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Writer's picturePeter K F Cheung SBS

Far From Perfect

  1. FADE IN


  2. Act 1


  3. INT. STUDIO - 00:00


  4. Watching Cable TV, PETER sees: No signal.


  5. PETER (V.O.): Okay, I've witnessed how its pay service ends.


  6. Pausing.


  7. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): One of the channels that I watched a lot for the past months was about modifying and overhauling cars.


  8. Pausing.


  9. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In the morning, I'll take the 2002 New Beetle to the repairer to check why oil is dripping from the engine.


  10. Pausing.


  11. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My wife will drive her 1995 Eunos 30X to the office. But the old coupe may refuse to start up right away...


  12. Act 2


  13. INT. BEDROOM - 06:30


  14. Getting out of bed, Peter finds a jump starter and charges it.


  15. PETER (V.O.): This is for extra support, just in case.


  16. EXT. ROADSIDE - 09:00


  17. Peter sees his WIFE adjusting the seat and mirrors before driving the Eunos 30X away.


  18. PETER (V.O.): I love its bullet-shaped body and the V6 engine inside.


  19. Pausing.


  20. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): But my wife loves more the cute body style and the swiftness of the newer Beetle.


  21. EXT. ROADS - 10:00


  22. Peter is driving a cyber-green New Beetle. We see the oil lamp in the dashboard flashing.


  23. PETER (V.O.): Don't worry. I'm taking you to see the doctor.


  24. MONTAGE OF PETER'S EXPERIENCE WITH THE ORIGINAL BEETLE.


  25. A. 1973. Housing estate. Peter takes the back seat of a yellow Beetle.


  26. B. 1976. Yuen Long area, Peter drives an orange Beetle.


  27. END MONTAGE


  28. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): My colleagues owned the original Beetles.


  29. Pausing.


  30. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): They had rear engines and were air-cooled.


  31. Pausing.


  32. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Just like the original Porsche. They had the same designer.


  33. Recalling.


  34. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I got my driving licence in 1976. I dreamt to own a Porsche 924.


  35. Pausing.


  36. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd):I knew it was beyond my means to buy one. And so, I bought affordable ones with similar features.


  37. Arriving at the car repairer.


  38. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): In 1989, I bought a Nissan 200SX, and in 1995, the Eunos 30X.

  39. The MECHANICS are taking care of the New Beetle.


  40. INT. STUDY - 11:00


  41. Smartphone in hand, Peter types on screen.


  42. PETER (V.O.): I try to ascertain if the AI drawing App can generate a picture of a cyber-green New Beetle and a silver Eunos 30X.


  43. We see an image of a part of a new Beetle appearing on screen.


  44. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): How about the other car?


  45. Tapping "Regenerate", Peter waits the App to build another image.


  46. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The App may not have any datasets about Eunos 30X.


  47. We see on screen a green New Beetle-like car and part of another car.


  48. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): The image is far from perfect, but I've to accept that.


  49. We see in the image there's no one driving the green car on the road.


  50. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): I believe it is an autonomous car capable of driving without human input.


  51. Act 3


  52. INT. STUDIO - 23:00


  53. Looking at his AI drawings, Peter is in thoughts.


  54. PETER (V.O.): My old cars are far from perfect. Me too, but I don't have an ugly heart.


  55. Pausing.


  56. PETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): And the memories that come with my old cars still make me happy.


  57. Pausing.


  58. PPETER (V.O.) (Cont'd): Like my soul, I'm not giving them away. I'll exercise my best endeavour to keep them reasonably healthy.


  59. FADE OUT


  60. THE END




































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