Conceptualized - Pitch it. Pitch it good.

[TemporalFlux]

I've seen this done a few times before on TrekBBS, and the ramp up of pilot season is a good time to revisit it. I had a thought earlier tonight about how the concept of a few popular shows could be combined and twisted to make an interesting premise that I don't recall seeing before; I would call it "Being".

So a series episode normally shows us a short period of someone's life; sometimes a day or a week and sometimes more. 24 put an ambitious spin on this concept by making a real time presentation with each minute of the story representing a minute we watch. What if we turn that on its ear a little - a series where each episode represents one day during one year of the person's life. Episode 1 would be "birth"; episode 2 would be "1 year old"; episode 3 would be "2 year old"; etc. You could even keep a consistent main cast as the child grows up to look like his or her father and falls in love with someone who resembles their parent (a common occurrence whether we want to admit it or not).

The above format would also open things up for something similar to Lost and Quantum Leap; each episode could place us in a relatively unfamiliar setting that could challenge us to figure out how one year's difference could turn things this way. As the series progresses, we could even see this person turn into someone important or we could see how their seemingly unimportant life had great effect on the world without them realizing. It's a fairly wide open format that could be built around a great deal of intrigue, drama and mystery.

An initial 13 episode order even provides its own natural cliffhanger - puberty. And the magic number of 100 episodes? Well, it would be a natural conclusion.

In any case, just some random food for thought. What would be your pitch for pilot season?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

My pitch:

Any sci fi show not involving cops, the FBI or any aspects of law enforcement!!! Bonus points to any sf/f show not set on modern-day Earth. Argh, whatever happened to the good old fashioned space opera?

Also, where are all the historical dramas? Even when HBO and Showtime do them, they stick to the most famous figures (Henry VIII, Julius Caesar). Certainly there are some less renowned periods of history that are worthy of a series. Ideas?

Pitch 1:

Star Trek: Birth of the Federation. No, I'm not giving up. Yes, I know Paramount has its own ideas how to reinvigorate the Star Trek franchise. But this series does not need to conflict with anything they have planned. I just want somebody to actually do this concept - Manny Coto was starting into it with ENT S4. I'd have him pick it back up where he left off (but not with Archer et al - ironically the only character I'd want back is the one they "killed off." )

Pitch 2:

Genetic Engineering Run Amok: This is a continual favorite of mine, a series set within the next century or two, in which genetic (and cybernetic) enhancements to humans have re-defined what it means to be human and caused social upheaval as human classes become increasingly unequal.

I wouldn't waste too much time with mulling over the morality of it all, since the situation already would exist so fretting over morality is useless; there's no going back. But the premise is ripe for fascinating characters and plotlines and I'd like to see it play out. Heroes has dealt (fitfully) with some of these issues but in more of a fantasy/superhero context. I'd want something more grounded in plausible science (no blaming it on eclipses please).

Pitch 3:

Civil War Between Mars and Earth: If there's a cooler idea than a fight between Mars and Earth, I sure can't think of it. There was a rumored series called Revolution that might have dealt with something similar (but not involving Mars) that seems to be dead, darnit. Haven't heard anything on it in a long time.

There's also the Red Mars adaptation that AMC is planning, but this premise would be more straightforward - Mars has resources Earth needs and the idea of putting colonists on Mars was to get those resources. There may be ideological differences that have sprung up between Earth and Mars. Conflict is inevitable.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Drat! Did I kill another helpless, innocent thread?

 

[Locutus of Bored]

^^^ Nope, here's some more ideas. I haven't thought about them long (just came up with them for this topic), so pardon the fact that they're very brief and vague, but you get the general idea.


----- Cauldron:

Scientists discover portals between our world and an alternate universe Earth where magic and mythological creatures of lore exist. These portals have opened many times in the past, which is where the sightings of mythological beasts throughout history come from. When the portal closes all trace of the beings from either world are returned to their universe, which is why no physical or fossil evidence of these creatures exists. But as long as the portal remains open, the beings from both universes can interact.

The attempts to open a single portal accidentally open all of them simultaneously, and keep them open permanently. Our two worlds collide. Suddenly the world is faced with double the population, overlapping cities of steel and stone, and a clash of cultures between good and evil forces of our science-based and their magic-based realms as people struggle to survive and acquire control of Earth's ever-dwindling resources. The show would pit tanks against dragons, lasers against magical spells, vampires against soldiers, etc. Soon alliances would begin to form between people and beasts from both sides with common interests and enemies.


----- Hostile Takeover:

A story of corporate intrigue... and aliens. A group of young recruits to the fastest growing corporation in the world soon find that their new workplace is actually ground zero for a subtle alien takeover of keyindustries and governments in preparation for a coming alien colonization in seven years.

When a disbelieving or paid off by the company US government refuses to provide assistance, the workers decide that they will have to maintain the illusion of ignorance while secretly working together to sabotage the company from within.


----- Route 666:

A team of men of science and religion is dispatched by a powerful and secretive religious leader to investigate a series of miracles and ritual killings along historic Route 66 that may be the first shots in a coming war between Heaven and Hell. They discover that Route 66 may actually have been secretly built along a boundary between our world and the spirit world, thus allowing demons, angels, and other creatures from beyond a path to our world. Sort of like a serious version of Reaper meets X-Files.


I've also always wanted to see a science fiction space opera based on 'The Odyssey.' Obviously you'd have to seriously condense down some parts and make some major structural changes, but I think it could work.

 

[JPRyan]

My partner and I pitched a sit com to UPN called Moshe and Mohammet. It was about a gay Jewish and Muslim couple running a sex toy shop in 1956 Mississippi. They had a black clerk married to a white gal. Never seem to catch fire for some reason.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

I've seen this done a few times before on TrekBBS, and the ramp up of pilot season is a good time to revisit it. I had a thought earlier tonight about how the concept of a few popular shows could be combined and twisted to make an interesting premise that I don't recall seeing before; I would call it "Being".

So a series episode normally shows us a short period of someone's life; sometimes a day or a week and sometimes more. 24 put an ambitious spin on this concept by making a real time presentation with each minute of the story representing a minute we watch. What if we turn that on its ear a little - a series where each episode represents one day during one year of the person's life. Episode 1 would be "birth"; episode 2 would be "1 year old"; episode 3 would be "2 year old"; etc. You could even keep a consistent main cast as the child grows up to look like his or her father and falls in love with someone who resembles their parent (a common occurrence whether we want to admit it or not).

Reminds me of a short-lived FOX series called Reunion. Each episode was a year in the lives of 6 friends tracking their lives from high school graduation to their 20 year reunion. It was an intriguing premise with a murder mystery at the center but it was just frustrating seeing all 6 characters made a wide assortment of bad decisions in every episode.

 

[The Borgified Corpse]

Honestly, TemporalFlux, I'm still in love with an idea you came up with last year that I have mentally dubbed Goddess of Justice.

The blindfold of Themis, the Greek goddess of justice, is stolen. The other gods care little, but Themis's sense of order will not let her rest until the scales are balanced for the offense. The only way Themis can find the culprit is to finally open her eyes, and she is left aghast at how the world has warped and broken the very system she helped to create.

No chaos can be ordered until the flaws are sorted, and Themis takes on the guise of an attorney to explore each facet of the injustice we have fostered through the guise of law. Her powers of prophecy limited by our more complicated world, Themis is largely left to her own wits to sate her passion for individual, human justice in a world that no longer believes in her.

The mystery of thief also looms as we begin to suspect the introduction of Themis to our society was an intentional domino belonging to a larger scheme. If Themis discovers she is doing more harm than good, how will she judge herself?

I've always pictured Amy Acker in the lead role.