— Bob-a-job-alog-a-roonie

This came to me in a dream, as is often the case. I can’t choose my dreams, but I can craft them a little once I am inside one.

Melrose Place was a Beverly Hills 90210 spin-off, with a bunch of young hot people living in the same apartment block.

So, exactly the same concept, people in an expensive, open air apartment block, with grounds etc. Maybe on the East Coast…

Here’s where it gets weird – each person who lives there was magically drawn to the place, some contrivance will be needed for why non-magic people didn’t move in. Maybe they are executive apartments that come with jobs.

There is a basement where an old wizardly type man lives – he is the (secret) owner, caretaker and the person who summoned them all.

The characters will be a transgender (of course) college student, a Keith Richards-esque musician, a Mom who suddenly had an empty nest, and so on – they can be literally any character that doesn’t have family to be with.

In the front yard is a rustic round table and chairs, the only outdoor furniture, and a bit like Community, this is where they meet – cautiously and incidentally to begin with – and learn about each other. All sensed they were a little bit magical, but the key here is combined magic through ritual, which they get the first hints of by simply being together at the table.

I’m thinking very realistic magic, less Harry Potter and more witches using their will power to stop Trump being elected. No telekinesis etc. Just the ability to collectively use will to change the minds of others.

The stories are primary about self-discovery and friendship and community, but the series arc is about stopping someone who is conflicted (say, a politician or leader of sorts) from doing something bad, and getting them to do some kind of equal but opposite good.

A feel-good, philosophical show, with “round table” discussions, and insights into loneliness, community and purpose. Season 2 would investigate hubris, because they undeniably caused magic to happen in Season 1, although it couldn’t be proven to anyone else. They look into what they can do with their combined powers, what their limits are.

Over-arching (over-arcing?) all series is the question of how they were brought together, and by who… Maybe in Season 3 they are tricked into doing harm on a major scale.

This is simply a season of survivor where all the contestants are billionaires. There are so many billionaires these days, two thousand or so, that finding enough competitors might be achievable. Or, there are 30,000 Americans worth at least $100 million, and you could call it Survivor Super Rich.

The show is precisely the same as the existing Survivor, except for one massive twist. Every loser forfeits 50% of their wealth, and the winner gets it all.

Not only would there be immense pleasure at seeing the lengths people would go to, to protect their wealth, we would cheer for every eviction, seeing the 1% suffer.

And at the end there will be a sober reminder that the rich get rich at the expense of those below them.

This is from a dream. It should be a cross between Wellington Paranormal and those English TV series where a murder happens every week in a quaint village.

The concept is that so few murders occur in the South Island of NZ – the whole country only has 30-50 per year, so the South Island maybe gets one per month – that the “squad” is just one person. That’s the gimmick.

The show can highlight the diverse scenery, weather and societies of the south.

The police person would be odd-ball and have character flaws (of course) and will rely on improvisation and community participation, due to a lack of resources.

AKA: Vet For Hire

Plenty of times in movies/tv, when a criminal is shot, they go to a vet to be treated.

There’s potential for a tv series to revolve around such a vet.

The mob aspect is important, but doesn’t need to be what the show is only about – after all, bad guys don’t get shot every day.

The vet could be a woman, but is someone who doesn’t get a lot of business because of X (midget, ugly, Tourette’s whatever). So their clientele tend to be oddball, and income low.

The vet is older and has a dark past unrelated to the vet profession. Possibly a serious drug problem. Vets can get drugs…

Might work for owners of illegal exotic animals, or pet thieves, or dodgy horse trainers.

Better Call Saul vibe

Set in Hong Kong with international locations as well…

Cop 1: Young, handsome, Chinese Hong Konger. Famous for taking down mobsters. Investigating a mysterious local mob leader. Flashy and tech-savvy

Cop 2: Anglo Englishman, with Chinese wife and daughter. Retired spy living in China. Investigating an international terrorist/spy, based in China. Old school detective type

2 and his daughter are in Hong Kong, have intel that Bad Guy is having a meeting there.

1 and his boss, and older woman, have intel that the mob boss is having a meeting – they want to discover who he is.

They cross paths at the hotel where the suspect is meant to be. They realise they are after the same person. They realise he is a big deal, with mysterious motive and plans. 1 and 2 don’t get on at all (Lethal Weapon etc). 2’s daughter is a fan of 1. And 2 takes a shining to 1’s boss.

Example of their different ways. There is a shoot out, and a bad guy stops shooting for a moment. 2 says he is reloading. 1 says he is on his phone.

Tone is serious. It is about the old and the new. Old romance versus Tinder. Old China versus Hong Kong. Old police interview methods versus tech spy equipment

What’s the bad guy up to? Contaminating export products, made to look like Japan did it, as revenge for China’s failing economy?
Funding Russian extremists with a common anti-West goal?
Regime change in China through destabilising terrorist acts?
All 3?

Ensemble TV shows work best when there is a character you identify with. Friends did this clinically, it was almost impossible not to identify with one of the characters. Seinfeld did the same, but with far more subtlety, and maybe by accident.

So it is not something special to identify with a character.

Still, two from shows I have watched in bulk in recent months are extra fitting.

Mark Corrigan in Peepshow. Mark is responsible and intelligent but also socially awkward and despondent. He has a love of history, especially ancient history. He pursues a series of other women… wondering whether each could be “the one”

Bertram Gilfoyle in Silicon Valley. He is a self-described LaVeyan Satanist, and bears an upside-down cross tattoo on his right arm. His persona is an apathetic badass programmer that has libertarian tendencies. To say he is odd is an understatement.

Them two, combined. Me. 🙂

This is a bit naughty, a super-hero squad idea that mashes 2 major trends in filmed entertainment of recent times – super heroes and autistic folk.

I figure it could be pitched at Seth Rogen, as it could be slotted in alongside Preacher.

A group of high functioning  autistic pre-teen kids go on a charity trip to China.

When visiting a Panda Zoo they get exposed to a chemical designed to get the pandas to have sex more often.

When they become teens the kids each discover that when they get sexually aroused they have a super power. All the powers are variations on the same theme – heightened senses. Each kid tends to have a more heightened sense, such as sight, hearing, touch, smell, taste and psychic. Possibly they are each trained to focus on one more than others?

Initially to use their powers, they need to arouse themselves to trigger it. With time they can just think of an image or situation from their wank bank.
Sex becomes a tricky proposition, as they become highly sensitised, and distracted.

They are all over the USA, but slowly find each other and become Panda Squad. They have a variety of cultural backgrounds. And, yeah, they are autistic. Take clues from Atypical

US soldiers used for enhanced muscle experiments

One African American soldier escapes. Lives off-grid semi-homeless. Donates to sperm bank for cash

Kids inherit DNA. Muscular strength.

All kids same teen age. All are siblings as in Luke and Leia. They are all black or part-black. This could be exaggerated a little for social commentary.

Some hide it / Some are sports stars / Some are criminals

Call themselves Strong Bros before a sister arrives.

Yes very similar to Orphan Black. But less complicated!

The stories revolve around being a minority or differently abled. As teens. And having to team up with people just like you. When you want to be a loner.
And the two very different teams working together.
And rage, anger, love, and a focus on what the outliers of society get up to.