With the recent passing of George Carlin, I find myself reminiscing about my own experience with the great comedian, and the opportunity I once had to work with him.

About 12 years ago, before SPACE hit the airwaves I got a call from a producer I worked with.

'Do you know who George Carlin is?' he asked.

'Sure. I love his stuff- The Seven Words You Can't Say on Television', 'Stuff', 'The Hippy Dippy Weatherman'.

'Well.' he got excited. 'We've been invited to pitch him a new TV show! Got any ideas?!'

In truth, I didn't, but I said what any freelancer would - 'Sure! I have a great idea! Let me write it up!'

So, off I went, trying to design a show around George Carlin as a Loki type trickster who was a travelling salesman.

I typed for a day, and got nothing.

Nada. Zip. Zero. Zilch.

In desperation I turned to something I'd just pitched DC Comics. It was called 'Mr. Smith', and it was about a repo man who worked for the Devil. He was essentially a beleaguered middle manager who was being pressured by his unseen boss to reach his quota.

I re-jigged it a bit, made it a comedy about materialism, and fired it off to the producer. He made a couple of great suggestions which essentially made the proposal seem tailor-made for the client (always a good thing!), and then he dropped the bombshell:

'So George is going to be in Niagara Falls next week. Do you want to join me, and we'll pitch him?'

I was thrilled, until I realized I had a conflict, so I couldn't go.

I was crushed- how often do you get to meet one of your heroes- but I was excited. If the project went ahead then there would be plenty of opportunities to meet Mr. Carlin. I had total faith in my pitching partner (he's better at that than me), so off he went.

Moments after the meeting, I got a call- George loved it!

Apparently everybody else had been pitching variations on Seinfeld, and this was 'fresh' and 'new' and 'exciting'. He could see himself as the character, and he loved the fact that his material could fit into the concept. It was about small human observations, big existential ideas, and materialism, and he was thrilled!

My comedy hero was thrilled!

I was thrilled!

I sat back and waited for 'Phase Two'- The writing of the Show Bible, and , of course, The Big Fat Cheque.

Neither ever happened. George realized that a weekly tv show was going to be a grind, and he just didn't want to commit to anything so demanding. The show never got off the ground, and I never got to meet him.

As we hear all the tributes to George Carlin this week, it becomes clear he was considered a true visionary and a comic genuis. And while I am still sad I never got to meet him, the thought that he 'loved my idea' is good enough for me!