Six years before I wrote Sidekick, I co-created another superhero named the Scarlet Knight. Along with my friend Kris Leeds, I wrote and submitted a sitcom pilot called Local Hero for a writing competition held by Bravo. Needless to say, we flopped. Needing a name for the hero when I got the idea for Sidekick, I just stole the name of that rejected hero. (I stole the name of another hero I created as well, but you’ll need to listen to the Author Commentary Track for more on that one.)
The Scarlet Knight of Local Hero was considerably different from the hero of Sidekick. This Scarlet Knight was a hero named Ed Roberts who was forced into retirement when his powers started fluctuating. He finds himself a suburban house-husband, trying to adapt to a mundane existence while his intrepid investigative reporter wife brings home the bacon. The logline for our pitch was “Bewitched, starring Superman.”
For those with morbid curiosity, I’ve made the final revised version of the script, along with the pitch documents and an introduction, available for download. Just a little peek into the writing process, and a concept I hated having to leave behind me. Especially since it means that the follow-up episode Crisis on Infinite Ex-Girlfriends, will never be produced.
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