sf/f TV development news - 2013

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Francis Lawrence has signed to direct the pilot for Gotham. Lawrence's work includes the feature films Constantine and I am Legend. This will be his third time directing a TV pilot, the first two being NBC's Kings and Fox's Touch.

Yves Simoneau will direct the pilot for ABC's Beauty and the Beast. This is an adaptation of the fairy tale that's set entirely in a fantasy world (as opposed to the CW pilot for a remake of the 1980s series with a contemporary setting). Simoneau has many TV movies and miniseries to his credit. The last two pilots he directed were those for the V remake and The 4400.

Mark Piznarski will direct the pilot for the CW's The Selection. His past work includes the pilots for Everwood, Veronica Mars and Gossip Girl.

Brad Anderson will direct the pilot for NBC's Midnight Sun. His past work includes the feature films The Machinist and Transsiberian, as well as many TV credits, including episodes of Treme and Boardwalk Empire.

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Funny-I thought it sounded like Angel with a hint of Armageddon mixed in.

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

^I was hoping for something close to that when I watched Legion.

It was not what I got. It was a jumbled fiasco with a core problem that God is the ultimate Deus Ex Machina and when written badly as in Legion, it just makes for a horrible mess of a story.

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

^Well, shows based on movies aren't necessarily the same in tone or approach as the movies they're based on. They can be much better. For instance, Alien Nation, the film, set up a fascinating SF premise in which alien slave/refugees had become the latest immigrant population in Los Angeles, but mostly squandered it in favor of a by-the-numbers buddy-cop action flick; whereas Alien Nation, the series, was a wonderfully rich and fascinating examination of all the dramatic, character, and philosophical possibilities that the movie failed to develop. Similarly, the movie Stargate introduced a concept with unlimited possibilities and wasted it on rehashing tired old Egyptian and ancient-astronaut tropes, while the Stargate TV shows took full advantage of the possibilities and constructed a rich, enormous, detailed, and mostly consistent universe.

Oh, and how could I forget Buffy the Vampire Slayer? Lousy movie, excellent series.

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Sure, it is possible the Legion series could be good. Stranger things have happened. I'll probably watch the pilot.

But it has a massive hurdle to overcome, and one that no series that I know of has managed. To take God, angels, demons, Lucifer whoever, and make an interesting story of it without making it an expressly religious tale.

From most reports(haven't seen it myself) Supernatural took a dip in quality when it introduced God and all that stuff.

The Golden Compass books started great and faded fast as God and the war became the main plot of things.

The Prophecy movies? The Left Behind movies? Laughable.

The only time Angels/God/etc elements seem to work well that I can recall is lighter stuff like A Wonderful Life or Touched By an Angel.

And Legion is not going to be anything like those in tone.

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

It will be interesting to see how well genre pilots fare in pickups, given the example set by The Walking Dead. More basic cable records fall to the zombie apocalypse.

Everyone in cable land must be paying attention to how that show fared vs the big-deal Grammys, when other shows saw their ratings fall because of the Whitney Houston hype. That kind of immunity to special events is very impressive, and should opens up the field for more sf/f series that are heavy on character drama and not obsessed with all action, all the time.

There aren't many actual zombie series in contention for cable, well not any unless you count Zombies and Cheerleaders. But there are several that look like they could follow TWD's modus operandi:

AMC has Thunderstruck - humanity plagued with doubts and fears due to mysterious alien visitations (doesn't that sound just perfect for Rick, Lori and Shane?) FX has Powers - based on a graphic novel, too! Sounds like that one is in rewrites but I'm still hopeful.

HBO has Year Zero (dystopian future); Showtime has The Damned (gang war between demons in Chicago) and Under the Dome (Stephen King story about a trapped town). TNT's genre pilots follow more of the cop-show model; Falling Skies might serve as their answer to TWD (lame as that might be).

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

http://www.deadline.com/2012/02/tv-...-pilot-living-loaded-political-animals-add-2/

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Such optimism. I hope you're right.

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

I'll bet we'll see a couple interesting genre pilots on cable next season. Not on SyFy of course...

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

I have the complete opposite reaction when it comes to SyFy, at this point I'll try pretty much anything they do. SG-1, SG:A, Farscape, Eureka, W13, BSG, and Caprica are all favorites of mine. I wouldn't call them favorites, but I've really enjoyed Alphas, The Dresden Files and Sanctuary, and I didn't hate SG:U nearly as much as most people seemed to. At this point if Alphas picks up in quality in the next season or two it'll probably be added to my favorites list. Of their current fictional shows the only ones I haven't watched Haven, and Being Human, but I'm consider Netflixing them to correct that. I will admit I have no interest whatsoever in Legion.

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Definitely not sf/f but Zachary Levi landed a role in a sitcom for Fox: http://www.deadline.com/2012/02/chu...s-comedy-pilot-let-it-go-lifting-contingency/

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Most of what they're showing right now is really good-- I love Being Human, Sanctuary, Warehouse 13 and Eureka. I also enjoy Haven and Lost Girl. And I liked the first two Stargate series. I don't think they have anything planned that looks interesting to me, though, except the HG Wells spin off.

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

I think my current problem with SyFy's current line-up is that it is all so safe and bland. Everything has to be relatable and contemporary. Even my favorite of their current shows Alphas, is unwilling to swing for the fences and even try to be great(you could argue it tried that in its season finale, and poof that showrunner is gone now). So instead we have stuff like Warehouse 13 which is enjoyable enough, but doesn't even try to be anything but average. Say what you will about BSG, or Farscape but those shows took some risks and were better because of it.

Ironically, the Legion series could be good if they swing for the fences and embrace the insanity of that whole milieu. But knowing SyFy(I'm jaded, I admit it), it will be as middle of the road and as whitebread as possible.

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

I wonder, did you see W13's season finale last year? That was anything but average. They really swung for the fences and created one of the most intense, powerful, moving stories I've seen on TV in the past year. I found W13 a mediocre show in its first couple of years, but it really rose to a new level this past season and I can't wait to see where it goes from here.

I also loved Eureka this past year, and Alphas got off to a very impressive start -- though I'm also worried about whether it can maintain its quality now that Ira Steven Behr is gone.

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

The latest season finale for Warehouse 13 is the best thing the show has done so far. And whatever sort of reset button they use is going to be a massive let down. If there was no reset button looming on the show I would be thrilled, but the odds of that do not look good.

Eureka I only catch once in awhile, I think I caught two episodes last season, and it still looks like the same light fluffy thing it always has been.

Alphas set things up for a very different season two, but there is a big question mark now that Behr is gone.

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Well, there's nothing wrong with light and fluffy, but they're doing it well, with strong character writing and a better grasp of science than they've had in the past (they're still taking the science in some very fanciful directions, but it has a more literate grounding, and I really like the way this past half-season's unifying arc was about a mission of exploration rather than some bad guy's master plan or some such thing).

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Shoot, that's such a waste for him to end up in some completely generic sounding network comedy (as all network comedies are now). But it was inevitable - that's probably the best gig for a comic on TV, vs doing some little show on cable.

There are some good shows in that list, but they're no longer airing. The day SyFy attempts a new Farscape or BSG or even Caprica, sure, I'll check it out.

In fact, I do check out every new scripted drama they show, but lately it's just one reject after another, mainly because their current lineup is too derivative of stuff I've already seen done better in other shows. I'd probably have more patience for a space opera as long as it's even passably tolerable but I've run out of patience for cop shows in sf/f window dressing.

Exactly. That's why I was tolerant of Caprica's flaws (lack of focus, meandering plotline). At least it showed some ambition and guts. But I won't waste two seconds on mediocrity. Well, not unless Joe Flanigan is in it...

Ysee, I'm not willing to wait two years for a show to get good. It should be good in two minutes, or forget it. (However, I might get S3 through Netflix sometime, if it really has improved radically.)

Okay wait one minute. Is S3 better or just the last episode of S3? One good episode every three years is not much of a recommendation!

Yes there is. It's trivial and boring and not worth my time unless Joe Flanigan is in it.

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Moving on from the skiffy bashing...Darkover being developed as TV series.

No network attached yet, so it's highly speculative. I haven't read the series, but I like the general description:

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Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

I don't get this attitude, both with TV and movies. I just don't understand why so many people seem to have a problem with stuff that is just trying to be fun and entertaining. Not everything has to be deep and philosophical, sometimes it's nice to just relax and have a good time.

Glad to see someone else here who enjoys those shows as much as I do. I didn't mention Lost Girl, or Merlin since they're both imports, but I'd probably though both of those in with the Eureka, W13, Farscape, ect. And I'm really curious about the HG Wells spinoff, you don't see that kind of steampunkish stuff on TV very often.

 

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

If it really were entertaining to me, I wouldn't be saying that it's not entertaining. For me.

It might not be fluffiness that's the problem. I like Futurama, and that certainly has a glib, lightweight approach. But I strongly value originality, and the fluffy approach so often coincides with the formula approach. When I recognize a formula, ech...