What I love about Brilliant Minds can really be summed up in the opening scene of the pilot. It’s really important for the first 10 pages/minutes of a script to interest the audience, show who your characters are and their motivations, and establish the tone and direction of the story.
Spoilers for Season 1, Episode 1 of Brilliant Minds below
The pilot opens with Oliver sneaking into a hospital and busting out one of his patients with Alzheimer’s — but not before getting him dressed in black-tie. They escape on a motorcycle and arrive at an upscale venue, focusing briefly on a young bride before being interrupted by two blurry-faced figures (the parents / his patient’s daughter & son-in-law). Before they can kick him out for fear of upsetting their daughter on her big day, Oliver guides his patient (Harold) to the piano and coaxes him into singing a love song he knows. It’s beautiful, the band joins in on Oliver’s cue, and everyone watches in awe as Harold belts it out while masterfully playing the piano.
The scene ends with Harold walking over to his granddaughter and, recognizing her as his granddaughter (Sophie), she looks at Oliver in amazement. He explains that music helps Harold regain lucidity and be back in the present for moments like these. Oliver takes a step back and watches as Harold and Sophie dance and enjoy each other’s company.
What we learn in the opening alone:
- Oliver cares deeply about his patients and sees them as people first who deserve humanity
- He will do anything for his patients, including things that are against hospital policy that may get him in trouble
- He has some kind of issue (later revealed as face-blindness) that makes social interactions challenging
- Oliver is creative and thinks of out-of-the-box solutions for his patients’ ailments
