CLARK RANSOM

Synopsis: Two worlds thrown together: the living and the not-so-dead.  Whether it was the loss of his job at the suicide hotline center, the surprise pregnancy of his Latina wife, or the hood of the ice cream truck in Central Park, Jake Hartley never knew what hit him.

And that sums up Jake’s past.  As a trained surgeon, Jake struggled with making those life and death decisions for his pediatric patients, until one fateful case of a dying boy pushed him over the edge.  In a downward spiral of remorse and questioning his own abilities, he fled his medical practice and landed at the local Suicide Hotline Call Center.  Insulated by technology, Jake assists desperate people and effectively talks them off the proverbial edge.

But like any sales position, you have goals to make, and Jake’s “souls saved” quota is rock-bottom in the company, so he’s given two weeks to find another job. 

Sherman Willoughby knows exactly what that feels like.  As a Suicide Reaper and part of the Grim Reaper Collective of Reaperville, Sherman is way behind on his weekly soul collections, and he’s also questioning his “not-so-dead” life choices.  A nagging, cheating wife and a militant boss don’t make it any easier, and Sherman needs someone to talk to, someone who understands his lot in purgatory.

Having already tried Grim Reaper’s Anonymous with pathetic results, Sherman breaks the second Rule of Reaping; never directly interact with the human world.  While on a call with Jake, a ruined businessman is about to jump off a building, Sherman appears beside him, startles the man who slips and falls over the edge.  On the way down to the ground, Sherman borrows the man’s phone and begins to lament his own sorry situation with Jake.

Out of a job, a baby on the way, no hope in sight, and unaware that Sherman is a Reaper, Jake agrees to meet in Central Park and see if he can help.  But fate steps in, and Jake is struck and thrown off his bicycle by a speeding ice cream truck.  In a coma with scant hope of surviving, his wife must make a life-or-death decision in the next few days.  Still breaking the rules, Sherman delights in a chance to do something fun again, illegally “collects” Jake’s not-dead-yet soul, and agrees to find a way to return it before his wife officially declares him DOA.

Meanwhile, Sherman’s boss, the hard-ass General Whitey at Soul Central Command Center, initiates his controversial global tracking program of every known Reaper to ensure perfect order… everyone follows the R.O.R. (Rules Of Reaping).  The General’s police force is comprised mostly of Clown Reapers, including his Captain, Cyril Kirk.

Being that Jake’s Soul is neither dead nor alive, his body emits a continual glow, in essence telling anyone he meets that he’s an illegal immigrant.  Now considered a Rogue Reaper, Sherman and his trusted friend and ex-CIA Reaper spook, Ollie, use makeup and 1970’s disco clothes to help disguise Jake as just another Suicide Reaper trying to stay alive.

Ollie tells them that the only person who knows how to restore Jake’s Soul to the living before it dies is a Mystic Reaper Guru named Maximillian located in a forbidden area called The Outlands.  After Ghoulggling him, Sherman sets out to find this Mystic while Ollie takes Jake on a crash-course of the ups and downs of collecting souls. 

First up, the ever-popular Dick Cheney.  With Cheney’s soul in tow, the two arrive at the main Soul Collection Dropoff, the Circus Carnival Midway operated by Ezrah and Hiram Goldman.  After checking in on their G-Phone app, sending Cheney on a rollercoaster ride to hell, Sherman’s soul count automatically updates on the app.  But Ezrah recognizes Jake, tips off the Clown Police and the chase is on!
Meanwhile, Sherman makes his way up the mountains to locate the cunning and reclusive Maximillian, but only encounters a cantankerous Llama and an ancient man intent on sending him away.  Having failed, Sherman returns to Ollie’s house where he finds Jake and Ollie hiding for their lives.  Within moments, the Clown Police burst in and the trio are carted off to Soul Central Command.

Jailed and hopeless, Jake is visited by Max who magically gives him a glimpse into the living world where the dying Jake lies in an ICU bed.  In a flash of electric blue light, Jake relives the moment from years ago that, despite all his medical training, he lost a child patient, whose grieving mother now tells him it’s time to forgive himself.

Back in his jail cell, Jake, Ollie, and Sherman are presented for judgment in court.  With General Whitey and the Clown Police present, Jake pleads his case, but to no avail.  Suddenly, the room goes dark, a blinding light throws open the courtroom doors, mist fills the room and a dark, hooded figure floats in, his bony hand clutches a golden scythe.  He reveals himself to be none other than the ancient man from the mountain, Maximillian Gideon, the Mystic Reaper.

Back in the Living World, Jake’s wife has made the final decision to take him off life support and pulls the plug.

In the Reaper Courtroom, as Max defends Jake and Sherman, he dispenses with the maniacal General with a flick of his golden scythe.  Jake’s glow begins to simultaneously fade in connection to his dying body in the Living World, and he collapses to the floor.  Golden scythe in hand, Max transports Jake back to the ICU hospital room and places his soul back into his body before he takes his last breath.

Now returned to the living, Jake is at peace with his past, opens a medical clinic for children, and is content in life with his wife and newborn son.  Sherman’s reputation and love of life are restored, as well as his lust for his wife of 200 years.  Finally, on a lone stretch of highway asphalt, General Whitey and his brigade of Clown Police are relegated to collecting the souls of fresh animal roadkill.