Tuesday, April 17, 2007

Fantasy Television

A friend recently challenged me to come up with my favorite characters from TV and then put them into a new show. So what I did was to think of my favorite TV shows, and then pick my favorite characters. However, I'm not picking the character the play, so much as the actor who plays them, and the style with which they play them. For example, I think Chandra Wilson is great as Dr. Bailey on Grey's Anatomy, but I love her recent awards acceptance speeches more, so I'd want Chandra Wilson, with the strength of Dr. Bailey but the lightheartedness she naturally portrays.
Favorite Characters:
1. CJ Cregg (The West Wing)- Alison Janney
2. President Bartlett (The West Wing)- Martin Sheen
3. Emily Gilmore (Gilmore Girls) - Kelly Bishop
4. Spike (Buffy/Angel)- James Marsters
5. Rachel (Friends) - Jennifer Aniston
6. Dr. McDreamy (Grey's Anatomy) - Patrick Dempsey
7. Michael Vaughn (Alias) - Michael Vartan
8. Jeremy Goodwin/Will Bailey (Sports Night/The West Wing)- Joshua Malina
9. Miranda Bailey (Grey's Anatomy) - Chandra Wilson
10. Charlie Epps (Numb3rs) - David Krumholtz
11. Gus (Psyche) - Dule Hill
12. Calleigh Dusquene (CSI: Miami) - Emily Proctor
13. Barney (How I Met Your Mother) - Neil Patrick Harris
14. Sun Kwon (Lost) - Yunjin Kim

Okay, here's something of my ideal show: Sheen and Bishop are the parents of Dempsey, Malina, Krumholtz, Aniston, and Proctor. Proctor is married to Vartan, and Krumholtz is married to Kim. Marsters and Harris are trying to date Aniston (one a new love interest, one from high school). Wilson and Hill are married and grew up on the same street as our family and now live in the same building as Proctor and Vartan. That's what I've got so far. Allison Janey is probably a significant other character - like the woman who runs the family business and you're never quite sure if she and Sheen had/are having an affair. Dempsey is a womanizer who has always had a crush on Janey. Malina is gay, but not out to his family, yet. I like the more grown up character Dule plays in Pysche and I like the fun spirited person Chandra seems to be when accepting awards as opposed to the bad-ass she is on Grey's. I think they could mesh well, with her being the power person. Hill and David Krumholtz are best friends in my story. I totally see Krumholtz as being that white guy with the Asian wife. I think they're the most stable couple of the group. I see Vartan and Proctor as the perfect couple from age 10-22, that now can't figure out how to be perfect adults. They don't fight, but they seem to keep needing help from their family. Janey is Vartan's older sister who works for the company and while smart, Vartan and Proctor have always had trouble getting out of the smart shadow of their family. She's a daddy's girl and he lives in Janey's shadow. Dempsey and Aniston are the family screw ups. She dates a lot and hops between jobs - like her "Along Came Polly" character, and Dempsey's very serious, but embarassed because he's a teacher and not part of the big family thing. Malina is the successful son - though the middle child. There's lot of conflict, but lots of spots of humor too. Of course, I think Aaron Sorkin should write it - with help from the Palladinos. Laura Innes, Thomas Schlamme, and Dan Palladino should direct. That's my initial storyline. Could be more developed for humor, or drama depending on where the story took place. I was thinking it would be a Seattle story, rather than LA or NYC, and they could own a chain of coffee houses, settings for various things. Please add any comments you can think of that might improve this...guest stars, story lines, etc.

2 comments:

Cat said...

Isn't McDreamy a new addition to this line-up? :-)

Jess said...

Yes, Matthew Perry just didn't work...I liked the combo of Dempsey, Malina and Krumholtz as brothers better than with Perry.