Fox Pilot Concepts

Adam Lenhardt · 02-14-2008, 11:22 PM

Every once in a while, Fox asks me to participate in a "viewer panel." The most recent one was about pilot concepts and gave me a look into what the network is considering for Fall 2008:

Bernie Mac, the comedian, stars as a newly divorced and opinionated man who not only has to move in with his introverted son, but work for him as well. It becomes a battle of the wills when the employees start to like Bernie more than his son.
A charismatic windsurfing instructor from Columbia moves to America, and with his endearing and infectious folk wisdom, changes the lives of an upper class family.
In an updated version of the television comedy Cheers, a retired superhero runs a local bar frequented by other superheroes that are both good and evil.
Two burned-out dentists enroll in a NASA training program to chase their childhood dream of becoming astronauts.

This time they didn't tell me I couldn't share the info, and I thought some of you might be interested. The only one that sounds promising to me is the superhero Cheers.

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Greg_S_H · 02-14-2008, 11:55 PM

The only one that interests me is the superhero one. Steal Robert Kirkman fast before someone else does and get him to be the head writer, but not if it will cut into Invincible at all. Incredible comic.

Holadem · 02-15-2008, 03:57 AM

Ditto on the superhero thing. Not because I am a nerd (tho I am), but because it doesn't sound as generic and boring as fuck as the rest (#2 especially makes me wanna retch).

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H

Chris Lockwood · 02-15-2008, 09:50 AM

What do they smoke before inventing these concepts?

Seriously, it's really hard to guess the quality based on a sentence or 2.

Shawn Shultzaberger · 02-15-2008, 09:59 AM

Gotta go with the superhero show as well.

Steve Alan · 02-16-2008, 07:00 PM

Superhero Cheers could definately take off.....that would be a pilot episode I would watch. The Bernie Mac one sounds just like a rehash of the previous Bernie Mac show.....pass......the other 2 wouldn't last a full season..

Chris · 02-16-2008, 07:05 PM

Superhero cheers could be a fun time.. Dear god, though, bring back the Tick

I could kill for that in the right concept, but that could be done well.

The others sound truly terrible.. not creative at all, very lame. (Dentists become astronauts? How long can that concept last before it goes very stale, when viewers realize they will never go to space out of budget issues.. and the fact it'd end the show..)

MatthewLouwrens · 02-16-2008, 08:45 PM

Quote:

In an updated version of the television comedy Cheers, a retired superhero runs a local bar frequented by other superheroes that are both good and evil.

Definitely this one ... although can you really call this an "updated version of Cheers". Wasn't Cheers fundamentally realistic, where this is basically a fantasy take on the idea.

The thing I like about it is that, as Chris mentioned, it reminds me of the live-action version of The Tick, which took these superhero characters and put them in a more mundane everyday setting. (I think I remember someone calling it Seinfeld with superheroes, which is a pretty good description).

Although the key is quality writing. As a concept, it's easily the most original, most different concept. It's not somethin we've seen a million times. But without good writing, it could easily descend into "of course I didn't pay my bar tab. I'm eeeevil!" And we don't want that.

Greg_S_H · 02-16-2008, 09:04 PM

That's why I said they should recruit Robert Kirkman. Television is already poaching talent from the comic field (Brian K. Vaughn on Lost, Jeph Loeb on Heroes (and Lost and Smallville, in the past)), and Kirkman already writes these kinds of stories. He has a miniseries called Capes about 9 to 5 corporate heroes. Each cover reveals the philosophy he brings to it that I think could work here. The first, one hero is fighting a villain and says, "I could use a little help here!" The other hero replies, "No can do. I've still on break." The second, a hero is getting pummeled, and another hero says indignantly, "Stop hitting him! His shift is over!" On the third and final cover, the heroes are all defeated on the ground, and one says, "Disability, here I come."

That's just one of his concepts. Everything he writes seems to have fresh ideas just popping off of every page. Somebody will grab him eventually, and this sounds like a good match for his talents.

BrianW · 02-16-2008, 10:58 PM

I'll cast another vote for the superhero bar concept, with the Bernie Mac concept -- with relationships hopefully complex enough to support some good writing -- a very distant second.

The dentist/astronaut concept has "Plucky Teenage Stowaway" written all over it. Ugh. A good episode would probably feature a conflict between the dentists in training, and a chimp with dibs on the centrifuge.

The axiom-spouting wind-surfer dude just sounds annoying.

Quote:

Wind Surfer Dude: "Instead of making life happen, just let life happen to you."

(A bunch of stuff happens.)

Upper-Crust Family: "Oh, my gosh! You were right all along!"

No thanks.

But with the Superhero Bar Show, you've got drinking, flying, and powers of mass destruction! What could possibly go wrong?

It sounds fun. I think they should call it Zeros

Steve Berger · 02-16-2008, 10:59 PM

I like the "Superhero" bar concept and they have to cast Warburton somewhere in it. The rest lack any attraction.

There will be problems, however. It will rely on a lot of satire and parody, which appeals to an older, more intelligent audience. It will take writing that doesn't repeat itself (I dislike Reaper due to endless repetition). It will have to use recognized "Heroes" and they will have to be researched to keep them within their "canon" or make sure the stories take place outside their usual actions or else the purists will have a conniption fit. They can use a few made-up new Heroes but they will find it difficult to create new heroes without infringing on someones' concept: better to license existing superheroes. I don't know the specifics of permissions regarding parody but it better be studied carefully.

KevinGress · 02-18-2008, 01:20 PM

It goes without saying that writing for these, or any series, is crucial. But just on the premises themselves:

While I like the idea of the super-hero bar, I can't really see it going for more than a season as it would be very hard to keep such a show fresh.

Dentists to NASA ?- Would it be a comedy or drama? I could see it surviving if it leaned more to the drama, and focused more on the relationship between the two men, and their circle of friends and family.

Bernie Mac - Would depend on the characters. I could see this surviving, if not a memorable show, for several seasons.

Windsurfer - concept dosen't interest me in the least, but who knows?

Chris · 02-18-2008, 05:10 PM

I just realized what the Dentist in Space concept