1,102 Comments

1. Weekly coverage of troops in Iraq. Regardless of your opinion of War they deserve more support and coverage.

   Comment by John — May 14, 2007 @ 1:30 pm

2. I have several ideas for shows, but don\’t want to offer them up for free.

   Would I have development rights if you took my idea?

   Comment by Jordan Golson — May 14, 2007 @ 1:33 pm

3. I think it would be cool to see a few groups compete to make a content website profitable. Obviously it would have to be filmed in it\’s entirety before it aired because that would cause a lot of traffic, but it would be cool to see how people really make money online with content.

   It would also be very Cuban-esque, showing how small groups of people will small amounts of money can compete in today\’s market.

   Comment by Preston — May 14, 2007 @ 1:34 pm

4. One of the key components to consider is the value of HD in general. Things that benefit from the technology. There\’s no better way to watch sports at this time. In addition, you need to consider what makes people tick. Heart wrenching, high energy, voyerism, etc… all pull folks in.

   One neat idea I\’ve been noodling on is interactive programming. What if a show was filmed with 6-8 different scenarios? Let\’s see if I can articulate this.

   In the first segment (commercial breaks are a key componenet to this) a man and woman are on a date discussing where to go next. Just before the commercial two or three options come on the screen and folks are encouraged to pick one via text or email. The show comes back and that track is then followed. Each break would determine the next scene.

   It\’s very raw but those are my inital thoughts.

   Comment by Xytrex — May 14, 2007 @ 1:49 pm

5. So does that mean Pimp My Movie Theater is off the table?

   Comment by Jake Lockley — May 14, 2007 @ 1:54 pm

6. I would suggest to beat Mark Burnett to the punch with a political reality show.

   This could be extremely interactive with its audience and with the greater internet as a whole.

   Its competition at every level. Cuban vs Burnett. Contestant against Contestant. Viewer against Viewer.

   In the end perhaps a phone, txt msg, or mail vote. (Could profit from that as well).

   The younger citizens in the USA are being done a disservice politically through the media as it is currently. This could really become a bigger opportunity than it may appear at first for mr. Cuban, HDNET, the internet America as a whole.

   Comment by Daniel C. — May 14, 2007 @ 1:57 pm

7. My idea is a show where each week, people from around the world travel to some of the most beautiful ecological landmarks in the USA. So many foreigners come to the US and only see cities like NY/DC/etc., that it would be really interesting to see them experience the natural and culture of places like Wisconsin, Washington, New Mexico, Maine, Louisiana, etc.

   It could be a great to aproach the environment from a positive, \”look how amazing this planet is,\” angle, rather than the usual depressing angle, showing how we are damaging it.

   It would look pretty sweet on HDnet too!

   Comment by Chris A — May 14, 2007 @ 1:59 pm

8. i hope my off-the-cuff ideas are what you have in mind.

   1. HD travel channel with user generated content.

   I have been traveling back and forth between South America and the USA as i owned a teacher-training school there that focused on local culture. It is an English Training school and this is our last month of operation in Buenos Aires before closing down.

   One aspect i learned about owning the course and creating marketing for success, is that it is cheaper, and frankly more fun to have the students. As we do teacher training applicable anywhere invariably the students leave and we have grads teaching in Russia, Brazil, Korea, and many other countries on most continents. Well, give the students an HD camera from best buy, and even though it is 720 to 1080i for the cheaper ones, its still more affordable than the big guns. So the ideas is that students (university students too marc) could film things abroad, produce it with their home PC (via final cut express) and submit it for fame and a perhaps a small reward. it would be fun, fresh, and really interesting – plus as students are ALWAYS filming things these days, it could be a cult hit.

   2. oh man, i was just going to shoot a few off really quick ideas – but I\’m busy now, i\’ll try to hit back the blog another time. Until then you can check out some students and travelers i interview last year. We are all in our twenties, adventurous, and would likely want to be on something with a little better vision and content than youtube.

   http://www.expatpodcast.com (i haven\’t updated this for a long while, as you can see i was busy with TEFLocal, and of course most recently, Thunk Different.

   -Americo

   PS I was just in New Orleans which is devastated, perhaps a a series of rebirth and awareness could make a positive difference. I was surprised their weren\’t as many volunteers as you would think. I could help you out with that too.

   Comment by Americo — May 14, 2007 @ 1:59 pm

9. I always wonder how things work or are made… you know 100 years ago every little thing you owned or came in contact with could be traced back to exactly how, and probably who, made it. And why does it cost that? Like you could do a gallon of gas or a gallon of milk – of course there are shows that tell you how dairy farms work but to make the entire progression from cow, to how they are fed and milked to how the milk is pasturized to how it is transported and how it is stored and how long it takes and how it is bottled and then transported to where you buy it and how do they come up with that price anyway?

   There are myriad things you could do besides gallon of milk or gas or water… cell phones, your bed, plastic baggies, computers, shoes, thread (how do they make that? and from what anymore?), what is synthetic clothing made of? What do the raw materials look like? What is paper made of? Of course we all think of trees but do we really know the process anymore? And what about recycled paper? And what is that stuff in light bulbs that make them light and where do they get it and how do they get it in there and why doesn\’t it leak out and is it bad for you?… Really, it could go on and on… we\’ve lost curiosity a bit in our culture because there is no where for it to find answers anymore. Since you can\’t really take your kids to a \’farm\’ and tell them that is where milk comes from anymore, it\’s not really the case anymore, we just drop that line of thinking and investigation and think, oh well the FDA will make sure it\’s all clean and safe and working properly…

   And the tone could be very light or consummer protectionist… but either way I am always wondering, \”How do they make that?\”

   Comment by Daniela — May 14, 2007 @ 2:03 pm

10. oh yeah, i\’ll talk more about New Orleans and what i learned down there in a blog later today it may help out with a show, thanks for the opportunity.

    http://ThunkDifferent.com

    Comment by Americo — May 14, 2007 @ 2:06 pm

11. One word… Photography.

    HD does stills better than any magazine.

    Ken Burns and PBS American Masters have proved that moves on beautiful stills, with compelling narration, and talking heads can make great looking, cost effective television.

    Magazine publishers and advertisers spend billions of dollars creating still-image-based creative that gets produced and then winds up in land-fills and filing cabinets.

    A large portion of this work is stunning, big and in HD.

    Fashion, Beauty, Automobiles and other narcissism-driven images are the fodder for a show that caters to style and beauty, with an magazine-like editorial approach.

    There is a Turner/MGM deal to make at Conde Nast.

    Comment by Peter Duke — May 14, 2007 @ 2:09 pm

12. A show centered on the inner workings of the design industry – graphic design and identity, industrial design, architecture, interiors, advertising, and motion graphics.

    I\’m working on a book called The Business of Design (due out June 2008 for Thomson) and after my first round of interviews with designers and firm principals, I had the idea of creating some sort of video presentation of these topics. HDNet would be a perfect platform for such a topic.

    Design is increasingly important to business and has captured the interest of the public but few know how these professions actually do what they do. Interviews, studio tours, how-to, and even competitive situations (I own and intend to develop designmybusiness.com) between design teams would all make engaging content for the channel.

    I also thought a \”fashion police\” for businesses that needed professional design help would be fun to do as many logos, billboards, and other work are poor enough to offend.

    Thanks for the opportunity to share my ideas with you Mark and I hope to speak to you about this further.

    Comment by Joseph DeSetto — May 14, 2007 @ 2:12 pm

13. Mark,

    I would suggest a panel/talkshow that is something like the View, but with an mix of REAL people (from real life) and real hosts (a la the the morning talkshows) (with both men & women). Mix it up with news, entertainment, celebrity interviews, movies, television show reviews, sports, whatever, but I truly believe that the viewership for a show like this would have wide range appeal. That, and it with some real people, it would make the show that much more interesting in terms of seeing people that actually reflect the audience mixed with \”seasoned\” television people. Seeing real people meet and talk to \”famous people\” and discuss news topics would really make for fun & interesting television. That, and real people don\’t always stand for the soapbox grandstanding that some of the normal morning talk show hosts do.

    Thanks for the time,

    Tom

    Comment by Tom — May 14, 2007 @ 2:15 pm

14. \”Planet Art\”

    Do similar like Planet Earth on Discovery (amazing series) – but cover art – in Glorious HD, with the story behind the story type format. Museums, statues, paintings, architecture – anything beautiful that mankind has creates.

    Rob

    Comment by Rob La Gesse — May 14, 2007 @ 2:20 pm

15. I\’m a fan of your MLS coverage on HDNet and watch fairly frequently. An idea to expand on this would be to do something like \”MLS Fan Zone\” where instead of two announcers doing play-by-play and color commentary on the game, have a supporter of each of the teams playing have a back and forth dialog about the game.

    I apologize in advance because this isn\’t a completely new idea; it\’s done for the English Premier League, but a vast majority of Americans are not familiar with it, and those few that have seen it are avid watchers to to the passion and humor of the supporter/announcers.

    I\’d imagine the overhead for this is low, due to you already owning the rights for the games. It\’d probably simply require two guys in a sound booth watching a feed of the game.

    Comment by Adam — May 14, 2007 @ 2:22 pm

16. So..it\’s called \”Screwed\”. About a 20 something drywall screw salesmen in the suburbs. Narrated from the point of view of an older, wiser guy looking back on the job and life. The Wonder Years meets The Office. Beautifully shot in hd. Hilary ensues. Seriously….

    Comment by jake p — May 14, 2007 @ 2:24 pm

17. I like the music shows on HDNet a lot, but I think there\’s an opening for a discover-new-music format as opposed to the current focus mostly on, er, \”mature\” performers. I\’m imagining a tie-in with one of the popular internet new-music-discovery services like Pandora or last.fm. Imagine a host or series of hosts with strong musical tastes, who branches out from his/her own tastes using social-networking technology. And of course then the interesting/good new music you turn up is featured in actual live sweaty club dates with cool HDNet audio/video quality.

    Comment by Tim — May 14, 2007 @ 1:58 pm

18. I have an idea for a show that I have actually written a business plan to submit to the company I work for. The show is not entirely original, but there is a really cool aspect of it that I think could really set it apart. I think it is this \”aspect\” that makes the idea really clever and interesting.

    I don\’t want to post the idea on here because I actually want to pursue the idea one way or another. I wouldn\’t mind discussing if I had some assurance that I would be involved in the development on some level and compensated if the idea is used.

    Jason
    jason.bunnell@yahoo.com

    Comment by Jason — May 14, 2007 @ 2:33 pm

19. One of the things that I love the most about HDNet is their coverage of music. From great interviews with Matt Pinfield to amazing concert footage – I originally started watching HDNet for it\’s music.

    That being said – with MTV, VH1 and the like all abandoning covering music – there is a vacuum that has been created. There are various ways you could accent your current music coverage with new programming. Perhaps a critically relevant \”news magazine\” type program – something that covers everything from mainstream to independent music. Perhaps a show that goes where American Idol doesn\’t – to the local music scenes around the US. The show wouldn\’t be about discovering specific bands, but rather the unique sounds that come from various parts of the country. The Hardcore scene in a place like Syracuse, NY. Hip hop in Milwaukee. Folk music in Modesto, Ca. Anything. With HDNet\’s great cinematography and picture, you can bring these places to life in all their glory.

    Finally, a show that goes inside the recording process of bands. Obviously, you\’d need cooperation from bands recording. But it shouldn\’t be too hard to get. You film the band recording their album, get interviews, etc. A 30-minute/1 hour documentary type show on a band and their next album. Production costs could be shared with the record label – allowing them to use the footage as extras on the actual albums. The show\’s can be scheduled to be played on the Monday or so before the album is released – which can be used as a selling point to record labels (they love publicity). The show should be candid – not full of hyperbole. Just the artists in their own worlds, with their own words. No voice over narrator explaining how the artists \”was at the bottom…not knowing that hope was around the corner.\” Filmed like a real documentary (a la Sam Jones\’ \”I am Trying to Break Your Heart\”).

    That\’s all I have for now. Hope that helps – email if you\’re interested in any of these!

    Comment by George — May 14, 2007 @ 2:42 pm

20. Mark,

    I have two suggestions.

    1. Develop a season long story arc, mystery story that involves the audience as much as possible. Each week the main character would solve a mystery/crime, but gets closer to the person pulling the puppet strings. The last episode would reveal the puppet-master. To get the audience involved, plant clues in each episode and use the power of the web to enhance the viewing experience. You could even take it one step further with a contest to allow people to guess the real mastermind. The web enhancements could include fake corporate websites with additional clues or topics to research, fake news articles for the city the show is based in, etc. A few shows have used the web as a gimmick, but there hasn\’t been a show to this degree.

    2. A medieval based weekly drama with knights, magicians and truly good and evil characters. The story is mainly about an elderly king and his two sons, both of which are knights. The older son is being prepped to take over the kingdom. The younger son is more rebellious, but has a good heart. The \”evil\” kingdom is run by the king\’s illegitimate son who will stop at nothing to destroy his father\’s world. This could be the replacement for Battlestar Galatica as it leaves the airways in 2008.

    Thanks for throwing this out to the public! If nothing else it\’s a fun creative exercise.

    Comment by Padraic Russell — May 14, 2007 @ 2:48 pm

21. Mark –

    As a sports fan you are no doubt aware that the world\’s game is soccer. One of the most frustrating things for soccer fans in the US is the lack of HD coverage of big soccer games. If you watch all of these games in England or throughout the Europe HD coverage is available there, so I dont understand why its not available here. One example is this weekend\’s FA Cup final. The FA Cup is the oldest knockout competition on earth and basically every single professional soccer team in England has a chance to play for this trophy.

    This weekend\’s game is additionally special because it\’s the first FA Cup being played at the newly redesigned Wembley Stadium and the game is not in HD. Additionally to view the game it costs $25 to purchase through PPV. I don\’t mind paying for the game, but the fact that I\’m paying $25 to watch a sporting event and don\’t get to watch it in HD is absurd.

    All that being said there is a HUGE opportunity to broadcast English Premier League soccer (and other European professional leagues) in HD. Fox Soccer Channel is never in HD, and the few games available on ESPN each year (European Champions League) are not in HD. This is incredibly frustrating because ESPN can broadcast soccer in Europe in HD, they did it for the world cup in the summer of 2006.

    Looking forward to watching soccer in HD on HDnet soon…

    Alex

    Comment by Alex Fraser — May 14, 2007 @ 2:51 pm

22. Hi Mark,

    How about a drama/comedy whose main character is a person with intellectual disabilities, but with no outward physical characteristics of how people generally think of someone with a disability?

    I\’m thinking of a young man who is good-looking and physically healthy but reads at a third grade level. This young man can communicate well verbally but mentally processes things in a literal manner as he has limited ability for abstract thinking.

    The man, in his mid-late 20s, is generally able to care for himself and is trying to find a job to support himself but faces the dilemma of being a person with an intellectual disability to the \”real world\” while facing the stigma of not being \”disabled enough\” to be accepted by a lot of his intellectually disabled peers.

    This conflict of outward socially acceptable appearance versus inward mental disability can lend itself to endless relationship possibilities and storylines in the workplace and a personal life. What if he meets a girl and they start to fall for each other but he\’s afraid to tell her of his disability? How will she react?
    How about in the office NCAA pool when the email shows up that asks for 5 \”candy bars\” donation to enter the pool and he shows up with actual candy bars because his mind doesn\’t process the abstract thought that candy bars are an acceptable substitute to say money in the work place.

    Just some thoughts. Either way, people with intellectual disabilities are an untapped wealth of resource for lessons of life, love, acceptance and fun. It would be extremely important that the characters in the show are played by actors with intellectual disabilities instead of just being actors who are playing people with intellectual disabilities.

    Thanks for your time, I very much enjoy reading your blogs, you are truly a forward thinking mind and it is refreshing to read your thoughts!

    Take care,
    Ryan

    Comment by Ryan — May 14, 2007 @ 2:53 pm

23. Most people today have never been to a real live circus, nor do they know the perfomers and animals beyond generic descriptions of their roles. I would propose teaming up with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey to produce a six to eight episode series on the ins and outs of what it takes to put on a three ring circus show. Viewers would be able to get to know the perfomers, meet the animals, and marvel at the skill it takes to keep everything going in a live show.

    A HD broadcast would bring the realism of the circus to audiences who just remember circuses as something their parents and grandparents went to when they were kids. It would benefit all parties involved through greater exposure leading to greater interest. Moreover, this series is not comparable to anything currently being broadcast on TV or in HDTV.

    Comment by brian — May 14, 2007 @ 2:54 pm

24. Pitch #1: \”The HD Show\”

    HDNet provides the best looking and sounding TV around, but I haven\’t seen any shows on TV that spend even a half-hour a week talking about the technology behind the presentation. Topics could range from TV/component reviews, \”show us your home theater setup\” contests, tips and tricks (e.g. \”how to properly adjust colors\”, speaker layout for dummies!), walkthroughs of cool commercial HD movie theaters, new TV tech that will be coming out soon, and stuff off on the horizon.

    Comment by Phil — May 14, 2007 @ 2:54 pm

25. Mixing travel with some kind of political intrigue narrative. Maybe a \”Bourne Identity\”-type show for serial TV, possibly involving people who are inadvertently drawn into corporate/political intrigue (i.e., a computer scientist, environmental scientist, or biological researcher who develops a revolutionary technology, sees that it could be misused, and goes on the run).

    I know that lots of similar ideas are out there, so the fine points could be worked out later, but just thinking out loud about how to use the visuals fro big shots (landscapes, etc) and maybe for finer details (looking through microscopes or at other tiny objects).

    Comment by Chuck — May 14, 2007 @ 2:55 pm

26. i know you dont really have anything about market coverage– so why not take a different spin. managing real money life. find a fund manager and put cameras on them to see the \”inside\” street.

    Comment by jeremy — May 14, 2007 @ 2:55 pm

27. managing real money live that is.

    Comment by jeremy — May 14, 2007 @ 2:56 pm

28. ShootOut – a photography competition.

    You take two teams of two amateur photographers, drop them into an unfamiliar location, and give them two days to take three great pictures. They\’ve got nothing but a car, a camera, and their smarts.

    The pictures are a pre-determined person, place and thing. Where they are, how to get there, what order to take them in and how to take the best picture are up to the teams.

    They also get to add one \”money shot\” picture that best captures the spirit of the location.

    They get their pictures in before the deadline, they\’re judged by a panel of photo experts, and the winning teams gets a great vacation in the location, and the losers go home.

    Combines travel, adventure, competition and great imagery.

    Comment by Alex — May 14, 2007 @ 2:48 pm

29. More Dan Rather. I thought his coverage of the VT tragedy was better than anything i found on any other network. He\’s still the best at what he does. I think reality tv is way overdone, so are competition shows. And you won\’t be able to compete with the normal networks on fiction (drama/sitcom) mostly due to budget. I think any \”Behind the Scenes\” shows would be great. From setting up an arena to wall street, or just something that normal America just doesn\’t get to see.

    I know, these aren\’t original things. But they are things I would like watching in HD.

    Comment by patrick sun — May 14, 2007 @ 2:38 pm

30. Play a Dallas Maverick in Heads Up Poker. If you win you get 15 minutes to pitch your business idea to Mark!!!

    Comment by Brandon — May 14, 2007 @ 2:40 pm

31. The movie Crash would probably do well as a television series.

    Comment by andrew — May 14, 2007 @ 3:09 pm

32. Here\’s an idea I call \”F-Politics\”

    You pick a group of \”average\” American citizens and show how their daily lives are so far out of line with the candidates they are voting for.

    Comment by Eddie Galimi — May 14, 2007 @ 3:19 pm

33. TITLE: Straight Shooters
    GENRE: Scripted Mockumentary
    SIMILAR: The Office, etc.
    FORMAT: 1080 HD; 1/2 hr.
    RATING: TV-14

    SHORT SUMMARY: BRECK and MICHAEL are young documentary directors who get their first big gig: shoot the BTS DVD footage on the set of the blockbuster film CRACK OF DAWN, starring BRADY WOODS (loosely based on Tom Cruise, heh) and directed by HENSON MOSS (loosely based on Lee Tamahori – google his arrest – it\’s funny).

    SYNERGISTIC ADVANTAGES: Can be shot on the set of any of your domestic feature films, greatly minimizing cost.

    THOUGHT PROCESS: IT\’S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA is a show on F/X. The pilot was shot for less than $1000, and F/X allotted $400K for the entire first season. Using marginally known actors and relying wholly on outlandish plotlines and writing, costs can be kept way down – around $250K for a season in my estimation.

    The crux of the series is to play on the notion that studios have dropped the ball in a major way by shipping dvds with BTS footage. Breaking suspension of disbelief is the cardinal sin of the BTS footage generation. This show \”promises\” to give real BTS access on the set of this fictitious project with parodies of highly recognizable celebrities to boot.

    PILOT:

    -Michael reveals that he is hot for Breck\’s mom. While driving to the producer\’s house for a meeting, Mike makes out with and takes the number of a very hot streetwalker, with a mind to call her later.
    -DANIEL LEEDS, producer, gets the boys to agree to ridiculous terms. He is dissatisfied with his son\’s behavior and has him mauled by the family dog; his assistant MAUREEN places a call to the agency for a replacement son, preferably with a mohawk.
    -Later, at a preproduction meeting, Mike exchanges hot text messages with the streetwalker. He decides to call her – and director HENSON MOSS\’ phone rings. The streetwalker was actually the director of the film in drag. Mike is embarrassed.

    TITLE: Prospects (tentative)
    GENRE: Sports News
    SIMILAR: eh, not sure
    FORMAT: 1080 HD; 1/2 hr.
    RATING: TV-G

    SHORT SUMMARY: PROSPECTS is a seasonal show designed to provide in-depth analysis of the available draft picks for each major professional sport (currently defined as: NFL, NHL, MLB, and NBA). The show outlines in depth the top players and provides ancillary footage of other interesting and/or notable athletes (legacy athletes, etc.). The show uses the same criteria used by the leagues themselves to generate informal opinions about an athlete\’s prospects and follows his performance from game to game to effectively chart next-level potential. In addition, the show places emphasis on the growing influence of the international athlete on domestic professional sports (thus opening opportunity for international licensing, etc).

    SYNERGISTIC ADVANTAGES: Obvious – you\’re in the business of selling sports. This information is not really important to the casual fan but is very important to the core fan base – and this market, while served on the internet, is not accurately served on television.

    ANCILLARIES: A fully searchable online database akin to IMDB perhaps. Prospects who aren\’t on the radar but with worthy benchmarks can post their vids with performances and measurements, etc. online. Social network of athletes, smaller schools doing online recruiting, and fans keeping up with the future of athletics.

    THOUGHT PROCESS: The core sports fan craves more information. A centralized platform for this information with synergized TV and web components is not currently available – this presents a market opportunity. Further, the content is fundamentally user or externally generated – mitigating costs significantly. Talent costs are nominal.

    TITLE: SCORE BOOSTERS (Tentative; I suck at titles)
    GENRE: Educational
    SIMILAR: not sure
    FORMAT: 1080 HD; 1/2 hr.
    RATING: TV-G

    SHORT SUMMARY: In short, Score Boosters is a highly entertaining show designed to teach students tips to maximize standardized test scores. This show is designed to be the lynchpin in a comprehensive strategy that cannibalizes the standardized test-tutoring industry – a multi-billion dollar market.

    The show can focus on all major standardized tests and implement content under the brand umbrella during test-taking season. The show can use celebrities noted for high scores or elite level higher education and can otherwise attempt to make the show as entertaining as possible.

    THOUGHT PROCESS: MTV Networks wants a certain demographic but has the problem of being unable to currently deliver that demo to advertisers. A creative reimagining of how to deliver test taking techniques (not tutoring on the subject per se, which might lose the audience) in order to effectively deliver nominal boosts in testing scores would allow the show to deliver to advertisers a VERY accurate sampling of the desired audience – the audience most likely to have more disposable income throughout their lives, and the audience most likely to make impulse/popular culture purchases. MTV Networks takes the road of anticipating what their audience wants – which is dicey and difficult to do at best. With more and more American students looking into higher education, this brand intends on delivering what students NEED – a need that a significant percentage of students cannot or do not assuage. By addressing a need and undercutting a billion dollar business, there is obvious money in this. Basically, my thought process is this: everyone is chasing the target audience by trying to entertain them; this brand intends to offer something they need and increasingly want at a price that is more competitive than costly course and alternatives. We deliver to the consumer AND we deliver to the advertiser – and it\’s not really a bad thing to do karma-wise either.

    Talent costs are nominal. SATs, LSATs, MCATs, it\’s all on the board provided we can do it in a nominally entertaining fashion. It cannibalizes a multi-billion dollar industry. There is a segment of the student population – not hardcore, not slacker, that would watch this if readily available, but won\’t go out of his/her way to otherwise acquire it.

    ANCILLARIES: A comprehensive advertisement supported web component with social network and delivery of content on demand. Offline materials, etc.

    Comment by blyx — May 14, 2007 @ 3:22 pm

34. Rather than come up with new TV show ideas, why don\’t you pick up one of the best TV shows that was canned because it portrayed a professional sports league in a bad light (I know this violates your sports rule)?

    Playmakers on ESPN was a GREAT series that developed an avid following – but the NFL didn\’t like the way it portrayed NFL Players, and had the show canned.

    HDNet isn\’t subject to the whims of the NFL, and could run with something like this.

    Comment by Mike Ernst — May 14, 2007 @ 2:27 pm

35. This seems obvious to me but why isn\’t this process in and of itself a show on HDNet? The whole point is to encourage interactivity, right?

    Why not something positive on the military? Perhaps visiting bases around the world? Could look good in HD. The compelling angle could be \”life in the military\”.

    You\’re a computer guy, right? Since G4 / TechTV completely suck, why not talk to Leo LaPorte and have him start up a computer self-help or similar show? Or something technology / gadget related? His Twit.tv blog is popular and a lot of the content would do well in HD. Instant audience in a new medium (HD); there is no competition for it and it\’s an area that isn\’t well covered on HDNet specifically … or at least I don\’t feel it is.

    What about programming for teenagers? There is a lot of crap on television when kids come home from middle school or high school. What a great way to build brand loyalty — get them used to HD.net as a source for entertainment now. Could be anything from Degrassi Jr. High kind of show to the \”afterschool specials\” that used to run to a forum that is run by teenagers themselves. What about cartoon Saturday? Remember when you\’d park your butt in front of the TV on Saturday mornings and great cartoons were on? Now you\’re more likely to see infomercials or real estate advertisement shows as opposed to anything entertaining for kids.

    What about a show about favorite athletes in the offseason? You have a network of athletes at your disposal … talk about life after winning or losing the championship. Maybe this is overdone by ESPN/ABC/CNNSI … but it seems like Americans can not get enough of celebrity culture.

    Seeing as many of the popular game shows and stuff come from the UK, what about some of their other popular shows? Mitchell and Webb come to mind (look them up on YouTube). Clearly they\’re a funny duo and would likely do well in the US if given the venue.

    Comment by Firethorn — May 14, 2007 @ 3:12 pm

36. A gameshow called \”My Buddy Knows.\” It\’s three sets of friends competing against each other by answering questions for points. Sounds simple? Twist is that you press the buzzer when you think your buddy knows the answer. It combines the relationship and knowledge gameshow.

    \”Getting Away With It All\” – people are assigned tasks to gain entry hot ticket places or events by just claiming to be a reality show with a crew. Can they fly first class across the country to attend a Police concert – front row without paying?

    House of Jerks – a dozen complete jerks are stuck in a house in order to compete for a big prize. What they don\’t realize is each week instead of being voted out, another jerk joins the house. First jerk to admit they need help and have to leave the house wins the prize.

    Robot Dogs Play Poker Challenge – scientists can see if they can create robot dogs that can play Poker.

    Fly Dogs – have you seen this event? Teams of 4 dogs do a relay race over a hurdles. Teams can be made up of a variety of dogs and not a certain breed. A great dane and a weiner dog can be on the same team. It\’s fun, wild action.

    Get Fox to make HD transfers of Adam West\’s Batman series.

    Comment by Joe Corey — May 14, 2007 @ 3:24 pm

37. Its a spin on an existing program much like Art Mann Presents but place the focus on the college experience. Each week the host goes to THE campus event. A football/basketball game, step contest, the largest indoor calf fry eating contest, whatever makes an event on a campus THE event to be at. Same format as before: loud music, drunken interviews, hot women, and fun. All presented in HD as bands march the field, coeds cheer on players, three day tailgate parties, fraternity brothers ride in a giant soapbox in to a stack of hay balesthe possibilities are endless and a good twist on an existing format.

    Comment by TJ Hurt — May 14, 2007 @ 3:21 pm

38. The show is called, \’WingMan\’.

    Contestants on the show have a minimum amount of days to host a function (party) and will be judged on :
    1. Venue
    2. Crowd (Star factor)
    3. Hookups
    4. Drama control
    5. Entertainment

    Minimal prize at stake and voting will comprise of judges and HDNet viewers.

    Comment by Scott Patterson — May 14, 2007 @ 3:48 pm

39. Not only will I give you a free idea, Mark, I\’ll give you a free business plan to kickstart your business plans.

    You want to make a street racing teen drama. You need great visuals to sell HDNet, and chase scenes/racing scenes in movies and videogames have demonstrated how excited people get about cars and chase scenes. Yes, and sexy stars will sell, too. Keep the TV season short to focus on the movie production quality (i.e. HDNet quality). For concept, I have entire storylines in mind, but let\’s just summarize as: Dukes of Hazzard meets The OC and racing scenes end each show like Highlander duels.

    And here\’s the key (since I\’ll never be a TV executive myself I don\’t care if someone rips this off): Make an edited and unedited version. The edited one is clean for TV (not digitally edited, since this is planned for from the beginning, it will be 100% normal looking and sounding), and the unedited one is only sold on DVD or PPV/OnDemand during the week the regular episode is released. For $10. No boxed sets and no waiting until season\’s end – you\’re capitalizing on curiousity. What did I miss in that scene with his girlfriend? $10 a week for eleven weeks will be 3 times the money spent on normal TV DVDs, and people won\’t notice the total spread out like that. It will be easy to sell advertising on the edited version, and the unedited version will be snatched up by obsessed fans and people who hate advertising.

    Also, about Tivo, during the show, don\’t do normal advertising. Use banner ads. Make sure the scripts are written with comic book-style split screens as much as possible (highlighting the HD size), then insert ads between the halves. The banners will be VH1-style pop-ups laced with facts AND ads. ESPN worked these into sports broadcasts, so it can be done with TV shows, esp. with all that HD screen to fill up. Sell product placements for music, videogames and cars, these products are easy to pick out in HD even in background shots. The selling point for viewers is that there are no breaks for commercial. This is the future – people will create their own bathroom breaks with Tivos, of course.

    With the pay-for scheme, you\’ll get the opportunity at critical acclaim that forbidden content got for Sex in the City and Sopranos, but you\’ll already be set for syndication. That will help attract HBO-level talent and make more money on the back-end.

    So the DVDs will provide content and dilute the appeal of watching on HDNet? No, because HDNet doesn\’t have that kind of penetration. You need to get your brand into Walmart. With this plan, people can take your brand home in a safe, risk-free way. Finally, you\’ll get exposure to all the \”real people\” who are only now buying HDTVs and aren\’t savvy enough to know who Mark Cuban is.

    And, put an SD version on Youtube (ha). What do you care? The advertising is irretrievably embedded and it\’s inferior quality picture. It\’s a teaser for HDNet. You\’ve argued about flooding Youtube before, now\’s your chance, eh?

    And I have one idea more… No, it\’s not Apprentice HD, lol. Let me know if you\’re interested.

    Comment by solomonrex — May 14, 2007 @ 3:46 pm

40. Mark,
    How bout a reality show that follows around a lottery winner. Call it \’Lucky Bastard\’

    Comment by Brian — May 14, 2007 @ 3:52 pm

41. My Ideas:

    1) With so much coverage of negative events in the media, how about a show that looks at positive events. Postive events such as people helping their fellow man in times of crisis or people that are just sincerely helping other.

    2) A show about referees in sports. Show the good and the bad. Show the good calls and the bad calls. Players are displayed as villans or heroes based on their performances, why not referees?

    Let me know what you think.

    Comment by Steven A — May 14, 2007 @ 3:51 pm

42. Every 60 Seconds in America

    A half-hour news magazine show that looks at ourselves — and our country — through the things that happen all around us every day, every minute, every second. Segments could be dramatic, funny or just plain fascinating.

    All the following facts are true, and all would make interesting segments.

    Every 60 Seconds in America

    – Two teenage girls get pregnant. (A segment about teen pregnancy in America.)
    – Steven Spielberg earns $631.
    – Theres a sucker born. (All about todays traveling salespeople.)
    – Someone dies from a smoking-related illness.
    – 2,756 movie tickets are sold. (The movie business and how its changing.)

    Hope you like. Thanks for reading.

    – Brian

    Comment by Brian Gross — May 14, 2007 @ 3:56 pm

43. Mark,

    I\’ve won a few awards for short films that I\’ve done, and one of them could make very funny original show (don\’t worry it\’s not one of those artsy niche short films). My production company could handle the actual execution of the show if HDNet would provide the home.

    I\’d rather not post the idea on here, but if you want I could send the DVD along with a basic outline for the actual series.

    Love the Blog,

    Trey

    Comment by Trey — May 14, 2007 @ 4:02 pm

44. Photo Journo Stories

    All those photojournalist all over the world – they see amazing stuff, hear great stories and often live thrilling lives. But only one or two pix show up in print monthly, and they\’re all accompanied by some vanilla drivel edited by some j-school weanie in an office.

    So let\’s see the 20 photos these guys are most proud of, and hear the stories behind them. Even better if it\’s a group of these guys in one location. Maybe hear them discuss what they\’re seeing on the ground, unfiltered, with riveting photos.

    -War scenarios
    -Eco-disasters
    -Pomp (nobel prize, davos, oscars)
    -Paparazzi
    -Sports
    -Local beat photogs

    Comment by Randy D & Billy Y — May 14, 2007 @ 2:35 pm

45. I love the concerts. The Styx and Sammy Hagar concerts were superb in my opinion. I think more concerts are in order!!! But you want to hear \”new\” ideas. In all honesty, besides sports, some good humored sitcoms would be great, but I think that \”if\” I owned the network, I\’d offer up as much programing that truely showcase the HD picture. Watching a movie in HD versus regular cable is much better than watching the Young and the Restless. I watch HDnet and Discovery HD almost exclusively. If you ever talk to ESPN, tell them to stop wasting ESPN HD with non-HD Programming. grrr…

    To sum up my incoherant ramblings…

    1. A good original series, something like the 4400 or Sopranos. Something that will be a draw and only be gotten on HDnet. Some people get HBO just for the Sopranos.
    2. Sports, but you don\’t wanna hear that.
    3. More and More Concerts are always gonna draw me in.

    Thanks for wanting to hear from us, the readers. I will post something on my blog later to send over some more ideas!

    Comment by Chris Leckness — May 14, 2007 @ 4:08 pm

46. I will echo the idea of user-submitted HD video of various travel locations. Cheap to start and with today\’s editing software, cheap to run.

    Think of what HD can bring. We already know of the sports and music angle, what about art, science, education? Give HD cameras to people in the field, let them capture something that isn\’t captured on a Discovery HD special.

    There are thousands of talented people who can easily put together a high-quality video package which would drive people to watch it (imagine the number of people who would demand HD after a local person shot \”Life in (blank)\” in HD and it was seen by the world.

    Comment by Brian Wohlgemuth — May 14, 2007 @ 4:10 pm

47. How about you just pick up the option to put Arrested Development on cable.

    Comment by Allen Karns — May 14, 2007 @ 4:12 pm

48. Where in the World?

    geography game show based around HD video content + clues
    (we used to play this with globes/maps) eventually you could
    do viewer participation (or real time voting) catagories
    could be fauna/flora/events …

    Comment by sdy — May 14, 2007 @ 4:13 pm

49. Long time reader, first time commenter. Thank you for writing about the media.

    How about a dramedy revolving around the staff of a Jamaican resort? There could be soap opera intrigue amongst the staff, staff\’s family, off-the-beaten path color, interaction with new guests who visit each week or guests who could stay on the show for longer than one episode, and great music, cool island vibe, but with some grit, too, and beautiful island scenery in HD.

    Comment by Brian Vos — May 14, 2007 @ 4:20 pm

50. Mark I like how \”real\” HDNet programming usually feels. I know you have done a bunch of concerts but I think there is another place to go with music.

    You do a a series that records up and coming bands in their hometowns. HDNet would travel to the towns, learn more about the band members, and record them playing at their favorite night club/bar. Bands could not be national or have a recording contract. You could even have a website for people to nominate bands/bars for the show.

    This would go after a younger demo and could be a raw energy type of show. There are many excellent local bands out there that could use the national attention.

    The show would not be a contest, none of that reality TV crap. Instead it\’s learning more about local bands and the people behind them. Plus getting so see a bunch of music venues and the people involved with them.

    I\’m not sure if you can get HBO real on HDNet. HBO does excellent stuff but I\’m not sure if you can swear on HDNet (or what your feelings are on that). If you ever wanted to steal a show, grab Penn & Teller\’s Bulls***. Excellent edgy show. A current events show hosted by Penn would also be excellent.

    Comment by Dave Kaiser — May 14, 2007 @ 4:22 pm

51. \”A Day/Week in the Life…\”

    A day/week in the life of some interesting person, where the use of HD could be beneficial. And not like previous shows that have tried this, require complete, un-edited access. This theme could run forever as there are always interesting people known by the populace. Depending on the individual chosen, this show could invoke almost any emotion. I\’m thinking a show with little to no commentary, except perhaps for some context.

    I, like many people, would love to hear more about things that happen \”behind the scenes\”, which a show like this could easily expose.

    Perhaps kick off the show\’s first episode with a \”Day/Week in the Life of Mark Cuban\”, and for future episodes, some ideas for \”interesting people\” would be:

    Floyd Landis, Bill Clinton, Frank Gehry, Dan Rather (behind the scenes of Dan Rather Reports), Michael Jordan, Lance (but there is a lot of coverage there already), Warren Buffet/Bill Gates, …

    Comment by Mike — May 14, 2007 @ 4:34 pm

52. \”Rags To Riches\” or \”The American Dream\”… a reality show where you take someone who has a good business sense and a strong work ethic… dress them in a t-shirt and jeans and drop them penniless into a big city and give them a year (or 6 months, whatever) to become as wealthy as possible. Their prize is that the show will match every dollar they make (capped) and give them some minimum for their trouble.

    Comment by Sean — May 14, 2007 @ 4:38 pm

53. Probably too expensive, but this would be cool:

    Scripted pseudo-reality* show about people (friends? a family? 2 couples?) sailing around the world… what they encounter (historical / natural sites, other sailors, luxury cruises/yachts, pirates/thieves/scammers, etc.)… Each show might cover a week, friends / neighbors / celebrities can join them on the occasional week-long leg. Excellent opportunities for cross promotion, both with existing HDnet programs (Matt Pinfield could meet up with them for music festival in Europe, similar opportunities with Get Out! and Rick Steves, etc.) and opportunistic brands.

    *Show is scripted, but shot on locations as cast and crew sail around the world.

    Comment by isired — May 14, 2007 @ 4:46 pm

54. What about a reality show that follows the process of filming a movie. It would serve two purposes:

    1. Educate and entertain the viewer with the ins and outs of creating an actual Hollywood movie.

    2. Create a unique and powerful advertising vehicle for said movie.

    Surely, there would be some synergy with your 29/29 productions and a HDnet series.

    Comment by Chris — May 14, 2007 @ 4:52 pm

55. This is obviously harder than it sounded at first. how about a game show?

    maybe a quiz based on video shown to contestants?

    \”name that video\” – could show movie snippets
    \”zoom\” – name the place or thing from the footage. could show a beach or a forest or a microscopic image of something

    Comment by sew — May 14, 2007 @ 4:18 pm

56. YOu know, you could consider something that helps place people in the right jobs for them. It would be like an open interview…people could call in and say \”hey, that girl knows a lot about sports, she should work for me!\” Callers, emailers, job recruiters could all have access to these people. You could even make it like a QVC thing….for the next 20 minutes, this guy who fixes cars is available for $$$?

    Melissa

    Comment by melissa — May 14, 2007 @ 5:00 pm

57. In shows like American Idol, the best part is the auditions. The idea of a show focusing on finding talent isn\’t new, but they all try to follow the formula of American Idol. Instead, why not find a busy hollywood talent discovery agent, and follow their business. This would facilitate a connection between the audience and the main characters of the show as they find and develop god awful to great talents.

    Comment by Chris — May 14, 2007 @ 5:02 pm

58. Mark, How about a reality show called \”In Their Shoes\” (most people would be able to relate to the show)

    You take two completely different groups (or people) and have them live vicariously through the other person\’s life.

    For example, a plumber and lawyer switch lives, doing eachothers jobs.

    A Muslim Imam switches with a Jewish Rabbi? (possibility to kill stereotypes?)

    Maybe the lawyer will have a tough time doing the labor, maybe the plumber will think that his old job \”doesn\’t pay enough\” compared to how \”easy\” it is to be a lawyer.

    We know teachers don\’t get paid enough, so maybe have them switch with an occupation that isn\’t related to teaching (or kids),, maybe an airline pilot, etc. possibilities are endless

    You can even have the general public vote for two different occupations.

    At the very least, I\’d love to watch that kind of show

    Comment by Sam — May 14, 2007 @ 5:04 pm

59. Three young professional guys all went to college together and return to Houston or Dallas.

    One guy is an entrepreneur who is always starting new businesses with mixed success. He didn\’t get into Stanford and resents all people who did. The start up ideas will be a mix of technology and other more everyday type items (i.e. a GPS tracking device for luggage). Various factors always keep him from success. Through his character cutting edge products, primarily electronics, are introduced as he tries to develop ways of taking advantage of the technology. The key is that the ideas have to be good and seem plausible.

    Another guy is a solo practitioner attorney. He is a bit of a smarmy personal injury lawyer who is always looking for clients, but he is talented and frequently represents the little guy. He is witty,charismatic , and will do anything to make money. He has a severe complex about not working at a big law firm and hates them. The show would have a bit of a consistent edge to its exposing shady dealings of big companies through his interaction with those companies\’ lawyers.

    The third guy is a very successful, athletic, and charismatic engineer for a large energy company. Though young he is rising quickly through the ranks. He has quite a bit of cash and is always throwing it around on everything…especially meeting woman.

    The pilot would revolve around the efforts of each to meet a woman using very different methods. Entrepreneur would try and use all types of technology and the internet, the attorney would try and \”network,\” and the engineer would join an adult kickball league (paying for everything and always mentioning how much money he has).

    The guys all live in a loft type apartment downtown. They are very likable.

    It seems like HDnet could really benefit from having a signature sitcom type series that appeals to the type of person who watches the other programming already on HDnet. I presume from the programming that this person is overwhelmingly male, affluent, educated, and the uses their discretionary income on electronics. You use the show to drive advertising for the types of products that are frequently involved in the plot of the show. You use Htown or Dallas instead of NYC, LA, or Chicago to make it all seem more within reach while still having a great deal of fun, beautiful women, ect.

    Comment by Nic Franklin — May 14, 2007 @ 5:06 pm

60. A tour of the best home theater setups. HD geeks love to see other HD geeks stuff! Could also include some DIY projects for your own home theater.

    Comment by TomJ — May 14, 2007 @ 5:07 pm

61. http://www.anglingexploration.com/index.htm

    The Angling Exploration Group puts out some fantastic DVD\’s on fly-fishing excursions around the world called the \”Trout Bum Diaries\” that would look amazing in HD, and work well as a regular series. They are done in a fresh, raw, renegade style that make them a blast to watch, with some amazing footage shot from some of the most beautiful fly-fishing spots in the world – great visual eye-candy and compelling, action filled programming (esp. for fishermen). They could be made to be purely entertaining, or get deeper into environmental issues concerning water quality, land usuage & development, etc… Check them out!

    They also put together a yearly Fly-Fishing Film Tour that sells out in at least a dozen cities as it tours, where they showcase films made by aspiring film-makers / fly-fisherman. This woould make for an intersting series as well, showcasing young, indie film-makers working on travel / fishing documentary films.

    Any type of ongoing series from these guys would be amazing!!! They are very good at what they do, and exremely popular in the fly-fishing world…

    Cheers,

    Todd Robbins

    Comment by Todd Robbins — May 14, 2007 @ 5:08 pm

62. Five O\’Clock World

    This would be a show about making a living among the people of different cultures. Two \”Temps\” (preferably a couple, to highlight the differences in gender roles across cultures) would spend some period of time (days/weeks) among the people of another culture, doing the work those people do to make a living. This could be something like hunting/gathering, craftsmaking, herding, milking, slaughtering, farming, etc. This work could be done among any receptive people (Austrailian Aboriginies, Pygmies, Amazonian peoples, Argentinian ranchers, Inuit Eskimo, SE Asian rice farmers, merchants in Hong Kong, miners in Russia…the list is endless) and could even include post-war areas like Bosnia where people might scavenge for survival or areas affected by development, where the indigenous people find that their form of livelihood must change to accomodate their new circumstances.

    At the end of the show, the \”Temps\” would hopefully be invited to kick back, relax and/or celebrate with their new co-workers in whatever manner is their \”Five O\’Clock\” custom. Hopefully, the \”Temps\” would acquire some rudimentary language skills along with their new work habits and be able to come to some sort of conclusion about the specific ties between work and social functions within the context of their host culture. Some sort of accompanying blog could provide still deeper insight.

    This kind of ongoing project would enable the \”Temps\” and the viewers to gain insight into the different types of work people do all over the world. It would also allow an examination of differing cultural attitudes toward work, livelihoods vs. careers, and what it truly means to be a successful member of a society. Comparing other cultures\’ concepts of success vs. the American version (i.e. Wall Street, Hollywood) might be very enlightening.

    Comment by jim ray — May 14, 2007 @ 5:09 pm

63. How about doing a 1 hr show about how common people became highly successful in business. Its a biography, but more dramatized the way ESPN classic shows sportscentury. The show will be inspirational to people who are budding entrepreneurs or ppl who always dream of doing something big.

    Comment by Gary — May 14, 2007 @ 5:10 pm

64. A suggestion of mine is that you can film a show called \”Teen Entrepreneur\”. This would be a group of say 10-15 teenagers, who are entrepreneurs, that compete throughout a weekend, week, or month(s).

    It could be something as simple as you each get $10,000 and an eBay account. Who can arbitrage and produce the greatest amount of profit? Or it could be here is a computer and $10,000…again who can produce the greatest profit? Teens could possible even work at home and be filmed from their \”work area\”. The winner\’s prize could be determined by you or the director (could be as simple as you receive the total amount made or it could be that you can intern you or a CEO for a day, week, or month). And also throughout the show they could have CEO\’s or successful entrepreneurs come in and coach.

    Thanks for reading this!
    Cory

    Comment by Cory — May 14, 2007 @ 5:09 pm

65. Here\’s another:

    Everybody has that cute guy/girl that they see every day, but don\’t really know… The girl behind the deli counter where you get your coffee every morning, the guy that rides the bus/train with you every day… you get people to submit their guy/girl, and you set them up on a date, send them to cool places, etc. Could expand beyond a typical \’date\’ show by just having people choose people they thought were interesting or had a non-sexual connection with… They wouldn\’t all have to be romantic interests. I think it would be interesting because there are people in our lives every day, especially for those of us in urban settings, that we know next to nothing about, yet have an enthusiastic and generally happy exchange with on a daily basis, but it starts and ends there. Maybe the non-date would be more interesting, because those not looking for a date are less likely to do something about furthering the relationship on their own.

    Comment by isired — May 14, 2007 @ 5:14 pm

66. Howdy!

    Let me pipe in and add my vote to art/photography.

    Comment by Zeke — May 14, 2007 @ 5:14 pm

67. A \”lifecast\” a la Justin.tv, but with a billionaire sports team owner wearing the hat-cam

    I\’m telling you, that show would kill.

    Comment by Mathew Ingram — May 14, 2007 @ 5:15 pm

68. what about being first to treat the Gaming circuit like a sports league, complete with head-to-head gamecasts, highlight reels, and coverage of gaming pro teams. extremely niche-y. but could be a beachhead for bigger gaming play in the future.

    i\’ve never been call stupid by a billionaire before so fire away Mark

    Comment by Paolo — May 14, 2007 @ 5:20 pm

69. You\’re covering the NASCAR Grand National Series live. You could have a show that illustrates what life is like for the folks involved in the East and West versions of the series. People could see what it is like to tow a late model stock car 1,000 miles to a race, then blow an expensive motor and pick up a check for $1,000 prize money. You could show what life is like for folks who work in the pits, or sell popcorn, or change tires. What happens in a drivers meeting prior to the race? How do teams go about obtaining sponsors?

    Comment by Kevin Hillstrom — May 14, 2007 @ 4:44 pm

70. Mark, your premise is flawed. \”99pct of the time the idea is a derivative of something that is already being done\” – this not a bad thing. Every great show ever made is a derivative of something else.

    Also, a pitch is not a show, trying to decide what will be a good show based on a pitch is stupid, the constant stream of crap that appears from that method is good evidence of this (no, you are not so much smarter than every studio exec that you can do it any better)

    Comment by Mike — May 14, 2007 @ 5:22 pm

71. Mark,

    As a viewer, and professional high definition editor/colorist, I would vote for the suggestions you\’ve gotten regarding a show/series about art and design. High Definition imagery would \”show off\” art and graphic art in a fantastic and truly revolutionary way….

    I hope you do that and I hope you employ the hardware and software necessary to make it happen…. Specifically; scopes for your DPs who shoot the HD of this art and good color correction software and hardware so that the programs you produce have production values that match the art you are telling stories about.

    Mark you and your partner Phil Garvin are to be given A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF CREDIT AND THANKS for having the patience, perseverance, and foresight in founding HDNET way back in September of 2001….

    Starting HDNET when you did forced everyone else to accelerate the widespread adaption and use of high definition. I think we\’d be 5 to 10 years BEHIND where we are now regarding HD if not for what you and Phil did back then. I mean that sincerely and I hope that one day I have the opportunity to tell you this in person…

    You and Mr. Garvin, deserve every bit of success, and dare I say \”profit\”, that HDNET will eventually provide to you!

    Your audience is getting larger by the day and I hope a art and grpahic arts show/series will help to take you folks at HDNET to the \’NEXT LEVEL\” with regard to a high profile high art concept…

    Good Luck!!!

    Comment by Tim Werner — May 14, 2007 @ 5:23 pm

72. 1. I wanna know what\’s going on inside Google, send a savvy documentary crew to get the scoop.

    2. http://www.homestarrunner.com – None of the studios have been able to convince these guys to go mainstream yet. Admittedly, not quite an HDNet show, but they have a built-in audience and could bring in new viewers.

    3. Re: political pundits, can\’t beat Beinart and Goldberg right now, http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=w070507&s=whatsyourproblem051007. They also have built-in audiences.

    Comment by Scott — May 14, 2007 @ 5:27 pm

73. Please don\’t post or waste Mark\’s time if you are afraid someone is going to steal your idea and you are asking for compensation in case it gets picked up.
    If Mark decides to go with your idea, I\’m sure he will take care of you. If you are afraid to post your idea here b/c someone may steal, then you will never get the ball rolling to the finish line. Good luck keeping it bottled up in your head.

    Comment by jason — May 14, 2007 @ 5:30 pm

74. Our company sells media to churches, not lame churches, but relevant ones, the kind that even if you had no interest in God, and you hung out with the staff, you would think, \”those people seem all-right.\” It is a small, but growing industry.
    Hollywood studios are using us & PR firms to promote their films directed at \”Christians.\” There is a ton of money being shelled out to make \”Christian\” films, but the ironic thing is that they are made by Jews or non-Christians in Hollywood, like me making an a \”black\” movie…Spike Lee just does it better, because he is familiar with the culture.

    Thus my idea… A niche, reality series. Produced by a decently cool Christian (one that enjoys New Belgium Brewery beer)… someone like me:), that follows a church plant in Seattle or Portland, or some very, post-Christian City.
    The show doesn\’t attempt to portray Christians or church in a good or bad light… it just shines light on the mess we call life. It shows hurt, pain, hope, love, bravery, cowardice, and the whole range of character traits and flaws.

    Comment by Kent McKeaigg — May 14, 2007 @ 5:39 pm

75. Conspiracy Theory Debate show.

    Comment by Anthony — May 14, 2007 @ 5:40 pm

76. I think whatever you decide on you should NEVER do a reality TV show. Reality shows are getting out of hand.

    Comment by Browie.com — May 14, 2007 @ 5:43 pm

77. Vampire: the Masquerade based on White Wolf\’s World of Darkness.

    Now that would kick ass.

    Comment by dys — May 14, 2007 @ 5:50 pm

78. The last is an HD presentation of a News Magazine. Before you go all nuts and tell me there are a plethora of news magazine shows, I would recommend a news magazine show in conjunction with the single best news magazine on the planet – The Economist. A show with world-wide appeal, and top-notch journalism combined with stellar, graphic HD footage would be tremendous

    That\’s it gentlemen. Get these on-air and I\’ll watch your channel even more than I do now.

    Regards

    Comment by Peter Sills — May 14, 2007 @ 5:49 pm

79. Very interesting as I have been thinking along these lines for a while. What would be really compelling in HD which would get me to watch. Now, I am not a sports \”nut\” so various games do not interest me – so what would it be?

    The first idea is called Five Corners. This is a documentaryesque program which goes to the Four Corners of the Earth and Beyond (fifth corner) to film in HD various aspects of interest in the Planet, Space, Ocean, as well as Scientific and other discoveries. A bit of a cross between a Discovery Channel and a Travel Channel show. Why? I think the things shown on the Discovery Channel are great, however there is never a discussion of how I could get there, or where I could go to see these things for myself. Envisioned with five hosts (one for each corner) each episode would rotate between the hosts taking us along to these magical places along with information on their Travels and the People they meet.

    Next in next post…

    Comment by Peter Sills — May 14, 2007 @ 5:43 pm

80. The other is \”Behind the Screen\”

    This is a what goes on in Hollywood, Bollywood, England, France, Russia, etc. in the movie and television making business. Not just centralized on the US (though obviously weighted there) this would be an HD presentation of interviews and what actually goes into the production of a motion picture or television series – with a world perspective. Everything from the business, to the scripting to the special effects.

    One benefit of this show would be that these episodes would also be great in forming the back-bone for the \”Extra\” material when the product comes out on one of the \”Next Generation\” HD formats (such as HD-DVD and Blu-Ray).

    Historical perspectives and stories on some of the classics, such as Gone With the Wind could also be put together, since there is plenty of material. This plays well as an adjunt to HDnet Movies as it should pull a good cross-over audience.

    Lastly….

    Comment by Peter Sills — May 14, 2007 @ 5:47 pm

81. Idea #2.

    Smoker\’s Diaries.
    I have often thought that it would be really intriguing to start smoking just so I could hang out and get to know those that smoke in my building. Such a random, odd group, but they all seem friends.
    Each episode begins with people going out to smoke, and then they main character imagines how they stories he hears really unfold.

    Comment by Kent McKeaigg — May 14, 2007 @ 5:48 pm

82. Mark,

    An idea I have shared with others in the past and even blogged about a bit. Warning it does have elements of being \”reality\” but I think you\’ll see it will be more akin to Discovery Channel/HDNET HD reality than \”reality shows\”.

    The name – \”walk in shoes\”

    The concept – each episode (or more likely series of episodes) one person will shadow another person and observe and learn their life. \”Walk in their shooes\” for a week as it were.

    Perhaps then the two people might switch places – but that is not always necessary.

    The idea is based, in no small part, on a People\’s University I saw in Oaxaca MX where in place of regular classes and a more typical university they start by having anyone who is interested in a given career spend time shadowing someone who already does that career – learning by observing (and lightly doing) what, in fact, that career path would entail. From being a lawyer to being a blacksmith to being an organic farmer.

    For \”Walk In Shoes\” my idea is that the show would feature a wide mix of people – some perhaps famous, but many who would be drawn from the show\’s viewers (and there should be a very strong online component to this show – hours upon hours of content will be captured – most, I\’d say perhaps all, of it should be available online.

    But the show should have a calm yet detailed eye – it should not be the cross cut from interview to scene and back style of typical reality shows, rather I envision mostly POV cameras, showing what is happening, what is being observed – with some editing to show more of the whole experience. Perhaps with cameras from both parties (or \”over their shoulders\” as it were).

    And this should be truly global in scope – showing the vast richness and variety of the planet. And how we humans each live out lives and go through our days.

    My thinking is that people of all walks of life would enjoy participating – and more critically both the shadower and the shadowed would be changed by the experience.

    In format the show might also set some new guidelines for disclosure and transparency – showing online who was paid (and what), who were sponsors (if any), and how many people were involved in the making of each episode. I think that in general ther participants should be paid – but some of the payment might be \”in kind\” (i.e. the flights etc) – and that one stated goal would be for the show to have a net positive (and lasting) impact on any community it visits around the world – building connections and personal stories one person at a time.

    (see Global Voices for one related type of influence here helping people around the globe talk to each other – with \”Walk in Shoes\” it would be through HD Images, audio online, photographs and more)

    I\’d love to be involved – but even more I want to see this happen – I want to see a US Senator spending a week in the life of a farmer in Mexico, a city bus driver in the US observing the life of a pedel bike driver in New Delhi, a student considering career options spending a week on Wall Street, in short diverse people experiencing the \”other\” in ways both surprising – yet not exploitive or beyond the pale (and not, I\’ll emphasize dangerous or always with the eye of exploring their own life choices – but more to give them the visceral and very human experience of another life, another way to be human).

    And yes, of course cameras, attention and the presence of other observers (interpreters etc) will have an impact – so how ever much possible they should be minimized, even done away with entirely. I, for one, would prefer slightly shaky but very personal images over too hyper produced but rendered more false images. I think the final result will be a mix – days when it is just two people and cameras they are each given – perhaps with one translator where needed – but with some time with full camera crews and very high end equipment – showing in greater depth the context around the human interaction.

    So that\’s my idea – I hope you and HDNET like it and please do contact me, I\’ve been thinking about this a great deal.

    Shannon

    Comment by Shannon Clark — May 14, 2007 @ 5:52 pm

83. Idea #3.
    My grandmother had Alzheimer\’s for 15 years. Most of them she was in a Nursing Home in the \”we need the most help\” wing. My grandfather was in the \”my left side doesn\’t move, but my mind is fine\” wing. Each day he would get on his scooter and go over to see her.
    In her wing, it was nothing short of hilarious. You had to laugh, or you would cry… but it was stinkin funny.
    I show from a mid-twenties person perspective, where he is going to visit his grandma in the nursing home and the adventures that ensue.

    Comment by Kent McKeaigg — May 14, 2007 @ 5:52 pm

84. It seems to me that a lot of the shows have been done. Travel shows of all kinds, sports, nature, etc.

    The real question comes down to this: What does HD naturally lend itself to? Well, obviously the enhanced detail is a big one, but there\’s the enhanced sound, too. So it seems to me that concert shows would be a big one.

    So here\’s my show idea: Front Row. You get to travel along with a pair of guys to some of the hottest concert tickets every year, seeing the entire experience. Getting to the show, hanging out with people in line, VIP access (backstage with the band), and then an abbreviated version of the content. Each show would be 2 hours, but the costs wouldn\’t be too high. The \”hosts\” would have lower-end pocket HD cam to supplement the larger cams for the big shots, so the mix of footage should produce a high-quality and yet authentic experience. Not including too much footage from the concerts should keep from cannibalizing the sales of concert DVDs, and get the artist\’s buy-in.

    Comment by Rob Stevens — May 14, 2007 @ 5:53 pm

85. Dear Mark,

    I have an idea that is subersive enough to please any clever mind and if shown on t.v. and farily evaluated by the Nielsen company would be pretty much guaranteed to be the hightest rated show ever.

    I have pitched it to Jason Kliot. He knows me, my work (check out the website) and the idea. Twice it\’s been bought to be developed by broadcasters, (HBO and TRIO). Each time lawyers lacked the guts to take it on.

    Recently, I brought it to the attention of a former colleague of yours. He too is worried, but likewise loved the idea.

    I can\’t tell it you on an open space, but I\’m easily reached.

    Check out my work. I don\’t exaggerate and I don\’t commit anything less then 100%.

    Best,

    Jonathan Stack

    PS When you hear the idea you\’ll know why I say it\’s guaranteed to be the highest rated show ever.

    Comment by Jonathan Stack — May 14, 2007 @ 5:51 pm

86. Mark,

    It\’s a great idea, to get viewers to brainstorm with you. I hope one of our ideas gets picked! That would be an awesome success story to write about!

    My pitch:
    A show about the creative process that allows viewers to provide input that affects the outcome of that process.

    Example: a Band agrees to write/record a song (or album) that is developed in collaboration with the viewers. Necessary – and entertaining – elements would include: learning about the Band and their influences, understanding the mechanics of writing music and lyrics, learning about the process of recording and producing a final product in a studio. I\’m sure there is more to be added, but this gives the gist.

    It is a concept that could be easily expanded to other art forms: photography, film, painting, sculpture, etc. The audio/visual advantages of HD would help make the viewer feel really involved – right \”in the studio.\” It also incorporates the whole \”user-generated content\” craze – which can drive traffic/advertising through the HD.net website.

    Good luck – there are some great suggestions on here!

    Comment by Robert — May 14, 2007 @ 6:00 pm

87. I would love to see a reality tv show that is based on the idea of \”one last day\” meaning if you had one last day to live, what would you do.

    Some might go for the life risking adventures they always dreamed of but were too afraid; like sky diving or a sailing trip to the arctic, or maybe facing the fear of the crowd by accomplishing their dream of stand up comedy.

    Some would take the more emotional route maybe reaching out to someone who they haven\’t in a long time, find a parent who may have left them, or tell the girl of your dreams that you love her. A show like this could focus on one person, or maybe a group of friends, finally willing to take that step.

    Whomever in focus, the journey will be life changing and might even encourage those to watch to do something they thought would never do unless they had one last day.

    Comment by Joel Russo — May 14, 2007 @ 5:59 pm

88. Hullo Mark,

    What with all the next-gen video game consoles out there why don\’t you start up a hip show reviewing games and (Blue-ray / HD-DVD) DVD\’s. The focus should be on what will give the viewers the best bang for their buck and show them what\’s really out there for them to play / watch. A show presented in HD will allow viewers to actually see and hear the benefits of the next-gen entertainment (take that G4!).

    Food for thought?
    Best of luck finding some groovy new material.

    Comment by James Davie — May 14, 2007 @ 6:02 pm

89. Title: \”The Surface of Things\”

    Description: A show about the uses of scientific and high-speed photography, like the work of Harold Edgerton. Very hard on the science, very beautiful on the images. The show could feature everything from images of space from Hubble to the microscopic world only seen with very special lenses. Sort of a combination of a science documentary with stunning imagery, such as HD Theater\’s Sunrise Earth.

    Comment by Joseph DiCastro — May 14, 2007 @ 5:55 pm

90. \”American Family Treehouse\”

    Moms a busy nurse. Dads a busy accountant. Hes been promising to build his two young children a treehouse for months nowbut he simply doesnt have the time.

    Thats where we come in.

    This is a show about the design, construction, and completion of
    backyard treehouses.

    Characters:
    Host
    Parents & Kids
    Planner/Designer/Architect
    Carpenters

    Breakdown:
    - We meet the family and the kid(s), and take a brief tour of the backyard/exterior.
    - Next, the design and planning for the treehouse begins. (an architect/designer works in cohesion with the family, they conceive of something functional and something that isnt an eyesore) Sketches and drawings are made. Costs of materials and supplies tallied. Construction begins.
    - Construction continues. The parents and kids assist with construction – Construction completed. Painting, decorations, and other cosmetic details
    and personalization added. After shots, and shots of usage.

    I see this airing either Saturday or Sunday mornings, or weekday afternoons after school. The strength of the show lies in the fact it appeals to both adults and kids. In addition, no two trees are alike, thus every treehouse will be entirely unique. Also families are unique. Single parents, different ethnicities, treehouses in public parks, treehouses as extensions of the home. For example a deck in a treehouse attached to a master bedroom. The possibilities are endless. Treehouses can vary in sizes, shapes, colors, etc. They could even become rather extravagant; for example adding additions such as trap doors, two levels, windows, skylights, electricity ready, plumbing, etc.

    Show has possibility to expand internationally, i.e. German Family Treehouse, Japanese Family treehouse

    Comment by Adam — May 14, 2007 @ 6:01 pm

91. Americas Next Top Artist
    WGA # 1168930

    Genre: Reality/Competition

    Premise: 10-14 individuals compete in weekly challenges in the various studio art forms in hopes to obtain the grand prize of their own exhibit in a prominent art gallery.

    Characters: 3 judges, 10-14 competitors, and an artist in residence who acts as a mentor for our competitors.

    Format: 1 hour, airs weekly

    Potential Networks: Bravo, A&E, TLC, network television

    Audience: The show will strike a balance between docu-soap and reality/competition, drawing fans of both. It will also have a strong educational component that will draw fans of art and artists interested in seeing the work of their peers. The main demographic will be 18-55.

    Breakdown: Each episode will track the progress of each individual artist from:
    1) original idea/concept
    2) to gathering of material
    3) to execution and completion of challenge
    4) to final unveiling and critique of work by judges
    5) to the elimination of that weeks artist with the lowest score for the challenge.

    Every episode all the competitors will work in the same art form/media to complete the weekly challenge. A brief montage highlighting some history and background of that particular art form begins each show. The opening of the show will usually take place in an art gallery, museum, or other art-related public space where the resident artist explains that weeks challenge and talks briefly about its history. Segue into montage.

    Artists will then return to the central workspace to brainstorm and map out initial ideas and concepts for the weekly challenge. During this time the resident artist will explain the challenge more thoroughly, including what materials they can and cant use (if any). Next the artists will set out to gather the necessary materials. The artists will be given a period of time in which to shop. Each person will be given a limited budget to purchase supplies and materials. The weekly budget will vary, depending on the demands of each particular challenge.

    Each week, a different artist will be highlighted featuring personal interviews, examples of their prior work, the personality of their individual workspace, and their interests and career goals.

    Only close-ups and parts of each work will be shown before a final reveal. The final reveal will take place in a studio designed like the inside of an art gallery. Contestants will have time to set up their work, focus on presentation, and have the opportunity to distribute or lay out any additional materials that accompany their work such as an essay, description, photographs.

    Contestants will be numerically scored by 3 judges, one a professional artist (guest), one an art professor, and the other an art critic. Judging will be done by walking around the studio space. At the conclusion of each show, the contestants will be lined up, scores will be announced, and the contestant receiving the lowest score will be eliminated.

    Nationwide casting will be done in preproduction. We seek 18-35 year old amateur artists that have talent as well as personality. We will cast people with a myriad of artistic styles that come from all walks of life.

    Appeal: As a weekly competition show, viewers will be in weekly suspense as they await the results to find out if their favorite contestant will move on to the next round.

    The audience will learn about the thought process of an artist, as well as follow the creative trials and tribulation each individual deals during the whole process.

    With only 1 week to finish each challenge, that time constraint will put tremendous pressure on each person to not only simply complete each challenge, but make shrewd choices along the way.

    Potential art mediums for weekly challenges:

    - painting
    - drawing
    - sculpting
    - printmaking
    - metalworking
    - illustration
    - ceramics
    - pottery
    - mixed media
    - installations
    - collage
    - found art
    - textile
    - lithographs
    - photography

    Note: Many of these items listed above overlap and have sub-categories. For example, drawing can be pencil, pen, marker, ink, etc. Painting can be water color, acrylic, etc. Also, the challenges can be specific.—figure drawing, portrait painting, landscapes. Also challenges can be style specific/period specific impressionistic, expressionistic, abstract, etc.

    Comment by Adam — May 14, 2007 @ 6:03 pm

92. \”Americas Next Top Singer/Songwriter
    WGA # 1172156

    Genre: Reality/Competition/Music

    Premise: 8-10 singer/songwriters compete in weekly songwriting/musical challenges in hopes of obtaining the grand prize of their own record deal with complete creative control.

    Characters: 3 judges, 8-10 competitors, and a different guest artist each week who acts as a mentor for our competitors. There is also host for the show, or the possibility for voice-over narration.

    Format: 1 hour, airs weekly.

    Potential Networks: VH1/BET/MTV (their subnetworks), Bravo, A&E, TLC, network television

    Audience: The main demographic will be 25-55.

    Breakdown:
    Each episode will track the progress of each individual singer/ songwriter from:

    The first seeds of the song (initial concept, title, hook)
    Writing lyrics
    Choosing musical accompaniment, if any
    Melding the music to the lyrics
    Rehearsing the song with/without accompaniment

    NOTE: Because each competitor will have his/her own unique creative process, the breakdowns will not always occur in the same order.

    Instruments are to be played by professional studio musicians, that are to be drawn from an available pool each week, or there are to be 3-4 bands that rotate artists each week.

    While the competitor is not required to write the actual music for these additional parts, he/she will instruct the accompaniment on the sound/feel they are looking for and have complete control over the final musical arrangement. Interactions with the band will focus on the best way to serve the content/concept of the song.

    LIVE AUDIENCE PORTION full realization of song
    Performance of song before live audience in a club/bar/unplugged setting with or without band
    Critique of work by judges
    Elimination of that weeks singer/songwriter with the lowest score for the challenge

    As the show progresses and competitors have been eliminated, the remaining competitors will be required to perform more songs per episode. The timeframe given to complete the weekly challenges will be increased accordingly.

    The show will open with the host/mentor explaining that weeks challenge to the competitors. After hearing their challenge, the competitors return to their workspace to commence work.

    NOTE: The show could also work without specific weekly challenges. The focus would then fall entirely on the artists showcasing their versatility, awareness of strengths and weaknesses, and lyrical and musical diversity from week to week.

    Each week, a different competitor will be highlighted featuring personal interviews/background/bio, some examples of their prior work, artists they admire and pattern their work after (if any), the musical genres they are comfortable in, and their interests and career goals.

    Competitors will be numerically scored by 3 judges — a professional musician/record executive, an author or literature professor, and a music critic. Judging will be done in front of the competitor and the live audience. At the conclusion of each show, the contestants will be lined up, scores will be announced, and the contestant receiving the lowest score will be eliminated.

    Nationwide casting will be done in preproduction. We seek 18-35 year old amateurs that have talent as well as personality. We will cast people with a myriad of artistic styles that come from all walks of life. Casting can be done in two ways: 1.) hosting walk-in tryouts in a studio space 2.) Attending singer/songwriter shows in bars/clubs in various cities across the country. This footage will be incorporated into the early episodes as competitors are introduced and again during the weekly highlights of the different competitors. It will serve as a showcase of the hard road and sacrifices most aspiring singer/songwriters face in getting their songs out to the general public.

    Competitors will have to sign a release form stating they cannot use previously written material. If a competitor is found to have used previously written/recorded/performed material he/she will be immediately disqualified.

    Appeal: Only original material is performed. As a weekly competition show, viewers will be in weekly suspense as they await the results to find out if their favorite contestant will move on to the next round.

    The audience will be engaged as they follow the thought process in crafting a song, as well as watching the creative trials and tribulations faced by each individual. The dynamic between each contestant and the professional musicians will also be interesting to watch, as the individual not only has to create the song itself, but also lead and direct the overall collaborative process.

    Potential weekly challenge ideas:
    Song structure (verses/chorus/bridge arrangements)
    Lyrical themes (love, politics, friendship, comedy, hardship)
    Genre (blues, folk, rock, country, pop)

    Comment by Adam — May 14, 2007 @ 6:05 pm

93. Three ideas:

    1. More in the concert art arena. Specifically, you already have shows with Matt Pinfield and Katie. How about a huge documentary/concert of Coachella? Lots of live performance footage from a truely surreal atmosphere interspersed with people watching and talking to the fans about who they saw, who they like, what they saw other fans doing, as well as the performance art that is associated with the concert every year.

    2. Similar to number one, but do the show on Burning Man. Perhaps start by following a group that is creating art for Burning Man all the way to the implementation of their art, and they way that other artists and Burning Man attendees interact with the group you follow.

    3. The British Car Show \”Top Gear\” would be a huge success her in the states. I belong to groups and forums that do whatever it takes to watch crappy feeds of this show on the internet. Why not bring to the masses?

    Comment by Chicago Joe — May 14, 2007 @ 6:11 pm

94. A Sunday afternoon, primetime golf tournament for 15-18 handicappers. I love golf. Love playing and love watching. However, there is just one thing that is a bit frustrating about watching the pros play golf…they are so freaking good, they are untouchable. In a million years I couldn\’t get as good as them. But, I wish that for one day, I could get with other golfers my same skill level and play a round of golf with the same money, stress and exposure that pros play with. Johnny Miller calling the round, $1.5 million dollar purse on the line, average Joe vs. average John for all the marbles…in HD. Why 15-18? Because that\’s bogey golf. The guys are terrific but they are going to stink up the course. Just enough skill level to have the nerves and stress play a big role in their play.

    Comment by garrett — May 14, 2007 @ 6:11 pm

95. Redo American Gladiators.

    Comment by dp — May 14, 2007 @ 6:02 pm

96. Mark,
    I have spoken with your team at HD Net a few times about getting some HD footage at wildfires throughout the Western USA. I appreciate you having them contact me when I brought the idea up to you by email a few years ago. Too bad they didn\’t see the possibilities as wildfires and their impingement on structures will almost certainly keep escalating. Now I believe I have a great idea that came to me while watching the show \”Deadliest Catch\”. My show would be about firefighters on the front lines of wildfires and showing how the experienced firefighters watch out for the newbies and keep them from killing themselves. I have a lot of experience in this field as I am a medically retired Fire Captain from the California Dept. of Forestry and Fire. Anyway, this seems like a great idea for a show and I could invest my share to co-produce it if you would be interested in participating. I know firefighters and could find a group of experienced, tough, funny and matter of fact guys that the viewing public could get attached to and be interested in following around during the fire season. Thanks again for your past assistance and I look forward to hearing from you again in the future. Regards, Frank

    Comment by Frank Morales — May 14, 2007 @ 6:19 pm

97. \”Paine Management\”

    Here\’s the pilot presentation:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZKA3S_lTco

    A weekly, hybrid half-hour comedy series that follows Daniel Paine, a struggling entertainment manager, and his roster of loved-but-forgotten celebrity has-beens (all playing themselves).

    Each episode of Paine Management will feature a combination of clients, who are all struggling to see if lightning will strike twice in their career while wrestling with the stigma of being famous in an, often, unforgiving world.

    Comment by Taz Goldstein — May 14, 2007 @ 6:21 pm

98. Make a show about various university-based psychology experiments — hundreds of which are being conducted every day.

    A particular emphasis on social psychology (those experiments are by far the most FUN). Put the HDNet viewer in the shoes of the test subjects, or the experimenter. People would play along at home almost like a game, guessing the results and arguing to each other \”What would you do?\”

    Shows could detail the scientific method involved in each experiment, and a thoughtful debate/discussion would follow (by experts or laypersons — either could be compelling), discussing the results, their implications (in terms of public policy, organizational behavior, politics, etc) and the real world applications of the new knowledge.

    There is SO much amazing research going on with results that are funny, shocking, and enlightening. The general public gets only a glimpse of this through pop-psych books like \”Blink\” — and if THAT was a best seller, imagine how compelling a show on HDNet could be.

    If you like the idea, I will do whatever I can to provide you with some specific examples and research ideas, or even recommend people.

    Comment by sean — May 14, 2007 @ 6:24 pm

99. ————————————-
    IDEA: Indie\’s trying to make their own movie/tv show using HD cameras and some type of basic video software
    ————————————-
    A show about indie\’s trying to make their own TV show or movie. Have people submit their ideas, give them HD cameras etc and next to nothing for a budget to complete the show/movie.

    Bring in someone like Kevin Smith to judge / host the show since he bootstrapped his own success.

    I know this might sound a little like Project Greenlight though it\’s not. Focus more on the aspects of MAKING the movie and using HD technology, while leveraging the Internet and post the tv/movies online.
    ————————————-

    Comment by Micheal — May 14, 2007 @ 6:27 pm

100. Much like some previous responses I\’d love to share some great ideas with you but not in a public forum.

     Here\’s one I will toss your way:

     Separated at Birth Game Show:

     Concept: 2 teams are sent with video crews to highly populated public places where they film everyday people who look remarkably like someone famous.

     The teams return to the studio where 2 contestants have been selected to play. The contestants play against each other, scoring points for each \”regular person\” they can match with their famous counterpart. You could also have some \”special assignment\” cases where the teams were given a list of specific names to find look-a-likes for.

     The winning contestant (who made the most matches), and the team who has the most \”separated at birth\” matches from the tape they shot, all win a prize (state-of-the-art video/computer/editing equipment that ties into the HD experience).

     That\’s my free one. It\’s not rocket science but production costs would be reasonable and it plays to a well know theme (ever heard of that spin-off of \”Hangman\” called \”Wheel of Fortune\”?)

     Mark, I\’m in Dallas. Give me a call. We\’ll do lunch. I\’ll pay!

     Comment by PlanoJoe — May 14, 2007 @ 6:24 pm

101. I have always wanted to see a show that attempts to show the creative differences between two people. For the show, you get a mini-series type script that has potential. For this example, lets say you got the script for a Stephen King short story. You give the script to two prominent or up and coming directors, with rules about how much of the script they can and cant change, budget, etc. Let them go and make their respective \”movies\” and then show them back to back, or on separate nights, whatever. I would definitely tune in both nights just to see the differences between the two. You could even set it up as a voting tournament between 16 directors, and people vote as to which one they like best. I think it would be so cool to see what Michael Bay\’s version would look live vs. Steven Soderbergh\’s. How much influence does the producer have on it? The camera angles? The pacing? all of that would be so interesting…

     Comment by Dave — May 14, 2007 @ 6:30 pm

102. \”On Top of the World – Summiting the 8k\’s\”

     Pitch – Take 14 teams and have each start at one of the 8k peaks. For $10,000,000 be the first team to summit all 14 mountains.

     All HD. At least 3 cameras per team. Helicopters as high as they can go. Ground pounders the rest of the way. There\’s got to be at least a full season\’s worth of drama for this.

     I retain all rights to this pitch.

     Comment by Jim — May 14, 2007 @ 6:37 pm

103. Hey, Mark. Just thought I\’d throw my two cents in. My idea is a pretty simple one. It opens up the country to the network. It also opens up the possibility of personal fame to local people which could be a huge draw.

     If you put a game show stage in a big rig and set it out across the country, it could get great footage of America, which would play by during breaks, question segments, and such. The show itself would be a game show simple enough that the general population would feel like they had a chance to win.

     The way to make this work is that the truck would stop in small towns and record shows. With a format similar to something like the way Who Wants to be a Millionaire does their questions and contestant replacement. The only difference is that you limit the total time available for questions and contestants who are still alive at the end of the episode don\’t carry over. If you only get one question, you only get one question. It not only adds the element of speed and savvy to the broadcast, but it also adds some of that quick thinking that the speed round of Jeopardy adds.

     Now, the format of the actual questions is something to be discussed. Would it be straight up trivia a\’la Jeopardy or WWtbaM? Not likely. Especially not with the availability of the HD feeds that travelling the country would produce. They would be used in questions such as editing the signs out of a particular stretch of highway that is nearby the area and seeing if a contestant can identify the locale.

     With the popularity of game shows like Who Wants to be a Millionaire and Deal or No Deal, a show like this could be worked to show off both the ability of HD and also to bring viewers to the network. People are always willing to watch something if they feel like they have a chance to win, which they could since the show would be airing from little towns everywhere rather than only in places like New York and LA.

     Thanks for the time and good luck with your search.

     Comment by Chris Taylor — May 14, 2007 @ 6:38 pm

104. This is my idea for an existential science fiction drama:

     \”To Be or Not to Be\”

     Set in the near future when all diseases, including ordinary aging, have been cured. Drama results as different characters deal with the psychological pressure of living in a world where eternal life is possible, but not necessarily enjoyable.

     Almost all physical labor in this future world is done by machines- people generally only do jobs that require interaction with other people.

     People can still die from accidents and/or committing suicide. Many do so for a variety of reasons- boredom, religious convictions, war, and murder. All the characters have to deal with how much risk to allow into their lives- since any physical activity comes with risk of permanent injury or death. Marriage \”til death do us part\” takes on a whole new meaning.

     By removing many of the struggles of our current world, the show peers into the struggles that still remain.

     Mark- given your huge success in achieving much of what this world has to offer, I\’m guessing you might be able to offer some good insights for the show\’s story lines.

     Comment by Trey Tomeny — May 14, 2007 @ 6:43 pm

105. What about a detective series? I know there are a million out there now but here\’s the catch, present the viewers with 6 different scenarios to try to solve the crime and which ever option gets voted the most then that is what the detectives on the show do and then the results could be bad or good.

     It\’s like giving the viewers a chance to be a detective in a fun and interactive way because they can look at the evidence and decide for themself what they want to do with it.

     Let me know what you think!

     Sam
     (Saminman1@mac.com)

     Comment by Sam Inman — May 14, 2007 @ 6:53 pm

106. WHAT IS COOL???!!! Reality show compete… what is coolest? …any age group, ethnic group, location in the world, time in history, funky, antique, musical, artsy, jocks, sexy girls 3 segments per episode with any or all of the above ideas …voter results …must figure out a teenage texting to win …loser gets a cattle prod

     you kidding me, you think I\’d attach my name to this?

     Comment by freeway2000.com — May 14, 2007 @ 6:56 pm

107. First of all- nothing on TV is truly original.

     Look at the last three biggest things on TV.

     American Idol

     Survivor

     Who Wants To Be A Millionaire.

     The only one of those that have a slight hint of originality was survivor, and that was still a game show

     So asking for a truly original idea sounds like something that isnt going to be that successful. It might catch on way down the road, but originality is not the formula for TV success.

     Secondly- I submit the HDNet Slam Dunk Contest- get Nike, Reebok, all the shoe people to get behind it, get Kobe, Vince, Lebron, whoever, put up a huge purse to the winner so theyll do it, and have an annual supreme dunk contest. Make it after the season, promote it like a boxing match. get judges who have no shoe affiliation, but have basketball and dunk credibility

     The real slam dunk champ, in HD

     Comment by Richard Bufum — May 14, 2007 @ 7:03 pm

108. My idea is a show is to show what it\’s like to work in a theme park from the employees point of view. People don\’t seem to understand that it really is hard but rewarding work. It is also shocking how badly people treat us just because we\’re there trying our best to make sure they have fun.

     Comment by Rebeccalee Coventry — May 14, 2007 @ 7:05 pm

109. For me, being a viewer, a lot of the HD-only stations do not have a lot of substance in terms of their programming. They\’re pretty to look at, but there\’s no show that makes me want to come back over and over to watch. What these stations need is a good sitcom or drama, one that fully manipulates the visual and audio clarity of high definition and separates itself from network programming. This show would have to be edgier and more gripping than similar network shows to grab the viewers attention. Keep in mind that some cable companies charge extra to get channels like HDNet. Personally, I think the perfect fit for this would be a sci-fi show in the vein of the old Fox show Firefly. That had a sci-fi vibe with action sequences that would work well with the superior audio and video that HD has to offer as well as clever writing to keep everyone interested.

     Comment by Sean Raftery — May 14, 2007 @ 7:06 pm

110. Forgot to add, guest commentary on voting results, ala Andy Rooney … one week Pee Wee Herman, one week Jesse Jackson, one week Michael Savage, one week Barney Frank

     Comment by freeway2000.com — May 14, 2007 @ 7:18 pm

111. \”Trump\”

     This is a drama where ordinary people work very hard building successful small businesses while a supposedly billionaire land developer often plays a \”trump\” card by conspiring with local officials to condemn their property to build another tax subsidized eyesore.

     The developer is in the mold of JR Ewing, but without the social graces or handsome physical appearance. He is absolutely clueless about his real reputation in the world and goes around calling real billionaires who have created real value \”losers\”.

     If there\’s not room on the HDnet schedule for this, I understand there is an hour open on NBC Sunday night.

     Comment by Tom — May 14, 2007 @ 7:01 pm

112. I like the idea of serial programming (Lost, Heroes…) but their downfall is in the dragging out of story lines that should really only last a season, 2 max. Why not create single season shows? I think limiting a show to 1 season would help bring about excellent story lines that other wise wouldn\’t make it due to a lack of longevity.

     You could even take it in more of an Outer Limit\’s direction as far as casting goes. Each Outer Limit\’s episode has a different cast, different story. Expand that to a show that has a different cast, story every season. You\’d retain the branding of the show each season without turning off your viewers by stringing them along for season after season. The viewer would know there would be a resolution at the end of the season.

     Comment by Matt — May 14, 2007 @ 7:23 pm

113. Most Extreme Elimination Challenge in HD! I\’d like to see people act like lemmings in splendid 1080p

     Comment by Aren — May 14, 2007 @ 7:21 pm

114. two words, dude: invisible gorilla

     Comment by rick — May 14, 2007 @ 7:25 pm

115. HI, I LOVE MY HD-TV, lots of good ideas, and here a mix of some with my own; first off give credit were credit is due. Then award them for their effort; like top (5) ideas get an upgrade on their set up, then show it. Well for me a ongoing series on cities in the U.S.A. Each week will feature a city, the good and the bad, industry, entertainment, arts,(no sports) we get enough of that. And just keep on going, All over the U.S.A. on going and going. Feature hometheaters from said cities; from this is my first one to this is on a particular budget. To that \”I have to much money\”. How about the actual manufacturing of All types home electronics from HDTV, recievers, speakers, and everything in between; all price ranges.

     Comment by Ruben — May 14, 2007 @ 7:50 pm

116. Bob Ross in HD!!! Yeah, baby, yeah!

     Comment by paint by numbers — May 14, 2007 @ 7:55 pm

117. The shows that I love most on HDNET are the Whats kewl at CES and CEDIA shows. I would love to see a weekly electronics show that shows off the latest and greatest in HDTV technology. There would be HDTV and other home theater devices reviews. You could have a segment where it shows off some of the best home theater set ups around. Segments showing how best to set up your home theater and some info about sound and video formats. HDNET would be perfect to show off these TVs and see there true detail.

     Comment by Eric — May 14, 2007 @ 8:00 pm

118. HDNet is at its best when its using its stunning video quality to bring us glimpses of real life. Whether it be Mardi Gras, war, or live and in your face music acts.

     My pitch would address something that I think is missing from HDNet (if not all of television). I\’ve always dreamed of a movie review show that takes the reviews out of the hands of a few select critics and puts them into the hands of the people actually paying to see the garbage they call movies these days. Hearing a movie got \”two thumbs up\” means a whole lot less to me than a few friends saying \”that movie was awesome\” or \”wow… that movie sucked\”.

     What if a camera and an interviewer were waiting outside of a packed cinema waiting to ambush a crowd of moviegoers (who probably spent at least 20 or 30 bucks for tickets and concessions) with questions about the worthiness of that particular film? It\’d be just like those crappy movie commercials where excessively cheerful moviegoers (and/or paid actors) rave about their near-religious cinematic experience… but with real people giving real, unedited opinions. A perfect match for my perceived vibe of what HDNet is all about.

     The fly in the ointment would be timeliness. You can\’t gauge real moviegoers until the movie comes out (unless screeners were setup, but that would require cooperation from Hollywood). So the basic premise would be packaged into a typical studio setup with two charismatic hosts guiding the viewer through upcoming releases at the box office. The hosts would use internet buzz and pre-release reviews to properly inform the viewer of what to expect when they spend their hard earned dollars on a particular film.

     The combination of pre-release buzz and post-release audience reactions would allow the viewer to be able to make a more educated and informed decision about what movie to see (or, more importantly, not see) than a thumbs up or thumbs down truly delivers.

     Its Art Mann meets Harry Knowles.

     If you don\’t like that idea I\’ve also got this killer idea about a Mavs Hold\’em Poker tournament.

     Comment by Nick Hammond — May 14, 2007 @ 8:12 pm

119. about 2 teenage kids incessantly talking … call it Infinite Void … txt me … not u em but ur illiterate assistant

     Comment by freeway2000.com — May 14, 2007 @ 8:14 pm

120. how bout a show called dream maker or something like that, and every episode would be about making someone\’s dream come true. whatever the dream was. No competitions. None of that other stuff. People would write in with whatever it was they wanted to do and the show would give everyone whatever they needed to complete whatever it was they wanted to do. the wilder the dream the better.

     Comment by Jeff M. — May 14, 2007 @ 2:52 pm

121. Bridge the gap between internet and television. Bring top quality content shows like Diggnation, Tiki Bar TV, etc and distribute them over HD Net.

     Comment by Justin Goff — May 14, 2007 @ 8:25 pm

122. TranquilityTV(TM) is a simulated TV channel of stunning relaxation video with music. The scenes/music change every five minutes. i.e. abstract nature, earth from the Space Shuttle, European locations, animals in National Parks, deep space from the Hubble, etc.

     We\’d simply do it all in HD and find/create enough footage so that it\’s always fresh and captivating.

     Because each five-minute segment ends with a fade-to-black, it offers an opportunity to embed what we call \”Branding Segments\” from corporate sponsors. You simply plug in companies with synergy such as Sealy Posturpedic Matresses or Ambien or exotic vacation retreats.

     The demographics will skew at the higher end of the spectrum and the psychograpics will be even more definate and, thus, make it easy to find appropriate sponsors who will get an advantageous ROI.

     Regards,
     Robby Lee Feldman
     President
     TranquilityTV

     Comment by Robby Lee Feldman — May 14, 2007 @ 8:49 pm

123. Since TechTV is gone, there\’s not really much to fill that void.
     CurrentTV does an ok job, but HDNet could benefit in filling that technology need.
     Show us some cool new things, news, and things of that nature.
     Sportscenter for nerds?
     Ok… maybe not.

     Comment by Toph — May 14, 2007 @ 2:37 pm

124. So chess-boxing or poker-boxing is out of the question?

     Comment by Rob — May 14, 2007 @ 8:53 pm

125. A couple of ideas from my own areas of special knowledge:

     1. A \”real\” debate show (not these \”host asks a question to get a one minute sound bite response shows) where the best of opposing sides do a real debate each episode over a particular issue.

     Make each side give the other side a list of questions ahead of time, then give their presentation and response to each of the questions.

     You could open it up to both sides of an issue to come up with visuals, explanations, whatever they want that will best convince viewers of their side, then you could have an audience vote where the winner is revealed the following week.

     I think a lot of people would find it interesting to have \”serious\” shows on issues like that instead of biased talking heads shouting over each other or softball celebrity politician interviews.

     2. A dramatic series where the main character is an older con artist showing an apprentice how he runs his scams, including a bevy of credit card fraud and identity theft scams, both informing people how vulnerable they are while at the same time being up to date with modern criminals and criminal organizations. The apprentice could be a deep undercover operative or you could add an investigator always one step behind them.

     If you like those, please involve me in the creation, as I\’ve got a lot more depth to add. I\’m actually working on a book along the lines of the second one (wearing a security professionals hat amongst others), but that wouldn\’t conflict. For obvious reasons I\’m not going to publicly post the details of the multitude of unexploited (as in, never been show on tv before) openings that exist for a con artist show to use as storylines, but I\’d be willing to discuss them in private with responsible individuals. The potential scope would blow you (and the audience) away.

     Thomas

     Comment by Thomas Sewell — May 14, 2007 @ 8:55 pm

126. Lukas Arkangel: Mukha Ng Demonyo (The Devil\’s Identity)

     Police themed television show revolving around two rookie cops, Lukas Arkangel (JohnLloyd Cruz) and Gabriel San Roque (Yul Servo), who are also best friends. After graduating from the academy with flying colors, they are stationed at San Mauricio or SM, a Sin City of sorts where the lowest of the low, the scum of the earth roam freely. This is where up and coming policemen cut their teeth, a baptism of fire, if you will, where they learn if they have what it takes to be a real cop.

     Concept: Every episode starts with a dastardly crime being committed in San Mauricio. Each crime has a reluctant witness who is either convinced to come forward by the kind and saintly Lukas or coerced by the psychological tactics of the manipulative Gabriel. Though the two rookie cops\’ methods may differ, they have the same aim, to bring the criminals to justice.

     At the center of each investigation is the resident police sketcher, Victor Corpuz (Pen Medina, who is a Fine Arts graduate). Veteran policemen have dubbed him, \”Ang Maestro\” for his legendary skills in drawing. Police investigators have come to rely on police sketches due to lack of funds for the latest crime solving technology and training for advanced techniques. In the old days when witnesses were not afraid to come forward, Victor Corpuz was was always busy. Now, he\’s just kept on payroll for sentimental reasons and because everyone likes his stories of \”the good old days\”. He is thinking of retiring since he doesn\’t feel useful anymore, that is, until Lukas and Gabriel come along.

     Lukas and Gabriel have uncanny ways of coaxing witnesses to disclose information about the features of people at the scene of the crime. This gives Victor what he needs to come up with an undeniable sketch of the crime suspect.

     For every episode, the sketch will reveal the guest star.

     The idealism and tactics of the two greenhorn cops irk the police chief, Superintendent Mendoza (Spanky Manikan or Ricky Davao), who is, naturally, in cahoots with the various crime syndicates in San Mauricio. Since he has to appear that he is helping any investigation that the two are working on for the sake of public relations, he has to depend on his right hand man, Sgt. Valderama (Nonie BUencamino), to foil their efforts.

     BY the end of the first episode, the two learn that they are not only fighting the criminals of San Mauricio, they also have to contend with the evil forces within the police department. With Valderama hounding them, they have to work doubly hard to get any work done. In order to move around the underworld of San Mauricio, their idealism and integrity are compromised numerous times. How far are our heroes willing to go to uphold justice?

     Comment by Ricky Baizas — May 14, 2007 @ 8:55 pm

127. We\’ve currently been working on this show and are considering filming it in HD depending on budgets. We recently walked from Los Angeles to San Diego and filmed it during the trip. Here\’s a link to a promo video.
     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LcGrhP3SaYU

     Now we\’re working on another project called inTransit. Here\’s the premise.

     In Transit is a reality based travel series that follows young, hip people as they travel to and through exotic locales by unusual modes of transportation. Unscripted and unusual, the series focuses on the journey, more so than the destination. Unaware of whats to come, the travelers pack up and explore the world. Whether its riding a bicycle across Europe, sailing the Caribbean, boating the Mississippi River or walking across a country, there are no limitations to what travel they pursue. Follow the cast as they interact with each other and the environments they surround themselves in. In relation to the trip, humorous skits, music videos, and vignettes will be interwoven into the series throughout their travels.

     Comment by Peter Bragiel — May 14, 2007 @ 8:56 pm

128. A show where an American is placed in Mexico. The American will be forced to work in Mexico, and be completely immersed in the Mexican way of life. They will be able to see why so many Mexicans try to come to America every year. The American will not have a passport, so they will have to work, and make their own money. If they grow tired of Mexico, they will have to try and sneak over the border back to America.

     Comment by Tim Jensen — May 14, 2007 @ 8:08 pm

129. How about following students on a college campus and splitting them up into cliques? You\’ve got the nerds (engineering students), the cool kids (business students), the visa students, the frat brothers, the sorority sisters, and the rich kids, etc. See how their daily lives and semesters differ. You could even break it up into freshman and seniors. That show could take off if you got the right students. You can\’t tell me that won\’t get ratings…

     Comment by Paul Wong — May 14, 2007 @ 9:32 pm

130. Mark:

     This one\’s a little off the wall, so be prepared (bg).

     To me, this new idea/concept should (in no particular order):
     1) be something that wouldn\’t normally be shown on the Big 4 networks;
     2) fall within the programming direction of HDNET;
     3) utilize and embrace the ENTIRE experience of HD;
     4) provide a compelling reason for new viewers to subscribe to HDNET (the \”killer app\”, so to speak)

     So, with that in mind: take your HD cameras where *no one* has been and show the unbelievable detail of whatever you\’re shooting, up close and personal:
     - The Mona Lisa, the ceilings of the Sistine Chapel, and/or other famous works of art
     - The Taj Mahal, the Leaning Tower of Pisa, the torch of the Statue of Liberty. and/or other famous structures
     - The cockpit of one of the space shuttles, or other interesting machines
     - Heck, take a super-micro-camera inside various areas of the human body!

     I\’m sure you can think of a *LOT* more of these than I can.

     Comment by Evan — May 14, 2007 @ 8:58 pm

131. American Man…the Democratic Party hires a former producer for a show like American Idol to help manipulate the election for President.

     Comment by David — May 14, 2007 @ 9:20 pm

132. I\’d like to be a regular viewer but my cable provider doesn\’t carry your channels, if you can get Cablevision on Long Island in New York to carry your channels, i\’d GLADLY become a regular viewer.

     Comment by Daniel — May 14, 2007 @ 9:25 pm

133. A Little 500 reality show

     The race is great, you know that, you show it every year. Why not a taped 7 episode reality series co vering 2 or 3 of the teams in training, etc.???

     I love stuff like that, but not sure if others would…..

     Comment by Ken — May 14, 2007 @ 9:59 pm

134. Some mention was made of New Orleans earlier…I\’m working on writing a treatment for a historical drama, ala \”Deadwood\”, based on the early founding of the city itself and centering around the pirate Jean Lafitte and his brother Pierre. The title would be \”The Brother\’s Lafitte\” or simply, \”New Orleans\”.

     For further reference purposes…
     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Lafitte

     Comment by the cajun boy — May 14, 2007 @ 10:03 pm

135. What happens when you slam together the drama of a show like Lost and the audience participation of Idol? You empower the audience to become part of the show! I dont know about you, but I loved choose your own adventure novels as a child because I became an active participant in the story (the same reason reality shows are a hit today). We can offer America a voice and create truly great television at the same time. First and foremost, this is not about exploiting the war. This is about putting a human face on a very real and critical world crisis.

     My vision: American soldiers on patrol in Iraq are ambushed and taken captive by insurgents. They are transported to an unknown location and held hostage. They escape but must now survive. How? Where? Do they go back for a fallen marine and risk certain death? Do they approach an Iraqi village? Do the engage targets? The viewers vote. The viewers direct the action and shape the drama. The viewers express Americas true voice on the war: not the politicians (2008 is just around the corner).

     This is more than TV, this is an opportunity to express the realities of war to the American people. The dilemmas, the decisions, the pain, and the relief will be real because the audience is an active participant. We can offer America a voice and we can create truly great television at the same time.

     Comment by C — May 14, 2007 @ 10:05 pm

136. Late night HD porn whose editors will anticipate the fact that you\’ll be able to see every pore on the girls\’ bodies and will adjust accordingly.

     Comment by Carlo — May 14, 2007 @ 10:18 pm

137. I liked idea #6 and #34

     Comment by sidestream — May 14, 2007 @ 10:22 pm

138. Not sure if there is already one out there.

     1 hr (daily) of the top most viewed online videos (Youtube , and other sites) , digitally remastered (this will be the challenge).

     Comment by chetan — May 14, 2007 @ 10:26 pm

139. Do a technology show similar to the canned \’screen savers\’ show on TechTV. There is a real void of technology shows that are actually cool and useful on Directv. HD would make it even cooler. Gameplay and other software demos would be so much better (as well as the view of the hostess babes).

     Go Mavs,

     Jeff

     Comment by Jeff Wythe — May 14, 2007 @ 10:54 pm

140. I say have a show on videogames, like game coverage, the making of. Stuff like that because with all the next-gen games, and how popular videogames has become over the years, we need more shows on them. Also we need more shows on the latest gadgets,and reviews.

     Comment by Michael Sullivan — May 14, 2007 @ 10:59 pm

141. I think a good idea for a show is an American Remake of the UK show most haunted, where a bunch of people go into a haunted house live and see what happens. It would be great in HD.

     Comment by james — May 14, 2007 @ 11:00 pm

142. Simple Flickr photos shown as a slide show while phone interviewing the photographers. I don\’t mean the boring holiday snaps but the really good HDR and Art shots. Ask them why they took them and tips on taking such photos. Pan the pan large shots to give movement. Could be done with Adobe Premiere and a simple audio track. Had ti have a good presenter to ask teh right questions.

     Comment by kariato — May 14, 2007 @ 11:02 pm

143. a show about mark cuban.

     Comment by Jerad Poling — May 14, 2007 @ 8:07 pm

144. Gray

     A rather green CIA Agent is assigned to Paris and given the mission of trying to gather human intelligence about an energy trading outfit believed to have ties to Islamic Terrorists. As this agent starts to delve deeper into his assignment, he finds something interesting. The firm is trying to manipulate the markets to help terrorism sponsors, but there always seems to be other international actors involved.

     The agent must decide how he is going to handle his mission in a world that is increasingly colored in shades of gray and not the black and white he expected. At the same time, some of the international actors are starting to make bolder moves to meet their desired ends. Can the agent and the CIA see all of the pieces of the puzzle before they come together?

     Comment by Joey Bahr — May 14, 2007 @ 11:12 pm

145. What is the cut for me if mine is chosen, or are you looking for \”free\” ideas? I haven\’t yet taken the time to protect them, so let me know.

     Thanks.

     Comment by David S — May 14, 2007 @ 10:51 pm

146. BASIC IDEA: \”Machinima Theater\”
     - Story-telling meets video-game engine (Machine Cinema)
     - It\’s already HD, and is easier to produce than Pixar CGI
     - There are lots of brilliant, small teams out there

     I wrote an entire story about this a few years ago. You\’re in it. Start with Chapter 7: http://packetswitchedpress.com/MovingPicturesPSP2005f/MovingPicturesv09HTML.htm#_Toc92351713

     ALTERNATIVE: \”Machinima Theater Wars\”
     - Put a dozen Machinima teams up in a mansion
     - Have them go at it each week in eliminations
     - Winner gets contract for a season of their show on HDNet

     Comment by Mike Hoefflinger — May 14, 2007 @ 11:23 pm

147. \”All In The Family\” meets \”Curb Your Enthusiasm\” and \”Clerks\” as a Christian Arab family in Detroit juggles the family convenience store business with the changing dynamics in the socio-economic climate of their city. A large, extended family provides numerous opportunities for comedy in a loosely scripted series that explores the immigrant experience in a city undergoing radical change.

     Episode 1 – \”Do You Have Any Camel Licenses?\” The family convenience store tries selling hunting licensces, but finds it is ill-equiped to handle the new endeavor.

     Subplot 1 – \”How Bad Do You Have To Go?\” The restroom keys are attached to a sex toy by the folks on the night shift, and they find out how badly some really want to use the restroom.

     Episode 2 – \”Fishing Magazines\” A pushy magazine salesman tries to get the familiy to put in an entire section of dirty magaazines.

     Subplot 1 \”Cappucino Roulette\” A night shift clerk has a cold sore and puts their lips on a cup that may end up in the mouth of a morning regular.

     Episode 3 – \”Drive-Off\’s Are The Enemy\”
     $3.50/gallon Gas creates a game of cat and mouse with gas customers.
     Subplot 1 – \”Expiration Dates Are Flexible\”
     Expiration dates are changed on some slow selling items to extend their shelf lives, but will the \”Green Wonderbread\” really sell?

     Episode 4 – \”Indian Reservation Cigarette Blues\”
     A journey to an Indian Reservation in upstate New York to score some below market smokes leads to trouble.
     Subplot 1 – \”Maria and the Weight and Scale Guy\”
     The pumps are not registering right, and daughter Maria is sent to charm the state scale inspector into skipping a surprise inspection.

     Well, you get the idea. Lots of possibilities with the extended family as well. Maybe one is an auto worker, an airport worker, an importer, someone looking to go to the old country to get married, etc.

     Comment by Paul — May 14, 2007 @ 11:21 pm

148. Scientific Research Show:

     Host with decent science background who can read up on next weeks topic and sound like a relative expert visits leading scientific researchers in visually stimulating fields such as:

     Archaelogical digs
     Medical Imaging
     Environmental studies in rainforests
     Alternative Energy studies comparing motors
     Civil Engineering of unique buildings (would look great on HD)
     etc.

     Comment by Kevin — May 14, 2007 @ 11:30 pm

149. \”On Campus\”

     Find one or two charismatic hosts who travel to one particular college campus each episode and spend X number of days on campus, taking in college life, and the special things that each college has to offer.

     I think maybe film it with 1 or 2 HD cameras that follow the hosts around (together or separately) a la \”Insomniac\” (on Comedy Central with Dave Attell).

     It would be like the real person\’s guide to the college experience — the academic atmosphere, the beauty of the campus (architecture, hotspots, etc.), the nightlife, and all the other things related to college.

     You\’re already in B-town for next year\’s Little 500 — film the pilot there next season for the World\’s Greatest College Weekend.

     Comment by Joe Wanninger — May 14, 2007 @ 11:34 pm

150. 10 people given 100k each. BORING. They have to go to Ethiopia. They use the money to \”improve the world\”. Who decides the elimination every week? Not America. but the small 5th grade classroom in the unknown village. What do contestants do? They have to come up with improving the world that appeals to those kids. This mean no boring battle with AIDS, but a new ice cream parlor near the school. A new soccer stadium. Caveat, the contestants cannot use any outside funds. 5th grade poor Ethiopian students choose the winner for the ultimate prize of 1 million dollars! And one on one with Dirk himself, maybe not, haha

     Comment by Pavel — May 15, 2007 @ 12:03 am

151. The Ticking Clock: Real-time edge-of-your-seat experiences in real time, filmed by those who are experiencing them first hand. Skydiving, street luge, running with the bulls, et al — just strap a camera on and watch the clock tick down.

     Behind The Game: Behind-the-scenes look at classic and modern video games, the people behind them, and what it takes. From conception to marketing to release.

     Sleepover w/Paul Davidson: I will spend the night (platonically, of course) with actors, musicians, artists and famous politicians from dinner through breakfast the next day. We will laugh, eat, watch TV and discuss anything that comes to mind.

     Guinea Pigs: Follows people who make their living offering up their bodies for medical testing.

     This Place In History: Present Day looks at locations throughout the world (and the people who exist there now) that were important in history. I.e., Berlin Wall, the street in Dallas where JFK was shot, Ground Zero, et al.

     Comment by Paul Davidson — May 15, 2007 @ 12:26 am

152. My thoughts for an HDNet show would be something that highlights the vivid sight and amazing sound delivered via HDTV and HDNet\’s free spirit to bring viewers something different in a way they have never seen it before. The show could be called \”Sports Without A Net\”.
     This show would highlight all of the amazing competition sports and activities you never see on \”prime time\” television. Go deep inside and explore sports like air racing, arm wrestling, rodeo, downhill mountain biking, fishing tournaments, and eating contests. From extreme sports to things you only find in the sticks. The scenery would be amazing and the sounds would be priceless. Show people the sports they never get access to in a way that only HDNet could provide. I know with little research you could find activities that would blow people\’s minds or even make them laugh.
     I have been a fan of HDNet and their programming for reasons just like this. No mainstream constants being shown one after another. Just programming that pushes technology and imagination.

     Comment by Rich Dav — May 15, 2007 @ 12:23 am

153. Mark,
     With the recent opening of House of Blues in Dallas I was thinking of a partnership between HDNet and House of Blues whereas HDNet broadcasts a \”HOB Live\” every week from a different city. This could be tied in with the Blues Brothers whenever they tour their different venues and their grand openings and also showcase their live music acts in that particular city that night. With the House of Blues wanting to expand it would give alot of exposure to the talent that plays in the HOB\’s in each particular city. Interviews and behind the scene footage would be an added bonus.

     Comment by Ron — May 15, 2007 @ 12:31 am

154. A show about redesigning someones yard or outdoor area. Could be a winner.

     Comment by Damian Duffy — May 15, 2007 @ 12:02 am

155. A simple cooking show geared towards younger people. Most young adults are buying new HDTVs with little or no money at all (myself included) and then having to eat cheaply for such purchases.

     I\’ve been doing something like this already, and I think it would work out really well.

     Makes cooking simple, cheap and easy without complications.
     Plus its in cooking in HD, something I haven\’t seen before.

     Comment by Derek — May 15, 2007 @ 12:46 am

156. Explore famous concert venues around the world with an older rocker guy who has been around the block and has good stories to throw in once in awhile. This would be perfection. If you agree, I\’m young and intelligent (Why did I just give away this great idea then? Hmmm…) and insist on helping out.

     Comment by Jaclyn — May 15, 2007 @ 1:04 am

157. This is from an old sci fiction story I read. A guy from the future who is totally into 50\’s culture & plays in a 50\’s rock & roll band & doesn\’t fit in with society & somehow gets to time travel back to the 50\’s but instead winds up in present day Earth with nowhere to come back to his time or the past.

     Comment by Hershon — May 15, 2007 @ 12:57 am

158. I\’m in the process of starting a web-based startup and am moving to Boston June 1st with my 2 cofounders to participate in YCombinator. A documentary on us and the other teams involved in that (there are 18 others) might be pretty interesting. Most teams aren\’t from Boston and we all go out to work on our startups, meet with each other and exchange ideas, and pitch to investors.

     It seems like it would be intelligent and somewhat tech-savvy, but not inaccessible to average people, which I think would fit well with your programming. It almost has a built in story arc, since in the middle of August we meet with VCs. There\’s definitely an inflection point there.

     Given the way most hackers look it might be better off in standard def though.

     Comment by Matthew Maroon — May 15, 2007 @ 1:37 am

159. Solution Seekers: A reality show based on solving social problems

     Got a problem? Turn to the Internet and HDNet audience and encourage users to send video testimonials about a problem plaguing their community. Show those problems and then let the audience decide which social problem is going to get fixed.
     Next, hold a cattle-call to find people willing to flex their brains and creativity and put their problem-solving abiliites to the test. Once this team of solution seekers is formed, they go to work fixing whatever social ill people picked and the reality show tracks their progress.

     Upside: The solution seekers might actually have the intellect and talent to make a difference.
     Donwside: They might fail horribly and make the problem worse, but at least you\’ve exposed a problem and made a good-faith effort to improve at least a little slice of the world.

     Comment by Paul — May 15, 2007 @ 12:02 am

160. A comedy travel show! like this!!
     http://www.standinero.com/travelswithjoe.php

     ————

     A show about a group of friends, however one falls in love and leaves the group. Ever since their friend disappeared they haven\’t had any fun, so now they are in the process of bringing him back with silly gimmicks and flashbacks, hilarity ensued.
     Like this!
     http://www.standinero.com/bringingbackharoldhighqt.php

     Comment by Stanley Lee — May 15, 2007 @ 1:36 am

161. I can think of quite a few cool shows that would definitely benefit from HD Net\’s production value and 1080i picture.

     How about a reality show following pilots and scientists through NASA Astronaut training? That has yet to be done, and I think the HD Net demographic would be all over it. The training is extremely difficult, it\’s very visual and it\’s unbelievably competitive. The end of the show would, ideally, be HD footage of those chosen to be astronauts on their first mission. The folks who do World Report (my favorite newsmagazine show hands down and some of the best journalism this side of the BBC) could put their mark on this one and make it something really cool.

     I\’d love to see (or host) a show targeted at business travelers that have only one day or less to see a city when they\’re there for work. I travel at least 150 days a year and I always find myself in US and European cities with only one extra day to spare, or even parts of a day in between meetings. An HD show that would tell me what to go see in a short amount of time, where to eat, where to stay to be nearest to all these things, and maybe suggest great places to entertain clients would come in very handy. I\’d think you could sell it on DVD at the end of the run.

     Cooking shows all suck as a rule, but one that targets single guys would rock. Make it a combo of Maxim Magazine and Martha Stewart. How to cook food for chicks that will get you laid without having to work too many hours in the kitchen. Have the girls from Bikini Destinations (or some of the Mavs dancers) come be the taste testers. The Food Network is too girly. Do a show specifically for guys.

     Designing America is fine, but how about something a little more accessible for the average person? Maybe apply the cooking show idea to this genre also. Maxim meets Good Housekeeping.

     Project Greenlight was a total snoozer. Use Magnolia Films and your theaters to do it right. Please, pick people with talent.

     How about a show called \”A Day in the Life…\” The idea would be to follow some average individual around on their job, at home, show people from all sorts of backgrounds. Maybe the show could center around two people per episode who lead completely different lives but are more similar than people would think. A garbage man and a stock trader for instance.

     Want more? I got \’em. You have my e-mail…I\’m happy to give you more!

     Comment by Jake Palenske — May 15, 2007 @ 1:47 am

162. REAL SPACE IN HD

     I\’ve developed innovative technology that allows motion picture fly-throughs of actual space photographs for my indie IMAX film \”Outside In\” about Saturn and the \”why\” of space exploration (1080p samples at my fundraising site – http://www.outsideinthemovie.com)

     In my business plan, I want to use this technology to create additional HD or other high-resolution shows using the vast space photography libraries of NASA, ESA, Hubble etc. The images there of the Sun, Moon, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, deep space can be brought to life as if high resolution motion picture cameras were sent to them.

     The shows would be guided tours using the real photographs taken by astronauts and robotic explorers using the incredible library of spectacular images that most people have never seen and almost no one at the proper scale that only big screen viewing can provide.

     In my experience — and from researching reviews of space educational films — it matters deeply to people if the images of space they see are real or just fancy 3D CGI. Being able to turn real photographs into full motion picture footage means that visions never yet experienced can be brought into people\’s living rooms. I feel high quality HD is the best way to do this.

     I believe that what is deeply needed now is inspiration. People don\’t want to just know if, when, how and the what of exploring space. They want to know why.

     The twenty or so humans that have seen earth in full view from space, all report it to be a life changing experience. By using the photographs they took and the many more taken where no humans have traveled, these shows would have the power to not simply educate but to move, inspire, unite.

     stephen v2
     http://www.outsideinthemovie.com

     Comment by stephen v2 — May 15, 2007 @ 1:50 am

163. 13 Lucky TV Show Ideas for HDNet

     Just tell me more about crucial people, places, and events currently going on in the world.

     1) A show filmed inside North Korea. The filming itself would be an adventure… get the CIA or U.S. State Department to sneak a camera crew into Pyongyang with translators and see what you can see.

     2) An extended expose of Indian computer programmers in Bangalore. Interviews with Thomas Friedman, union leaders, American computer programmers.

     3) Washington lobbyists (bring back and extend Steven Soderbergh\’s \”K Street\”?) and the daily corruption of governmental process. Part fiction would be nice, written by David Chase.

     4) Private contractors for America\’s national security – Kellogg, Brown, and Root, Halliburton, and SAIC.

     5) Get cameras into Darfur. Maybe the angle focuses on relief workers from Doctors Without Borders or the Red Cross.

     6) An inside look at the United Nations… get exclusive behind-the-scenes access to Ban Ki-moon for a period of a month or two.

     7) An inside look at the current state of the Irish Republican Army and Sinn Fein. Even if this is nothing more than gorgeous shots of the Irish countryside and interviews with colorful Irish in pubs, I would watch this.

     Follow the editorial staff of Novaya Gazeta, the Russian newspaper for whom Anna Politkovskaya used to write.

     9) Go to the Chambishi copper mine in Zambia and get the full stories on what has been going on there in the last two years under Chinese control – an explosion that killed 46 miners and the riot that left five dead.

     10) Buy the rights to John Perkins\’ story, \”Confessions of an Economic Hit Man\”. The guy\’s a savvy, ruthless version of James Bond in American clothing, expanding American influence through very underhanded means.

     11) An inside look at Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of Iran, who technically outranks Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

     12) \”Dubai\”… tons of stories to do here… get access to the Pakistani builders living in poverty, contrast their stories with the Saudi royal family and businessmen and women from around the world rubbing elbows at the Burj al-Arab.

     13) An inside look at Abdurrahman Wahid, the former president of Indonesia and the spiritual leader of 40 million Muslims. He\’s the United States\’ greatest ally against Islamic radicalism and could use a larger soapbox. Indonesia is not a place we see a lot of footage of, either.

     Comment by Dan Croak — May 15, 2007 @ 2:08 am

164. What about an HD comedy about the first family of wrestling? \”Arrested Development\” meets Vince McMahon and his wife and kids in a half hour comedy called \”Tough Love\”. I shot a trailer for it. Check it out via my link. Thanks for the opportunity Mark. Cory

     Comment by Cory — May 15, 2007 @ 2:28 am

165. Setting: In a futuristic undersea city. Lovely fishes and submarines zoom about blowing my HD mind away. Format it as a drama or comedy or whatever. They can be fighting the plastic scourge to give it an enviro angle. If the full-on undersea thing is too expensive, just have them on boats, but they go underwater often.

     Comment by Dustin Sacks — May 15, 2007 @ 2:50 am

166. A 50 episode series involving the seemingly paranormal. Think Robert Ludlum cold-war spy novels with a paranormal twist.

     The first episode starts with the main character handcuffed to a hospital bed with no idea how he got there. It is found he has no memory of the last two years, it isn\’t a hospital, and all of the patients are de facto prisoners.

     This runs concurrently with people from his agency in the real world searching with him.

     This between actual TRUE good and TRUE evil.

     Shambala/Shangri La is a location. As is a location that may or may not have once been Atlantis. It all makes sense, too.

     Comment by Fast Eddie — May 15, 2007 @ 3:05 am

167. If you\’re really considering bringing back a canceled show, consider Over There that was on FX. It had a great cast and with the war theme, the action would be perfect with the HD experience.

     You could also consider airing HD animation. I don\’t have a specific idea for a show. But if it was 3D and was very sexy it could appeal to the young male crowd that tends to view HD.

     If you\’re looking to appeal to women, what about a show on weddings that are filmed in HD. My wife and I got married about 18 months ago and our wedding was filmed in HD.

     Comment by Tyler — May 15, 2007 @ 3:04 am

168. ok I\’ve got a good one for you. check this out; it is a group of channels with a camera set up in a public place. Examples; video camera set up at the beach, in major cities from a rooftop or side showing a busy street. Also similar set up to the aerial camera in basketball and football games, only over a designated area, could also be small cities as well. There\’s a mic on the camera and no one talks, there\’s no music, all you hear is whats going on there. this is interesting because people can watch other people do everyday tasks. the cameras are on all day and all night. brilliant low budget idea.

     Comment by Adam Pritchard — May 15, 2007 @ 3:19 am

169. How about this? http://projectpedal.com

     Comment by mike — May 15, 2007 @ 3:15 am

170. Working Titles: InHD, Daily HD, HD Weekly, Clear-Voyance
     Summary: Hosted show in daily or weekly format highlighting the best (and worst) HDTV programming has to offer for the next day/week (until the next show).

     Comment by Andy B. — May 15, 2007 @ 3:49 am

171. How about a decent show on Gameing HD works great on Xbox360 and PS3 and PC you could have teams in different countrys in contest for prizes on great games the graphics on most games are HD and look great on screen ( HDNet World Games ) has a nice ring and you could get finalists in to Tournament in one on one it could make great viewing plus you could get great international coverage even in countrys with out HD TV it would open world to friendship and fun for all ages

     Comment by visionrider — May 15, 2007 @ 3:49 am

172. Idea #1
     \”Ultimate Days\”
     2 Host do 3 – 4 incredible activities in 24 hours. Example Surfing lessons for breakfast, jet skiing for lunch, helicopter to then go sky diving in the afternoon, playa few games of paintball, hop on a jet to Vegas, for a top shelf dinner and gambling with a night club to finish the night. And then lay there heads in a Skyloft bed at the MGM. Ultimate Days!

     For HDNet (which i am subscriber of), this would be perfect. The HD shots of everything would be endless and the host could be sexy, quirky, average, and or even a special guest every episiode (contest winner).

     Idea #2
     I know you said you dont want to hear about sports, but I have to toss this out there. A reality series similiar to Ultimate Fighting on Spike and Real world meets PAINTBALL. 30 people are invited out to try out for a Division 2 team to play in the National Professional Paintball League. Have themcompete and work together to earna spot on the house and the team. Follow them to school, work, practice, and tournaments.

     Paintball is such a vivid and attractive and upcoming sport, I thought I\’d put it out there.

     I will be waiting for a email….

     Comment by Michael Bowers — May 15, 2007 @ 4:12 am

173. Since asian culture is taking over the world. Seems only fitting to have a asian comedic sitcom. Cosbys, George Lopez, Everyone loves raymond style, but for an americanized asian family. Parents are still having issues with english, but the children are completely american. They have to deal with the embarrassing moments of asian parents trying to fit in.

     For an example: Dad goes to red lobster but still has his video camera out, like it\’s a vacation.

     Comment by Ray Hernandez — May 15, 2007 @ 4:14 am

174. Hi Mark,

     I\’d like to suggest a multi-season science-fiction series about the future of humanity. It would be an epic, similar in scope to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

     Here\’s a link to an illustrated movie pitchbook:

     http://www.destiny-movie.com

     Cheers,
     Graham

     Comment by Graham Glass — May 15, 2007 @ 4:19 am

175. Two vague ideas:

     Show about video games. Great tech savvy and underserved audience there who are likely subscribers to HDNet. PC and console games have large loyal followings and an \”e-sports\” industry build around them (see thecpl.com). The show could feature coverage of the competitive side of gaming (e-sports) and offer reviews and tips. There\’s already one channel (G4 I think?) that talks gaming, but it\’s crap.

     Second:

     Investigative reports. Dan Rather Reports isn\’t good enough. I\’m talking a show that IS investigative reports, every week. These things are so interesting, I love them. I want to see interesting and controversial topics covered that nobody else will touch: Scientology, Abortion, Corrupt charities, etc. The possibilities are endless, and the contributions are so great!

     Do it.

     Comment by Sandy E — May 15, 2007 @ 4:49 am

176. C\’mon, yo, doesnt the medium you are using for this solicitation make the exercise moot? Anyone with a halfway-decent idea most likely wouldn\’t pitch it publicly on the Internet.

     I know I certainly would not.

     Also, struggling professionals in Los Angeles, the TV folks who are actually worth their salt and developing great stuff and have yet to find an outlet for it; I cant imagine them putting their work up here, either. Many show developers have websites and are a part of the blogosphere. It might be worth doing research/weeding and discovering/reaching out to people that way over cattle calls.

     And, did anything ever come of the last pitchfest here? You know, the one about movie marketing?

     Comment by JM — May 15, 2007 @ 4:58 am

177. Hi Mark,

     Ever since I first saw Indiana Jones as a kid I\’ve always wanted to see and/or take part in…

     \’The Hunt\’

     Teams race to find a hidden treasure stashed somewhere on the planet.

     *Complete with breathtaking, dangerous landscapes and evil nazis to trip them up along the way.

     Comment by Rich — May 15, 2007 @ 4:43 am

178. how bout one about a billionaire losing everything and having a spiritual re-awakening through investigating his Jewish roots.

     Comment by david brotsky — May 15, 2007 @ 5:51 am

179. -Fourom Watch HD-

     Heres how FWHD will go each week a topic is given and 5 to 10 internet fouroms will be featured. For example if the topic is LOST we will have fourums like: The Fuselage, abc.com, oceanicflight815.com, etc.

     Comment by Michael — May 15, 2007 @ 6:00 am

180. To Mars

     Human beings decide to set up a permanent base on Mars. The show would explore every aspect of what would be involved to get us there: the leadership, the management of such a huge project, the science, what life would be like for astronauts on the way, what it would be like on Mars and what effect such an achievement would have on the people left on earth.

     The show could be done as a dramatization using actors or documentary style using actual experts from the various fields. Either way, the show would have the potential to be compelling and uplifting. Not to mention that the visuals would look great in HD.

     I have more specifics in mind, but don\’t want to get too lengthy in a comment box.

     Comment by mark — May 15, 2007 @ 3:04 am

181. Successful and not so successful animal adoptions. I am a certified (Humane Society) adoption counselor. Family and friends love my cat and dog stories. People tell me I should write a book about the amazing things that happens with humans and pets. I read that Americans now spend more money on their animals than they spend on chocolate. Think about that kind of audience. A tie in with helping raise money for no kill animal shelters could make a difference for many homeless animals!

     Please feel free to contact me for specific story content.

     Comment by Barbara Holton — May 14, 2007 @ 6:46 pm

182. Following around a young man who has no job, training, education, prospects, girlfriend, identity, money, discipline, shame, purpose, or hope who nonetheless attracts women as he tries to lose his virginity and otherwise make something of himself in the span of a summer.

     Alternately following said young man around in his current environment or watching him start from scratch in some other place. Just a show where a person tries to live somewhere entirely new by themselves with limited money and no job to start with could be interesting though. Those are kind of bland reality ideas but I think it could be interesting. Following a single person\’s endeavors is more authentic than the likes of \”the real world\”. As it happens there\’s no reason for the work to not be fiction or include skilled actors. *hint hint

     Actually I do all kinds of eccentric things in the course of my normal life which I think the world would watch in gross stupefaction.

     Comment by Renny D. Benjam — May 15, 2007 @ 6:47 am

183. Hi Mark, as many users above me I think the future is interactive, live TV, where genres like reality, sports, DYI, collectibles, gameshows and more involve those at home – be it experts, semi pro, or fans.
     I\’m actually working right now at a startup that does software for live interative video on the net for such content, if you\’re interested drop me an email to lior[dot]homen[at]verdi[dot]co[dot[il]

     this is not a plug but rahter my take on the future.

     Lior

     Comment by Lior — May 15, 2007 @ 6:02 am

184. Doesnt it seem that as a people – all Americans, that we have become so angry and frustrated that we are just lashing out at anyone and everyone gas prices, illegal aliens, terrorists, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, the Taliban, a resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan and White Supremacy organizations, mass murders, a dysfunctional presidency and administration, airline security, ant-smoking, anti-Indian gambling, inflation, loss of job security, loss of pensions, the widening chasm between the wealthy and the middle class, the chasm between the technologically knowledgeable and those that are not, and last but not least Global Warming – all are contributing to daily angst.

     Ethnic portrayals can go beyond the range of Black and Hispanic sitcoms or American Indian \”mysticism\”, which often comes off as science fiction or fantasy. Bring back American individuals as, I dare say. heroes – an overused term in this day, coping with day to day adversity in ethnically diverse and/or non diverse communities or even a combination of both. We all go \”home\” from time to time.

     Italians, Greeks, the Irish, the Jewish, Chinese, Japanese, Indian (Hindu) Americans along with our Black, Hispanic and American Indian and other culturally diverse people remain the hope of continuing to uphold and sustain the values of what the American Flag represents even when our politicians and sensational media seem to be trying to convince us otherwise of the value of individual character and strength. jb

     Comment by Jimmy Boy Dial — May 15, 2007 @ 7:20 am

185. Ever read http://www.factcheck.org ? They do analysis of political issues, verifying that which political figures say or disproving it. I\’d like to see a show take that analysis and objectivity and turn it toward discussion of world topics such as politics, science, current events, religion, etc. In it, there would be rational discussion on topics, with both sides of an argument and the pros and cons of each side honestly acknowledged. Have a panel of experts, and on staff researchers that can ask the critical issues on the topic.

     It\’s the counterpoint to Bill OReilly and Crossfire and extremist polarizing opinions. It\’s a rational discussion which gives the viewer enough information that allows them to draw their own conclusions. Public feedback could even play in if desired.

     Comment by geedeck — May 15, 2007 @ 12:27 am

186. A reality show where teams are sent to a remote island and have to shoot each other with paintballs. There will be 3 teams against one trained team of army or former army soldiers.

     The team who with the person who hasn\’t been shot yet wins.

     -Darren
     http://www.squidoo.com/increaseverticaljump/

     Comment by Darren — May 15, 2007 @ 7:28 am

187. \”How I\’d Make it Better\” — On this show, regular folks would try out top end products and then come up with ways they would make it better. Like my new Sony 46XBR3… I really love it, but there doesn\’t seem to be a way to skip over the tuner input, which sucks because I use a cable box for tuning. Another thing that sucks is that when it\’s in PC mode, you can\’t do a random access select on other external inputs — must use the \”video\” button to switch to (get this) the built in tuner!! OK, so after you get a real guy doing a gushing review and tour of a product and then coming up with how it could be better, you use your Mark Cuban connections to hook the guy up with the designers and they make him a one-off to do what he wants. Or if Sony won\’t play, you go to a company that will make some custom thingy to make it work just like he wants.

     Another great episode might be the MacBook Pro and why it can\’t have a power input on the right side (or maybe the back). Or while we\’re on Mac stuff… I was listening to a podcast at the gym tonight and it was an hour long, and my workout was 45 minutes. So I wanted to take my iPod home and have iTunes on my Mac (plugged into my new Sony) resume where I left off.

     Another episode… Buy a car and remove all the silly badging, patch it up, paint match, etc. Who the hell really wants to be a billboard for Hyundai?

     Another… That super sleek vtech phone you see in all the cool TV shows. So I bought one when they first came out… Did you know that if you have a message, you can\’t use the handset to see the caller ID before playing the message? Also, the new message beeping doesn\’t ever stop. It\’s really bad if you just want to sleep through a phone call. But the phone is sooooo beautiful, I put up with it.

     Comment by Brad Hutchings — May 15, 2007 @ 7:32 am

188. hi mark,

     consider show evolving around this guy (http://www.wired.com/gaming/gamingreviews/news/2005/11/69629) and his lifestyle. or not him specifically – just the idea of bringing the gamers world to HDNet holds huge potential. this is a generation of modern \”rockstars\” growing up with immense worldwide audience where language is no barrier…

     feel free to contact me for more details

     -I3runo-

     Comment by -I3runo- — May 15, 2007 @ 7:43 am

189. Museums
     Visit the worlds museums. Go through each with multiple episodes, guest tour guides, celebrities sports figures from the countries etc. great promotion for big exhibitions that will be touring multiple cities.

     grafitti around the world
     descriptions, interviews with artists

     scenic train routes through us and canada
     narration, history of line,

     High traffic urban area
     Time lapse of times square, red square, chicago mercantile exchange etc. on time lapse, running for 15 minutes or so, 3 places per episode, some facts

     fashion
     visit fashion houses and review upcoming season, project runway with professionals, do a multiweek series highlighting the major fashion houses line before big showings

     Comment by Javier — May 15, 2007 @ 1:18 am

190. There\’s so much that\’s cool happening online these days–new and unique websites/web services are popping up daily. A show that focuses on online entrepenuership, its similarities and differences with \”offline\” business, with \”how to\’s,\” profiles of promising online upstarts, showcases of the hottest new online technologies, interviews with internet pioneers, etc. would appeal to many of us HDTV-having geeks.

     Many people have the question: \”How do you make money online?\” This show could provide some insight and motivation for potential online entrepenuers.

     Oh, and Art Mann kinda creeps me out.

     Comment by Paul — May 15, 2007 @ 8:27 am

191. \”The Art of The Comb-over\” in HD starring a famous NY real estate developer/media giant/all around fantastic person !

     Comment by Tom B — May 15, 2007 @ 8:52 am

192. Two Ideas:

     1) Young Stanford grad coming off of dot com boom-bust moves to Amsterdam, gets involved with the locals, etc

     2) Life of a former high powered attorney who gives it all up and joins the US foreign service, only to get sent to…

     Comment by JM — May 15, 2007 @ 8:59 am

193. I find it funny that people feel the need to keep ideas off this blog so they dont are not stolen. I got news for you, great ideas are not uncommon. Having the ability and the balls to act on them, that is whats uncommon.
     So here is my idea. I like the concept of a biography type show called Made In America. It would chronicle the stories of great Americans who have found success. It would not be flat or dry like the popular A&E Biography show, but it would be vibrant and full of life with all the color that passionate, successful people have to offer.
     Yesterday, Yahoo had the headline story that the number of people who have joined the 5-million dollar club has quadrupled in the last 10 years. 70% of them achieved their fortunes in the last 10 years. How did they get there? Everyone has driven by the big home neighborhood and asked where does it all come from. Tell them.
     I have other ideas, but just in case I am wrong about that first line, I think I will keep them to myself.

     Comment by Rich Gorman — May 15, 2007 @ 9:07 am

194. An interactive roundtable. A viewer (maybe 4 or 5 at a time) can logon via webcam and debate other viewers on timely topics – war, economics, environment, or even books, movies or sports. Kind of like \”Around the Horn\” but with real viewers and relevant topics. Lots of possibilities here – speakers could either have a time limit or be voted out of the forum.

     Comment by Brandon Johnson — May 15, 2007 @ 9:08 am

195. \’Diary of a Day Trader\’

     An in depth look at ordinary (non-professional) people who trade the stock market with hopes of making it rich. Traders can discuss strategies, successes and failures, hopes and dreams…

     Episode #1

     Jim works a security patrol job at night to pay the bills, though he calls himself a swing trader. Every two weeks he puts $50-$100 into his online brokerage account. Progress is slow, but each deposit funds a dream. Jim is determined to prove the naysayers wrong. People laugh because he trades penny stocks. Still, Jim does not waiver. He studies technical analysis, he watches insider trading. Jim is taking the road less traveled because he believes in himself…

     Comment by Jim Parham — May 15, 2007 @ 9:09 am

196. Not being a cable/sat subscriber I pick HD signals up off of my terrestrial antenna. That being said I do not watch HDNet, but would consider it, if it were available to me. I only know about HDNet through this website and various articles concerning Dan Rather.

     Comment by Paul Yarbrough — May 15, 2007 @ 9:06 am

197. a show that highlights the lazy exploits of researchers and people who want to be in teevee putting up \”wanted – new tv show ideas\” ads and if they actually come across something interesting not giving credit where credit is due put going up to the producer and saying \”what do you think of this idea?\”…..repeat ad infinitum…..

     Comment by media_lush — May 14, 2007 @ 9:14 pm

198. 1. Some kind of revoltionary war comedy or drama. think of all the \”red coats\” jokes. It could focus on how a family copes with the war, or center around the movement as a whole.

     Comment by Craig — May 15, 2007 @ 9:44 am

199. Completely out of my comfort zone, this fall I will be joining a non-profit media company committed to giving a voice to the world\’s poor and marginalized populations. I will be filming with relief organizations and other NGOs to document ignored, forgotten and under-reported stories that need to be told. I will then deliver broadcast quality video, free of charge, to both mainstream and emerging media outlets, increasing relief and mobilizing the public to advocate for policy change. I am working together with other creative people to bring humanitarian issues out of the shadows.

     With that said, and the reason I mention it, I would love to take the opportunity and do something completely different in addition to. I\’d love to go beyond the news clips and create a documentary (yet entertaining – don\’t ask me how) style show that is targeted to the younger population here in the U.S. that will educate and motivate with a completely new edge.

     As a producer (SNL Commercial Parodies, TV Funhouse, Indy Film \”Coney Island Baby\”….) I am well aware that the appeal (nor the profits) are there for documentary formats (unless is some type of reality show) but new stories need to be told, some that should have been told long ago and it\’s our responsibility to try and find a way to make these stories appealing.

     This is my first-time in this realm of \’trying to save the world\’… I\’m not sure where I can take this (it\’s out of my comedic background and comfort zone)… but I do know that whatever I put my mind to and whenever I colaborate with others there are endless possibilities.

     Needless to say, I\’m not stopping what I\’m good at… as that pays the bills! But I would like to try and create social change with the power of the media at least once in my life. I will be in Southeast Asia this fall and it is estimated that more than two million people worldwide are being trafficked each year, the majority of whom are women and children. Within the Southeast Asian region alone, over 225,000 are transported across borders, according to United States State Department statistics. Somewhere in there… there is a story (not just a news segment) waiting to be told.

     Comment by Tanya Ryno — May 15, 2007 @ 9:44 am

200. Traveling the world with your teenagers

     My family is leaving on June 8 on an adventure that will fundamentally change each of us. My husband of 20 years and 3 teenagers 16,,13,11 (boy,boy,girl)are traveling around the world.

     We will be living in Belize, Guatemala, Fiji, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, China, Tibet, Austria, Greece, Switzerland, France, Italy, Czech Republic and Ireland over the course of the next 5 months.

     Yes, the 1001 Places is being done. However, they are 30-something newlyweds on an all expense paid trip. We are a real family of 5, married 20 years, paying our own way. We are adventurous, scuba diving, bungee jumping, canyoning, zorbing, and we get through the tough or trying times by making each other laugh.

     The travel will be middle-class not backpacker travel, but not high end. We have done all of the planning, booking, prepping and packing ourselves. The concept around the world in 5 months with teenagers.

     How does a family survive that much time together? How do teenagers leave their lives and friends and activities for such an intense learning adventure? How can we do this on a budget? How does this apply to every other family?

     The focus is exposure to cultures, customs, and foods, and creating global citizens by learning from other families throughout the world.

     I write a travel/humor column for a regional magazine. My blog http://www.julesnolan.com has previously published articles about our travels. We plan to home school the children during the trip with 6 languages and dozens of cultures to learn about.

     We leave June 8th. Bring your viewers with us.

     Comment by Julene Nolan — May 15, 2007 @ 9:38 am

201. A show where Mark Cuban reads hundreds of crappy emails that ignore his requests and he goes to their house to kick them in the head!

     Comment by Chris Monahan — May 15, 2007 @ 9:49 am

202. The Blog Candidate – Follow first time political candidates running for local and state offices using nothing but the power of the Internet. Good Lord! The tension!!!

     Brainstorm – Put together a creative twosome, threesome of fivesome (I\’m definitely one of these people!) and have a room designed that incorporates every creative tool imaginable. This small group would meet with startups to brainstorm a specific issue/project, etc. No one gets out of the room until the whole group is satisfied with the results.

     Power Lunch – Four bizcelebs have lunch each week and trade war stories. Mark, you\’re always there to moderate. Come on, you\’re great on TV!

     Mark, call me. You and I will make these happen.

     Comment by Chris Thomas — May 15, 2007 @ 9:51 am

203. Oh yeah… For got to mention…

     I retain all intellectual property of the idea from my previous post and that the time stamp shall serve to date that intellectual property claim…

     Previous post: \”202. I\’m totally shocked that I read through the first 20 posts and my idea hasn\’t already been suggested by someone… it seems so common sense… This is HD after all right?

     Why don\’t you have a show called \”SFX\” that is a behind the scenes of the special effects industry…

     There are two ways you could take it:

     You could make it a sitcom where there are characters and you follow their lives in the SFX industry (Ugly Betty but with explosions) or…

     You could have it be a \”sneak peak\” how stunts and special effects from past and up comming movies are made.

     Aside from the obvious fact that this allows for a highlights real of \”it-looks-freakin\’-awesome-on-my-HD-set\” content but if you take the second approach it would be a really inexpensive show to make as most of the content is already created and you could even get paid by the studios for what would in essence be a 15 minute preview showing how awesome their blockbuster is. you could even include the HD trailers at the end of each movie\’s segment to drive more ad dollars to the show…

     I\’d be happy to consult as I have too many ideas to list here…

     Posted at 9:44AM on May 15th 2007 by Kenneth Parsons\”

     Comment by Kenneth Parsons — May 15, 2007 @ 9:57 am

204. Too much reality going on these days. Need to get away for awhile.

     Fictional story about one guy who wins the lottery. A ridiculous amount such as $450 million. You then follow his ups and downs as he travels the world and parties like a rock star without any care what so ever. You will get a great look at different cities and countries in HD and get to see how one person can blow through that much cash and what it does to his life.

     Throw in the mob, some casinos, and you got one heck of a series on HDNet.

     Comment by Brendan — May 15, 2007 @ 10:02 am

205. My idea would be to have a high def show that goes to museums throughout the world.

     Comment by Jim S. — May 15, 2007 @ 9:15 am

206. Okay… weekly review show that covers the world of home video. The show would feature in-depth on-air reviews of that week\’s DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD releases. HDNet\’s HD broadcasts would allow viewers to view the quality differences between formats. The show would also serve as a platform for informing the consumer about new advances in Home Theater, HD technology and emerging technologies. HDNet would be serving up a program like this to a group of viewers who are already invested in HD technology and would have a natural interest in learning more.

     Think Ebert & Roeper for Home Video with a little in-depth technical discussion thrown in for color!

     Comment by Ben — May 15, 2007 @ 10:16 am

207. High School-based show centered around ethnic characters

     I\’m not talking about cliche groups here (jocks vs. skaters, etc.) This is about a group of five friends each of different background but that isn\’t what define their friendship. However, each is familiar enough with his/her heritage such that it can sometimes enhance their relationship with one another and at times create tension. It\’ll be a drama but will have comedic instances as well. Topics can range from: the use of the N-word esp. by non-blacks, tensions between Arabs and Jews, the Asian who\’s not as nerdy as you think, the crossover appeal of hip-hop, why a budding love story between a white male and an Asian female is more acceptable than the other way around, etc. Sets can range from barmitzvahs or a sweet 16 party (a debut), for example. Soundtrack genre for each episode will be different based on the principal character for that week and what (s)he listens to.

     We talk about globalization as if it\’s technology which brings us closer wherein reality the mutual understanding of each other\’s cultures (or the resistance of it) is being done right in high school.

     Comment by Romel — May 15, 2007 @ 10:17 am

208. Some ideas I came up with:

     \”HTnet\”
     The show for Home Theater enthusiasts. News and reviews of HT products, including displays, speakers, and receivers. HT construction tips. Location visits to viewers home theaters. The one stop weekly program for Home Theater nuts on the channel most dedicated to the best picture and sound, HDnet. Are you the type that wants a Home Theater but has no idea where to begin? This is the show for you.

     \”Kitchen 101\”
     The beginners guide to cooking. Not every Home Theater and High Definition afficianado is a great chef. This series provides a sequential course on the basics of cooking. Start with learning about the kitchen and then about the basic cooking tools. Move on to basic cooking methods and techniques. Later episodes build on what viewers have already learned and teach more advances techniques and complicated recipes. In the end, a viewer who has seen all the episodes, while not a gourmet chef, should be able to cook for his/herself and family, turning the guy who would order a pizza into one who isn\’t afraid to make it himself. With High Definition picture and sound, this could be the first in a new generation of cooking shows that really capture the look and sound of cooking.

     \”Summer Vacation\”
     Put an average American family in an RV for fun-filled summer vacation. For ten days, watch as a typical American family travels the USA for a vacation. See the sights that make this counrty great. The Grand Canyon, sunny south Florida, Washington, D.C, New York City, historical New England, the Great Lakes, and Yellowstone National Park are all possible destinations. Being cooped up in an RV for ten days and only staying at campgrounds can add tension and suspense to the already compelling visuals of the surroundings and the destinations themselves. This is a vacation the Griswolds could only have dreamed about.

     Comment by Brian Bedard — May 15, 2007 @ 10:07 am

209. This is a different version of my idea #105, with a hook that I believe would generate huge controversy and publicity and lower production costs by allowing a \”day after tomorrow\” future setting instead of a more distant time.

     \”Eternity\”

     Set in the very near future when all diseases, including ordinary aging, have been cured. The all purpose \”fountain of life\” cure is genetic material that must be injected into mothers and fathers every few years. The genetic material can only be obtained from their own fetus that has been aborted after 32 weeeks and removing the material kills the fetus. The effect is long enough that there is adequate time for couples to have babies full term before generating another sacrificial fetus.

     Drama results as different characters deal with the psychological pressure of living in a world where eternal life is possible, but not necessarily enjoyable and comes at the price of sacrificing a late term fetus every few years.

     People can still die from accidents and/or committing suicide or not choosing to generate/sacrifice a fetus. Some do so for a variety of reasons- boredom, religious convictions, war, and murder.

     All the characters have to deal with how much risk to allow into their lives- since any physical activity comes with risk of permanent injury or death. Marriage \”til death do us part\” takes on a whole new meaning. A percentage of the population born or accidentally becoming sterile do die because they are unable to generate life sustaining sacrificial feti.

     Comment by Trey Tomeny — May 15, 2007 @ 10:17 am

210. I would in making decisions re HDNet TV shows, take into account the difference between Hi-def TV and normal TV.

     My inclination would be to consider the possibility of providing the HDNet customers with choice–via the cable-TV-cables and/or via the internet–regarding what hi def still shots and/or possibly looping short video clips and/or full length video will appear on their hi def TV.

     Secondly, I would consider the possibility that customers could be provided with TV-like, computer-monitor-like, objects that are cheaper than a TV or a computer monitor, that could hang on walls like paintings. Such TV-like objects would be cheaper and simpler than normal TVs/computer-monitors in that they would not be able to do things that TVs and computer monitors can do-yet still, they would be able to display depending on their cost, and based on customer choice re what still or video will display, hi-def still images and/or hi def video clips and or hi def full length video.

     I realize the expense of these electronic-painting like objects might be prohibitive at first, but one thing about the current global economyis the continual decline in production costs for many electronic consumer products. Then you have to take into account that even conventional non-electronic paintings and sculptures can be very expensive also.

     Comment by David Virgil Hobbs — May 15, 2007 @ 10:20 am

211. How about a show that focuses on personal productivity? It could feature the kind of work done by people like Merlin Mann or David Allen of Getting Things Done fame. Each week people are profiled showing off their personal organizational systems and how they use them in their day to day lives, and the hosts highlight new tips and tools: software, gadgets, etc, that make our lives easier and more organized.

     Comment by Dave Hill — May 15, 2007 @ 10:21 am

212. 1. Mark Cuban travels the globe in his search for the perfect cigar–title: Cuban\’s Cigars

     2. Mark Cuban hosts a trivia/brain-teaser game show–title: Rubix Cuban

     3. Through the magic of special effects, Mark Cuban has a 30-minute, 3-way debate with himself on popular topics of the day–title: Cuban Cubed

     Comment by Paul — May 15, 2007 @ 10:30 am

213. I would watch a show about the internet and the effects that it can have on society. Not a show like one you would find on TLC or the Discovery Channel, but an actual drama. The show could revolve around a group of people forming on the internet to revolt against the \”old ways\” of the current political leaders of the country/world. The group would be based on information and new technology (without going into the heavy dork realm) and using it to expose the atrocities of the world and to bring about real democracy (freedom of information) through non-violent but extremely controversial and dramatic means.

     Important factors would be to avoid being a \”hacker\” theme, as the show wouldn\’t be about computers, it would be about the new age of information. Also, being brave and controversial with content would always make for great viewing.

     That\’s something I would watch. I think it\’d be possible others would enjoy that as well. Something that isn\’t out there right now.

     Comment by Timmothy — May 15, 2007 @ 10:33 am

214. Mark,

     can\’t do pitches in a public forum and basically hand my ideas out to the world for others to then go on and pitch them to someone else. Can I get 60 seconds of your time for a phone pitch?

     Gregg Eller
     Producer, Tendrel Films

     Comment by Gregg Eller — May 15, 2007 @ 10:37 am

215. A tv show that\’s not a cop drama, an fbi drama, a csi spinoff, hospital drama, terrorist drama, or a mafia series…..that basically rules out 90% of what\’s out there.

     I\’ve been waiting to see an original show about the opposite side of the spectrum, that side being the criminal side. I think it\’d be interesting to see a show where the main character is a criminal-type, but is seen more as a modern day Robin Hood that the audience sees as a great anti-hero. Possibly like how we love watching say George Clooney in the Oceans11 movies.

     As far as I can remember there hasn\’t been a show out yet that addresses that side of storytelling, we only get the formulaic modular style shows like Law and Order, or CSI, or The Shield. A serialized show that actually reveals plot lines instead of branching off three new ones each episode (Lost) with the story I mentioned above would be something to see.

     Comment by Tim — May 15, 2007 @ 10:18 am

216. I have comcast -don\’t hold that against me.
     Like others I don\’t want to post my idea.
     Are comedies OK?
     A \”mockumentary\” the projects working title is \”Dog years\”
     It has nothing to do with dogs.

     Comment by Dan — May 15, 2007 @ 10:42 am

217. Mark,

     An action show involving Bruce Lee, The Adventures of Bruce Lee or The Lessons of Bruce Lee. Its long overdue.

     Comment by Frankie M — May 15, 2007 @ 11:02 am

218. Mark, video games are a billion dollar industry and is filled with stories about blockbuster successes and fantastic failures. \”Game Stories\” features a closer look at the personalities that make up the global gaming biz. Each episode takes a closer look at a subsection of video games past, present, or future. The pilot Hollywood and Games has been shot in HD and a cut down version is online for you.
     http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=748844983492899006&q=Hollywood+and+Games&pr=goog-sl&hl=en

     Sports and Games
     Game Addiction
     Women and Games
     and Music and Games are just some of the other episodes in the series.
     Thanks for checking it out. A full version of the pilot is available for you upon request.
     Thanks for the opportunity to pitch!
     Scot and Max

     Comment by Scot Rubin — May 15, 2007 @ 11:06 am

219. Grudge Match:

     Take 2 regular people, train them, have them box. Boxing is rapidly gaining in popularity, and it is the sort of sport that just about everyone thinks that they can excel at — after all, heart is so much of it.

     Have them train for a month or two, put on headgear, mouthguards and gloves and go at it. The training will be intense and require great sacrifice, the fight will test their mettle. With professionals the backstory and fight are usually compelling, but with amateurs, people with no experience who go in with nothing but heart — the journey will be very exciting.

     Comment by Alex G. — May 15, 2007 @ 11:13 am

220. Religious Accident:

     Many people know that L. Ron Hubbard was a failing science fiction writer prior to stumbling upon Scientology. Fewer people know the story of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, but these are individuals who were not exactly pillars of society prior to forming religions. And of course, many people know about the many extreme cultists (e.g. Jim Jones) who start their own religions.

     What about a program about a aging, down on his luck gen-x\’er who, recently fired from his latest unfulfilling job, decides to get out of the rat race and start his own religion — only to find that it catches on much more than he could have ever hoped or wanted it to.

     Comment by Alex G. — May 15, 2007 @ 11:18 am

221. First Idea,
     11:30 PM late show with one fun show host and seasonal sets and costumes and do not be afraid to show HD Black & White.

     2nd Idea,
     Late Night HD Animie, much of it is living plant based

     3rd Idea,
     Grab the Pop Goes The 4th, use to be live on A&E on July 4.

     4th
     Work hard at bring back classic sixty shows like you did with Hogan\’s Heroes

     5th
     How about running old news shows in daily Chronological order, \”This day in 1965.\” Better than the History Channel!

     Sorry, no cheap ideas never thought of you as a cheap channel

     Comment by Joe — May 15, 2007 @ 11:19 am

222. Mark, I don\’t envy you or the person who has to wade through this pile of steamy crap. 99% of these ideas are either exactly what you said NOT TO POST or just plain \”common sense if you have half a brain\” horrible. Good grief. I\’m ashamed to be a human right now.

     Comment by Chris Thomas — May 15, 2007 @ 11:31 am

223. A modern version of the BBC show and books called \”Connections\”.

     Comment by PSC — May 15, 2007 @ 11:37 am

224. A humorous, off-beat travel show that features quirky Americana — towns like Cut and Shoot, Texas, or Booger Hollow\’s double decker outhouse in Arkansas. These would be places that many folks haven\’t heard of but towns that have interesting historical stories for their origins. The host would be someone funny and engaging like Gordon Keith, who could mix and mingle with the townsfolk. You\’d meet some characters in these towns, which I\’d picture like an episode of Northern Exposure. But in some cases, these towns would actually be quaint, naturally beautiful — legitimately worth someone\’s travel dollars and worth the visual quality of HDTV videography.

     Comment by R.D. — May 15, 2007 @ 10:25 am

225. A show on HDTV calibration. Sure we can buy a DVD or other disk, but that only works for the player. How about a show that helps us with our Cable/Sat feed.

     Comment by Rye Clifton — May 15, 2007 @ 11:23 am

226. * a Reality TV show centered on the 20-something mayor of Pittsburgh, Penn. He\’s the youngest mayor of a city more than 100,000 in population. It could be called \”Boy Mayor.\” You could explore behind-the-scenes politics of how he manages to get politicians twice his age to buy into his vision, how he tackles big-city issues like crime and poverty, and how he spends his free time as a 20-something mayor.

     * A music concert series with pre-show and post-show footage/interviews of the performers, documentary-style. The power of HDTV is capturing live images — sports, travel, documentaries — and this would play to that. It would be especially good to get great on-stage performances with lots of color and lights — a band like the Flaming Lips. Many of their live shows are on You Tube and you can see how visual a band like the Lips are.

     Comment by R.D. — May 15, 2007 @ 11:50 am

227. Two brief ideas…

     1. Collaborate with a hot-air balloon explorer and follow his/her trek across the world. The show would be dramatic and visually stunning.

     2. Follow scientists as they explore some of the world\’s most dangerous volcanoes in exotic locales.

     Comment by Tom Speicher — May 15, 2007 @ 11:51 am

228. IDEA ONE

     A program about micro-financing. It should document the businesses and lives of entrepreneurs in third world countries who hope to gain small amounts of micro-financing. Kiva.org and others offer ways to loan money to these people but it is difficult to know exactly what and who you are loaning money to. Seeing the businesses and people in everyday life, all in HD, will give financiers and viewers a real look at why they need the money and why micro-financing is a real and serious step towards helping third world countries.

     IDEA TWO

     A program about and showing obscure competitions like the World Scrabble Championship or the Arm Wrestling Championship.

     IDEA THREE

     A show about an assassination attempt that is planned in the near future. Three teams are given clues and must compete to stop the attempt. The team that wins is awarded a prize.

     Sincerely,
     Johnny

     Comment by Khai — May 15, 2007 @ 11:51 am

229. Bliss and passion coming together as one, HOW? Watch my show and find out.
     Kisses,
     Aymee

     Comment by Aymee Coget (pronounced C o jjaayy) — May 15, 2007 @ 12:11 pm

230. Here\’s your show Mark. PHOBIA HD. People travel the world to attack their phobias. Scared of heights, they\’re counseled to bungee jump off a skyscraper in Tokyo. Fear of cats?–they\’re taken to the wild to face a tiger in Africa. The possibilites are endless..swim with sharks, skydive, train a cobra, etc. Think of the crazy adrenaline rush and the amazing HD shots! HIGH ENERGY, out of this world video, and shoot it so you feel the rush along with the person who\’s phobic. Let\’s talk!

     Comment by David C — May 15, 2007 @ 12:21 pm

231. The story is set just at the beginning of the late nineties stock market boom. A young stock analyst, with a technological bent starts a new job at a major Wall Street firm.

     Our young analyst is bright and good hearted. He begins as the low man on the totem pole, but through intelligence and grit (as well as good calls on tech stocks) quickly rises in the company. As the boom heats up, the analyst starts finding himself in some gray moral areas. His company under-rights a new company that he doesnt feel has any prospect for long term success. His superiors goad him into writing an upbeat report. He is told that this is a one-time thing, and he is rewarded with a special bonus for his work.

     As time progresses, the number of times he is asked to step outside his ethical comfort zone increases as the boom gets hotter and hotter, flowing inexorably to its conclusion.

     Comment by Michael — May 15, 2007 @ 12:24 pm

232. Music Videos! Just like MTV and VHI used to provide. I\’ve never seen music vidoes in HD. You could be the first because you\’ve got the infrastructure in place. I know MTV is developing an HD channel and it will be interesting to see how they use it. However, I\’ll bet they don\’t play music videos just like they don\’t do now on MTV.

     You could be the first HD-DJ!

     Those with HDTV\’s are more than likely to have sound systems to match the quality of video signal HD provides. And because HDTV is like watching TV for the first time all over again you can be sure that viewers will go back and watch all of the videos they grew up with all over (and over) again, regardless of their generation….just like we did when our favorite records and cassettes came out on CD, or our favorite VHS and Beta tapes came out on DVD.

     Wouldn\’t it be cool to show \”Thriller\” in HD to audiences for the first time?

     Additionally, music videos can fill the gaps between programs as well as in the early AM time periods (2am to 6am.)

     Also, with your production companies in place you could get into the music video production business. Don\’t you think it would be cool to create HD quality videos for new (and old) songs that haven\’t yet had a video produced for them?

     Let me know if you\’re interested in this idea.

     Thanks!

     Comment by ATH — May 15, 2007 @ 10:58 am

233. That was awesome the first time I saw it, when it was called Wall Street.

     Comment by Chris Thomas — May 15, 2007 @ 12:34 pm

234. I want to see some show without the political correctness. Try a game show with questions about porn or swear words.

     Bring back some good cancelled shows like Love Monkey, Studio 60, the Black Donnellys, Arrested Development, etc.

     Comment by Matt — May 14, 2007 @ 9:12 pm

235. The Music Scene: Exposed

     My idea is to have a show that focuses on the business-side of the indie music industry. The show will be a hands-on tutorial of the biz from filing copyrights, laying down music tracks, showing how to mix, designing artwork – all right on the show. Major and independent personnel will be invited to talk about their positions and responsibilites plus there will be live performances from major and independent artists/groups (MOSTLY INDIES).

     I have a solo album that I recently completed that is mixed, mastered, artwork complete, marketing plan developed and paperwork being processed that has the marketability to do well on a local/regional basis to start with the proper promotional focus then moving on nationally as well as preparing a solo album from my artist Madame Ice who is a female rapper/writer/producer that has the \”IT\” factor that will put her on the fast-track to claiming the #1 spot for a female in the music industry. I plan to acquire a cd manufacturer as a sponsor who will provide manufacturing services and/or financing for my label\’s upcoming albums that will be combined with informational content on DVD (which would utilize the One Disc/DVD Plus technology). The informational content would be detailed tutorials/lectures on how to properly execute paperwork from an independent artist/label perspective as well as the normal content found on dvd releases (interviews, show footage, videos, etc). The information would basically give a straight-to-the-point guide to filing copyrights, doing performing rights registrations, obtaining a barcode, setting up a peformance or event – everything that a indie should be focused on in regards to the business of music (i.e. The show would be a live broadcast version of this). Each release from my label would cover a different segment of the industry. My label is currently working with Lindsay Rodman of Bridge Music & Def Jam Records in regards to A&R/Publishing Administration (she was formerly employed at Bad Boy Records (P. Diddy) & Blacksmith (Talib Kweli)) who would be more than happy to include her major/indie label viewpoint into the DVD project & will co-sign my business etiquette along with my knowledge). We also have access to several music business owners in the Dallas area and abroad who have had indie successes that would be highly interested in becoming involved in a project of this magnitude. Customers not only would learn about the business but be able to enjoy some refreshingly great music and experience a new techonology.

     I\’m currently sending sponsorship proposals for in-store product/promotional placement to prospective businesses who have multiple retail locations in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area that coincedentally have established customer bases of people who buy and/or create music (ex. MetroPCS, Williams Chicken, ACE Check Cashing, etc.) that is out of the normal scope of record stores. Again the show could expose artists to it\’s sponsors (of course a show of this subject would have highly visible sponsors) creating more promotion and income generating opportunities.

     Emortul Entertainment (a Project Emortul LLC company) is an urban record label based in Dallas, TX.

     Visit my label http://www.emortulz.com, http://www.myspace.com/emortulz & http://www.smooth-d.com.

     Comment by LaJohn Manoy aka Smooth D. — May 15, 2007 @ 12:58 pm

236. Hi Mark,

     HDNet runs some great out of production series, but how about reprising and updating one of the greatest TV series of all time — Sea Hunt. This 60s classic helped build the sport of scuba diving by integrating a detective-like drama with underwater action and a showcase of the latest diving technologies and techniques. It also gave novices a great primer on dive safety. Obviously, the state of the hobby has progressed dramatically since the one-stage Aqualung regulator Mike Nelson was famous for in the original, and there is no great showcase for the hobby/profession today.

     This would be a natural for HDNet since it could be videotaped underwater at some of the world\’s most spectacular reefs, wrecks and fresh water springs, which are all brimming with color and life. Bet you could even get one of the Bridges (Beau or Jeff) to recreate their father Lloyd\’s best known character — Mike Nelson.

     Comment by Greg Tarr — May 15, 2007 @ 12:55 pm

237. How about a show that is almost exactly like Animal House the movie except with a bunch of gay guys. You could call it \”Gay House\” – that would look titties in HD.

     Comment by jaw — May 15, 2007 @ 1:00 pm

238. SPIN on travel show

     Beer Tour
     registered with the writers guild of america
     Created by Boone Enser and Dave Aizer

     From the majestic snow capped mountains in Golden, Colorado to Rhode Islands 300 year-old White Horse Tavern to Oktoberfests all across the U.S.A. … wherever beer is made, served or drank, well be there!

     For all you beer drinkers out there, welcome to paradise. This is Beer Tour, a traveling tribute to mans other best friend. Each week well visit destinations like the Super Bowl, the Budweiser Brewing Company and the legendary Breckenridge Micro Brewery to celebrate one of mans greatest inventions … beer. And well never run out of places to visit. After all, there are over 2,000 breweries in the United States.

     But this isnt some ordinary travel show, where you watch what happens from a safe distance. Beer Tour in high definition dives in head first and gives you a front row seat at the bar! Well visit the Rolling Rock Town Fair, jamming to music, sampling the local flavor and hoisting some cold ones. Well go all-access at Beerfest Zinzinnati – Cincinnatis ultimate beer festival – to get the true beerfest experience. And well belly up to some of the countrys most historic watering holes, seeing firsthand what makes them so great.

     Well tour Americas breweries in a way only high definition TV can. Picture those giant vats of beer, looking larger than life, captured in all their metallic splendor. Well roam the sprawling wheat fields in Washington, hand picking the perfect ingredients to make our own brew. From the spectacular Rocky Mountains to Pennsylvanias crystal clear streams, Beer Tour in high definition will look so good you can almost taste it!

     Want to build a micro brewery in your home? Come with us as we find the best homemade micro breweries in the country, giving you some great ideas along the way. Thinking of cooking for your friends? Join us in the kitchen where well show you how to broil steak and lobster in a pot of beer. Picture that perfectly seasoned steak coming at you in high definition … thatll get your mouth watering. And if youre feeling really adventurous well even give you George Washingtons homemade beer recipe, so you can drink like a president.

     Well take you tailgating, visit Gettysburgs historic Dobbin House Tavern and uncover beer myths, like the difference in taste between non-alcoholic, lager and light beer. Well talk to bartenders, because you know theyve got some great stories. And well look back at the history of beer.

     Beer Tour in high definition has something for everyone who drinks beer. Its the only show devoted to the drink you love. So pull up a stool and join us for a cold one. Cheers!

     Comment by dan boone enser — May 15, 2007 @ 12:33 pm

239. I think there would be a huge market for a channel or series of movies that are not currently available on DVD. I know HDNet Movies touches on this, but it\’s not a focus.

     Comment by Kris Sullens — May 15, 2007 @ 11:28 am

240. What does the sustainable future look like? Watch the new show and find out. HD shows nature and the future of things like no other video format. HDnet, the viewer, and the show, are ahead of their time, creating the future NOW. Alternative, sustainable solutions WORK. Don\’t believe it? Watch the show.

     Comment by JP — May 15, 2007 @ 1:02 pm

241. Analyze the World
     30 to 60 minutes
     Comedy / Documentary

     Larry David meets Carl Sagan?

     A bird\’s eye perspective of how the world appears and why it seems to be that way. The show is a comedic and thought-provoking analysis of what truly goes on here via scientific and general funny observations – a far deeper approach to standard news.

     - Thoughts on current events
     - Not shy away from \”sexual\” and \”religious\” observations
     - Comparing the lives of humans with other species on the planet
     - For Mature Audiences (when required)
     - High end animation and motion graphics throughout
     - Edgy, entertaining, eye-opening

     http://www.analyzetheworld.com

     Jeremy Yuricek
     jyuricek@electrocinema.com
     http://www.electrocinema.com

     Comment by Jeremy Yuricek — May 15, 2007 @ 1:07 pm

242. Wow, these ideas really blow. So funny how people blissfully ignore your request for it not to be derivative (\”like Discovery Channel\”), sports (\”do something with MLS\”), or business competition (\”profitable websites\”). I love the \”I demand an NDA\” people who act as if the turd they\’re guarding is some precious gem.

     When it comes to HD, though, sports, nature & music/concerts have a greater advantage over other genres. HD was meant to capture those real life, you-wish-you-were-there moments, not fantasy/drama/artifice. And really, HD is not kind to most actors.

     Comment by SammyDKat — May 15, 2007 @ 12:58 pm

243. THE NIGHTMARE SHOW
     Registered with the Writers Guild of America
     Created by Dave Aizer and Dan Boone Enser

     Youre asleep. Everything is peaceful. You are totally relaxed. And then, BOOM, youre falling from the Empire State Building, plunging towards your death. You cant breathe, you cant scream, youre sure youre about to die. Then you awaken, startled and terrified from your nightmare.

     In an average lifetime, we spend seven years in dreamland. But not all of those dreams are happy ones. Nightmares can plague each of us, interrupting our sleep and filling our days with fear. Unfortunately, theres no easy way to find out what our nightmares mean and put our minds at ease until now! Meet the Dream Team three specialists wholl reveal the secrets within YOUR dreams, analyze what they mean and offer helpful advice for better mental health. Our diverse panel of professional healers will consist of a dream psychologist, a Freudian psychoanalyst and a shaman.

     The shows setting will be an intimate theater-in-the-round. During the show, well bring patients out one at a time to lie on our therapists couch. Well dim the lights to create a warm environment thats conducive to real, honest dream therapy. Our goal is to allow the patient to feel comfortable enough to open up about their life.

     Once the mood is set and our patient feels at ease, theyll reveal their nightmares to the panelists and the audience. The panel will ask them some pointed questions as they try to uncover the nightmares meanings. If need be, our therapists may even induce hypnosis to get to the root of the nightmares. The analysis will be personal and meaningful and will hopefully lead to a breakthrough. Plus, it will impact the viewers at home who have no doubt had similar dreams.

     Of course, our panel will come up with different interpretations of the same nightmare. But what do you expect when youre dealing with three radically different methodologies. Itll be riveting to watch them argue with each other as they discuss all the possible explanations of the nightmare, from the obvious, to the controversial, to the seemingly absurd.

     After the nightmares have been analyzed, well pull the two patients aside and ask them how they feel about the therapists conclusions. Then, through the magic of editing, when we air the episode well play their sound bites as the therapists are evaluating them. So if a woman thinks the shaman is crazy, well find out as hes evaluating her.

     Well also have video re-enactments of the nightmares and a rapid analysis segment where the panelists offer insights into the nightmares of several audience members. The show will even include phone calls and e-mails from viewers about their nightmares. Well create an environment where every dream is open to analysis and no dream is left undiagnosed. Soon youll be able to turn on your TV and find out just what it is thats been keeping you up all night. The Nightmare Show will finally give you peace of mind!

     Comment by dan boone enser — May 15, 2007 @ 1:08 pm

244. Daily or weekly \”Conspiracy News Hour\”.

     An actual news format show about current (or previous) conspiracy theories. Current and past conspiracies are dissected, brought to you more in depth and presented with a real effort to find the truth.

     The key is that it\’s a serious attempt to debunk or prove true various conspiracies or cover-ups of current and past news events. You present the stories with REAL, intelligent reporters (not the nuts you see bringing you youtube style conspiracy videos).

     Comment by Sunshine Megatron — May 15, 2007 @ 1:29 pm

245. (1)Do a show where you give 3 start up\’s seed money and you follow the whole business process and see who ends up making their business plan work.

     (2)Do a real \”Office\” show so you can see how screwed up some work places are

     Comment by Jed Winkler — May 15, 2007 @ 1:37 pm

246. Short film competition between a small team of experienced film professionals (hosts) and a team of amateurs. Each episode, the hosts travel to different cities and take on locals to see who can write, shoot and edit a better short film within a specified time period.

     Comment by Kevin Haas — May 15, 2007 @ 1:38 pm

247. My ideas for HDNet:

     1. Place street-level cameras in very public spots such as Time Square, Union Square in SF etc, and let the public activities be a live youtube.

     2. Revenge: a weekly docu-drama crime drama where actual victims dramatize how they would seek revenge on the criminals who have done them harm.

     3. Fire – like Cops, but in HD.

     Comment by Dave from San Jose — May 15, 2007 @ 1:49 pm

248. A show that follows around a couple guys who weren\’t
     born with silver spoons in their mouths, as they just
     graduate out of second-rate (but decent!) MBA school
     located on the West Coast, and look to start a hedge
     fund to take on the ranks of their fellow recent
     Harvard MBA grads who are nothing more than a bunch of
     \”wannabe traders\” living off of daddy\’s credit cards.
     Guy #1 is the trader who leveraged all his student loan
     money to create a 16-month track record of 60%+ returns
     trading options, his nickname is \”The Mechanic\’, and
     Guy #2, is the Marketing Genius with connections in
     Silicon Valley. Both have an affinity for loud music,
     good times, and aspirations of making tons of money while having fun, rather than wearing pin-striped suits and drinking $15
     martinis. After a good day of trading they\’d rather
     pass around a bottle of Powers, their favorite Irish
     Whiskey, and scream \”Hit the Powers!! Hit the Powers!!\”
     while recapping how they just made a killing in the
     market that day while enjoying the California sunshine
     sitting on the roof of their house to plan for the next
     day of trading!

     Soon they realize that unfortunately it isn\’t that easy everyday–watch how a couple young guys with nothing but a hope and a dream learn how tough it is to be in the hedge fund game as the money gets bigger, the losses tougher to struggle with, and the stresses of running a business turn their lives upside down as they\’re given more to deal with than they bargained for.

     Conformity, following the heard or looking for sleazy ways to blow enormous streams of cash isn\’t part of the equation with these guys–reinvesting their cash flow, trading bigger, and turning Silicon Valley into \”West Coast Wall St\” is their ultimate goal…. If you want a show that depicts the true silicon valley entrepreneurial lifestyle in a non-tech arena, then look no further. Fast trading, and money made, and money lost–Watch them ride the roller coaster ride of high emotions related to making money, blowing a month\’s worth of profits on one bad trade, and capture a look into the non-tech world of high-stakes, fast paced Silicon Valley lifestyle without an ounce of semiconductors involved!

     Comment by Justin — May 15, 2007 @ 1:58 pm

249. Flip The Script
     Registered with the Writers Guild of America
     Created by Boone Enser and Dave Aizer

     What if your ultimate fantasy was to sing on Broadway, spend a day training with real-life astronauts or take batting practice with the New York Yankees? Wouldnt it be great if there were a way to make that happen? Well on Flip The Script there is! Well take kids out of their everyday lives and give them once in a lifetime opportunities. From Little League to the Major Leagues, from dance class to Broadway, well make their dreams come true if they can accomplish a few simple tasks first.

     Lets say Billys a diehard Yankees fan who would love nothing more than to meet his heroes. Well hell not only meet them; hell get to grab a bat and take some swings with them! Hell live out the ultimate dream for any kid who plays baseball. But like any dream, theres some hard work involved. Little does Billy know that before he can rub elbows with his favorite players, hell have to wash their socks. Billy will spend the morning as the Yankees locker room attendant. Hell make the players sandwiches, carry out their bats for batting practice and clean a mountain of dirty uniforms.

     But when Billys up to his nose in smelly sweat socks, he cant blame us. In fact, it might even be his fault! A week before we meet Billy, well create an on-line poll at Nick.com asking our viewers what funny challenges theyd like to see someone perform as a locker room attendant. So Billy might unknowingly be voting for his own future predicament! But its all in good fun and itll all be worthwhile when he finally steps into the Yankee Stadium batters box with Derek Jeter and A-Rod.

     This is only part of our shows on-line interaction. During the show, viewers will watch as Billy accomplishes certain tasks as the attendant. As they watch, a couple of key words will be revealed to them. Then, the viewers will log on to Nick.com and enter those keywords into our Noogle search engine. For example, they might enter dirty socks, turkey sandwich and batting practice. When they enter in the correct keywords theyll automatically qualify to win a prize (like an X-Box or a bicycle). Theyll even qualify for a chance to have their own fantasies fulfilled!

     There are countless other scenarios we can create. Before a girl can dance on Broadway she might have to parade around Times Square singing show tunes while forming a conga line of twenty people, if thats what our voters choose. If a boy wants to be an astronaut well take him to NASA and let him pilot a simulated aircraft after he completes the weightless obstacle course designed by our on-line audience.

     We could even have some fun with role-reversals. What kid wouldnt love to be principal for a day? Imagine a day at school filled with carnivals, color wars and video game classes. Of course, our new principal will first have to put on a ten-minute variety show during 1st period assembly, with our voters choosing the material.

     Flip The Script gives kids a chance to live out some really cool fantasies … provided, that is, theyre willing to work for it. But once theyve conquered our viewers crazy challenges, it wont be long before their dreams are realized!

     Comment by dan boone enser — May 15, 2007 @ 1:44 pm

250. Not a drop to drink
     Registered Writers Guild of America
     Created by Boone Enser and Dave Aizer

     Oceans separate continents, Rivers divide countries, but imagine waking up one morning and there was no more drinkable water? Not a drop to drink is a documentary, with creative license, spotlighting how important water is in our daily lives. No way to take a shower or even brush your teeth. Forget about breakfast or at least washing those dirty dishes Society would crumble, chaos would ensue, it would be a total disaster. This documentary will highlight what a day without H2O would really be like, with a follow up series on how important water conservation is. Open that bottle of water in front of you because your next sip of refreshing may be your last.

     Comment by dan boone enser — May 15, 2007 @ 2:04 pm

251. Sunday Dinner
     Registered writers Guild of America
     Created by Boone Enser and Dave Aizer

     Sunday dinner has always been the weekly gathering place for families. Whether its a group of relatives sitting around grandmas dinner table in Cleveland or a gay couple and their family of friends eating in their Manhattan apartment, Sunday dinner is where people go to share their lives with loved ones. And when one of them has a big announcement, good or bad, this is where they make it.

     For one hour each week, well bring you the tradition, and the drama, of Sunday dinner. Youll be there as a family member shares some BIG news with the people closest to them! From the young black girl whos eloped with an older white man and now must bring him home to meet her family, to the married couple that – after years of trying – is finally adopting Chinese triplets, Sunday Dinner is where it all gets revealed.

     Well be there for the good, the bad and the just plain weird stuff only a family could love. Perhaps a mother with cancer has just found out shes in remission and will fully recover. Sunday Dinner is the perfect time to give her family the great news. Maybe a son has decided to leave college and head overseas to join the Army, even though his parents dont approve. Well watch as they tearfully say goodbye. Perhaps a father is giving up his six-figure income to pursue his lifelong dream of joining the circus. Well be there as he breaks the news in his clown costume.

     Well even reunite families with their long lost relatives. Like the daughter who stormed out of the house ten years ago and now returns home to reconcile with her parents and introduce them to their grandchildren. And dont forget about long lost Uncle Charlie, who recently became Aunt Charlotte. Imagine the reactions around the dinner table as Charlotte walks in and shows off her new look!

     In the days leading up to Sunday, well spend time with our hero, getting the inside scoop on their big secret long before their family does. Well watch them go through every emotion as they prepare to share their news. But we wont let them talk to their family about it. In fact, all well tell the family is that one of their relatives has a big announcement to make on Sunday, but we wont tell them who – or what – it is.

     Then on Sunday, well spend time with the family as they gather at the house. Well sit with mom and her sisters as they reveal their secret family recipes and well walk with grandpa down to the lake where he taught his grandkids to fish. Well look at photo albums and hear intimate family stories. Well know the family so well that when our hero arrives and makes the big announcement, our viewers will feel like theyre actually sitting at the dinner table sharing the news!

     After dinner, well keep the cameras rolling to capture everybodys reaction. Well even check back in a few days later to see how they feel after theyve had time to digest it all. And well end each episode with one final surprise for the family, like a free vacation, a fully furnished nursery for the expectant couple or a shopping spree for Aunt Charlotte.

     Each week Sunday Dinner lets viewers share in a different familys triumphs and tragedies. Its an unscripted drama that takes you through the highs and lows every family goes through. Its a show about families, for families, and it should hit home to everyone.

     Comment by dan boone enser — May 15, 2007 @ 2:05 pm

252. Youve Got Bride
     Registered Writers Guild of America
     Created by Boone Enser and Dave Aizer

     They say theres someone for everyone. But for some guys, all the bars, all the blind dates and all the personal ads in the world still havent produced any romance. So what do you do when you want to meet someone to share your life with, but there seems to be nowhere to turn? Well in some cases, you take the ultimate leap of faith and purchase a mail order bride. With just a simple click of a mouse, any guy can have his chance at true love.

     During the shows season, well follow three relationships each consisting of a man and his mail order bride to see if love is, indeed, only a mouse click away. Each of these relationships will be in a different stage. In one, well watch a man order his bride over the internet and then prepare to meet her and start a life with her. In another, well follow a couple thats been together for a while and is struggling to make things work. And in the third, well feature a couple as they get ready for their wedding day.

     Well watch as these women (from countries like Russia, China, Venezuela, Honduras and even Africa) prepare to spend their lives with men theyve never met before. Theyve left their families and friends behind, and traveled halfway around the world for a chance at a better life. Will they find it? Will they adjust to American culture? Will they be able to forge a lasting happiness with a complete stranger?

     From language barriers to differences in customs, each relationship will have very real problems to overcome. Well be there when the first couple meets at the airport and takes whats sure to be a rather awkward car ride home. Well watch the second couple fight as they try to understand each others needs. And well raise a glass when the third couple says their vows (probably in different languages) and begins their lives together.

     This show will be a real, honest look into the dynamic of a mail order marriage: from the highs to the lows, to all the incredible moments in between. Well share in their joys and sorrows, and watch as they try to beat the odds and truly find love.

     Comment by dan boone enser — May 15, 2007 @ 2:08 pm

253. A TV show that portrays an underpriveleged group (i.e. blacks, hispanics) in a positive light. Make a show that presents other roles than a rapper, a gang member, athlete, or a drug dealer for young impoverished Americans. Do a documentary on a black man who has become a CEO one week, and the next week a hispanic doctor or professor. Mark, you know the great influence of media on young people, and this could possibly do some public service if done right. The opportunities (scholarships, affirmative action) are out there, but it seems motivation to chase them is lacking.

     Another idea would be a cool way to show areas in America that are taking off economically and gaining population – kind of portray the building of a great city or vibrant area in real time.

     Comment by Joe Rigdon — May 15, 2007 @ 1:49 pm

254. A TV show that portrays an underpriveleged group (i.e. blacks, hispanics) in a positive light. Make a show that presents other roles than a rapper, a gang member, athlete, or a drug dealer for young impoverished Americans. Do a documentary on a black man who has become a CEO one week, and the next week a hispanic doctor or professor. Mark, you know the great influence of media on young people, and this could possibly do some public service if done right. The opportunities (scholarships, affirmative action) are out there, but it seems motivation to chase them is lacking.

     Another idea would be a cool way to show areas in America that are taking off economically and gaining population – kind of portray the building of a great city or vibrant area in real time.

     Comment by Joe Rigdon — May 15, 2007 @ 1:53 pm

255. I think there is an opportunity for a comedy show based on bus drivers. I attended school at UT-Austin, and I think it would be hilarious to go through the lives of the bus drivers and their not so typical days of hauling college students around campus and partying on the weekends. They see some hilarious things everyday, and I don\’t think any of the passengers have a clue what\’s going on in the driver\’s life. I think a somewhat dry, sarcastic sense of humor would be ideal for the characters.

     Comment by Dru Bolen — May 15, 2007 @ 2:07 pm

256. Some people are unreal.. It\’s Mark Cuban, it\’s not like its Donald Trump who\’s going to steal your idea with no compensation. I was thinking wouldnt it be nice to have a High Def show like MTV Cribs but instead of Celebrities homes it would show sports related buildings like the American Airlines center or Yankees stadium. It would show from the field, parking lot to club suites and locker rooms..

     Who are you pulling for now in the playoffs mark?
     -Stephen

     Comment by Stephen Pardue — May 15, 2007 @ 1:59 pm

257. M, I always thought a great show would be based around a wedding, club band that played in singles meets and small dance clubs. The band would be filled with middled aged characters, some very talented and would involve thier interaction together and with those of the patrons. My father was the leader of that kind of band and I can attest that there were many a night with very touching and very funny moments. It would be a chance to explore many social issues in both a serious and humerous way depending on the plotline. The show would be something like Cheers with regular characters and many new ones each week.

     Comment by Joseph Whip — May 15, 2007 @ 2:00 pm

258. The Lab with Leo Laporte. It is a show that currently airs on G4 Tech TV in Canada. It is a call in computer help show. Leo is great and is very influential in tech so I am sure Mark knows ifof him. It is filmed in HD so would be perfect for HDNet. More info can be found at http://www.twit.tv/2007/04/18/the_lab_debuts_april_23

     Nelson,
     Los Angeles, CA

     Comment by Nelson Saenz — May 15, 2007 @ 2:29 pm

259. Lets give up all the guts and gore,dope,drinking and and the other things that are going on today destroying a lot of peoples lives and go back to the 30\’s,40\’s and 50\’s to a time when a boy was growing up in a small town (Grand Prairie).and compare it to growing up in the hectic world of today.
     The Book is called \”CHICKEN ON SUNDAY\” if I live long enough to get it finished amoung the other things I have going on in my life at this time. Sincerely Bill

     Comment by Bill Taylor — May 15, 2007 @ 2:25 pm

260. I would love to see a HD show that highlights 3D Animation.

     The kind that is common place in Hollywood movies and video games.

     I think High Definition is the perfect showcase for a series\\documentary\\show whatever for this ever evolving form of entertainment.

     Looking at the popularity of 3D video games and movies such as \”Happy Feet\”, \”Shrek\” and \”Cars\” I think it could have a wide audience and look spectacular at 1080i.

     Comment by Kirk — May 15, 2007 @ 2:21 pm

261. Ten people are dropped in a foreign country. Each has a digital camera, a small amount of money, and print photos of the nine other people. The winner is the one who first snaps a pic of every other contestant.

     APS

     Comment by Ape Man — May 15, 2007 @ 2:40 pm

262. How about an indepth look at todays top Universities and it\’s educators. Not a MTV road rules look, but one that shows what is really happening in Colleges today. A look at the Professors and how they preparing tommorrows leaders. I believe you would find some incrediable ground breaking ideas about our future coming from the top Universities in this country. Display the real everyday life of top students and the educators. Look at the ideas they have in changing the world and how they think we should go about those changes. Take a look at the Universities themselves with a everything from the campus, backgrounds, histories and the top leaders the have produced. Add in the day to day drama, todays students stresses and the interesting style of top professor and you will have a show of interest. Show the top leaders in college sports, business, politics and medicine. Are our universities keeping pace with the rest of the world?

     My thoughts would be to mix a documentry style show with a reality type show. Bring out to the public the interesting facts of what students are being given in college to solve tomnorrows problems in enviromental, medical, political and social issues.

     I believe you find some interesting characters in some of the professors and educators themselves. Ones you may be able to dedicate whole shows to. What is campus life like for girls compared to boys. For foreign students compared to American students. Maybe trace their pathways through their college life. Follow a top med student, college athlete or a rocket scientist to see what it takes to get top earning career or notice by the best. Showing what happens in top university science departments today would probably surprise most of America.

     You would have to look at everything, including the dark side such as the recent tragedy at Virginia Tech. Just firing up a camera on campus you may find footage America doesn\’t want to see.

     Obviously to make show like this fly it would someone who can add the right spark to make it have interest. But the concept can work with molding.

     Good luck.

     Comment by Terry Earle — May 15, 2007 @ 9:56 am

263. 1. It\’s a action/comedy series concerning a fictional character, Will Calvin, the star of several low-grade, action, pulp serials from the 40\’s and 50\’s, who is transported into the real world by a strange piece of magic. His old-fashioned morals, ideals, and style will clash greatly with this new world he has been introduced too. Also transported to this world are several of his sworn film enemies, including: gangsters, Nazis, and evil scientists.

     Comment by Daniel Scahub — May 15, 2007 @ 2:44 pm

264. My show is called \”How Low Can You Go?\”

     Here\’s how it works:

     Contestants perform an extremely daring and perverted task of their own choosing. (eg. They stuff 100 Oreos in their mouth or swin in a pool of urine).

     Once they choose the task, and successfully perform it, they tell a panel of judges their price for the act.

     The judges think about it, and maybe they give them MORE or LESS than what they asked for, depending on the a.) what they thought of the task and b.) their performance.

     Comment by Krishna Datla — May 15, 2007 @ 2:53 pm

265. Simple idea. A show about how to paint. The twist is that the show teaches you how to paint in the style of a masterpiece. A typical episode would give you background on the history and context of the masterpiece and its painter combined with Bob Ross like instruction on how to paint. It would be shot like Everyday Italian and Barefoot Contessa on the food network. In HD, painting would look extraordinary! What would be fantastic is if you could get a dynamic reformed art forger to host it! Or resurrect Bob Ross. That would be great too.

     Comment by michael w — May 15, 2007 @ 2:59 pm

266. My idea would be something along the line of explaining technology to the general masses (specifically baby boomers like my parents). Since many baby boomer do own HD televisions and know how to actually use them, explaining how to use other technology works could be of real benefit. Use every day examples blue tooth, wireless routers, texting and the associated language, gaming, etc. Also, the \’dark side\’ of technology could be included ie. phishing, maleware, spam, piracy etc. This could be done not as lecture but uses kids teaching their parents and grandparents.

     Being in technology and helping my parents understand what all these things mean and do is a never ending story. Something new is always coming out. The show would endlessly be fed.

     Any hoot thanks for the time.

     Comment by Frank Curran — May 15, 2007 @ 2:56 pm

267. Cell (C is written with a \’cent\’ symbol)

     Muhammed is a militant 21 year old from Saudi Arabia. In his country he meets up with an al Qaeda organizer and because of his fast-wit and intelligence he quickly gets short-listed to lead an attack on American soil. Cue a montage of scenes showing how he smuggles weapons and explosives into New York City and holes up to plan an attack.

     It\’s the moment of truth. Muhammed\’s assignment is to carry out a bus-bombing as it crosses through Times Square. With C4 strapped to his body Muhammed waits patiently for the bus to weave through congested NYC traffic to find its way into Times Square and gets to experience city culture first-hand. When the moment of truth arrives, he stands up, and just as he is about to push the detonator, 8 wacky things happen all at once and convince him that HE LOVES AMERICA.

     He aborts the mission. Fast forward 9 months.

     We see Muhammed in a red convertible, Armani suit, clean shaven wearing designer sunglasses chatting up his fellow ibankers on a cell phone. A blonde-haired socialite sits in the passenger seat. Fuzzy Mets dice hang from his rearview.

     While Muhammed has fully embraced American life and culture, his fellow terror cell members are in denial and believe he has simply gone deep-cover to plan the ultimate attack: wait for the World Trade Center to be rebuilt. He runs with it for fear that they would kill him if they knew, and the tension runs high as he has to work behind the scenes to foil his terror buddy\’s plans.

     Adding to the hilarity are Morty, Muhammed\’s good natured hasidic Jewish next door neighbor who is completely oblivious to Muhammed\’s origins and Graham, the WASPy chick-obsessed ibanker who works with Muhammed at major Wall Street bank.

     The wacky hijinks of season 1 reach their climax when his ultra-conservative mother comes to visit! And to make matters worse, his blonde white girlfriend won\’t get off his case about meeting her!

     Muhammed: Oh Allah, why have you forsaken me?

     Comment by Michael Bacarella — May 15, 2007 @ 3:02 pm

268. I have read all of the previous post quite a few deal with subjects you told people to stay away from.

     I am no pitch man my idea may even seem a little stupid but it is something that I am interested in and probably a lot of other people are as well.

     OK here goes are you familiar with Car and Driver where they review and test drive cars.

     Original Concept by JERMAINE NORAH
     Shows Focus: SNEAKERS (Popular Culture)
     Schedule: 30min Weekly Show
     Target Demographic
     Sex: Male, Female
     Ages: 12-40
     Races: ALL

     Concept:
     My idea is a show about Sneakers I mean you could have people test out certain sneakers to see how they like them let them wear them for a while and give a review. Talk about peoples sneaker collections (interviews with celebrities as well as the average Joe or Sallie), because some sneaker collections are large and run into the hundreds and people do not mind talking about something like this. Hell people have even been shot over sneakers. You can have segments that talk about the latest styles release dates, what sneakers are best for a specific task (eg. walking, running) etc. Just like cars and computers new styles of sneakers are coming out all the time. The sneaker business is huge. There is no show like this any where there are already magazines and web sites dedicated to this culture. it could be very lucrative. This is a show that I know will appeal to both Male and females. The demographic for a show like this could be huge even international. The best part is a show like this would not be very expensive to produce.

     Show outline:
     Sneaker Test Drive
     Maintain Your Kicks, Modify your kicks, or Sneaker Q and A
     Sneaker Talk (interveiw see what your wearing and whats in your closet)
     Whats hot (the hottest sneaker out right now \”what every one is wearing\”)
     New Styles release dates
     Where to buy

     We can call it Sneaker Nation, Sneaker Culture, or Sneaker TV on HDTV.

     Yeah it is silly but I think it is cool. The important thing is this is not being done by Any Body. Could you imagine the sponsors

     Thanks for taking time to read this.

     Comment by Jn2art — May 15, 2007 @ 3:02 pm

269. I have an idea which could also go with a previous blog you posted a while back about how to promote a movie in a different way. I think a show that revolves round the making of a movie would be something that could tap into the hot reality show style marketplace but at the same time be promoting the film.

     Each show could be an hour long and focus a bit on the filming of the movie but more on how scenes are edited and also get some director insights like you would as a DVD extra. The extras could speak on their experiences and maybe talk about how they were able to get in the film. Interviews with stunt doubles could be interesting as well. If part of the trailer would feature a stunt from the film why not talk to the person that performed it. They could let us in a little on the \”Movie Magic\” needed to create the stunt safely.

     I think it could be done so as not to give the entire movie plot away and by the end show what might normally be seen in a theater trailer is all the viewer gets and is enough of a tease to make the viewer want to see the finished product.

     Comment by Kevin Wheeler — May 15, 2007 @ 3:13 pm

270. \”Have You Met Jake\” a dramedy about four 30-something men from different backgrounds who originally met in college, went their separate ways, had different life experiences and varying degrees of personal and professional success. Story picks up as they gather in Las Vegas for a reunion, and the story arc would eventually lead to their joint purchase and operation of a strip club/bowling alley.

     The characters:

     Jake– All-American frat boy type from wealthy family who inherits $ after parents both died in a kinky sex accident; He has the seed $ for the group\’s business venture, he\’s got a magnetic persona and everyone loves the guy, but he is immature, emotionally unstable and incapable of commitment to anyone or anything.

     Liam– Fiery Irishman who came to U.S. for college, partied hard and schemed to make $ (ran campus betting pools, fixed horse races, hustled golfers, etc.), went back to Ireland after college and got in touch with his Catholic guilt. He heard that someone made a lot of money on eBay after finding an image of Jesus on a potato chip, and he figured he had his business plan. Spends his days searching for images of religious icons in food and various other inanimate objects.

     Casey– Casey married his college sweetheart right after graduation and popped out two kids while in law school. Got a job at big firm where he worked outrageous hours. His family never saw him and relations deteriorated. Just prior to making partner, Casey won a contest that allowed him a chance to kick a $1 million field goal at halftime of the Superbowl. Casey practiced field goals nonstop for two months, while his family secretly racked-up debt behind his back thinking they would soon be rich. Casey slips on his field goal try, misses the ball entirely, and the replay of the debacle is shown in continuous loop on every evening newscast and television sports show. They even show it for several years on jumbotrons during breaks at professional sporting events across the country. Casey\’s family deems him a loser and and he leaves his job when the ridicule becomes too much to bear.

     Sam– Started wildly successful internet porn business during the dot.com boom and while he was still in college. Consummate ladies man, but incredibly sleazy. Great head for business. Attends anti-abortion protests, not because he has strong feelings on the issue, but because he \”thinks Christian chicks are hot.\” Loses his fortune after failing to pay his auto insurance then running over a celebrity dog (think Lassie or Benji).

     Comment by Don — May 15, 2007 @ 3:16 pm

271. First off I\’m a sci fi/comic book fan. So thanks for taking Smallville to HD.

     One of my friends works at an appliance store and uses one thing time and again to show the beauty of HD – Animation. Every time he has someone debating on HD or not HD he whips out a copy of Finding Nemo, Shrek, or Snow White. It gets them every time. (he sold me by showing MMA in HD but that\’s another story entirely)

     I would propose one of two things:

     1) A show that highlighsts short animated films. Some cold be one shot things others could be serials. I\’m not just talking childrens entertainment either. There are some great animated movies and shows that are not for little kids.

     2) I have an idea for an animated series. short version, Guy falls for Girl, Girl falls for Guy. Girl\’s cat tries to break them up when he\’s not trying to take over the world. The cat would be like a bad Bond villain knock off with ADD on a sugar high.

     Comment by Patrick Kolker — May 14, 2007 @ 3:18 pm

272. 1. Develop a top-notch science fiction show along the lines of Battlestar Galactica, or try to bring BG to your network. Science fiction and fantasy look particularly great on HD – take advantage of that!

     2. Our family is not wild about nature specials, but we LOVED the Planet Earth series on the Discovery channel. They did everything right. So why not see if you can do some of the same sorts of things with astronomical photography? The Hubble space telescope has helped revive interest in astronomy; work with images from the Hubble and build some astronomy specials around them. Perhaps your network could help fund more types of cameras on future space telescope projects.

     Thanks for promising us no more \”reality\” shows. I don\’t watch them anyway. I either want imaginative shows (Battlestar Galactica, Heroes, sometimes Lost), shows with interesting characters (House, Scrubs) or historical epics that are at least somewhat historically accurate (like Rome and not The Tudors).

     Laurie Mann
     (formerly of Mt. Lebanon, currently of McDonald, PA)

     Comment by Laurie Mann — May 15, 2007 @ 2:53 pm

273. I\’ve got a killer idea that would revolutionize TV viewing. It is a show that is shot in the first person. Two cameras, one for each \”eye.\” We see everything as it is happening to us, not an actor. It would not be interactive though. When the person blinks, the cameras go dark for that split tenth of a second. And when the person cries…the cameras get blurry. The person will make little comments to himself/herself. The story would include the person\’s spouse getting killed. So it is a murder mystery, coupled with the person\’s kids getting kidnapped and his not remembering what happened. Kind of like Memento but without the tattoo\’s/short term memory loss/out of order shots. What do you think Mr. Cuban?

     Comment by Greg Bartell — May 15, 2007 @ 3:27 pm

274. Title: On Set
     Concept: A weekly program where viewers get to shadow someone on a movie set to get a behind the scenes look and a \”day in the life of…\” This can rotate through different roles (i.e. Producer, Director, Actor, Cinematographer, DP, AD, etc. etc.) and offers movie fans a rare glimpse into filmmaking that goes beyond the marketing and promo shows such as HBO\’s First Look etc.

     Title: The Tourist
     Concept: The host is dropped into non-traditional tourist locations (rural China, Romania etc.), and is not allowed to pack a single item. Upon arrival, he/she is given a backpack with necessities (previously unknown to him, but will contain items such as a translation dictionary, some cash and a few other items that are location specific and may vary from week to week), and a cameraman, who will follow him around as he spends a week discovering the new location.

     Comment by Mike Su — May 15, 2007 @ 3:19 pm

275. Well, I think it is hard to think of original programming nowadays. But I feel there is a HUGE lack of original horror and sci-fi themed shows like the Twilight Zone or Tales from the Crypt, even the old Universal Studios Monster movies. I know they have Masters of Horror, but I\’d like a regular show that can be scary or thought provoking without resorting to gore or the F-bomb every other sentence.
     It would need to have a sharp script, story lines that don\’t always rely on the bait-and-switch premise and just an overload of the spook-show factor. If it is one thing I love, it is a good old fashioned ghost or monster scare. There is no need for the psychologically deranged killer which seems to be the norm nowadays. I would love to see a crisp, HD shot show in an old haunted house, I want to be able to feel the thick cob webs brush past my face as the howling of the creatures of the night rise up behind me.
     But the shows would be hosted by a colorful personality, like how Rod Serling or the Cryptkeeper used to be, as they unveil an hour long show on good old fashioned terror or something to make the viewer actually THINK about the plot for once. It sounds like a silly idea, but I just miss the good, old-fashioned horror shows of yesterday.

     Comment by Josh Figueroa — May 15, 2007 @ 3:36 pm

276. Civic Wars: Reality Gets Political

     Every week, for an hour, a different grassroots fight is featured. Environmental. Schools. Zoning. Civil rights. Public health.

     Pitting a ragtag group of citizens against THE SYSTEM. You parachute in and follow the fight as it reaches an important crossroads: community meeting, referendum, council or legislative vote – something that will have a beginning, middle and end. Follow both sides. Introduce the main characters as personalities. Watch what happens as people power tries to out muscle money and institutional power. Will they win or lose?
     Show the climax in gory detail.

     Then have a couple of expert organizers at the tail end analyze and debate what the citizens did right and wrong in the fight. Should have shored up that ally. Should have used pressure point C instead of A nd B. Should have taken it to the opponent\’s turf instead of fighting on your own.

     Make it a on-going handbook on how to effectively work the system to get what you want.

     The result is not only riveting David vs Goliath entertainment, it\’s also useful information about how American \”civics\” and \”poliitcal science\” really works. Hint – it ain\’t like your textbooks described it. Often, you\’ll be filming history in progress, before it shows up on CNN or the NYT front page.

     This is done by a couple of filamakers who are also veteran organizers themselves, know where to look, and who to talk to and what parts of the story to concentrate on. Only somebody who\’s done this a long time can land on the ground and instantly know what\’s important to pay attention and what\’s wasted footage.

     Mark – this project is tailor-made to be an HDTV project. Give us a call. Let\’s talk. Thanks for this opportunity.

     Copyright, Birnbaum/Schermbeck Films. Dallas, Texas 2007

     Jim Schermbeck 806.787.6567

     Comment by Jim Schermbeck — May 15, 2007 @ 3:54 pm

277. \”The Watchers\”

     [names are generic for this public post, we have spent a great deal of time on character development and back story, episode concepts, and much more. But that is for private presentation to protect the rest of the concept for this show. There are some MAJOR concepts to this series I had to leave out of this post, which we can discuss privately.]

     John Smith demonstrated an aptitude for technical interests as a youth. He became a ham radio operator at age nine and started piloting airplanes as a teenager. While still in high school, John built a digital computer in the family garage.

     His plans to pursue a doctorate in electrical engineering were interrupted when he received a Congressional appointment to the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Graduating with honors, John took his commission in the Air Force. After completing flight training, John joined the Missile Program and eventually became Branch Chief of the Department of Guided Missiles.

     John made the transition from the military to the private sector when he became a senior systems engineer with a large aerospace firm. He then went on to serve as a senior analyst, and conducted projects for the intelligence community and the Department of Defense. During that time, John earned a master\’s degree in engineering, supplementing previous graduate work in applied mathematics, advanced statistics and information sciences.

     Recruited into senior management at a major US Auto maker, John established the first international computer network. He left the auto maker to start his own company, a computer network firm that was subsequently acquired by a major fortune 500 company, instantly making him one of the most wealthiest men in the world.

     John found himself consulting, organizing corporate development deals, serving on the board of directors at several firms, and specializing in the rescuing of financially troubled technology companies. He also continued to serve as a major player in the intelligence community and the Department of Defense, with the highest security clearances, and helping to plan, develop, and execute some of the most secretive projects in US history.

     However, John was a man of intense integrity, conviction, and devotion to the princables of his country. Disgusted with the alarming rate that corruption, betrayal, and the \”eroding of freedoms\” was consuming his country during the 80\’s & 90\’s by the continuously corrupt leaders, he decided to speak out against it and expose the lies. For that, in 2000 he was repaid with an attempt to take his life. They missed him, but did get his family. Betrayed by the country he loved and served with all his heart, on the run for his life, and devestated by the loss of his family, John went into hiding. Assuming John committed suicide due to the loss of his family, the country that he loved and served erased every trace that John ever existed. But they also knew, if he was alive, he would be the biggest threat to their corrupt power hold on the country.

     While in hiding John used his expertise and money to build a state of the art facility, devices, and new technologies to use in exposing the lies and deceit of the powers that be, and helping people take back what rightfully belongs to them. In his country and around the world. John then set out to find seven individuals who are the best of the best to form an elite team to help him expose corruption, conspiracy, and injustice around the world, and fight for those who cant.

     The elite seven consist of the best in their respective fields, a hacker/advanced computing specialist, a scientist, an archaeologist, a doctor, a special ops soldier, a mathematician/cryptologist, and a holy man who is also an expert in human behavior, psyops, cults, and a master of ancient languages & civilizations. Together with John Smith and his advanced facilities, devices, and technologies they form the worlds most formidable force for finding and exposing truth to the world, and fighting injustice for those who can\’t. Unraveling ancient mysteries, current conspiracies, and future threats, through the use of their futuristic tools and technology, their pirate broadcasting network, and uncanny wisdom & intuition.

     These are the ones that see the unseen…..they are; THE WATCHERS.

     ====Quick Notes====

     I have been researching and developing this series for over 5 years, most of all the concepts, episodes, and topics are based off of true events, people, etc. My background started in comic book development and illustration. I then got into digital production in 95, by 97 I had become a popular digital artist/editor, I was hired as a consultant/presenter/trainer for Avid technology, Softimage, Apple computers, and others for their digital production products. I worked with Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Canon, and Philips at the birth of HD to help Avid, Softimage, and Apple develop their HD product solutions and technologies. Then I served as a consultant, HD specialist, and compression expert at iBEAM, where we developed the first true CDN, that included satellites, servers around the world, and by 2001 80% of all streaming content was broadcast by iBEAM [according to Microsoft]. Prior to their IPO, Akamai offered several billion dollars to purchase the company. [We won\'t get into the bad decisions the management made business wise, needless to say that is why I left the day after they turned down the offer.] On the creative side, I am a multi award winning HD director and visual effects supervisor. I won a GMA Dove award in 2004 for an HD production i directed, that included a ton of green screen work, in which we recreated a complete digital New York city and additional digital sets. I am often hired for HD productions and challenges for my extensive experience with HD. In 2006 I showcased my newest HD technology and content distribution concept at NAB in Las Vegas. The company is called MetaCinema LLC and we are launching the first wave of products and services in just a couple months. I pride myself on knowing HD and visual effects in such a way that I can produce \”high end\” productions with much smaller budgets than normal in Hollywood, without sacrificing the quality.

     I have been meaning to come to Dallas and meet with you regarding MetaCinema and some great opportunities we would have to work together in a profitable way. My assistant was actually set to contact your office next week. However, when I saw your blog post I could not resist with the idea above. Creating productions, shows, and films is my passion, my HD technologies have just come about by figuring out better ways of doing things to make better films and productions. Anyway, thanks for looking at it, but either way I would enjoy doing lunch or a presentation sometime. Feel free to contact me. Thanks.

     Elton Sawyer

     Comment by Elton Sawyer — May 15, 2007 @ 3:59 pm

278. I have always wanted to see some sort of \’You Bet Your Life\’ type show where you actually bet your life. Oh, not to the death, but the life you are currently living.

     Pit five people who have everything, against five people who have lost everything.

     The stakes are, if the rich folks win, they get a nice piece of change. If they lose, the person with nothing steps into their life and takes it all.

     Comment by Bane — May 15, 2007 @ 4:05 pm

279. Show: High on Fiber
     Topic: The race to be the Fiber optic leader

     Not a food show but a simple tech show about the future: Fiber optics and HD. I\’m part of Houston\’s next step in giving homes the most HD channels in the city and an interesting almost silent race is going on within cities to provide homes with HD channels, blazing internet connections (20mbps), video on demand, targeted advertising, etc and most common subscribers have no idea that this battle is going on and what great things they will get when a fiber optic company is found victorious

     For the small but lucky subscribers throughout the US that do have services from a fiber optic provider, they are doing nothing but praising the services and I think that audience woujld do the same for a show researching and showcasing the technology that they feel lucky to have.

     David Astramskas
     Fision/Marsh Inc./ExpiredPineapples
     youtube.com/expiredpineapples

     Comment by David Astramskas — May 15, 2007 @ 4:07 pm

280. I\’m surprised that so many of the responses were focused on the HD content. Yes, the fact that HDNet has 1080i is impressive today, when there is still a small percentage of overall programming in HD, but what happens in a year or two? The typical viewer doesn\’t care if the the programming is 1080i or 720i, as long as it\’s HD. It won\’t be long before most all programming is in HD and you will quickly lose your competitive advantage if you don\’t supply more compelling and unique original programming (such as HBO and FX).

     My idea for a program is to portray the day-to-day life from the perspective of an autistic child/adolescent in a first person format. The narration is of the child\’s brain and how it\’s thinking (within his head). However the actual words coming from the child (to the outside world) are incoherent and/or confusing. The camera perspective is looking at the world through the eyes of this child/person.

     The idea is that the brain is functioning normally (the narration portion) however the child can\’t communicate with the outside world. The viewer is living the frustration of a genius mind that cannot communicate to the outside world.

     Comment by Matt Chapman — May 15, 2007 @ 4:10 pm

281. Mark,
     Would like to see a \”live\” computer show for novice as well as professionals. Featuring new products/software,call-ins from viewers with tech questions/problems.

     Comment by Walter Camp — May 15, 2007 @ 10:16 am

282. IDEA: RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS

     I would love to see a totally new kind of show. A \”feel good\” show that be great fun to watch, reward good people, and inspire positive actions in people.

     It would be called \”Random Acts of Kindness\”.

     The setup is simple: It\’s a \”hidden camera\” type of show where a situation is created in which someone needs help. It could be a person stuck on the side of the road. An elderly woman needing help in the grocery store. A man with crutches trying to carry a box into a building. Anything that would require a stranger to step up and help out and go \”above and beyond\” the call of duty (ie, not just opening a door for someone!).

     When someone helps out and really goes out of their way to do a good thing, they are eventually rewarded with some cash, maybe like $500 or something. They feel good, they look good to the audience and friends and family, and people feel good watching someone doing something positive.

     If the show gets into the public conscious at all, people may actually be more willing to help out, just in case it\’s the show filming them secretly. And even when it\’s not, they\’ll feel good.

     It would be totally different and totally positive, and I think people would be drawn to it. Cheap to produce. Easily internationalized. I think it would be fantastic.

     Matt Kruse

     Comment by Matt Kruse — May 15, 2007 @ 4:17 pm

283. \”Baghdad PD\” – a serialized drama.

     Set a few years into the future where America\’s military has pulled out of Iraq and Baghdad\’s police force is struggling under the load of suicide bombings and insurgent uprisings.

     An American security consultant has agreed to stay in Iraq and help the fledgling police department get on its feet. His family back home is worried about him, but there are still other American and European expats hanging around, like the hot woman working with the politicos trying to ferret out the corruption. Or is she part of it?

     Some of the Iraqi cops and politicians are playing for the insurgents as are some of the expats. Lots of intrigue, plot twists, shooting and explosions.

     Shootouts with insurgents and detectives investigating the aftermath of carbombs all filmed in glorious HD.

     If it must be compared to something, I guess it would be similar to \”24\” and/or \”The Shield\”.

     I\’m not looking for much compensation, just a free set of HD-DVDs after each season and my name in the credits.

     Thanks,
     Tony DiTola

     Comment by Tony DiTola — May 15, 2007 @ 4:19 pm

284. Mark,

     when you say show are you strictly talking about reality type shows or could sitcoms or say drama\’s be included in that ?

     Regards,

     Bing Bailey

     Comment by Bing Bailey — May 15, 2007 @ 12:42 pm

285. M,

     Quick and dirty pitch. No yawning yet!

     Reality show: Trailer Park.

     Follow around a couple of \”trailer park\” families and give them coaches that can help turn their life around. Bascially they get coached on social graces, art, music, business, money management, etc. Winner gets to leave the trailer park….new house/no mortgage/kids college funds/new business. Basically a new lease on life.

     Comment by Chuck — May 15, 2007 @ 4:27 pm

286. HDNet has already shopwn a commitment to public service with Dan Rather\’s show and HDNet Reports. Why not revive the best of television concepts that have gone away? The television talk show a la Cavett where the guest might be as likely to be an author or intellectual as a more standard issue celebrity but whoever it is is given the opportunity to express and expand on ideas at leisure and at intelligent length. If it\’s a musical guest, they can play several numbers and talk about their music in more than sound bites. Look at old Cavetts as well as the jazz shows hosted by Nat Hentoff and Ralph Gleason.

     Even a less cerebral show like Mike Douglas would have serious guests mixed in with the Totie Fields of the world and everybody would stay onstage and interact. But I actually would prefer the in more in-depth discussions of someone of Cavett\’s caliber.

     Now then, speaking of Dan Rather, remember the history show for young adults called \”You Are There?\” It was hosted ny Walter Cronkite and illustrated moments in history through Cronkite\’s narration and short re-enactments. Clearly, the History Channel covers some stuff like this, but 30 minute shows aimed at younger folks and shot in HD, with Dan Rather\’s gravitas would be a great Saturday morning or weekday afternoon addition.

     Lastly, allow me to join the chorus for expanded music coverage of all kinds, building on your already excellent work in that area. I think the concerts you already show with minimal additional adornment (the fast cuts, the interviews) is the best form. Let the music speak for itself, presented as the artist presents it in concert.

     Comment by Robert Holland — May 15, 2007 @ 2:49 pm

287. \”SOLE SURVIVOR\”

     Forget \”SURVIVOR\” where there is too much food, too many lame contest, not enough natural challenges. Find a deserted island and set-up robotic HD Cameras to capture / stream the footage. Perhaps a small skeleton camera crew, especially to capture the initial set-up. Very low production costs with very high production value.

     Then, strand a group of contestants, and give them nothing. No food, no shelter, no water, no matches, no contact with the outside world. etc. No contest to vote people out, they leave voluntarily.

     Top prize it $10,000,000, and it could take years to collect.
     In the meantime, lots of great scenary to watch, and human ingenuity and real survival skills will be compelling to watch.
     Over time this could turn into a TRUMAN SHOW scenario, to see how long someone is willing to go to win $10,000,000.

     Part 2 of this reality show is to then follow the winner back as they try to integrate back in the \”real world.\”

     Comment by Bryan Ellenburg — May 15, 2007 @ 4:37 pm

288. Name: The Solution

     Premise: Because we are all tired of hearing about all the problems in the world, lets get interested in hearing The Solutions.

     The show will consist of both Interactive and Broadcast angles.

     First, we ask HD Net viewers for suggestions on the problems they see in their world (Global Warming, Bad Gas Mileage, Poor Video Game Options, Anything and Everything). Next we take these suggestions and run a contest on who can come up with the best solutions for the selected problems. We take the top 3/5/7 or however many we decide and base a show around helping them develop, trademark, and market their idea. Its a win/win/win. First, we are solving problems of the world, not just stating the obvious that problems exist. Second, we have an audience that is intrigued and inspired by the reality that not only can they make a difference, they can make a profit and we have given them a forum; this will inspire our audience for future seasons to think not only of problems but also solutions (never a bad thing in this to quick to point out the negative world) and they can make suggestions to future seasons. Lastly, it is a joint partnership between the inventor/designer and the show, so if the product/solution does turn profit, we both reap the benefits.

     Many more ideas where that came from, let me know what you think.

     T.L.

     Comment by Trey L — May 15, 2007 @ 4:27 pm

289. _____________________________________________________________________________
     Title: MakeUp Stories Transformations
     Genre: Reality
     Number of Episodes: Unlimited
     Country of Origin: Global
     Duration: 30 minutes

     The show Makeup Stories focuses on subtle transformations. The transformations take people from ordinary to extraordinary. The stories show how small changes can dramatically alter perception and how the alteration impacts people. Makeup propels the psyche into the character to be projected to the audience. Structurally people remain the same and their true identity does not change. Makeup relates to any item employed to alter the reality of our appearance.

     The show answers the questions: Is makeup a symbol for putting our best foot forward? How does it hide the truth? How does it help us suspend disbelief? Does it help us see people as we see them in our lives? Does it make the truth more tolerable? How does makeup prepare someone for what is next be it a show or dating? Is it a meditation?

     Shoot on minimalist Charlie Rose style set.

     _____________________________________________________________________________
     Title: Fugitive Star
     Genre: Reality/Social Media
     Number of Episodes: Unlimited
     Country of Origin: Global
     Duration: 1 hour

     Each show is comprised of a selected individual who is pursued and found or not. The show catches glimpses of people and shows what its really like to be famous or notorious.

     Independent content creators and user generated content creators, also commonly called citizen journalists, use the common thread of, the Chase for their stories. The person and the location is defined. All forms of travel allow the fugitive to infect new geographic areas in a manner similar to a tour. Each producer establishes his/her unique perspective and budget depending on crew, equipment, travel and talent. The volume of data from user generated content is managed by the blogging and videoblogging community as they rally behind topics and stories in pursuit of audience share.

     Viewers identify meta data associated with the fugitive and in this way they become involved in the programming and the pursuit.
     Media which is posted everyday will give producers a better indication of where this person will be the next day. Private investigation tools are used. Pros, like the FBI, reveal their methods. What are the ways not to be found? What is the reward for finding someone?

     The show includes a broad use of technology. Online maps, satellite images and GPS will be used to show our man or woman in motion.

     _____________________________________________________________________________
     Title: The Binder
     Genre: Reality/Self-Help
     Number of Episodes: Unlimited
     Country of Origin: US
     Duration: 30 minutes

     Everything you need to know about life is in The Binder. The binder is a tabbed collection of ideas, collective wisdom, busted myths, urban legends, tactics, and other curiosities. Shows are produced as user generated content and accumulated and adhere to specific format requirements. Breathing would be a good episode to start with, Letting go of attachment to outcome, rigorous honesty, leadership and self-deception are other topics explored.

     _____________________________________________________________________________
     Title: Child Protected
     Genre: Reality
     Target: Family
     Number of Episodes:
     Country of Origin: US
     Duration: 1 hour

     Thanks to 24 hour news, child abduction and abuse stories have become a daily part of the US cultural landscape. Raising and adequately protecting a child from birth through adulthood is a task which requires parents to think strategically about the environments they occupy. The meaning of gender is explored as it relates to a relatively new culture of equality between men and women. Other societies are examined. Minor events which impact a persons self-esteem are explored.

     _____________________________________________________________________________
     Title: Successful Athletes
     Genre: Reality
     Target: Family
     Number of Episodes:
     Country of Origin: Global
     Duration: 30 minutes

     The underlying goal of this series of mini-documentaries is to dispel the myth that kids need to start early and specialize in a single sport in order win that scholarship or make it to the pros. The series will be motivational in nature as opposed to addressing the realities and challenges of actually achieving this status. The focus will be on household name athletes and how they managed to make it to the top of their sports without early involvement in their particular sport. The setting for each segment will depend on the particular person and sport were covering but will be informal interview/conversational style and active (e.g. out on the golf course). It will focus on the life of the athlete growing up and highlight how he/she navigated through sports, the challenges they faced, and the decisions they made that ultimately led to their success. Intertwined with this dialogue will be advice that they are giving to their own kids.

     _____________________________________________________________________________
     Title: Trailer Park Trash
     Genre: Reality
     Target: Family
     Number of Episodes:
     Country of Origin: US
     Duration: 1 hour

     A study in class struggle is covered by showing the stories of peoples lives from trailer parks all over the US. The show covers the lessons of life on the edge and raises the question: Why dont we all live in trailers?

     _____________________________________________________________________________
     Title: Personal Challenge
     Genre: Reality
     Target: Family
     Number of Episodes:
     Country of Origin: US
     Duration: 30 minutes

     Qualify for the US Open, lose 50 pounds, get married, get into a favorite college, move up in the world, make a movie, write a book. Each show follows the progression of the pursuit of a goal or dream and the reality which comes to light around the pursuit.

     _____________________________________________________________________________
     Title: Wetware Hack
     Genre: Reality
     Target: Family
     Number of Episodes:
     Country of Origin: Global
     Duration: 30 minutes

     People hack into computers for fun. And people hack into computer systems as a profession with criminal intent to profit. Hacking and protecting systems with security is a giant business. Wetware hack shows how people hack into people. Both the fun and the criminal stories are told. What you see is amazing.

     _____________________________________________________________________________
     Title: StandUp
     Genre: Reality
     Target: Family
     Number of Episodes:
     Country of Origin: Numerous
     Duration: 1 hour

     This show is in cooperation with the United Nations Millenium Campaign, Stand Up Against Poverty. Heroic efforts in the fight against poverty by individuals and groups from around the world are depicted.

     _____________________________________________________________________________
     Title: Dysfunctional Teens
     Genre: Reality
     Target: Family
     Number of Episodes:
     Country of Origin: Numerous
     Duration: 1 hour

     Video diaries of what is going on in a teens life. Subjects covered include dating, social media, parents, crime, education strategies, class struggle and what it means to be a healthy adult. Experts provide useful guidance on the road to survival and maturity.

     _____________________________________________________________________________
     Title: Election Dirt
     Genre: Reality
     Target: Family
     Number of Episodes:
     Country of Origin: Numerous
     Duration: 30 minutes

     Candidates in each state are researched. Pros and cons of each person are analyzed and all of the dirt on each candidate is revealed. Voters are given guidance in apolitical laymen\’s terms. Fictional candidates run against the real candidates.

     Comment by Mark Smith — May 15, 2007 @ 4:43 pm

290. A TV comedy about a completely oblivious U.S. Senator and his family as they deal with being in the public spotlight constantly and their almost constant pursuit of power, from the petty to the important. Shot in a cinema verite style (e.g. Arrested Development), the show would sway back and forth between humorous sitcom and laughable documentary.

     Comment by Jason Zapf — May 15, 2007 @ 4:51 pm

291. There\’s too few HD broadcasts of auto racing, especially, open wheel and sports car racing. Great camera angles and unique views, coupled with telemetry, and team radio would utilize the HD capability to put the viewer as close as possible to the event.

     Comment by Thomason — May 15, 2007 @ 3:45 pm

292. Mark,

     A home technology show that features REAL people using REAL technology in/around their homes.

     Humanity is inondated with new tecnology. When you spoke at the last CEA Industry Forum in San Francisco, you were right, much of this technology is just a bunch of noise unless it improves the way we live. Let\’s show REAL examples of how that is actually happening for people in their homes.

     HDNet covers the CEDIA tradeshow and produces a nice show from that content, but tradeshows are SO hypothetical and SO staged. Let\’s get into REAL peoples homes and capture their excitement, frustration, surprise, and agony as they live with technology.

     There are lots of angles to this theme; Families, Aging, ADA, Interior Design, Renovations, Telecommuniting, Entertaining, Art, and of course opulence just to name a few.

     Comment by Roland Graham — May 15, 2007 @ 4:56 pm

293. \”Sick\”

     A study of diseases, how they affect the body, and the research that is being done to try to stop them.

     Comment by dan — May 15, 2007 @ 4:57 pm

294. Hi Mark,

     I have an idea for a show but I\’d want credit and a chance to be one of the commentors on the show. With me posting this here I\’ve made that clear before even saying the idea (your a business guy, so you know I\’m just protecting myself and not being a jerk)

     I\’ve always thought it would be a great idea to have a discussion show, sort of a round table, with film and tv fans like myself where we\’d dish about the latest genre offerings and news items pertaining to things like the new George Lucas goof etc. Clips could be shown and then those at the table would have a set amount of time to talk about it.

     If you\’ve never had the chance to be in a room with a bunch of geeks you\’ve never experienced the insanity and hillarity that can come from such a thing. Just read some of the rants that are on Fangirl.

     I think that fans/geeks like me deserve a chance to be shown how we really are and not as the basment dwelling losers that we\’ve been stereotyped into. And this would be a fun show to watch and take part in.

     You could also have viewers submit e-mails with comments and questions that could be read on the show and answered. Celeb guests could be included as well.

     So that\’s my idea. Cheap to produce too I\’m guessing. HD film clips would draw in your viewers as well.

     If interested please feel free to e-mail me.

     Thanks!

     Jessica Dwyer
     Editor-In-Chief
     Fangirl Magazine

     Comment by Jessica Dwyer — May 15, 2007 @ 4:19 pm

295. A voyeuristic view into what we all want to know. Celebrities, athletes, etc., are given preferential treatment whenever they are out in public (restaurants, bars, hotels, malls). People suck up to them, buy them drinks, meals and many other things the average man doesn\’t get. Hook up said celeb/athlete with a hidden cam and follow their nightly activities and what they experience as they rub elbows with joe public or jan public. It would give everyone a birds eye view of what being famous is like (good & bad).

     Comment by Kevin — May 15, 2007 @ 5:02 pm

296. Mark,

     I don\’t have a show but a focus for you and your company to concentrate on: Movies, HT Tech & Games…. Use the DAMN MEDIUM! That\’s what HD is all about. A ton of people have bought these sets to enhance their experience for those two genres SPECIFICALLY! Gear does an ok job but not nearly in-Depth enough and doesn\’t cover the other big two. Get a show or two that focus on Movies & Games alone and it will be popular. Get people who are charasmatic but ALSO know what the hell they are talking about. If you take a serious approach to it, even if you think movies and games are childs play, you will have a winner.

     Anthony

     Comment by Anthony — May 15, 2007 @ 5:02 pm

297. Pretty simple – Wild On! HD – folks are right, taking a look at travel maximizes the real advantage of HD over other mediums and Wild On! was the most entertaining of all travel shows.

     Whats original about the concept – its being shown in HD, which is superior.

     Rename it and swipe the concept.

     Comment by Alan — May 15, 2007 @ 2:53 pm

298. All the Stage is a World-

     This is a series based on a feature length documentary I made with the same title. The film followed High School theater students as they auditioned, rehearsed and performed a one act play for a city-wide competition in Virginia Beach. Along the way, they are forced to deal with class trips to Broadway, auditions for the big Spring musical, backstabbing gossip from within the department, homework from 7 other classes and all the drama already existent in the lives of pubescent High Schoolers. Despite looking at different kids from different school with different backgrounds, the common thread was the power of what young people are capable of when they are involved in something they truly care about.

     Comment by Chad — May 15, 2007 @ 5:12 pm

299. I think a cool show could be THIS! You can make a show about the process and what it takes to have a show on HD Net. The winner of course would have their show played on HD Net.

     Comment by Cory — May 15, 2007 @ 5:15 pm

300. A one season show about a group of young men (18-24), living in the working poor neighborhoods of a larger city in middle America, who decide to do a series of robberies. Each of them join in for their own particular reason. The season follows them from the conception of the idea to the inevitable execution of the robberies and the results that follow.

     Comment by Stewart — May 15, 2007 @ 5:08 pm

301. Name – Slumlord

     You take the cameras to rentals across the country where the tenants live in squalor(there are places like this in every town in America). I\’ve seen places with rats, cockroaches, termites…you name it. The landlord will not do anything(that costs money) to keep up his building.
     I once heard a story of a woman who was asked for sexual favors to fix a faucet. (he had a different definition of servicing her plumbing…sorry couldn\’t resist)
     Anyway, with the whole country to pick from…you should find some real shitholes….they\’re in every town in America.
     After enough footage of the wreckage, you give the managers & owners a chance to defend themselves. (perhaps go in a few weeks early to document them refusing to do anything before the limelight is on them

     (I posted this once and it seemed to get lost…apologies if this shows up twice)

     Comment by Tim — May 15, 2007 @ 5:31 pm

302. Mark,

     Could you give me your personal e-mail so I can send the idea. Don\’t want to send it in public.

     Artem
     Moscow, Russia

     Comment by Artem — May 15, 2007 @ 5:38 pm

303. I want to see a show (maybe only need one) that investigates some of these Real Estate/Business Writers like Robert Allen, Kyosaki, Lesko, and see if they make their money from actual Real Estate/Business or basically just from books and appearance fees. I tend to think the latter.

     Comment by Hank — May 15, 2007 @ 5:40 pm

304. Art or Not Art — where artists compete against amateurs.

     Comment by Bryan — May 15, 2007 @ 4:34 pm

305. How about a reality show about two groups of people who try to build a lunar probe. They could get reasonable seed money and access to one rocket scientist (if they can\’t supply their own). Maybe get cooperation from NASA or one of the other space agencies to get the probe to the space station and launch from there.

     Bottom line is, if they are successful in building a probe to orbit and even perhaps land on the moon, not only is it riveting television – the first HD coverage of the moon – but it\’s great for our culture and a testament to the capitalist spirit.

     It\’s a lot of money but imagine the return on investment!!

     Comment by Stuart Sweet — May 15, 2007 @ 5:51 pm

306. \”The People\’s President\” is a contest show that potentially could change the entire U.S. political landscape by giving everyday citizens the chance to vie for the exposure needed to make a White House run. The grand prize is all the help needed to make a run at the White House (including $2 million for national advertising) generated by developing a loyal following of supporters from the show\’s viewer base. The show would unfold over the course of the next 18 months and do bios, place the contestants in knowledge challenges, put the contestants on a set of the Oval Office in various crisis situations they have to make decisions about, on a cross-country tour to drum up support, make speeches, and in debates over issues they would face.

     Some other facets of the show (and some challenges to put the \”candidate through)would be:
     (Possibly) Have mix of real folks and celebrities
     Election night special
     Contestants cannot be career politician – getting back to what presidency is supposed to be about.
     Contestants are quizzed about politics and political theory.
     A talent show – think what Clinton did with his sax.
     General knowledge
     Historical knowledge
     Debate
     Policy creation
     Hot topics
     What I would do if I were President
     Whats wrong with politics today?
     Dreams of America
     Skeletons exposed – Dealing with the character assassination that has become part of politics now.
     Cross Country tour meeting people, making speeches
     Writing speeches
     Raising money
     Not sleeping during crisis
     Keeping track of info from briefings

     *** I\’m willing to bet that George Clooney and Smoke House would be willing to co-produce this (not that you need the additional resources), but I think the two of you already have a history of thought-provoking films with your collaboration on \”Good Night and Good Luck\” and his involvement lends even more free publicity). Having Dan Rather to help devise some of the challenges for the candidates is also a great perk of having your available resources.
     We would need to fast track this if you feel it has merit – the election is (fortunately in most ways) right around the corner. The good news is that the show doesn\’t have to end there – we would have the course of the next 4 years to really do the next one even better.
     Best regards,
     Thomas Cook

     Comment by Thomas Cook — May 15, 2007 @ 5:52 pm

307. I dont like reality tv but I did like some of Mark Burnets early stuff like EcoChallenge in the late 90\’s..real people competing in extreme sports..tested to there limits as a team.

     Part EcoChallenge – legitimate physical training designed to wear out individuals/teams..but bring in mental torture and some side activities.

     Part American Gladiators – Gives it retro feel..Along the route a few surprises..Maybe not Nitro waiting behind the wall but some characters who attempt to disrupt things.

     Part Ultimate Fighting/Jeopardy – When they are not foot racing…swimming /biking /other outdoor activities..its a mental competition..Sleep deprivation / water boarding…they are giving chance to tap out at any time. If they dont they are subjected to trivia questions, mind games that will be scored.

     The contestants themselves would be athletes..like marathoner Khalid Khannouchi vs Bode Miller. You outpoint the other guy or he quits and you move on like March Madness.

     Call it Marathon Man, Man of the Year, Gladiator

     Winner takes $1,000,000.

     Comment by RShay — May 15, 2007 @ 6:06 pm

308. I\’d like to see the bandwidth of HDNet and HDNet Movies shared for the country\’s first 1080p broadcast. Do it on or just before the DVD release date of a big blu-ray or HDDVD release.

     Comment by David — May 15, 2007 @ 6:12 pm

309. Mark,
     First thank you for letting the general public do this.
     My idea for a TV show is something I call, \”That\’s My Balakaneshan!\”. It\’s an idea I\’ve had for years, since it\’s based on a good friend of mine. It\’s about a 22 year old Sri Lankan male who just graduated college and is trying to balance between life and his strict Indian parents but with the help of his wacky neighbor and a very odd assortment of characters he hopes to attend his goals. Think of the marketability, we could have Maverick players guest star, etc or have characters wear Mavericks gear around. Mark if you were to pick this idea people would watch on the name alone just to figure out what the show is.
     Thanks again!
     -Dave

     Comment by Dave — May 15, 2007 @ 6:12 pm

310. Eye of the Tiger…

     Being the most recognizable face in sports takes its toll. Tiger Woods Reality Show….

     Comment by mike toler — May 15, 2007 @ 4:49 pm

311. Ripoffs Revealed…

     Remeber your post from a few days ago regarding all of the rip off commercials….you could get 10 different people to try out the scams to see if they really work or do what they say…Once all the scams are exposed maybe we can stop watching the infomercials all of the time…

     Endless possibilities…

     Week One: Don Le Pre
     Week Two: Carlton Sheets
     Week Three: Bow Flex…is it really possible to get a bowflex body in just 10 minutes a day?
     All of the golf gimmicks

     Have people actually follow the instructions provided and show the results…

     Comment by mike toler — May 15, 2007 @ 4:55 pm

312. Show idea: Flip this house competition

     3 homes are purchased to flip (by network, other soruce, or couple), each \’everyday couple\’ gets one home to fix up, a budget, and a timeline to fix, and sell the home.

     the couple must stays within budget and the time line to flip the house. The couple that fixes and sells the home for the most money gets the profit to keep. the other couples that finish 2nd and 3rd money goes back to the network, or other source.

     big risk, big pressure, big reward…

     Comment by LM — May 15, 2007 @ 6:20 pm

313. Mr. Cuban,

     I\’m not sure we have reached the point where people are going to watch HD simply BECAUSE its HD. In other words, people want something interesting first, HD is then the icing. Making a show that \”is only cool on HD\” would be a mistake right now. Making a cool show that happens to be in HD would be a better idea. I assume you know that, and thus the idea for the contest.

     Here in Dallas, there has been a recent surge in blog hosting sites like Dmagazine\’s Frontburner, Pegasus News, DallasBlog, and even the DMN.

     I would like to see a show in the spirit of those sites only in a television magazine-like format. The problem with previous shows like that is that they have been on some never heard of cable access channel that looks like they were produced in a High School AV class.

     I would like to see a show that last either 30 mins or 1 hour that caters to the local scene. I think we are ready for a local variety program that for the 1st 2/3rds of the show that highlights any inspirational, popular, unsung heroes, influential, or interesting people, places or events in the Metroplex area. It could capture the music scene, nightlife scene, political scene, etc., as well. The other 1/3rd of the program could be a panel of bloggists, editors, local celebs, or eye appealing people discussing a current event that affects us here locally. Id like to see some of these guys who get into blog wars duke it out in person.

     I am reminded of the old PM Magazine show with Leeza Gibbins, only updated to modern day with panel discussion. The show could be syndicated to other markets and tailored to that area as well. Many of the good non-fiction ideas I read here could be incorporated into the show too.

     The hope is that when the average person sees daily and interesting information done in HD (that is not just news, weather, and sports) and people catch on, people will see what they are missing with HD and eventually will not want to go back to watching any type show in non-HD.

     John Botefuhr

     Comment by John Botefuhr — May 15, 2007 @ 6:31 pm

314. A drama exploring the past and present of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict through the eyes of a Palestinian and Israeli family through the decades of conflict. Flip the episodic perspective week to week, one week the Palestinian family, the next the Israeli family.

     Start in the 50\’s-60\’s with a Palestinian farmer and his family and a refugee Jewish family and explore how each generation of these families goes through day to day life amidst the conflict. The UN resolution, the six day war, the Intifada. each major conflict with the next generation of both families (the farmer becomes a grandfather and a refugee while the refugee becomes the farmer and his sons join the IDF while the farmer\’s children join Hamas etc etc.)

     some storylines could weave the lives of the two families together, one family does something that impacts the other family but they don\’t actually know each other. (a bomb, a kidnapping etc.)

     Comment by James Morgan — May 15, 2007 @ 6:34 pm

315. Hi Mark,

     My new company, ShangBy, does \”remote control shopping\” where a shopper in the US tells our team in Shanghai what store to visit, what to look at and what to buy on their behalf. The US shopper controls the team via a live video/audio broadcast feed over the internet. We simulcast the shopping event live where \”viewers\” can buy what the shopper buys at the price the shopper negotiates. Let\’s broadcast ShangBy events on HDNET – QVC meets youtube! Big! I look forward to hearing from you. Steve.

     http://www.shangby.com

     Comment by Steve Bell — May 15, 2007 @ 6:38 pm

316. Mark: Have you ever been to a party in teh trainyards of east Dallas 1am with over a hundred people from dozens of countries? I have. There were midgets drinking beer, lion tamers, tight rope walkers, trapeze artists, of all ages… hanging out on the tracks having a self organized unofficial hot dog eating contest as the finale to the party.

     I agree with the poster who mentioned a show about the circus.

     I don\’t think people really understand that the circus is really its own society. Dozens of languages are spoken, hundreds of people live on a train and are part of families who have been in the circus for over a hundred years.

     Plus there is great struggle behind the scenes as traditional circus try to remain relevant. Ringling is our nation\’s only official \”Living National Treasure\”, yet Cirque Du Soliel is clearly more popular. You can imagine the stress management deals with.

     The stories I have heard backstage rival anything I\’ve ever seen or heard of on other reality TV shows. Some of the acts come to the USA to experience indoor plumbing for the first time, only to NOT be thrust into society, but into…circus life.

     Stories of African bushmen running 24 hour survailence in sketchy trainyards across the country. Guarding the train in traditional clothing and even \”capturing\” homeless people.

     The circus is visually stimulating and has all kinds of natural drama. Drama of family; administration woes, performance anxiety; all in addition to death defying performances. It fascinates me, for sure. There are people on the shows who have lost loved ones on stage. Some lost family members in a train wreck. Plus there is the constant PETA drama at every single performance.

     I imagine a tent show like Carson And Barnes 5 ring circus would be even more interesting to take a deep look at.

     Comment by darren — May 15, 2007 @ 4:17 pm

317. Have you seen Three Sheets to the Wind? Very Funny! My idea for a travel program is for two hosts (1 male, 1 female) to explore the dating rituals of humans around the globe.

     Jared (I\’m sorry about your Mavericks, but I feel your pain, I\’m a Jazz fan).

     Comment by Jared Baxter — May 15, 2007 @ 6:46 pm

318. \”New Country\”

     This is a drama about a sincere group of moderately wealthy people led by a charismatic billionaire that purchase a beautiful lush Caribbean island from a sovereign nation with the expressed intent of setting up their own sovereign nation.

     It becomes a microcosm for all of the issues that much larger nations face as the nation builders struggle with nation building and personal conflicts.

     Because of technology, they have a lot of success growing their economy, but of course, with growth, comes a host of new problems, including conflict with the predecessor nation that ceded the sovereignty and with the U.S., which sees New Country as nothing more than an offshore tax and vice haven.

     Comment by Trey Tomeny — May 15, 2007 @ 6:29 pm

319. Why don\’t you just give Allan Havey a talkshow? His old Night After Night on Comedy Central was better than all of the network gabfests.

     Comment by Joe Corey — May 15, 2007 @ 7:04 pm

320. How about a reality show about people put into a prison like surrounding, and they have to escape. There are ways to escape, ……..they would have to be very innovative and use what they have around them to try and devise a plan of escape….

     Or how about a show called \”a business in 30 days\” some small start-up capital and consulting and within those 30 days they try to aquire a customer base and get their product/service out there. People would love to watch this because its about building somebodys future, not to mention the exposure (look at extreme home make over), you could switch the show up every month to a diffrent person that has been selected that way its never stagnant…

     MR. CUBAN THESE ARE YOUR WINNERS…. I\’M a 21 year old business owner myself, and I\’d like to be a guest on one of them or just kick it with you one day….(maybe at the Mar a Lago where Donald Trump can tell us we might be up in the balcony some day)

     Comment by dave — May 15, 2007 @ 7:06 pm

321. Yeah Mark, a show about MY life… Not just MY life though, a show called \”My Life,\” featuring someone\’s life story. A high-definition journey of the human spirit through all walks of life. My Life will attest, that reality always trumps fiction. I\’ll be watching…

     Comment by Daniel — May 15, 2007 @ 7:09 pm

322. How about a sitcom that takes place in a movie theatre.

     Comment by Richard Kempton — May 15, 2007 @ 7:12 pm

323. I have written a one hour pilot script for a show called `Era\’ (registered with WGA).

     It is five years from now. A Pentagon whistleblower is being interviewed on a `60-Minutes-like program. He tells us of impending disaster, as a major oil shortage looms. He predicts the end of civilization, as we know it. The pilot of `Era follows three different contrasting storylines in the days that lead up to that historic interview.

     Taking place in Washington DC, the first storyline follows the whistleblower, Nathan, and the reporter, Samantha, he goes to with his story.

     The second storyline takes place in New York City and revolves around the Phillips family. The father, Chase, is a VP at a Fortune 500 company and the daughter, Alissa, just about to start at Harvard, has been interning for him for the summer.

     The third storyline involves the Millers, a blue-collar family living in Seattle. James, who is paying his brothers way through university, works for a small airline that is about to be bought by the company Chase works for.

     The show takes a `Traffic-Syriana-type look at how the crisis affects the different sets of characters. I also have outlines for the second episode and an episode that takes place later. The first and second episode could be turned into a two hour television movie.

     We\’ve seen films like The Day After Tomorrow, or Mad Max, where `Armageddon\’ either takes place quickly, or has already happened. The great thing about episodic television is that you can develop the characters and storylines much more. We can follow the struggles and triumphs as mankind struggles with everyday life as civilization itself is at risk.

     I can send the pilot episode, list of characters and outline for the future episodes if you\’re interested.

     Comment by Timothy Wearing — May 15, 2007 @ 7:22 pm

324. How about a new commissioner of the NHL reality show? People apply, then 10 people are chosen by a committee, and then the fans get to all in each week and vote for the person they think should replace Gary Bettman?

     http://www.FireBettman.com

     Comment by Joe — May 15, 2007 @ 7:26 pm

325. We all know that the majority of people find the reality format very entertaining, people love drama, tension, high energy, voyerism, etc. My show pitch is to combine all of those, its a \”Real World\”, meets \”American Idol\”, meets \”American Casino\”, meets So \”You Think You Can Dance\”, meets \”Project Runway\” meets \”Office\”.

     It\’s the day to day ups and downs of a Family Run Dinner Theatre business, that has locations in a Amish Community of PA, the retirement area of Ft. Myers, Fl and the conservative winter vacation destination of Mesa, AZ. Viewers not only see the daily ups and downs of what it takes to run a private business, but to manage the restaurant side with food and beverage staff, management of the theatre\’s themselves at all the locations, including the marketing and sales aspect of selling the shows, the designing and building of the productions sets, designing and creating thousands of costumes for the touring Broadway Musical productions at the theatres.

     The casts of the shows are a show within themselves, see as the creative director visits locations around the US as he casts for the upcoming season of shows, then follow the budding young cast members as they live, travel and perform together and hope that someday they will be discovered and get a shot at being discovered for a real Broadway Show or a International Broadway tour, etc. all while being on a salary that is close to being a college student. See how they end up hating each other, falling in love with each other, creating bonds with each other that may last a life time. This is all just a tip of what goes on to make the season of the dinner theatre business work.

     Of course its in a nutshell and there is a ton of stuff to choose from that would make this show a hit. I hope this peaks your interest, Email me: rodney.kinney@gmail.com

     Comment by Rodney Kinney — May 15, 2007 @ 7:27 pm

326. I HAVE A IDEA ITS A LITTLE OUT THERE BUT HERE WE GO ………. I CALL MY SHOW DEAD BEAT DADS ITS A SITCOM WHERE THESE TWO BEST FRIENDS MOVE IN TOGETHER AND MUST AVOID THERE EVIL EXWIVES WHO SCREWED THEM OVER IN COURT THROUGH VARIOUS WAYS ONE WIFE CHEATED ON HIM AND TOLD HIM THAT THE KID WAS HIS AND IT TURNS OUT THROUGH DNA ITS ALL A LIE BUT THE JUDGE SCREWS THE GUY OVER ANYWAY WELL I HAVE PLENTY OF IDEAS I THINK THIS SHOW WILL WORK IF IT GET THE RIGHT TONE AND WRITING IS KEY OK THANKS FOR LISTING TO MY CRAZY IDEA
     SCOTTY B

     Comment by SCOTT BRODY — May 15, 2007 @ 7:30 pm

327. My idea for a show would be to find a very small town in which there is no or little interest in a candidate running for mayoral office. Develop a reality show in which you get 10 candidates competing with each other for the spot of that town\’s mayor. The people logging on at home would vote off people each show until there are only two remaining. The last two candidates would be the two choices for the genral election. Of course more detail is needed but that is the basic premise of the show.

     Comment by William Etchells — May 15, 2007 @ 2:56 pm

328. Another idea I have, but don\’t have a finished pilot episode, is a half hour comedy that takes place at a video game firm.

     The show would revolve around Cal, a game tester, who is about to turn 30 and realizes he wants to do more with his life than play video games for a living. The show would follow him as he attempts to try and grow and and move up in a company that isn\’t really for grownups. Even the CEO is a child-at-heart, who seems to like spending his money on te latest gadgets than trying to run the company (and this person is not based on Mark).

     I used to actually test games at a major video game firm, so I have knowledge of the inner workings of one.

     Comment by Timothy Wearing — May 15, 2007 @ 7:35 pm

329. Mark,

     I havethe best idea, in fact have it in the works to launch it online. could be good to do an hd counterpart. What\’s in it for me?

     Chris

     Comment by Chris — May 15, 2007 @ 7:38 pm

330. I have a couple ideas, second one isn\’t quite \”original\” because I just did a search and there have been several news features on this type of thing, but here they are:

     #1 – I, along with many others I\’m sure, am concerned about education in America. What if there was a show that traveled the world and compared the education system – what are kids learning in Beijing vs. Idaho? How are teachers viewed in different countries: are their differences in prestige, pay, educational requirements? How are schools funded in different places? What about the physical conditions of the schools – the buildings, the textbooks, etc. And what are the attitudes of the students in different places? Each episode could be a visit to a few different locations to answer all these questions.

     Idea #2: When you first meet someone, one of the first questions often asked is \”what do you do?\” I have an idea to do a show focusing on what people do for a living – particularly the types of careers that are lesser known and a bit unusual. And I think that HDNet could do this in an exciting way – each week focus on a different career. Some examples could be a product tester, a fact checker, a performer at an amusement park, a referee, etc.

     Comment by Angelica — May 15, 2007 @ 7:42 pm

331. How \’bout a reality show where the Mav players compete for a spot on the Warriors squad?

     Comment by B Sharp — May 15, 2007 @ 7:45 pm

332. You should pick up Paul Shirley\’s show and let him rewrite it the way he wants…the ESPN journal entries on it made it sound very interesting and promising.

     Comment by Alec — May 15, 2007 @ 7:49 pm

333. Create a show that follows a young entrepreneur along his path to business success.

     such as me.

     Comment by Zack Below — May 15, 2007 @ 7:56 pm

334. My idea is a show about a group of criminals and the poilce unit trying to catch them. It would be narrated by the head criminal looking back on things when the criminals are shown. And by the head investigator when the poilce are shown. Basically you would watch the criminals plan and do a crime (like a bank heist) and then you would see the cops trying to catch them. Eventually the series would end when the cops catch the bad guys

     Comment by Jon Ramsey — May 15, 2007 @ 7:33 pm

335. The networks have all but abandoning sitcoms, or are trying to stretch out the ones they have, I think the television audience is looking for the next funny cutting edge show. One good must watch show can really launch your network into another stratosphere. South Park is a great example of that, while this idea would seem to fit shows you rerun like Arrested Development. Hopefully this idea can be that show.

     Title: Never Leaving Home

     Concept: A group of neighborhood/college friends are hitting their late twenties and all of them still live home for various reasons ranging from cultural (move out only when married), ambitious with little success, car/clothing over rent, and old fashioned laziness. One is an entrepreneur of sorts, one wants to be a filmmaker, another is a musician, and finally a chef to be.

     With an ensemble cast of friends/parents there are many potential roots for comedy. There is the double-edged sword of dating, both finding cheap/free ways to woo, to dealing with the parents in the other room. We can deal with issues of getting too old for casual jobs, and finding real ones. Meanwhile, they continue to pursue for their dreams instead of settling on a \”good\” job.

     NLH has the potential to address this growing trend within our society, yet deal with these realities in a humorous way. While the characters are avoiding many of the major responsibilities of life, they are still enjoying themselves and making up for their lack of success by living interesting lifestyles.

     As a series story arc the characters over time end up growing up, much like high school/college shows, but replacing the tired static school domain with real life adventure. A single-cam could open the show up to maximize the HD, making it a situation comedy rather than a SIT-com.

     Side note: I apologize for this not being fleshed out better, but when I woke up this morning I wasnt planning on pitching a TV show. If there is any interest I would be more than happy to write a pilot and email it to you, or even post it on the blog. Im not worried about someone taking my idea/jokes, as if you really want to make a show work, you better have many more than one.

     Thank you for this opportunity, and for the wonderful blog.

     George McCann

     Comment by George McCann — May 15, 2007 @ 8:13 pm

336. Office-style \”docudramedy\” of what transpires behind the scenes of a local elementary school (crazy teachers/parents, meetings, trainings, discipline, testing, teacher relationships, exhausted staff) narrated and seen through the eyes of the brand new assistant principal (young, 25, male, first administration gig, has no idea what he\’s getting into)

     I graduated from UCF with a film minor, have been a teacher trainer since 2005, my principal and several colleagues discuss potential 30-60 minute episode outlines, we have VOLUMES of material, would be perfect for BRAVO or A&E, pitched a Universal exec, loved the idea, built in audience, series creators would use grass roots to promote the show, speaking in as many counties in the country as possible

     Comment by bobbymagnum — May 15, 2007 @ 5:59 pm

337. Title: The Witch Family
     Genre: hour Sitcom
     Premise: A family of witches takes up residency in the land of mortals. A social experiment cooked up by the Professor Dad, they have to check in with the Witches Council to report his/their findings every couple of weeks

     Main Cast:
     Professor Witch/Dad age: 46, smart; trys to be hip with the kids, takes a teaching position at the local college school.
     Judith Witch/Mom age: 45, searching for an identity in this every changing environment of mortals
     Catherine Witch age: 17, about to graduate from High School, smart, very fashionable, but not to happy to be in the land of mortals.
     Darren Witch age: 14, a geeky adolescent, hes a freshman in high school.
     Francine Witch age: 8, book smart kid, always running experiments to the dismay of the family and the family pets

     In the vein of: 3rd Rock from the Sun, Sabrina: teenage witch, Bewitched, and 8 simple rules

     Comment by Mark D — May 15, 2007 @ 8:17 pm

338. I have two ideas, but, like many on here, don\’t want to post them. Is there another way to get the ideas to you?

     Comment by Brian — May 15, 2007 @ 8:30 pm

339. The premise for the show I am pitching is one where there is a dancing competition between cats. In the final round the cats will have to dance the flamenco. You will jointly capture the demographic of people that like cats as well as people that like dancing. And the cats will look very cute in high definition TV.

     Comment by Kent — May 15, 2007 @ 8:36 pm

340. A show revolving around the San Diego Chargers, not so much about sports, but about there quest to get a new stadium built here in San Diego without any public funding and the road to having a new stadium built or to move the team to a different city. Also the team is dealing with a horrible city council making it much harder to get anything done. The drama is that if the city of San Diego does not step up soon they will lose the football team and then you can do a follow up of how one city blew of a great football team in there prime and millions of dollars in future revenue compared to the cost of the stadium. David

     Comment by David Roberts — May 15, 2007 @ 9:11 pm

341. Equip Bob Phillips\’ Texas Country Reporter with some real HD gear – and show the /real/ Texas to the world.

     Comment by Robb — May 15, 2007 @ 8:28 pm

342. Third Idea (i accidentally hit enter):

     This is a reality show idea. Construct a small, old west type town (like on Deadwood), get a bunch of people and populate the town. Everyone gets their own home and there\’s a profession they each have to take up (you can do a draft, whoever gets first pick in house gets last pick in job). Things likes goverment, economic system, etc will be self-determined. Inside the town limits is some valuable resource (e.g. \”there\’s gold in them thar hills!\”). Maybe every person in the community has something to offer in the lablor/market complex related to said resource. Will they work together and share the rewards, or will they screw each other over to get it all? Could be interesting to see how people would build a society from the ground up. You could really mix it up putting some Communists in the show.

     Comment by Eugene — May 15, 2007 @ 8:35 pm

343. Show ideas:

     1) the local superhero of some town has completely eliminated crime from the city, so now he\’s unemployed. To feed his family, he secretly starts committing crimes. He is then re-hired by the city to capture the party responsible for these crimes.

     2) A show like Entourage, except from the perspective of people on the fringe of the entertainment industry. The career production-assistants, the people who have to wait in line for the hot clubs, who kiss the ass of people slightly closer to the center than they are, but all under the illusion they\’re living \”the life\”. Basically what living in LA is really like; a colony of Rupert Pupkins (De Niro from \”King of Comedy\”).

     Comment by Eugene — May 15, 2007 @ 8:24 pm

344. Reading alot of these ideas is proof that most of the postees have never watched HDNet

     Comment by mike toler — May 15, 2007 @ 7:04 pm

345. A show like \”Higher Definition\”, but about Special Effects from films, commercials, tv shows. How they are created – models, storyboards, digital effects. Obviously, they would have to be shown in HD for maximum visual glory!

     The show could also include animation, etc. It should def. be more tech related than your average DVD bonus or EPK for a flick.

     Thanks!

     Jon

     Comment by Jon Hurwitz — May 14, 2007 @ 10:18 pm

346. I call my show idea \”The Real Art Scene.\” It\’s a show dedicated to the real
     contemporary art scene. By contemporary mean I what is happening now not
     necessarily what is being made now. In other words if somebody is blowing up
     2000 year old statues and you can get footage of it then it\’s fair game for
     the show. There are a huge range of diverse topics including big museum shows
     (involving things like knocking down the wall of a Museum and installing
     50,000 lb. sculptures), high profile art theft, what\’s happening in the
     studios of contemporary artists, new discoveries about old works (fakes being
     unmasked etc.), controversial things like conceptual/performance art and are
     there lots of interesting collectors/collections that the show could profile.

     The show would have amazing visual appeal. Occasionally it could be sexy by
     bring the camera into a figurative artists studio. It could have aspects of a
     \”who one it\” when looking at art theft.

     Comment by Gary Oblock — May 15, 2007 @ 9:33 pm

347. I\’ve been writing a script for what I had hoped would become a mini-series, or series of movies. I call it Sons of 9/11. It\’s about various characters from all over, and how the events of 9/11 affected their life. The core story would revolve around a group of soldiers, who go on daily patrols in war torn Baghdad and an embedded author/journalist with them. It would be as realistic as possible (I have studied as much as I can about the Iraq war, 9/11, etc. as I can) and would focus on the toll these young soldiers take every day, and how the embedded journalist struggles with becoming attached to these young men, as they deal with not only the war but their own personal demons. I have based certain events on real life events, like the Woman on the Bridge incident that happened in the early days of the war. My only concern is the cost that something like this would entail.

     Comment by Kris Kinsella — May 15, 2007 @ 9:30 pm

348. There is a a non-profit organization ran in Baltimore called Changing Directions. The organization \”offers a safe, sober environment where men can make a home and recover from their problems with substance abuse \”one day at a time.\”(from their website) I had spoken to the director, Tony Harrison, about shooting a documentary about the organization. I think it would be a riveting series, following these men as they deal with their addictions and try to get their life back on track.

     I also volunteered at a beaten women\’s shelter, Sarah\’s House, and from talking to these women, I think a good show could be based around it. These women and their children come from all walks of life, and each one had a different story to tell.

     Comment by Kris Kinsella — May 15, 2007 @ 9:41 pm

349. Comedy/drama about an airforce flight crew on a transport plane (C17). You will have passengers, emergency missions, secret missions, always different exotic locals, and regular cast members that can come and go.

     Call it Bag Drag.

     Comment by Kate Childers — May 15, 2007 @ 9:41 pm

350. A comedy that takes place at a small local newspaper, focusing on the activities of the mailroom. It is filled with people who are too smart to be working at the menial tasks that they do, which include bundling and moving stacks of papers from one place to another. They are managed by an obsessive-compulsive control-freak, whose central problem is that he attempts to micro-manage a department that relies exclusively on the ability to adapt to an ever-changing schedule.

     Comment by John Hursey — May 15, 2007 @ 9:45 pm

351. A sitcom based centered around an IT department in a company. Set in Texas (Houston, Dallas or Austin). A little bit like the Office and Scrubs. An HBO-esque show is how I see it.

     Comment by Paul — May 15, 2007 @ 11:03 am

352. the ultimate competition: Who is the best overall competitor – across *all* activities – in the whole world?

     A streamlined, practical, modern version of Piers Anthony\’s \”The Game\”

     From wikipedia:
     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apprentice_Adept#The_Game

     \”The main pastime of Proton inhabitants is The Game. When two persons want to play a round, they repair to a Game console. There, one player chooses one of four categories: 1. PHYSICAL, 2. MENTAL, 3. CHANCE, or 4. ARTS. The other player chooses among A. NAKED, B. TOOL, C. MACHINE, or D. ANIMAL. (\’naked\’ = unassisted by external tools.) Once the grid is completed, players continue on subgrids until they select a particular game to play. ….[for example] \’Chance-Tool\’ covers board and card games, among others. Most sports are under Physical, but so is Tiddlywinks. Due to the wide variety of contests available, any given round could take any one of thousands of forms.

     In choosing categories for the Game and then particular contests once the main category is selected, the intelligent player uses his knowledge of his opponent, trying to play to the opponent\’s weaknesses and his own strengths.\”

     Obviously this would need to be overhauled for TV (no boring game options, etc.) but imagine: 12 strangers (pre-screened to be athletic, smart, creative, etc.), live together with no outside contact, each week they play THE GAME until only one is left standing…

     Comment by David — May 15, 2007 @ 10:39 pm

353. Mark, I currently have a 17 year old son that is trying to determine what he should go to college for. For that reason, my suggestion for a show would be on typical professions and how they differ from big companies to small. I am an engineer working for a small company which I enjoy. In previous jobs working for a corporation, was entirely different even though the title was the same. Some very weird things happen from day to day, and could become interesting!
     Just a thought.

     Congrats on Dirk being named MVP!

     Jerry

     Comment by Jerry Smith — May 15, 2007 @ 2:02 pm

354. I have two ideas for two different shows, one a Sci-Fi series, the other an anthology of horror tales. I already have episode plot summaries thought out. I hope to keep that between us for right now, just in case.

     But I guess it all depends on what you want.

     Comment by Sean Wallace — May 15, 2007 @ 10:48 pm

355. HDNET EV Africa
     HDNET EV Antarctica (perhaps a stretch)
     HDNET EV Asia
     HDNET EV Australia
     HDNET EV Europe
     HDNET EV North America
     HDNET EV South America

     High Definition live Entertainment Videos (EV) of concerts and theatrical productions from every continent, from every artist that performs in every major venue using LViHD permanent installation and portable touring automated acquisition systems.

     The HD programming thereby serves all music and theatrical cultures, genres and styles from around the world.

     Random shows could spotlight special or emerging guests that perform one or more songs with the headliners.

     Add an interactive viewer components, including voting system for the best performances from all continents to win prizes, contracts etc…

     No issues selling global advertising

     The potential, variations, opportunities and consumer interest is endless.

     Viewers can select from up to 32 primary viewing angles upon playback from the directors cut mastered.

     DVD\’s of every performance in either standard def or HD formats can also be preordered at the time of event ticket sales or can be ordered online separately.

     I don\’t think you have the balls Mark. But I wish you did.

     Comment by Ruben — May 15, 2007 @ 10:48 pm

356. Hi Mark,
     I emailed you about this show over 2 months ago. But \”The Lab With Leo\” is looking for an American sponsor and the show is already shot in HD. It just started a few months ago in Canada (Vancouver i believe). This is the famous Leo Laporte from TechTV /Call for Help/The Screensavers fame. Anyway you can read more on this or check my original email to you:

     http://www.labwithleo.com/

     Comment by Matt Jones — May 15, 2007 @ 10:54 pm

357. Although I don\’t have HDnet with my current Cable service provider, I did look through the programming schedule on HDnet\’s website to see what kind of programming you offer. My idea, which I\’ve already fully scripted, would be for an original half-hour comedy series, not something that HDnet seems to do; however, if HDnet were interested in moving in that direction, perhaps my script would work.

     The title of the show is \”Underclassmen\” and it\’s a comedic, but at times serious look, at the life of a high schooler. Very quick, and hopefully very funny. I\’ve written nine episodes thus far. The link to the first episode can be found here: http://www.scriptbuddy.com/community/?p=4291530364. It is currently #3 on Scriptbuddy.com\’s Top 5.

     Comment by Zachary Shevich — May 15, 2007 @ 10:56 pm

358. Just do something on why/what is great about the United States.
     Why to invest in US companies. what are companies doing for their communities.
     What is being invented in the US.
     How does technology from NASA get put to use in everyday life.
     who are the local heroes in your home town.
     What does the red cross do.
     make me feel good about America.

     Comment by gary rechsteiner — May 15, 2007 @ 11:11 pm

359. I was just thinking the other day that the next great reality show for the US should be \”Its a Knockout\”, an English/French show from the 60\’s 70\’s and ? Heck Peter Gabriel even wrote a song about it so there is a theme song already, Games Without Frontiers. Given the panorama of the game it is a HD show case and given the concept it should not be expensive.

     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It\’s_a_Knockout

     http://www.lyricstime.com/peter-gabriel-games-without-frontiers-lyrics.html
     so what if it has already been done before it has not be done here…can you say American idol…dancing with the stars…the office…

     Comment by Gary Slade — May 15, 2007 @ 8:01 pm

360. Mark… great idea and concept. Here are my suggestions:

     1. A man recovers from a car accident and proceeds to continue his simple life in Anywhere U.S.A. As he recovers, though, his memory starts to put itself back together, and he has strange visions of being a highly trained soldier. It turns out his entire life is a ruse, and the town he lives in is a \”retirement village\” for former CIA and Special Forces operatives.

     2. A sketch comedy show similar to how \”The Upright Citizens Brigade\” was structured.

     3. A \”scripted\” morning show that basically skewers the whole \”Cheery\” morning show genre.

     4. \”Underground\” – A touring music show that features underground music scenes in various cities. It wouldn\’t be isolated to one genre of music.

     5. Spoken Word – A struggling comedian tries to get his big break but various factors prevent him from doing so.

     6. A series of mocumentaries presented in a real fashion.

     7. The World Through My Eyes – Highlight the work of a different photographer each week.

     8. Americans Against Reality Television (AART) – A mocumentary series on how a group of television fans get fed up with reality television and start a campaign to eliminate the reality genre.

     And finally, my personal favorite – the show everyone would watch but no one would admit to watching:

     \”Death Row: American Chooses\” – Each week, you \”vote\” off a death row inmate.

     Comment by David Smith — May 15, 2007 @ 11:35 pm

361. Show name: THIS NIGHT. Bring the world\’s biggest telescopes into the living room. Each show features LIVE deep space imagery from observatories around the globe. Awe-inspiring visuals + high def + live.

     Comment by Tim Siedell — May 15, 2007 @ 11:48 pm

362. Television show: A zombie launches a campaign to capture a seat in the U.S. Senate.

     This idea is based on my novel, Zombie for Senator, which I have recently finished. My writing partner and I recently had our movie, The Monster Hunter (starring David Carradine), premiere on the SCI-FI channel. It can also be rented through Netflix and Blockbuster, etc. It was shot in Austin, TX.

     I am currently shopping the novel around and we are excited about turning it into a television show. I feel that it is fortuitous that a link was forwarded to me about your blog entry, Mr. Cuban.

     I thank you for your time.

     B.J. Burrow

     Comment by B.J. Burrow — May 15, 2007 @ 11:49 pm

363. Here\’s another idea: An adaptation of the comic book series Transmetropolitan written by Warren Ellis.

     Newsman Spider Jerusalem is lured out of early retirement by the threat of contractual lawsuits. He, in turn, threatens an editor who gives him an op-ed column. His writing brings down a corrupt president and paves the way for an even more horrific dictator. As Jerusalem tears at the regime in print, he explores the City, losing his mind in a plot with as many dark twists as a Tarantino film.

     Spider Jerusalem begins the story as a long-haired hermit living in a fortified hideaway on the side of a mountain, who has been retired from the City life, and from writing for a living, for five years. When he runs out of money and is threatened by his publisher (only ever referred to by Jerusalem as \”whorehopper\”) to whom he owes two books, he is forced to pack his car and drive south back into The City, a twisted amalgam of pervasive consumerism, sex, violence, and drugs. The City (never named, but a monument resembling the Statue of Liberty appears to give it away as New York) is the largest in the world, and the center of the political and social culture. However, this futuristic culture is highly liberal and focused almost exclusively on present-day matters. \”Revivals\” from cryogenic stasis are largely ignored and left to fend for themselves on the streets. Cultural \”Reservations\” are established for the sole purpose of preserving past civilizations. Some people, so focused on amusing themselves, convert to \”foglets,\” clouds of nanomachines that make anything from particles in the air and can spread thin enough to be invisible. No one even knows the current calendar year (this fact revealed by Spider in Year Five), so everyone always refers to events in time relative to the present day.

     The incredibly drawn out futuristic content of the 60 issue run would be absolutely breathtaking in a HD format.

     Series would run approximately 30 episodes.

     Comment by Jason Zapf — May 15, 2007 @ 11:51 pm

364. How about a show about the life of expat American teachers working overseas in international schools? Working in exotic locations, living in Melrose Place-like compounds, dealing with new cultures, abiding by odd local customs (alcohol against the law!!), handling crises (like being in Kuwait during the US invasion of Iraq, or living in Seoul when North Korea detonated an atomic bomb)….. Romance, adventure, heroism. Who could ask for more?

     Comment by Jason — May 15, 2007 @ 9:17 pm

365. \”Fawlty Towers\” at a DVD rental shop, circa 1999 (when a DVD rental shop wouldn\’t be fiscally sound). Instead of Basil and Sybil, the guy is the owner, a Lothario usually after his female employees and customers, who is now dating one of his employees in a monogamous relationship and has to behave. Hilarity ensues.

     Comment by Andrew Wickliffe — May 15, 2007 @ 11:56 pm

366. Mark

     \”Chain Link\”

     Chain Link will take 7 facebook or myspacers (1 from each continent) and set them out on a around the world adventure/contest that will challenge them to utilize only their personal social networking group of friends as a starting point to find the others. They will be given an adventure budget. Each person they find earns them a bonus that can be used for fun or towards the quest. Each week viewers vote on their favorite contestant – the results can earn the highest voted player a clue towards finding a nearby player. The lowest player gets thrown in \”jail\” for 1 week. The winner will be the player that finds the most players in a 6 week show. Cash Prizes will be given.

     Comment by Aaron — May 16, 2007 @ 12:07 am

367. Give David Simon a suitcase of money and let him do whatever he wants.

     Comment by SC — May 16, 2007 @ 12:08 am

368. HDGameNet. Why would you need to buy a ps3 or xbox if there was an OnDemand service that offered every video game out there in true HD? The \”Video Game Package\” would come with a special HDDVR with universal wireless controllers.

     HDGameNet. Ready. Set. Game.

     Comment by Curt Weaver — May 16, 2007 @ 12:08 am

369. Hmmm, here is a list of shows that I would greenlight if I was running a network, that I would love to work on and that I would love to watch.

     1.The Race to Space: A documentary series following the myriad of private space enterprises that are racing to open space for civilians. From Branson, Jeff Bezos and John Carmack to the lone inventor designing a better space suit in his garage; there is more real excitement and drama going on here than any other time on earth and it isn\’t being covered like it should. I wrote a pilot for a one hour drama set in this world but the nonfiction aspect of the most important step in human history really needs to be chronicled as it is happening around us.

     2.A mini-series on HD cinematography. The cameras are getting into the hands of the amateurs… but they don\’t really know how to get the most out of them. A miniseries on how to use these cameras would foster awareness of HD quality and help thousands of people make better HD content. Each episode could cover one element of cinematography with three levels consumer, prosumer and high end digital camera (I\’m biased towards Red One since I have #351 reserved). Cover composition, exposure, focusing, lighting, camera movement, filtering… all the aspects of capturing a great image. The episode could see a problem or opportunity given to three cinematographers who are expert in the use of the particular camera (I suggest; Stu Maschwitz with a Canon HV20, Adam Wilt or Barry Green with a Panasonic HVX200 and David Mullen with the Red One) and show how to make the best use of the particular level of camera. The HD-DVD/Blu-Ray collection of this would probably show brisk sales. Sony OR Panasonic would probably throw some money at this for product placement since they both have cameras in each of these segments and they would probably like to see a show with just their brand. I think that would be doing the audience a moderate disservice… not a showstopping one mind you.

     3.How about a real entertainment news program? It is irritating to sit there skipping over 90% or Entertainment Tonight or Access Hollywood just to get a little snippet of real news pertaining to the entertainment world rather than gossip about some actor\’s personal life. The Futon Critic website has more real content than all of the current entertainment programs put together. Sure there are a lot of people who can\’t get enough home videos of Anna Nicole Smith staggering around- but some of us would rather learn about how George Lucas is coming along with the live action Star Wars TV series and just what is happening on Peter Jackson\’s latest set. Give us this sort of thing in a serious news program in HD and I\’ll have a season pass on that sucker so fast my PVR\’s remote will start to smoke. Make it the love child of \’Higher Definition\’ and \’World Report\’ and you have me.

     4.Intimate Venues: There are a lot of small music venues around and it would be nice to have a show that covered an evening there. A quick tour of the venue and then a few songs from that evenings performers. I\’m partial to blues and so I\’m thinking about places like The Purple Onion in Vancouver but this could cover the range from classical to punk to hiphop. It could spend a few weeks in a given metropolitan area hitting the best, most representative and most unique small venues available there.

     5.1.Make Magazine (www.makezine.com) covers a lot of very cool garage projects and a cooperative venture with them could have an endless stream of shows with robots, hacked game consoles, iPod into an Altoids tin, home made solid modeling machines- all being built on camera in the garage or on the kitchen table. A yearly episode or two going out to cover the Makers Faire would also entertain the hell out of a lot of people. The projects are all designed to be relatively inexpensive home projects for individuals or small teams and I think it would be fascinating but relatively inexpensive show to produce.

     Comment by Clint Johnson — May 16, 2007 @ 12:19 am

370. tv show name: pHD

     pHD = educational show that walks viewers through a different area of academic study. The show starts with the basics, moves on to advancements, and lastly looks at the future of the field.

     This would prob need more than 30min time slot or could have each field broken into multiple parts:
     ie: Marketing part 1(BS), 2(MS), 3(PhD)

     For me, \”I want my PhD in HD pleazzzzzz\”

     I hate TV shows where you lose intelligence watching (American Idol = worst show EVA!!!!!)

     MC – please shoot me an email if you want to use this idea or show name

     peace out

     Comment by discNwisco — May 16, 2007 @ 12:31 am

371. Hi Mark, I\’m breaking one of your three rules.

     I\’ve FINISHED an episode of the Asian \”PIMP MY RIDE\”, but with Scooters! (and the show is shot in Taipei, Taiwan, in Mandarin Chinese). Scooter outnumber cars 10 to 1 in Asia, and of course, there are billions of people in the Asian viewing audience worldwide.

     You can WATCH the whole thing at: http://www.jiiang.com/motohigh

     We are shopping it right now to Asian networks and distributors both IN Asia AND America.

     (that was my short pitch……..the long pitch is below. If you\’re interested or know of people who might be, please contact me.

     EXPOSITION: The young, urban, Asian Entertainment Market. Its a HUGE Growth market in CHINA, TAIWAN, and USA. And were using Reality TV to take it over! In Asia, scooters outnumber cars 10 to 1. Everyone has a scooter. They make fun of ugly scooters and gasp at brand new, shiny scooters. Plus, accessories like custom designed helmets and jackets, and motorcycle teams. So much potential!

     DISTRIBUTION: This can play on Chinese Television. However, our goal is also to combine TV with a VES Show (Viral Entertianment Show). Our website (www.jiiang.com) currently shows all the episodes of MOTO HIGH! and invites the viewers to upload pics/videos of their own scooters (new and old). We invite them to create a COMMUNITY of it. They can rank each pic/video and choose which one they like the best. Every season we can run a User Chosen episode where the worst ranked Scooter/Story gets PIMPED OUT. Itll be so much more interactive than just TV. It will be HUGE!

     CURRENT NEEDS: Distribution and Marketing/Advertising Partners

     SHOW SYNOPSIS: It\’s the Asian PIMP MY RIDE but with Scooters! We took a really old and broken scooter to Taipeis BEST Motorcycle shop and asked them to make into a Super Motorcycle Machine!

     Then, we gave this SUPER MOTO MACHINE to JAMES MAO, a Taiwanese Basketball Star and Model. We made it into a small Harley Type design and put a basketball hoop on the back. Then, we changed all the colors and seat covers to his teams colors. And finally, we had his coach and team sign the scooter for GOOD LUCK! (you can check out the show at: http://www.jiiang.com/motohigh)

     Comment by Damon Chang — May 16, 2007 @ 12:41 am

372. hmmm..
     i think i wil have a test of it ,and get some new ideas for it

     Comment by Just — May 16, 2007 @ 12:47 am

373. Mark,

     I know you said specifically no sports, but please, let me plea my case.
     I love baseball, dont get me wrong, I love the game more than anything else. Yet, I am a Rangers Fan, and around this time every year, I find myself looking forward towards the future of the franchise. I find it very interesting to look at the variety of players in the Ranger\’s farm system and seeing who\’s going to be the next unknown flamethrowing southpaw who was born on a farm and dominates the MLB. Thats why I think you should create a show following the lives of not the top tier prospects of the minors, but those guys who are more middle of the pack and have more of a 49% chance than a 51% chance of making \” the show\” if you catch my drift. I also know you said it cant be a spinoff of other shows, and i completely agree, but think of this show as \”Hey Rookie, Welcome to the NFL\” meets \”The Real World\” minus the fake drama meets \”Bull Durham\”. Honestly, even if you hate my idea, I\’d just like to pitch the idea of minor league baseball, because you never know when you\’ll be watching the next \”Great One\” and be able to say, yah, i saw him play BEFORE he was big…..of course…in God\’s gift which is HD.

     Robert Carney
     Cannonballman1@yahoo.com

     Comment by Robert Carney — May 16, 2007 @ 12:56 am

374. Two Words: BAR CRAWL

     The concept behind it is travelogue based, and similar to the Wild On or even Get Out!, but the difference is that in the US, everyone has a favorite bar, even celebrities, so each week, our host travels across the country, meeting up with personalities, and sharing drinks over stories that center around the specific bar featured in the episode.

     For example, our host will travel to Detroit, MI where a specific bar is featured. The host will meet with someone such as Bob Seger or Kid Rock and go together to that \”favorite bar\” and have some sort of discussion.

     Another week, the host could meet with Kiefer Sutherland, as they visit one of Kiefer\’s favorite haunts, sharing drinks and stories.

     Certainly the concept can be massaged, but the spirit of the show is to simply go cross country to visit some of the best bars in the US and have some sort of interaction. It\’s part Insomniac, part interview show, part locale profile, but all entertainment.

     The idea is not to show the wonders of HD and 1080i, but to provide programming that is unique and entertaining so that word of mouth can spread, and subscriptions can rise…

     Comment by Hashim R. Hathaway — May 16, 2007 @ 12:56 am

375. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVd3zdsD8y4

     Comment by Daniel — May 16, 2007 @ 12:53 am

376. Andy Richter Controls the Universe, this was the funniest show on TV. I started watching the show on fox a few weeks before it was killed – but it wasn\’t just killed it was hidden in a closet, beaten with a stick, then killed. I know it runs on HDNET now in reruns – but it is recent enough that all the stars are without long term deals and from what I can tell at work – it has a cult following. Could easily be the next family guy in that it was cancelled and returns to more fan fare than when it ran originally.

     Comment by Chris Herron — May 16, 2007 @ 12:58 am

377. Ok @ 378 and counting I wonder if this will ever get read. However at this time last night it was at 158.

     We need reality TV at it\’s best. Now having been to as many sporting events in your life and been entertained a million ways, movies, theater etc. I\’m sure there are moments that stick out like a sore thumb in YOUR mind.

     I\’m not talking about \”The catch\” by dwight clark
     Or the \”ice bowl\” dallas @ green bay
     or jordan winning his first championship.

     I\’m talking about what happened in YOUR mind, the viewers. It was significant, but not necessarily to the masses.

     Have a TV show that takes callers (not necessarily live) and has an event that happened (and was video taped) that can be viewed by the masses.

     I\’ll give you my example.

     Season opener, monday night football 1992 Dallas Cowboys vs. Superbowl Champs Washington Redskins. Troy Aikman throws an interception to Darrell Green, as he\’s returning it down the sideline, he gets tackled by Emmitt Smith. Not only is he tackled by Emmitt. (realize emmitt smith isn\’t quite emmitt smith yet) But Emmitt picks him up and slams him to the turf. The clip is never shown, but it was great!!! It\’s very vivid in MY memory!! But if others were to see it, they would appreciate it also.

     I\’m sure many people reading this have a moment, whether it\’s sports, a movie scene, a TV moment, that is great in their own mind, but if put to the masses, they can see it for what it is. A great moment at that time. Just because it doesn\’t happen in the World Series doesn\’t make it less great.

     So here is the idea. Take calls, get footage, see it for what is\’t worth, and if it makes the cut, put it on the show.

     I\’m a huge football fan. Another that came to mind was 1989. Miami Hurricanes and Notre Dame, last game of the season(before the bowl game) #2 vs. #1 in the Orange Bowl. Miami is in control of the game, however with a slew of penalties and some tough defense Miami finds itself in 3rd and 44. That is not a typo!!! 3rd and 44!!! THEY CONVERT ON A BOMB FROM CRAIG ERICKSON TO RANDAL \”THRILL\” HILL DOWN THE LEFT SIDELINE!! Unheard of, but does it get played as one of the all time great plays? No!! Why not? They would rather play Doug Fluties Hail Mary that converted out of desperation!!! Miami could have just as easily done a draw play and punted. No they went for it and converted!!!

     Point being is there are plays out there that aren\’t recognized for their greatness. Have the public give the greatest play ever \”in their minds\” and have a highlight reel of those plays. not what the \”media\” and \”espn\” deem as relevant. That will sell!!

     I have a few other ideas, but this is the first to pop in the head. Tell me what you think!!

     Ry

     Comment by Ryan — May 16, 2007 @ 1:04 am

378. My belief is the future of television lies in INTERACTIVITY. Television and the Internet will meld completely eventually. The man that teaches the world to enjoy interactive television will be glad.

     Sure, concentrate on innovative programs but work also to develop viewer interaction with your programming via subscriber remote control units. Give them more than just some online games and programming menus. Allow them to participate in live polling and to upload audio/video commentaries via their HD connections. Have users vote on program episodes, etcetera.

     That\’s my idea.

     Comment by blogslut — May 15, 2007 @ 9:20 pm

379. You have some real crap programming. Best of Michael Bolton Live? If I had an HD TV I\’d be throwing up on it.

     Nobody gives a damn about the circus. Kids used to want to run off and join the circus. Michael Bolton should go to the circus and be stomped on by an elephant.

     But that\’s not the idea. Give me a crew and I\’ll do clown college and carnies and the people who still live the magic.

     Unlike Michael Bolton. Your mama should slap you over that one.

     Comment by Skip — May 16, 2007 @ 1:10 am

380. Movie karaoke show where people can either make fools of themselves or be entertaining re-enacting their favorite movie or TV show. Or use Dan Rather in reworked version of early TV CBS docu-drama show You Are There updating to digital news age historical events. Or game show with boobytrapped obstacles to test people\’s problem-solving abilities hosted by someone like Dennis Hopper in first Speed movie.

     Comment by Robert Skillstad — May 16, 2007 @ 1:19 am

381. I have been in the film industry a loooong time, and I have a couple projects I am developing. But like comment #2, are we not taking a risk of getting ripped off by publicly posting them (even if they are registered at WGAwest)?
     No insult, but I HAVE been ripped off by a Producer at Columbia once already.

     Comment by Michael Rivero — May 15, 2007 @ 9:46 pm

382. I\’ve written an unusual pertially improvised \”reality-sitcom\” (ala Curb Your Enthusiasm) about a dysfunctional family in the world\’s most dysfunctional city, Las Vegas.

     The father is a slot tech with delusional dreams of becoming the next Steve Wynn, the mother is a plus-size model who does an occasional bachelor party on the side, the son dreams of becoming a showgirl, and the daughter is the most successful one, a prostitute with multiple personality disorder, thereby insuring repeat business.

     I have the pilot script and an outline for the entire first season ready to go for \”THE LEGACKIS OF LAS VEGAS.\”

     Thanks.

     Comment by Ace DeSone — May 16, 2007 @ 1:37 am

383. you could just report the news. that would be novel.

     Comment by Alfonse — May 16, 2007 @ 1:38 am

384. Mark,

     The series is called \”Jacob\’s Shadow\”. It\’s about an orphaned 12 year old boy in the western US circa 1880. He is blamed for starting a fire at an asylum that killed 10 people, including his mother, who was a patient. Based on stories his mother told him of possible family, he decides to escape to Washington state. Early in his journey, he saved by a giant, grey timberwolf that he names Shadow. Jacob feels a connection to Shadow that he can\’t quite explain. On their way north, Jacob and Shadow are pursued by a dilligent bounty hunter and the mysterious Man with Purple Eyes. Throughout their travels, Jacob begins to piece together the truth of his life and how involves ancient, distant worlds and thousands of years of prophecy.

     Although it does have a supernatural undercurrent, this is essentially a boy and his dog story (stories I grew up devouring). Something that would be shown on Sunday evenings at 7 or 8 pm. Yes, it would be kind of dark and scary, but in a campfire tale told by your grandpa kind of way.

     Also, I imagine the show only having 3 seasons, 13 eps a piece (a definite begninning, middle and end.) I have most of the 39 chapters outlined.

     Thanks for taking the time to read this. I\’m interested in any feedback. I like these characters and it was fun creating their world.

     Mick

     Comment by Mick — May 16, 2007 @ 1:47 am

385. I think a show documenting everything that goes on for HDNet or even internet related stuff would be worth watching.

     Otherwise, broadcasting video game tournament highlights is a good idea. ESPN for nerds. No dry humor (a la G4)

     Either that or a show that showcases new music based on votes from the internet (that is, the users suggest new artists and once they\’re requested they have to \’sit out\’ of rotation for a while before being requested again..the Box did this, i think it was cool for a while)

     But the ideal show I\’d want to see is about general communications (internet, tv, radio, etc) and both the science and the philsophy behind it. Diversity in this sort of thing would be an interesting thing to watch. There\’s plenty to have a show about the internet on TV. Just surprised no one\’s done it yet.

     Comment by aquarius — May 16, 2007 @ 1:54 am

386. Two societal facts are driving my show premise:

     1) People LOVE watching arrogant people\’s dreams shattered on TV. American Idol is built entirely with this in mind. The first few weeks of the show with awful singers learning that they have no talent is a perfect example. Office coolers are also abuzz the day after an arrogant, attractive female cries her heart out on national TV because she finished in 14th place and must now go back to middle America to work in the stage production of Porkys.

     2) Guys are constantly looking to meet and attract beautiful women. This is self-explanatory and needs no further comment.

     SHOW NAME: \’Pick-Up\’

     PREMISE: Ordinary guys are pitted against each other to see who can pick-up the most women in real-life unusual situations. They each must complete challenges

     Examples: pick up a bartender, become a pizza delivery guy and get a female customer to invite him in, attract a female while driving a pink Dodge Neon, pick up a girl at a womens group protest, pick up a women while introdcing oneself as a virgin who lives with his parents, etc, etc. The ideas are endless!

     The winner is the one to complete the most tasks and goes home with a check for $XX,000 and his dignity in tow. The loser is likely humiliated by all his failures.

     WHY PEOPLE WILL WATCH: Firstly it is an experiment in social interaction that everyone can relate to. Who wouldnt want to watch confident people approach women from the vantage point of a hidden TV camera? Secondly, the rejections will be priceless! Anyone who volunteers for such a show must believe that they are a true Casanova. The rejections will be enjoyable in that sick American Idol cringe-inducing way. I will watch!

     Added bonus: Production of such a show would be cheap, cheap, cheap!!!

     Comment by Richard Kramer — May 16, 2007 @ 1:59 am

387. how about a updated version of playhouse 90-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playhouse_90

     with new and upcoming writers submitting their stuff and have a mix of a listers and b listers as well as up and coming actors star in the one act plays.

     thats how james dean and rod sterling got their starts.
     plus- it would be really neat to see something worthwhile on television for once.

     Comment by alfred — May 16, 2007 @ 2:12 am

388. Everybody loves vacations. Whether it\’s sipping a cocktail on the beach, skiing down the slopes, sightseeing, or hiking a mountain, we ALL look forward to our vacations.

     MY NEXT VACATION is a stand-alone, thirty-minute series, traveling the world in search of the best vacation spots. The luxury of shooting and airing in HD will maximize the look and feel of our beautiful locations. Exclusive deals and each episodes vacation itinerary (with all specific contact information) would be available at hd.net

     Comment by Michael — May 16, 2007 @ 2:35 am

389. Celebrity Spelling Bee

     Americans love to see celebs knocked off their pedestals. Could also spotlight intelligent celebs, and break some typecast sterotypes. Give a huge-ass $ prize, winner take all.

     Comment by Op — May 16, 2007 @ 2:23 am

390. and yes, I do see the sad irony in my misspelling \”stereotypes\” in a pitch for a spelling bee show

     Comment by Op — May 16, 2007 @ 2:40 am

391. Fantasy CEO! Executives get control of contestants lives for a year and put them on the road to success. Viewer vote decides what executive has done the best job with his contestant. I was just thinking I would give up a year of my life and give it to Mark Cuban to decide my next move, if Cuban says porn is the quickest way to the top, back to school,….whatever he says. Tune in weekly to see what my executive has me doing next. Who would you rather have controlling your life, Mark Cuban or…Steve Jobs? Meat or no meat?

     Comment by TimL — May 16, 2007 @ 2:55 am

392. Convert your home to a green home. Educate viewers on the technology and installation of products that reduce your carbon footprint.

     Comment by joe — May 16, 2007 @ 3:10 am

393. How about a show about the rising nerd bourgeoisie- it would be a great opportunity to write about all of the insane crap going on out there in the virtual world…follows the life of some freeware borderline hacker guy with all his hacker friends, the spread of information in seconds, where is a show that is talking about scientology versus the internet, mash-ups, you tube, googlification of our lives, the coming blending of virtual and physical realities?…and you could have so much fun with second life.shoot- i\’d watch it.

     Comment by john douglas — May 16, 2007 @ 3:12 am

394. A modern-day \”What Ever Happened To\” news magazine for today\’s pop-culture metageneration.

     Gives us follow-ups of past major news stories. Most headline stories, especially those that fill the airwaves during a slow news cycle, do not get closure. Some of these are fascinating stories that suck audiences in. This show will follow-up and give us updates and information and explain to us, \”what ever happened to…\”
     -Arik T.
     Los Angeles, CA

     Comment by Arik Treston — May 16, 2007 @ 3:22 am

395. I\’m actually shooting the first few episodes of a series I was hoping to shop around once we got 4 or so in the can. It\’s about the dim witted underbelly crime establishment of Niagara Falls.

     http://www.backlotrebels.com/lotb is where you can find the first two episodes.

     I don\’t want to put too much into a public blog page, but email me if you\’re interested and I\’ll gladly discuss the rest of the show and what it\’s about with you.

     Comment by Carey Lewis — May 16, 2007 @ 12:21 am

396. Reality Show:

     Possible Titles: Real Indie; American Indie; Cine Fanatics, etc.

     Tagline: \”There\’s No Show Like Business\”Reality Show:

     Synopsis:
     Follow a group of people from the indie film industry (and their investors) as they scramble to put together a brand-new full-service film distribution company. Focus on being filmmaker-friendly and change the way some see distribution. See them chase funding, see them chase films, see their struggle as they work to create an entirely new kind of independent film company. (No knock at Magnolia & 2929…)

     Filming: (When can you get a crew together?)

     Comment by Arik Treston — May 16, 2007 @ 3:42 am

397. How about a prime time court TV show in which the viewing audience gets to call in and decide the verdict. It could be called \”Court of Public Opinion\” or something along those lines. Not only does it take advantage of the666 popularity of court television but the audience gets to pass judgment and possibly vote on sentencing. Just depends on how far you want to go with it.

     Comment by Dre — May 16, 2007 @ 3:48 am

398. I have a slam dunk of an idea, but I\’d like one of your representatives to contact me. No need for formalities, just don\’t want to post it out here in the open as I might pursue it and would need every bit of a head start I can get to be successful with my very limited capital.

     Shoot me an email with subject, HDNet show idea and I\’ll fire it off back to you.. It won\’t be more than a few lines.

     I\’ve had enough ideas to know that the ideas are plenty, it\’s the execution that separates the winners from the never got out of the gate folks. I\’d love to see something with capital behind it produce this, because I\’d be interested in watching it.

     Comment by nigel m — May 16, 2007 @ 4:40 am

399. I have a great idea that the world will enjoy. Its called \”The W-orld\” and it will depict the world after 8 years of George W Bush presidency. It will include personal interviews and scenes from such places as New Orleans and Iraq. Interviews from his critics and supporters. Either do a miniseries, a 3 hour documentary, or a week to week show highlighting specific segments of the Bush Administration. Include clips from John Stewarts Daily Show, Micheal Moore, John McCain, President Ahmanijad of Iran (and any other individuals that have taken a stance with or against Bush) US Congress hearings, personal interviews from citizens of the world that have been directly and indirectly affected by Bush (positive and negative). This is an important era of the world that needs to be documented because the future underlying effects are tremendous and as of now no one has been willing to dig for the truth to answers that have gone undiscovered for far too long (ie the Death of American Patriot Pat Tillman)

     Comment by Mike Jones — May 16, 2007 @ 4:58 am

400. Mark Cuban:

     ISOLATION — a Sc-Fi Noir Action Drama –

     …..already shot – on true HD with the Sony F900.

     ISOLATION — is the story about a boy who has been trapped in a room – with no windows – no doors – or human contact – for 174,324 hours. And on hour 174,325 – everyone… and everything – will change.

     We shot the story in Austin,TX, L.A. and Mannford OK.

     Currently the story is in it\’s edit process.

     The scenario – is such – since we shot in HD – we never shut the camera off while filming – thus leading to well over 10 hours of footage and story.

     Cutting the movie down to 96 minutes – has been to say – gut wrenching.

     After talking with Craig Chartier at GEAR in Austin – he asked why I don\’t turn the movie into a 1 hour TV Movie Event Series since we are already in the correct format – and – since we easily have over a 10 part – 1 hour series movie – already shot – and – the have Prequel/Sequel written.

     It got me thinking about your HD Network and blog – and your comment on looking for something NOT already being done – I guarantee you – the content is original.

     So – before I butcher the story more – by cutting away at it – trimming it down to a 96 minute Indie FIlm – I thought I better invite you to the ISOLATION site to look at our trailers – and – see the quality/vision of what we are doing – before I go further.

     You can view the teaser trailer(s) here:

     http://www.myspace.com/isolation2007

     Thanks for your time Mark…

     Sincerely,
     Oklahoma Ward

     http://www.myspace.com/isolation2007
     http://www.isolationmovie.com
     http://www.myspace.com/indiethisfilms
     ——————————————————
     WATCH OUT SPIDEY!!!

     The new trailer for ISOLATION: THE MOVIE was #1 with MySpace Filmmaker viewers this month and last — WHILE Spider-man was rolling out in theaters!

     What do millions of MySpace users know?

     They know a lot, and they know what they like.

     And it\’s all word-of-mouth.

     ———————————————————

     Comment by Oklahoma Ward — May 16, 2007 @ 5:52 am

401. I would like to see a TV show with focus on technology, (mostly Apple related) tech news and information as well information that includes new technologies such as HDTV, DVR, Wireless, etc. There are some great personalities that are doing Podcasts on these topics. Thank You for the oppurtunity.

     Comment by Tony Tucci — May 15, 2007 @ 10:43 am

402. Something showing the real Mark Cuban. Say, have you lost weight?

     Just joking. I have the same concerns as in comment #2.

     \”Would I have development rights if you took my idea?\”

     I will say that when I watch HD, the sense of \”being there\” — the beauty and detail of some natural settings — is highly appealing. For some reason, water, whether the from the Summer Olympics pool, or in nature specials, works very well at making one feel, perhaps not that you are there literally, but at least gives you the same feelings. I would say the same for the sound of course but the same surround sounds without the higher quality picture, is not as effective.

     Someone else mentioned exploring what it is that effects the viewer more, when in HD. Research may have been done in considering the difference between regular and IMAX theater experience. That\’s how I\’d compare the home TV experience between regular and an HD TV picture.

     So, in a word: Water

     As for specific ideas . . . maybe I have some things . . . depending.

     I wish you all success with your project.

     Comment by Allen — May 16, 2007 @ 7:24 am

403. I think that something truly new would have to combine technologies. For example, I usually sit with my laptop while I\’m watching TV and I think that a lot of other people do the same.

     With HD television, you can hide a lot of detail on a single screen. When we were kids they had those puzzles where objects and words were hidden in the picture and you had to go hunt for them and circle them.

     I think that it would be possible to have say a mystery whereby clues are cleverly hidden in the background. The people online communicate with each other to collectively try to solve the mystery or otherwise glean information that they would not most likely be able to get on their own.

     Alfred Hitchcock was really good at adding symbolism in his movies. Mark, you could make Hitchcock like cameos, too.

     Comment by Bill Mellett — May 16, 2007 @ 7:30 am

404. HOW ABOUT A SHOW WHERE YOU CHANGE PEOPLE\’S LIVES. YOU CAN CALL IT MIRACLE. MARK YOU ARE AN EXTREMLY SUCCESSFULL MAN SO YOU HAVE THE MEANS TO TURN SOMEONE\’S LIFE AROUND. THE SHOW WOULD HAVE THE PREMIOUS OF A GROUP OF PEOPLE MAYBE THREE OR FOUR WHO WOULD COLLECT INFORMATION ON SOMEONE IN NEED COULD BE FINANCIAL PROBLEMS, IT COULD BE AN ELDERLY WOMAN\’S WISH TO MEET SOMEONE FAMOUS BEFORE SHE DIES, IT COULD BE A SINGLE MOTHER STRUGGLING THROUGH LIFE.WHAT EVER IT MIGHT BE YOU COULD MAKE IT HAPPEN.YOU COULD MAKE EVERYDAY PEOPLE FEEL THERE IS HOPE IN THIS WORLD.YOU CAN MAKE THAT DIFFERENCE AND I WOULD LIKE TO BE PART OF THE SHOW MAKING THESE PEOPLE SMILE MAKING THEM FEEL LIFE IS WORTH LIVING.THAT IS WANT PEOPLE WANT TO SEE THAT IS WHAT PEOPLE WANT TO FEEL IS HOPE!

     Comment by BOB DOROHOVICH — May 16, 2007 @ 7:38 am

405. Here\’s another combined technology idea. If there were a program that aired on the weekend on TV then you could release audio podcasts during the week for people to listen to on the way to/from work between shows.

     The only soap opera that I ever watched was the old \”Dallas\” show. It would have been cool to keep contact with the characters during the week. This would force the writers to be really quick on their feet a la \”who\’s line is it anyway.\”

     Comment by Bill Mellett — May 16, 2007 @ 7:46 am

406. \”If its obvious you don\’t know anything about HDNet or have never seen our networks , it will be deleted.\”

     That\’s sad coming from you, an inovative guy with a drive for action. Very narrow minded.

     Research this guy here: Thomas Khun.

     He did a lot of research about innovation and progress and concluded that a lot of innovation comes from people outside or recently introduced to a given discipline.

     So, since I live in a country without HDNet I will shut up and not submit my ideas to you ok.

     Comment by Henrique Valle — May 16, 2007 @ 7:51 am

407. Ok, I need to get a life.

     I\’m not a huge sports fan, but when I go to an event, sometimes the most entertaining part about it are listening to the people around me.

     HD tv also means HD sound. If you were to develop a skype like application that fed sports fans optional camera angles (cheer leaders?), box statistics and commentary over the laptop and allowed the fans to talk back then you could incorporate that feedback into the show.

     If you combined some clever programming with some really good creative people then I could see how you could so some really neat stuff with getting the rawest of raw data on fan feedback.

     Comment by Bill Mellett — May 16, 2007 @ 7:56 am

408. I\’ve got an idea, how about a show about a almost 30 computer programmer who\’s an attractive bodybuilder but lives in his mom\’s basement! Throw in a soap opera esque work environment, a crazy senile mother, a college town and \”colorful\” friends and family.

     Comment by Anthony — May 16, 2007 @ 8:14 am

409. Mark-

     Sent an e-mail to your Dallas Mavs account. Hope you read it.

     -Brian

     Comment by Brian — May 15, 2007 @ 8:47 pm

410. Idea #1

     Discovery and TLC have gone away from educational programming to a mix of reality and cooking shows along with nature shows. There are no top tier programs for teaching people about interesting or necessary topics, like math, personal finance (especially), computer operation, design and any other sort of topic there seems to be a lack of presentation or depth about. You could tackle a subject weekly or just create a specialized show for individual topics.

     Idea #2
     There\’s tons of television around the world which is also broadcasted in HD and not brought back to the states. You could license/purchase bits and pieces of these shows and compile/translate them. If the cost of licensing and translation with alternative audio and subtitles is less than producing a show, you save in cost while expanding the borders for what is shown on TV.

     Comment by john — May 16, 2007 @ 8:15 am

411. I have an animated show I am developing as a series, almost finished with Episode 1. It\’s being made in 1080p hd. It\’s called Revelation.

     Series Synopsis

     A frail young girl, Ashley Tomei, discovers that the world is coming to an apocalyptic end as written in the biblical book of Revelation. Ashley must decipher codes hidden in the scriptures and find the courage to save the world from its foretold destruction.

     http://d7.com

     Interested?

     Comment by Arik Renee Avila — May 16, 2007 @ 8:37 am

412. The Pilot
     (Project Greenlight meets Dancing With The Stars)

     Competition: Wannabe TV writers pitch their ideas, semifinalists get the opportunity to produce a pilot, judges pick pilot winner and winner gets TV deal.

     Billie

     Comment by Billie Petty — May 16, 2007 @ 8:56 am

413. How about a show that examines TV commercials from the public\’s perspective? A show that takes an insightful, and humorous look at these commercials that arew minds are bathed in for a full hour every day. On TV they never get any rebuttal. But in our minds we are highly engaged with them. TV commercials are the biggest piece of unaddressed mindshare in the world.

     Comment by John Forde — May 16, 2007 @ 8:44 am

414. I think that a series based on the book Atlas Shrugged has alot of potential. The book has a large cult following, is intelligent, and somewhat controversial, which plays to your channels base.

     It\’s a gamble. It\’s no layup like \”date my mom\” or \”room raiders,\” but HDNet doesn\’t seem to cater to those types of customers in the first place.

     Comment by Lynn Holland — May 15, 2007 @ 11:10 pm

415. \”Fastest Search\”

     This game show will put the the old style game shows out of business. Those are the ones that rely on people who have memorized the dictionary or the names of obscure 18th century painters. Boring. Once it becomes popular, Fastest Search has the added societal benefit of changing the way education is provided. No longer will children be taught mind-numbing \”facts\” so they can one day, if they are lucky, win a few bucks on Jeopardy. They will learn to think.

     Fastest Search pits contestants at computers trying to answer a question using a search engine (good sponsorship possibility). The trick will be getting top writers to come up with questions that can\’t be answered off the top of your head. In fact, the answer must come through a search displayed on a large screen. Contestants who can think and connect the dots–and have pretty fast fingers–will win. This changes everything.

     Comment by Steve Zisson — May 16, 2007 @ 9:12 am

416. Launch a HD camara onto a rocket, drop it on a parachute in the atmosphere and record the images as it slowly plunges to earth…with a good sound track and guest commentary on what is being passed over, it could be very cool!

     Comment by matt — May 16, 2007 @ 8:58 am

417. Mark, preservation boy here, back with another natural for HD The UN runs a program that has identified over 400 \”world historic sites,\” i.e., places that hold some unique aspect of civilization, history, nature that must be saved for the future. Some, like Machu Pichu, are well known, others obscure, but they are all fascinating and beautiful to behold. I\’m tight with some folks at the UN and I am sure they would relish the publicity for their program and cause. We get some cute boys and girls turn them loose on HD. Not some much Globetrekker, but more reverential and informative. This programming will appeal to the exploding eco-tourism market (Did you know that tourism is the second largest industry on earth?) and that means airlines, hotel chains, car companies lining up. Travel and lodging would be covered by our sponsors, but given the other sunk costs, we might want to spin-off a cooking show centered around the local cuisine. Every notice how many different kinds of hooch there are in the world?

     Standing by,

     Comment by Mark — May 16, 2007 @ 9:26 am

418. I didnt read every single one of the comments before mine, so Ill apologize in advance if I in avertedly retread on something someone else already pitched.

     Basically its just one concept; however there are few different ways in order to present it. Anyway, there seems to be an untapped potential in the short film market. Besides film festivals (who in general have been steering away from showing lots of shorts), a lot of short films are rarely seen. Yes there is the video uploading sites and there are short films on there, but they kind of get lost in the glutton of videobloggers, cell phone videos, and home videos of stuff like cats knocking over babies and whatnot.

     However, there isnt any sort of TV programming really directed to showing short films that I know of (I could be wrong). It would be a great way to showcase new and interesting talent and could lead to someones bigger break into feature filmmaking.

     As the show progresses or this could be an entirely different show depending on things, it could allow new and undiscovered filmmakers make short films. Im not talking Project Greenlight reality TV show style where they seem to take creative people and then not let them be creative, but for example: giving four or five different groups of filmmakers a topic, a concept, or a theme for a film and then just letting them go about it anyway they choose and then show the final result. I guess as a spin off or as a build up to the screening of the films, there could be a making of the films show, showing each group of filmmaker going through their various processes in completing the final film.

     Also, another interesting thing that could be done time from time, is have a famous or semi-famous filmmaker participate as one of the groups just to see what he or she would come up compared to unknown filmmakers. It would allow a lot of different talented people to show their stuff and it would almost be guaranteed to offer something unique and interesting every show.

     As an unknown filmmaker myself, I would love to see something this and of course would love even more to participate in a project like this.

     Comment by James Branscome — May 16, 2007 @ 9:34 am

419. The World Famous Original Toughman Contest. Boxing Elimination Tournament featuring local participants in 3-one minute action packed rounds of boxing….. it was the highest rated show on cable for men 18-49 from 1999-2003 on the FX Network.

     Comment by Stephen Coppler — May 16, 2007 @ 9:37 am

420. I would love to see a show following the major candidates for the 2008 Presidential election. Not a political show, with an agenda for one side or the other. But more about following democracy in action, and what it takes to run a campaign, work on a campaign from the lowest assistant to the campaign manager, and ultimately win and lose an election. The show wouldn\’t focus on specific platforms of candidates, but the process of running.

     Comment by Jason Burgess — May 16, 2007 @ 12:19 am

421. I truly hope you get to read this Mark… the idea is a little far-fetched… but if given the opportunity to explain in greater detail… well you never know!

     My proposal is this… GEEKS of the Dining Room Table

     A group of Role Players (Dungeons & Dragons for example but there are many to choose from) meet once a week or twice a month to play their game and roll some dice. That\’s not the focus… the plan would be to help these average geeky Joes to \”LIVE\” their adventure.

     I\’m not talking actually dressing up in armour and fighting dragons… but experiencing adventure by actually doing things. Virtually all players never ever rode a horse yet they role play like they have superior horsemen skills… you know, stating they fire their longbow at full gallop, and then jump off to attack with their long sword.

     What IF they got to actually try horse back riding, archery, swinging a large sword. They can get taugh maybe in an old England castle by experts from today. Once they get a true handle on it they can be put to some actual test.

     Other quick ideas…

     - Learning to handle a Wagon pulled by horses.
     - Camping out with out 20th century devices like a lighter.
     - Make a sword the old fashion way, hot metal and an avil.
     - Climb a mountain… hiking cross country.
     - Try jousting for real.
     - Climb a castle wall. How many geeks can even climb a rope?
     - Explore caves or castle dungeons.

     This is the focus of the show…

     Have them play a gmae… listen to their actions and pick something they did to bring to reality. Following them as they \”learn\” these skills… and then seeing how their role playing game is affected. AND possibly seeing IF playing the game is REALLY that important!?!? Lots can happen… AND believe me… there are TONNES of geeks out there!!

     Comment by Michael Horvath — May 16, 2007 @ 9:47 am

422. You want us to do our homework.
     Checking out HDNet it appears you buy scripted programming and produce what can be done easily. Do you want \”series\” ideas that would take advantage of the HD format yet cost more than;

     \”Original HDNet series include the groundbreaking HDNet World Report, Dan Rather Reports, Geek to Freak with Dennis Rodman, True Music w/Katie Daryl, HDNet Concert Series, Get Out!, Face 2 Face with Roy Firestone, Art Mann Presents… and Higher Definition, and Sound Off with Matt Pinfield.\”

     Or are you only interested in status quo?
     Any opportunity to pitch is gold and opening this format up is great yet I (and hopefully others) would appreciate some clarification here.
     Cheers…

     Comment by Steve — May 16, 2007 @ 9:50 am

423. How about Nellie knows best LOL

     Comment by Christie Kaplan — May 16, 2007 @ 9:52 am

424. Ok, M here it is. I shared this with no one except my wife, pillow talk you know how it is. And unlike the other dork with all the ideas unwilling to share I understand this email is as good as a contract should you be linked to my idea! haha

     You take 3 individuals,or teams of people from similar background and credentials, and you could contrast that for the next season(the combos and scenerios are endless) and place them in 3 different cities LA-Chi-NY, (kind of a cool name for the show pronounced la chee knee) all with the same variable NOTHING but the clothes on their backs, and you see who after six or eight weeks has the most money. You can even compete based on schools (Yale vs Stanford vs A&M) whatever, or do phd vs ged vs trade school. The possibilities of match ups like many reality shows are endless. One of my favorite lines from Seinfeld is by George when he says \”life is a competition.\” not that it hasnt been said before but the way he says it. This would go over incredibly well in High Def filming with small cameras in big beautiful cities. Three people competing for 1 million or more to see who can do the best with a bad hand. It would bring out a large demographic to viewership because it is competition at its real raw sense. Who can do better then who, all being equal, other then who they are. Of course the rules are obvious, no contact with family, or friends from the past. Only what they can achieve from the day they get dropped off! Let me know when we can get started!
     jeff

     Comment by jeff gilleland — May 16, 2007 @ 10:16 am

425. Ok, so I have two ideas for scripted sitcoms, which aren\’t really HDNet\’s cup of tea, but you never know.

     I\’ll also have a very interesting idea which would deal with the NFL and draft picks. Again, not exactly up HDNet\’s alley, but it might be worthwhile to hear me out.

     Like a lot of people, I\’d rather not just throw my ideas out there for anyone to see and use. As a businessman, I\’m sure Mark Cuban was very mindful of who he told about his idea for broadcast.com before it was implemented.

     If you don\’t think I\’m serious, check my blog. I believe I can write, and those are some examples of my sense of humor.

     I\’d love to discuss my thoughts!

     Thanks, Dan

     Comment by Dan — May 16, 2007 @ 10:17 am

426. The eco-police. A self-appointed posse drives around the country exposing \”crimes against nature\” at all levels\” government, corporate, and personal and writing eco-citations with suggested ways to reduce the carbon footprint of the perpetrator.

     Or, a reality show in which teams of individuals try to reduce the size of their carbon footprints.

     MILLENIAL ECO-CHALLENGE!

     Comment by Michael K. — May 15, 2007 @ 11:05 pm

427. A show that follows the life of professional video game players, the devlopement of gamings, and issues within the community of gaming. Being that the technology that\’s behind video games today are being developed for high-def platforms, it works hand in hand with anything associated with high-def programming. The show would also include content from insiders within the gaming industry showing upcoming technology (engines, programming techniques, previews, etc.) and in-depth interviews with the developers. Being that gaming is worldwide, it can be covered from the North America, Europe, and Asia.

     Comment by Phillip Ruffin — May 16, 2007 @ 10:34 am

428. Let\’s rock…

     TITLE:
     Mitch Gatling: Zombie Hunter.

     PREMISE:
     Gatling is a dirty, unshaven, leather-clad bad-ass who walks around with guns/ammo/weapons hanging off every inch of his body, and an ever-present smoldering stogie in his mouth. Much like Cain in Kung Fu, he has no home, simply choosing to roam to a new town at the beginning of each episode.

     His primary talent: Destroying the undead.

     CONFLICT:
     Within seconds of his arrival, Gatling finds the local social hangout (VFW, hot air balloon festival, malt shop) and asks if there are any zombies around that need killing. Everybody looks at him like hes nuts, but one brave voice will always speak up: No, sir, but we sure could use a hand with (fill in the blank)…

     Some examples include: Acting as a lawyer for a man wrongly accused of a crime, coaching the high-school football team when their coach suffers cardiac arrest right before the state championships, helping a nerdy loner find true love.

     Hilarity ensues as the fully-armed, foul-smelling, cussing and otherwise uncivilized Gatling shows up to a federal court, a high-school football game and a speed-dating session. Guns are drawn. People are threatened. Its fun for the whole family!

     Just prior to the conflict resolution, Gatling will wax poetic about his urge to protect the townsfolk from the living dead, and the person/people will humor him and roll their eyes when he\’s not looking.

     RESOLUTION:
     Gatling will prove quite adept at whatever challenge hes tackled, and will see it through to the end. As he prepares to leave town, the local townsfolk thank him for his help. Just before departing, he turns to them and says: And if you ever have a zombie problem, look me up.

     [Note: For the entire run of the show, 10-15 years by best guess, Gatling will not find/fight a single zombie.]

     So, whaddaya think?

     Comment by Erik — May 16, 2007 @ 10:34 am

429. Taking this seriously:

     1) An art appreciation show. The best tour guides and historians in the world giving background and history of the best works of art in the world, all shot in HD. Is there anything more fascinating than a great tour in a museum? Now add video that brings the experience into your living room, production values, and the freedom to present any art in the world in any sequence.

     People love to hear about great art if you make it easy for them and introduce it in an accessible way. This would hit a niche AND draw in some of the Da Vinci Code crowd (without relying on derivative or forced \”secret code\” add ons).

     2) A season-long documentary series following a group of couples who are adopting overseas. Footage would focus on the couples, the children, the birth mothers, and the contrast in living conditions. There\’s a lot more human interest there than you\’d think.

     3) Any sitcom or drama featuring really beautiful people of both genders. I can provide a script or help finding writers if you\’d like to make it a less general suggestion, but really the main thing is just to make sure the actors are gorgeous. I\’m not even sure soap operas have scripts, and Friends wasn\’t a hit for the gripping narrative.

     Comment by Tom — May 16, 2007 @ 10:35 am

430. I would love to see a series that films a classic book each season. Books that are too in depth for a 2 hour movie. For instance Ayn Rand\’s Atlas Shrugged could be a fantastic series if well done. Accompanying the series could be a behind-the-scenes or a documentary discussing the shows: the history that made the story, the politics of the time, the then-current technology. At the end of the season you have a great DVD package.

     Comment by Ken Fuhr — May 16, 2007 @ 9:58 am

431. Do a series profiling successful minority/immigrant entrepreneurs and how they did it. Each show profile a different minority/ethnic group (i.e., Vietnamese Entrepreneurs; Cuban Entrepreneurs; etc.). Call the show \”American Dream\”.

     Comment by Scott Lewis — May 16, 2007 @ 10:35 am

432. Mark,
     I\’ve been a Photo Safari guide in Africa for twenty years. There are spectacular vistas, unique topography, wild water ways that would be perfect for HD. I\’d like to have a Safari each week that deals with the wisdom of native people and their approach to the environment. The balance of living with the earth, not in conflict. For example, when I lived in Kenya my Masaai forman took me around the 4 acres we lived on and showed me dozens of medicines, herbs and plants used by the tribes for everything from healing to brushing your teeth.

     Comment by Christopher Law — May 16, 2007 @ 10:34 am

433. \”Get a Life\”

     This is a serial documentary that explores the non-lives of delusional individuals who get great ideas while living in their mom\’s basement.

     They never do anything with their ideas because they are so sure that their ideas are unique and don\’t want them \”stolen\”.

     They occassionally make ridiculous attempts to contact a friendly billionaire in the hopes that, in his spare time, the billionaire will devote his attention to them exclusively and on their terms.

     Occasionally a subject breaks out of mom\’s basement and gets a life, but mostly they plunge even deeper into despair and hopelessness- eventually ending up in mental hospitals and/or prison.

     Comment by Tom — May 16, 2007 @ 10:43 am

434. Mark:

     After reading through some of these ideas – I agree that many of them are just \’different versions\’ of stuff already our there. that being said, I too have a repeat type of program – but it is old and only had a very selective audience.

     In the 1980\’s – my youth back in Canada, we were all glued to a weekly show called \”Don Cherry\’s Grapevine\”. DOn Cherry is somewhat well known in the hockey world (iconic up in Canada) – this show no longer exists but it\’s premise would still have merit with today\’s viewers.

     It was set up similar to today\’s late night talk show\’s – the host (Cherry) would bring in a weekly guest and they would talk about everything related to that person – their team, life etc…

     I think today we have plenty of wonderful athletes that do some amzing things, both on their \’playing field\’ and in their life. With the viewers of today – human interest type shows/documentaries go over very well. Sportscenter, et al… covers these stories very briefly in most cases and we do not get the full picture.

     If you get the right host with some athletic background or at least some respect in the athletic community – a weekly show profiling atheletes or persons of prominance in the athletic world, making a special point to cover what they are doing to give back to the community – could attract a diverse audience.

     Throw in some humor, a fun \’sports bar\’ setting (as Grapevine was) a live audience – and steer away from the Stephen A Smith in your face let\’s bring up controversy concept – you might have a winner.

     I am sure I would not be the only one interesting in watching a show learing about athlete\’s stories and how they are giving back to the community.

     Comment by Kevin Solomon — May 16, 2007 @ 11:01 am

435. I think it would be great to have a show that can only be pulled off in HD. A show that is entirely in a longshot of a crowd. In HD you can make out faces of the crowd so tha static shot becomes infinately more interesting than on low-def. Have the entire half hour play outwith the one shot. One episode could be the mall, one ep in the office. Don\’t destroy the fouth wall, create a fifth wall. The more exclusive the show is to the HD crowd, the more it will be talked about and demanded.

     Kind of like the super celebs in Japanese commercials.

     Comment by BradyK — May 16, 2007 @ 11:05 am

436. No way I\’m posting my idea on a public forum. Plenty of starving artists get ripped off every day. Mark, please come up with a better way to share ideas with you. Perhaps an \”Idea registry\” where we have to register. You get to know us by our posts and can eliminate the spammers and trolls. Once trust is shared, the ideas can really flow. But to post it here for the public to view… well, my TV show ideas (note: plural) won\’t be posted like this.

     Comment by greg — May 16, 2007 @ 11:05 am

437. I had a couple ideas.

     1) X and Y Take On The World – Two charismatic hosts travel around the world (or around North America) and film their experiences doing things most people don\’t. I\’ll admit it\’s a bit of a done idea, but done well, it would be like Travel Sick without the grossout, or Insomniac without the heavy drinking. Travel shows seem to be perfectly suited to HD.

     2) Celebrity Dungeons and Dragons: Sure, I know you said \”no card tables\” but this would be a good limited series. I believe Wil Wheaton was actually approaching Comedy Central about it and they passed. Basically – take celebrities, put them on a green felt table, only instead of giving them poker cards, give them character sheets. You\’ll probably need to get the permission of Hasbro, but the publicity for the D&D game would be enormous, they\’d be fools to say no.

     3) Live American Comedy – There\’s tons of comedy shows – standup, improv, and sketch – performed in many cities across North America. It shouldn\’t be too hard to work out deals with companies like UCB in New York, Second City in Toronto and Chicago, Coldtowne in Austin, the Groundlings in LA, etc. Instead of giving every troupe their own show, film one or two shows with each troupe each season – this way the show remains fresh. You could also do some backstage interviews or catch these comedians as they eat at local restaurants to add a bit of color.

     4) Project HD: Give $5,000 and three HD cameras to student teams to make their own 22-minute one-act TV show – the first 22 minutes are your own team, covering them making the show itself. Particularly good showings might be invited back (or even to do a complete series.)

     5) World Comedy: A series of documentaries on what makes people laugh around the world – how German humor differs from American humor, or why the French actually find Jerry Lewis funny, examining the cultural differences that manifest in humor. The downside is travel expense and translation – and if you go to Iraq – hazard pay.

     I hope you use these ideas and understand that I give up any rights or claims to these ideas by submitting them. However, I hope that if you do use them that you bring me on board to provide creative input.

     – Brian Boyko

     Comment by Brian Boyko — May 16, 2007 @ 11:10 am

438. Greetings…

     My biggest issue with some of the HDNet programming is how similar it is to PBS. Even in the comments here, I see people recommending more elaborate travel channels (even though you already offer that) and Ken Burns-esque Photography/Bird Watching shows.

     So I had an idea! I want to see programming geared to a younger audience that isn\’t 100% centered around music. So, my idea is to have edgy filmakers – a la Michel Gondry, etc. – shoot short HD documentary style segments on topics submitted online by users. The whole premise would be that users control the core idea and the filmakers put their spin on it, all in wonderful HD clarity.

     So maybe one subject would be travel; and instead of showing the usual/lovely Fijian resort, the somewhat famous filmaker shoots his adventure in more adventurous places like Coloumbia or Peru – for example of course. Or, the filmaker documents his making of a film. Or, the filmmaker covers the political spectrum. The online experience would be greatly enhanced as users would be not only submitting, but could follow the entire production online as you would expect the process to be fully documented on the website. This could help make the programming more of an event, not just something that is on one day.

     Furthermore, I think that would be compelling content and would build significant cred amoung younger viewers. The current situation is great for people like me (as I love Pinfield and other content) but the money (as you know) is in attracting the \’My Media\’ generation.

     Thanks!

     Comment by Daren Trousdell — May 16, 2007 @ 11:11 am

439. OK, Mark, shifting gears here. (BTW, I mistakenly sent my first proposition to your Mavs account, apologies). One of the most useful features of the internet is its swimming hole wiki. Every decent swimming hole in the U.S. is listed with photos, regular updates from users, and driving directions, and other bits of information. There are thousands and many of them are wonders-of-the-world grade. This series practically produces itself. Former U.S. women\’s diving medalist showcases America\’s greatest swimming holes. You recruit some local hotties for $300/day with Craigslist TV Jobs, jam them in racy outerwear, wiggle your way through the brush, strip down to bikinis within a nimbus of rainbow\’d spray from the adjacent waterfall, slip and slide in the pristine water (underwater cam!), emerge from the frigid mountain waters for some sunbathing on the rocks. Add a little local color like an interview with the town cut-up, feature a unique aspect of the nearest town: indigenous sandwich, excursion train, museum, craft, eatery; toss in a helicopter shot, then tease the next one. From Maine to Hawaii, who can resist a good swimming hole?

     When do we start?

     Comment by Mark — May 16, 2007 @ 10:53 am

440. Mark –

     The core viewership of HDNet appears to be younger, intelligent and wired, and many of them likely travel. In fact, many viewers probably have expenable income that gets plunked into great vacations. However, most \”travel\” shows are geared toward an entirely different crowd – mostly an older crowd, seeking tourist hotspots; the locations profiled inevitably come off as product placement.

     My suggestion is to put together a sort of travel show for HDNet viewers. Each week, the show would highlight a different city (starting off in the US, but could branch out if it becomes economically viable), and showcase the true \”hidden treasures\” of that city. This would entail visiting the best dive bars, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and other unique aspects that the average tourist doesn\’t see. Of course, the advantages of doing the show in HD are clear, as the show would benefit from the clarity of picture as well as sound (especially in the many dive bars with live music).

     I, for one, live in New Orleans, and have ALWAYS had my out-of-town guests more thoroughly enjoy their trips when we spend our time in places their guidebooks would not have tipped them off about. A show that profiled the best dive bars, etc., could potentially be a huge success and also showcase the benefits of HDNet, while at the same time providing an alternative \”travel\” show for a younger, hip audience.

     Further, the benefit of tying the show into an interactive experience via the websit ewould be critical. Viewers could have a voice in choosing upcoming locations, send in suggested venues to profile, and user-generated content could also be made available.

     In sum, there are a plethora of new media concepts that could be driven from this platform, all focusing on the advantages of knowing your audience, and broadcasting on HDNet.

     Comment by Alex — May 16, 2007 @ 11:42 am

441. 99.99% of us had a dream growing up, play professional sports, race a car, work the stock market, play in a rock and roll band, join the army, etc. But life sometimes gets in the way and most dreams are never realized.

     Title: Living the Dream

     I would like to see a show where each week a viewer is selected to live out their childhood dream. They would be paired up with an expert in that field to get a crash course in that career. Each show would highlight the growth that person goes through. The climax of each episode would be placing them in that dream job for a day.

     Comment by Robert Farley — May 16, 2007 @ 11:46 am

442. My show would follow me… a recent college grad with dreams of opening a small business that could eventually be franchised as I try to get things up and running… you can watch me and my goofball friends get the company started and all the shenanigans the ensue with it… not only that but we love to work hard to play hard as you can see if you follow us on a night on the town… a tv crew following me and the publicity would at least give me some leverage when starting out to get the licensing rights from a big company

     Comment by Kevin — May 16, 2007 @ 11:31 am

443. The Way We Get By

     Synopsis

     TOM and NEAL live together in a cheap apartment in center city Philadelphia, where they have both recently graduated from art school. Stuck in the late-20s limbo of working to pay the bills rather than working to advance a career, Tom and Neal decide its time to find adventure in the routine of daily living regardless of the consequences. This pursuit is the story of The Way We Get By.

     Main Cast List

     TOM Mid to late 20s. An actor who auditions for freelance print work and local television but books very little. Attractive but awkward, he has a biting sense of humor and a tendency to be neurotic and self-absorbed.

     NEAL Mid to late 20s. A would-be illustrator who works in a photocopy shop. What Neal lacks in stereotypical good looks he makes up for with his lively-nature and extreme personality.

     ALEX Mid to late 20s. The son of a wealthy and famous actor, Alex is a hopeless romantic who has no job but makes an occupation of chasing women, falling madly in love, and generally living life as if it were a movie.

     The pilot is written (and good) if you want to read it.

     Comment by Todd Gebhart — May 16, 2007 @ 12:12 pm

444. Mr. Cuban, before I began typing, I looked through about 60 posts to see if what I had in mind was truly original, or just an off-shoot of what many others were thinking.
     I\’m happy to say I have not seen one like it–which doesn\’t make it fantastic or anything, just original.
     There is an un-tapped resource in this country, and you could be the one to un-earth it: sketch comedy.
     NOT \”SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE\”, let\’s be clear, and NOT \”MAD TV\”.
     Here\’s the difference: SNL is thrown together in one week, and the results can be hit or miss, with actors constantly looking off-camera at teleprompters and cue cards, depending largely on catch-phrases and the viewers knowledge of pop-culture references.
     MAD TV is a bit more professional, but it\’s not live, so even though the end product is more seamless, it is due to the fact that they can edit and start over when problems occur.
     All over this country, there are comedy troupes that straddle the middle ground. These troupes write and produce a series of sketches over the course of a month or two, rehearse the crap out of them, then perform them live for an audience for a month or so. They fill the gaps where commercials would go by either shifting focus to one side of the stage while on the other side another sketch is being set up. Also, some groups fill the void with audio sketches and video bits.
     The breadth of differences between these troupes is astounding. Some include 16 members, some only two. Some wear matching uniforms for every premise, some have full costume changes. Some have no set whatsoever, others go the whole nine yards.
     The show could either showcase 1 group per week and follow them from inception to performance, or it could simply just interview the group and include their show.
     If you were really jonesing for a reality tie-in (which I am not a huge fan of), people could rate each troupe each week and bring back the \”winner\” for a showcase in Las Vegas ir New York or something.
     Believe me, just search on line for any sketch comedy festival, and you will find no shortage of talented, funny people.
     Stand-up comedians are funny, too, but I think the viewing public has enough shows to choose from, and once the 20th person comes on stage and asks \”Hey, how\’s everyone doing tonight?\”, people lose interest. I have been to many sketch festivals, and crowds can\’t wait to see what dynamic the next group will display.
     We\’re talking groups from Seattle, Portland, L.A., Chicago, New York. Troupes at colleges and all the small towns in between.
     It never ends and it never gets stale. And it\’s all polished and it\’s live.
     This is an opportunity that only a handful of cities have caught on to, and just like HBO in the 1980\’s discovered stand-up showcases, Mark Cuban and HDNet should grab on to what only Lorne Michaels has done so far.
     You could very easily find a current festival on line and discover troupes for yourself. But if your statement of fair play and giving people a break is correct, I hope you will contact me on great places to start. In the interest of full disclosure, I am currently affiliated with a comedy troupe, but have not been active for a little under a year.
     Go to http://www.the3rdfloor.com, or look up some of there video sketches on YouTube. Or just e-mail me.
     Thanks for the opportunity, Mr. Cuban.

     Comment by Dan Vhay — May 16, 2007 @ 12:23 pm

445. Let me get this straight. You just post your brilliant idea online for everyone to see, and then, later you decide whether you are obligated to pay for it? Has it ever occurred to you that you can just reject the idea, and then slightly reinvent it so you don\’t have to pay for, it or give proper credit? It sounds like a great game show for HDnet, called WHO WANTS TO GIVE US THEIR FREE IDEAS?

     Comment by Pat — May 16, 2007 @ 12:31 pm

446. Mr. Cuban,

     I don\’t usually do anything like this, but here\’s an idea I\’ve had floating around in my head for awhile now…

     It\’s a series called \”Streets\”

     Imagine if you will a low income neighborhood in a major city. A body lies in the street, the police have arrested a young man and are taking him away as neighbours watch on.

     However instead of a traditional crime drama that would focus on the cops and their investigation, this drama focuses on the kids and other people left behind on the street.

     To most people they are considered an unfavorable element of the city, nothing but criminals, hooligans and thugs that sit on street corners brandishing guns and knives while listening to hip hop music and hang out in their gangs.

     They may be some of those things sometimes, but they are also real people with real hopes, real dreams and real fears just like any of us. They are not all black \”homies\”, they are hispanic, white, asian, a wide mix of people from all over just struggling to survive while aspiring to live the american dream.

     There will be storylines involving drugs, pregnancies and gangs. But it\’s not all negative. Imagine an episode where a central character drops out of a gang and chooses instead to work at a youth center. Or another character instead of taking advantage of an opportunity to steal cars and make money fast, takes a menial job to save up for a shot at college.

     I strongly believe the show also has a strong potential for social commentary: racism, class elitism, religion, an examination of the so-called \”welfare society\” that exists in america and so on and so forth. One scene that I imagine in my mind featured a young white kid talking to a young black kid about how even though they were in pretty much the exact same life situation, the black kid still thinks the white kid doesn\’t really understand what being on the streets is all about. The white kid thinks otherwise and tells him \”aside from the color of my skin, I\’m just the same as you are. I know they don\’t realize that, most people don\’t understand that…but you of all people should understand that. It\’s just as easy for me to get gunned down out here as it is for you.\”

     I\’ve thought a lot about what\’s currently on TV and to my knowledge, there are not many series out there that can be compared to what I\’m offering. I haven\’t yet started hammering out characters, but they should be an ethnic mix, white, black, latino, at leaset one asian. Mostly young, say 17-23 with a few adult characters (likely the parents or mentors of the younger characters) as well.

     I have no experience in TV and I haven\’t the money or resources to fly around and try to pitch this idea to networks so I figured the least I could do is throw out here.

     Thank you for reading Mr. Cuban. I hope that whatever show you pull off here becomes a hit for you.

     Comment by Steve S — May 16, 2007 @ 12:17 pm

447. THE GHOST AND MRS. MURRAY

     Pilot Comedy: 30 minutes

     A Tim Allen type character is tragically killed by a city bus while saving a little old lady. He is met at the pearly gates of Heaven by God who decides because of this mans act of bravery, he would grant the man one wish before he is allowed into heaven. The mans wish, I want to return home to find my wife a companion to replace me and who will come to love my wife and our three children. The man returns home as a living ghost and finds one problem. Now that he is back with his family he does not want to leave. He finds no person good enough for his family, his wife only wants her dead husband, and God is waiting.

     Comment by Dinah Miller — May 16, 2007 @ 12:31 pm

448. Mr. Cuban,

     I really appreciate HDNet as a channel that truly tries to cater to its viewers. My idea for a show on HDNet is one that focuses on gaming. With the new next-gen consoles out for awhile now, I have noticed that there is no show on television that showcases these new amazing games in the way they were designed, in High Definition. You could have game reviews, news, celeb gaming interviews, etc., all in 1080i! Get a host and an insider/reporter in the world of gaming, and once a week you would have a show that no one else on television has right now. As a next-gen gamer, THAT is a show that I would watch every week….

     Comment by Joel Peltrau — May 15, 2007 @ 4:57 pm

449. Not really a program idea but…

     If someone could figure out a way to use your television remote similar to Nintendo\’s…you would open the door to a whole new way of interactive television. That\’s what we need now. A way to actually be interactive with the program(s). HDNet could do it…

     Comment by Brian from Detroit — May 16, 2007 @ 12:38 pm

450. I have a great idea for an animation short. I know it\’s not a tv show, but animations look good in HD, and all I need is an animation studio willing to take it on. You have the contacts and the short could be aired on HDTV before anywhere else.

     Comment by Chris — May 16, 2007 @ 12:47 pm

451. I\’d love to see a \”For Dummies\” type show that takes a subject each week and shows you how to do something that most people are afraid to do yet are simple to do.

     Examples:
     Change your oil.
     Changing a tire.
     Repair a bicycle.
     Fix a toilet (including swapping it out…not difficult)
     Fix a faucet
     Plant a garden
     Plan a vacation
     Budgeting and debt management (amazing how many people have no clue)
     …you name it…

     The tasks could get as simple or advanced as you want…

     The series would then make a great DVD \”set\” as a gift to incompetent relatives.

     Comment by Tim — May 16, 2007 @ 1:01 pm

452. Hi Mark-

     Hope you\’ve got the eyes for one more pitch:

     PIEHOLE

     \”Piehole\” is both an indictment of and a love-letter to the classic half-hour sitcom. The show\’s main character, Sarah, is a fledgling TV writer from Los Angeles, transplanted to New York City to do research for her show pitch about hip young artists living in Brooklyn. As she meets a cast of (typically) wacky characters, their real-life personas start to influence her writing and vice versa. Each of the people she befriends ends up as a character on the show she\’s writing, albeit sanitized for TV consumption.

     \”Piehole\” combines the traditional three-camera setup of shows like \”Friends\” with the single-camera treatment of shows like \”Arrested Development;\” each episode juxtaposes the artificial, antiseptic world of Sarah\’s laugh-track-filled script, with a more \”realistic\” documentary view of the same incidents. The show aims to be nothing less than a discussion between the need for escapism vs. art\’s political obligations. Oh, and it\’s funny too. People fall down, there are romantic misunderstandings, the works.

     In short, \’Piehole\” embraces everything that we as a culture love and hate about TV:
     -Quirky supporting characters: Enid, a twenty-something still searching for himself, literally adopts a different persona each week (goth chick, hippie, punk rocker, pirate, etc).
     -Love triangles: Will Sarah stay with her TV-producer boyfriend back in Los Angeles or be drawn in by rebellious artist Oscar\’s unwashed charm (and the financial support of his parents)?
     -Catchphrases: Expect \”Shut your piehole\” to quickly gain new cultural currency.

     Comment by Matthew Buchholz — May 16, 2007 @ 1:07 pm

453. Reality show based on a message in a bottle. Man (good looking bachelor type) writes a message in a bottle off of the coast of Cali, you can have oceanographers project it\’s path to the coast, and inform the residents of it\’s \”projected landing\” and if found by a man, have it given to a single woman of his choice, they try and date, ya da, ya da. you get it.

     Jason

     Comment by Jason B — May 16, 2007 @ 12:28 pm

454. What about a show that takes this concept and turns it into a TV show. Each week 2 people are given a camera and a small production crew, to develop a 15 minute pilot. This will be the choice of the production team or can be taken to the net They are then given 1 month to develop their own show based on their submitted idea. Each week voters will vote on their favorite show. The top six will do a full half hour sitcom, the winner wins a 1 year slot next year on HDTV.

     Comment by Jason — May 16, 2007 @ 1:09 pm

455. Contact Chris Elliott…I\’ve always loved his humor(perhaps an aquired taste but he has a sizable following and doesn\’t seem to be busy these days Loved his show \”Get a life\”.

     Comment by Tim — May 16, 2007 @ 1:11 pm

456. The new Leo Laporte Show is filmed in HD and they are looking for an HD network in the US to broadcast the show. The website is http://labwithleo.com/ and this would be a great show to have on the network.

     Comment by Aaron McFarland — May 16, 2007 @ 1:19 pm

457. A reality show staring Ernie Johnson and Chuck Barkley living together. Nothing would be more ammusing than to see Ernie and Chuck arguing over what kind of Peanut Butter they should buy at the grocery store.
     I realize this is far from \”Original\”, however a few friends and I have been talking about this for a while.

     By the way….Mr. Cuban, is there any way you can purchase the Minnesota Timberwolves, fire Kevin McHale and then just sell them back to Glen Taylor. OR better yet, buy the team and let Charles and Ernie run it!

     Comment by Shawn O\'Brien — May 16, 2007 @ 1:38 pm

458. How about an \”investigating the investigators\” show? So many of these fluff pieces done by the so called impartial media are subject to considerable bias and seemed based in a PC bubble that doesn\’t exist in reality. Why not challenge some of the nonsense by examining their conclusions and using some journalism students to see how accurate the big budget shows are? You\’d probably have to investigate several stories to find a few that were worth putting into a show, but grad student labour is cheap and ambitious…

     Comment by Justin Guilbeault — May 16, 2007 @ 1:37 pm

459. I have written a pilot for a series dealing with Mental Illness, the impact on family and society, as well as the humor in experiencing the Human Condition. I am a psychiatric social worker and have worked with acute mental illness for the last 20 years. There has NEVER been a good story made dealing with mental illness because so many people cannot \”deal\” with it. The closest I have seen is the ABC series \”Wonderland\” that aired back in 2000 – it was cancelled after two episodes, NOT because it was not good, but because people were overly impacted. It was a good story, but admittedly too intense for most. So, I\’ve developed a similar theme with a comedic edge to it – tactful, and respectful of the mentally ill. In fact, much of the story revolves around how crazy \”normal\” people are. Contact me if interested.

     Gary

     Comment by Gary Reaves — May 16, 2007 @ 10:49 am

460. Ok, Here is the pitch
     Since MMA is so popular the show is set in a underground 7 day tournament. The fighters and people gambling cannot leave the confines of the facility where it is being held.

     This is a continuing 13 episode each show relating to the last. The type of choreography of the fights will be pushing the limits of television.

     The contest is held by an ex fighter/gambler who is trying to get out of debt, save his own butt from mystery assassin type.
     The favorite to win the competition is the younger brother of the promoter. He has a few secrets of his own. Think \”Lost\” with \”24\” and a little mix of martial arts masterpiece \”Enter the Dragon\”.

     It also has a helluva ending but I cant reveal that here.

     Comment by Kenneth A Williams — May 16, 2007 @ 1:40 pm

461. We are producing a global event called the Blue Planet Run that would be incredible if was featured on HDNET.

     This journey will cover 15,200 miles, across 16 countries and 4 continents, 24 hours a day for 95 days to deliver an extremely urgent and important message: we can and must begin today to alleviate the catastrophic burden placed on over a billion people who, every day, must drink unsafe local water, or travel long distances on foot to search for safe water for themselves and their families.

     Starting in New York City on June 1st, a team of \”20 ordinary male and female athletes doing extraordinary things\” will run around the clock along a route that includes the U.S., Ireland, the U.K., France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Poland, Belarus, Russia, Mongolia, China, Japan and Canada. Each runner will sprint 10 miles a day. Batons will be passed at over 1,500 exchange points. The Run will end back in New York City, on September 4, 2007. Each exchange point and heartfelt moment could be captured by your cameras as well as numerous events in major cities worldwide.

     The event will spare no expense to be Earth- and people -friendly. We imagine an event that comes to be known as \”The Race without a Trace.\” We are committed to partnering with companies like HDNET that have similar beliefs and goals.

     Comment by John Stewart — May 16, 2007 @ 1:41 pm

462. Like some people have mentioned, I hate to give away a TV show for free. But I do have a treatment for a show that you might be interested in. Its about a middle-aged guy (35-40) who has a great wife who he loves, decent job and his life is going along swimmingly. Everything is going great until he abruptly leaves his wife and moves from Kansas City to Las Vegas to become a stand-up comic to fuel. He makes a couple of deals with some, who he believes, wise guys, to advance his career. Instead he ends up in the middle of a plot for a bank robbery in Augora Hills, Calif.

     Comment by Adam — May 16, 2007 @ 1:46 pm

463. We\’re big fans of your channel and while I admit it\’s not a high def idea, someone with balls needs to bring Imus back to TV. His program was witty and intelligent. My guess, early adopters of high def television appreciate intelligent conversation. Imus apologized for his ill advised comments and should not have been thrown off the TV (MSNBC) in such a reactionary way.

     Comment by D. Shick — May 14, 2007 @ 10:26 pm

464. DEVIL AND THE CITY (TV Series) – MICHAEL YOUNG has the unique ability to see the past. His twin sister, SONJA, has the ability to see the future. Together, they live in an unnamed, decaying European City, where they must balance their regular lives with their battle against the forces of evil. The City is ancient, like Prague. Many have either lived in or traveled through it. All these disparate peoples have left behind their own particular demons, ghosts, and creatures of the night all of which roam The City.

     World folklore is full of endless creatures of the night Michael and Sonja and the other characters I\’ve outlined could come up against. It could be shot on HD making the special effects easier, though I would rather it being terryfying in an EXORCIST psychological way than BUFFY. It could be shot in Eastern Europe to save production costs.

     Any thoughts? And naturally – I have to say this so I won\’t feel like a fool posting this on an open site – it\’s registered.

     Comment by Frank Hudec — May 16, 2007 @ 1:05 pm

465. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfP5RS1KONQ

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2gGZfhKGE4

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPMaUPKx2W8

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gIJTGmQF2g

     http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZuyFQKxj4Y

     Comment by Paul Mollan — May 16, 2007 @ 1:42 pm

466. I would like to see movies being broken down by either the director, producer, or production team on what they were thinking when creating the film/show/program. Hell you can even go so far as a how to in movie making, filming, home movie.

     This may help content on youtube, local film, etc.. just a thought.

     Comment by Nick — May 16, 2007 @ 2:03 pm

467. SINGLE CAMERA, HALF-HOUR COMEDY
     TV SHOW IDEA:

     \”PRICELE$$\”

     The only thing crazier than the home prices are the people that sell you them.

     THE SHOW

     A moderately successful real estate brokerage in the deep-suburbs of Palm Springs where the brokers are the show. Richly textured & absolutely moronic, these characters are the driving force of comedy in this comedy.

     THE SETTING

     Palm Fronds, CA 35 minutes north of Palm Springs, the desert.
     In this community, one still finds some of the newer spacious homes that you might find in Palm Springs, but as you head further North and to the West youll find a struggling community trying to maintain its simple way of life.

     THE COMPANY

     The Palm Fronds
     A Real Estate Brokerage of Hot Desert Springs
     where A Frond in Need is a Frond Indeed.

     Used to be Steves Plots Funeral Home & Real Estate Company
     (sign beneath the main sign reads: Only 2 Plots Left)

     Since the old owner passed away, the company changed its name but continues to have many of the old owners unique miscellaneous office items. These would include several burial caskets built into office furniture, such as someones desk, the refrigerator, and many of the filing cabinets.

     STYLE & EXTRAS

     Single camera improv, a la RENO 911.

     Intros to the show (and possibly from commercial breaks) are diary-style interviews with actual Real Estate brokers from the real world. Each intro could include helpful hints or other valuable information for the future broker. (e.g., The number one rule for any broker is trust. You must get your client to trust you implicitly trust you. Breaking that trust is sure to doom any chance you have at a sale. Then, youd cut to the Palm Fronds gang heading out for the day to break trust etc.)

     Costuming is pivotal for all characters, except for the nudist colony patrons.

     MAIN CHARACTERS

     J.C. Frazemore – The Professional. Booted from Weissman Realty Corp for stealing the owners girl, who he now has nothing to do with. J.C. feels that he is a natural born leader, but hes really a moron. J.C. loves to misquote famous sayings. One such saying goes as thus: Sometimes life turns on a dime and you find yourself standing on a nickel and you cant find two pennies to rub together. So dont talk to me about __________. (Just fill in the blank with any potential misuse, such as abortion or the cost of stamps.)

     J.C. has a girlfriend. Although he believes her to be an angel, she is the town slut. Her name is Delilah Swarthmore (see Supporting Characters). J.C. is also rumored to have a ton of animals.

     Barry Schmutz Schmutz the Putz. Very talkative and schmoozy. Schmutz eats at the Red Roof Inn almost every morning. Schmutz found a loophole to the rental car system: they only charge you once you return the car, so he has never returned his 1990 Ford Taurus.

     Gloria Rains The Closer. Looks that could kill. She once had a successful career as a model, but the jobs started to slow after she got married (now divorced). Now, selling homes is all that she has.

     Stanuel Whittinghouse – The Queen. The Gay Real Estate Man-Goddess. Stanuel is openly gay with a repressed and loving wife with whom he has fathered twin boys, Chip and Dale. Even when Stan has straight clients, he is constantly trying to turn them gay.

     Slade Z. McSlossen The Slayer (gave himself that nickname, which no one uses). Sleazy Asshole. Slade loves to try to close deals by sleeping with his female clients.

     Putty Von Hofflander The Go To Girl If youre f@#king crazy. A manic-depressive with severe bouts of OCD, Puttys range of phobias changes from day-to-day. She can be a dream to work with, but at any moment she can turn on you like a savage wildebeast.

     SUPPORTING CHARACTERS

     Jonah Elijah Weissman The Nemesis. Comes from the Big City (Palm Springs) and wants to takeover all the land. He loves a pocketwatch. Arrogant, smart, driven, and lethally handsome.

     Theo Lundringhaus (a.k.a., Mayor Fronds) The silver-haired Mayor of Palm Fronds. Theo is the consummate politician: always well-dressed, well-intentioned, and drunk. He has continually made the worst ever deals, including the split from Palm Springs, the polluted reservoir, and the building of the Nuclear Lab.

     Delilah Swarthmore The town slut. She dates J.C. Frazemore, which simply means that she uses his home as her base of operations. She smells of animal dung and lilacs.

     Gary Fagiollo The lover of Stanuel. He makes a living by staging homes for sale. Gary is also a football coach.

     Lucille Lundringhaus Mrs. Mayor, Married to Theo. Lucy loves to bake and is cheery and bright to all whom she meets.

     SETTING, ATMOSPHERE & OTHER IDEAS

     Los Secretos National Laboratory
     Los Secretos is only 25 miles to the South/Southeast.
     The Government wont release Los Secretos official business, but many rumors exist amongst the longtime locals. It is clear to anyone with intelligence that Los Secretos is a nuclear lab. However, one of the widely held rumors is that aliens took a pit stop in Palm Fronds just before crashing in Roswell. A small contingent of Frondsians are still upset that they havent received their just desserts for that tasty tourist dollar.

     Hippie Art Colony
     Nudists and Artists pervade the local community of Palm Fronds

     The Community Leaders
     City Council
     Mayor Fronds and his wife, Lucille Lundringhaus

     The Weissman Realty Corp
     Archenemies to the Palm Fronds gang
     Weissmans from the Big City but has recently started his assault on the Palm Fronds community with plans to build a large dump site for Palm Springs waste.

     Palm Springs The Big City
     Partying in the Big City Palm Springs
     Bachelorette Parties –

     Little Miss Palm Fronds
     Hosted by J.C. Frazemore and Mayor Fronds.
     The judges for this annual event are the look-alike Michael Jackson, Barry Schmutz, and a Priest.

     D-Day
     What seemed like a good idea at the time, Mayor Fronds severed his ties to Palm Springs, becoming an autonomous city. However, a change in zip code also meant a drastic drop in home prices and status, changing their name from Palm Springs to Palm Fronds.

     Town Meetings
     Mayor Fronds & The Gang making bad decisions and the wrong deals.

     The Daily Fronds
     The weekly town newspaper. Theres just not enough news for a daily.

     Comment by JEREMY G — May 15, 2007 @ 5:38 pm

468. Cuban-

     I\’m an aspiring screenwriter w/ a couple of SPs under my wing, one of which is under option right now. I have been kicking around a couple of ideas for television shows and I believe I have one that would fit w/ HDNet quite nicely.

     Show Name: DMZ
     Location: Border of North and South Korea on US Military Base
     Logline: DMZ follows the lives a group of US Military Officers stationed in Korea

     Notes*
     *Only major US base of operations integrated with a totally foreign culture. Entire mini-economies are built up based on servicing US presence. Interaction with local cultures offers great potential for dramatization.
     *Just like colleges that are off in the middle of nowhere the US Base in Korea hosts its share of wild parties.
     *Great potential for HD Visuals.
     *One of the most active Blackhawk squadrons patrols the DMZ
     *Just a bit of tension exists on this base referred to as a speed bump (40,000 US troops aren\’t stopping the North Korean army…these guys and gals truly are a speed bump)and since we aren\’t exactly besties w/ the North Koreans there is a lot of natural conflict.
     *Since army bases have people coming and going the show can truly be an ensemble, with fresh blood coming in every year.
     *Army bases are built on class and power structures…great potential for dramatization.

     Comment by Kevin Jame Lip — May 16, 2007 @ 2:05 pm

469. Let\’s take the old Hombres song (I think they\’re from Texas, if not they might as well be) \”Let It All Hang Out\” and cover all the nudist colonies in the U.S. A lot of people would watch and it might even inspire your Mavericks enough to actually win a championship. It might even chill you out enough so you\’d quit being a distraction in the stands.

     Comment by Skip — May 16, 2007 @ 2:13 pm

470. The Last American

     1 season serial drama with possibility for expansion.

     After a horrible air born plague has stricken the planet, resulting in a complete extinction of the human race (if not from the disease itself, then from the savage behavior of the race as they die off), one man known only as John Smith is left to fend for himself and try to find any survivors.

     The story would begin 10 years after Johns last contact with human life and preparing himself to sail across the Atlantic in search of life on Africa. The story from the beginning of the plague up to the present would be told in flashbacks.

     Plot points:

     -John is just a regular guy who is somehow immune to the disease and was able to survive the human wars that ensued during the outbreak

     -John lost his wife to the outbreak

     -There is no shortage of supplies (i.e. Mad Max). In actuality the supplies are abundant.

     -In the Ten years since human contact, John has crossed the North American continent up and down numerous times looking for human life. He does this via various safe houses he has setup over the years. These houses are well equipped with gasoline, propane generators, packaged food, water, alcohol, etc.

     -John is an alcoholic due to extreme depression

     -All john reads are How To books

     -John caries 2 9mm handguns for protection from free roaming animals

     -John drives a Porsche SUV and only wears Armani suits (Something he would never have been able to afford in his past life.

     -John is afraid to fly for fear he may crash the plain and kill himself, and the last American survivor.

     Perfect drama for HD because of the high volume of FX needed to show the dilapidated cities and infrastructure, along with unforgiving close ups to capture the actors in (think Once Upon a Time in Mexico).

     Love to hear back from you,

     Jeff

     Comment by Jeff Murry — May 16, 2007 @ 2:20 pm

471. a sitcom where ya vote characters on and off the show…but instead of just disappearing the characters slowly fade out or could even come back into things…depending on how the voting goes.

     a challenge to the writers, for sure. But ya might get a sitcom/show that evolves into quite a cool thing.

     (sorry if this idea is a repeat…there are only about 500 to read through…)

     Comment by Bryan Paynter — May 16, 2007 @ 2:23 pm

472. 440 comments in less than 2 days is pretty incredible and a great start for your development needs. I don\’t have a TV idea, but more of a meta-management idea for handling this influx, because I don\’t believe that the comments section of your blog is the best way to handle all of the information.

     How about using the Digg-style content management system that Dell is using for their http://www.ideastorm.com? I did a little research and this company: http://www.crispyideas.com/global/ideas handles the creation, hosting and content management system for IdeaStorm. I don\’t have a stake in their company, but it seems to me that it would be particularly beneficial to use them or something like it developed in house.

     Maybe you would consider implementing this as your \’Submit Ideas\’ page across all of your holdings and projects and use tags to differentiate, e.g. [Mavericks], [HDNet], [Landmark], [Magnolia] etc.

     If this is implemented and executed properly, you may be able to create a separate company that would revolutionize product development, customer feedback, and the Film/TV development cycle all in one technology framework.

     Comment by Marc Nathan — May 16, 2007 @ 11:24 am

473. As much as I respect Mr. Cuban, I don\’t think posting ideas in a public forum is a brilliant idea. I talked about an idea for a TV show at a coffee shop with a good friend, and 2 years later, I was watching it on TV. Obviously, if I\’d had the contacts, I\’d have pitched the idea myself.

     Comment by S. W. Abrams — May 16, 2007 @ 2:22 pm

474. What about the good old variety show? I\’m tired of watching sex and violence on TV, flipping through all the \”slice em and dice em\” shows, and reality shows with people with little or no morals, manners, or social skills.

     Let\’s bring back variety shows like Andy Williams, Mac Davis, the Carol Burnett show, even Donny & Marie. There are only a handful of TV programs you can sit and watch with your kids.

     See what you can do!

     Thanks!

     Comment by Sherry — May 16, 2007 @ 2:03 pm

475. How about a show where you just beat the commentators for the MLS senseless because they are so incredibly awful. They make my ears bleed and their horrible commentating style ruined the World Cup and makes me not even want to watch soccer on HDnet even if its in HD. Honestly, I have to watch it with the mute on. Imagine watching a Mavs game where the commentators keep telling you the point of the game is to shoot the ball in the basket and they spoon feed you every basic rule of the game.

     \”Since that shot was behind the 3-point line, its worth 3-points!\” \”Player x fouled Dirk. He hit his arms on the shot so thats a foul and now Dirk will be going to the free-throw line and shoot a free-throw. Since its a free-throw its only worth one point instead of a normal 2 point basket.\” That\’s how the commentators like Marcelo Balboa announce the matches. Seriously, its insulting.

     Comment by Tommy P — May 14, 2007 @ 3:25 pm

476. The Island

     Mark Cuban buys a small Island in the South Pacific and transforms it into his own luscious resort. The show follows the process of this transformation from a bare island to a five star resort, in the current popular trend of home and garden shows. The viewer dreams away in glorious HD and wishes they were Mark Cuban, who now makes even more money off his new resort and a TV show. Bikini Destinations even makes a visit.

     Comment by Matt Martin — May 16, 2007 @ 2:35 pm

477. show pitch: MASTERMINDS

     A talented out of work magician and a bitter little clown decide they are evil geniuses and team up to take over the world (or least get laid somehow) each episode focuses on a wild new scheme that goes horribly awry; comedy revolves around what happens when even the most inspired ideas crawl over the line into reality and are chaotically obliterated.

     Comment by doug mann — May 16, 2007 @ 5:11 am

478. 13 Colonies

     A half-hour animated comedy series about the founding fathers of the American Revolution, depicting them with all the idiosyncrasies and character flaws that they actually had. The escalating conflicts with the British would be depicted using caustic humor and 18th-century crude language. There are limitless actual historic events to draw upon:
     Sam Adams and the Sons of Liberty engaging in mob violence against British officials.
     John Hancock using various subterfuges to smuggle goods past British custom officials.
     George Washington forever trying to earn a commission in the British army, and never getting taken seriously.
     Paul Revere creating deliberately inflammatory engravings of events in Boston.
     Etc.

     The key to the story would be good research into the characters and events, and clever and funny writing showing how these events combined to create an environment where defiance of the authorities evolved into the idea of revolution.

     Additionally, computer-assisted animation would be designed to take advantage of high-definition video, and make the look of the show richer and more interesting than what is on regular TV.

     Depending on how long the series lasts, it could follow events through the entire Revolutionary War and early attempts to establish a government. It would show how many of the political and religious and class conflicts we deal with today go all the way back to the beginning of the country. And by making fun of them all, it could be quite subversive.

     Comment by James R. Blair — May 16, 2007 @ 2:58 pm

479. I do have some shows that I think you may love but how real is this? My shows are registered with Writers Guild. Are you a producer are something, or are you just someone thats doing some kind of survey? My son plays on the hit show \”That\’s So Raven\” as Eddie Thomas. He\’s now grown and on his own but while I was Just a stage mom I had time to come up with ideas. These shows are dear to me so that\’s why I need to know how real this is.
     Thank you for your time

     Tiffney Anderson

     Comment by Tiffney Anderson — May 16, 2007 @ 3:09 pm

480. Explore the Earth, uncovering fascinating connections between 7Bil people in infinately diverse places. Relate different perspectives and realities, and how we all push the edge in our own way. Look beneath the surface at the human experience as knowledge, technology, the metaphysical and exploration of space converge. Inspire viewers to embrace their dreams and open their minds. Visually stunning, Sort of Lonely Planet meets What the Bleep meets Beyond Tommorow, with a bit of Adrenaline TV thrown in to give it kick.

     Comment by Phillip — May 16, 2007 @ 3:07 pm

481. I have TV show ideas coming out of my ears! I directed the pilot for \”Growing Up Gotti,\” I was the first producer on \”The Simple Life,\” and I\’ve made 40 other shows including \”Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.\” If you\’d like to partner on a show and set up a meeting that\’s great. If you just want ideas, I can\’t help you.

     Comment by Christo Garcia — May 16, 2007 @ 2:57 pm

482. i have a great idea for a show that hasn\’t really been done yet. NBC has been trying desperately to find a show to follow heroes, which is a drama/action based on mutant powers and abilities, but you know what hasn\’t been done… a comedy show with mutants and powers. like a day in the life of magneto or something, it\’d be so funny, he can\’t use computers when he\’s sick because his magnetic powers ruin all the electronics, etc… girl\’s wont\’ date professor x because he can read their minds, or… spoof the characters and make them super powerful, but have them been silly and unable to maintain real life relationships, tkae out the trash, call their mom.. etc. that\’s good stuff.

     Comment by jeff pham — May 16, 2007 @ 3:07 pm

483. I was thinking about a show where you put random individuals on the spot and they try and convince retailers (gas station, shoe salesman, mall clerk and etc) to give into a story of misfortune. For example, find someone at a gas station and tell them, \”I will give you $1000.00 if you can persuade the clerk to give you $20 in gas\” The rules are, he can\’t tell the clerk he is trying to make a grand, he can\’t threaten, he only has 2 minutes, you can promise to pay him back and etc. The ideas for this show are endless. The point of it all is to see how generous and trusting people can be. I think the improvisation will be the most exciting. Letting random people come up with unique ideas to convince another person into generosity. Just imagine how nervous you will be watching this. Let\’s try and turn middle class people into a beggar for 2 minutes. marc

     Comment by Marc Esparza — May 16, 2007 @ 3:24 pm

484. I would also like to recommend the Lab with Leo Laporte. A tech call in show which has feature segments on many of the subjects already listed ( photography, computers, digital technology, the internet and, dare I say, HDTV\’s ) seems like the perfect fit. Leo Laporte already has a huge fanbase… many of which are HDTV owners and watchers and is the most downloaded podcaster out ther ( ever here of TWiT ( This Week in Tech ) podcast network? ) It\’s an hour long show already produced in HD by Greedy Productions… airs 5 episodes /week.

     Comment by Bruce Hyde — May 16, 2007 @ 3:06 pm

485. I haven\’t really worked out the details yet, but I would like to see a show where people through things at Mark Burnett, to make him pay for ruining television. You could use Oprah for the second season.

     Josh

     Comment by Druce — May 16, 2007 @ 3:31 pm

486. Have viewers submit their favorite Youtube (or similar site ) links. The show screens for the best entertainment value and splices them together. You could also solicit talent for segue footage (original bands/video/animation).

     Comment by Amy Meier — May 16, 2007 @ 2:23 pm

487. Mr. Cuban,

     I know very little about the television / network industry, but what I do know is that networks, especially newer networks need critical buzz. Viewers need a reason to take the time to find your channel. The F/X channel is a perfect example of this. This was a network that had low nielsons and seemed to have little direction until they added gritty, textured shows such as The Shield, Nip/Tuck, and The Riches. Now this is one of the hottest channels and can hold their own against HBO. Also the HBO format of 10-12 episode seasons is a great model. It costs less to produce 10-12 instead of 22. Savings could be used to acquire recognizable talent that would draw viewers and critics alike.

     Idea # 1 The glamour and gritty side of call girls set in high definition Las Vegas. It would have all of the elements: love, loss, money, drugs, and murder. A drama that would show the differences between upscale and street prostitution and where they intersect.

     Idea # 2 Two moguls (rivals) who compete to control each others business and the toll it takes on themselves and their families. This idea was a HBO movie called Weapons of Mass Distraction (comedy). I thought it would make a great weekly show.

     Idea # 3 With reality television so popular these days, I always thought what if someone got to win a year on Saturday Night Live as a regular cast member. Open the audition process up to the viewers. This puts you in Trumps backyard and with the recent cancellation of the Apprentice; it would drive him crazy to know you were working with Lorne Michaels and the SNL brand. Im surprised this idea hasnt already happened. NBC needs programming right now. They are in the dumps and are looking for more low cost programming.

     Idea # 4 Sign development deals with Sarah Silverman / Chris Elliot / Gary Shandling / Larry and Laurie David. This is a two hour block that could compete with just about anything out there. Give Laurie David a 10 episode deal to promote climate change awareness and what average people can do to make a difference. Imagine all the lush environments that could be shown in HD jungle / arctic / deserts / oceans.

     Idea # 5 – The best way, in my opinion, to attract viewers immediately is for an event broadcast. I would secure the rights to recreate the mini-series V.

     Thank you for the opportunity to submit ideas.

     John

     Comment by John Hunter — May 16, 2007 @ 3:37 pm

488. \”HOTSEAT\”

     Mark,
     How about a show that randomly draws a name from anyone in America that submits it for the show. The \”winner\” can ask ANY politician ANY question (minus obscene ones of course). There may be some background shooting of film to build up the story surrounding the reason the individual winner\’s question has come up. Keeping in mind the winner is NOT picked for his/her question.

     Now there is no guarantee that the politician in question will answer, (especially from Washington), but with the supporting film footage, and the citizen directly asking it in prime-time at the camera, all eyes would then be on that politician to either answer the question, or be hounded about why they won\’t answer it. The spin-off each week would have its own legs.

     This would cut through the frustration that many feel when watching an interview on TV where the reporter just lobs softball questions, and they never ask the meaty ones. This is mostly because the high-end reporters go to the same cocktail parties as the high-end politicians, and both are paranoid of keeping their jobs and not rocking the boat. So a show like this is really really needed out there.

     What questions an average citizen really wants to ask, not hampered by political correctness or job loss risk.

     Comment by Victor — May 16, 2007 @ 3:42 pm

489. A Show modeled after \’Amazings Stories\’- Steven Spielberg series back in the 80\’s where every episode has different characters and story lines would be the best to create for HDNET.

     In the style of spielberg, it would have a meaningful and inspiring story line with showcases of special effects that would highlight the qualities of HDNET and high def broadcasts.

     The aspect of this show having a different story and different characters every episode can be advantageous as it breaks away from the mainstream norm of continuous characters and long drawn out story lines.

     Comment by Jimmy — May 16, 2007 @ 3:57 pm

490. Title: The Indie Spotlight
     Runtime: 1 hour, Weekly.

     A show where independent films from film makers are showcased. Each film can be rated on indie.hd.net – At the end of each week, the film with the best rating moves on. At the end of the season, the best rated film\’s creators will win a prize. Example: $100,000 to create a film.

     Feel free to email me if you have more questions.

     Comment by Hector Cortez — May 16, 2007 @ 4:01 pm

491. Here\’s what I\’m thinking a SitCom:

     A Chemical Engineer who is fed up with his lot in life and doesn\’t much care anymore. He could move from job to job, city to city and each time he takes down the company that currently employs him.

     each season could be a different job/city. there could even be a cliffhanger on how he loses the job – quit in disgust, get fired, company goes t%ts up, etc. etc.

     everyday life, this would be a lab, but we probably would never have to use the lab – as that might be boring – we just show \”the character\” emailing people about how boring the work is, reading the Sports Guy on ESPN, etc..

     here\’s an episode, trip to Boston for some dude\’s wedding, have to hit Fenway, meet up with some drunk conference people, get some free rounds, hit some bars, make an excuse to leave with some b*tches

     oh, another one, free tickets to a football game – some loose connect to a \”player\”, a couple of fatties (not b*tches) in a Benz, hit some bars, pretend to be the kicker, make an excuse to leave with some b*tches

     maybe after starting a new job, \”the character\” takes six weeks off to go to the desert – racks up $1,000 worth of phone bills on the company phone to some b*tches and then has to back peddle out of the bill

     Hell, he could even like monkeys. Which we would throw in, just so we could have monkeys on the set.

     Mark, sorry, I dont know how to really pitch a show, these are just some random events/thoughts that came up.

     Comment by Glenn Simmons — May 16, 2007 @ 4:04 pm

492. There is a Space Shuttle mission coming up that will go and service the Hubble Space Telescope.

     An HD documentary could combine breathtaking pictures of the craft and the launch with interviews with the participants.

     Comment by Jim Howard — May 16, 2007 @ 2:12 pm

493. Whatever happened to shows about the everyman? Sure there have been sitcoms but it seems like every show out there now that isn\’t a reality show is some medical drama, crime drama, or courtroom drama. And while that all lends itself to compelling plots, it also has gotten tired. I think it\’s a bit of a cop out. Instead of coming up with something original, it\’s the same basic subjects re-hashed in a different setting, or with different charcters, but it all turns into the same thing. That\’s why I like shows like LOST or Twin Peaks back in the day. They are different and creative. Even the new show October Road has me interested because the characters are interesting without being over-the-top. And I can relate to these characters on some levels. And as corny as it sounds I am looking forward to the new \”Cavemen\” show on ABC about the Geico cavemen. It\’s something different. TV has been falling into a rut in the past few years. It\’s getting too comfortable with reality shows and why shouldn\’t it? We all tune in to watch the drama, no matter how vapid, pointless or downright stupid it is. Unfortunately I have begun to believe there will never be truly good TV again, like Family Ties, Cheers, The Cosby Show, Seinfeld, The Simpsons etc…. because quite frankly the ideas and writing are tired. Best of luck looking for that diamond in the rough. If you find it, rest assured I will tune in.

     Comment by A-Reed — May 16, 2007 @ 4:06 pm

494. This is mean, but it would sure suck in the viewers. Have a host who is outragously \”cool\” to the point that any sane person would consider him totally tacky. He would also need to be very manipulative. I am picturing Ali G. Then the host finds a hot girl, and then couples her with the most nervouse dorky looking kid in the club. When the kid gets to nervous to talk the the girl, G-Man starts dissing him and ultimatlly goes home with a girl.

     It will be like watching a train wreck every week!

     Comment by Andrew — May 16, 2007 @ 4:42 pm

495. How about a drama/adventure about a mexican family where the father works as a Coyote near the US/Mexico border. Or maybe he is the Head Honcho and manages a Coyote team. This show would be similiar to The Sopranos, only difference is its Mexican culture and probably spoken in spanglish. This show may be controversal but sure to get viewers. Audience would be both english and spanish speakers and maybe subtitles when spanish is spoken.

     Some episode ideas:
     1. Father teaching teenage son about the family biz but the son just doesnt have it in him to be a Coyote.
     2. A fellow coyote and friend of the family decides to take more than his share of the money after a human smuggle. The father has to make the ultimate decision in what to do about that.
     3. Recent border security has been beefed up on the U.S. side. The coyotes get together with drug runners to make US border agents a deal thats too difficult to refuse. $$$
     4. A feud between the fathers coyotes and rival coyotes from a near by pueblo.
     5. Their hidden underground tunnel was discovered because of a snitch who tipped off authorities. Now the snitch must pay, if he can be found.

     Comment by J.J. — May 16, 2007 @ 4:41 pm

496. Glenn,

     I think your idea is actually pretty funny. Its kinda like fight club in a wierd non violent sort of way.

     Comment by Andrew — May 16, 2007 @ 4:45 pm

497. One of the largest things that fascinate 80% of americans but have never seen any movies/shows be successful at, is a sitcom or if pulled of correctly, a reality show, about what it means to be internet \”famous\”. The show would either follow some of the more internet famous folks, which pretty much lead normal lives, yet on the net they are \”kings/queens\”.

     Some of the plots, is being able to control fanboys, market, or coordinate large groups of people to go to malls and act weird or whatever. Some of the ridiculous mini-cults found on the net.

     I think if done well would spur huge interest so that everyone would get to see their online heros.

     Comment by Robert — May 16, 2007 @ 4:59 pm

498. Some ideas, mostly following the guidelines. Sadly, Comcast does not allow me to watch HDNET, despite my requests. Can\’t wait for FiOS.

     * Horse breeding – follow an owner/farm as they raise, train, and compete horses
     Food & Food safety – pick a food, follow it from planning to harvest. Show where labor comes into account, and some danger areas.
     * Education in America – Take apart what is going on in K-12 schooling in America. Sponsor a few hundred kids (a district?) for a decade of Montessori schooling, and see how they do compared to their peers.
     * Sitcom about the expansion of the Roman empire – from the view of slaves, centurions, politicians, etc.
     * Buy the rights to How its Made – I\’d love to see it in proper HD, and the list of
     * Oxford Union debates – American equivalent as well.
     * Journey of Boomers into being Elderly, maybe a sitcom around one of the planned empty nest communities
     * Country by Country – go to a country, and run reports on the industry, challenges, people are like, along with what is helped and hurt by global trade/investment
     * RightLeftCenter – Moderated discussion on popular issues between a Libertarian, Socialist and a Centrist. Substitute with Rep/Dem as needed. Allow an Around the Horn style point system, along with real time viewer participation.

     Best of luck.

     Comment by Dave — May 16, 2007 @ 4:59 pm

499. Friday Night Lights has brought a lot of interest back to high school football, (not that interest in Texas high school football ever really waned) do a season shot behind the scenes of a high school football team. Maybe even pick a small town and show how that game not only affects the students but also the community. Show team members day to day life, games, classes, etc. all in beautiful HD.

     Make a Travel Wish. You see all the makeover shows how they do cool things for families in need, like build them homes. Why not get nationwide companies to sponsor teens and families in need and show their wish vacations. For instance, a child with cancer always wanted to see Alaska. You send the kid and his family and film the whole thing in beautiful HD. Teen wants to check out Talledega, you film it all in beautiful HD. Possibly even get some celebrity hosts to escort the families and narrate.

     Daddy Delimnas. Most men have experienced the drama of the 1st year of parenthood. Give video cameras to men and let them tell the story of the ppegnancy, birth and infancy from their own perspective. Also, have a film crew to shoot interviews and make sure the whole thing looks great in beautiful HD.

     Comment by Amy Williamson — May 14, 2007 @ 3:51 pm

500. Right off the top of my head:

     A drama about Indian reservation living and the impact of the big time casino. This has everything! Drugs, Alcoholism, money, poverty, sex, violence, mafia influence, autonomous Indian governments that do not function by federal law (kind of like the NBA). Could be enlightening and will be controversial.

     Comment by Scott — May 16, 2007 @ 5:13 pm

501. Hey Mark:
     I know this idea may not be unique to HD, and it could work anywhere, but how about a show that profiles an average American family: Mom, pop, couple kids in the Midwest living life. Yeah, it\’s not the greatest, but I read somewhere that about 80% of Americans live on the coasts. It\’ll introduce them to the life that isn\’t Madison Avenue or Rodeo Drive.
     Thanks for the consideration!
     -Andy Sorensen

     Comment by Andy Sorensen — May 16, 2007 @ 5:18 pm

502. A \”What It Feels Like\” series in partnership with Esquire magazine. From their recent archives:

     * What It Feels Like…to Weigh 1072 Pounds and Lose 700
     * What It Feels Like…to Pick Up Britney Spears
     * What It Feels Like…to Be a Phone-Sex Operator

     Also:

     …to have a severe stutter
     …to participate in an orgy
     …to be 105 years old
     …to be a mob hitman

     Comment by Atwater Village Newbie — May 16, 2007 @ 5:24 pm

503. Mark,

     A show where the viewers get the actually produces the show from their living rooms. The viewers are in total control of choosing the actors, directors, writers, plot lines, on down the line from interactive things on the internet and the first handful of episodes leading up to the pilot sitcom, drama or whatever the viewing public decided. There are a lot of possibilities for a show like this. If the show turns into a train wreck, no big deal it was supposed to. If it becomes a hit it will change how we think about putting together quality programming. A win/win all the way around. Thanks giving us underdogs and non-connected people a platform to discuss ideas.

     Proud HDNet subscriber since Sept. 05,

     Turner

     turnbucklejones@yahoo.com

     P.S. – Please, more Robert Wilonsky! That dude is great! Also, we need more HD Original Movies like Bubble and The War Within at least once every month. If you need a little help achieving that goal I have a script that would perfect for something like that. (the sound of a delete key being pressed)

     Comment by Turner — May 16, 2007 @ 3:03 pm

504. Since I\’m no stranger to wasting time. The show would follow the 17 race schedule of the Indy Racing League IndyCar series. This isn\’t a copy of anything that has ever been on the air, it is unique and if Indycar racing got coverage on the sports pages this might be a sports show. 20 weeeks one hour episodes. The first 2/3 of the hour would feature the celebrity star visiting the tourist attractions, architecture, resturants and historical sites of the various cities and states where the races take place. The remaining 1/3 of the hour would follow the celebrity star attending the race weekend, interacting with the fans tailgaiting and at the assorted fan activities that go on each weekend. We\’re not covering the cars, engines or racing on the track, it is part travel show featuring different parts of the country and part the fan experience at various tracks through the eyes of the celebrity star.

     What it won\’t be is a typical reality show where either the star or the fans encountered are made out to look like fools or appear with the expectation they\’ll make asses out of themselves. There\’s no shortage of that on TV so there\’s also no need for one more show like that. It should be funny, informative and maybe have a touching moment but viewers should find it entertaining and the people on and producing the show shouldn\’t be embarassed to be associated with it.

     If you would like to visit the TVWritersvault.com site it\’s listed there in greater detail as Star n\’ Speed. The name would change to fit the celebrity star, I\’d aim higher than you or anyone else on that star but with justification and I think it would work.

     Comment by Kurt — May 16, 2007 @ 5:33 pm

505. Hi Mark,

     After fully exploring the possibilities, I have come to the conclusion that there are just so many ways to get someone\’s attention, and as I have definitely ruled out setting myself on fire (even with the help of CG), I decided on making this a quick pitch.

     Hi, my name is Mark Miller. I work in this crazy movie business. It\’s fun and a bit unsettling. Your fresh perspective keeps everyone on their toes and I dig that.

     Knowing that HDNet\’s programming is a lot about syndicated TV or newsworthy shows tells me that you want to save the coin and invest in something where the content already exists in the world, which brings me to everyone\’s favorite internet / TV station on the planet…Youtube.com.

     Bless.

     What if HDNet took footage or a clip like a little baby playing with a king cobra (http://youtube.com/watch?v=82sBxSZBbUk) but then you could have a follow up segment explaining what is happening in the piece. Track down those behind the video or give a little history regarding what we\’ve just seen or maybe some comedic take. You can highlight the better clips out there. Almost like \”America\’s Funniest Videos\” but with a twisted perspective. I wanna no more about this Rehdogg and his singing? Is he a deaf rapper or just some screwed up dude that lives in Maryland who\’s tone deaf? http://youtube.com/watch?v=8mWW6kRITEY. You tell me in HD, baby…

     You like animated movies? Puppet shows? GREG THE BUNNY could have been so much better. It fell flat on it\’s face, but I can make it up to the public. I got some killer puppet show ideas with talent already attached. Oscar nominated folks…the real deal…no messing around.

     Let\’s start an animation studio in Austin, Texas, the coolest place in the world. Not far from Dallas. Give me some capital and I\’ll make you millions.

     Comment by Mark Miller — May 16, 2007 @ 1:14 pm

506. \”Wetbacks\”

     This is a family friendly dramedy about a group of five male and female cousins who are in the U.S. illegally, set in Dallas. It should benefit from lots of free publicity due to the current high profile of this issue.

     The show will allow America to see how hard working and law abiding illegal aliens can be. They and their families will go through the usual trials and tribulations of life, but with the added burden of occassional brushes with the law and hateful individuals due to their race and illegal status.

     The tone of the show will be consistently pro-immigrant, in an effort to educate the public to how important these people are to our economy and to continue to generate controversy/ratings from the rabid anti-immigrant crowd.

     Comment by Tom — May 16, 2007 @ 5:48 pm

507. How about a program about getting the best from your HD setup? As a second job I do surround sound installs for people and 90% of them no nothing about the HD content they receive, about break in times for Plasmas, Upscaling DVD players, ect. They have HD TVs but arent utilizing the full potential for their money. This isnt a pimp my Home Theater show, but more of a How to Show for the common guy/gal and also showing them some of the up and coming technology out there.

     Comment by Jack Pardo — May 16, 2007 @ 10:34 am

508. A night at the theater, go to the different theaters doing plays or operas in the larger cities. Film the play in HD as if the viewer was in the front row. Many of the theaters have TV stars playing great roles, for example Avery Brooks was great as Othello when he appeared at the Folger Shakespeare Theater in DC.

     If this works it allows you to tap into the creative side of the theaters, that are begging for money and have no outlet but live performance.

     Comment by joe waldrop — May 16, 2007 @ 5:34 pm

509. LOTTO!: THE WINNER\’S CIRCLE

     If you won the Lottery, would you…

     Quit your job?
     Pay off all your debts?
     Buy anything you ever wanted? A dream house? A Rolls Royce?
     Give money to your family and friends?
     Give money to charity? To your church?
     Travel the world?
     Never have another worry in your life?

     We all have fantasized what we would do if we won the Lottery. But does instant wealth really bring happiness?

     Americans spend more than $25.1 billion a year on lottery tickets, so there are a lot of hopes and dreams out there. But what really happens after the big payoff? Will you really quit your job, buy a mansion, and live the good life? Or is sudden wealth both a blessing and a curse?

     Each season of LOTTO: The Winners Circle revolves around disparate groups of nationwide lottery winners who we follow for their first year. They could be a single mother of two who surprisingly wins $90,000,000, a group of office workers splitting a $7,000,000 sure bet, conservative retirees, recent immigrants seeking the American Dream, or a life-long lottery player who finally hits it big.

     With the winners coming from all classes and ethnicities, the audience will view them as regular people like themselves – regular people that just got lucky in this time of economic uncertainty. People can be catapulted from one economic status to another overnight, but a lifetime of beliefs and experiences change more slowly. How high will they go? How low will they fall? Will they make it through the obstacles that sudden wealth has cast upon them?

     Comment by Frank Hudec — May 16, 2007 @ 1:57 pm

510. Mark,

     With Wallstreet bonuses for traders at an alltime high,and sense nothing I know have has been done about the intense life of a trader, do a show about the luxury and intense lifestyle on Wallstreet.

     Comment by Jordan — May 16, 2007 @ 6:05 pm

511. 2 show ideas:

     Life: The Trilogy (comedy/drama) – 3 seasons looking into the different stages of young life (teenager, college years, young professional). It would be interesting if you based it on the lives of those who are nearing 25-30 years of age now who grew up with computers/internet and the various historical events that occurred during that time. Track a group of people as they grow up, make different decisions, are affected by different events, and ultimately determine who they become. Many researchers have studied the impact of technology on the \”millennials\”, and I think illustrating some of those studies at a more \”pop culture\” level would result in a smart, relatable, yet highly entertaining series if written well. Think of it as the American Pie series except with a more serious tone – and no sex with pies. Tie it in with applicable and entertaining web content, and it could traverse the gap between mediums.

     Grown Up Version of \”Attack of the Show\” (from G4TV): Analyzing technology through the eyes of industry leading scholars, researchers, CEO\’s, investors, professionals, and students in a hip, laid fashion that would hopefully do for technology what Jim Cramer did for investing. Topics of discussion could include new software/hardware releases, web applications, technology movements, and other cutting edge research. Humanize the content similar to the way Stephen Johnson writes his books on hefty subjects that would usually never see the light of day on a normal person\’s coffee table.

     Comment by Jared Bieberich — May 16, 2007 @ 6:26 pm

512. Proposing a complete set of programming, not just a show, that is scalable to full, multiple channels of the broadest selection of entertaining HD content.

     Global Entertainment Videos (EV) of theatrical and concert productions in High Definition from every continent and from any artist performing in venues using LViHD permanent installation and portable touring automated acquisition systems.

     The HD programming thereby serves all music and theatrical cultures and styles from around the world and would be channeled ultimately by continent or origin and then down to style or genre:

     HDNET EV Africa
     HDNET EV Antarctica (thats a stretch)
     HDNET EV Asia
     HDNET EV Australia
     HDNET EV Europe
     HDNET EV North America
     HDNET EV South America

     The pipeline of new, high quality, highly diverse staged entertainment content is bottomless and most languages are provided for by virtue of being captured inside of the host countrys venues.

     Some shows might spotlight special or emerging guests that perform one or more songs with the concert headliners or in the case of theatrical shows, potential variations could be presented on select shows.

     Adding interactive viewer alternatives, such as selecting from up to 32 primary viewing angles from the directors cut mastered, media ordering system for the show they have just seen and a voting system component for the best performances from all continents for competitive prize or recognition awards.

     No issues selling global advertising

     Standard Definition or High Definition DVD media can be preordered by consumer at the time they place an order for event tickets or ordered from a separate dedicated site anytime after the event is complete.

     The potential, variations, opportunities and consumer interest is endless.

     Comment by Ruben — May 16, 2007 @ 7:06 pm

513. How about a satire on MTV\’s \”I wanna be…\” reality show. Instead of a reality format, it\’s all scripted with professional actors. For instance, it would have a similar feel to \”My Name is Earl\”. But instead of the kids wanting to be something respectable like a cheerleader, a wrestler, or run for class president, they would like to be something somewhat deviant. Examples might include a pimp, prostitute, carny, dead beat, welfare queen/king, or Paris Hilto. There are countless labels out there that could be used. You could probabley get 2 or 3 seasons easy. Once all of those are exhausted, you could go with respectable professions ie politician, reverend, construction worker or dentist and make fun of those stereotypes. IE, the dentist who gets high off his own gas, the construction worker who\’s drunk and makes crude comments to women. These could go on forever and ever due to countless fodder.

     Comment by Brent — May 16, 2007 @ 1:40 am

514. Wire up a few major US call-centers. Tech help, gadget support, help lines, Turkey-Day Hotline, etc. Not just IT — anything and everything sold to consumers. The callers and call-center employees have both already consented when the call goes thru, so you don\’t pay the \”cast.\” Just let it run, randomly, all day all night. Consumers would see what nitwits they are, en masse. Call-center employees would be seen as humans — some flawed, some angels.

     Pop culture is so terrifyingly \”MUST CONSUME\”-oriented; let\’s watch the back-end operations in that fishbowl…

     Comment by RL Brown — May 16, 2007 @ 3:28 pm

515. 4 shows have recently been on my mind. The first two are both competitons based on Stephen King stories.
     First: The Running Man. A contestant tries to avoid the \’hunters\’ for 30 days. If he wins, he gets a million dollars. The viewing public gets rewarded with $1,000 for a confirmed sighting, and $10,000 for a sighting that leads to a capture. The \’runner\’ must submit a daily video.

     Second: The Long Walk. Contestants must just…walk. And keep walking. Falling beneath the designated pace gives you a warning. After 3 warnings, your next slowdown means you\’re out of the game. Walkers earn back a warning for each full hour without a warning. Seems easy at first, but after a couple of days with no sleep, competiton could be very difficult.

     Third: another \’reality competition:\’ In \’Holier Than Thou,\’ 10 seminary students commpete for a pastoring job. The eliminating \’sermon chamber\’ features in what could be one of the most contraversial, yet insightful reality programs ever.

     Finally, \’Box Office.\’ A look behind the scenes of a movie theatre. The management is a variety of characters, including the scheming ladder-climber, the rookie, the \’leave it for the other guy,\’ the depressed one, and the tough GM. Minimum wage employees could be mostly filled by cameo appearances, as the staff of a theatre changes fairly often. Dealing with ignorant customers, employee shenanigans, corporate BS, and some of the truly bad movies that come to a local multiplex could all make for an entertaining, funny, relatable comedy. Please email me if interested, as a friend of mine and I are working up a couple scripts.

     Comment by Tony Davis — May 15, 2007 @ 8:54 pm

516. Its not a show, but an idea. Why not develop some level of intereaction. What I\’m thinking would get rid of commercials, and I havent seen anyone take it seriously yet. Why not mouse over Kobe Bryants shoes and be directed to amazon.com? Why not mouse over a watch on a soap opera and be taken to a jeweler\’s website. Why not mouse over the pizza that someone is eating and be taken to pizza hut\’s site, where one click and it orders the food for you?

     Amazon will pay to be the vendor of choice. Pizza Hut will pay huge for making it so easy to buy them over dominoe\’s. You could even backbone it with a line of credit on your cable bill provided by Visa. Advertising comanies will love it because it will (for the fist time) provide them with a way to quantify compaigns…..actually I guess they would hate it for the same reason.

     Its going to happen. Why not make it happen?

     Comment by Greg Wilson — May 16, 2007 @ 8:05 pm

517. Original series ideas:

     #1 NANO KNIGHTS (Family)

     Centers on a Seattle family whose lives become frazzled when three pint-size aliens invade their home as they try to rescue a princess from an evil sorcerer who has hidden her somewhere in the Emerald City.

     #2 KLONED! (Comedy)

     Centers on a New York psychiatrist who discovers he was secretly cloned twenty-five years before and how he tries to stop his younger self from making the same painful mistakes he made.

     #3 CREEPY FACE (Drama)

     Set in Hollywood during the 1940\’s, centers on a man with a disfigured face who begins an acting career as a B-movie bit player then slowly rises to become a famous horror film star, but at the price of his personal and professional relationships. Inspired by the real life story of Rondo Hatton.

     Comment by nb — May 16, 2007 @ 8:47 pm

518. Mark.
     Love this open forum for ideas. I am not always your greatest fan, or your worst critic, most of the time, I just enjoy your commentary. As for Television Topics, we always try to make what we \”know\” in our daily lives seem extraordinary enough to post for the masses. I have a succinct presentation on a topic that I know well: Imminent Narcissism. I welcome commentary, obviously, and a chance to pitch.

     By the way, I know we are supposed to keep our posts relegated to the topic at hand, but I wanted to comment on your reaction during the Dirk MVP PC. I think it is commendable the trust you have in your self to put the emotional stamp in the forefront. One of the reasons I am not your worst critic. Thanks for what you have brought to this city.

     Comment by Michael — May 16, 2007 @ 8:29 pm

519. Mark Mark Mark,

     I have an idea for a great dramedy (comedy + drama) show that I have floated to HBO as well as a few agents but because they\’re all suckers…they didn\’t bite. My type of show would be perfect for HDNET and would eventually do for your channel what Sopranos did for HBO…gain instant subscribers and become the face of the network.

     The name of the show…. \”Once Upon A Time In Rock and Roll\”

     The plot: A group of friends from hodunk Illinois (any midwest farming town) start a band, move to Hollywood, and before they know it are rock n roll superstars. We watch them hopelessly attempt to stay attached to their lives prior to \”making it big\” while navigating their new world of drugs, booze, sex, love, and above all rock and roll.

     The feel: The show would be very much in the vein of Cameron Crowe\’s classic, \”Almost Famous\”.

     You wanted a good show people can get attached to that isn\’t the same ole same ole…. \”Once Upon A Time in Rock and Roll\” is it…

     Let me know,
     Christopher Joyce
     JoyceCB@muohio.edu

     Comment by Christopher Joyce — May 15, 2007 @ 12:10 am

520. An around the world documentary series following Team SkipLizard, the first ever team from Texas to compete in the Mongol Rally.

     The Mongol Rally is a 200 team race from London to Mongolia intended to raise money for Charity. Each team is comprised of two people using a car of a maximum 1 liter of power and few resources beyond their own wits.

     The series would be not only a cultural expose, as we will travel through 20 countries and need countless aids from locals, but also a lesson in true adventure. We\’ll touch miles of mountains, deserts, and unmapped dirt roads, all while trying to avoid the likes of bandits, breakdowns, and predators. For a couple of Texas boys who at one point thought friends and baseball were the world, this should be a hell of an eye-opener.

     You can read more about the team and the Mongol Rally at http://www.skiplizard.com, and thanks much for opening TV up for the public.

     Comment by Ryan — May 16, 2007 @ 9:35 pm

521. I think the best thing HD Net could do is bring back Arrested Development. You show it in HD syndication (most appreciated), but that show was great, and any body I know who has seen it can\’t understand why they would cancel such a funny series. Some of WB\’s most successful shows were shows that were canceled by other networks (Charmed, For Your Love).

     Apart from that, most of your programming is either syndicated TV, or reality. It\’s hard to think of something other than, \”watch somebody do something (insert wild idea).\” I could take the cynical approach how about a sitcom about an idiot real estate magnate (with a Casino and a Tower named after him)? The sitcom could use every opportunity from the headlines, and his supporting cast, to make the idiot magnate look stupid (I\’m sure Rosie would do guest cameos for free). Similar to \”The Office\” but with a purpose.

     I think HBO, TNT & USA have proven that they can do original drama/comedy shows just as well as the network clones or even better, as they aren\’t just after Nielsen ratings, or have a smaller threshold to break even, with much smaller overhead beasts (Monk, Sopranos, Weeds, The Dead Zone, Sex in the City, Arli$). Why limit yourself to these? I have always thought that a forensic accounting drama would be exciting, and has never been done. Being from Texas, you have probably seen the effects of financial crimes with the whole Enron debacle, however all current crime dramas are almost exclusively about violent crimes. White collar criminals are generally not considered as bad as violent criminals, except by the people that are effected by the crimes. When you look at the CSIs, the Law & Orders, and even newcomers Criminal Minds and Numb3rs, current TV viewing public likes watching the good guys catch the bad guys, and the bad guys are created from theories of what could happen, or even from the headlines. While the actual auditing of financial statements may seem boring on the onset, anyone who has sat in a courtroom knows that the \”LA Law\” view of lawyers is not real the drama comes from the plot lines, and the fictionalization. The types of frauds/thefts perpetrated on companies by employees and the types of scams companies run to cheat tax laws, and/or inflate market value might not only provide entertainment, it might give investors a little more common sense when investing…

     Comment by Al Middleton — May 16, 2007 @ 1:53 pm

522. ONe show could be a spoof on Noah\’s Ark.

     Then on a more serious note. Two college kids one female and on male. They date but the guy breaks up with her and he leaves. Then later that night the girl calls him but he ignores the phone and doesn\’t answer. So the girl goes for a drive and gets hit by a drunk driver. So the guy has to deal with the fact that he thinks he killed his ex by not answering his phone. And it just goes through the stuff that he has to deal with, even maybe at some point the guy falls for one of her friends.

     Comment by Ricky — May 16, 2007 @ 9:50 am

523. I feel that there is a serious lack of Science Fiction series that go straight to a High Definition broadcast. It seems to me that this is a genre that is well suited to be broadcast, especially on a privately owned channel. It would allow for good shows (for example Firefly) to have decent chance at surviving. A couple of ideas I have in mind are perhaps a show from an alien perspective. Perhaps some sort of invasion or survivalist drama.

     It is hard to come up with an idea that isnt in the least bit derivative of some prior narrative. I feel a new spin on some sort of intergalactic war between alien races. In recent years shows dealing with magic or sci fi in a contemporary setting have also fared well.

     Alternatively a dark comedy based on the integration of magical or alien characters would be an interesting direction for a show to go. These shows tend to be straightforward dramas where the protagonists are just trying to assimilate the best the can, while something with more of a Dead Like Me feel to it are somewhat overlooked.

     I realize I havent really discussed any one definitive idea for a show, however I feel a nudge in a direction towards a relatively unexplored spin on classic sci-fi would be a good fit for HDNet. Hopefully there are those who agree with me. Im going to continue considering more concrete storylines, but I thought that this would be a good preliminary message to get to the blog. This is the kind of show I would like to see and I know some who would share my opinion.

     Comment by Victor Castanon — May 16, 2007 @ 9:52 pm

524. \’Abandoned\’

     I\’ve yet to see a show about \’Urban Exploration\’. HighDef would be perfect for a documentary style show exploring abandoned places here and abroad. It would be half-and-half the history of the building/location (the significance of the site and what caused it to become abandoned) and the actual current exploration of the site (the mixture of reclamation by nature and the vandalism). It should probably be narrated more than hosted, just letting the almost surreal imagery and the \’ghosts\’ be the focus. Some episodes could focus on multiple sites, from ghost towns of the west to hospitals or institutions in the east. Some sites would get episodes to themselves. The Salton Sea area. The Supercollider in Waxahachie. And of course the pinnaccle of them all: Chernobyl.

     There are numerous websites devoted to this. There are some wonderful pictures at http://www.abandonedbutnotforgotten.com. The most interesting ones to me are some of the most recent. Dogpatch in Arkansas and the Sun Microsystems building in California weren\’t abandoned very long ago, and already it\’s as if they\’re being taken back.

     Obviously it would be a highly visual and even emotional experience and I think it would work well.

     Thanks.

     Comment by Stan Stanton — May 16, 2007 @ 9:56 pm

525. I think that you should take a look at NBC\’s show The Black Donnelly\’s. It has a huge fanbase and is a show with great promise.

     Comment by Stefanie — May 16, 2007 @ 10:20 pm

526. Mr. Cuban,

     If you\’re looking for quality programming for the HDNet you can look no further than The Black Donnellys. NBC should be ashamed of themselves for dropping this show. This show is not just entertaining but keeps you on the edge of your seat in ever single episode. The Black Donnellys is the best thing to come out of network tv especially in this age of crappy reality tv. Keep the hope alive. BRING BACK THE BLACK DONNELLYS

     Comment by Victor — May 16, 2007 @ 10:57 pm

527. \”The Bonfire\”

     Each week a different neighborhood is selected to have their bonfire location fitted with cameras and microphones. The TV audience can watch neighbors sit around a fire at night, drink beer, and shoot the bull. Kids and wives may be involved earlier in the night. Usually devolves into only guys sitting around drunkenly telling weird stories late into the night.

     Can edit out the boring parts. I kind of view it as a \”Cops\” sort of thing with no narration.

     With the amount of firepits being sold these days, I believe neighborhood bonfires are very popular. All it takes is a couple characters to get the party started.

     Comment by Ross — May 16, 2007 @ 5:13 pm

528. \”Super Jerk\”

     A man with a sincere dislike for pretty much everyone he meets can\’t stop unintentionally saving people\’s lives. Basically, the guy would be cynical, sarcastic and grumpy but have a knack for being a very reluctant hero.

     Comment by Adam Matthews — May 16, 2007 @ 11:27 am

529. How about the lab with leo laporte.. there are already several episodes in the can so to speak and it is filmed in hd.

     Comment by John Fredericks — May 16, 2007 @ 11:34 pm

530. I believe the time is right for a Pro-Environment HDNET tv show. The idea being: have contestants appear each week before a panel of judges to showcase their ideas/inventions that will help insure the future of our planet. We need to keep rasing awareness, We need to make our environment a number one priority. Everyone needs to pitch in, we all can do our part, Individuals, small businesses, large corporations, governments, etc..

     Anyone that comes up with a sound and viable idea should be rewarded. We can open this up the international community and share our ideas globally. Part of the show would focus on the problems, specifically document current problems, and then the rest of the show would concentrate on solutions. It\’s time we all take this seriously.

     Geoffrey G. Kendall

     Comment by Geoffrey G. Kendall — May 16, 2007 @ 11:46 pm

531. I\’ve been trying to pitch the idea for a sitcom about death/grim reaper. The basic premise would be that the grim reaper\’s job is outsourced to India forcing him to get a temp job in an office building even though everyone around him is completely oblivious to the fact that he is the Grim Reaper. To describe it easily it\’s kind of a mix of Dead Like Me, Office Space, and My Name is Earl. I can elaborate more if needed, its harder to explain on paper.

     Comment by Eric — May 17, 2007 @ 12:15 am

532. The story of other peoples money is an eternally fascinating one. We never seem to get enough. Celebrity gossip columns, lifestyles of the rich and famous TV shows, our neighbours mouth all vividly spin this captivating tale. For some unknown reason however, no matter how and by whom it is told, only one side of legend is ever revealed. The how they spend it side. The flipside is offcourse the how they make it side, showing face ever now and then. Nestled deeply somewhere inbetween these two is fat, lazy, inconspicuous side. A from me to you side of the other peoples money story. With a kind of casual indifference, this side persistently misses out its turn in the spotlight. A darned shame, for its a fascinating side, one full of potential to go very far. Maybe, one-day, even reach HDNET!

     Lets get one thing straight, non-one wants to delve too deeply into the story of drudgery a.k.a. work to us common folk. Not a chance! Especially not if faced with an irresistible alternative of watching Dennis Rodman help a video game addicted, electrical engineering major release her inner warrior by training her to be a roller derby pro. (Premieres Wednesday, 8:00 PM ET eastern on HDNET Geek to Freak). Well leave the dissection of those nasty, touchy-feely issues to a trained professional like Dan Rather (Wednesday 7:00 PM ET on HDNET- Dan Rather Reports), not to a Joe Bookman from accounting. But what if, just if, instead of focusing on boring Joe, with his boring job, instead we focused on the most exciting thing Joe did today to earn 100 dollars. Perhaps today, that was 2 hours worth of general ledger auditing, followed by liaison with his obnoxious boss Samuel, to whom Joe reported his outrageous findings. A great opportunity to segway from boring to obnoxious – our story begins to unravel. Samuel takes over from here. It is now his turn to earn 100 dollars he reluctantly gave up to Joe. For Samuel, its a matter of intently diluting/beautifying Joes egregious findings, to make them more palatable for the wise old CEO Mark. In his eternal wisdom, Mark is coldly unphased by Joes masterful presentation. He draws his conclusions quickly and Samuel is sent on his way. This impeccable application of the time-money relativity theory has earned Mark 100 dollars. In next weeks episode, our story continues from Mark to Sir Sharehodlington.

     While we enthrallingly watch the 100 dollar bill go around, we are learning, we are relating. Better yet, the narrator – a seasoned entrepreneur who is putting things in perspective, amuses us. Last episode when Joe, Samuel and Mark went into that meeting, we couldnt help but wonder whom the sucker was. A kind of Larry David in kind of Curb your Enthusiasm, only kind of different.

     Its hard to put a finger on it, but there some intrinsic connection between 100 dollar show and HDNET. Our mortal minds may never comprehend it, but there is no denying, the connection is highly auspicious.

     Comment by Alex Keis — May 16, 2007 @ 10:56 pm

533. The merging of movie locations and tourism is a skyrocketing trend. Being one of a handful of people that has created a movie tour company, I know first hand the fascination with finding famous filming locations when someone travels.

     My idea which I am working on: A travel series that explores the world by uncovering famous filming locations. Maybe its Boston (Departed, Good Will Hunting) one week and New Zealand (Lord of the Rings) the next. There is a lot more to this but would love to talk further to discuss.

     Jeff Coveney
     President
     Boston Movie Tours

     Comment by Jeff Coveney — May 17, 2007 @ 12:46 am

534. Here\’s an idea:

     Your network does a spectacular job of bringing the viewer into the world of the programs, both through the visual and aural experience of HD, and interactive tie-ins via the web. One type of program that can really benefit from these advantages is a human interest concept.

     One of the best ways to get to know a person is not throught their work or public lives, but through their true passions. A show that showcases peoples hobbies and other leisure activities provides not only insight into the actual activity, but also insight into the everyday lives of people.

     I see the show featuring a host who joins subjects in their favorite activities and becomes an active participant. Imagine following an avid hiker into the woods on a crisp autumn day, or sitting in the small home studio of an amateur sculptor as the create a new piece. The acuity of HD will bring the viewer into these worlds and web based tie-ins will provide more information on the specific activity as well as a forum for new program subjects.

     One of the most enjoyable activities in life is getting to know new people. And, What better way to do that than through the activities that really drive a person, their passions?

     Comment by Conor — May 17, 2007 @ 12:55 am

535. Title : Shriek

     A small cast of 4 travel reality style around the world learning about different cultures, but more importantly learning about superstitions and ghosts from different countires!

     Think globe trotting real world meets ghost hunters! Most Haunted in the U.K. and Ghost Hunters in the U.S. have great followings but I\’ve always wondered why there isn\’t a show that trots the globe looking for ghosts. I am postitive that every country in the world has its own famous ghost story and I for one would love to hear it. HD TV would capture the beauty of all these different places and show close up the sheer terror of the crew.

     The cast would be three beautiful women, I\’m thinking my dream team would be Keely Hazel, Vanessa Minnilo, Orlaith McAllister with a hunky looking 30somthing lead male to run the team.

     The crew goes to the country,(lets use Japan), sits down with a local to hear the ghost story and then proceeds to spend the night at the haunted locale getting the bejsus scared out of them!

     Cheap to produce, endless epic HD photo opps, eye candy being scared, its a can\’t miss formula.

     I just gave you your most watched show on HDNET….now email me back, I wanna go to!

     Comment by Sean — May 16, 2007 @ 6:26 pm

536. I agree with the previous poster who proposed a show about how different things are made. I would expand on this concept, and include professions and institutions. A \”Day in the Life\” show would be facinating. One of the most interesting shows on TV right now in my opinion is a show on the Discovery Channel about offshore drilling rigs. It shows the everyday processes that occur to produce a product or service that we use without thinking. It could be anything from showing what goes into producing a news cast on TV, to the life of a cotton farmer in West Texas, to the interworkings of a four star hotel, and to a behind the scenes look at a famous museum.

     The combination of the amazing technology of HDNet and the interest in reality that viewers are drawn to could create a landmark series. It would help us all understand the world around us while being entertained at the same time.

     Comment by Christi — May 17, 2007 @ 2:08 am

537. A show about a guy dreaming, and each episode he wakes up from a said dream only to awake to another dream, a recursive dream of sorts, that just leads him deeper and deeper into his own fantasy.

     Comment by shinda — May 16, 2007 @ 4:40 pm

538. I want to make a comedy about two insane kids who travel around America killing people that represent \”The Man\” to them. I have a half-hour pilot written. If you\’re interested.

     T.

     Comment by Tadhg — May 17, 2007 @ 4:32 am

539. Mark,

     I want to follow-up on comment # 20, by Padraic Russell.

     Initially another mystery show did not sound like much to me, but the more I dug into his proposal the better it sounds.

     Clues scattered throughout the Internet through fake web pages is a great idea.

     * A fake news site (like theOnion.com), however it mixed in with the humor stories are hints and articles that relate to the mystery.

     * Fake corporate news sites, with profiles of the fake characters.

     * Fake College website (for some of the younger characters)

     * Fake Barbershop, HOA websites, etc.

     * And of course all of these sites would like to each other.

     The catch is it would still have to be a well written story, with great twists and turns. And it needs to have a clear ending. So it doesnt turn into Lost, or even Heroes.

     I realize writing and actors cost money, but most of that comes back through advertising.

     Think of all the opportunity for advertising on all of these sites. Mixed in with fake advertising . . .of course.

     Comment by John Ellis — May 17, 2007 @ 9:25 am

540. Is it possible to create new disruptive content for TV?

     My sense is yes, if the idea actually helps solve viewers\’ or advertisers problems in new ways. The key is to identify and solve new information problems that are: important problems, frequent problems and problems that people are already trying to solve but can\’t.

     This is not how most programmers or media content producers think.

     More details here:

     http://www.ondisruption.com/my_weblog/2007/05/wanted_disrupti.html

     Comment by Michael Urlocker — May 17, 2007 @ 9:33 am

541. Bruce Springsteen is reportedly going on tour this summer. Why not follow Bruce, The E-Street Band, family and friends. Cover the trials and tribulations of touring in terms of obstacles faced in setting the stage. Interview fans, maybe even have Bruce do some surprise performances and catch the crowds reaction. Also what might be interesting is giving Bruce a chance to interview other big bands he comes across on the road.

     Comment by Jeff Zimmerman — May 16, 2007 @ 4:59 pm

542. A miniseries that takes a close look at the lives of America\’s homeless. From the seedy, underbelly of big cities to the rural poverty in America\’s backroads, the series would take a look at unemployment, drug abuse, broken families, and the homeless condition by profiling a handful of the country\’s most interesting, most tragic homeless and the struggle of their daily lives. A true docudrama in sharp HD, where homelessness is as much an epidemic as it is a tragic aesthetic.

     Comment by Andrew — May 17, 2007 @ 10:57 am

543. perhaps a comedy about a young entrepreneur who, while living in an \”arts dorm\”, opens an off-campus club which is basically a no-frills perpetual keg party?

     Comment by tpayne — May 17, 2007 @ 11:22 am

544. Call it an American Idol knockoff if you want, but somebody needs to do a rock band competition. Preferably one that isn\’t so insanely commercialized and doesn\’t allow the same tired songs to be performed over and over again.

     Comment by Shane Crowe — May 17, 2007 @ 11:14 am

545. I would like to see a show like this: \”Convince Me\”, would ideas or theories by scientists, political promoters, or teachers taking an idea from it\’s conception through to a conclusion, and trying to convince the audience to accept the conclusion.

     The subject matter could be anything from trickle down economic theory, global warming, the effects of legislation, or are animals sentient. There are so many topics that could be covered in this format, and a never-ending supply of people who would love this sort of platform to convince others of the \”truth\” of their convictions.

     There could be voting at the end, asking \”Were you convinced?\” \”Were you not convinced?\” Do you need more proof?\”

     Comment by Kimberly Jennings — May 16, 2007 @ 12:15 pm

546. A billionaire wants free TV show ideas, and places a bunch of hypocritical rules on what \”free\” ideas he will even look at. Get bent Mark!

     Comment by Scott — May 16, 2007 @ 2:15 pm

547. One of the best documentaries in the last few years was one that tracked a startup of a dotcom from when the guy was raising funding to the time it was essentially going out of business. I think a show tracking various startups in silicon valley from funding discussions to ramp up to exit strategy would be great. You can have three different startups in various stages, one in VC hunt mode, one that has secured funding, the other that has been going and may be in trouble. This would allow for cross-cutting and each episode can either be a focus on one of them or can be a mix of all three.

     Comment by Mike Wolf — May 17, 2007 @ 12:19 pm

548. a show about nothing

     Comment by George — May 17, 2007 @ 12:23 pm

549. Why would anyone do this? Honestly, you all pour out ideas that you have and then your idea will be picked up (if it is any good) and produced, funded, and aired without so much as a dime or a nod in your direction?

     Unless I missed something about Cuban making the effort to reward someone else\’s work and idea, I don\’t understand why anyone would a legitimate idea.

     There are people whose jobs it is to develop shows and to have great ideas, now — don\’t get me wrong, I think a lot of them put out a lot of crap — but it\’s the responsibility of the corporation to find, employ, and reward people who are capable of brilliance, not farm free labor from blogs.

     Comment by Nicholas — May 17, 2007 @ 1:23 pm

550. \”If its obvious you don\’t know anything about HDNet or have never seen our networks , it will be deleted.\”

     If you are trying to come up with something original, doesn\’t this close the very box people are supposed to be thinking outside of?

     Comment by Doug Beck — May 16, 2007 @ 7:52 pm

551. Why not have an HD camera sent up and mounted to the outside of the space station. I\’m sure the view of the planet would be nice beautiful. In the future, it would be cool to have an HD camera positioned on the moon to send back video of its view of Earth. This would be similar to the progam \’Sunrise Earth\’ on another channel (Discovery HD?).

     Comment by Dave — May 17, 2007 @ 12:33 pm

552. Around the world in 80 drinks:

     This idea revolves around the fact that travel and food and drink go hand in hand. HDNet viewers are more likely people that travel, enjoy wine, spirits, and cocktails based on their lifestyles and discretionary income. This is a show that talks to them.

     Your host would travel to the world\’s great drink locations: Germany for wine and beer, Spain for wine, brandy and sherry, New York and London or San Francisco for the world\’s greatest cocktails, etc. and talk to the people that make it great, and where to stay to enjoy it. At the end of the show, you can give recipes for the cocktails for home entertainment, and locations and/or websites on where to buy wine and spirits. Advertising for the show can easily be sold to spirit/beer/ and wine companies, which can also help underwrite the cost of production.

     Comment by David L. — May 17, 2007 @ 2:05 pm

553. I would love to see a show about young innovators and startups and the crazy life that goes behind it. The Paul Graham philosophy is spreading like crazy. A document on his latest troop, the tech crunch companies, etc. would be pretty interesting. Give a Justin.Tv type hat to a cofounder who can wear it for a day and throw it to another founder. Better yet their CEO! Yeah Right. But yeah….Startup Life, the failures and successes.

     Comment by eslee — May 17, 2007 @ 1:24 pm

554. Another idea (I also did #558). What about \”Online Video Stars\” show that tracks attempts by the new slew of folks trying to make a name for themselves with online video? There are a bunch doing their own shows, doing standup, singing, etc, all posting to YouTube and other sites. This could be a show tracking 5-10 of these folks as they try to get known for their efforts. You could do established stars like LisaNova, and some people who aren\’t so well known. It could allow you to also have an online presence accompanying the show, with videos from the video-stars in the making, or you could partner with a Yahoo, YouTube, or whoever, and the show could be seen both on HDnet as well as online. It could be a great cross-promotional opportunity, and can allow you to tap into the online video zeitgeist.

     Comment by Mike Wolf — May 17, 2007 @ 2:24 pm

555. I don\’t see any agreement or statement re: \”what\’s in it for me\” so I\’ll bookmark this and get right back atcha when I get my treatment submitted and I own it … unless you can repost some sort of agreement re: what happens if I puke my guts out here in your \’comments?\’

     )

     Comment by J.C. Musser — May 15, 2007 @ 2:57 am

556. Mark –
     I live in the SF Bay Area and have both called and emailed Comcast about picking up HDNet. We can\’t get it out here – they refuse to pick it up! Call them up and crack some skulls, I\’d really like to have that on my cable box!

     Adam

     Comment by Adam Jackson — May 17, 2007 @ 3:06 pm

557. 1. A show tracing the lives of people in remote parts of the world. All of them the same age and following them as they go through the rites of passage. Beautiful scenery and intersting comparisons between peoples of different cultures.

     2. A show where you have to work at menial jobs without the people knowing who you are. That would be cool and it shows us poor folk that rich folk are people too.

     3. Geocaching global race for a huge cash prize. Only instead of the stupid amazing race the people actually have to get through things themselves.

     4. Reality show following a latino\’s attempts to get into the USA illegaly.

     5. Reality show trying to find the world\’s most beautiful unknown woman.

     6 weekly show informing us at a higher level about a different country each week.

     7. reality show where a group of people are trying to get from one coast to another without being caught by bounty hunters.

     8. Inside Iran..nothing political..just showing the people.

     9. celebrity interview show where celebs interview other celebs from a different line of work.

     10. Porno reality where viewers get to vote on situations of the week. Also contest winners get to visit the set.

     11. something India related…lots of Indian immigrants and no media representation it seems. Sitcom, music stuff..you name it.

     12. A historical drama tracing the life of La Malinche who was the mother or modern Mexico and bore Cortez\’s first child. This would be amazing if done well. See author Ana Lanyon\’s book called Malinche\’s Conquest. This plays the the Latino community in a major way.

     13. A travel show where you hire me and just drop me randomly in a country with set list of tasks to accomplish with zero money or any other resource. If I fail I get replaced.

     Comment by jake d — May 17, 2007 @ 3:10 pm

558. Mark
     I would like to see a motorcycle adventure show where the riders go on short, one to two week, rides to places like Copper Canyon Mexico or across Alaska etc.

     I loved the motorcycle adventure series The Long Way Around, it would have been better in HD, but the problem is what normal person can save up and go on a six-month trip around the world with a support team, we all are not movie stars. I would like to see rides to remote places staying in odd Hotels and eating at interesting places etc… that a normal person can dream about and do on a motorcycle.

     The last thing I would like to see is Motorcyclist portrayed in a good light which means not like any other show that is currently on, not all of us do stunts, ride 200 mph or ride bikes that look like a mid evil torture device.

     I am a big fan of Get Out I like the format and well everything else. HD Net films in HD that would be perfect for this show and also has done travel shows so it would be a great fit.

     Tim

     Comment by Tim Johnson — May 17, 2007 @ 1:49 pm

559. I have been hemming and hawing over how to get into words what I think would be an interesting concept for a show. Today, I lost my best friend, and I decided to stop hemming and hawing and just write. Because you just never know what chances your going to have or your going to miss.

     The Midwest, two transplants, one from New York, one from Georgia, get there own farms they both have significant others who travel for work, one has a brood of kids (human and the goat kind), the other a brood of dogs some chickens and a couple of horses throw in for fun the live down the road from one another they have similar struggles men that dont realize how much work it takes to raise a family, run a farm, and keep everything together at the same time. They are witness to miracles and nightmares they live in their own private hell at times but have each other to lean on, to help each other through to make each other laugh and are there when they are each at the end of their ropes. They have their own adventures and jokes they are not afraid to live and to take risks, but they tempered by their responsibilities, to their family, their animals, their husband and their fiance Both fairly young (late 20s, early 30s). Through it all though, they are there for each other, and each time they survive, they are just a little bit stronger

     It could be reality (trust me, I live it) or it could be fictionalized it would be comedic. there are lots of laughs (you have to be half crazy to do what we do). but it would also have lots of very serious moments life and death, losses, worries in the middle of the night in the end somehow they make it through.

     I wish you luck in finding your new show if I can be of any help, please let me know. I ask those that read this to remember my Sage; as a wise friend of mine said.. no matter how long our animals are with us, its never quite long enough. Sage, life with you was an absolute joy and life without you is never going to be quite the same.

     Comment by Marisa Gordon — May 17, 2007 @ 4:04 pm

560. Extreme Underground – A documentary chronicling underground spelunkers who explore abandoned mine shafts, condemned buildings, unused access tunnels, etc. Dispels myths about things like the Mole People supposedly living under NYC, confirms stories about underground strangeness (like the underground bridge beneath UCLA), and, of course, goes looking for C.H.U.D.

     Interviews people who work underground and why they do it. Also delves into the history of some famous underground environments, from lava tubes in New Mexico to catacombs in France.

     Extreme Underground is another brilliant idea from the hyper-active mind of The Velvet Mariachi! Aye, ceviche!

     Comment by The Velvet Mariachi — May 17, 2007 @ 3:42 pm

561. The Mad Environmentalist – This is what you get when you cross extreme mechanics shows like Monster Garage and extreme environmentalists like Ed Bagley Jr. Yeah, you could green your vehicle and drive it quietly down the road. Or you could drop the ass on your diesel Mercedes, add three-wheel motion and show the world that you don\’t have to be a wuss to go green.

     The Mad Environmentalist is another extreme vision from the brain of The Velvet Mariachi! Que chingoneria!

     Comment by The Velvet Mariachi — May 17, 2007 @ 3:47 pm

562. Treasure Quest – Pick one treasure hunting story (Victorio Peak, The Lost Dutchman\’s Mine, Oak Island) and follow a crew of treasure hunters as they try to determine whether the story is real or not. The team would be assembled Oceans Eleven-style, where each person has a particular skill (one guy\’s an archeologist, one gal\’s a geologist, one dude\’s a cook, cuz you gotta eat).

     Treasure Quest is another fertile creation from the mindspace of The Velvet Mariachi! Wake up to THIS!

     Comment by The Velvet Mariachi — May 17, 2007 @ 3:54 pm

563. I am The Velvet Mariachi! This would be a documentary series following me, The Velvet Mariachi. I am the greatest unknown filmmaker to ever remain unknown (most other unknown filmmakers became known at some point and so don\’t qualify anymore). Follow me as I build my empire from struggling filmmaker to head of GloboConglomoCorp, my entertainment/fishing business. Starting off with simple, entertaining videos and moving up to a small studio in Watts, The Velvet Mariachi will amaze and delight you as only he (and some bugs that roll up when you touch them) can!

     I am The Velvet Mariachi is another load dropped from the kinetic synapsery of The Velvet Mariachi!

     Comment by The Velvet Mariachi — May 17, 2007 @ 4:07 pm

564. Title:
     You The Jury

     Show Concept:
     A 1 hour long legal courtroom show from the point of the jury, no behind the scenes legal wrangling or police work. All you see is what a jury would see, but testimonies from witnesses would be cut to sequences of the events from their point of view (flash backs) allowing juxtaposition from different witnesses points of view. 40 minutes into the show, all testimony has been heard. For the next 10 minutes using online voting, SMS and regular call centers, viewers vote on wether or not the accused is guilty or not guilty. Depending on public opinion, the proper corresponding ending will be aired in the final 10 minutes (using pre-taped outcomes).

     The show would be shot with the same level of quality as Law & Order and real cases could be used. During the 10 minute voting period, the case would be quickly reviewed and the law (and how it applies to the case) would also be explained to aid people making their decisions.

     Further information would also be available online after the show aired, showing how the case actually turned out (if it was based on actual events) and possibly how people voted by region, race, age, etc, as well as including further legal information and discussions.

     Comment by ADM — May 17, 2007 @ 3:31 pm

565. \”Ow, My Balls!\”

     Comment by Uncle Idiot — May 17, 2007 @ 4:37 pm

566. OK.
     Bear with my notes; and spelling.
     It\’s hard to write this stuff down after 9 years of thinking.
     Anything in quotes is not set in stone. I will change these things.

     This series will take place starting in 1998, and will have the benefit of placing this story in the past, able to work events from then into this story.

     Some main themes that will be worked into the series will be:

     Time displacement/compression
     Good vs. evil (duh)
     Secret government agencies
     A student trying to beat his teacher
     Advanced technology fused with man

     I will summarize some of the characters and a few plot points, as I do not want to give it all away right now. I have beginnings, maguffins, plot twists, and even character endings all planned out up until and even past Dec 31, 1999.

     \’???\’ (No name yet) The main hero. The main protagonist of our story is in his mid-20s. This character has established him on the planet, he is human. He is not known the public. I will now describe the main characters synopsis of introduction, but before I do so, I will first describe another character, which is not something that is living.

     The mechanical suit, if best described which is made out of a new artificial alloy which is a complex endo- and exo- skeleton set that can cover the entire body, up to and including the head portion. In the main display of the visor, it can display graphics, communications, crosshairs (which are in synchronization with both eyes), scanners and readings of the surrounding area/perimeter.

     This suit gets its power from its core. This core in turn, is powered by an amulet that has embedded in itself with a crest and a symbol that is roughly showing on it. The amulets true powers are still unknown, even by the suit and its wearer, but they hint of another time and place.

     The suit also will end up containing a wide variety of offensive weaponry: mini-sub-machine guns in the lower arms and both wrists. Miniature missiles can be deployed from the upper arms. On the side of the upper portion on the right leg there is a compartment that can pop open with an arsenal of proximity and remote mines that can be thrown at a target; and on the left side a blade/sword made of electric energy can be pulled out and can be adjusted to length and voltage. .
     For defensive purposes there can be an electrically-generated barrier for temporary shielding. The suit can also go into a battle armor mode: to have the armor push outwards by compressors between the endo- and exo- skeletons. In addition to these mechanisms, there is a much more.
     As for mobility, you could assume the suit does have the ability of flight; however the mechanism is not very stable as it is a prototype version.

     ??? has been monitoring a small organization (maguffin) that has agreed to take toxic materials from a larger corporation, and during a raid the agency apparently had set up ??? because they feel that he has becoming a threat to national, and global, security. So they reach an agreement to not prosecute or expose him to the general public in exchange that assists them in their operations. Apparently they were the ones doing the monitoring on him, for over 6 years. They knew about his network of satellites he was able to covertly establish in the atmosphere, his computer systems, how his armor worked and every other detail of who he was and how e ran his life. They then installed his new weapons and his defensive measures into suit, and they partnered him up with a tech guy that has been leading the operation to monitor this man.

     Since I do not have a name for this tech guy, to make it less confusing, lets refer to him as The Book.

     The Book has been a government service man for seven years of his life. A former agent of the NSA, he has been working for the agency which was created especially for the purposes of discovering means and ways of manipulating time and space. Now yes, he is a computer expert, but he is not your run-of-the-mill clich computer geek. In his mid-40s he is somewhat as a late bloomer when it came to the computer and internet revolution, however being a fast learner and can easily adapt to any situation, this health and body building nut, he is to assist the agency and ??? install new system, fix anything with his hands, oh yeah, and hes funny too.

     Now, for the main antagonists: Mato and Bracsus.

     Mato is best described as a cyber samurai Matos appearance could be hard on the eyes who is not used to seeing what may be perceived as a bizarre. His look would be inspired by ancient Japanese samurai armor, that it is an old piece of armor but is infused with technological advances that the hopes of man has yet to see. His entire left arm up to his shoulder that he was once born with has been completely cybernized. His face, now covered by a kabuki inspired mask, still shows hints of humanity. His motive for domination of the world (or that of time) is not known, but his past may hold the clues/

     Bracsus, which is Matos improvised apprentice just like a spoiled child, he feels that he is more powerful than his master but he does not know his lord knows of his doings. Equipped with a similar set of mechanical armor fused with advanced technologies, he possesses powers that could only be rivaled that by Sol (the sun), so much that he could harness this power either in pure raw energy beams or he can create it into forms such as swords, knives, staves, or spears. Not only does he have great power over energy, but he is unmatched when it comes to physical or inertial strength, which is the only concern that his master Mato has.

     I know there are a lot of plot holes, but I have much much more in my mind that I have been building on since heck, when I was in my teens. Now, I will be posting this somewhere else and time stamp it, and if anyone wants to help me develop more story, from the info I have, just contact me.

     This is copyright 1999-2007 Jason Schippnick.

     Comment by Jason Schippnick — May 17, 2007 @ 4:41 pm

567. Follow a real life Vegas P.I. and explore the unique subculture of the Las Vegas underbelly that visitors rarely, if ever see

     Comment by Mike Gomes — May 16, 2007 @ 5:55 pm

568. Hello,

     I came across this blog entry after doing a search for pitching show ideas. I thought I would submit my show in response to your search. I apologize for such a long submission.

     Title: South Side

     Premise: A police detective known for his general dislike of Blacks, Latinos, and Asians finds himself in the position as caregiver to a six year old Black girl. He meets her after he finds her mother dying in their home. Being drawn to the little girl but being reluctant to be a part of the girl\’s life, he makes a promise to take care of her. He finds himself fighting the court system to adopt her. After he adopts her, he comes to grips with his racist views and inner demons in order to become the perfect father that Amelia needs.

     Treatment:

     Gabriel Sullivan was your typical Irishman stuck in Chicago; which is to say he was born and bred in the Southside of the Windy City. He was tall, standing over six feet. He had thick black hair with not a single strand of gray. His eyes were a dark green and sparkled with a mischievous but intelligent glint. He was a handsome man at 32 and he knew it. He was single and he was on the fast track on a job that he loved. As a new detective in the narcotics division in the 4th district, Gabriel was content and pleased with the state of his life.

     Gabriel had grown up in the 4th district; his parents still lived in the house where he had grown up. Back when he was a kid, the neighborhood had been predominately Irish with a few Polish and German families. Everyone had been bound by their common faith; there were five different Catholic parishes to serve the population. Now, the area was slowly being taken over by working class Blacks and immigrant Mexicans. Gabriel had warned his parents to get out of the neighborhood before the shift was final but they could not leave behind the precious memories of raising ten kids.

     What Gabriel felt towards Blacks and Mexicans could not be described as hatred; it was more of an intense dislike. Even though most of the offenders he brought in were White, in his mind, it was still the Blacks and Mexicans who committed the crimes and made the south side such an unlivable place. It disgusted him to see the coloreds walk around with their pants hanging half way off their asses and it pissed him off to hear his old favorite radio stations switch to playing Mexican music to appease the Hispanic demographic. He did not like the change and he did not appreciate seeing these people take over his old block.

     On a crisp Saturday night, as Gabriel sat in his patrol car with his partner, James Stanwell, he recalled all of the antics he and his gang used to get into back in the good days. Gabriel was the second eldest son and the fourth child of his parents ten. He had grown up competing for the spotlight with his older brother, Michael. His parents had had the brilliant foresight to name all of their boys after the Archangels that had surrounded Gods throne. Michael and Gabriel were only a year apart but their personalities were vastly different. Michael was the studious, dependable, and thoughtful older brother; Gabriel had been the impish, roguish, and hot-tempered younger brother. Michael had pursued a life as a Catholic priest; Gabriel followed their father into the police force. They were a true contrast of snow and fire, respectively.

     Gabriel was pulled from his thoughts by Stanwell asking if he was going to eat his pickle. They had been sitting in their unmarked car for the past four hours. This area of the district was consistently plagued by the presence of street pharmacists peddling their drugs. The presence of the car was a huge tip-off to the locals and there was no activity this night. Gabriel checked his mirrors and took a moment to shift in his seat. He then nodded to Stanwell to take the pickle.

     He and Stanwell had been partners for the past eleven months. In fact, Stanwell, a 43 year old married father with three kids, had been his training officer as Gabriel had made the transition into detective on the narcotics unit. Stanwell was a good cop and Gabriel respected him even though Stanwell was a Black man. When he had first met Stanwell, Gabriel had been stricken by how dark the man was. He had no problems with Stanwell. Their relationship was strictly professional and both he and Stanwell wished to keep it that way.

     Over the radio, an announcement rushes over the airwaves that Miguel Rios had been spotted not far from their location. The unit had been monitoring and pursuing Rios for the past eight months. As soon as they had taken a few steps in apprehending Rios, he always seemed to out maneuver him. Rios was heavy into the drug business; he was a particularly nasty character who had allegedly killed his own baby brother because the younger had mishandled a few thousand dollars. Gabriel was aware of a turf war between the feds and the department. Each wanted to take Rios into custody and usually the feds trump in these situations but it had been unofficially and completely off record that if an opportunity was to rise, any officer was to take Rios into custody. It had been said that the feds were interested in brokering a deal with Rios in exchange for some keen information regarding the higher uppers in the operation.

     Peering out to the passenger side mirror, Gabriel watches as Rios approaches one of the few buildings on the block that had not been abandoned. Gabriel was momentarily shocked that Rios would approach the building that blatantly had an unmarked car sitting in front of it. Something had to be up if the man was willing to throw such caution to the wind. After Rios entered the apartment, Stanwell motioned for Gabriel to exit the car. Covering Stanwell\’s rear, Gabriel left the car and drew his weapon. He kept it lowered to the street; he checked down the block and after the all clear, he ran towards the building. They waited outside the gates until they heard the sounds of the other police cars approach. Stanwell signals for Gabriel to take a few men and wait at the back door of the complex.

     As Gabriel and the others approach the back door, the clear sound of a gunshot is heard. Picking up their pace, the men reach the back door just as Rios is running out. A Black officer shoots past Gabriel in a sprint and catches up to Rios. The officer grabs Rios by the collar and tugs him to the ground. Gabriel shakes his head and laughs. Maybe the Blacks have a place on the squad; they seem to be some really quick bastards.

     Although he is a responding officer, Gabriel does not oversee the cuffing of Rios. He holsters his gun and watches as Rios is snatched up from the ground. His captain had arrived on the scene and he was taking charge of such a high profile apprehension. Gabriel overhead the captain tells the others to take Rios to the district house, wait thirty minutes, and then call the feds. Lowering his head to hide his smile, Gabriel enters the house. A quick scan shows a few pieces of furniture. The kitchen had a musty smell that was a mix of spoiled milk and rotten food. Although it was evident that this house had seen better days, what items were in the kitchen were arranged neatly. The room was neat but the smell was overpowering. Gagging from the stench, Gabriel proceeds into the living room area.

     As he enters, his eyes quickly access the situation. There is a Black woman, most likely a crack whore, lying in a pool of blood. She was alive but barely. As the other officers conducted a safety check over the premises, Gabriel watched as Stanwell whispered to the woman that an ambulance was on its way. In between assurances, Stanwell firmly and gently asked the woman what her name was. She responded, \”Not here. Please, not now.\” Stanwell looked up and shook his head. He did not think she was going to make it.

     Knowing that his presence wasn\’t going to do anything to help the woman, Gabriel left the room to assist the other officers in searching the premises. After giving the all clear that no one else was there,
     the officers began cataloging the items that were visible in the house. There were empty pop cans and half stale bags of chips lying around as if there had been a party very recently. There were two Styrofoam boxes resting on the old table sitting in the kitchen. The food looked like it had been sitting there for a couple of hours. If one box had belonged to the woman lying on the floor then who did the other box belong to? Perhaps it belonged to Rios but Gabriel highly doubted that Rios would sit down and eat a meal with this bitch. No, there was someone else who lived here. He was sure of it. Motioning over to some uniformed officers, he tells them to look for evidence of another resident.

     Accessing the kitchen, Gabriel walks over to the fridge and opens the door. Quickly he shuts it and makes a mental note that he now knew where the smell had come from. He scans the floor and the counters. He tests the faucet. There was no running water. No matter how messed up this woman was, he couldn\’t believe that a person could live without water or electricity. Stepping away from the sink, Gabriel notices the door to the pantry is slightly open. He quickly retreats back and withdraws his weapon. He slowly approaches the door and aims his weapon. Firmly and distinctly, he orders whoever is hiding in the pantry to come out with their hands visible. No one moves. Cursing the uniforms for not checking the pantry, he once again orders the person to leave the pantry. As seconds tick, so does the vein on his forehead.

     This could have been a deadly mistake. Such a careless oversight could have cost him his life and when he left this place, he was going to rip some bastard\’s head off. Shouting, Gabriel orders the occupant of the pantry to come out. This time, the door slowly opens. A tiny voice whimpers not to shoot. Gabriel looks down and sees a young Black girl crawling out of the pantry. She stood and raised her hands. She was clearly petrified. She could not have been older than five, maybe four at the most. She was severely under weight and her pants had been soiled. Gabriel\’s eyes grew large. He called out to Stanwell who had been standing at the door silently backing up Gabriel.

     The little girl was visibly shaking now. Her eyes were blinking furiously. Gabriel barked, \”What is your name?\” She just kept blinking. He could see her chest rising and falling with their rapid breathes. He asked for her name again. In the next moment, he felt a gush of air as Stanwell rushed past him. Stanwell placed his hand on Gabriel\’s arm to signal to lower his gun. Gabriel had been in such shock that he had forgotten that he was holding the weapon. Even though he had been in the wrong, he hadn\’t appreciated Stanwell touching him. He holstered his weapon and glowered at the little girl.

     She stared back with her blinking, dark eyes. She shifted her eyes to something behind him and once again stared back at him. She repeated this motion for a few seconds until Gabriel asked her what she was staring at. The girl asked if that was her mama. Gabriel didn\’t have to look to know who she was referring to. The crack whore was this girl\’s mother. Suddenly the captain shouted out for Stanwell who in turn looked at Gabriel. He nodded back at Stanwell to signal that he had the situation under control. After Stanwell left the room, Gabriel angled his head and took in the details of the little girl. She did the same of him. She then shifted her eyes towards her mother and began to walk towards her body.

     Gabriel knew that if Stanwell had left the woman\’s side then it must mean that she was dead. He didn\’t know what to do at this moment. He felt that he shouldn\’t let the little girl look at her dead mother but a part of him wanted the girl to see what happened to people who lived that sort of lifestyle. Maybe it would teach her not to follow this path. He watched as the girl looked down at her mother. There were no tears. There was no visible sign that she was mourning her mother. Gabriel knew that she had to have been in shock. He figured that her loss would sink in later. Thinking that it had been enough, Gabriel turned the girl away from her mother. He hunkered down to be on the same level as the girl.

     She gazed at him. He stared back. He wanted to leave quickly; she smelled and he didn\’t want to be with this kid and her blinking eyes. Unexpectedly, she asked his name. Out of surprise, he gave her his first name. Her little face brightened as she recognized his name as the archangel. It was as if she recognized him as her savior. She smiled. He didn\’t know what else to do so he smiled back.

     Days later, Gabriel is sitting at his desk filling out some long overdue paperwork. He hadn\’t given the little girl another thought. His mind was focused on the business before him; occasionally, he took a second or two to ponder the upcoming weekend. A few weeks back he had met a girl at one of the neighborhood Irish pubs; after a series of missed phone calls and postponed dinner dates, they were going to be meeting up at a local Italian restaurant. Gabriel wasn\’t a big fan of Italian food but she had voiced that this restaurant was a particular favorite of hers so he didn\’t wish to break her heart on the first date.

     Hearing his name, Gabriel looks up to see his captain motioning towards him. He was being called into the captain\’s office. Gabriel quickly forwarded his desk phone to voicemail and he got up from his desk. He straightened his cuffs and proceeded to walk towards the office. His captain stood at the door watching his approach. His captain, Eamon Reilly, had been an old buddy of his father; not only had they both grown up in the same Irish neighborhood but they had entered the force together. In many ways, the captain was a second father to Gabriel.

     At the door Gabriel asks his captain if there was a problem. The captain raised his arm and signaled towards the chairs in his office. Sitting in one chair was a middle aged Asian woman and in the other chair sat the little Black girl. Upon seeing him, she jumped up from her chair and ran towards him shouting his name. After her body made contact with his legs, he reflexively buckled into what may appear to have been a hug. Quickly, he thrusts her body away from him and he peers up at his captain who in return shrugs.

     The Asian woman introduced herself as Gloria Shin, a social worker in her early fifties. She had been assigned the young girl\’s case and they had just returned from the funeral of the girl\’s mother. The little girl had insisted on visiting her best friend Officer Gabriel. He gave the woman a look that asked her what she was thinking. The woman stated that the young girl hadn\’t made a good adjustment in her group home; in fact, she hadn\’t spoken one word until she had asked to see him. For some odd reason, Ms. Shin began to fill in the details of this young girl.

     Her name was Amelia Washington. Gabriel had not been prepared for such an old fashioned name; he had anticipated a Sharqueta or a Dawnesha. Visibly, he was impatient but he listened to Ms. Shin. Amelia was nearly six years old but had never been registered in any public school. Her mother had been Caroline Washington, a known meth addict; there was no record of Amelia\’s father. This news did not surprise Gabriel. Looking down, he caught Amelia watching him with a large grin on her face.

     Slowly, she raised her hand and placed it in his. He quickly withdrew it and walked back towards the door. He made his regrets about her mother and then excused himself to get back to his paperwork. As he walked away from the office, he turned to spare a look. He would never forget the disappointed, rejected look on Amelia\’s face.

     Sunday morning, Gabriel wakes in the bed of the woman from the previous night. He had had such a good time at the restaurant that he had overlooked the food. After a few drinks, they had returned to her apartment. After a vigorous night, Gabriel finds himself staring at the ceiling recalling the look on that little girl\’s face. It su
     rprised him. His thoughts should be on what took place last night. He should be thinking about the woman next to him. He could be doing what they had done last night. Instead, he was thinking about Amelia and her tiny hand holding onto him. He knew that he couldn\’t foster any devotion on the young girl\’s part but he knew that he had handled the moment badly. He felt like he had lost something very precious.

     The woman shifted. She placed a kiss on his chest and peered up at his face. He was afraid to look down at her. He was afraid she would see his thoughts. He rubbed her back, threw the covers off, and climbed out of bed. Only after putting his pants back on did he look at her. She was lying on the bed watching him dress. There wasn\’t a look of censure. He made his apologies and mumbled an explanation about meeting his mother before noon mass. She chuckled. He cleared his throat and made his goodbyes.

     An hour later, he was at home feeling fresh after a shower. He wanted to call his date but he knew it was too soon. Instead, he popped some bread into the toaster and poured some instant coffee into his coffee mug. Sitting back with the toast on his plate and the mug in his hand, Gabriel made the quick decision to visit his parents. He thought it would serve as a penance for the lie he had told the woman earlier. Finishing his breakfast, he took his plate to the sink and quickly washed it and placed it on the drying rack. Grabbing his keys, he checks the locks on the door and exits his small craftsman.

     Twenty minutes later, Gabriel realizes that he hadn\’t been driving in the direction of his parents\’ home. Instead, he was less than a few blocks away from Amelia\’s group home. He wasn\’t sure what had brought him; maybe he just needed to see that she was being taken care of, he didn\’t know. He just wanted to see her. After parking his car, he trots over to the steps of the home. He stops, shakes his head, and makes a move to return to his car. But, he once again changes his mind and climbs the steps of the group home. He presses on the doorbell.

     A minute later, an older Black woman answers the door. She politely informs him that parents may visit from four to six pm on Sundays. He quickly corrects her mistake and informs her that he is an officer and he was here to visit Amelia Washington. The woman\’s eyes bulge and she steps back from the door. She introduces herself as Jackie Cross, the manager of the group home. She tells him to have a seat as she gets Amelia. Gabriel enters and walks into the tiny common area of the home. There are children sitting at some tables in the back of the room. In a corner stands a large screen television with at least a dozen children watching a White Sox game. He mentally cursed himself for forgetting about the game.

     Gabriel hears the clicking of locks as doors are open. He turns to watch as the woman returns. In front of her is a hesitant Amelia with her little hands folded in front of her. She looks good. She looks healthy and cared for. Something in the back of his mind told him that he had seen what he had came to see but instead of departing, he motioned for Amelia to sit at a table with him. The little girl looks up at the woman as if to ask permission. The woman nods and Amelia walks to the table. She pulls the chair back and hops up into the seat. Once again, he is struck by how small she is for being nearly six.

     Gabriel leans over and asks Amelia if she remembers him. She nodded that she did. Gabriel asked her if she liked her new home and once again she nodded. In their previous encounters, Amelia had watched every move that Gabriel had made but at this moment, her eyes were focused on her folded hands on her lap. He chucks under her chin with his fingers and she looks up at him. He smiles and she blinks in return. He quickly begins to make small talk. He isn\’t sure what he is saying and whether or not it was appropriate for a six year old but he didn\’t want to stop talking.

     After about five minutes of nonstop babbling, Gabriel stops talking. He places his hand over her folded hands and whispers that he is sorry. She looks back up at him and then she quietly asks if he was taking her home now. At first, he misunderstands and tells her that she can\’t return home because her mother was dead. As he answered, she just shook her head. That wasn\’t what she had meant.

     She said that she wanted to go home with him. Gabriel leans back in his chair. He was shocked by her question. He couldn\’t believe that she was asking to go home with him. He stared back at her. Leaning forward once again, Gabriel responds: \”Soon. I\’ll see what I need to do.\”

     Comment by Siobhan — May 17, 2007 @ 5:12 pm

569. Times are rough. Cheap is a disease. Greed is a disease, but its not intentional, its accidental (sometimes). If you want to find the best point guard for your team, you\’ll spend whatever money to be the best team in the league. To do this you\’ll employ the best basketball scouts in the land to fly where ever the talent is to build the best team. Italy, or Johnson City, the mission is to get the best point guard.
     Now for content. Show ideas are like songs. 99pct of them are horrific. Even Nashville has learned that great songs with okay artist make $$. With TV programming and recording artist, the same rule applies…. If one thing works…the rest follow. Original programming is something that few achieve. All the channels, radio stations, iPods, web sites are full of copy cat content. Original content is something only the few artist, brains, creators can pull off. Yep, accidents happen! However, I have just witnessed one mans vision to build content and his company, in one year has become something I am proud to be a part of. A secret society. I recommend that HDnet investigate. You want more than 13 million potential viewers, you must cross boundaries. Not ethical or johnny knoxville style. brilliant risk taking! Begin here. http://www.lablogga.com

     Comment by Ryan B — May 17, 2007 @ 6:01 pm

570. Here is a film I just finished.

     THE ROOT part 1

     http://youtube.com/watch?v=uxwztJl4BYk

     THE ROOT part 2

     http://youtube.com/watch?v=ESHqJbRPrJ0

     I\’ve got a feature film that I\’d love to make with you.

     Comment by Danny Gosser — May 17, 2007 @ 6:23 pm

571. Mark
     Two good and creative shows were lost this season Jericho and Veronica Mars. I think If hd net would pick this shows up you would gain viewers for your other shows and gain advertising revenue. I believe this would solve you problem with Comcast. The fans of the shows would seek them out. I know this is not an original idea but I think it is a good one. Thank You.

     Comment by Bryan — May 17, 2007 @ 6:10 pm

572. I\’m currently writing a show titled, \”My Roommate Jesus\”. Jesus comes back, but he fails to convince anyone. Dedicated to saving the souls of the people on earth, he opts to start small. He\’s forced to take a job at Starbucks and share a place with some younger employees. Even they don\’t believe him, but they still think he\’s an ok guy. The problem is, Dad doesn\’t approve of his message completely. Dad is real Old Testament, Wrath of God kind of guy, and Jesus is New Testament, peace loving, hippy kind of guy. That causes all kinds of problems as the big Guy tries to get his son to conform to his way of Goding.

     Comment by William Hodges — May 16, 2007 @ 10:04 am

573. I\’ll second the others who have mentioned a tech show with Leo Laporte… even if it\’s not picking up the existing \”the Lab.\”

     Comment by Patrick — May 17, 2007 @ 6:56 pm

574. I already made a great show, and I did it in Dallas:

     http://www.theaquarangers.com

     Currently pitching it around.

     Comment by Nick — May 17, 2007 @ 5:18 pm

575. Call it Penny Stock–

     Set up a fake company. Get it listed, or buy a shell. You can have this show approached from multiple angles–the fake management suckering in investors, stockbrokers pumping the thing, and the people that lose their money. This thing can go as far as the network will allow.

     Comment by Brad S — May 17, 2007 @ 7:35 pm

576. http://www.medicinemound.com

     Comment by John Bates — May 17, 2007 @ 8:10 pm

577. I know it\’s no original, but there are over 12 million fans of the recently cancelled CBS show Jericho. That kind of lead-in audience seems to be worthwhile, doesn\’t it. If you haven\’t seen it, I encourage you to do so just to get a feel for it. I think you\’ll be hooked after one episode like most of us were. But, the show was too smart and the writing to good for network television. I hope you\’ll consider it.

     Thank You.

     Comment by John — May 17, 2007 @ 8:12 pm

578. BOARD GAMES. THAT\’S IT. BOARD GAMES. FIND AN INTERESTING, ENGAGING, SATIRICAL AND EVEN EDUCATING BOARDGAME SUCH AS \”TERMINATED\”. THE AUDIENCE WILL PLAY ALONG OR BUY A COPY.

     Comment by MUTUNGA — May 17, 2007 @ 8:26 pm

579. http://www.LandonMayer.com
     Beautiful fish, beatiful places, instructional. Any thoughts?

     Comment by Landon Mayer — May 17, 2007 @ 8:52 pm

580. Show\’s name: Pro Bono

     Premise: Reality format, team of crack consultant (best around), good-looking, good guy lawyers/experts travel across the country offering to represent feel good clients/cases involving \”the little guy\” facing overwhelming odds or ridiculous litigation.

     Help the lawyers take on the judge suing the Korean dry cleaners for $65 over his lost pants.

     Assist the lawyers of Gernarlow in their appeal against the State of Georgia.

     You hire the best legal team available and give the celebrity treatment to those who are unfairly being prosecuted.

     Best part is that the public exposure could actually create some productive change in a system which badly needs attention.

     Comment by Benjamin Parks — May 17, 2007 @ 8:49 pm

581. What do you think about a reality show combining The Bachelor with female athletic prowess? In addition having the sappy Bachelor-like interactions and premise, the show would also have the women complete different athletic tests each week. The top finisher(s) in the athletic test would then be granted immunity and would automatically stay through the next round. The women could compete in activities like a mini-triathlon, one-on-one basketball, ping pong, bowling, tennis, vertical jump, 100M dash, speed skating, etc. The show could be called The Combine. Have you ever had one of those moments where you think a girl is cute? But then you\’re outside and it starts to rain so she takes off running but her legs and arms start flailing everywhere to the point where you lose all feelings of attraction.

     this show would really be a hit. it would incorporate the hardcore fan to the generic girlfriend.

     Comment by Bill Foran — May 17, 2007 @ 9:37 pm

582. Mark,
     You should run a show that only focuses on positive aspects of the news. Call it \”Positively News\” or something like that. Think of it as chicken soup for the soul meets Entertainment Tonight.

     Comment by Rob — May 17, 2007 @ 9:53 pm

583. dear Mark Cuban i read an article about you and it was very good i want to email you info about me and ask you advice on how to get my life in the right track my email is smartsmartache@yahoo.com i was wondering if there was a way that i can email you

     Comment by Mark Hudson — May 17, 2007 @ 10:59 pm

584. I think it\’s time for an investigative series on racism. It\’s a difficult subject to tackle, which is why I think HDNet is the perfect place for this kind of series. It\’s going to take some serious guts, and I don\’t think many content providers have the necessary fortitude to even try it. What is racism? What is a racist? Is there a distinction between saying or doing something racist and being a racist? Is racial profiling a bad thing? Are there differences between races? The media likes to mention the issue without really digging into it (OJ Simpson, Barry Bonds, NBA refs bias, Don Imus.)
     We need something intelligent than can fully explore all the different facets from reparations to reverse discrimination against whites due to quotas. I think it\’s a topic that needs more than just an hour or a segment to fully explore.

     Comment by Dustin — May 16, 2007 @ 3:31 pm

585. Perhaps a television reality show where a billionaire judges contestants on random, non-sensical tasks, then provides the winner with $1 million. Sounds like a sure fire bet to me!

     Comment by Keys — May 14, 2007 @ 2:05 pm

586. I live in a city (Somerville, MA) that\’s got some wild demographic divisions. These are often referred to as \’old\’ and \’new\’ Somerville. There are contrasts and conflicts all over the place, running from the totally comical to the potentially dangerous. I think it would be great to see a show on this – it\’s rich, meaningful, and ongoing stuff from one of the most densely-populated cities in the country.

     -Craig

     Comment by Craig — May 17, 2007 @ 11:43 pm

587. How about picking up Arrestet Development for a few more seasons. That\’s only the best show ever made!

     Comment by Eric Stein — May 18, 2007 @ 12:47 am

588. Hello Mark, There is a gentleman out there who is the best interviewer in the business,none other than the great Don Imus!I sincerely believe he is a modern day \”Mark Twain\”,and if you were to offer him a slot on your HDNet station,myself and millions of North Americans would be indebted to you!

     Comment by BernieO — May 18, 2007 @ 12:36 am

589. Since you carry NASCAR races on HDnet, how about showing the Reno Air Races? An HD camera mounted in the wing of a race modified P-51 mustang would be way cool.

     Comment by Howard Huang — May 18, 2007 @ 12:38 am

590. Mark, I\’m here in Iraq and I think a reality show that revolves around a specific unit and their mission would make an excellent show. The crew would have to have some nuts to go on the hairy missions that would make for an interesting show but some wild shit happens here. I wish I could relate some stories but I\’m affraid the information is somewhat sensitive to be posting in a blog. Safe to say the show would be funny, sad, and just plain nuts! follow an EOD team around for 6 months and you would get plenty of explosions to fill a half hour show.

     Comment by Chris — May 18, 2007 @ 4:23 am

591. Mr. Cuban,

     Lest we forget the hard life lessons learned from the past, I would suggest a mini-series loosely based on the lives of our forefathers – those that lived through the Great Depression and Dust Bowl days. Some great examples can be found on our web site – http://www.MedicineMound.com – drama, murders, arson, heroism, comedy, and old-fashioned family values all rolled into one mini-series package, and we can even make the old ghost town available for location filming. There\’s the time Mrs. Tidmore burned down the entire town, tales of herding mules through downtown, gunfights at the railroad depot, \”fishing\” for tarantulas, and struggles of survival during the Depression….. all in HD ! We\’ve got an award-winning writer on staff, and all the stories are in place for several compellling episodes. Let\’s show folks what real Texas entepreneurs were like – our parents and grandparents !

     Comment by John Bates — May 17, 2007 @ 8:08 pm

592. Mark,
     how about a historical series about events of the past if they happened/ended differently, such as What if Texas was still a republic and was never annexed into the USA, or if MLK was still alive, if the cuban missile crisis went a different way, or if JFK was still alive. If during the civil war that the South had the resources of the North, and vice versa. TO Give a different opinion on history, a contrast to reality. That certain events in history happen for a reason.

     Comment by Kevin Meyer — May 18, 2007 @ 9:29 am

593. RIVALS – Inter-service competitions are a mix of annual sporting events in the U.S. Armed Forces, where active duty members don\’t compete for rings, high priced contracts or endorsements, just BRAGGING RIGHTS! This is more than sporting program, it\’s also showing what some of our nation\’s heroes do to protect our country, for minimal salary, tough living conditions and frequent seperations. Not only doing their assigned job for their service, but also training to compete with the little off duty time. The Navy wrestler who is also a flight deck director on an aircraft carrier, an Air Force Combat Cameraman who is also their starting center on the Air Force basketball team, the Army Medic who pitches the no-hitter in on the woman\’s softball team. Army verses Navy, Marines verses Coast Guard, Air Force verses Army, a show which documents a service\’s spirit and dedication, not only on the playing field representing their service, but also having the pride and dedication of being a part of a larger team, the US Military.

     Comment by M Lent — May 18, 2007 @ 9:42 am

594. I have an idea for a new reality show. I know we all ready have so many. But, I haven\’t seen one like this.

     Take 2 kids/teens, one poor and one rich. Let them trade lives for a week and see how there interpretations of each other change. For more details, email me!!

     Comment by Kristina — May 18, 2007 @ 9:50 am

595. How many shows do you watch where you dislike one of the characters or actors in a program that you watch weekly? What if you could get rid of that character or actor? Why not have a show that after x amount of episodes one of the cast members is voted off and replaced by another character and/or cast member? This format could be used for any type of TV program. How does that sound?

     Comment by Jake McKeown — May 18, 2007 @ 10:02 am

596. …Its a stupid reality show, but what i think is missing from TV is drunk people. 90% of this country is a lush, so lets follow some real people, either in bars, camping, boating, whatever.. and watch them get hammered and act and talk like asses.

     Comment by sean — May 18, 2007 @ 9:44 am

597. What about a show done in the generative process? Impose a structure, not content, and the unfolding newness will be seen in the genre itself. I would love for a crew to receive a modest budget and a deck (yes, a deck!) of The Oblique Strategies Cards, and just let go.
     http://music.hyperreal.org/artists/brian_eno/oblique/oblique.html

     They would work within certain constraints, but basically be assigned the task of interpreting these cards in the making of a show. It -could- start out as a documentary on the generative process, and then at any given fork down this road, they draw a card and follow its advice as best they can decipher. The combinations of storytelling and investigation are endless. It all depends on the rule set and the ingredients established beforehand.

     Whenever it becomes too \”peg-able\”, and falls flat like reality t.v. with all its variant blendings, the rule set just needs some tweaking, like tuning a chime or coming out with a new version of SimWhatever. Even post production, the frame so to speak, could follow through in the generative process. Many other arts, schools of design and sciences are already head long into this technique! It\’s like planting seeds instead of a forest, and rather than muscling one\’s creative energy, it\’s a way of letting the process do the talking. I think we\’ve become somewhat immune to spice and the aging blueprints of narration. Let\’s throw out the bathwater for this show, and see what questions are waiting to be asked.

     Comment by Gary — May 18, 2007 @ 11:28 am

598. Mr. Cuban, I have an idea, but not sure of how to get started with it. I\’m sure you get this all the time, but, if you could hear me out, I sure would love to get your opinion. Thanks, David Sandgren / Wylie, Tx

     Comment by David Sandgren — May 18, 2007 @ 11:38 am

599. Supercheer
     This reality show combines a competition between professional sports cheerleading teams and includes a major wanna be competition voted upon by the public. See: Dancing with the stars and American idol. This is not mud wrestling but dance, agility and gymnastics and beauty. Finally, we get the NBA vs the NFL and our own Supercheer.

     2007 ITV Networks, all rights reserved.

     Comment by Barry Samuels — May 18, 2007 @ 12:25 pm

600. Not a cooking show. This is a drinking show.
     A Perfect Cocktail
     We will travel the world taking the viewer to the bars where famous drinks were created.
     See: Raffles Hotel in Singapore for the Singapore Sling. We will trace the origin of the Martini and the Margarita. Part travel part history. Our on screen interactive element will allow the viewer to call up the recipe.

     2007 ITV Networks, all rights reserved.

     Comment by Barry Samuels — May 18, 2007 @ 12:38 pm

601. HDNet: Q School 2007

     PGA Q School is one of the gut wrenching events where some dreams come true and other dreams die.

     Yes, its a sports show, but its also a very personal human story.

     100s of golfers from all over the world vying for 30 golden tickets to the PGA.
     Some walk away with conditional status on other less glamorous pro tours, but for the majority its back to reality.

     Follow the golfers through the first and second round of q-school ending at the 6 day / 6 round final stage of q school where there are no guarantees for anyone.

     John Feinstein has written a couple of books about Q-School and the CBC did a small documentary on it a few years ago, but they\’ve barely scratched the surface.

     This is pure gold.

     Or we could look at a sequel for Delta Farce

     Comment by Brent P — May 18, 2007 @ 12:52 pm

602. how about having some pre-screened individuals on the show, giving them some seed money, and see who can make the most money after a certain period of time.

     they can do all the want with the see money, for example, going to casino, buying lottery tickets, setting up business in flea market, set up online company, set up car wash, collecting old cell phones and ship to Asia and resell them …etc.

     Comment by Peter — May 18, 2007 @ 12:29 pm

603. m–

     Only scanned entries 1-500 or so… So apologies in advance if someone posted my idea (or some iteration of it) here in the last 24 hours… And it\’s raw, brother–have not formalized any of the exact rules or specifics, but the makings of some, uhh… interesting & compelling TV are all there in the nuts and bolts. So I thought I\’d have some fun & throw it out there…

     THE SETUP
     Reality gameshows \”work\” because they capture an unscriptable, and often ultra-shocking side of our Human Nature. Some people will act heroically on these different shows and in these varying situations, but many/most others will go the selfish & deplorable route. True, it\’s tough to watch people stooping so low sometimes, but before you know it, it has become even harder to turn away…

     Plus, that\’s exactly the type of outrageous, memorable content you\’re likely to hear being discussed around the water cooler the next day…

     \”Yo, did you see what happened last night on _____________? It was unbelievable!\”

     THE GAME:
     With that in mind, each contestant (maybe there are five or six diverse contestants in total) on my little show would wear a vest/shirt equipped with five brightly-colored, DETACHABLE circular \”buttons.\” Each attached button functions like a chip at a casino. Each is worth $20k, and every person will begin the show in possession of a cool $100k.

     And then you begin the game and effectively \”unleash\” the 5-6 contestants in seperate corners of a cool & interesting *enclosed environment. (*Could be a colorful rainforest jungle setting, something futuristic, or even an an empty warehouse…doesn\’t matter too much as long as there\’s places to run and places to hide!)

     Now… Each contestant will have 20 minutes (or so) to determine if they want to:
     A) try to avoid the others, hide out, and keep their full $100k
     B) go after other people\’s chips. Hunt \’em down and take as many as you can by force. (BTW, once you take chips from someone, you have to place them on your own vest–making you an even bigger target)
     C) You can try to team up with others. (Operative word there being \”try\”)

     There\’s few formal rules & almost no holds barred! And it\’s all live, baby!

     You can outsmart your contestants. You can overpower them. Basically, you can assume whatever strategy you want, but you\’d better figure it out fast…

     Am guessing you can probably imagine how some of the ACTION would unfold…

     Off the top of my head, you could call it \”The Game.\” But I have a feeling with a little bit of devoted thought, I could do much better than that.

     But for better or worse, viewers would know that you were gonna see some shocking stuff by tuning in for a half-hour or hour. Primal stuff, like greed. And violence. And based upon how effectively you cast, you might even see a little bit of that good side of our Human Nature…

     And done correctly, the show would break new ground in television and make a whole lotta headlines in the process. Likely, there would be some vocal opposition to \”The Game.\” But a lotta people would be watching.

     And they wouldn\’t just be calling their cable companies asking about HDNet, they\’d be DEMANDING it!

     

     Later,
     DS

     Comment by Dixon Starz — May 18, 2007 @ 1:24 pm

604. Mark,
     I\’d love to see a show about a wandering philosopher. The show would center on a person\’s journey, both literally and philosophically. It would use allegories to illustrate different types of fundamental philosophical thought. (Think some of themes raised in The Matrix and the first season of Lost). I think HD would be a great medium because the literal journey could take the character fantastic places around the world, which come across very well on HD. Some of the best HD content I\’ve seen has centered on exotic locations because HD \”takes you there\”.

     Comment by Jake — May 18, 2007 @ 2:07 pm

605. i dont want new shows, just resurrect The Black Donnelly\’s and i\’ll be happy.

     Comment by pat — May 18, 2007 @ 2:21 pm

606. HOW ABOUT INCLUDING A FEW PRIME SERIES TO THE ROSTER? NO NEED TO REINVENT THE WHEEL. YOU WANT TO PULL IN VIEWERS (LOYAL FAN BASE INCLUDED) SIMPLY PICK UP WHAT OTHERS SCREWED UP. LET\’S START WITH THE BEST SCI-FI SERIES BAR NONE….FARSCAPE. OR MORE RECENTLY \”DRIVE\” OR PERHAPS \”JERICHO\”. (BUT THE RATINGS FELL?) WELL WHAT DO EXPECT WILL HAPPEN WHEN YOU PULL A 3 MONTH HIATUS MID SEASON?! TOSS IN A TAD MORE GRIT, KEEP THE SEASON INTACT AND PRESTO…I CAN GUARANTEE THAT 3 NIGHTS I BE GLUED TO THE TV. \”WHEN IN DOUBT LOOK TO FX\”

     REALITY / GAME SHOWS…..ANYTHING THAT STARTS WITH THE WORD \”NAKED\”. SHOW ME \”NAKED SURVIVOR\” \”NAKED JEOPARDY\” YOU GET THE IDEA. MAKE ME PAY FOR IT…THROUGH IN A BAG OF JIFFY-POP AND I\’LL SIGN A 3 YEAR SUBSCRIPTION NOW.

     Comment by Jim Walls — May 18, 2007 @ 2:33 pm

607. Anybody whose idea of \”good programming\” is to hire a disgraced Network Anchor to deliver the news wouldn\’t know a good idea if it walked up and bit him in the rear. :>)

     Comment by Bill MIllan — May 18, 2007 @ 1:36 pm

608. my idea is a guy who takes different jobs, easy ones, and leads people to believe he is a good worker and likeable, normal guy…. then he has a blow out, or quits in a hillarious way. Sort of like how I would love to quit my crapy job. But if you want to tape me quitting, better hurry, I cant take it there much longer. It would be a funny show, maybe like a cross between that paris hilton show and punked. the first part of the show would set up with someone getting a new job, working very hard at fitting in and doing good, then things get shakey. We can keep away from harmful stuff, and lawsuits… sure its possible. Noone can stay mad when they find out thet\’re on TV right?

     Comment by Denver — May 18, 2007 @ 2:35 pm

609. Mark,

     I think it\’d be very interesting to do a \”90210\”-esque teen/recent college grad soap opera about living in the Silicon Valley, trying to run a startup, doing all the VC stuff. Lot of potential plotlines revolving around that.

     Nik

     Comment by Nik Bonaddio — May 18, 2007 @ 3:40 pm

610. My idea is a sitcom with the humor sensibility of Arrested Development or The Office but based on a a traveling sales staff for a national company like a UPS or perhaps a copier company. They\’d have a Sales VP like Alec Baldwin in Glengarry Glen Ross and an incompetent manager. The show would be based on the life experiences of a few successful (and not so successful) salespeople I know and the reaction of the customers after the salespeople left and the salespeople as they get in their car and head to the next call.

     Everyone can relate to salespeople in some manner and as much as I laugh everyday in my job, I know others will too.

     Comment by Mike Mahoney — May 18, 2007 @ 3:52 pm

611. Title: \”You\’re It…\”

     Tag: An HD digital video recorder, a reusable shipping box, and a $1m prize.

     User Generated HD Content + Unpredictability + cash prize

     What it\’s about:

     You send a compact HD video recorder to a random person in a reusable shipping box, with a note: $1M Prize – Create a 30 minute video – Be very Creative – Save the tape – and then send the HD recorder to any person in the United States….then it\’s their turn!

     After a set time period, each video is submitted and the US audience votes on the best.

     This concepts needs to be refined, but I love fresh content that isn\’t \”canned\”, and this would work!

     Comment by Josh — May 18, 2007 @ 3:56 pm

612. Mark,

     I enjoy and appreciate HDNet\’s devotion to reporting with shows like World Report and Dan Rather Reports. I am an avid viewer of news channels like CNN, MSNBC, CNBC, and the others. However, I get frustrated at times when the news channels report on issues that affect the younger demographic. News shows and news talk shows (Crossfire, Keith Olbermann, etc) rarely rely on or use younger people to articulate how they are impacted by current events.
     I would like to see a news discussion show that features intelligent, articulate discussion panels and field journalists between 22-30 years of age discussing the issues that impact this generation currently and in the future. It is clear that there is a generational divide separating what is important to people under 30 and what is reported in the mainstream news today. I believe that a show dedicated to the issues that affect the new generation, driven by that generation, would be successful, able to capture a large audience immediately that has been neglected (the audience of course being intelligent, current event oriented young people). There are news shows of course, and there are shows and entire channels devoted to younger people, but I feel that they fail to meet the needs of a large part of the market.

     Comment by Tim — May 18, 2007 @ 4:35 pm

613. A Cool Million

     Give someone a million dollars and they have to spend it all in a day on cool stuff. Exactly a million down to the last penny.

     Comment by hermes — May 18, 2007 @ 7:33 am

614. International Bounty Hunter
     Main character has a team of former military comrades that hunt down the worlds worst bad guys strictly for the reward. They only take the highest paying jobs. The show lightly addresses the politics of each bad guy yet the main character has no political loyalty. Throw in an ongoing love story with some female government agent that is doing the same job, but is only motivated by patriotism. Action/Drama and an ability to address some of the international politics that the US is so unaware.

     An ongoing plot and task for the group would be the pursuit of Osama Bin Laden…obviously!

     I\’ll take $1 million for development and would be happy to consult on keeping the plots believable!

     Comment by Mike — May 18, 2007 @ 5:38 pm

615. How about a sci-fi-esque (a la X-Files)show about a mysterious and wealthy yet devious CEO of a large corporation whose team of researchers discovers the \”real\” Garden of Eden in Iran, where they also uncover an ancient snake skin, which they hire a husband and wife team of bio-tech cloning experts to do research with…

     Comment by Roger — May 15, 2007 @ 9:49 pm

616. You want controversy? Want intense, highly biased interests on both sides? Want to bring something to the world that could actually change politics as we know it? Not scared of high powered pressure?

     Create a reality show based on life in the Occupied Territories, using hidden cameras. Contact some of the bloggers there and have the camera follow the day to day life of a student in Gaza or a mother in Hebron. Find a story of someone articulate, with goals, and humanize them. Something like this story of a Gaza student trying to get his degree from a Bethlehem university: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/6670117.stm (second half of page)

     Smuggle in cameras with wireless recorders and budget for many of them being seized or destroyed. Make the cameras invisible as much as possible, and work with resident journalists for B-roll. Show the ugliness of occupation, so Americans can understand some of the underlying reasons for the hatred of our policies in the mideast. Maybe when the US reaches the point of a more equal treatment of the situation we might achieve tru piece in the region.

     Comment by Bruce Ewert — May 18, 2007 @ 5:45 pm

617. id like to e-mail mark but why dont you make a show how about for 3 years i have been trying to get my technology device called intervator in prodution i invented back in the 80s that if added to an automobile will make a auto get 200+ miles per gallon been thru so many government officials the big 3, house of representatives, energy department and no one will even give me the light of day it would add 7 trillion dollars to our economy ,get rid of global warming [no exhaust ] completly change the middle east like get out of iraq kmarwolfhalen.com

     Comment by david werner — May 18, 2007 @ 8:30 pm

618. Divorced And Loving It Concept Summary

     Recently separated from his wife, Ian Hurst lives with his twenty-something daughter in Shoal Point, a beachside suburb where everyone knows everyone else and gossip spreads like wildfire. Shoal Point is full of executive homes and mansions, but Ian has lived there for thirty years and his house is basically a beach shack with a veranda.

     The show mocks Ians new life as a bachelor and his relationship with the crazy people at his workplace and in his neighbourhood. It also explores his relationship with his daughter, Kim, who is quiet and reserved by nature and often embarrassed by her fathers behaviour.

     Divorced And Loving It is primarily set in three locations: Ians home, with a large proportion of screen time taking place on the veranda from which Ian drinks beer, eats cheese, tells bad jokes and spouts rough pearls of wisdom; the brewery where Ian works; and Malibus, the strip club where Ian relaxes.

     Divorced And Loving It is the Married With Children for the 21st century, with a bit of The Simpsons thrown in for good measure.

     Divorced and Loving It – Characters

     Ian and Kim are the two main characters in Divorced And Loving It. They appear in every episode. The supporting characters are integral to the show but may not necessarily appear in every episode.

     Ian Hurst: In his mid fifties, Ian is an everyman. Many viewers will see their own father in Ian. His favourite place in the house is the veranda. He loves his kids, hates his ex-wife and is very unsuccessful at trying to come onto women. He is embarrassing to his children but they still love him. He tries and fails to act young and thinks he knows everything. He likes beer and has a general dislike of all animals, especially the three cats left over from his divorce settlement.

     Kim Hurst: Kim is twenty-something and works at a nursing home. She is quiet and reserved and often mortified by her fathers actions. Nevertheless she loves him and takes on somewhat of a caring, almost motherly role with her father. She loves all animals and can be a little dull.

     Glenn Hurst: Ians younger child, Glenn is built like the proverbial brick shithouse. He works for an IT company, which is an odd career choice because he is very impatient and loses his temper quite often. He regularly drops in to ask Ian for money, or to drink his homebrewed beer. Glenn is gay (much to Ians chagrin) and has a tendency to be so opinionated that he will talk about something for hours, or at least until Ian tells him to shut up. He is currently on holidays in Europe.

     Alan Slagala: Alan lives in the house behind Ians with his wife Maureen and daughter Kamia. He is a regular visitor to Ians veranda. Alan is the type of guy you feel sorry for: his wife puts him down at every opportunity, his daughter is the local alcoholic teenage slut and Alan has never really done anything exciting in his life. Ian calls him Slag behind his back.

     Maureen Slagala: Look in the dictionary for the definition of middle aged menopausal and youll see a photo of Maureen Slagala. She ridicules her husband in front of other people and is attracted to Ian. She is overweight: when she was pregnant with Kamia, no one actually noticed.

     Kamia Slagala: Kamia is the local teenage slut and does not get along well with either of her parents. She communicates with them through a mixture of sullen stares and screaming. She owns her own adult entertainment business.

     Dr Sue: Dr Sue is the neurotic woman living next door to Ian. She drinks far too much, worries constantly about what people think of her and has left a string of dysfunctional relationships with egotistical, wealthy men in her wake. Dr Sue is usually the source of the dysfunction for example, she pushed her last boyfriend through a plate glass window.

     John Elliot: Ians other neighbour, John is Ians nemesis. He believes in doing things the right way while Ian is more easy-going, and is in Ians words a tight-fisted bastard.

     Barry: Barry is the despotic foreman at the Pee Brewery. He is nicknamed The Black Prince because a) he is black, and b) he is a despotic bastard. Ian often makes racist jokes at Barrys expense.

     Shaz: Shaz is a stripper at Malibus. She looks for any opportunity she can to get Ians money, but they have developed a close friendship.

     Graeme Harvey: Graeme is perhaps Ians best friend. He is a Canadian that insists he is American but still supports Canada in the ice hockey. He likes beer and has earned the nickname The Yes Man from Ian as he invariably answers a question with a rapid-fire Yeah, yeah yeah yeah yeah.

     Divorced And Loving It Additional Storylines

     Charlottes Dead: Ian discovers a mother lode of cat fecal matter on the veranda. He dreams up an elaborate scheme to discover which cat is the culprit and plans to take the offending cat to the veterinarian to be put to sleep.

     The Great Escape: The Great Escape, a famous travel show with a well-endowed female host, comes to Shoal Point. The whole suburb comes down with television fever and, determined to seduce the well-endowed female host, Ian offers to be The Great Escapes tour guide while they are in town.

     Southern Exposure: Ian who generally \’freeballs\’ it inadvertently forgets to do up his fly while visiting a hardware store. The female shop assistant wants to press charges against Ian, who must prove that he didnt commit the offence of indecent exposure. Ian unintentionally exposing himself to woman is a running gag throughout the series.

     Possum Shack: Ian declares war on the possums that keep him awake by crawling around on the roof at night. He decides to start trapping possums and relocating them, leading to a run-in with a local park ranger and nightmares of possums returning to Shoal Point to reclaim their native lands.

     A pilot script titled \’One Night At Ian\’s\’ has already been written.

     Comment by Jamie McGraw — May 18, 2007 @ 9:08 pm

619. One thing I really like watching in HD are concerts. Instead of focusing on bands that have already made it though, I think it would be cool to have a show centered around one small local club where a lot of undiscovered bands come through. Each episode could show the stories of the different bands that pass through that week, mixing in performances from one/a few of them. I think this would help people learn about new bands without waiting for clear channel to burn one or two of them into their brains.

     Comment by Chris — May 18, 2007 @ 9:38 pm

620. Dear Mark,

     I have a very good TV show for you. It is true life in New Jerseys finest Private school. Pretty much it is like a real world except for Preppy Private School northeastern kids. It would be very solid i think. Email me about it.

     Another idea for a show is Mark Cuban. It would be like Rob and Big or RUn\’s house except it would be about you, Mark CUban.

     Email me if you like my ideas/

     Comment by scott bissinger — May 18, 2007 @ 9:48 pm

621. Hey Mark,

     I think you should do a sketch comedy show!

     Check out http://www.theleadershipcamp.com

     Thanks,
     Matthew

     Comment by Matthew — May 18, 2007 @ 10:46 pm

622. Saw the blurb on the Internet Movie Database about how you welcome out-of-the-ordinary ideas for shows. How about one based on the short stories in my book, Forty Rabbit Holes?

     Yeah, I know – shameless self promotion, but check out http://www.geocities.com/fortyrabbitholes for details. In a nutshell, each of the forty stories in the book are basically daydreams set to paper. Defying literary convention, each story is written from the second person point of view, making the reader the central character of each story. Admittedly, it could be a bit of a challenge bringing this concept to the screen, but it would definitely be different from anything on the air. People who have read my stories are roundly intrigued by them, and compare the stories to those of Ray Bradbury, or some of the stories from the old Twilight Zone. The stories range from funny, to weird, to tear-jerking, and feature a wide range of character types. A little something to please everyone.

     You want different? You got it. If you\’re interested, I\’ll send you a copy.

     Comment by Phil Penne — May 18, 2007 @ 6:07 pm

623. An hour show where an Artist (musical, theater, dance, etc.) gets total creative control to produce what he or she wants from an artistic standpoint. The High Definition and Sound qualities are therefore conducive to a very creative artistic experience for the viewers.

     Comment by Ken — May 18, 2007 @ 11:22 am

624. i have 4 different shows ill explain breifly what i think is the worst here and if it interests you at all contact me and we can discuss the others. ford vs chevy. i know that organazations are always testing these trucks vs each other but you never get to see it. i would like to see actual head to head competition of stock models. for example which one tows better, carrys more load ,smashes less, direct head to head type stuff . anyone who watches nascar(although i dont its obviously a huge buisness)would tune in. chain them directly to each other for a tug of war? run them on those machines and moniter the mileage that each breaks at and what breaks. lots of explosions and fires. but actual scientifically monitered tests keep it fair lets see who the winner really is. maybe toyota plays the winner who knows anyhoo this is really is my worst idea meant to suck you in but not give up the real goods my other shows have nothing to do with cars i have one complicated large scope type project and another easier to do documentery type project both reality ideas that will keep people glued to there tvs. email me<