This week I'm featuring TV episodes that have been nominated for 2021 WGA awards, and in particular the things they do in their openings.
The Set Up
Written by show creator Aaron Guzikowski, the RAISED BY WOLVES pilot opens with our robot protagonists Mother and Father having just awoken for the first time, after landing on a planet where they're meant to begin a human colony.
But that's where the standard story ends. As Father gets out and tries to hold the shuttle for Mother, he asks her if she wants to hear a joke. "What did the male magnet say to the female magnet?"
The moment screams "Tell us a Joke, Bob", doesn't it?
Even before we get to the punchline, his offer tells us so many things. First of all, as perilous as their situation may seem, in fact they are more than its equal. Yes, they are robots, so not likely to start shrieking (although if you know the show, you know this is in fact VERY far from an accurate assessment).
But Father tossing out jokes as he tries to literally hold the rocket up by himself, his feet slipping in the sand, conveys his level of confidence and security. Which gives us a sense of what we're in for. This is not going to be a series with the typical sci-fi tropes as its problems.
The moment also tells us a lot about Father and his programming. "Would you like to hear a joke while we work this out?", he asks Mother as he holds the ship. The joke is not some sort of cocky laugh-in-the-face-of-danger moment, in other words. It's him trying to be helpful.
Meanwhile the joke has absolutely no merit. "When I saw your backside," says the male magnet, "I was repelled. However, after seeing you from the front, I now find you very attractive." There's nothing funny to that, it's just a bit of word play, the kind of thing only a child might find amusing.
Which actually fits. As their names themselves already tell us, Mother and Father are here to raise children. So of course their humor is going to be a combination of ultra-corny and a science lesson.
(The moment also immediately makes clear, these are not WESTWORLD robots we're dealing with. No seamless simulation of humanity to be had here.)
Lastly, the punchline points to a key thematic element of the episode: everyone has two sides to them, one of which is enormously unattractive. Mombot is also unbeknownst to herself Murderbot who explodes people by screaming.
Mother so scary, you guys.
The men who come to the planet act pleasant but in fact are planning to kill Mother and take the family's land. Even the planet itself is ascribed duality: in narration the one surviving child Campion explains his realization, after his sister fell down that damn hole and died, that the planet does not care about them, or desire to protect them.
(Campion’s voiceovers are a whole other part of the pilot worth considering. It’s so easy to overdo narration; you fall in love with the voice of your character and so you let it run way too long. Guzikowski really holds back with his, and they each pop as an exquisite combination of insight and revelation.)
