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Pitch Your New TV Show

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Pitch Your New TV Show

Old 04-25-03, 11:36 AM
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Pitch Your New TV Show

I wish I were a big important Hollywood producer. I know that I could come up with some great TV shows that would pull in the ratings and the critical acclaim.

Let's pretend we're in a pitch meeting at one of the networks:

"OK, NBC, you've got Friends wrapping up next year, leaving you with a big gaping hole on your schedule that desperately needs to be filled. Now everybody loves the Friends cast, but nobody wants to see any of them in a spin-off series -- hey, do we need to talk about Enos? Or, hello... The Ropers???

Anyway, what we need to do is snag two or three of them for a brand-new show, one that takes advantage of their comic timing and spirit de corps while also letting them grow and explore a new character. (Think Newhart, babe. Same guy, same mannerisms, different character.)

So here's the concept: Matthew and Matt. We carry over LeBlanc and Perry as two radio DJ's out of Tampa (big yuks with old retired folks and heavy metal acts) who bring their act to a station switching it's format from easy listening to alt rock. (Can't you just hear the soundtrack possibilities?)

Matthew is a very neat, very organized guy who tries to make everybody happy but always ends up alienating and ticking off the insensitive boors around him. Matt is a happy-go-lucky ladies man who charms the pants off of everyone and concocts wild schemes to bring in listeners.

They battle against the establishment, their conservative station manager (played wrily by Ben Stein) and the constant pranks and antics of the sales staff (headlined by Patrick Warburton and SNL's Chris Kattan). Kathy Griffin plays the marketing guru as an uptight, chain-smoking man eater.

Throw in a hot young starlet as the receptionist and the romantic foil to Matthew and Matt, some wacky naive interns... and to top it all off -- Matthew and Matt's "do anything on a dare" wild-guy, sunglass-wearing, party-hearty friend, Dupree, played with abandon by Andy Richter.

Think of it as sort of a News Radio meets Friends mixed with Frazier. How can you lose?"

-------------------------------------------------------------

So that's my thing. What are some of your pitch ideas?
Old 04-25-03, 11:42 AM
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http://www.rain-street.org/fightcrime.htm

Here's another:

"OK, [insert network here], check this ... it's like Farscape meets Farscape."
das
Old 04-25-03, 12:01 PM
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So you know all those reality show applicants that we interviewed, did background checks for and then rejected? That cost us a lot of time and money, and then we never used them on any of the shows. So, I'm thinking Reality Show Rejects! Take the worst people from the ones who we interviewed- the maladjusted, the depressed, the anti-social, the ones with violent tendencies- and put them in a house, on an island or something and make them play games and see how they get along. The best part is we've already done the hard part of interviewing and stuff, so we just call a dozen of them up and it can be on the air in less than 2 weeks.
Old 04-25-03, 12:04 PM
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I like das's idea.

"I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more Farscape!"
Old 04-25-03, 12:50 PM
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"Police Cops"!
Old 04-25-03, 07:36 PM
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two words:
ED TV
Old 04-25-03, 08:11 PM
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American Idol Real World

Speaking of which, whatever happened to that reporter who was supposed to show us life inside the AI mansion? Too much in-fighting? Affairs? Something must've happened for them to pull the plug on it.
Old 04-25-03, 08:41 PM
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Okay, the ultimate show for Fox... it's the bastard child of The Bachelorette, Joe Millionaire, The Mole, and the Jamie Kennedy Experiment. The setup is this: you have your typical lineup of dorks vying for the attention of one lovely lady (a la Bachelorette). What they (and the girl) don't know is that all their attempts to be smooth, suave dudes will be sabotaged by elaborate jokes by the show. At a fancy restaurant, an actress might approach the guy, slap him, and scream "You slept with me last week and you never called!" Or have a poor schmuck constantly get things "accidentally" spilled on him by waitresses, strangers, etc. throughout his date. They'll send video messages to the girl, which will be mercilessly edited by the show... write her love letters which will be replaced by nonsensical stupidity. It's mean, but Joe Millionaire proved America loves seeing self-centered strangers humiliated!
Old 04-26-03, 01:04 AM
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DRG, I'd watch. What's it called?

I'll pitch a show I've wanted for decades: Battle of the Cancelled Stars. Every summer, the casts of a network's cancelled shows ("cast" defined by appearing in the opening titles) battle in a Survivor/American Gladiators/Fear Factor-style cutthroat competition for a single timeslot. There are no charities, no happy-go-lucky C-list celebrities, just cutthroat "I need a paycheck" Running Man-style mayhem. Like American Idol, viewers will have input on which cast wins; but like Survivor, if a cast is good enough/wants it bad enough, they can "win" their way to the end without audience support.

das
Old 04-26-03, 02:50 AM
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GEORGE: Come on, how hard is that? Look at all the junk that's on TV. You want an idea? Here's an idea. You coach gymnastics team in high school. And you're married. And your son's not interested in gymnastics and you're pushing him into gymnastics.

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KRAMER: Come on, this is a great idea. Look at the characters. You've got all these freaks on the show. A woman with a moustache? I mean, who wouldn't tune in to see a women with a moustache? You've for the tallest man in the world; a guy who's just a head.

JERRY: I don't think so.

KRAMER: Look Jerry, the show isn't about the circus, it's about watching freaks.

JERRY: I don't think the network will go for it.

KRAMER: Why not?

JERRY: Look, I'm not pitching a show about freaks.

KRAMER: Oh come on Jerry, you're wrong. People they want to watch freaks. This is a "can't miss."
Old 04-26-03, 03:50 AM
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Wow, so no offense but all I read on this board is how a lot of people hate reality tv. Reality tv is responsible the dearth of good shows and blah blah blah... and how people wish networks could show/develop creative sitcoms or drama. Yet, more than 50% of the posts in this thread pitched reality-based shows. IRONIC.

Ok, my idea at 1:55 am on a Saturday morning is *gasp* YOPD
yet another police drama.
I love the movie Run Lola Run with the
Spoiler:
alternate endings
.
An episode of the X-Files dealt with a woman who relives through a bank heist each day with different fatal scenerios until the "correct" one ends the episode.
Groundhog's Day was brilliant with some dark comedy thrown in

I would pitch a police drama that would focus on a crime or some aspect of a crime. 2 or 3 scenerios would play out depending on what the protagonists or "bad guys" do. 15-20 minutes per scenerio. I am firm that one scenerio has to be devastating or dark.

I would call the show: The Blue Line

Last edited by chowderhead; 04-26-03 at 03:53 AM.
Old 04-26-03, 07:21 AM
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michael jackson

mike tyson

let them discuss life for an hour each week.
Old 04-26-03, 10:18 AM
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Originally posted by outcastja

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KRAMER: Come on, this is a great idea. Look at the characters. You've got all these freaks on the show. A woman with a moustache? I mean, who wouldn't tune in to see a women with a moustache? You've for the tallest man in the world; a guy who's just a head.

JERRY: I don't think so.

KRAMER: Look Jerry, the show isn't about the circus, it's about watching freaks.

JERRY: I don't think the network will go for it.

KRAMER: Why not?

JERRY: Look, I'm not pitching a show about freaks.

KRAMER: Oh come on Jerry, you're wrong. People they want to watch freaks. This is a "can't miss."
Kramer the oracle. Anyone watch "The Jim Rose Twisted Tour" on the Travel Channel?
Old 04-28-03, 06:51 AM
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Originally posted by DRG
Okay, the ultimate show for Fox... it's the bastard child of...Joe Millionaire...At a fancy restaurant, an actress might approach the guy.....
This kind of sums up one of my ideas...like Joe Millionaire, but instead of letting them think he's a millionaire, let them think he's a Hollywood agent. Great way to work in celebrities that he 'represents'. Have him find out who their favorite superstar is and, BAM! Introduction time. It'd be cool to see actors/atheletes/singers getting in on the lie...they could pump up the suitor, too! "They say you don't have friends in Hollywood? Please! This guy is great...he negotiated an extra three million for my last picture. Stick with him, baby...he's a catch!"
Old 04-28-03, 04:05 PM
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Moving Violations...

In the same line as Night Court, the John Laroquette Show, and News Radio... a situational comedy set in a DMV.
Old 04-28-03, 06:12 PM
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Re: Pitch Your New TV Show

Originally posted by ncmojo
their conservative station manager (played wrily by Ben Stein)
the sales staff (headlined by Patrick Warburton and SNL's Chris Kattan).
Kathy Griffin plays the marketing guru as an uptight, chain-smoking man eater.
Wow, you've combined the sucktitude of so many different shows into one trembling mass of unwatchability.

I wouldn't mind seeing a show about a team of mercenaries for hire, like "The A-Team", but not so kiddie-oriented. Remember that? Where there's 10,000 rounds of ammunition fired or a car flips over 36 times and nobody gets more than a few scratches. I would want to see something grittier and wonderfully violent. "The Equalizer" to a higher degree.

Honk!
Old 04-28-03, 06:42 PM
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Originally posted by chowderhead
Wow, so no offense but all I read on this board is how a lot of people hate reality tv. Reality tv is responsible the dearth of good shows and blah blah blah... and how people wish networks could show/develop creative sitcoms or drama. Yet, more than 50% of the posts in this thread pitched reality-based shows. IRONIC.
Yep. You got me, I was being ironic with my response. I can't stand most reality tv so I was poking fun at the cheapness and their bottom of the barrel nature. Sorry if you took it to mean I actually wanted to watch the show I pitched.

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