sf/f TV development news - 2013

Discussion in 'Science Fiction & Fantasy' started by Temis the Vorta, Oct 10, 2011.

  1. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    That particular theory has occurred to me, too - unpack vampires all the way, and you end up with transgressive sex, and the same is true of the Borg. That's why the picky little details like sensitivity to sun or even drinking blood don't matter. People like vampires for the sexual component and that tends to overwhelm all other attributes.

    To the extent that faux-vampires like the Borg and the Wraith work, they tap into the sexual aspect of vampires. So you could change the details around a lot, and still have something that is vampiric at its core. and more importantly, will draw an audience.
     
  2. RJDiogenes

    RJDiogenes Idealistic Cynic and Canon Champion Premium Member

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    So the Borg in Abrams Trek will be young, good-looking models and give off lens flares? :D
     
  3. stj

    stj Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    Alice Krige, Jeri Ryan and Susanna Thompson. They're the Borg for a reason.
     
  4. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    The interesting question is: how far can you diverge from what people think of as the "lore" before it stops becoming a "vampire"?

    Back when I writing the Underworld books, I used to run into confused fans who didn't grasp that the UW vamps didn't necessarily play by the same rules as, say, Buffy vamps or Anne Rice vamps or whatever. ("But vampires can't get pregnant! Everybody knows that!")

    I do think, however, that if you're going to deviate from some standard bit of lore, you need to address that clearly and right away, just to avoid confusion.

    "Contrary to popular legend, Selene could still see her reflection in the glass," etc.
     
  5. Vendikarr

    Vendikarr Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    I could see vampires promoting misinformation in lore and fiction, just to throw victims off guard.
     
  6. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    I can think of at least one novel in which the whole sunlight thing turns out to be a myth perpetuated by vampires for their own protection!

    "Surprise, foolish mortals! Sunlight has no effect on us at all!"

    Stuff also tends to slide in and out of the lore. To my knowledge, Stoker invented the turning-into-bats business, which was a staple of a vampire movies for generations, but that seems to have largely fallen out of vogue these days . . . .
     
  7. sojourner

    sojourner Admiral In Memoriam

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    ^Along with the turning into wolves and fog.
     
  8. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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  9. Christopher

    Christopher Writer Admiral

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    Then there's the Dresden Files universe, in which there are several "courts" of vampires with different attributes, and Stoker's Dracula was an accurate description of one of those courts, whose numbers have dwindled sharply in the decades since Stoker "outed" their weaknesses. (The problem being that, IIRC, those vampires are vulnerable to sunlight, which wasn't actually from Stoker's book.)
     
  10. Guy Gardener

    Guy Gardener Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    We all have our own distinctly particular sexual signatures that's probably as unique as a blood type.

    Personally I think I make love more like a zombie than a vampire, but I'm sure if we could be honest that we all know which monster from the hammer vault that we fuck like most.

    Oh gods.

    The surging popularity of mummy porn frightens me.
     
  11. stj

    stj Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    As they say, times change. Dracula had a much more powerful subtext for the Renfield character, for instance. If you really wanted to try to adapt Dracula for a modern audience, you might have Renfield suffering from AIDS dementia. Syphilitic paresia was the original subtext.

    In Victorian times, Dracula attacking Mina Harker in the Harker bedroom was enough, but a modern version should probably show Dracula naked (the clothes don't come through the door when he does the misty thing?) And so on and so forth.

    Harker's decision to join Mina as a vampire was equivalent to forgiving an unfaithful wife who contracted syphilis. (I gather this is a kind of wishful projection on Bram Stoker's part?) The incredibly inept Coppola version of course made sure to make Harker unfaithful first, for some reason. Assuming they bothered with reasons, that is.

    The thing is, the kinds of transgressiveness that propelled the horror in the 1890s simply are not going to resonate the same way now. Nonetheless vampires are about kinky sex. Hence the barely concealed admiration.
     
  12. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    A bit more info on AMC's Area 51.

    Produced by Gale Ann Hurd, basically an insiders version of The X-Files or Dark Skies set in the 1950-60s. Sounds good so far...
     
  13. CorporalCaptain

    CorporalCaptain Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    ^ Yay (so far)!
     
  14. Taylirious

    Taylirious Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    http://www.deadline.com/2012/07/abc-marvel-avengers-themed-tv-series/

    A TV Series Set In Marvel’s Avengers World?

    http://www.ksitetv.com/general-tv-news/a-tv-series-set-in-marvels-avengers-world/15414

    Why not? :lol:
     
  15. Temis the Vorta

    Temis the Vorta Fleet Admiral Admiral

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    I vote for a TV show based on Doctor Strange or the Sub-Mariner! Blow that budget thru the roof! :rommie:

    Or, how about giving us more of Captain America in WWII? Part superhero series, part period drama set in the 40s, part war story.
     
  16. DWF

    DWF Admiral Admiral

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    Why would it blow the budget though the roof? CBS did a relatively cheap Dr. Strange pilot in the late '70s and Man From Atlantis was pretty close to Namor. With tody's visual effects they can do alot more for less money than they did in the '70s. Smallville was able to do things with Clark's powers that we still have to yet on the big screen.
     
  17. Greg Cox

    Greg Cox Admiral Premium Member

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    I still think "Deadman" is ideal for TV. It's "Ghost" meets "The Fugitive" meets "Quantum Leap."

    Each week Boston Brand jumps into somebody else's body (and life) while trying to track down his own killer . . . .

    (You'd probably want to ditch the bright red circus costume, though.)
     
  18. Enterprise is Great

    Enterprise is Great Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    CW Eyes 'Hunger Games'-Esque Japanese Feature 'Battle Royale'

     
  19. Taylirious

    Taylirious Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    Weren't they trying to do this with 'The Selection'?

    http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/cw-hopes-selection-can-ride-hunger-games-success-36932?page=0,1

    :guffaw:
     
  20. Goji

    Goji Rear Admiral Rear Admiral

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    Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

    As a fan of the original movie and novel, seeing it described in that way feels a bit like if you said "Jaws" is "Deep Blue Sea-esque". Not that the CW could handle the subject matter even if it was ridiculously toned down.