It’s no secret that Donald Trump considers himself a ratings machine—but if he’d had his way, he would have been a veritable ratings factory. Before a move to Washington was even a glimmer in the president’s eye, he had another goal: TV fame. And not just the kind of fame that comes from having one show on one network. Trump’s long, fascinating history of pitching various scripted and reality series suggests that he yearned for his very own TV empire.

As The New York Times reported this week, Trump was never satisfied with a televised fiefdom that began and ended with The Apprentice. He pitched a scripted series while working on that reality competition show; according to the Times, Jeff Zucker—then president of NBC Universal—“instructed his development team to buy the pitch and hire a writer, even though he never intended to put it on TV.”

But that particular series, which was to take place at a fictionalized Trump Tower, was far from the future president’s only bright idea. His would-be TV slate is a parade of ambition and bacchanalia, of towers and gorgeous women. Some ideas never made it past the pitch stage, while others managed to weasel their way into development—only to be stymied before hitting the airwaves. Here, for your perusal, a rundown of all the scuttled projects Vanity Fair could find—although, to be honest, we’re pretty convinced there are more out there. (Tips welcome!)

1993: Donald Trump Presents the Most Beautiful Women in the World

Yes, it seems our mogul started early. Back in the early 90s, Trump pitched a special to ABC. Its title? Donald Trump Presents the Most Beautiful Women in the World—a straightforward moniker if we ever saw one. From Trump’s pitch to then-president of ABC News Roone Arledge, it seems awfully possible that the real-estate tycoon was simply looking for an excuse to schmooze beautiful women. The letter reads as follows: