sf/f TV development news - 2013
- Thread starter Temis the Vorta
- Start date
God no please. CBS screws up genre shows something awful. On Fox, it'll at least have a fighting chance. Or FX.
Hmm? CBS rarely airs genre shows; of all the broadcast networks, it's historically been the one with the smallest percentage of original scripted shows that were SF/fantasy, and it's had a particular dearth of them in the past decade or two. So it's not that easy to assess how genre shows fare on a network that rarely buys them at all. But it's also the network that airs Person of Interest, one of the best and most thought-provoking science fiction series of our generation (even though it's often mistaken for a mere crime procedural). It hasn't screwed that show up; it's still going strong as it approaches its fourth-season premiere.
How refreshing to hear someone finally recognize that.
Currently my favorite SF lit series. I hope they do it justice.
NBC has had second thoughts and pulled the plug on Emerald City. The show had been ordered straight to series without a pilot, but as the scripts were written disputes arose between NBC and the showrunner and NBC reversed the series order before any episodes were actually filmed. Universal Television is trying to find another home for the show.
Fox's Hieroglyph likewise had a straight to series order reversed, except in that case one episode was produced.
Fox's Hieroglyph likewise had a straight to series order reversed, except in that case one episode was produced.
I guess I'm looking at Extant and Under the Dome and praying this promising show won't meet the same fate. I'd rather have it on Fox or FX or even AMC, which treat "fringe" genres with more respect and don't bland them down as it does a lot of other shows.
Person of Interest is something I'll have to catch up on, but was under the (I guess mistaken) impression that it indeed was a procedural with a sci-fi twist. CBS has done will with Sherlock, I guess... but high concept is something i just don't associate with the network.
What fate are you talking about? I haven't heard of either show being cancelled, although I gather Extant's ratings have been mediocre. But the problem with Extant isn't that CBS is being mean to it, it's that it's simply not a good show. No TV series on any network is guaranteed success; it has to be earned.
Meanwhile, Person of Interest is a terrific, intelligent show, and it's thriving.
If you're talking about blandness, you may have a point when it comes to the big networks. But Extant's problems are deeper than that.
That's its protective camouflage, and sometimes it does emphasize that side more than others. But at its heart it's a profoundly science-fictional show about the rise of the surveillance state, the emergence and evolution of artificial intelligence, and the onset of the Singularity. It doesn't wear its science-fictional heart on its sleeve, but the concepts at its core are the richest and hardest science fiction we've had on network television in ages, real science fiction that's about anticipating the consequences of technological innovation, rather than just the surface trappings of sci-fi on something that's essentially just a Western or a cop show or whatever. It's the kind of science fiction whose predictions have a way of actually coming to pass in real life.
Elementary is the American Holmes series.
And "high-concept" isn't really a compliment; it refers to something that's easily pitched with a simple description or marketed with a single clear idea, as opposed to a "low-concept" idea which is more rooted in subtleties and complexities. It's kind of a misleading label. (Something like Snakes on a Plane or Sharknado is the ultimate high-concept premise -- the title itself tells all you need to know.) I wouldn't call either Extant or Under the Dome a high-concept series; how would you sum either one up in a single, clear sentence?
I'd better stop while I'm behind given my poor communication skills and incorrect understanding of words I use! 
I guess I inaccurately associated high concept with science fiction.
Bottom line is I think CBS would not do a good job with a Minority Report based series given how godawful Extant and Under the Dome are as two most recent sci-fi based shows on that network.
The other networks I mentioned have a much better track record with that type of show.
And oh yeah--Elementary is what I meant.
I guess I inaccurately associated high concept with science fiction.Bottom line is I think CBS would not do a good job with a Minority Report based series given how godawful Extant and Under the Dome are as two most recent sci-fi based shows on that network.
The other networks I mentioned have a much better track record with that type of show.
And oh yeah--Elementary is what I meant.
Actually I think a Minority Report show would be more aptly compared to Person of Interest, as it would basically be a crime procedural in which the leads have advance notice of the crimes, and in which the source of that notice and its ramifications are the driving force behind the SF elements of the storylines.
He said he found the grind of the working hours on a one-hour TV show took him away from his family too much. He's not looking to sign up for another TV show. Unless he has a change of heart he'll be concentrating on features.
Not sure how that's gonna be sustainable. Hope it doesn't put me to sleep...
I can't wait to see how they make it "darker." 
Although, to be fair, they've done pretty well with Sleepy Hollow.
Although, to be fair, they've done pretty well with Sleepy Hollow.
It was a fun but flawed show; it started out with a lot of promise, but got somewhat dumbed down over time due to the network's assumption that its superheroic focus made it a kids' show. But it was really more a deconstruction of superheroes, and sometimes a rather harsh one. The hero didn't use a code name, he was rather embarrassed by his costume, other people seeing him in costume were generally mocking or disturbed, he had little understanding of his powers, and they tended to screw up his life quite a bit. I think a modern adaptation, in this era when superheroes are a more widely embraced cultural mythology and when comics and superhero movies themselves have already done so much to deconstruct the genre, the tone and approach of the remake would have to be different.
What made the original work most, though, was its cast, especially Robert Culp, and the interplay between Culp and William Katt. Like many Stephen J. Cannell shows, it really centered on the mismatched-partners dynamic. Also the cool Mike Post/Pete Carpenter score helped a lot.
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