sf/f TV development news - 2013

[Caliburn24]

The addition of Elizabeth Mitchell is fine, but does it have to be flashbacks? Stories can still be told linearly!

[Temis the Vorta]

Somebody in the comments section says she doesn't "only" appear in flashbacks...

Another role was recast, but I didn't bother to post it here, since I've never heard of the actress. Why all the recasting? Is NBC is taking a harder look at the show, since it thinks it may be that big hit it's been looking for?

[Temis the Vorta]

Tom Hanks' animated sci fi series, Electric City, debuts July 17.

My main question is about distribution. It will debut on "Yahoo Screen," whatever that may be. I have Comcast, Netflix and soon Roku (superceding Comcast in my good graces). If there's some easy way I can access the show via any or all, I might check it out, but I'm not inclined to chase down a new and untried series if it's going to be a chore.

Promo here. Ehhhh...not sure I'm liking the animation style...

[Starbreaker]

Temis the Vorta wrote:

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Somebody in the comments section says she doesn't "only" appear in flashbacks...

Another role was recast, but I didn't bother to post it here, since I've never heard of the actress. Why all the recasting? Is NBC is taking a harder look at the show, since it thinks it may be that big hit it's been looking for?

It's possible they didn't test well in the roles with audiences, they have other movies/series that take first position in their contracts, etc.

[JD]

Temis the Vorta wrote:

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Tom Hanks' animated sci fi series, Electric City, debuts July 17.

My main question is about distribution. It will debut on "Yahoo Screen," whatever that may be. I have Comcast, Netflix and soon Roku (superceding Comcast in my good graces). If there's some easy way I can access the show via any or all, I might check it out, but I'm not inclined to chase down a new and untried series if it's going to be a chore.

Promo here. Ehhhh...not sure I'm liking the animation style...

I thought it was just going to be on Yahoo's regular website. I'm thinking "Screen" might just be the name for their original web content.

[Caliburn24]

Hmm, Starz getting into the space opera genre?

Spartacus creator Steven S. DeKnight is working on Incursion, a sci-fi action thriller about soldiers engaged in war with an alien race. The hook: Each season will take place on a new planet as the good guys push farther and farther onto the extraterrestrials’ turf. The project, which promises harsh combat scenes and complex male and female characters set against an intergalactic backdrop, is part of DeKnight’s overall deal with the cable channel.

http://tvline.com/2012/07/11/steven-...starz-dracula/

Sounds like it will be treading into Starship Troopers/Forever War/Old Man's War territory. It seems like it could be a good fit with DeKnight's Spartacus sensibilities and heavy green-screen usage.

Oh, and JMS is working on some Dracula show.

[Christopher]

Space opera would be cool. Space war? None for me, thanks.

Although the idea of going to a different planet each season reminds me of a thought I had for how Star Trek or a similar premise should be done: instead of just spending a few days at a planet and dealing with only a single event or group before moving on to the next planet, devote a season or half-season to a single planet, exploring its various nations and cultures and political factions and life forms and environments, before moving on to the next one. It would be a good way to overcome the bad habit of a lot of SF to treat planets as monocultures and uniform environments, and it would be a more plausible portrayal of exploration. So it would be a great format for an exploration series, though I don't see it being used as interestingly in a war series.

[RJDiogenes]

^^ DS9 should have done that with Bajor instead of getting into an intergalactic war.

I don't know if I care to see a Spartacus-style Space Opera, but I suppose it could be good. War stories just don't interest me that much.

[Temis the Vorta]

Space war is cool by me! I'm sure I've said several times that I think Starz needs to do a space based series of some kind, with their inimitable sex/violence/insanity style. Spartacus in space, bring it on!

And I love that they're avoiding Trek's dreaded Planet of the Week approach, though since all space opera will be on cable from now on, I don't expect that to rear its ugly head ever again. Cable dramas are almost all serialized.

I also hope RHW's Defender is greenlit, with a far more conservative and wholesome style. We should have many space opera series to choose from, that run the gamut.

I'd prefer that JMS was doing the space opera, not the vampire series, but either way, I'll check out both. PS, JMS has launched a multiplatform studio for movies, TV and graphic novels/comics.

[Guy Gardener]

Starpacus?

[Temis the Vorta]

Make it Starctopus, and it could be on SyFy.

Blastr says JMS is also working on another TV series:

A series called Epidemic is also in the works, with Will Smith and James Lassiter's Overbrook Entertainment. We don't know much more than the title, but a series built around an outbreak could be interesting.

[FreezeC77]

Temis the Vorta wrote:

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Make it Starctopus, and it could be on SyFy.

Blastr says JMS is also working on another TV series:

Does Will Smith got any more kids to throw into this one?

I like the Starz Space War series idea. I really enjoyed Space Above & Beyond way back when on FOX... It sounds like this could be in that vein, but more centralized on one location in the war and what it takes to advance forward. If they can pull off a Band of Brothers-esque ground engagement on a sci-fi scale that would be pretty epic.

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

FreezeC77 wrote:

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I really enjoyed Space Above & Beyond way back when on FOX... It sounds like this could be in that vein, but more centralized on one location in the war and what it takes to advance forward.

And with nudity!

[Guy Gardener]

They edited all those old movie to add colour, but now hopefully we're all civilized enough to appreciate the black and white these movies were originally produced in, but think if all that effort could have been put into creating nude scenes with photoshop?

[Temis the Vorta]

Showtime developing supernatural series.

Called Sleep No More, the Fox 21-produced supernatural thriller tells the tale of a town where the dead keep returning to life.

Nah, I'd rather they call up their bosses at CBS and ask for the rights to do a Star Trek series.