Liberty Television Network

Just Mike (TV Concept) (2006 - Sit-Com)

This was one of my first TV concepts way back in 2006. It was part of my first TV fall lineup in 2006-07. It returned for a second season in 2007-08 and was then cancelled. I'm not sure why exactly I cancelled it, but it may have had something to do with Norm MacDonald's behaviour. I did episode guides for season 1 at the time, but not season 2.

"Just Mike"
Opening & Closing Theme; "Boys Are Back in Town" by Thin Lizzy
Airing time; Mondays @ 7:30pm
Status; ordered season 1 - 22 episodes
Category; Sit-Com
Production company; MapleStar Entertainment
Running time; 30 minutes

~creators~
P. Simms
M. Besler

~series synopsis~
From Paul Simms, the creator of NewsRadio.
Mike has done well in life. He is an executive in a small company, has a lovely wife and children, and is well respected in the community where he grew up, and still resides. But to his life long friends, an eclectic collection of guys who refuse to grow up, he is simply "Mike". The episodes mix retro stories of when they were kids with current situations they seem to drag themselves in and out of.

~cast~
Mike...Norm MacDonald

Billie (Mike's wife)....Gina Gershon

Doug (Brother in law)...Ian Gomez

Connor(son)...Spencer List

Jennifer...(daughter)
Fletcher...(friend)
Epstein...(friend)
Paul...(friend)
Han...(neighbor)

Promo
"They say that every family has its black sheep...it's wing-nut. Well my wife Billie is pretty normal, sure she has that Latin temper thing going but overall, normal. My son Connor is a little more self-conscious, a little more of a thinker then most kids his age, and my daughter Jennifer lives in her own world of make belief...but still...they're pretty normal. So, whomever said every family must have its wing-nut...well...they must be wrong."
Norm MacDonald is "Just Mike" this fall only on TBA.~episode guide~

Episode Guide

1.01 - "Pilot: I said Posse" When Jennifer's daycare suffers a series of break-ins, Mike springs into action with his childhood friends. Spend a night with these big overgrown children as they do a stakeout. With or without robbers the friends are bound to find trouble.
*********************
Mike comes home early from his company to have dinner with his family. His fiery Brazilian wife Billie is mad because Jennifer's daycare has been broken into for the 4th time. The security company is too slow to catch the thieves, and they keep vandalizing the rooms. The more Mike thinks about it the more upset he becomes. That evening he calls his childhood friends and brother in-law over for drinks in the basement. He locks Billie out saying they are conducting secret business. That night he tries to sneak out of the house but Billie catches him. He tells her of his plans and she's pleased giving him a big kiss goodbye and promising him more when he gets home.
Mike is picked up by the rest of the guys in Doug's big white diesel truck, along with Paul, Fletcher, and Epstein. They do a 7-11 run and the truck is filled with Nacho bags, M&M's and Big Gulps. The guys are on a sugar high, and begin to swap embellished high school stories.
Next we see them at 1:00am on a sugar low. Trying to hang on, to stay awake they start playing old 80's heavy metal songs and doing a bit of air guitar. They are parked in an empty lot across the street, kitty corner from the daycare. They see a car pull into the daycare lot but its only a police car.
They set up watches, with Doug taking the first watch, and the other guys begin to nod off.
They all awake with a start, Doug had fallen asleep, as the lights and siren of a police car beside them, wailing to come out of the car with their hands-up. They open the door and their improvised weapons they had packed for defense, a baesball bat, golf club, tire iron, etc come spilling out. The cops are going to take them in for questioning until Mike convinces them of their ill conceived notion of vigilantism. The cops let them go with a warning and tell them to go home and leave this to the pros.
The guys watch as the cops pull away. Instead of going home though they decide to turn around and go for breakfast. As they pass by they see a green van parked beside the daycare and the window busted.
The guys spring into action to catch the crooks entering the daycare and chasing them outside. Doug can't keep up, he's overweight and huffing and puffing. Fletcher wrenches his back trying to boost Epstein over a fence so he's out. And Paul trips over a crack in the concrete and smashes his head into a signpost. Epstein and Mike catch up the crooks as they try and get away in their van. There are 3 crooks and the boys don't have any of their weapons, so now they're backing up, making excuses for not fighting. We're old, you don't want to hurt senior citizens, the boys in the pen won't like that. They stall long enough for the same cops from earlier to show up. Not fully understanding what is going on the cops haul in Mike and Epstein as well as the crooks who then try and blame the boys.
Back at home the next morning Mike's family give him a hero's welcome, which makes it all worth it. Then Mike promptly passes out on the couch from exhaustion.

1.02 "The Big Game"
Special guest appearance by the announce crew of Football Nation.
When "Football Nation" comes to their old high school Mike and his pals relive the glory days as their alma mater takes on the cross town rivals. It also happens to be a great opportunity for Mike to get some revenge on a business rival from the other side of the tracks.
In the end however Mike's team is blown away by their rivals. Mike though gets the last laugh when his business rival is falsely depicted by Football Nation as a drunk lunatic fan. [note: Football Nation was another fictional show I ran on Friday nights, featuring regional High School football games, a centralized command centre, and the ability to surf between various games.]