Final Major Project - Qualities of a Psychopath

I decided to get a more detailed insight as to who Edward is and how he behaves it would make sense to research into psychopaths. Here is my initial findings as to the such. With each point from Hervery M. Cleckley's characteristics, I shall provide a short description of how Edward relates to each of these characteristics. Some fit in with his character, while others he has overcome.

The following characteristics of a psychopath, defined by Hervery M. Cleckley in 1941 in the book Mask of Sanity include:

• Superficial charm and average intelligence. - Edward is a fantastic actor. He is able to maintain a convincing persona to whomever he deems it is needed. However, he is of a superior intelligence, rather than just average, using it to his advantage of being able to read people and then play on how he should act around that person, helping him in awkward, possible threatening situations.
• Absence of delusions and other signs of irrational thinking. - These aren't particularly absent when it comes to Edward, though he does suffer from delusional behaviour. Believing God talks to him is one, and he thinks very rationally.
• Absence of nervousness or neurotic manifestations. - Edward may play into being nervous or neurotic, but he keeps a very calm demeanour about himself. Thus fitting in with this particular characteristic.
• Unreliability. - Fits very well with Edward. He is not particularly reliable. If told to do one thing, he will usually do the opposite, whatever is fitting and suiting to him.
• Untruthfulness and insincerity. - While Edward doesn't believe in lying, he believes it is a sin, he does play in to not being sincere or truthful at times. This doesn't mean that he will always outright lie, it just means he won't always necessarily tell the truth, but he won't lie at the same time, he just doesn't say anything, or manages to manipulate the person in a way that he doesn't have to say anything/be truthful to get his point across.
• Lack of remorse or shame. - Edward feels nothing for the people he has shamed or murdered. He simply feels what he did was necessary.
• Antisocial behaviour without apparent compunction. - Edward is quite reserved. Talking to himself (God) may be considered anti-social, but as aforementioned, he has managed to come up with a tactic to make himself seem much more ordinary than he actually is.
• Poor judgement and failure to learn from experience. - Very true of Edward. He always takes things to the extreme. A good example is with his sisters boyfriend. His therapy should have taught him that if someone hurts him or gets in his way, he should 'forgive and forget' if it were. Instead, Edward believes that person should be convicted for their sins - be murdered. He never learns the otherwise, often jumping to the same result and conclusion.
• Pathological egocentricity and incapacity to love.  - Absolutely typical of Edward. While he comes across as loving his Sister and his butler, everything he does is completely in accordance to himself. He is a manipulator, convincing people to do things only because it is right for him. He fears no consequences of others or cares what it might do to them. After his sister joins him in the murders, he only feels that his plan is coming together, and doesn't care about how his sister might even feel about the entire situation.
• General poverty in major affective reactions. -Edward deals with a readiness of expression rather than a strength of feeling. While things do anger him and he may express it, it is more due to the fact that he is not being benefited in any way. He doesn't feel much, be it remorse, sympathy or anything of the such.  Essentially, everything is an act.
• Specific loss of insight. - Edward doesn't understand much about people or the world. Only himself. He doesn't quite grasp how his sister would feel if he murdered her boyfriend, and so on.
• Unresponsiveness in general interpersonal relations. - Unless it is something that truly gets on his nerves that he feels he must speak out on, Edward often responds to things with short answers, like he is constantly thinking something over. His interpersonal skills aren't great, as reflected by only calling his Aunt 'Aunt' and only calling Evelyn 'Sister'
• Fantastic and uninviting behaviour with drink, and sometimes without. - Edward doesn't drink, so not entirely relevant. Though he can be uninviting, especially when letting people into his own feelings.
• Suicide threats rarely carried out.  - Edward would never commit suicide. It is a sin.
• Sex life impersonal, trivial, and poorly integrated.  - Edward doesn't think of sex in any way. He doesn't think of it as a sin, but more doesn't believe in sex before marriage. With an incapacity for love, it remains something that may never happen for him, especially as he has never even thought about a reason to procreate.
• Failure to follow any life plan.  - Not so much with Edward. He has a life plan, and that is one given to him by what he believes to be God. Though his plan only seems to be to kill enough sinners so that he can go to Heaven, it is still none the less, his plan.

Hopefully that gives a better insight into Edward. As I do more research into the mind of a psychopath, I shall find more traits and characteristics which I will relate directly to Edward, in order to expand and evolve his character.

Final Major Production - Pilot: Part 2 - Episode Overview

This is subject to change, as things may not work as I write them, and I shall post edited copies of this as I go along, but here is the basic plot overview to my second episode, which will be written up in full script form as the second part of my pilot episode.

The Book of Tamlock – Pilot: Part 2 – Episode Plan

·      The episode picks up right where the last one left off. There is a dark room and a woman is sat on the phone, shaking. This is Evelyn, Edward’s sister. They converse for a bit, switching between the two at their respective locations.  The conversation is flat. Evelyn doesn’t quite know what to say to him. He asks to meet. She hangs up without an answer, running off in a tearful state. Cut back to Edward – He looks at the phone and sighs, before hanging it up.

·      It’s the morning a few days later and Edward is getting dressed. He talks to the cross, explaining to it and at the same time the audience, those no-one suspects a thing yet.

·      Heading to the Kitchen, Roland is there and he is cleaning, though food and a drink is waiting for Edward on the table. Roland looks stressed and upon asking why, Edward discovers that the Family Executor/Administrator is coming round today to deal with the will. This surprises Edward and he tells Roland to stop cleaning, because he has a question. Conflict, as Edward asks Roland why he lied, and tells him that he spoke to Evelyn. Roland explains it was to protect him, which Edward doesn’t accept. Roland refuses to drive him to her house, Edward storms off.

·      A little later that day, the Administrator comes round, and sits both Edward and Roland down. He explains that the full estate bar from 2/3 of the parents/aunts money is left to Edward. In a ploy to keep himself out of being suspect in his Aunt’s death, Edward refuses this all, saying Roland should have it. Roland is shocked and taken aback. Administrator asks if this is okay with Roland, who asks to think it over. Upon asking where the other 2/3 of the money is going, the Administrator states he is not obligated to say, and leaves upon the premise of awaiting their answer.

·      That evening, Edward is sat by the fire, reading. Roland brings in a pot of tea and sits with him. He says he has made his decision and does not want to accept the estate – which Edward was hoping for. Though Edward makes his case as to why Roland should have it, Roland refuses still. Edward asks where the rest of the money is going, Roland makes the assumption it’s Evelyn. Just as Edward gets angry with Roland, the phone rings. It’s Evelyn and she wants to speak to Edward. Reluctantly, Roland passes the phone over. She agrees to meet.

·      A Café. Edward has never been to one, and heads in cautiously. He sits down and orders a Green Tea. A girl comes over, it’s Evelyn. The two embrace, Edward is the most emotional we have ever seen him.  He asks how she has been and the two engage in conversation – she got 4 years ago and is living a good life. She mentions the administrator paid her a visit, and she got 1/3 of the money from the estate.  Strange, there’s still 1/3 missing. Suddenly a man comes over and sits down next to Evelyn with a loud confidence, placing his arm around her. Edward gets angry and demands to know who he is. It’s Evelyn’s boyfriend, Richard. They all chat, Edward growing constantly uncomfortable before he leaves – a cross hanging on a wall in the background, Edward talks to it – in his head – and then leaves.

·      Edward is angry, continuously punching things in his room. How could his Sister have a boyfriend? How has she fallen so deeply out of God’s plan? He vows to bring her back, to what is necessary to break them up and have her return to him.

·      Upon a few more meetings, Edward and Evelyn have gotten friendlier with each other, seeing each regularly. Edward grows ever more uncomfortable with Richard though, and asks Evelyn strange questions. She claims she is still devout, and he asks why she sins, has she had relations? Etc. This upsets Evelyn and she runs to the toilet, leaving Richard alone with Edward. Edward issues Richard a warning – stay away from his sister or suffer the consequences. Richard gets pissed with this, standing up to big himself up, he is much larger than Edward, what can Edward do? Not intimidated in the slightest, Edward stands up and tells him to watch his back, because he is capable than more than Richard could ever imagine. He then leaves. Richard looks worried, but bats it off, and goes to follow and make sure Evelyn is okay.

·      Edward sets about the next few days planning something, spending hours upon hours in his room, writing, researching, talking to the cross and reading books.  He eventually has an idea, a fool-proof plan and decides to set in motion.

·      The following night, Edward is tailing Evelyn and Richard on a date, following everything they do. Upon dropping Evelyn off, Richard gets back in his car only to find that when he starts his engine, he suddenly has an incredibly sharp knife to his throat. A little blood trickles down. Edward has Richard by the ropes and tells him to drive. He tells him to stop on a country lane, and makes him take a few valiums, which quickly knock him out, fade to black.

·      Richard awakes to find himself heavily tied down to a chair, in a room only illuminated by a furnace in the corner. He can’t move. He screams in a panic, before a single light turns on and Edward is seen, polishing a very large knife whilst reading a Bible.  He explains that tonight he is going to die – and that furnace is his ticket into hell.

·      (IF I HAVE TIME) The murder. Edward plays with Richard – talking about why he’s killing him. Richard begs Edward, he’ll never touch his sister again, but its too late. Edward has his mind set on something. He explains God’s plan for him and Evelyn, explains that he needs to do this. More emotion then we’ve ever seen in Edward. He part-explains that he killed his Aunt, so he has told the truth, not lying. He says how it made him feel alive, to do God’s bidding, to kill those who sin or who don’t fit the plan. He cuts Richard a bit, who still pleads, begs!  Eventually Edward decides its time, and he puts the knife through the chest/heart, paying close attention as Richard draws that last breath. This has excited Edward way more than it should. He has won. It’s time to ditch the body.

Final Major Production - 2-Part Pilot Episodes

I decided to do some research into multi-part pilot episodes in order to back up my own idea of having a two part pilot within my own screenplay of my series. I found a couple of things out during this research:

It is not entirely common to do so, however the series' that have done this have gone on to be relatively successful. The reasoning behind creating a two part pilot is mainly story based. A pilot is there to give an introduction to the story and to the major characters of the piece. Sometimes this can not be achieved by a single 40 minute production, so the producers and directors decide to create a two part pilot. I noticed that this is particularly common within the Crime Thriller series - where detectives and police would be working on a case, creating drama, tension and a cliffhanger at the end. This then draws the audience back to see what will happen in the next part of the pilot episode, and the case is ultimately resolved in the second 40 minutes.

I feel this fits with my piece, as essentially, it is a Crime Thriller mixed with Drama, that focuses on the criminals, in this case, serial killers. The story focuses mainly around Edward in the pilot episodes, with his turmoil and trials with himself as he enters the real world after being held in a Mental Institution for 18 years. We immediately get across some of the left over problems Edward has, as he still talks to "God" and despite having murdered his family at the age of 8, his killing ways come flooding back quite quickly, where he frames suicide, murdering his Aunt. The end of the episode has him finally finding his Sister's phone number, and he calls her. She answers and the episode ends. This is the end of the first part of the Pilot.

The 2nd part focuses on the rebuilding of the relationship between Edward and Evelyn - introducing the third primary character, being Evelyn. It is also there to symbolise just how unstable Edward still is, as he reacts in a bad way to find his sister has a romantic partner, named Richard. The two don't get on, which ultimately leads to the birth of the new Edward, a psychopathic, murderous lunatic.

The rest of the series will focus on Edward as he manages to convince his sister to join him, and they avoid the trials of getting caught, by police and by their butler (though he eventually finds out).

My plan of the two-part pilot is indeed, mainly a way of showing Edward's true character. With a full on murder happening at the very end, Edward is cast into a new world, one that he didn't realise he loved so much, and things get much more heated and action-packed/filled with death from there on.


Here is a list of two part pilots and other similar things that I found:

Lost - 2 part television pilot - ABC

In the Heat of The Night – 1988  - 2 part pilots date back almost 25 years. -NBC

Monk – 2002 – 2 part pilot episode. – USA Network

Crossing Lines – 2013 – 2 part pilot episode. - NBC

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – 1987 – 5 Part Pilot! – CBS

Some pilots have extended feature length episodes – including series such as  

Twin Peaks - 1990 - ABC 

The Walking Dead - 2010 - AMC

Alphas – 2011 - SyFy

There are some that just have an extended pilot episode, be it just by ten - fifteen minutes.

Breaking Bad – 2006 – Extended Pilot  -  AMC

Final Major Project - Character Profiles

Here is the first complete Character Profile for my Main Character - Edward Tamlock. I shall post the others in due course, after they have been tweaked and edited accordingly.

Character Profiles

Name: Edward Tamlock

Gender: Male

Age:  24

Physical Appearance:  Edward is tall and thin, sitting at just over 6 feet in height and weighing just close to 12 ½ stone. He has jet-black hair, quite short but well maintained. He has no facial hair, but has a very thin bone structure, which could be interpreted as moderately good looking by some.

How does the character feel about his appearance: Edward likes the way he looks. He shaves regularly and looks after himself and his hair. He was always taught to dress well by his parents and it stuck with him. People often tell him he looks kind and handsome, which he uses to his advantage when it comes to playing people.

Describe the character’s childhood in terms of:

a)    Relationship to parents – Edward, along with his sister Evelyn, never got on very well with his parents. He was abused and beaten by both Mother and Father. This lead to their untimely demise as at the age of 8, Edward and Evelyn committed matricide and patricide, ultimately freeing them from the long-term abuse they suffered.

b)   Relationship to siblings – Edward has a very close bond with his sister, Evelyn. They are twins and so naturally share a life bond because of this. They are very close, however Edward never seems to call Evelyn by anything other than “Sister”. He is very protective over her and always has been. Their separation hit hard on Edward, as it made him feel alone in the world.

Edward’s second sibling, Jacob, was just 3 when he died at the hands of his brother and sister. They murdered him in order to “send him to God” and to save him from possible future abuse if they hadn’t killed their parents.

c)    Relationship to other key people from his youth – The family butler, Walter, played a key part in Edward’s growing up. He nursed Edward through all illness and injuries acquired from his parents while growing up. He is the closest thing to a father that Edward has, and was the only person able to keep him grounded, apart from his sister, during moments of psychosomatic aggression, something Edward suffered from greatly in his youth.

d)   Lifestyle while growing up – Edward was one of those seemingly spoilt rich children. His family had everything, a large house, large grounds, expensive luxury home items and lots of money. This gave him a good, polite upbringing. The one problem that came with this was the beatings from his parents. This traumatized the child who would constantly spend his time forgetting his own pain, making sure his sister was all right. Books have always been a great love for Edward, which in moments of panic when his parents got upset, he would hide behind his bed with his sister, and read her stories.

e)    Education – Edward attended a private school between the ages 4 and 8. His very advanced reading level had him finishing the complete works of Shakespeare, and half way through the full works of Dickens. Edward believes you can learn anything from books. As a child, in the mental health institute, he naturally had a teacher, but Edward often refused to cooperate in one to one lessons, so just asked for reading material. The expanse of Edward’s reading is unparalleled, having constantly read for almost 18 years whilst in care. This shows, as he is a very intelligent, well-read individual.

f)     Childhood activities – Apart from playing with his sister, usually the games she wanted to play, and reading, Edward didn’t tend to have any. He liked acting, and would often perform parts of Shakespeare to Evelyn, and occasionally to Walter.

g)    Location – Edward spent the first 8 years of his life in the same house. A large gothic mansion in West Sussex; very pristine with religious symbolism everywhere (Christian). Following that, he spent the majority of his life, 18 years, in a mental health institute in South London.

Describe the characters current relationships with:

a)    Parents – non-existent, as they are dead. Edward made a vow to never visit their graves.

b)   Siblings – With Jacob dead, all Edward has left is his sister, Evelyn. Once he finds her, the twin relationship comes back in full flock. Edward knows how to manipulate his sister, which he does at the same time as loving her unconditionally. He wants her on his side when it comes to anything. He often manages to persuade her in to doing things she doesn’t necessarily want to.

c)    Walter – Edward and Walter have a different relationship in Walter’s oldish age and Edward’s 20’s. Walter was the only person who came to visit Edward during his time in the institute. He visited every month to see how he was doing. This helped Edward a lot towards his “recovery”. Back at the house, Edward and Walter don’t often see eye to eye, but none-the-less, Walter will always help clean up Edward’s mess, no matter what it may be.

Describe the character’s romantic life and any relevant background: Edward doesn’t particularly have a romantic life. He doesn’t deem it necessary in what he wants to accomplish. The only slight ‘romance’ can be seen between him and his sister, they are very close, often seen holding hands, even in adulthood.

Describe the character’s sex life and moral beliefs: Edward is a virgin through and through. Has never had sex, but has never had the need to have sex. Edward believes it is only right to do what is necessary in any given moment for him. He does believe in the sanctity of marriage, and follows the 10 commandments very religiously. His religion is his life. However, when it comes to killing, Edward will only do it if the one who tells him to, whom he believes to be God, deems it as okay; that’s what he tells himself anyway.

Does the character have children? If not, how does he feel about children?

As aforementioned, Edward does not have children. He finds children fascinating though. Knowing what he was capable of at a young age makes him wonder what others of a similar age are capable of. One flaw of this, which he has though, is talking to children, he comes across as if they were adults. He does not understand as to why they don’t often understand him.

What is the character’s religious background? :  Edward is very religious. He follows Christianity but is not any particular denomination, more protestant then catholic. He believes that the voice of God talks to him, tells him to do things, which has him believing that he is a prophet, carrying out the message of God by murdering those who sin. He often quotes the Bible in situations where doing so would be relevant.

What is the character’s occupation: Unemployed.

Describe the character’s philosophy of life: Edward believes that to get anywhere you have to work for it. If you are hard working and committed enough to your own cause, then you will succeed in your shortcomings during life. This ties in with the serial killing. Edward believes that God has given him this mission from heaven, that giving him the right to sin to stop other sinners, will grant him access to the kingdom of heaven, hence being so devoted to God and to killing those who he feels he needs to.

Sum up the main aspects of the character’s personality:  Optimistic yet introverted. Edward is kind faced with a cold demeanor. He rarely comes across as a nice person, often showing people up with his intellect, pointing out flaws in their topic of conversation.  He is very monotonous, both in voice and facial expression, making him very hard to read. His only real bursts of emotion come in to play when he is killing someone, or when he is alone with his sister. He always seems at his happiest and bubbliest when doing any of the latter two.

What is this character proud of? Edward is proud of his expansive knowledge and how well read he is. His biggest pride however, comes from the successful murders he commits, and being able to get away with them. Though he doesn’t ever brag, he feels a sense of pride after doing what God has told him to do.

What is this character ashamed of? Edward isn’t ashamed of much, or if he is, he doesn’t show it. He’s not ashamed for lying to his therapist for 18 years, in fact, he’s actually quite proud of it. He is however ashamed of Evelyn after finding out she has engaged in sexual relations with her boyfriend. He considers her soiled, but forgives her, as he ‘needs’ her.

What is his state of health? Edward suffers from psychosomatic aggression. When things get too hard he lashes out in fits of anger. That was more from his childhood though; the constant beatings didn’t give him an overly sound state of mind. This seems to have been overcome through his treatment over the years. It is also argued that he is schizophrenic. Therapists say that the ‘God’ he believes he is talking to is actually a subconscious part of himself.  This never managed to get completely cured, although it doesn’t happen as often as it used to. Edward more relies on his own judgment as to whether or not to kill someone now. He also has many psychopathic tendencies.

How intelligent is he or she? Edward’s advanced knowledge through reading has helped him over come a number of situations. He managed to convince his therapist he was ready to be placed back in to society. He can out talk anyone he meets, on almost any subject. He knows how to not trace a murder back to him, and has even prepared himself for, should the worst happen, and he be picked up and questioned by the police.