The Man Cave!

Here's another rerun from the old defunct blog, but it's about an idea I had for a TV show a few years ago. It literally came to me in a dream. 

I call it The Man Cave.

The show is about a bunch of pals who hang out in their man cave watching sports, and through wacky misadventures solve crimes and help ladies in distress. They each have a nickname that hints at their character and talents, and each nickname essentially means “Man.” Some would be core characters, others coming on as chance or mission requirements determine. I dreamed up the broad outlines of the characters; here are the details.

Nickname	Name	Function	Talents and traits
Man	Paul North	Leader guy	Leadership; seriousness; strategic thinking; a real paladin
Guy	Joe Slobinski	Funny guy	Unpretentious; resourceful; slovenly comic relief; great gadgeteer
Bro	Tirone Peters	Cool guy	Knows all the angles; good with ladies; street-smart; a good fighter
Dude	Doggy Moonbeam	Laid-back guy	Surfing; honest; friendly; not always reliable, but strong-hearted
Fella	Zack Rigg	Strong guy	Thick but unfailingly loyal; determined; physically strong; galoot
Cowboy	Bobby Gristel	Regular guy	Expert at ropin’ and ridin’; a guileless straight-shooter; tough
Hombre	Hector Garcia	Ladies’ guy	Dazzling to women; Spanish-speaking; dancer; experienced liar
Chap	William Wentworth-Figg	Classy guy	Upper-class toff; can pass in any higher social circle; culture expert; charming jewel-thief type
Buddy	Harold Blatz	Smart guy	Computer expert; scientific; fat; logistical; geeky
Bloke	Colin Corker	Scrounger guy	Sticky-fingered cockney; can get anything; demon at the wheel
Mate	Peter Burke	Outdoors guy	From the Outback but at home in any wilderness; cheerful; a survivor
Playa	Artie McSlydes	Crooked guy	Underhanded fighter; knows a million dirty tricks; untrustworthy but ultimately loyal
Paisan	Vito Aiello	Shady guy	Has great connections; can cook really well; street-smart (like Bro, but in other neighborhoods); good driver
Pal	Frank Flatt	Veteran guy	A cop and security expert; solid but wise; always resists illegal missions but will help out anyway

They don’t go looking for trouble, really---trouble comes looking for them. They have varying degrees of comfort with one another’s moral codes, but at heart they all want to help people (especially any female people) in a jam. Like The A-Team, without the hunting from the U.S. Army. As in Mission: Impossible, each character’s abilities allows him to fulfill a particular function on their adventures. 

Paul ("Man") would say something like, "We'll have to call in a few of the boys for this -- stealing back Allison's family's jewels to save their ranch! Hombre, send a text to Playa, Guy, Hombre, Dude, Chap, and Mate . . . I have a plan." The episode would focus on those men; others might appear in support roles, or as unexpected help when the fat's in the fire. Other episodes might stress other characters.

I’m not saying they all go riding around in a Man Mobile or something. That would be silly! They each have a car that reflects their personal type. Man has a sporty sedan; Bloke has a black taxi; Dude has a dune buggy; Guy has a beat-up hoopty wagon; Chap has a Bentley; Cowboy drives the pickup; and so on. You get the idea. 

I think it would have been great for the Spike channel, except now they're all MMA and Cops.

Is it a stupid idea? Of course! So what? It's TV. People who think TV is all genius shows these days are cherry-picking, or overestimating the quality of what they happen to enjoy. Besides, every adventure show looks dark and miserable these days, stupid or not -- I say, bring back the fun. 

This show could be really big. Consider the great buddy adventure comedies in TV history. Legendary shows like The Kids from C.A.P.E.R., and The San Pedro Beach Bums. TV people, if you want big-time success like that, drop me a line. Or have your people call my people. As soon as I get some people.