I want to write a tv show that’s a totally normal show, like a bland sit-com or a by the numbers cop show, only
it’s set in an alternate reality.

I’m thinking a detective show with a poorly-matched pair of partners who solve overly-dramatic crimes, only in this world Hitler was deposed early in World War 2 and the Japanese moved to the forefront of the Axis and won. It’s set in 2009 and Europe is enjoying it’s 68th year as an annex of Japan and these guys solve clichéd crimes.

A bit too Man In The High Castle? OK, how about a flatmates sitcom in a world with reversed traditional gender roles. It’s still 2009 though, and it’s a progressive society in which gender is, while not fully, increasingly a non-issue. The guys obsess over planning a wedding, even though one of them’s always trying to act more like a girl and never commit to a serious relationship -inside he’s just as manly as any other.

Hold on, I’ve got more. How about a legal drama on an Earth where communism somehow triumphed and spread during the 20th century. England’s not been communist very long, and people are still adjusting – it’s changed a lot about how the country works, the laws in particular.

Last one – a medical show that’s basically about doctors sleeping with doctors, but in a world where a lot of people have superpowers. ER with victims of super-villains, heroes who fell prey to their one secret weakness on a golfing weekend, and occasional fallout from cosmic-scale crisis.

Nuggets of gold here, people. Pure gold.