Government Cheese (2025) s01e01 Episode Script

1
[inmates chattering]
- [keys jingling]
- [cell door clanks]
[inmates cheering, clamoring]
Welcome back, Hampton.
What's that smell?
Back-from-the-hole meal.
Thanks, man.
[inmate] Hey, Ham.
Hey, D.
You okay?
These guards, man.
They keep messing with me.
That's on you.
When I got here, mad at the world,
the government fucked up my family.
But instead of fighting, found my culture,
and then everything around here
made sense.
You have to find your way back to them.
Go to the chapel. Uh, read a book.
Find something that you can believe in.
If not, this place will swallow you.
[Hampton] Mm-hmm.
Yeah, his name's Gus. He's a good guy.
- Guy in the chapel?
- Yeah.
[sighs]
[sighs]
[person] Hey, wait.
- What happened?
- Gus,
this is meaningless.
I mean, why is God so So reckless?
Just fucking with man?
[chuckles] Is it God who's reckless
or is it man?
The man on high,
or whatever you wanna call him, if he
No, no. What do you wanna call him?
There's God, Allah, Yahweh.
Yahweh. I like Yahweh, feels less formal.
So what does Yahweh want from me?
Faith. Complete, blind faith.
You ever heard the gospel of, uh
Of Kenny Sharp?
That is not an apostle I'm familiar with.
[Gus] See, Kenny Sharp was an
inmate here a few years before you
and he, like you, was having an issue
with his faith.
Kenny was trying hard to be a man of God,
but there was one problem.
Willie B was the prison bully
and an avid weight lifter,
and no one could take him on,
so he did whatever he wanted.
- [grunts, pants]
- Chick-O-Stick.
[Gus] There was no escaping Willie B.
And one day, Kenny Sharp came to me.
So what did you tell Kenny Sharp?
Same thing I tell everyone.
Pray
and walk with God.
[Gus] But the more he prayed,
the worse it got with Willie B.
[Willie B] I hate fish.
[grunts]
[Willie B grunts]
[Gus] Little Roland was
the smallest inmate in the prison,
and he too is tired of Willie B.
[Gus] How did a metal spoon
get left behind you ask?
Well, that morning Officer Barnes
was running late,
and his lovely wife handed him
some Cream of Wheat
with a metal spoon as he ran out the door.
[Barnes] Morning, Leonard.
[Gus] He finally had a moment to eat it
when he was walking through
the mess hall to his post,
and it just so happened
that Leonard Neville
had a sudden and fatal heart attack
causing Officer Barnes
to completely forget
about his Cream of Wheat
with that metal spoon.
Get help! Get help!
[Little Roland grunts, thuds]
- [punch thuds]
- [Little Roland grunts]
- [Little Roland grunting, groaning]
- [inmates exclaiming]
[Gus] And then Roland started
with that spoon
- [spoon piercing]
- [Willie B groaning]
everybody watched, intrigued.
"Who's gonna win?
Willie B gonna be able
to knock Roland off of him
[inmates groan]
or is Roland gonna puncture
Willie B's jugular with that spoon?"
Hold on. Hold on.
I thought this was Kenny's gospel?
No, it is. It is.
But he got knocked out.
Yeah, well, you have to see
the bigger picture.
See, God had to move many pieces
to free the prison
from the tyranny of Willie B.
Now, while you may see Little Roland
as the hero,
in truth, he would never have found
that spoon
without Kenny Sharp.
But I don't wanna be Kenny Sharp,
I wanna be Little Roland.
[Gus] Yeah, but we can't all be
Little Roland.
To God, we're just pieces on a chess board
and he's the master.
And if you let God move you,
he always leads us out
of the misery of humanity.
Blind faith.
But if you don't follow his path,
God will fuck you up.
[water drips]
[inmate] You hear that?
Hey.
What's this?
Something for you to give Harrison
when you're out.
He still corresponding with you?
It's a phase, he just wants to know
more about the Chumash.
No, he wants to be Chumash.
Look, are you sure you're gonna be
ready to step outside these gates?
[Hampton chuckles]
Tomorrow's the big day,
no more forging checks.
No more forging checks. I am ready.
All I need is a mustard seed.
A mustard seed?
The smallest of all the seeds.
It is compact in stature
but enormous in flavor
and medicinal purposes.
Matthew 17:20.
"A mustard seed of faith is enough."
And I have much more than that.
[cellmate] You sure your invention's
gonna work?
[Hampton] Oh, it's gonna work
and I'm gonna sell
a shit ton of these to Rocketcorp.
By the time you're out,
I'll be running things.
Fuck Rocketcorp.
- What?
- They're the worst kind of vultures.
- Oh, come on.
- Ruining the Burro Flats
for some stupid space race?
Fuck them.
The moon is not supposed to be landed on.
[water dripping]
- [inmate 2] Y'all hear that?
- [inmate 3] The hell's that?
- [inmates clamoring]
- [floor cracks, gurgles]
[guard] Hey! Get down from there.
[Hampton] Watch your back, Rudy.
[groans]
- [yells]
- [inmates yelling]
[clamoring, grunting]
[Hampton grunts]
[groans, yelps]
Hampton [groans, exclaims]
[breathing shakily]
[Hampton, whispering] Oh, shit.
[Rudy] Help me. [groans]
[inmate] I'm gonna kill you!
[Hampton screams]
[inmates screaming]
[sighs]
[prison officer] You're going
home, Chambers.
Astoria.
- I'm home.
- [sighs]
You look simply breathtaking.
[sighs] Uh, what are you doing?
Everything I can to beat
the recidivism statistics.
You can't be serious.
[Hampton] Fridge is broken?
The fridge, the stove, the windows
are leaking, the water heater.
[items clattering]
I think it might be quicker
to list all the things
that aren't broken in this house.
Well, I'm home now,
so I promise to fix it.
Well, now that you are home we can
add your broken promises to the list.
Is that grass I smell?
Harrison, my boy,
let me look at you.
Still wearing that feather Rudy gave you?
Come on, say hello to your father.
You're not my father.
Genealogy is an indisputable fact, Son.
[person] Hey, Pops.
Einstein.
Let me look at you.
Whoa, you got tall.
Taller than me.
Are those the sneakers I gave you?
You mean the ones
you took off a dead inmate?
They make me invincible.
You've been invincible
since the day you were born.
[chuckles]
Family meeting.
While I was away,
I didn't just count the minutes
until I got back home.
I came up with a plan
that's gonna make our family
the toast of Chatsworth.
A drill?
Not just any drill.
It self-sharpens as it works,
saving you time. And time is money.
Impressive.
The things you could achieve
off those efficiencies are endless.
So you've reinvented yourself
as an inventor?
I received this winning vision
from Yahweh himself.
But more importantly, the strength
to guide this lost flock, our family,
back on the righteous path.
Yahweh?
The Hebrew Lord.
Did you know Jesus is a neurotransmitter
and a UFO?
Where did you learn that blasphemy?
I was reading up on Western
mysticism and quantum mechanics.
You must be skipping paragraphs.
[chuckles]
I've got a meeting with my old friend,
Manny Brinks tomorrow.
You remember Manny, Astoria.
Well, he is now
a top engineer at Rocketcorp.
And he's gonna get me a side-by-side
test on their assembly line tomorrow.
Now if everything goes well,
which I know it will,
I'm looking at a six-figure deal.
Six figures?
Yes. This is gonna work out. Like
Like Nikola Tesla, this is my Death Ray.
One of his lesser-known inventions.
You never gonna sell that.
- [Einstein] Bit Magician.
- What?
You need to call it the Bit Magician.
I like that.
I know it's hard for you to believe
but some people actually value
your father's ideas.
Not me. [inhales sharply]
I only value Rudy's.
I wish he were out instead of you.
Welcome home, Pops.
[Hampton] Huh?
[sighs]
You finished school?
Some of us have aspirations
that are bigger than Chatsworth.
I'm sorry I didn't give you a heads-up.
I was just excited to surprise you.
Hmm.
Where do you think you're going?
The bedroom.
You're sleeping in the garage.
[exhales sharply]
Is he really gonna make a drill?
[together] "If you break it, fix it.
And if you don't have it, make it."
Dad can make something out of
nothing. He's like an alchemist.
His mother was the same way.
She made the best sandwiches
out of nothing
but government cheese and white bread.
All that poisoned food
is probably what made him a criminal.
Probably what made him inventive.
[giggling]
[yells, groans]
Pole vaulting?
Yes.
I'm gonna break the world record.
Is this for a college scholarship?
No.
I've got scholarship offers.
Harvard and MIT.
I expected nothing less.
So which one will you be attending?
Neither.
College is for simpletons.
So you're just
pole vaulting?
Like you're just making a drill.
No. This is not just a drill, Son.
This is a business.
See, while the guys were shooting
dice and doing dips on the monkey bars,
I spent all my time in the machine shop.
[Hampton] See, when you're
machining on a large scale,
the drill bits wear out quickly.
It's just an inconvenient fact
of a machinist's existence.
[Hampton] Then it came to me,
while performing the most mundane
and basic of life's tasks.
By combining two ideas
in a different configuration,
I could create something new.
Like a seaplane, the clock radio,
a multipurpose pocket knife.
A drill sharpener within a drill.
Do you think the Bit Magician will live up
to its name?
[inhales sharply] See, um,
I just gotta tweak it.
[stammers] The calibration's off
by a 16th of an inch.
- Excessive temperature
- can ruin the temper of both. [scoffs]
Yes.
Yes. Einstein, my boy!
See, with that mind of yours,
you could you could be a
you could be a doctor, a surgeon.
More lucrative than, um pole vaulting.
Malpractice rates are astronomical.
[chuckles]
Hey, Son!
While you're out here, can you at least,
uh, cut the grass tomorrow?
We can't be the only Black family in
the neighborhood and have a shabby lawn.
Will do, Pops.
Still sharp. [chuckles]
[kisses]
- [insects chirping]
- [dog barks]
[Astoria] It's gone.
You took my money?
No, I took the money you stole.
You knew I would be struggling while
you were inside and you still held out.
Are you in trouble?
Only trouble I have now is how
to get back into your heart.
Before you try that,
why not try and help out?
Take some of the load off me.
[grunts]
[tools clatter]
[grunts]
[Hampton grunts]
[both grunt]
- [Bootsy's friend groans]
- Damn it, Bootsy.
[both groan]
[groans] The day is still young.
- [Bootsy chuckles]
- [Hampton sighs]
Sorry, Hampton.
I need you to go take a ride with me.
I'm still nursing
that nagging shrapnel from Nam.
Started taking shark embryos for the pain.
Shark embryos?
[sucks teeth] Go down to TJ.
Comes in a powder.
Mix it with eight ounces of water
and chase it with a shot of tequila.
Why not just mix it with the tequila?
They don't encourage questions.
- How's Astoria?
- Mad.
She had a hard time while you were away.
I checked on her and the boys
whenever I could.
Thanks, man.
Bit Magician?
Yeah. I made a self-sharpening drill.
It's gonna make me a millionaire.
[Bootsy] Hey now.
Dreamers are dangerous.
Then consider me dangerous.
Be dangerous. But you are about to be in
danger. Do you know the Prevost brothers?
The Prevost brothers?
Yep.
Seven brothers, one brain.
They came down from Montreal.
They own the valley now.
They're the ones that got that lifer
to take the fall for you during the riots.
I owe the Prevost brothers?
You said you wanted to get out.
Now you're out.
[farmer grunting]
[Bootsy sucks teeth]
It's okay. I'll be right here.
[exhales sharply]
[sibling speaks French]
[speaks French]
[in English] Our patron
Saint Jean Baptiste.
And I think you have a debt on our books?
Um, I think there was a bit of
a miscommunication with Bootsy.
I wasn't aware
that you guys did me the favor.
But I'm on it.
Um, I thought I had the cash,
but it became unexpectedly
[chuckles] unavailable.
Your debt, it's $2,000, Mr. Chambers.
And I'll get it. I promise.
[speaking French]
[in English] In my experience,
it's best to deal
with situations in a timely fashion.
- [gunshot]
- [person screams]
- [body thuds]
- [Hampton gasps]
I don't have the money right now,
but, uh but I'll get it.
Um [smacks lips]
Please. Just, uh, give me, uh two weeks?
Let me talk to my brothers.
But [stutters] how will I know?
You'll know.
[speaks French]
[in English] You could've been up-front
with me about the Prevosts.
[Bootsy grunts]
It was either this or do more time.
Come on, man.
I got a line on a job.
It'll make all your problems disappear.
I'm not doing smash-and-grabs anymore.
I'm on the righteous path.
The what?
Devil! Devil! Devil!
Protect Mother Earth!
Protect Mother Earth!
- Asshole.
- Hey, fuck you!
[line ringing]
- [operator] Rocketcorp?
- Manfred Brinks, please.
Please hold.
- [person] Yeah?
- Hey, Manny. It's Hampton.
I'm outside.
- You're here?
- Yeah.
Well, uh, I can't talk now.
Uh, we're way behind on deliveries.
You said you'd get me a meeting.
[chuckles] Yeah, I'll be right there.
Well, we just got a lot
to get out the door.
I've gotta go. I'm really sorry.
[line disconnects]
[machine whirring]
How'd you get in here?
I came in through the shipping dock.
Manny, you said you run the place,
but you're holding a damn mop.
Well, there was a lot of downsizing
after they bought my father's company.
I'm lucky to have a job.
Besides, I didn't think you'd show up.
When have you ever followed through?
I'm a new man.
And here it is.
Hampton, I can't help you.
I'll show you. [chuckles]
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Hampton!
Hey!
This is not my station.
[Hampton] And you can drill
for 20 minutes.
[grunts]
And it'll still stay sharp.
- Okay. Hampton
- Everyone wants a sharp bit.
- Doesn't everyone want a sharp bit?
- [shushes]
You're gonna get me fired.
This is gonna help the bottom line.
On the shop floor, time equals money.
With the Bit Magician,
you don't have to stop working,
shut down the drill,
or open up the chuck to change the bit.
And it doesn't just work with this drill.
It can work on any of these NC lathes.
With my self-sharpening drill,
Rocketcorp could increase production
and save on broken and dull bits.
You think these machinists are gonna want
to do business with you?
- Oh, you mean with an ex-con?
- No.
I just mean it's
a professional shop, there's a process.
Hey, Manny! There's a spill
at station five. Get moving.
Hampton, I truly am sorry.
Just Hey, hey. Just measure it.
Hey! Hey!
Shit.
That's my
Protect Mother Earth!
Protect Mother Earth!
[pants] That's my bike!
[hippie protestor] Hey, fuck you!
- [eagle screeching]
- [scoffs]
[grunts]
[truck horn blaring]
[truck driver] Asshole!
Get out of the way!
[grunts]
- [panting]
- Einstein.
Hey, Pops.
You didn't cut the lawn.
Oh, yeah. Uh, I didn't cut the lawn
'cause I had an epiphany.
Is that right? An epiphany kept you
from cutting the lawn?
Yes.
You see, I was practicing preparing
to pole vault. But I wasn't pole vaulting.
I needed to break the proverbial leap.
Figuratively and literally. I leapt.
Hey, Son. How was school today?
[Astoria sighs]
What's wrong with him?
You would know if you'd been around.
[breathes deeply]
Sleeping in the garage.
Disrespected by my own family.
Is this retribution for Rudy? [pants]
[grunts]
- [pole clatters]
- You know that was an accident.
[panting] I've had faith.
I've followed. Listened.
I even made the drill
you inspired me to make.
[grunts]
I need an answer.
A sign.
A metal spoon. Something!
[panting]
[frog croaking]
[gasps]
[frog continues croaking]
Leap of faith.
I am Little Roland.
And Manny is my Kenny Sharp.
- Manny!
- Hampton? [grunts]
[pants] I got a sign.
You won't believe this.
You can go through the front door.
Frogs. Leaping. Jumping.
Are you loaded? [scoffs]
I just saw it, Manny. [pants]
[Manny grunts]
You need to take a leap.
You are Manfred Brinks.
Son of Ulrich Brinks.
Who hailed
from the great welder Sigmund Brinks.
And now they have you wiping up floors?
This is not your destiny.
I'm an engineer.
- You're an engineer.
- Yeah.
And I have an invention.
And I
measured the bit.
And it's still sharp.
We'll start our own business
and we'll never sell out.
First we build up good word of mouth
with local machine shops, subcontractors.
Small orders. Door-to-door sales.
And in a few months,
Rocketcorp will be knocking on our door.
Listen to me, this is gonna be very hard.
You get me on the approved vendor list
at Rocketcorp,
I will take that letter to the bank.
Get a business loan.
- Seed money.
- Seed money?
[sighs] Why do we need seed money
if we don't have any overhead?
- Um
- Hampton, who do you owe?
No one.
- No one.
- No one?
Okay. [breathes deeply]
Well
[smacks lips, sniffs]
[chuckles] If we're gonna get
on the vendor list,
I'm gonna need a bottle of the most
expensive Scotch that you can find.
- Scotch. [sniffs] Scotch. I can get that.
- Yeah.
I can get that.
[Hampton laughs]
- Manny Brinks is back.
- [Manny laughs]
[Hampton] Okay.
[pants]
- [show on TV playing]
- [presenter 1] Cousin was a skin diver.
He dived out of a row boat in an attempt
to spear a rare species of eel.
At the same moment,
big fish swept up from the depths
also after the eel.
They were on a collision course.
[laughter on TV]
[Astoria, Harrison chuckling]
[presenter 2] Anybody could tell what kind
of a family we are.
[Harrison] What?
[Astoria] Oh, my God.
[Astoria, Harrison chuckle]
[presenter 1] What's the problem with you?
I made meat loaf for dinner.
It's in the oven.
[presenter 1] We'd tear your family apart.
Kellman's coffee is guaranteed
to not only brighten
Pops.
[presenter 1] It will also make you
Come watch.
[presenter 1] I sure do like
the sound of that
[breathes deeply]
[presenter 1] Adams. You are kooks.
Two weeks is a long time,
Hampton Chambers.
And patience is not
a virtue my family holds dear.
["Time Has Come Today" playing]