while Latisha's sister is in drug rehab.
Stanback starts a program to help mothers take responsibility for the actions of their children, and not to rely on having a male figure around to do that parenting. Lott helps out by teaching self defense to worried mothers. Walls tries to make piece with Jerimah, but after that meeting goes bad, Walls finds himself in the hospital ICU, the victim of a hit and run. The chief of police goes on television and blames what happened to Walls on Lott and Stanback.

1.05 "Home to Roost"
With his growing fame and attention, Lott receives a visit from two of his former Bravo company soldiers. But when they over extend their stay Lott begins to believe they have ulterior motives.
Latisha's niece accidently swallows some cleaning fluids and has to be rushed to the hospital. Lott ends up taking her in his jeep when calls to 9-1-1 are ignored due to the neighborhood.
Stanback has a physical confrontation with Wall's replacement landing him in jail for the night. There he hears a rumor that Jerimiah is suffering from AIDS.
Lott finally thinks he is rid of his old army buddies until he finds out that they robbed one of Jerimiah's drug dens, killing 6 dealers, and 3 customers. The gang tries to take revenge on Lott, and to extract information from him through torture until Stanback is able to lead the police to the rescue.