When two well-meaning waste disposal men are forced to become smugglers by their criminally-minded boss, they must evade intergalactic authorities and unscrupulous criminals alike as they try to not to get themselves killed, imprisoned... or fired.

SYNOPSIS:

In the distant future, exact date unknown and deliberately inconsistent, the stars are policed by a group called the Trinity Commonwealth.

On the edge of known space, an ancient battle station has been converted into a depot for the Commonwealth Refuse And Pollutant Transit Authority – “CRAP-Trans” for short. Gibson, an employee at the station, wants nothing more than a simple life. His friend and colleague, Chesterfield, wants nothing more than a fun life.

Unfortunately, their boss Mr Fowler is the slimiest, most despicable businessman in the universe. He runs an illicit smuggling operation on the side, delegating all of the actual smuggling to his employees and inventing ludicrous cover stories to justify the danger. Gibson is naïve enough to believe him most of the time, and Chesterfield is apathetic enough to go along with it.

Every episode brings a new cargo to be moved, which always somehow leads the crew to danger, mishap, or misadventure. Each week the show satirises an impending technology or social issue, exploring the personal and global catastrophes that may arise as a consequence. The running theme of the show is an observation that the marvels of technology are not compatible with basic human nature.

This is reflected in the characters; Gibson's curiosity and excitement for the possibilities granted by science is contrasted by Chesterfield's cynicism and Fowler's selfish greed. The pilot episode explores the subject of cloning and touches on the realities of institutional justice.

Pilot: 31 pages.

https://twitter.com/TvCargo

Estimated budget: £1M per season, split across six episodes (approx. £150k-200k per episode).

Presentation: Sitcom, multi-cam.

Pilot screenplay now available! See below.

CARGO, EPISODE 1