Cramming enough carnage into one spy-marriage thriller is a chore for any screenwriter, but JJ Abrams's not in the mood for chores to-effing-day. Instead of opting to edit some of his new NBC series' Undercovers overlong pilot, Abrams took a shortcut, and a leaked script of the series proves that he and co-writer Josh Reims feel more confident telling you, the reader, how to make their work seem shorter rather than editing it down themselves. Instructions follow!
Dig this note on the front cover of Undercovers's leaked first 20 pages:
See, reader, you're just doing it wrong. Undercovers is too unspeakably fast for your words of doubt. You forgot to consider that the action scenes are filmed in comedic, Chaplin-esque double-time. You forgot that the dialogue is delivered to the tune of Barenaked Ladies' "One Week." You forgot that the opening credits have been reduced to a single 1.3-second flash inside a giant wordsearch. You can't do anything right. Go read a Shonda Rhimes first draft.
As for the rest of Undercovers' leaked script, it's hyperkinetic and glitz-laden, which could mean it's another Nikita. Unspeakable, indeed.
A leaked first look at J.J. Abrams' new spy show 'Undercovers' [io9]