Summer Snow

When Ted Vance sneaks out of his construction job, he’s fired from his 11th menial job in three years but doesn’t really care. He leaves work daily at 5 pm to watch multiple evening news broadcasts which serve as research for a book he’s writing on television news as the birth of history. Ted dreams of permanently writing about television to support his girlfriend and his passion for TV.

Three years after earning a masters degree in history, no one but Celia, his loyal, modest, girlfriend, believes Ted’s excessive TV watching and recording of news programs will amount to anything constructive.
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At 27 years old, he still lives in his parent’s comfortable, upper middle-class home, secluded in his room complete with a state-of-the-art, video setup he refers to as his “lab”. He loves his video configuration which allows him to watch three satellite television systems simultaneously.
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Celia works long hours at a coffee shop to help pay tuition for her teaching degree. She puts up with Ted’s obsessive TV fascination and apparent lack of career ambition because she loves his honesty and candid perception.
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As the Fourth of July weekend begins, Cheryl, Ted’s high powered, Type A, advertising executive mother, threatens to evict Ted by Labor Day if he hasn’t found a permanent, career job with benefits.
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On Independence Day, a massive, prolonged eruption of solar flares disrupts all satellite communication worldwide. Hours become days then weeks with little or no broadcast TV, cable or cell service. The absence of live television leaves hordes of people with excessive amounts of free time and especially for Ted, this solar eruption leaves a huge void.
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Kristin Hewitt, a highly confident, hard-working but spoiled, old high school classmate of Ted’s now works as a television news reporter for a small TV station. She is temporarily laid off because of the sunspots. Kristin arrives back at her parent’s home and announces that she is tired of TV journalism. She wants to pursue an acting career. Edward, her corporate executive father and benefactor demands she either work or attend school if she wants him to continue supplementing her expensive lifestyle. Edward suggests Kristin network Ted’s father, Clayton, a family friend who administers the drama department at the local university.
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Kristin fails to open the graduate school door with Clayton so resorts to plan B, using Ted to sell herself to his father. Celia misinterprets Kristin’s interest in Ted and his willingness to help her. Ted fails to convince Celia he has no romantic interest in Kristin which prompts a jealous Celia to abruptly end their relationship.
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While Ted struggles to reunite with Celia, he becomes ensnarled in a web of manipulation and deception by entertainment starved family and friends.
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Labor Day approaches and Ted still doesn’t have the job required by his mother to save his beloved video lab. In a last-ditch effort to avoid eviction, Ted triggers a series of events that leads to a blackmail which produces a job that satisfies his mother, Cheryl, but not Celia. To win Celia back, Ted must give up that job, his beloved lab, car and meal ticket but keeps a piece of incriminating blackmail evidence to assure his book manuscript gets published.