It was a problem-plagued proposal that even a Hollywood script doctor couldn’t save.

City officials presented the Bainbridge city council with a proposal at its last meeting in November that would require filmmakers on the island to get the city’s permission — via a permit and permit fees — to make movies, television shows or Internet videos on the island.

Local filmmakers were aghast at the idea, and they let council members know that while they weren’t against the idea for permits in some instances for shooting major motion pictures on the island, the proposal itself was too vague and an unnecessary regulatory overreach by the city. We agree, and give the whole idea of requiring permits for filmmaking on Bainbridge two hearty thumbs-down.

As some noted earlier, the incident that led to the call for a crackdown on filming came from the hullaballoo that erupted last year when a toothbrush commercial was filmed at the farmers market (which is on land owned by the city) and on Manual Road.

There was a bit of over-exaggerated hand-wringing of the type unseen since silent movie days by some who thought that the toothbrush film shoot constituted an official endorsement by the city — gasp — of a corporation (in this case, Procter & Gamble).

Bainbridge was actually an elite pick for the commercial, and joined three other locations from across the country — Erath, Louisiana; Stanford, Kentucky; and Carroll County, Virginia — for what was called the “WOW” campaign.

“WOW,” instead, was the reaction when the city proposed that virtually all filmmaking — including shoots on private property — could be subject to a city permit, permit fees and more.

While we can understand that the city should have a say in any filming that uses actual city facilities such as city hall, or disrupts travel on public streets, the expansive proposal to require permits for filming and more from filmmakers should rightly rest on the rejection pile. (The city also wanted to require filmmakers to give detailed information on their moviemaking plans, including descriptions of the number and type of all motor vehicles to be used, details on who would be in charge at each filming location, and “such other information as the city manager deems necessary to evaluate the application and appropriately condition the permit.”)

Some council members wondered why the city would even suggest such a proposal. They are right; requiring film permits is a bridge too far for Bainbridge and city hall should devote its time to more relevant issues.