Help Wanted!

Folks, can you please help. I have very limited time to write anything, but a number of sit com ideas. I put a sample of one of my ideas in the forum and got some good criticism, but I don’t think the idea blew anyone away. I would therefore like you to give me your thoughts on which of the ideas you like (if any!!) that I’ve listed below.

I would be best working on something that people would have an interest in.

(1)4 mid-twenties guys that go to a war gaming group. The show revolves around their failure to find relationships with women, and their failures at work.

(2)A sit-com based around a small town museum who is finding their funding and visitor levels decreasing while the new industrial museum down the road has the greater budget, and an increase in visitors. The key characters would be a small team including the curator, admin assistant, shop assistants, a couple of volunteers, and the evil councillor who supports the industrial museum

(3)A sit-com about a small team of buyers who work for a global company. It would be quite different from the office in that it would be more of a ‘Dilbert Cartoon’ looking into processes and procedures, conference calls, supplier meetings instead of just having a crap boss

(4)Finally, a sitcom about a private investigator who lives in the flat under Sherlock Holmes. He is desperate for fame and fortune and is extremely jealous of the man upstairs. The episodes would be based around actual Sherlock Holmes stories, and through various mishaps, the credit in the newspapers for solving the crimes goes to Holmes. This builds up the key characters frustration and dislike of Holmes.

Hope this wasn’t too long winded.

Thanks

Ross

Hi Ross

Out of the ones you've got there, I think that (4) is by far the most intriguing to me and the most original. I think the other three don't sound that original, but if did them very well it wouldn't matter how original they were!

Hope this helps

Dan

I liked 4 too.

I liked the sound of option 2. 4 also has promise. But don't get too caught up with ideas that blow people away. A good idea is obviously important, but it's all in the execution.

I think 2 has the most potential for a funny/different sitcom. 4 is a good idea but it might make a better hour long show type series. The other two didn't appeal to me at all.

As has been said, any of the four have potential to be funny, depends on what occurs in them. 4 was the most original in the 'situation' aspect, the 'comedy' part depends on what goes inside.

I'd go with 4 myself. I had a chuckle at the concept, so thats a good start.

Wheeler's right that execution is more important than setup. Just ask all the commissioned 'clones' of already existing ideas.

Thanks for the advice guys. 1 and 3 are dropped for the time being. I'll have a think over the weekend which of the others to progress, although I do take your point Wheeler on the fact that it's the execution that's key.

Cheers

4 & 2 in that order for me.

I had a chuckle about 4's concept too so as GJ says that ain't no bad thing.

in all fairness anyone could come up with an idea that sounds funny or has potential, you think about it the office was a sitcom about people in an office with the focus on a number of different charachters, sounds pretty basic really but the writing and production was amazing, so thats what it really comes down to.

True dyingtolive, but when the Office was made, Gervais and Merchant already had a foot in the door. They were able to film it and present it to people. Written down on it's own it probably wouldn't have come across as very funny.

Obviously the script itself is what's going to make people want to take your idea on or not, not just the concept, however you need to get your script read. And I think an original and interesting idea has got more chance of getting read, than something thats say, a flatshare sitcom. I would say this is especially relevant if your new and unestablished.