1. EXT. OLIVE’s HOUSE - FIELD - DAY "Thanks for this draft! This is a tricky episode, and I think the story took some possible rough turns since premise/outline. Structure-wise, I think we want to have the kids play a round of tag before Gael shows up, so we establish what the mystery and problem is a little cleaner. Then, when they observe Gael, I think we need to break it up and have them observe one thing after the other, not all at once. I also think the snowshoe building can be more streamlined and placed after the song. Story-wise, I think we want to make it a little more about how to run better in the snow, rather than just how to beat Silas. I think we want to have the whole field where they run be deep snow, not just a few parts, and some of the story elements added aren't quite working, like Olive's strategy (in general, the episode felt a bit too Olive-centered without a good reason). Style-wise, the writing was fun and polished, but a lot of the dialogue felt a little too adult, and not kid-like enough. The script was also a page short. At this point, there are so many changes that it would be easier if you can just refer to this edited version: https://www.dropbox.com/s/pmnv7040m38n73k/EWW158_TheUnsinkableLynx_D1_20Dec19_02_jc.fdx?dl=0 It was done a little quickly, so please use it as a reference or a jumping off point or what you prefer. Thanks!!" It’s a snowy day. Wearing their snow clothes, ELINOR, ARI, OLIVE, KOA, and SILAS have gathered in the field beside Olive’s house to play a game. They’re standing in a spot with relatively little snow (perhaps at the top of a hill?). However, the snow is deep in other parts of the field (we’ll find that out later). We start with a CU: just Elinor’s face looking at the camera as she dramatically introduces today’s game. ELINOR Okay, everyone. I THINK we’re ready for today’s game, but let’s double-check. Do we have... snow? WIDEN to reveal Elinor, Ari, Olive, Koa, and Silas standing in the field. Ari grabs a handful of snow and holds it up. ARI Check. ELINOR Do we have our snow clothes? Olive pats the sides of her snowsuit. OLIVE Check. ELINOR Do we have a bunch of awesome friends? Koa reaches up his hands and high fives the two characters to his left and right simultaneously. KOA Check. ELINOR Great! Looks like we’re ready for a truly epic game of... SNOW TAG! The kids <SFX: YEAH> and throw their arms in the air in excitement. But when Ari raises his arms, he’s holding a tennis racket in each hand. He pauses, looking confused. ARI Wait. I thought you said we were playing Snow TENNIS. Ari lowers his arms. ELINOR Oh! I didn’t know there was such thing as Snow Tennis. ARI ( thoughtfully ) I guess there isn’t. But there isn’t such thing as Snow Tag, either. It’s just what we call tag that we play when it’s snowy outside. OLIVE That’s true. But calling it Snow Tag makes it sound so much cooler. She holds her sides and shivers comically. OLIVE (CONT’D) Get it? Cooler? The kids <SFX: LAUGH>. ARI Well, I guess I won’t be needing these. Ari drops the tennis rackets onto the snow and immediately perks up. ARI (CONT’D) Good thing I love Snow Tag too. I’m going to run really fast! SILAS I’m going to run... (he zooms out of frame, then zooms back) ...even faster. All the kids <SFX: LAUGH>. OLIVE I can’t run very fast in my snowsuit. But Snow Tag isn’t just about being fast. I’m going to try to OUT-THINK whoever’s It. ELINOR That’s a smart idea, Olive. (pauses, then announces) So, let’s play some Snow Tag! ANGLE ON: Olive, who notices something far away. She turns to look and squints. OLIVE Hold on a sec. CUT TO: Gael the lynx approaching the group from afar and waving. OLIVE (O.S.) (CONT’D) I see my new friend Gael coming. Let’s wait for him. BACN ON: to the kids. ARI Who’s Gael? OLIVE He’s a new kid! He just moved here. I invited him to come play with us. Gael bounds up to the kids and stands next to Olive. He’s a cheerful and affable lynx. He’s not wearing mittens or boots (he doesn’t need them). GAEL Sorry I’m late. Hi, everybody. I’m Gael the lynx. My family just moved here from Up North. KOA Cool! What’s it like Up North, Gael? GAEL It’s a lot like here, but snowier and colder. It gets pretty dark in the winter. Oh, and we make REALLY good maple syrup. OLIVE Well, Gael, you’re just in time for a game of Snow Tag. GAEL Great! ( he suddenly looks confused) Um, what’s Snow Tag? OLIVE It’s exactly the same as regular tag, but we play it when it’s snowy outside. GAEL Got it. Where I’m from, we just call that Tag. The kids <SFX: GIGGLE>. ELINOR So, who wants to be It first? SILAS ( shyly ) I’ll be It. ELINOR Ok ! Everybody else run away! The kids all scatter. ANGLE ON: Olive and Gael running. OLIVE Watch out for Silas. He’s the fastest kid in town. GAEL Got it. BACK ON: Silas. SILAS Okay, I’m going to start counting. I think I’ll count to... 25. He takes a deep breath and begins counting really fast. SILAS (CONT’D) (really fast) One, two, three, four, five, six-seven, eight nine, ten eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty, twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, twenty-five. ANGLE ON: Gael and Olive, who stop running and look back. They can hear Silas counting. OLIVE (To Gael, partway through Silas’ counting) See, he even COUNTS fast! BACK ON: Silas, who finishes counting. SILAS Ready or not, here I come! Silas zooms towards Koa and quickly tags him, then zooms away. SILAS (CONT’D) You’re It. ( his voice fades away as he runs away) Remember, no touchbaaaaacks CUT TO: Ari, Olive, and Elinor. ELINOR Wow. That was his fastest tag yet. ARI He’s one speedy cheetah. OLIVE I wonder if there’s a way to escape someone even if they’re faster than I am. Maybe I’ll try running in a zigzag. ARI Here comes Koa! OLIVE Ok , zigzag time. Koa chases after Olive. She runs in a zigzag, but Koa catches and tags her after a few zags. KOA You’re It. Koa runs away. OLIVE (to herself, thoughtfully) Hmm, I have another idea. She runs a little way as if she’s playing tag normally, and then she quickly ducks behind a tree (or bench or rock). Silas, still zooming around, zooms by. He doesn’t notice her. SILAS Hey everybody, where did Olive go? Olive jumps out from behind the tree and tags Silas. OLIVE You’re It. SILAS Aah! You surprised me! Both Silas and Olive <SFX: GIGGLE>. OLIVE Wow. I can’t believe I tagged you, Silas. SILAS Nice job, Olive. That was some smart thinking. ANGLE ON: Ari, Elinor, and Gael, who are standing next to each other. ARI Uh oh, who is Silas going to chase now? ELINOR Whoever it is, they’re going to get a workout. BACK ON: Silas, who looks around for a second, then bounds after Gael. GAEL Oh no! Silas chases Gael into a slightly lower area with deep snow. But Silas begins to sink deep into the snow, and he slows down, making a snow trench. SILAS Gosh. The snow sure is deep over here. Gael continues to run almost on top of the snow; it doesn’t slow him down. Eventually Silas slows to a stop. He’s out of breath. SILAS (CONT’D) (pants) Gael turns back and walks over to him. GAEL You ok , Silas? Silas pants, takes a deep breath, then reaches out and tags Gael. SILAS ( pants , takes a deep breath) You’re it. They both <SFX: LAUGH>. The other kids push through the thick snow to join Silas and Gael. They’re all standing in snow trenches except for Gael, who hasn’t sunk as deep. ELINOR Wow, Gael. I can’t believe you made Silas tired. OLIVE Yeah, how come you’re so good at Snow Tag? Did you eat some kind of special breakfast this morning? GAEL Nah . I ate the same thing I eat every morning: Oatmeal with extra maple syrup. ELINOR (thoughtful) Hmm. There must be some other reason. Maybe you’re good at Snow Tag because you’re a cat, and cats are fast? ARI But Silas is also a cat, and he’s exhausted. ANGLE ON: Silas, still panting. SILAS It’s true. I may be a cat, but I still have to cat-ch my breath. ELINOR Hmm. Gael has thick fur. Maybe that thick fur makes him faster somehow? KOA I also have thick fur, but Silas didn’t have any trouble catching me. ELINOR True. Gael, maybe your long ears make you good at Snow Tag? OLIVE Um, Elinor... Elinor suddenly realizes what she’s saying. She looks up as if trying to see her own ears. She wiggles them. ELINOR Oops, I forgot that I have long ears too! It’s easy to forget them when they’re hard for me to see. She and the other kids <SFX: GIGGLE>. ARI Oh! I just realized that I left my tennis rackets over in the other part of the field. I’m going to go get them before they sink into the snow. ELINOR Sure, Ari. We’ll wait for you. We could use a break, anyway. Silas folds up his hands as if he’s sleeping. SILAS Yup, I need little cat nap. Ari pushes away through the snow. KOA Well, Gael, one thing’s for sure: You’re one awesome dude. Give me a high five! Koa high-fives Gael. Everyone <SFX: GASPS>. In a SCIENCE CLOSE-UP: we see that Gael’s paws are amazing - they’re huge, wide, and furry. KOA (CONT’D) Wow, you’re good at high fives. ELINOR Gael, your paws are SO COOL. They’re big and wide and furry. ARI Yeah, none of us has paws like that! The kids all take a thoughtful moment to hold up their paws and look at them. Gael sticks out a forepaw and foot and wiggles them thoughtfully. His feet are also huge, wide, and furry. GAEL Why, thank you! I’m pretty happy with my paws, but we’re sort of... stuck with each other. The kids <SFX: GIGGLE>. ELINOR Hmm. We see another SCIENCE CLOSE-UP of Gael’s paws as Elinor thinks. ELINOR (CONT’D) Maybe Gael is fast because of his special paws. We need MORE OBSERVATIONS. Gael and Silas, will you walk along beside each other in the snow? That way, we can see how you move. SILAS Sure. GAEL Can do. Walking next to each other through the deep snow, Gael and Silas head away from their other friends, then back. Silas pants as he pushes his way through the snow, leaving a trench. Gael is able to comfortably walk without sinking very much. OLIVE Look. Silas sinks way down in the snow, but Gael doesn’t sink as much. ELINOR That’s SO INTERESTING. Gael, if you don’t sink as much, then you don’t have to work as hard to push through all that deep snow. SILAS ( panting ) I didn’t think ANYTHING could slow me down, but pushing through the snow is hard work. At that moment, Ari returns. He drops his tennis rackets on top of the snow. ARI I’ll say. I’m out of breath just from walking over here. This deep snow is SNOW joke. The kids <SFX: GIGGLE>. In a SCIENCE CLOSE-UP, we see that Ari’s tennis rackets haven’t sunk very far into the snow. ELINOR Wait. Ari. Look at your tennis rackets. They don’t sink very much in the snow. That’s SO INTERESTING. OLIVE I guess they’re sort of like Gael’s paws. They’re wide and flat. Maybe wide, flat things don’t sink as much? BACK ON: The kids. ELINOR Oh! I bet that’s it! Gael’s wide, flat feet stop him from sinking as much in the snow. So, it’s easier for him to get around - and easier for him to play Snow Tag. All the kids <SFX: WOW>. Koa and Gael high five again. ARI Gosh. I sure wish I had lynx paws. Ari looks at his tennis rackets. ARI (CONT’D) Wait. I have an idea. What if I stand on my tennis rackets? Then I’ll have wide feet like Gael’s. ELINOR It’s worth a try. Ari lifts up his feet and puts one on each racket. He doesn’t sink as much. ARI Hey, it works! Could we try turning my tennis rackets into shoes somehow? Then we could walk around without sinking as much. ELINOR That’s an interesting idea. Does anyone have anything in their pockets that we could use to attach these rackets to our feet and make them into lynx shoes? The kids all rummage around in their jackets and snowsuits. Koa pulls out a roll of duct tape. KOA I’ve got this cool roll of tape. Ari pulls out some old shoelaces. ARI I found two old shoelaces. Gael pulls out some twigs. GAEL I have some small twigs. Elinor pulls out a few pieces of felt and a sheet of shiny snowflake stickers. ELINOR I’ve got some pieces of felt, and also some stickers to help us decorate our creation. They’re sparkly - see? She moves them in the light so they sparkle. The kids <SFX: OOH> . Then Olive pulls out a bag of banana chips. OLIVE I just have a bag of banana chips. Okay, they’re not useful for making shoes, but they ARE delicious. The kids <SFX: GIGGLE> as Olive <SFX: MUNCHES> on a banana chip, then passes them around for other to share. ELINOR Okay, let’s see what we can make! SONG MONTAGE The kids begin to work on their jury-rigged snowshoes. They try tying things together and untying them, testing the snowshoes on their feet, adding stickers, etc. They sing: ELINOR/OLIVE/ARI Listen up, friends, And we’ll tell you the tale Of the unsinkable lynx, Our new friend Gael! OLIVE: His feet are wide. He’s got fluffy toes. ELINOR: These amazing feet Won’t sink in the snow. ARI: If we work hard, We can build snow shoes. ELINOR: With wide, flat feet, We’ll be unsinkable, too! ALL: Listen up, friends, And we’ll tell you the tale Of the unsinkable lynx, Our new friend Gael! Triumphantly, Elinor holds up the makeshift snowshoes. They’re clearly a group effort, with stickers and all sorts of bits taped and tied together. ELINOR Ta-da! We did it. KOA They look great. Elinor, your stickers really make them shine. ELINOR Thank you. Who wants to try them first? OLIVE I do! Olive takes the snowshoes. ANGLE ON Olive as she sticks her feet in them and walks around. OLIVE (CONT’D) Here I go. They’re working! We did it. We used our brains to figure out how to get better at Snow Tag. Olive suddenly faceplants safely in the snow. OLIVE (CONT’D) ( laughing ) Oof . I guess they’ll take a little bit of getting used to. BACK ON: All the kids. SILAS I want to try. ARI Me too. Olive and Gael step back and watch the other kids try the snowshoes. They’re <SFX: LAUGH>ing , falling over, and having a great time. OLIVE What do you think about our lynx shoes, Gael? GAEL I love them. I feel like I’m back Up North. Thanks for making me feel so welcome today. OLIVE Hooray! I’m so glad you’re here. Banana chip? GAEL Sure. Olive hands Gael a banana chip. Gael pops it into his mouth and chews thoughtfully. GAEL (CONT’D) You know... these would be really great with a little maple syrup. OLIVE Gael the Unsinkable Lynx, I like the way you think. IRIS OUT THE END END.

EWW158 The Unsinkable Lynx D1 20-Dec-19 .

<SFX: AWWWW> WHOOA WHOOOA> WHOOOOAA> spiderling

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ELINOR WONDERS WHY 158: THE UNSINKABLE LYNX Written by Rosemary Mosco Elinor’s Question: How do lynx move fast in deep snow? Logline: When the kids discover that Gael the lynx’s feet prevent him from sinking in the deep snow, they make their own snowshoes. Curriculum Goals: LS2 . Living things have different body parts to suit their needs. [The kids learn that Gael, who comes from Up North, has wide, flat, fluffy feet that help him walk on snow.] ND3 . ( RTL Crosscutting concept ‘Structure and Function’): Understand that structures and materials in the natural world can be used or can inspire the engineering of structures with similar function in the designed world. [Inspired by a lynx’s feet, the kids design their own set of snowshoes.] SEP3b: Compare and contrast objects and events by describing similarities and differences in detail [The kids compare themselves with Gael to determine which variable is causing Gael to sink into snow.] SEP6a: Use background knowledge experiences, and data to construct reasonable explanations and theories of natural phenomena [The kids hypothesize that wider feet make it easier to move in snow.] Main Characters: Elinor, Olive, Ari, Gael, Koa, Silas (in winter clothes) Props: Two tennis rackets, roll of duct tape, shoelaces, twigs, pieces of felt, sheet of shiny snowflake stickers, bag of banana chips Locations: Field near Olive's house FIRST DRAFT: 20-Dec-19 ARI ELINOR OLIVE GAEL KOA SILAS ELIOR (V.O.) (O.S.) (O.C.) (CONT'D) (SUBTITLE) INT EXT I/E 1 2 1 3 4 5 6 THE END. INT CLASSROOM -- DAY SUNLIT FOREST CLEARING -- CONTINUOUS PARK -- DAY EXT -- PARK EXT -- LAKE WATERS -- CONTINUOUS EXT -- LAKE SHORE -- CONTINUOUS EXT -- LAKE WATERS -- A MINUTE LATER EXT. OLIVE'S HOUSE - FIELD DAY NIGHT AFTERNOON MORNING EVENING LATER MOMENTS LATER CONTINUOUS THE NEXT DAY CUT TO: FADE IN: FADE OUT. FADE TO: DISSOLVE TO: BACK TO: MATCH CUT TO: JUMP CUT TO: FADE TO BLACK. Order Title Location ELINOR ELINOR