2. THE CONCEPT
On Tuesday, September 11, 2001, terrorists struck the World Trade Center and the Pentagon,
using hijacked commercial airliners as their weapons. Thousands of people were wounded or
killed. New York police officers and fire fighters as well as ordinary citizens answered the call for
aid. Each day, men and women put their lives on the line to protect and to serve.
There are 65,000 criminal assaults against police officers every year, resulting in more than
23,000 injuries. Yet their stories are seldom told.
BADGES OF COURAGE is a 60-minute series chronicling the lives and careers of the world's
unsung heroes - Police Officers, Fire Fighters, Soldiers, and heroic Civilians who have put their
own lives at risk to protect the innocent. The first line of defense that protects us from harm,
keeps us safe, and safeguards our freedoms, are the public safety agencies (local potice, fire
departments, and paramedics) as well as ordinary citizens who take action in time of need. The
second line of defense is the men and women of our nation's armed forces. Badges of Courage
focuses on those individuals who selflessly answer the call for help and their courageous stories.
The show will encompass international figures as well.
The beauty of the concept is that these stories don't have to be created. They already exist,
every day, somewhere across the country or around the world. They happen, and inherently
contain drama, selflessness, courage, dedication, and sacrifice.
THE TONE
Reverence for the men and women who have put themselves in harm's way in the line of duty.
The intent is to bring true historical tales alive though the experiences of these heroes. The
series shall present the persons as ordinary humans. This show is about something that lies
within all of mankind - the ability to put the lives of others before one's own.
THE FORMAT
Wrap arounds will be hosted by a noted celebrity I actor, shot on a practical set of a police
precinct or team meeting room. Pictures of the current episode's heroes will adorn the walls and
provide a bridge to each sequence. A sidekick co-host will be "on location" setting up the story
and conducting interviews as well as adding narrative. As the story unfolds, a reenactment will
be staged to dramatize the account.
The segments will be separated into four different categories:
1) Police (all divisions)
2) Fire Fighters
3) Military (all divisions)
4) Civilians (average citizens in dangerous crisis situations)
Each segment ends at a crime scene, police station, military base, birthplace, or home of our
hero. The co-host will summarize the story, always closing with a positive aftermath.
We will have the cooperation of the agencies themselves. This will provide a resource for
photos, interviews, settings, etc.
3. • Scott Baron
• Oliver North
• Norman Schwarzkopf
• Bernard Parks
• Jimmy Carter
• Rosa Parks
(LAPD, Author - They Also Served)
THE AUDIENCE
The show - educational, enlightening, and entertaining - will appeal to anyone who has an
interest in history, current events, and society as a whole. The large numbers of potential
heroes is broad enough that we can present a wide ethnic diversity in our subjects. The same
can be said for women. Minorities and women comprise two large potential audience blocks,
and both would welcome positive, empowering stories. Additionally, concepts like duty, honor,
and sacrifice are concepts that resonate in a large part of the American audience, especially
now, in light of the current world situation.
CASTING
Casting has not yet begun. The following is a list of potential hosts:
• Rick Schroder
• Jimmy Smits
• Connie Chung
• Ed O'Neil
(NYPD Blue, Silver Spoons)
(Star Wars Episode II, NYPD Blue, L.A. Law)
(CBS Evening News, CNN - Connie Chung Tonight)
(Dragnet, Married With Children)
Noted Personalities:
POLICE STORIES
The date: February 28, 1997
The city: North Hollywood, California
0900 PST - LAPD receives a bank robbery alarm at the Bank of America branch on Laurel
Canyon Boulevard in North Hollywood.
0938 PST - Two heavily armed men wearing ski masks emerge from the bank.
0951 PST - One gunman fires at officers and uses the getaway car as cover in the bank parking
lot. At the street he leaves the cover of the car. He continues to fire at police and television
news helicopters. He is shot in the head and killed.
0952 PST - The second suspect leaves the bank parking lot in the getaway car and drives into a
residential neighborhood.
0956 PST - The gunman stops at a pickup truck, in which a wise civilian has abandoned during
the incident. The suspect begins to transfer weapons from the car to the truck and gets in.
Brave police officers approach, he gets out, and there is a fierce firefight. The suspect is fatally
wounded by officers.
1100 PST - The LAPD announces that the two suspects have been killed. Police continue to
search for any additional bank robbers.
2300 PST - Search for any other suspects is called off.
4. FIRE FIGHTER STORIES
During a torrential downpour on January 3rd, 1999, fire fighters from New York Ladder Company
158 waded chest deep through water to reach a basement door forced shut by a surging flood.
By the time they pried open the door, the tenant was within minutes of drowning and the fire
fighters were immersed from the neck down in water. The fire fighters then took hold of the
tenant, swam to the stairs, and led her to safety.
CAPT. GREGG WEBB, LT. DAREN GILLESPIE, DANA TRANTHAM, STEVE WICKHAM
Asheville, N.C. fire fighter Dana Trantham had kicked down plenty of doors during training
exercises, but until Tuesday, February 26,2002, he had never had to kick open a door in an
emergency. He found an unconscious woman lying on the floor, her housecoat tangled in the
wheelchair beside her.
"Smoke was all the way down to the floor, and you couldn't see a thing," said Trantham. Fire
fighter Steve Wickham was right behind Trantham, and together they carried the woman away
from her burning living room. While Trantham administered oxygen and cared for the victim until
paramedics arrived, Wickham, Lt. Daren Gillespie, and Capt. Gregg Webb rushed back into the
house to put out the fire.
The four men are members of the Asheville Fire Department and ride with Engine Number 6 in
West Asheville. Before getting the emergency call, the crew was on the road taking care of some
administrative matters, according to Webb, a veteran firefighter of 28 years. They got a call that
a structure was on fire off Short Michigan Avenue, and because driver Gillespie had been to the
small apartment complex previously when responding to other medical emergencies, they were
able to get there in just four minutes.
By the time they arrived, however, flames were belching out of a side window, and smoke was
pouring out of the house. Webb said that as soon as they saw the fire and knew what they were
dealing with, their training kicked in.
MILITARY STORIES
MEDAL OF HONOR RECIPIENTS:
WORLD WAR I
JOSEPH B ADKINSON.
Rank and organization: Sergeant, U.S. Army, Company C, 119th Infantry, 30th Division. Place
and date: Near Bellicourt, France, 29 September 1918. Entered service at Memphis, Tenn. Born:
4 January 1892, Egypt, Tenn. G.O. No.: 59, W.D., 1919. Citation: When murderous machinegun
fire at a range of 50 yards had made it impossible for his platoon to advance, and had caused
the platoon to take cover Sgt. Adkinson alone, with the greatest intrepidity, rushed across the 50
yards of open ground directly into the face of the hostile machinegun, kicked the gun from the
parapet into the enemy trench, and at the point of the bayonet, captured the three men manning
the gun. The gallantry and quick decision of this soldier enabled the platoon to resume its
advance.
5. IGBAL MASIH
his exposed location until his comrades had displaced to more secure positions. His actions of
unsurpassed valor during four hours of intense combat were a source of inspiration to his entire
company, contributed significantly to the success of the overall assault on the enemy position,
and were directly responsible for saving the lives of a number of his fellow soldiers. Sgt. Dolby's
heroism was in the highest tradition of the U.S. Army.
CIVILIANS
JUSTIN MAHONEY AND CHRIS PAPAGELIS
Captain Justin Mahoney of the fishing vessel Sea Fox and his crewman Chris Papagelis were
fishing in Nahant Bay when they recognized Billy Porter's vessel. They did not see Porter, a
Marblehead, Mass., fisherman. As they neared Porter's vessel Heart of Stone, they noticed
Porter was in the water and desperately clinging to the stern of his vessel. Porter had been in the
sub-40 degree temperature water for nearly one hour. They quickly rescued him, took Porter and
Heart of Stone to shore and placed him into the care of emergency medical technicians. Porter
was nursed back to complete health and has subsequently resumed fishing.
At 4 years old, Iqbal Masih was sold into slavery by his father. For more than 6 years he was
forced to work more than 12 hours a day in a carpet factory in Pakistan. He was beaten, verbally
abused and chained to his loom by the carpet factory owner. He always looked younger than his
age due to poor nutrition and little movement. Finally freed by a human rights group, he became
an activist speaking out powerfully against child slavery. He encouraged others to speak out,
and freed many children. He came to the U.S. in 1994 and on his return home at age 12 he was
murdered. At the time of his death, his dream was to go to school to become a lawyer to continue
to fight for Pakistan's 7,500,000 illegally enslaved children.
WOODY
In 1980 this heroic dog jumped from an 80-foot cliff into a small river in order to save his
owner's fiancee who had fallen from the cliff. This canine hero suffered a broken hip, yet was
able to keep his human companion from drowning until help arrived.
Who says all heroes must be human?
AND THE LIST GOES ON
