Sunday, April 27, 2008

How to be a TV Producer

In the TV industry it is common for writers to take an idea that worked in the previous television season and make a new spin on it for the new season. Usually this ends up with a bunch of crappy rip-offs of a successful show like Lost or Desperate Houswives cluttering the airwaves, but sometimes really good shows come around. For example Lost made producers realize that people like serialized mystery shows that have a large cast of different characters connected by some chance circumstance, and Heroes the was born (except this wasn't good because Heroes sucks). Heroes made producers realize that the public likes shows about people who have magic powers, and the fantastically awesome Pushing Daisies was born!! Now I could be a pessimist and question whether the awesomeness of Pushing Daisies justifies all the crappy rip-offs of Lost, but I won’t because I’m getting off topic. Recently with the success of Battlestar Galactica Television writers have begun to think that making gritty versions of beloved shows from yesteryear is a good idea. This concept has led to crappy shows like Bionic Woman and Nightrider.

Well now I’ve come up with a great twist on a beloved classic from yesteryear. I call it: SMURFS 2000, and here is my pitch for this gritty action packed new show.

One sentence pitch: Terrence Jacobson is a cult deprogrammer sent by the government to assess a local community that has sprung up in the mountains near a rural village.

Pitch that I would give to a studio executive: It’s like Battlestar Galactica but with smurfs!!!

Main Characters:

Terrence Jacobson: A psychiatrist who specializes in deprogramming individuals from cults. He is a 30 something individual, who has no actual field experience to speak of essentially this mission is his first interaction with an actual cult since he completed his education.

Robert Douglas: A body guard with a dark and shady past sent to accompany Jacobson on his mission. His philosophy is to get the job done no matter the consequences, but after a few episodes the audience will discover that he’s actually a kind hearted person. He is about 40 years old

Papa: The enigmatic leader of the S.M.U.R.F. community. What are his motivations? Can he be trusted? He is in his late 50s

Codename Smurfette: A femme fatale sent in by the government after the events of the first story-arc. She serves as a love interest for Jacobson, because we need a romance in this show to get the women to watch. Cast an attractive 20 something actress for this role.

Jokey: The leader of the resistance movement that has sprung up against Papa. He plants bombs around the village that look like presents. We can make it a commentary on American Materialism or something. He hates god for some reason.

Story-arcs

Introduction (Will take place over the course of the first three episodes)
Terrence Jacobson, and Douglas enter the village, but before Jacobson can meet with Papa a bomb explodes killing his government escort. When Papa tells Jacobson and Douglas that the bombing was the work of a terrorist named Jokey, Douglas heads off to hunt him down, and Jacobson must convince his superiors in the government not to destroy the entire community for attacking their men.

Second Story Arc (Will take place over the next three to four episodes)
Codename Smurfette is dispatched to the village to act as a spy for the government, and to observe the progress Jacobson is making. Meanwhile during interrogation Jokey reveals that his followers have hidden several more bombs around the community. After Douglas is injured saving Jacobson from a bomb, Jacobson and Codename smurfette must team up to find the rest of Jokey’s followers.

Third Story Arc: (Six episodes)
Jokey is taken away to be tried by a military tribunal, and Jacobson begins his job of interviewing the community members. Jokey’s trial is covered, and he tries to cut a deal with the military by offering them information on the inner workings of the S.M.U.R.F. community. Meanwhile Douglas begins to suspect that the nurses are trying to kill him in the S.M.U.R.F. hospital, and Jacobson becomes the target of an assassin who believes that the government wants to destroy the community.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

What the smurf

Anonymous said...

Hey smurf you buddy!

Anonymous said...

You smurf up, or I'll smurf punch you.

Anonymous said...

Shut your smurfing face! Uncle Smurfa!

Anonymous said...

Can't we all just smurf along?

Anonymous said...

No you Donkey smurfing, shit smurfer!

Anonymous said...

Get your paws off me, you dirty Smurf