sf/f TV development news - 2013

[Temis the Vorta]

I saw that X-Files ripoff story and was too depressed to post it.

Here's one that sounds no better:

EXCLUSIVE: E! has added another project to its scripted development slate: a high-concept romantic drama from feature writer-directors Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont (Can’t Hardly Wait). The project, from E! sibling Universal Cable Prods. and Aaron Kaplan’s Kapital Entertainment, centers on a young entertainment lawyer who dies but is determined to pursue a romance with a woman who’s still alive — while he exists in limbo in New York City, working for the department that judges the recently departed.

To cheer myself up, here's a long article on 2013 development that includes info on the steampunk minitrend, which has probably already been mentioned in this thread, but to summarize:

Some ideas defy categorization, or at least don't merit us giving them their own section. Like, for example, the micro-trend this season of steampunk themes: There are actually three different projects playing off said movement. There's NBC's Edison, in which Young Thomas helps the NYPD solve crimes with his crazy new discoveries. ABC also hopes to electrify its schedule with Gaslight (rival electricity dynasties square off against each other in the steampunk world) and Finn & Sawyer (our heroes are now private eyes in a steampunk New Orleans!).

[Bob The Skutter]

The BBC are doing an adaptation of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell

The BBC has announced an ambitious fantasy adaptation of Susanna Clarke's magnificent Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell...
BBC One has announced it's to make a six-part adaptation of the magnificent Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, directed by Doctor Who & Sherlock alumni Toby Haynes.
For those unfamiliar with the book, it's a sweeping fantasy novel set during the Napoleonic Wars where two magicians have emerged in Britain. As well as telling the story of their rivalry, it also details an amazing alternate history where the North of England was the dominion of a magical overlord known as the Raven King, and pulls in many notable historical characters.
If you've never read it, now's the perfect time as it's a real winter reader - you'll easily get lost in the amazing world Susanna Clarke creates.
Rumoured as a film adaptation for years, the sheer scale of the novel and number of effects needed may be somewhat daunting, but Toby Haynes has a strong track record at succeeding with ambitious material, having been responsible for Doctor Who's The Pandorica Opens/Big Bang two-parter, and the Sherlock series two finale The Reichenbach Fall. Adapting Clarke's book will be writer Peter Harness, who penned the third series of Wallander.

[Temis the Vorta]

Cool! I love sf/f in historical settings.

[RJDiogenes]

Yes, that sounds like it could be very good. The Thomas Edison and Tom Sawyer Steampunk ideas sound good, too; they've been listed in this thread before.

DarthTom wrote:

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^^^ Good lord, have some writers/producers/network executives lost any sense of originality? Why don't they name the characters Murey and Stephine too?

They should name them Holmes and Watson; everybody else is doing it.

[Kegg]

Of the three steampunk ideas, I like the sound of Gaslight the most as it sounds like the only one that's not a dressed up procedural by another name.

[Temis the Vorta]

Another historical sf/f show. Space Nazis are back! (Cuz of course the aliens will be guilty of starting WWII and Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito are all alien quislings or possibly shapeshifters.)

Set during the height of World War II, Horizon centers on a secretary at the FBI who discovers that her husband might have been killed in a battle with a spaceship in the South Pacific. Obsessed with learning the truth, she becomes the only person standing between Earth and an alien invasion.

On the USA Network - a real departure from their usual type of show.

[JD]

OOoo, I love USA's stuff. I'll be very curious to see their take on a historical/sci-fi series, because I don't think they've done either during their current batch of shows (Monk, Pysch, Burn Notice, ect.)
The steampunk stuff sounds cool. The X-Files ripoff sounds a little to blatant of a ripoff for me at this point.

[Temis the Vorta]

Another robot-cop show, but on Starz, it will be crazier and sexier than anything broadcat can offer...

The premium cable network is set to develop drama effort, Human Error, set in the near future where artificial humans known as “synthetics" are being phased into the civilian sector. A veteran human detective is paired with one such synth and is tasked with a seemingly simple case that ultimately leads to a larger conspiracy.

If this sounds familiar, compare it with FOX's untitled series in development:

drama set in the near future, when all LAPD officers are partnered with highly evolved human-like androids

[sojourner]

Or Mann and Machine.

Not a new concept by any means.

[JD]

Which goes at least as far back as Asimov's Robot novels. One or both of those could still be good, but a little more info would be nice.

[Nerys Myk]

DarthTom wrote:

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^^^ Good lord, have some writers/producers/network executives lost any sense of originality? Why don't they name the characters Murey and Stephine too?

Who are Murey and Stephine ?

[Sindatur]

Santa Kang wrote:

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Who are Murey and Stephine ?

Beats me with a stick

I was wondering too?

[RJDiogenes]

Me, too. A Google search doesn't help. Mulder and Scully would have been a better choice of names.

[Temis the Vorta]

JD wrote:

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Which goes at least as far back as Asimov's Robot novels. One or both of those could still be good, but a little more info would be nice.

JJ Abrams is behind it, so of course details are scant and when they start rolling in, we'll be arguing whether the robot partner is Gary Mitchell or Khan (and he'll turn out to be Lord Garth).

[Enterprise is Great]

ABC’s ‘Weird Desk’ Summer Series Shelved

That was quick — a week after ABC gave a 13-episode straight-to-series order to paranormal investigation drama Weird Desk, the network has put the project on hold. It will no longer be produced for summer as planned, and its status will be revisited after pilot season. While ABC brass had liked the Weird Desk concept and script for awhile, by the time the project got a green light, it proved hard to get production up and running fast enough for a summer launch while keeping the cost low, an important factor for a summer original series. Additionally, I hear there was concern, at Marvel and internally at ABC, that Weird Desk may be similar to Joss Whedon’s high-profile ABC pilot S.H.I.E.L.D., an offshoot of blockbuster vengers franchise. There is speculation about objections from Marvel, one of Disney Co.’s most prized possessions, to the new project. As a result, the network decided to put a pin in Weird Desk. ABC still has soap Mistresses on tap for summer.