#bert the alien

PAGE ONE.

A shot of the Earth, as seen from space.

NARRATOR: 1955-1975. “The Space Race”

We see Laika the space dog.

NARRATOR: In humanity’s fervour to land among the stars, many unethical experiments were conducted. Many of these are a matter of public record…

In what appears to be a laboratory of sorts, several penguins are suspended in tubes, pods with labels with their names on. Shadow obscures most of the details, but the labels indicate the penguins are named after celestial bodies, with the two closest to us being Neptune and Pluto.

NARRATOR: …Some are not.

We see a hero-shot from below of the penguin labelled ‘Pluto,’ still suspended in his pod.

NARRATOR: This is the story of Pluto! A Penguin who was sent into the stratosphere.

We see Pluto in his pod, half-submerged in a lake on an unknown planet.

NARRATOR: Though he survived the trip, he underwent a cosmic mutation! This granted him human-like intelligence and atmospheric adaptability, among other abilities.

A close-up headshot of Pluto, staring straight at the viewer, a serious expression adorning his face. We can just see the neckline of an astronaut suit that he is wearing (sans helmet).

NARRATOR: Now he wanders the cosmos in search of adventure. He is…

Below Pluto’s neckline appears the series logo, and his name: PLUTO PENGUIN. And below that… RRRIP!

A one-eyed alien with long noodle-y arms ‘tears’ the bottom of the panel away, thus revealing himself in a very cheerful manner.

BERT: And I’m Bert!

PAGE TWO.

The Chapter Title in all caps across the top of the page: “PLUTO PENGUIN AND BERT: GET THE JOB DONE”

Pluto Penguin and Bert stand side-by-side, looking directly ahead, Pluto with a concerned expression, Bert looking more surprised.

BAM! We see what they are looking at - two posters on a wall with drawn sketches of their faces. In the artists renderings Pluto appears very serious and Bert bears a gormless smile.

PLUTO: Y’know… They would almost be flattering… If it weren’t for…

Doom! The bottom of each poster contains the phrase ‘WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE. 50,000 Solars Reward.’ (The ‘Solars’ currency unit is depicted by the symbol Ø)

Pluto deftly swipes both posters off the wall with his wing. In this shot we see him from behind see that he is wearing a jet pack.

PLUTO: Okay, that’s those taken care of. We can hope they were the only ones. Best to just get in and out, do the job, and try to keep a low profile.

Pluto returns to the position in which we first saw him, though Bert is no longer next to him.

PLUTO: The last thing we want to do is draw any attention to ourselves. Got that Bert? … Bert?

Pluto turns and sees that Bert is gone, his expression one of comical abject terror, as he stares at the missing space where Bert should be. He exclaims in alarm:

PLUTO: YAAGH!