Story 'idea'...

...though one that's very much a complete ripoff of Galaxy Quest...just replacing the sci-fi actors with a former superheroine actress/actresses stuck doing comic conventions.
Aliens come along, having seen the old superheroine tv series, ask for help with some problem they have. Actresses explain that they don't have any powers, aliens go away, then come back, take the actresses, give them the superpowers and costumes they had on tv, and get them to solve whatever problem they had.
Actresses then get sent back to Earth, and the aliens decide to leave them with their costumes and powers as a thank you for what they've done.

As I said, it's a complete ripoff of the Galaxy Quest idea, but I was just wondering how people on here might handle the main characters - would you go for four or five made up characters who starred on a made up superheroine series, or would you go for real-life actresses / roles?

I’d probably go with the made up characters. As to be honest they are a few tv personalities I believe people would pick which I utterly despise.

What I meant was something like the aliens pick up transmissions of the Wonder Woman tv series and they come to get Lynda Carter. Some real life programme. The idea falls apart though, because aside from her...who else is there?

Probably would be best to work from scratch...made-up actresses playing made-up characters with a wide variety of powers...

The characters in Galaxy Quest were from a fictional show (within the, er, fictional show) and the story worked well enough IMO. Even for those of us too uncultured and ignorant to know an obvious Star Trek quote when it's staring us in the face. I think it's a great basis for an ubergirl story.

As for the several female characters with a wide variety of powers, I'd say, "Great. Several female characters EACH possessing the SAME wide variety of powers should do it." But that's just me...

I actually like this story idea, but I'd play it almost exactly like the movie you're ripping off. First off, I'd go with a fictional show based on the premise of a Charlie's Angels type show, but with superheroines. That's the only way it would seem plausible for it to be an all girl team.

Then, I'd play it mostly for comedy, just like Galaxy Quest. Show them trying to adapt to actually having these fantastic powers, while at the same time going up against actual aliens who really are trying to kill them. Give each girl a distinct personality, with a leader type, one smart one, a stereotypical dumb blonde. I think I like the concept of a variety of powers, rather than them all being the same. Maybe make the dumb blonde be the really tough one, just for laughs.

Actually, this theme could make for an interesting workshop, since everyone has a different take on how they'd handle it.

YAGS

I'd say this is one of the finest story idea suggestions I've seen. It's narrow enough to be a real theme, while allowing enough latitude for the authors to each do their own thing.

> First off, I'd go with a fictional show based on the premise of a Charlie's Angels type show, but with superheroines. That's the only way it would seem plausible for it to be an all girl team.

There is another way. The con is featuring "the Ladies of (fill in the blank)" so that many of the actresses from the show are there but not many of the actors.

And of course there are the fans, many of them in homemade costumes. Including a fangirl (let's call her Stephanie for now), wearing a female version of the most powerful guy's costume (need I say she fills it out better than the actor ever could?). Anyway, Stephanie gets included when the aliens take the actresses, and when they don't have anyone else to give the big guy's powers to, they give them to Stephanie.

Obviously, Stephanie would have to start out being a fan of the actor playing the big guy. But when she actually meets him in person and he turns out to be a real jerk...

Maybe he was at the con, but in civvies since only the ladies are there officially. He makes a pass at Stephanie (did I mention that she fills out the costume quite nicely?). Later, after the aliens give "his" powers to her, he insists that she give them up. Never mind that she doesn't know how to give them up.

Just some random trains of thought...

Spulo, your idea has obviously struck a responsive chord in many of us. It has the potential to be a hugely entertaining story. Depending on how ambitious you feel, you could develop it into something like a novel, with individual chapters posted at intervals (hopefully not too infrequent).

Here are a few things I'd like to see incorporated into it (as long as you're "ripping off" Galaxy Quest):

1. The TV show that the characters starred in was clearly not very good. So have fun creating a really cheesy super-heroine series for your own characters.

2. The actors in the movie didn't like one another very much. So let's see lots of bickering -- and maybe an out-and-out catfight at an inconvenient moment during the mission.

3. My favorite performance in the movie was Alan Rickman's. He played a classically-trained actor who hadn't been able to land a serious role for years, having become too closely associated with his character on the TV series. So create an equivalent character for your story -- a "diva" type with a supercilious attitude toward her co-stars. If you decide to give the actresses different powers, maybe she could have the most ineffectual ability ... kind of like Triplicate Girl or Shrinking Violet in the Legion of Super-Heroes. That would add fuel to her sense of grievance.

So many suggestions! But the bottom line is: It's your story, so adopt or reject them as you see fit. I look forward to reading whatever you come up with!

P.S. Don't call it a "ripoff." Think of it as an "homage." :wink:

In Las Vegas, I think they call those things "Tributes".

Anybody think of a way to work that fanboy into the story? The nerd who knows all the technical specs of the ship and all that? Any way to work that type of character into the story?