sf/f TV development news - 2013

[Enterprise is Great]

Definitely not sf/f but Zachary Levi landed a role in a sitcom for Fox: http://www.deadline.com/2012/02/chuc...g-contingency/

[RJDiogenes]

JD wrote:

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I have the complete opposite reaction when it comes to SyFy,

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.

[Caliburn24]

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.

[Christopher]

Caliburn24 wrote:

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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.

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.

[Caliburn24]

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.

[Christopher]

Caliburn24 wrote:

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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.

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).

[Temis the Vorta]

Enterprise is Great wrote:

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Definitely not sf/f but Zachary Levi landed a role in a sitcom for Fox: http://www.deadline.com/2012/02/chuc...g-contingency/

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.

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.

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.

Say what you will about BSG, or Farscape but those shows took some risks and were better because of it.

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...

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.

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.)

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.

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!

Well, there's nothing wrong with light and fluffy,

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

[Temis the Vorta]

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:

Producers Ilene Kahn Power—who gave Angelina Jolie her big break in HBO's Gia—and Elizabeth Stanley have obtained the rights to Bradley's Darkover books, almost 40 in all, which chronicle the foundation of a human colony on an inhospitable planet in orbit around the red giant star known as Darkover and incorporate elements of both fantasy and science fiction.


According to Kahn Power:

"With the ability to create the Darkover world through state-of-the-art effects and the opportunity to utilize multiple platforms to unfold our narrative, now is the ideal time to create a lasting and far-reaching series that features compelling characters and gripping stories that will appeal not only to existing fans but also to the broader audience which has embraced series such as Game of Thrones and Battlestar Galactica."

[JD]

Temis the Vorta wrote:

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

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.

RJDiogenes wrote:

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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.

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.

[Temis the Vorta]

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.

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...

[Mistral]

W13 is never going to be nuBSG but last season was fun. Interesting, even. Eureka has been interesting since that whole Founder's Day episode, IMO. It was fun before but now its quietly sucking me in to its plot...

[Temis the Vorta]

The Borg Queen is Green Arrow's mommy!

Susanna Thompson (Dragonfly) has landed one of the female leads on the CW pilot Arrow. The Warner Bros TV-produced project, described as a modern retelling of the story of DC Comics character Green Arrow, stars Stephen Amell as the vigilante superhero who fights crime using archery, martial arts and technology under his secret identity as Oliver Queen, a wealthy playboy and billionaire industrialist-turned-outspoken politician in Star City. Thompson will play his mother, Moira Queen.

Appropriate surname...

That Darkover series might actually be happening...it's one thing when Blastr starts spreading BS rumors, but now Variety is giving it credibility.

Producers Ilene Kahn Power and Elizabeth Stanley have secured the rights to author Marion Zimmer Bradley's renowned novels and have already pitched the project to one cabler and are making presentations to others as well.

[RJDiogenes]

Shows like Warehouse 13, Eureka, Sanctuary et cetera are not light and fluffy-- they're just not dark and gritty. They are all very solid, well-written, well-produced and well-cast shows that seldom fail to entertain. They're certainly a far cry better than the "rated M for Mature" stuff that is currently considered "edgy."

JD wrote:

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Glad to see someone else here who enjoys those shows as much as I do.

There's a few of us out here.

[Temis the Vorta]

It's not the fluffiness, it's the formulaic nature of those shows I dislike. It's possible for a show to be both dark/grim and formulaic, and that's no better.

Two examples: Alcatraz and Grimm. I'm running out of patience for both. Is it too much to ask for a show not to cling to the tired mission-of-the-week format? (Ironically, Grimm has a fair amount of humor and charm, which will probably keep me watching after I've bailed on Alcatraz).

Or The River, very dark and gritty and violent. Also very stupid. Not sure I'll stick with that one for long eitehr.

The real problem is the overall lack of quality on TV in general. Light, dark, fluffy, grim, it's the usual tsnuami of crap.

[Kegg]

Never heard of Darkover before but I like the comparisons they're throwing around. I could certainly watch another BSG or Game of Thrones, but easier said than done.

Temis the Vorta wrote:

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The real problem is the overall lack of quality on TV in general. Light, dark, fluffy, grim, it's the usual tsnuami of crap.

...you know, television.

I guess I'd like a space opera series to follow or at least a sci-fi show a cut above Falling Skies or Terra Nova (both of which I do like, by the way) but beyond that I'm pretty content with my TV viewing.