Yeah, my show is called Brimstone. I've been planning it for years, I want to write the pilot now, and it just IS CALLED Brimstone.

However, turns out there was an American drama (that looks really bad) a while ago called Brimstone. If anybody's up on legal issues, they could maybe tell me if I actually NEED to rename mine, but just in case, do you think you guys could help me out?

It's a supernatural detective show - kind of Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossed with Raymond Chandler crossed with Good Omens. It's set in Leeds, and the main character is a half-demon detective called Judith (Jude) Brimstone, head of Brimstone & Charcoal (which is her and her best friend Mickey Charcoal).

Some ideas I had (opinions please):
- call it Brimstone & Charcoal
(okay I guess but not as snappy, and Mickey isn't really more of a main character than many other people)
- 'The Casebook of Jude Brimstone'
(after what Mickey calls his Dr-Watson style chronicle of her work. Bit stuffy-sounding?)
- Something else
(I have no idea)

Some themes we get a lot throughout this show:

- God is not good
- Lucifer is not evil
- The Demons feel betrayed by God and resentful of humans
- We have more to fear from psychic vampires and angels than from monsters

So, something quote-y maybe? I'm using elements of Christian (especially Catholic), Islamic and Jewish mythology, as well as folkloric elements (vampires, demons with horns, etc).

Any ideas?

Unless the plots are similar (yeah, I didn't look), I don't think you keeping your title would be a problem. There are some shows and some movies that have the same name but they're nothing alike. The only thing you'd have to worry about with similar plots is that someone says you're ripping them off.

I can't think of another title to help you out just in case. Brimstone *fits* so well.

What about BC? Brich (pronounced brick)? Fire and Brimstone?

Providing the show wasn't hugely popular, and doesn't feature a similar plot, the same name shouldn't be an issue.

Hey, this is ScriptFrenzy! And this is your TV show. Call it whatever you like. If it has been Brimstone in your mind for years now, and you are happy with that title, then leave it at that. Call it a working title, if that makes you feel better.

In the odd case that a broadcaster should be interested in it afterwards (if it turns out well you could present it to the BBC writer's room for example, they accept TV pilots for reading), they will probably come up with a completely new title anyway.

Writers do stories, marketing people do titles, at least as long as you are not famous :)

Brimstone and Charcoal evokes ideas on what the story is about. Not what you are on about. Alternative names to me would be Miss Judith Brimstone or Jude Brimstone

I would say, keep your title.

The American drama was on US tv and never aired here so I doubt you'd be in any real trouble there. Just ensure the plots are not similar and you should be fine.

However, if you were determined to change it I would go with something ambiguous. You say a major theme is challenging religious preconceptions then perhaps a title like 'Gospel' - vague and works on a number of levels.

And hey, if you want someone to bounce idea's off of I think your show sounds fascinating and I'd love to read it.

~S

I'd stick to Brimstone.

If it ever gets commissioned, then you can chat to lawyers and producers about it.

But, for the moment, I would stick to the title that inspired you.

You love the title and it's perfect for your show, so just keep it, at least for now.

My understanding is that titles can *not* be copyrighted (at least under US copyright law, not sure about the UK) The reason people avoid the same titles isn't b/c of legal issues, but in order to avoid confusion.

I watch a lot of TV (some might say, way too much ;-)) and Brimstone didn't ring any bells. So I checked epguides.com and found it -- a half season on Fox 10 years ago!!

A decade is a lifetime in TV years. I don't think you have to worry about anyone confusing your fabulous teleplay with a a short-lived series that didn't make a ripple in the ratings.

Just make your story doesn't rely on identical elements, b/c that *could* be confusing.
[i.e., it looks like Brimstone was about a cop who murdered his wife's rapist, then died and was sent to hell, and now he's back on earth on a mission to capture a bunch of escapees from hell.)

When you've finished your script and you're ready to market your project (submit it to producers, enter into contests, etc.) -- at that point you should probably double-check and make sure there aren't any other Brimstone-titled movie or TV shows in the works-- again, just to avoid confusion. [use IMDb]

....if you decide not to stick with Brimstone...

BRIMSTONE, PI [b/c she is a private investigator]

DARK LIGHT [b/c it sounds mystical, and your premise reverses preconceptions of god, satan, demons, etc.]

FWIW I've seen every episode of Brimstone and found it to be a very good show - just too dark to succeed on American television. John Glover made a most excellent Devil, which is probably how he got hired to play Lionel Luthor on Smallville - he does evil so well.

If you're just writing this for yourself it doesn't matter what you call it. I agree with whoever said titles can't be copyrighted, so call it Brimstone if you really want to.

If you're serious about selling this (and wow it sounds like a tough sell since blasphemy doesn't 'play well in Peoria' as we Yanks say) then the title matters more since it's your marketing brand. If you want to sell it in the US then I'd say you won't want to use Brimstone since naming your show the same as a failed show? Not helpful. If you're just focusing on the European market then I'm fairly sure just using Brimstone won't remind anyone of the failed US series.

FWIW I like Brimstone and Charcoal quite a bit. I also think given the UK's memory of Brimstone and Treacle the idea of a 'Brimstone and' title might play better than just Brimstone alone.

Now you've got me thinking about Randall and Hopkirk (Deceased) - a show I was very fond of as a little girl. Actually a supernatural detective show reminds me more of Angel than Buffy, especially since Angel had a male half demon detective character which led to a female part demon detective character after he left.

Okay, stopping now before I digress into Dresden Files or Blood Ties or universe forbid, Moonlight. LOL

Good luck to you regardless. It sounds like an interesting tale.

I agree with those who say that you should wait to change the title. That's something you can always do in the rewrite. Writing original content to deadline is already tough enough. Don't screw yourself up by changing to a title you don't like.

As far as your approach, you might try watching other shows to see how far they go. The other Brimstone wasn't that bad, though it was rather grim. There was also American Gothic, about a young boy whose soul was being fought over by the ghost of his half-sister and his father, who was apparently the Devil.

For current shows, you could check Supernatural or Reaper on the CW. Supernatural (the better show) is currently doing a storyline about the Apocalypse. One of the brother protags is contaminated by demon blood and apparently being groomed to become the Antichrist by his demon familiar/sometime lover. The other protag made a deal and went to Hell, but was rescued by angels after he broke and started the Apocalypse clock to setting Lucifer free. The show is also hinting that he or the contaminated brother might be Lucifer, especially since demons are former damned humans while fallen angels simply become human, so the two aren't the same (as in traditional Christian theology). Since the War in Heaven apparently hasn't occurred yet, some of the angels are pretty dark and scary and possibly even evil.

Reaper is somewhat more traditional in that it's a comedy about a young slacker who discovers that his parents sold him to the Devil. Now, he works for the guy as a collector of escaped souls (like the protag of that other Brimstone show). Canadian network City-TV had a much darker take on a similar theme a few years back in a show called "The Collector". Some good ideas and good guest stars, but the scripts were all over the place.

Then there's Hex, a British Buffy-wannabe show from, I think, 2004, about a young witch at a boarding school being seduced by fallen angel Azazael. Pretty dire, unfortunately, though the lesbian ghost sidekick, Thelma, was a great character stuck in a bad show. And there's the really traditional route with stuff like Poltergeist: the Legacy from the late '90s or Friday the 13th: the Series from the late '80s.

I'm sure that as long as you do a little research to avoid repeating somebody else's take on things, you can find your own niche. This is a popular subgenre.

"Charcoal" is camp. Please, no. "Sulfur" is cooler, but still rare. "Burns" or "Burner," far more believable. But still, like everyone said, Brimstone alone is fine.