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  • The Admiral & the Anchor
  • Short | Short, Drama
The Admiral & the Anchor
Short | Short, Drama
A news anchor pays tribute to a Navy Admiral with Alzheimer's disease, but when the two turn out to be related, the son uses his show to tackle unresolved issues with his father. Characters News Anchor (lead) The Admiral (lead) Nurse (...See moreA news anchor pays tribute to a Navy Admiral with Alzheimer's disease, but when the two turn out to be related, the son uses his show to tackle unresolved issues with his father. Characters News Anchor (lead) The Admiral (lead) Nurse (secondary) Outline ACT ONE A News anchor readies himself to be on the air. He tells someone off-screen that today is his birthday. When the news program starts, the anchor announces that today is a special day. Today he will be interviewing a Navy Admiral suffering from Alzheimer's. He continues by saying that this man is also the greatest man he's ever known - and also his father. We see the Admiral in another location, being prepped up by an assistant, who finishes putting an ear piece so he can hear the anchor's questions. This is when the anchor keeps us hanging because this incredible interview will happen - after the commercial. We stay with the anchor during the commercial. Perhaps we get a first sign of discord as the Admiral tries to ask a technical question to the anchor off the air and the anchor simply ignores him. ACT TWO After the break, the anchor becomes all smiles and asks the Admiral if there's anyone the Admiral would like to say hi to. The Admiral is unsure, but says no. In the next segment, the Admiral retells a heroic mission when he saved some men on his unit. He says this is probably his greatest accomplishment; that might again tick off the anchor a bit, but he plays along. (Something honest, perhaps funny, so the audience pays attention to it next time around, when it's a bit more heavy emotionally. ) (MIDPOINT) The anchor then states how his father was proud of being in the military. His father nods. The anchor then asks if he was proud that the military took his older son. At this moment we lose signal for a few seconds. When we go back on the air, the anchor reprises the interview as if nothing happened, and this is when we can introduce a brutally-honest crawl at the bottom of the screen. The anchor tries a different way of getting his father to talk about his family. As it grows in conflict, it is now clear that the anchor is making this a personal vendetta. The father gets angry for the first time and blames his son for never coming to his brother's funeral. At this point, maybe we cut to a cheesy commercial of some really futile product, like futons or something else as random, simply to release the tension and to give the audience and awkward laugh and an emotional break. ACT THREE It is clear that the father shows remorse after snapping at his son before the break. The crawl could perhaps be flooded with « I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry », but the discussion on screen is a completely different story as the Admiral, proud man that he is, tries to hold his ground. Despite wanting to get closer to his son, his attitude along with his son's attitude drive them further apart. In this act, we also learn that after missing the funeral, the son began to work for the news, eventually becoming a war journalist in a way to give the middle finger to his father, for whom the military was everything. Unable to listen to his father anymore, the tension peaks as the son tells him that it's too late now, that he's also dead, covering news. The son removes his lavaliere microphone and storms off the screen, leaving his news desk. The Admiral finally admits that he has always been so proud of his son, who had been right all along. The Admiral knew he was in the wrong for never admitting that. However, the dad admits all this to an empty news desk, since the anchor has long left. The location where the Admiral is suddenly fades to another place and a woman comes to see him asking Is your hearing device alright, Mister (Insert Admiral's name)? We then realize that the woman is a nurse and that he is in a retirement home. The Admiral snaps out of it, looks at the nurse who then asks him « Who were you talking to? » to which the Admiral answers « my son ». The nurse smiles, saddened, and drives the Admiral off screen on his wheelchair. Written by Adam Silbar See less
Read more: Plot summary
Director
Adam Silbar
Writer
Adam Silbar (co-writer)
Composer
Jeff Silbar
Cinematographer
Chris Gemora
Editor
Krystle Peralta
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Edit Post-Prod
Updated Jun 23, 2017
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2 cast members
Name Known for
Adam Silbar's primary photo
Adam Silbar
The Anchor The Anchor   See fewer
Snoops (1989)
Stuart Silbar's primary photo
Stuart Silbar
The Admiral The Admiral   See fewer
Centennial (1978)
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