Doomsday for Denton
Some legends are best observed from a safe distance…
If the title sounds familiar, the script was inspired by the 3rd episode of TZ’s very first season, “Mr. Denton on Doomsday”. If you haven’t seen it yet, check it out AFTER reading this take on the source material.
The story opens when a tough, scrappy young man named Barry enters a bar called the Nag’s Head. Carrying with him a chip on his shoulder, he’s not here looking to knock a few back – he’s here looking for a fight. But not just with anybody – he wants to fight the legendary bare-knuckle brawler, Denton.
As Barry searches for Denton, who’s a known patron of the bar, bartender Danny points to a man nearly passed out at a table, drunk as a skunk. Determined to defeat the legend, Barry buys him a pint and challenges the drunken Denton, who’s obviously way past his prime. But not before praising the man who was formerly dubbed, “Destroyer” Denton.
BARRY
Ma Dad still talks about when you
put O’Leary in the hospital.
DENTON
Lucky shot.
Downplaying his accomplishments and seemingly not in the condition to fight, Denton turns down the challenge at first… emphasis on “seemingly”.
I won’t spoil the rest of it, but let’s just say when Denton eventually DOES accept the challenge, things don’t go as planned for young Barry.
A very fun script with great dialogue, it was easy to visualize this on a movie screen. And with essentially one simple location and small cast, it would be a piece of cake to shoot in this COVID climate.