5 Pitches For Shows VERSUS Needs to Develop

We’re none too bright, readers.  But the mere fact is that this bit worked really well yesterday, and people seemed to genuinely enjoy our ideas.  I’m a man of simple ideals: if the people like something, give ’em more of what they want.  Here’s 5 potential hit series for VERSUS, and we promise on our lives that none of them are called “Seriously, When Are We Getting A Nightly Hockey Show, Jackasses?”

1. Inside the NHL – It’s my concept, and therefore I’m free to pitch VERSUS on shows that already existed in a previous time.  Inside the NHL was a rather impressively put together bit of filmmaking: shot, edited and put on the HDNet airwaves in what had appeared to have been 1-2 days, it featured interviews with the game’s biggest stars who were participating in that night’s HDNet game (I miss you, HDNet.  Come back sometime.).  Hosted by Dan Moriarty, it also featured your standard NHL-produced featurettes and NHL highlights set to popular rock songs (R.E.M., Against Me!, Armor For Sleep).

Now, the fact is that – while VERSUS straying away from doing a nightly hockey show is likely a cost problem – the network does not devote enough hours to hockey.  This is an entertaining, fairly cheap alternative to airing an actual pre-game show.  At worst, HDNet’s biggest cost while doing the show was likely Moriarty (who did double duty as the reporter on that night’s game – hello Charissa Thompson!) and the licensing money for the songs (Michael Stipe don’t come cheap).  Still, VERSUS, you’re spending millions on hockey, throw us 30 minutes a week of pleasant features.

2. Hockeywood – VERSUS won our love for getting the rights to air Slap Shot as the season started.  How about a documentarian look into various hockey forays into the cinema world.  It could include past films (“Youngblood”, “Miracle” or even that stupid CBC show with the Puck Bunnies), future movies (“Hit Somebody” anyone?) and anything else that gets the Hanson Brothers on my TV more often.

3. Player Cam – Now, we’ve seen this feature utilized before, but never like this.  Say you spend a night isolating Alexander Ovechkin.  Chop up the best of the footage with the commentary to the game, and air it the night after as “Ovechkin in 30”.  This is a great idea for regional networks too.  You can incorporate a mic’d up feature as well.  Just a half-hour of Ovechkin shifts, Crosby shifts, Parise/Getzlaf/YouNameIt shifts could be a really entertaining twist on the whole highlight show idea.

4.  Adrian Dater Talks to Animals – This is made much more annoying that we can’t embed it here.  VERSUS.com NHL writer, Denver Post columnist and our good Adrian Dater chats with animals, including Chris Pronger.  (“Chris Pronger, I’m not jokin’ around!  This thing could be huge!… Well, say ‘Hi’ to your mother for me.”  “You had a beard in the playoffs.  I had a beard when I wrote that column bashing Nashville.  Did you see that?”)

5. Okay, Now Really Seriously, When Are We Getting a Hockey Show, Jackasses? – I am not a man who keeps his promises.  VERSUS hinted at experimenting with more studio coverage post Olympics.  Do it.  DO IT.  DOOOOOO ITTTTTTTT!  Can we all agree that VERSUS should, at very least, air a nightly hockey show the last 6-8 weeks of the season just to get casual people used to VERSUS on a night-by-night basis.  Like we’ve said in the past, don’t do it on nights you have Hockey Central and a game.  Just three-four original extra half-hours a week.  It’s so simple.