We get pitched "story ideas" on a pretty regular basis at YBNBY, and most of the time, we tend not to run them, not because we're not interested, but because it just feels a little - well - forced.

So when we were contacted by the makers of the new TV version of This American Life, premiering on Showtime next month, I have to admit to being skeptical. But they sold me by saying there was original animation from Chris Ware on the DVD they were going to send, and as regular readers know, that's enough to make me salivate (note to PR companies - do your homework).

So, I opened the DVD, popped it onto the computer this morning, and now I'm sitting here seriously contemplating subscribing to Showtime, because this show is AMAZING! Ira Glass and his team bring us quirky, true stories from an America that's part Frank Capra, part David Lynch. Imagine cloning your pet bull, only to see it come back to life with eye to ripping apart your scrotum. Or a charming tale of schoolchildren becoming like the Cameramen of the Damned, filming with fake lenses while their classmate gets beaten to the ground. Or how hundreds of Polaroid camera-toting believers gather in the Mojave Desert each month hoping to see God. It isn't a scripted drama - it's documentary, or - as the team behind it prefer to say - "dramatic stories that just happen to be true".

Now I'm feeling like I'm a dork for missing out on the radio show all these years. If YBNBY were ever to be turned into a TV show (Showtime, call us), we could only dream it would turn out something like this.

This American Life starts on Showtime on Thursday March 22nd, 10:30 p.m. PT/ET. Mark your calendar.