Airwaves
Synopsis
Inspired by actual events.
Blacklist: Lex and Darka's romance is truly unique, heartwarming and feels like ripe material for a feature film. The fascinating, special thing about their romance is how each is able to discover, court and fall for the other through the airwaves. That this can be accomplished is a testament to the miraculous power of both love and music, and makes for a special theme that could have broad, mainstream, universal and lasting appeal.
A country western band breaks up during a gig at a Texas roadhouse and Lex Westin, the lead singer, wakes up in the parking lot next to a dead body. He gets arrested, pleas to a manslaughter charge and gets sentenced to ten years in prison.
In town, Johnny Marsh, former high school basketball star, sells used cars and screws around while his impending marriage to Darka Lane grows close. Bob and Gloria Lane want grandchildren and see Marsh as “good breeding stock,” but realize he’s a rascal. Darka doesn’t love him, but has accepted her fate to maintain the bloodline of the town’s richest family. She works her evening radio show at KRIC, broadcasting top tunes over the airwaves.
In prison, Lex adjusts to confinement and his job in the license plate factory. He has conflict with Quantro, a Mexican gang leader, when he gets thrown into solitary and suspects Lex of being a snitch. Lex joins the church band and begins to find music in a new way. Lex helps his cellmate, T.J. Holmes win football bets with Bumblebee, the cellblock bookie. They both compete in the prison rodeo and win commissary money, T.J. riding bulls and Lex in the Hard Money event where he grabs a pouch of cash from between a bull’s horns. Lex buys a radio and starts listening to Darka’s show. Her voice over the airwaves inspires him and he starts writing songs and mails them to her.
Darka catches Johnny with a girlfriend and fills Johnny’s convertible full of concrete. She starts to communicate to Lex through her radio show by selecting certain songs that answer his lyrics. The airwaves love affair develops and news spreads through the prison grapevine into the small town. Lex and his church band play a song at the prison rodeo and Darka’s engineer records it. Darka sends it to a music producer.
Johnny sees his future slipping away and has a corrupt prison guard plant weed in Lex's cell. T.J. loses bets and is being braced when Lex intervenes and gets broken ribs. He tries to win money at the rodeo, but falls in the mud as Darka watches. Johnny shows her a newspaper article about Lex being a killer and she dumps him.
Lex's old girlfriend, Sue, dances at the Low Down Club where the band's new leader, Butch Griggs is manager. There is a fight and Butch stabs the patron. Sue tries to leave but Butch, drunk, rapes her and confesses he killed the guy at the Rattler. Sue goes to Lex's lawyer with Butch's prints on a tequila bottle. Things start in motion to get Lex released.
Johnny's side gal shows up pregnant and Darka find out. Dave Carson calls and says Lex's music is great and wants him under contract. Darka's love blossoms for Lex, and meets him for the first time when he is freed from the false charges. True love prevails and they start a happy family as Lex’s musical talent takes wings.