Big Appels

The Pilot Episode

[SETTING; Brooklyn, New York City, NY. It is mid afternoon, and the streets are somewhat busy with traffic...]

Paulie: [Voice Only] Brooklyn can be a great place to raise a family. Good community, good housing; you just gotta look past the stereotypes about issues with crime. However, if you decide to not look past the claims of crime, and you try to be a hero, you may end up like these poor kids running from me and my boys.

[Four kids, three boys and a girl, run from out of a back alley, away from three goons in suits and ties with baseball bats. Two of them are yelling as they run away from the trio. The picture suddenly pauses as it appears the two yelling kids are running straight into the camera]

[Intro Theme]

Paulie: [Voice Only] Okay then, allow me to explain this predicament. The young boy here is Hickory Appel, and his goofy faced little accomplice is his sister, Tammy-May, or May for short. The other two aren't as important right now.
[We can now see Hickory, Tammy-May, and their parents' faces on a map of the U.S., on the state of Arkansas...]
Anyway, these kids come from a little place in Arkansas called Stainswood. Who's ever heard of a place like that? Anyway,
[The Appel family's faces move from Arkansas to New York on the map...]
They moved here to NYC because their father, Daniel, opened a diner to start a new life. However, little did that bum know was that he opened it in my turf. This is where our story begins!

[SETTING; Appel Wood Grill Diner on the intersection of 3.5 Street and Quincy Lane. Daniel Appel, the Diner's owner, is cleaning the windows, while his wife, Lee Anne, is cleaning the bar counter. Hickory and Tammy-May are sitting at a booth, playing on portable video game systems...]

Daniel: Kids, I know things are gonna be different in the big city, but I also know you should be okay. Remember, you're Appels, and you were raised to be like I was: adventurous. Just remember the family motto: The Appel doesn't fall far from the tree.

Hickory and Tammy-May: [Uninterested] Meh.

Daniel: Also, keep in mind that this should do you some good. No more isolation on a prairie, you'll be making new friends, going to a new school, and even getting out of the house more. Just remember to be kind to everyone, and uphold our family's values.

Hickory: [Skeptical] Dad, are you sure it's a good idea to be walking around the streets of this place unsupervised? I mean, this side of Brooklyn is notorious for being a troubled neighbourhood.

[Lee Anne walks over to the booth the kids are sitting in and takes their portable game systems...]

Lee Anne: Well, you kids aren't just gonna stay in the house all day long and play video games. We raised you to be adventurous, not a couple of sissies. Also, you need to quit listening to your friends' advice all the time, Hickory. You know three of them are part of that one group I can't even stand to mention.

Hickory: Mom, for the last time, they aren't in the group per se, but their dads are. They even asked me if Daniel wanted to join.

Daniel: [Sternly] First off, don't call me Daniel, Hickory Smith, I'm your father! Second, you know I can't stand those hateful punks, who are sorta like a secondary reason we moved up here. Now, you kids do what your mother said and go explore the neighbourhood. In fact, school will be starting in a couple weeks, so, why don't you go practice your route to and from the school. Okay?

Tammy-May: I'll go do that, daddy. See you in a bit.
[Kisses her father on the cheek]
Bye!

[Tammy-May walks outside. EXIT TAMMY-MAY...]

Daniel: That's my girl.
[To Hickory]
Hickory, why can't you be more like your sister? Always cheery and quick to adapt.

Hickory: Because, if I was like that, you'd disown me for reasons, and I'd be picked on by, practically, everybody. Bear in mind that you're wishing I was like the same girl that has been known to write Kennel Kitties fan fiction, and has even turned her family into kittens in said fan fiction.