We got suited up, Linda checked our cameras, and we entered the water. It was the weirdest dive ever, but it was unforgettable. Our group moved in a V-shape, following Henry’s lead as he took us down what used to be a city street. You could still see timbers from ships, stones from collapsed homes, and paving stones from the streets. We finished our first tank and returned to the boat, heading back to the starting area while we rested and talked about what we had seen. We made two more dives on the site before calling it a day; with Linda and Carly filming plus the GoPros on our facemasks, we had plenty of footage for the show.
After the diving, we docked in Port Royal and had dinner before taking a private tour of the National Museum of Historical Archaeology. Henry was the perfect tour guide, talking to us about the artifacts and tying them back to the earlier dives. Linda kept filming as he showed us around. I loved the table-sized holographic model of Port Royal before the earthquake; with the push of a button, it changed into the post-quake ruins. I couldn’t thank Henry enough for his help, and I made sure to get his address to send him an advance copy of this episode.
Our next stop on tour was Cancun, Mexico, and Linda had worked with Mercedes to arrange an extra day off before we had to be there. Mercedes flew back to Bodyglove headquarters with the twins to speak to the executives. Amy and I had already informed her that we would not be extending our contracts; we didn’t need the money, and we needed time for other projects. Makani and Noelani were interested, but only if there was enough flexibility to work around their futures as military wives.
Linda, Amy, Carly, Fiona, and I flew to Los Angeles instead, where Stan Greenberg picked us up from the airport. Stan was the accountant for Sharkbait Productions, and we were talking money today. The Discovery Channel, which had broadcast the first two documentaries I appeared in, was begging for first refusal rights on our new show. I hadn’t committed to this, but I did agree to give them a private showing and a chance to bid before placing the show on the open market. If Discovery wanted to keep us from jumping ship, they would have to come up with a deal that would knock our socks off.
We arrived in the boardroom at ten AM, greeting the executives gathered with big smiles. Discovery had done well by me, and it was good to see Erik Johnson from the Woods Hole documentary again. “If you ever have questions about show production, give me a call,” he said. “I’d love a chance to work with you again.”
“I will,” I promised as I moved to the front of the room. I had a brief presentation made up, highlighting what I intended the show to be about and how it would show. We had decided to offer two seasons as a package, 26 episodes of 43 minutes each, for a fixed up-front price.
“Can you supply that number of episodes in that time,” the Vice President of Programming asked.
“The first eight episodes are ready, and the remainder will be available sequentially to finish by the end of June,” Linda said. “If you start during February sweeps, you could run weekly without interruption.”
That raised a few eyebrows. “Is there enough underwater footage to support that,” asked Erik. “We shot for two weeks to get enough footage for a one-hour documentary.”
“If the show focused solely on the diving, then no,” I said. “The show involves sharks, but it’s really about the four of us and our lives. The tour stops we are making provide plenty of material for a good show, between our interactions, our modeling jobs, and our diving.”
“We expect it will attract a broader and younger demographic, one that might not watch a documentary but WOULD watch a reality show about four attractive, athletic women,” Linda said. “It won’t be trashy or sensationalistic, because these women are not like that. After all, Amy is married, Vicki is engaged and will be married in a few weeks, and the twins have serious boyfriends. It isn’t a show you’d see on MTV; it is a show you can proudly watch with your sons and daughters every week. Perhaps a view of the first episode will help you understand where this is going.”
“Cue the show and hit the lights,” the CEO said. Forty-three minutes later, the mood in the room was upbeat. “I’d like to see another, to see if it is to the same standard,” she said.
“Pick a number between two and eight,” Linda said in response. She chose seven, and Linda handed over the memory stick with Episode Seven.