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2 HBO sci-fi TV series 'Humanitas' & 'The World Inside'

jefferiestubes8

jefferiestubes8

Commodore
Commodore
HBO, the power house behind True Blood, is getting set to bring two new sci-fi series to its lineup.

The first is Humanitas, described as being set in a time when major advances in medicine have created dilemmas for doctors and fanned fears that a devastating pandemic is imminent. The theme of the show will be about the cutting edge of medicine and the ethical and moral dilemmas raised by science’s ever-advancing ability to manipulate genetics.
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The second is The World Inside, an adaptation of Robert Silverberg’s famed 1971 sci-fi novel. The story takes place in the year 2381 at a time when the world is grossly overpopulated with 75 billion people that live in isolated 1000 story buildings, with the exception of those who grow the food. Society is an open culture of free sex and unrestricted population growth. The story follows a restless computer engineer who begins to think unblessworthy thoughts of making a trip outside which risks the severest of punishment.

X-Files executive producer/writer Frank Spotnitz has been tapped to develop both series. He has reportedly already turned in the first draft script for Humanitas.
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Spotnitz, repped by WME, was Chris Carter's right-hand exec producer on "X-Files" for most of that show's nine-season run.
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http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118007273.html?categoryid=1236&cs=1
http://www.scifiscoop.com/news/hbo-prepping-two-new-sci-fi-series/

This is great news for sci-fi fans. a major subscription television channel is creating not one but two series.
 
Yeah, I've read the Silverberg story and it's really wild. It would make a great high-end production.
 
Humanitas sounds like Regenesis redux, but I'm intrigued about the monad thing. I'm curious to see what science-fiction can be like on a network like HBO, which allows far more creative and content freedom.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman
 
The first one just sounds like CSI meets House in the future.

Bored now.


Where have all the bloody actual space science fiction shows gone? What about exploring and travelling through space?
 
Yeah I started a thread on these a couple days ago...the first one, I gotta wonder whether fantasy future medicine has the same inherent interest as real world medicine which depicts diseases and injuries that the people watching could envision actually applying to them someday. I think that identification factor is crucial to the popularity of medical shows. What I'd prefer is to see a society where genetic modification has run rampant and what the effects are, and it doesn't have to be from a medical perspective necessarily.

The overpopulation one is a reasonably fresh topic, but won't it end up being awfully limited and claustrophobic? Still the notion of Our Hero fleeing the awful society of unlimited sex is kinda fun, and since he's getting out of the wicked city, that should bring some surprises. No telling what the heck is out there (mutant dinosaurs? vicious robo-hillbillies? or am I trying to turn this into Judge Dredd: The TV Series?)

But I'll root for both to succeed because they aren't overused ideas, and they are sci fi on HBO, something I'd like to see more of.

Hey HBO, how about a war between Earth and a Mars colony next? :D :D :D

Where have all the bloody actual space science fiction shows gone? What about exploring and travelling through space?
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There's Defying Gravity. Which is awful. And Stargate: Universe. Which will be awful. Maybe these two can be big hits so HBO will do a space opera series next. :bolian:
 
Both these shows sound pretty dystopian. I don't like the implicit Luddism in Humanitas, dwelling on the potential ills of future medicine and genetic engineering and overlooking the immense benefits they could bring. If you ask me, that kind of "progress is evil" story, especially where genetics is concerned, is a hugely overused idea.

And I see no reason to assume Stargate Universe "will be awful." If anything, it looks like it has the potential to be a smarter, richer, more sophisticated show than its predecessors.
 
Christopher said:
And I see no reason to assume Stargate Universe "will be awful." If anything, it looks like it has the potential to be a smarter, richer, more sophisticated show than its predecessors.
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And it's got one thing in its favor -- John Scalzi, author of Old Man's War, is a creative consultant.
 
Mistral said:
Yeah, I've read the Silverberg story and it's really wild. It would make a great high-end production.
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Sounds like a good excuse for HBO to show gratuitous sex.

Both shows sound potentially intriguing. I guess the biggest downside is my subscription for HBO expired :(
 
The one based on a sci-fi book sounds interesting, the medical one sounds lame though.

For the one based on the book I guess I'll have to ignore all the discussion threads like I do with True Blood now, on account of asshats who just have to comment "Oh cause in the books <blah blah blah> but that didn't happen this episode so I guess they changed it up", only to have <blah blah blah> in the very next episode :rolleyes:
 
Christopher, SGU has the potential to be good, but once the suits at Syfy start sticking their oar in- "We want more angst between the characters" "Develop the relationships more" "tone down the science fiction" - it will become awful.

As for Humanitas, I think that as long as it shows both the benefits and pitfalls of advanced medicine, dilemma-of-the-week if we must, then it might turn out to be quite good. It depends on three major factors, as do most other shows. 1) Are the writers any good and do they have the right science knowledge. 2) The suits need to keep their noses out and let the show build up a fan base. 3) The scheduling needs to be constant and not shuffled. HBO is pretty good with the first and third, so lets hope number two is also good.
 
BrotherBenny said:
Christopher, SGU has the potential to be good, but once the suits at Syfy start sticking their oar in- "We want more angst between the characters" "Develop the relationships more" "tone down the science fiction" - it will become awful.
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Have you been following the news about the series at all? The producers are already focusing on angst and relationships. It's a very character-driven show, and will probably have less emphasis on high-concept SF ideas and more emphasis on the people and their situation. If anything, the network notes are likely to be the opposite of what you're assuming. And given how big a success the SG franchise has been for SciFi/Syfy, I think that Wright and Cooper should have the clout by now to do what they want. Hell, this whole show is them doing what they want, reinventing the SG franchise to let them do the kind of storytelling they want to do and cast off some of the baggage of the franchise (like the transplanted-human "aliens" who speak English).
 
Christopher said:
BrotherBenny said:
Christopher, SGU has the potential to be good, but once the suits at Syfy start sticking their oar in- "We want more angst between the characters" "Develop the relationships more" "tone down the science fiction" - it will become awful.
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Have you been following the news about the series at all? The producers are already focusing on angst and relationships. It's a very character-driven show, and will probably have less emphasis on high-concept SF ideas and more emphasis on the people and their situation. If anything, the network notes are likely to be the opposite of what you're assuming. And given how big a success the SG franchise has been for SciFi/Syfy, I think that Wright and Cooper should have the clout by now to do what they want. Hell, this whole show is them doing what they want, reinventing the SG franchise to let them do the kind of storytelling they want to do and cast off some of the baggage of the franchise (like the transplanted-human "aliens" who speak English).
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I can see that it is a character-driven show, and is completely different to the previous two parts of the franchise, but I'm worried about it going too far in that direction. Too many shows, scifi and otherwise, have been cancelled recently because the networks said "more angst" and the demographic went elsewhere. I want to see a show that has a good balance between plot and character...and if SGU goes too far one way or the other, it will be a waste--and Syfy really has little decent viewing to offer anyway. From what I have seen so far on what has been posted, and please correct me if I'm wrong, but there doesn't seem to be much plot beyond "who's agenda are we battling against" and "let's find a way home", both of which have been done numerous times before to lesser/greater degrees...and some of them have been rather bad.
 
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