# An ORIGINAL Idea for a TV Show? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2004, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059 "2004-02-13T16:37:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Harg\_Fargusen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Harg\_Fargusen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harg_Fargusen)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/41 "2014-04-17T00:18:19Z")
_The Magic Ethnic Snarky Fairy Unicorn Princess Giant-Eyed Puppy Cats Hour._ The scripts would write themselves. It’s an idea that I’ve been thinking of selling, because it would sell. ---
**Author:** ![stpauler](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9d8465/32.png) [@stpauler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stpauler)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/42 "2014-04-17T00:19:25Z")
1. Life on the rez. A fictional drama of a family of Native Americans living on a non-casino reservation. 2. ISLAM. A Saturday morning cartoon based on the life and times of Mohammed (peace be unto him) 3. The Underdogs. A show that outlines the world’s underdogs who never won. 4. The Homeless Camp. A reality show where the contestants have to learn to survive with the local homeless folks with prize money being shared with the homeless folks. ---
**Author:** ![Harg\_Fargusen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Harg\_Fargusen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harg_Fargusen)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/43 "2014-04-17T00:19:47Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Two of the cuff ideas I’ve thought of: > > A really evil criminal has the cops stumped. To beat him, the government has to bring in the one person who can beat him: his twin from another reality! Shades of ST: TOS “The Alternative Factor.” ---
**Author:** ![Harg\_Fargusen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Harg\_Fargusen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harg_Fargusen)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/44 "2014-04-17T00:21:50Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > 1. Life on the rez. A fictional drama of a family of Native Americans living on a non-casino reservation. > > 2. ISLAM. A Saturday morning cartoon based on the life and times of Mohammed (peace be unto him) > > 3. The Underdogs. A show that outlines the world’s underdogs who never won. > > 4. The Homeless Camp. A reality show where the contestants have to learn to survive with the local homeless folks with prize money being shared with the homeless folks. Options 2 and 4, to reflect reality, would need to include rapes. ---
**Author:** ![Harg\_Fargusen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/da6949/32.png) [@Harg\_Fargusen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harg_Fargusen)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/45 "2014-04-17T00:27:36Z")
Because we cancelled cable over 10 years ago (DVDs is all we have now), I have semi-joked with people that if society survives long enough, someday there will be a show that might be called CELEBRITY DEFECATION. It’ll be a combination reality/game show where contestants compete to guess which is each panel member’s…well. Don’t tell me people wouldn’t watch it. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/46 "2014-04-17T00:28:09Z")
I’d make a series about a irredeemably terrible son of a bitch who each week does all sorts of terrible things to other people and either never gets caught or never gets punished. He simply wanders through life harming and cheating new people each week and has no regard for the consequences of his actions. I call it _ **The Sociopath** _. The best part is that since you only need 100-115 shows to get a solid syndication deal and there are easily dozens of stories in the media daily from which to draw, you could easily reach the necessary number of original programs. It works as either a series of story arcs (he moves in with his new girlfriend(s),drains their savings and runs up their credit cards while promising to marry them and never doing it). Or it could be a series of standalones ( he gets hired at various jobs using false pretenses and ends up costing his boss his after he’s finally fired. He scams a range of charities and religious organizations into giving him money and shelter only to abuse their trust as often as soon as he can;etc) It literally writes itself. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/47 "2014-04-17T00:35:08Z")
A law show, but all the lawyers are secretly aliens. They don’t really understand American law at all. Hijinks result. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/48 "2014-04-17T00:35:11Z")
GOLDEN ROCKET PONY!!! That’s all I got right now. I could use some help fleshing it out. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/49 "2014-04-17T00:37:48Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > How about a team of TV writers trying to come up with original ideas??? 😃 -So I goto NBC and tell them I have an idea for a show, they say ‘what’s your show about’ and I say ‘nothing’? -Exactly. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/50 "2014-04-17T00:41:24Z")
Fecal Matters A character named John Fecal hosts a news mag type of TV show and is supposed to discuss current events. Instead, he turns every conversation into poop talk. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/51 "2014-04-17T00:53:31Z")
Political debate shows always seem to have hacks equally divided between the two parties, and as such they quickly take easily predictable sides on things. I think it would be interesting to have a political debate show that has panels made up of all people from one party or the other, but from different factions within that party. That way you’d have at least some common ground, so the debaters would be a little slower to vilify each-other. At the same time, I think there is enough variety within each party that you could get people to have plenty of room to argue, with the added feature that the grounds of argument wouldn’t be the same predictable Dem v. Republican that happen on every other show. So one week you could have a religious social conservative, a paleo-conservative, a neo-conservative and a pro-business type. The next you could have a DLC member, a blue-Dog Dem, an Occupy wall-street supporter and a labour leader. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/52 "2014-04-17T00:58:57Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > 1. ISLAM. A Saturday morning cartoon based on the life and times of Mohammed (peace be unto him) Well, _ **that** _ won’t upset anybody. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/53 "2014-04-17T01:08:42Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > 1. Life on the rez. A fictional drama of a family of Native Americans living on a non-casino reservation. **North of 60**. Great show. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/54 "2014-04-17T01:08:45Z")
> [@stpauler](#): > > 1. > > ISLAM. A Saturday morning cartoon based on the life and times of Mohammed (peace be unto him) > > \ Unfortunately, you couldn’t get away with having a lovable dog in that one…… ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/55 "2014-04-17T01:16:13Z")
> [@](#): > > 1. ISLAM. A Saturday morning cartoon based on the life and times of Mohammed (peace be unto him) Hard to do when you can’t show the title character. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/56 "2014-04-17T01:45:33Z")
The (Alternate) History Channel’s “(Alternate) Battlefields.” Standard respectable documentary series about military battles…as from alternate histories, told “in universe” style. See Operation Sea Lion; or the atomic bombing of Axis-held Ireland; or the _Bismarck_’s famous final death ride against the USS _Iowa_ and [HMS _Vanguard_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Vanguard_%2823%29); or the [Haitian](http://img.wp.scn.ru/camms/ar/165/pics/184_2.jpg)-[Cuban](http://www.airfighters.com/profiles/Mig-15/MiG-15bis_Cuba.jpg) aerial skirmishes of the Cold War! Mostly told with stock footage, repurposed war movie clips, 3D infographics, and historians interviews, bulked out with photoshopped historical photos and film clips. Best of all, after there’s been a season or two produced, you can just take existing episodes, change the ending, and call it an _Alternate_-Alternate History…you might be able to pull it off two or three times! ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/57 "2014-04-17T01:50:00Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > I’d make a series about a irredeemably terrible son of a bitch who each week does all sorts of terrible things to other people and either never gets caught or never gets punished. Wasn’t that called [Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Some_Mothers_Do_%27Ave_%27Em)? ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/58 "2014-04-17T01:52:10Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Hard to do when you can’t show the title character. You could,however, show things from Mohammed’s **perspective**. As long as you avoided reflections, you’d probably only get a minimal number of _fatwas_ and death threats…😉 ---
**Author:** ![Vashbul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Vashbul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vashbul)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/59 "2014-04-17T02:27:48Z")
Do a show based on the Beagle Boys, those Walt Disney comic book characters. They are three convicts who wear little black masks and orange shirts, and those round convict caps. They are bald, and have black doggy noses. They call each other by prison numbers instead of names. And they are always plotting to steal Scrooge McDuck’s money, but you never actually see McDuck. Or any other duck. It would be a serious adult drama. ---
**Author:** ![Mislav](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Mislav](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mislav)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2014, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059/60 "2014-04-17T10:25:30Z")
> [@Johnny\_Q](#): > > A lighthearted mystery program about a professional assassin who solves “impossible” crimes while carrying out his day job. > _Our “Hero” is setting up a sniper nest.)_ > “Lavrenti Beria is supposed to have said: ‘Any fool can shoot somebody. Any halfway trained operative can stage a convincing suicide. But it takes a true artist to pull off a convincing natural death.’ All respect to Mr. B, but he had no idea how much work it takes to shoot someone _right._” _(takes shot)_ > > Of course most of the deaths on the show are of the “convincing natural death” type, OMG this is brilliant. That would be an excellent way to start a first episode. There are some crime shows where serial killer is solving cases (Dexter, Hannibal) but I kinda got tired of all those serial killers-professional assassin could be a nice change, and show being lighthearted would make it more fun to watch. Not to mention that he would have to use different methods to kill his victims, which would make it all the more interesting. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-original-idea-for-a-tv-show/229059.md?page=4)