[@Vor]
I know I say this a lot, but clichés are tools (and subsequently neither good or bad; it's all in the handling, especially since a lot of them are actually realistic). With that said, television shows often don't handle things particularly well in my opinion.

It's an interesting idea you're suggesting though -- I'm not really sure if it's something I'd do myself, but I can definitely relate to the whole 'organising everything and getting the right group of players will be no small undertaking' sentiment, because a lot of role-plays are like this. The role-play I've recently brought to this site is an example of needing a set number of reliable people in order to function properly, while also having a lot to organize. In terms of your idea, I'd imagine the most difficult part would be having a character that interested enough people so they'd all want to play them, as well as them having preferences for playing specific versions of this character.

Time-orientated stories are also complicated just because a lot of writers aren't good at handling paradoxes.