Ape Escape was the only game I remember playing on the first PlayStation, but the game scared me and I had nightmares about it because I was too little and didn't understand the game :\

It seems a lot of spritual successors are created thanks to Kickstarter. I guess it's because the creators know that there is a dedicated fanbase to something, and they want something that is very similar to the thing they love. It reminds me of when Zach Braff was asking for help funding his film "Wish I Was Here". He's known for being in a good amount of projects, but he sold it as being the spiritual successor to his first film "Garden State," which a lot of people have a fondness for.

I have two ideas for a tv show. One would be something I'd want to pitch to Disney. Basically, it chronicles the story of a young adult who moves to a new place for a heart transplant. It would show a lot of people with varying disabilities, how they cope, and re-enforce with every episode that they are still normal people. I'd sell it as a half-hour comedy, in the style of Boy Meets World, and be willing to compromise on a laugh track (goddammit, I hate laugh tracks).

My second idea would be a one-hour drama American adaptation of Death Note (yes, I know they're doing that in Japan). Death Note takes a lot of its influences from Western sensibilities, and it really works with the Rise of the Anti-Hero that television is going through recently. There would be a number of changes I'd like to make (Misa would be a contestant on a singing reality show instead of a model), but it would still keep with the whole spirit of the source material. I also think that it would have enough legs to get at least a second season (which would immediately go into the 2nd Kira arc).

Yes, Kingsman is a spy-film, but it uses some elements from Arthurian myths. The code names for the main spies are directly lifted from the Knights of the Round Table (Collin Firth is mainly known as Galahad), and the bulk of the plot is finding the right person to take the place of the recently deceased Lancelot. While the use of their code names were obvious, I wasn't too sure if they used any other elements in the story. It's a nice motif, but I'm not sure they used it to its full extent.

And Misty totally sounds like ScarJo in this episode!

Looking forward to listening to the podcast. Love listening to this stuff while gaming :D

Edit: forgot to mention yesterday, it was awesome. Great job as always guys.

No laugh track, please! But I'd definitely watch it. I think half-hour sitcoms have a really unique power to mostly entertain but also tackle some big topics. My all-time favorite is Roseanne which, while it's mostly comedy, still has a lot to say about blue-collar workers, marriage, family, and the teenage experience (especially through Becky and Darlene -- I honestly cannot remember DJ having a serious plotline).

Can I ask why you'd switch Misa to a TV star rather than a model? Just out of curiosity.

I'd also be interested to see any more Death Note adaptations, though, not just because I liked the manga -- given its length, I think it's hard to adapt it to a movie (though I did like the movie they made), so a TV show would be a perfect format, and I think there's enough going on that it could maintain interest through the length of a TV season. (Much as a I love Pride & Prejudice, it could never be anything more than a mini-series -- in fact, I think it drags a bit as one!)

Laugh tracks can be the kiss of death for a lot of shows.

I really liked the way Scrubs handled it. I felt it was a good balance of goofball humor as well as handling the serious issues.

I'm kind of influenced by the musical adaptation, where Misa is an Idol, but I've had that kind of idea for a while now. I feel that a singing reality star (like American Idol or The Voice) would be the American equvialent to what they did to Misa. She would be a side story during the first season, with her main competition being Hidaki Ryuga. Her back story would also work, deciding to audition for the show to honor her fallen family, and she would be an open Kira supporter while Ryuga would be the opposite. It would be a way to allude to her throughout the first season, with the ending of that being Rem giving her the notebook. There would be a bit of a time gap between Misa almost getting killed by the stalker and her getting the notebook, so she would be even more devoted to Kira, believing that she was saved twice.