The Hammond Line

Synopsis

Wendell Boyce signed off on the Hammond span in 1971, when he was thirty-four and it was much the largest thing he had ever put his name to. He retired in 1998. He has read every inspection report on that bridge since, all thirty years of them, which nobody asked him to do and nobody is aware that he does. This year's report has a number in it that he does not believe. He checks it four times over a weekend. On the Monday he begins making telephone calls to people who have no particular reason to take them.

Who this is about

Wendell Boyce approved the Hammond span when he was thirty-four, and has read every inspection report on it for thirty years, which nobody asked him to do and nobody knows about.

What goes wrong

The newest report contains a number he does not believe, and he has checked it four times.

What's at stake

Ten thousand cars a day, and a state agency with no appetite whatsoever for a retired man's arithmetic.

Why it keeps going

Each episode he carries the number one office higher, and each office explains, reasonably, why it belongs to somebody else.

Takeaway

A system with nobody responsible is not broken. It is working exactly as designed.

Shelves

Themes

Story, in the creator's words

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Style

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Characters

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Tech stack

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Schedule

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Production plan

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