Serials have fallen by the wayside in a lot of ways, but there's still a few people out there trying to pace their stories the way I pace mine. One of the things I draw from are some of those shows on HBO, stories intended to be told not only from episode to episode but from year to year.
It's an intriguing concept, shows that invite the audience to live the characters' lives along with them, forcing viewers to wait for the events of those peoples' lives to unfold. It shows a lot of maturity and respect for the audience. This may not be related to zombies, but I had an idea recently, a whole new network, a new marketplace to bring that kind of storytelling to the next generation.
I give you HBO jr!
All the educational programming of a children's channel with the maturity and respect for its audience (and the healthy doses of nudity and profanity) that HBO original shows have come to be known for.
What kinds of shows would they feature? It just so happens I came up with a few ideas. For anyone out there who's a fan of Entourage and/or Dora the Explorer, I say we combine them into a single show.
Foreign Flicks
A group of recent film school graduates try to make it in LA, failing into jobs translating overseas films into English. As they struggle against the realities of the Hollywood system and try to score with women from all around the world, children at home get more exposure to foreign languages and distant cultures than their peers in the same grade level, giving them the skills they need to do better in school.
And kids need history, too, don't they? Ever seen Deadwood? Rome? Regular HBO has spent years trying to show that the grittiness of modern life is hardly a new thing.
Lyceum
A historical epic, set during the later years of Aristotle's life. The children in the audience can pick up life lessons about basic logic, science and philosophy while sympathizing with a man consumed with remorse for teaching Alexander the Great to be the greatest conqueror the world has ever seen. Some of it might go a little something like this:
AristotleBut what about younger children? Where will they learn the fundamentals? For generations, children have been learning their ABCs from muppets and people on "the street," but this is the twenty first century. It's time for these new kids to get with the times.
I had to fill in for your lecture this afternoon, Theophrastus. Where under the spheres of heaven have you been?
Theophrastus
Calm down, Aristotle. I was walking by the olympic concourse this morning, and a certain lad happened to catch my eye. I gave the boy a placement exam and think he would make a most promising student here.
Aristotle
Gods damn it! How do you expect me to run an institution while you're busy chasing ass all over campus? Save some for me.
Grand Theft Alphabet
There's a killer on the loose, slaughtering a hooker for every letter of the alphabet. It's up to a recent parolee named Oscar to find the killer and make him pay. His contact and "cookie" dealer is the pimp Yayo, with his red furry hat and constant shaking and giggling, who teaches him about numbers.
OscarMillion dollar idea, I'm telling you. Big time producers, feel free to offer me money in the comments section below.
That cocksucker's already killed half a dozen girls. I gotta find him before he gets to G.
Yayo
Hahaha! Yayo told you to work that evidence. What you got?
Oscar
Well, (he turns to the camera) G makes a "gu" sound.
Yayo
What about when it sounds like a J? You gotta think that shit through, man.
Oscar
Then I'm back to square fucking one, and that freak is still out there. You know what this is like for me? There's nothing I can do about it, man. A leads to B. B leads to C. You see where I'm going with this? You see where this is fucking going?
Yayo
D?
