The live action series, YOU HAD TO BE THERE will be based on Gorman’s self-published memoir with the same name. You Had To Be There chronicles Gorman’s experiences in flashback and gritty truth. Indeed his title says it all, you won’t believe his life, unless you were there to experience it.
THE PRESENT
EXT. COFFEE SHOP –NIGHT
A cup of coffee steams through the silence. We see an older man staring at the younger man opposite him who is crying.
GENE V.O.
Life has its way of evening the score if you can live long enough to hang on. So far so good.
1966-1967
Vietnam. Machine gun fire has a small Marine platoon pinned down. FRANK HARDY African American is the point man along with a young 21 year old GENE GORMAN. In charge and not afraid to make decisions Gorman and Hardy rest on the crest of the hill. Gun shots ring out and Gorman hits the dirt, only to look up and see Hardy not moving. He’s killed immediately. Gorman stares in disbelief but then gets up and goes mad and starts firing. Gorman endures a bit more till he sustains an injury that is his ticket home.
1968 NORFOLK VIRGNIA
No parade, no hearty welcome, no direction and nowhere to turn except a bottle. Gorman rages on and ruins his marriage and other relationships all the while trying to cope. He knows he must stop or he will die, but not quite yet.
The show YOU HAD TO BE THERE, will show the audience the incredible, unbelievable journey of Gorman’s decisions while suffering PTSD and alcoholism.
SEASON 1: The Vietnam experience and coming home trials and tribulation. Flashbacks of childhood, getting a job at 8 and his pre Vietnam experiences.
SEASON 2: Life on the street and the glimmers of hope but how Gorman self-destructs. The journey to sobriety and facing his PTSD head on.
SEASON 3: Gene discovers his talent of selling and the wacky characters of the car selling world. He also needs to get his act together and find self-love so he can deal with his found new love of Diane.
SEASON 4: The rigors of self-worth, becoming a valued consulting power, the challenge of raising a family and starting a new one, and the ultimate betrayal of a business deal that turned his life around again.
SEASON 5: The ultimate challenge of starting your own business, moving to Florida and how a hurricane almost ruined his car dealership
