Story Ideas

I have a writing journal that I keep next to my bed that I use to jot down any ideas that cross my mind anytime I lay down on my bed. Most of the entries are junk but some snippets that I write down does get developed more into some of my personal writing. I was reading through my journal to find some ideas about what to write for today’s blog entry today and noticed that I’ve not written anything in it for a quite sometime. Maybe this is because I’ve been doing most of my writing on line nowadays that I hardly have any ideas left for the writing journal. Anyway ... it is in this journal that I would also jot down story ideas for screenplays that I then attempt to write. Some of them have progresses further than others but I have to admit that to date I have only completed 1 of them.

One of the story ideas that I have written down and forgotten until just today is my outline for a television series. The series was to be an anthology of sci-fi influenced episodes which would have a “Twilight Zone” meets “The Outer Limits” kind of vibe. I’ve outlined about 13 episodes of the series which all would deal with the human aspects of technology and how it has changed humanity for the better or worse. Since it is suppose to be a non-linear series, each episode would be set in a different universe, so to speak, but would have the same theme of how misuse of technology would destroy the abuser. I actually picked “CTRL-ALT-DELETE” as the working title of the series as I had an image of using the keys on a keyboard as part of the credit title for each episode.

To date I’ve written down the broad plot lines for 12 episodes:

1. “Synthetics”
Tells the story a man’s quest to find something natural in a future Earth where everything that we have left is man-made. His quest would slowly uncover the secret of how it all began and just how far the synthetic substitutions have really eliminated all that is natural in his world.

2. “New Love”
A lonely computer programmer writes a computer program to simulate the emotional responses of a woman to better understand his own girlfriend. In the process of doing so, he finds himself falling in love with the simulation more than his real life girlfriend. Unknown to him, the simulation has “her” own sinister reasons for making him fall in love with her.

3. “Edge of the World”
A recluse, suffering from intense paranoia, is convinced that he was constantly being watched and followed. He decides to leave everything behind and search for a place that he could escape the prying eyes that he felt surrounded him in this modern world. His search would at last uncover the reason for his paranoia and will leave him wondering if it would be better off if he had ignored his fears.

4. “Bug”
A greedy computer programmer discovers a computer bug that is somehow able to control the flow of time. He uses this bug to his own advantage and personal gains regardless of the consequences that may result from his action. In the end, he is trapped by his own greed when he realizes that he never learned how to manage time properly.

5. “Hacker”
A thrill-seeking hacker is looking for the ultimate hack and would soon find it in the form of a black ops computer system that he discovers. Flushed with success, he then proceeds to dive into the inner workings of the systems unaware that this time; the computer is ready for him and is fighting back.

6. “Perfect 10”
A shy introvert finds himself more comfortable staying behind the avatar of his online persona in a local chat room than having to face the real world and interact with real people. This is about to change when he finds his “Perfect 10” woman and is finally finding the courage to meet her face to face. What he doesn’t know is that his “Perfect 10” may not be what he was expecting.

7. “The Descartes Dilemma”
In a future where one’s identity is defined by what is store on a computer, what happens when one record is deleted in a freak accident? If the computers tell you that you don’t exist, do you actually exist at all in real life? One unfortunate soul will find out the hard way that “I think therefore I am” will have a different meaning for him from now on.

8. “The Haunting”
A family has finally moved into their new smart home full with the latest that technology has to offer. Soon after, they began to notice several unexplained events that could only be described as supernatural. These events began to escalate and all attempts at explaining them have failed. Could a house full of the best that science can offer be truly haunted? Were they haunted to unrest spirits that still linger or something more sinister?

9. “Close to You”
An anti-social inventor unintentionally invents a communication device that allows him to hear the thoughts of other people around him. He uses this new found ability to his own advantage and to the detriment of others. What he does not know is that his invention was an unfinished work in progress that was still being worked on. It would be apparent to him soon enough when he finds out that he will never be alone again.

10. “Virtual Lives”
A young executive decides to take some time off from work and go for a virtual reality vacation. This would be a vacation that he will never forget as it takes him further along the lines of realities that he would ever imagined. In the end, he finally manages to find his way back to his reality or so he thinks.

11. “Mirror Image”
In the pursuit of fame and fortune, a young researcher ignores rules and regulations in creating a perfect clone of himself. The young researcher then instructs the clone to do all his drudge work for him while he takes all the credit for the clone’s hard work. What he doesn’t realizes is that his clone is more a like with him than he can ever imagine and would soon engage in a battle with himself for the sole right to exist.

12. “Time to Spare”
A death-row inmate with terminal cancer finds himself coerced into a secret experiment involving the use of microscopic nanobots in a cure for cancer. The success of the experiment not only removed the cancerous tumor in his body but also gave the inmate the ability to heal from any wounds instantly. Using this ability, he escapes and returns to his life of crime seemingly invincible. When he is finally brought down to face judgment, what kind of punishment would a judge give to an immortal?

I don’t really know how realistic it is to thing that I would be able to do something like this for local television. The budget for each episode alone might be too much for a local production company to invest. Nevertheless that should not stop me from putting my ideas on paper and possibly developing them into a full blown television script. I may look into doing exactly that someday soon.