The Submariners - A TV Series Pilot about an Israeli submarine and a nuclear Iran (based on the military thriller "The Last Israelis")

By Noah Beck

Israel's prime minister awakens from an apocalyptic nightmare to discover that reality is far scarier: there are only days left to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

But history will be decided by 35 Israelis manning the Dolphin, a nuclear-armed submarine that can vaporize most of the Middle East in a few hours.

Naval command urgently calls the Dolphin back to shore.

The captain, Daniel Zion, is haunted by a fatal accident on his watch, and the foreboding thought that this may be his last hours with his wife and daughter.

Daniel also learns that the head of the submarine force has recommended to the navy chief that Daniel's deputy, Yisrael, replace him as captain.

The tension between the captain and his deputy only intensifies, with Yisrael's marital problems aggravating his mood.

At the family gathering ("A Picnic Before Doomsday"), we meet some of the Dolphin's crewmembers.

The submariners reflect the complexity of the Israeli society they defend:
-Ambesa: an Ethiopian-Israeli who is in charge of the submarine's communication systems
-Bao: a Vietnamese-Israeli whose parents received political asylum from Israel in 1977, who must keep his homosexuality secret from the crew
-Zvi: an exceptionally talented young man who quietly manages his traumatic past
-Jacob: an Indian-Israeli in love with a French student
-Eitan: a Persian-Israeli Jew who is traditionally religious and awkwardly aware that he still has cousins in Tehran
-Boutros: the first Arab-Christian to serve in Israel's submarine force
-Samir: a Druze Arabic speaker who serves as the chief engineer

As different as these characters are, they must find enough unity to operate a submarine with over 4,000 switches and valves, costing nearly a billion dollars.

The nuclear-armed Dolphin submarine is the most powerful machine in the Israeli military. Its crewmembers will have to operate the vessel in enemy waters that will test their nerves.

The TV pilot is based on Part I of the military thriller "The Last Israelis."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Noah Beck Books
• Release date: Oct 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9781386144137

Book preview

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

THE SUBMARINERS - A TV SERIES PILOT ABOUT AN ISRAELI SUBMARINE AND A NUCLEAR IRAN (BASED ON THE MILITARY THRILLER THE LAST ISRAELIS)

First edition. October 24, 2017.

Copyright © 2017 Noah Beck.

Written by Noah Beck.

THE SUBMARINERS

A TV Series Pilot

Episode Title: A Picnic Before Doomsday

Written by

Noah Beck

Based on the novel The Last Israelis

ACT ONE

FADE IN:

INT. lecture hall

Close on the PRIME MINISTER, 60, in a suit and tie, and his wife, RACHEL, 57.

They are seated among hundreds, listening to a lecture.

Historian (V.O.)

As the saying goes, history may not repeat itself, but it tends to rhyme.

HISTORIAN, 70, looks up from his notes and clicks a button to project labeled images of Beethoven, Goethe, and Nietzsche.

Historian (V.O.)

Germany was home to a great cultural heritage. But in 1933, Nazi thugs took over, and openly called for the genocide of the Jews while planning global domination.

He clicks his remote. Image of Nazis saluting Hitler.

HISTORIAN (V.o.)

European powers cowered, choosing to offer Czechoslovakia to Hitler in a 1938 agreement that was supposed to bring peace. Instead, it brought World War II.

Click. Click. Images from World War II and the Holocaust.

HiSTORIAN (cONT'D)

But appeasement wasn't the only option. Western Europe could have united to defeat the Nazis in 1938. They might have lost ten thousand soldiers trying. But paying that price might have avoided the Holocaust, and the fifty million deaths of World War 2.

Rachel looks at her husband, the Prime Minister.

HISTORIAN (V.o.)

Less than a century later, a tragically similar pattern emerged. Iran was heir to the great Persian civilization. But in 1979, Shiite fundamentalists hijacked the country, imposing an Islamist theocracy on Iranians.

The Historian clicks his remote. Image of Cyrus the Great. Click. The 1979 Iranian Revolution. Click. Hanging gays.

HiSTORIAN (v.O.)

The Iranian regime sought regional domination and regularly threatened to destroy Israel. As with the Nazi threat, global powers cowered from confrontation, offering Iran a legitimate pathway to nukes, in exchange for a 10-year pause in their development.

Click. Image of death to Israel scrawled on Iranian missiles. Click. Image of smiling handshakes for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

HiSTORIAN

Does anyone know why – despite the 2015 nuclear deal – Iranian nukes ultimately destroyed Israel and, for the second time in history, incinerated millions of Jews in a horrific genocide?

Click. Mushroom cloud.

The Historian looks out into the audience for any volunteers.

Rachel raises her hand.

He points to her.

RACHEL

(looking at the Prime Minister, bitterly)

Because my husband didn't have the balls to stop Iran, when he still could.

CUT TO:

Int. Prime Minister's bedroom - morNING

The Prime Minister wakes up, gasping from a nightmare.

Rachel is still sleeping. He gets out of bed and walks toward his closet, with one hand holding his head.

Int. Prime Minister's office - a little later

The Prime Minister, wearing glasses, reads a classified dossier on Iran. He grimaces in pain while trying to read.

Close on the dossier text, going in and out of focus.

His phone rings. The Mossad Chief is calling.

He looks up from the dossier and answers.

Prime