Episode Ten - #servobaby

EPISODE 10 - #Servobaby
Created by David Brown

LOGLINE
As the storm traps Mayoonderie, a baby is about to be born in the servo while the town improvises care, power and authority, forcing everyone to work together and figure out what it is that really makes a community.

SYNOPSIS
A storm rolls into Mayoonderie as multiple crises converge at the local servo.
Yonni is struggling to breathe. Karen stays with her, calls emergency who redirect her call to Ambo Baz, redirected from the servo. The call cuts out mid-sentence as thunder cracks.

At the servo, Cherry goes into labour in the ice-cream van. With the ambulance delayed, the town responds the only way it knows how. The servo office is stripped and rebuilt. Towels are heated in pie ovens. Sunshades become privacy screens. Old promo banners are gaffer-taped into place. Music blares as Dayne, Doug, Macca, Sharday, Yolanda and Nay turn a cluttered servo office into a chaotic birthing suite.

Outside, the boys problem-solve at speed. Freezer lids, car jacks and corflute signs are lashed together into a rolling stretcher. Gyppo sacrifices the back seat of his Nissan. Shaun live-streams the effort, turning panic into performance and then into a fundraiser. Nan, as always, redirects the energy and asserts calm authority.

Valda and Domingo head for the servo on their motorised wheelchairs, dogs in tow.
Cherry is moved from the ice-cream van to the office with everyone helping, headlights cutting through rain and darkness. The transfer is streamed live. When the power fails, panic spikes. Phones are raised to windows. Cars are repositioned. Headlights flood the office with harsh, improvised light. The town quite literally powers the birth.

Baz finally arrives, all bravado and jokes, immediately checked by Nan and the women who have already done the work as Cherry reaches the point of delivery.

A baby about to be born. Men waiting outside. Women holding the centre. The storm rages. Mayoonderie watches itself in real time.

Baby is born. Cue music. In the after glow of the storm, the Mayoonderie servo forecourt glows with the warmth of community as everyone jumps in on this huge dance number.