SyFy developing Metadocs series about injured superheroes hospital

[David cgc]

Well, they could have scalpels with kryptonite at the base of the blade or something to weaken him just enough to give them something to work with. Or they could do what they ended up resorting to in "Superman Returns" and cooking him with sunlamps and praying that helps.

That's another interesting idea. They'd probably have the superheroes' weaknesses and achilles heels on site, probably under lock-and-key in the pharmacy (well, the pharmacy is already under lock-and-key in a hospital, but you know what I mean). I wouldn't be surprised if they also had something like Professor X and Batman's special files, outlining every hero's strengths, weaknesses, and how to exploit them medicinally.

 

[ngc7293]

It sounds like they are trying to take two 'genres' and smoosh them together until they end up with one. It won't work that way. When you try to do too much you fail. There is that phrase: K.I.S.S. - keep it simple, stupid.

 

[tharpdevenport]

Well, they could have scalpels with kryptonite at the base of the blade or something to weaken him just enough to give them something to work with. Or they could do what they ended up resorting to in "Superman Returns" and cooking him with sunlamps and praying that helps.

That's another interesting idea. They'd probably have the superheroes' weaknesses and achilles heels on site, probably under lock-and-key in the pharmacy (well, the pharmacy is already under lock-and-key in a hospital, but you know what I mean). I wouldn't be surprised if they also had something like Professor X and Batman's special files, outlining every hero's strengths, weaknesses, and how to exploit them medicinally.

Some superhero dies mysteriously while under, and the trust is broken and someone is a turncoat and murderer. Maybe some superhero that's really likable -- they set him up for a season or more, then take him down.

 

[Christopher]

It sounds like they are trying to take two 'genres' and smoosh them together until they end up with one. It won't work that way. When you try to do too much you fail. There is that phrase: K.I.S.S. - keep it simple, stupid.

Bull. A good story is a good story, regardless of narrow-minded ideas about "genre." True, stories that attempt to break from those narrow stereotypes do have trouble finding an audience, but that's the fault of the audience (and the advertisers) for being too inflexible about categories.

 

[Broccoli]

I can't see this working as a straight-laced drama. It seems like it would be better suited as a screwball comedy.

Next up, Alien Cop Show...

Alien Nation?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

It sounds like they are trying to take two 'genres' and smoosh them together until they end up with one. It won't work that way. When you try to do too much you fail. There is that phrase: K.I.S.S. - keep it simple, stupid.

Bull. A good story is a good story, regardless of narrow-minded ideas about "genre." True, stories that attempt to break from those narrow stereotypes do have trouble finding an audience, but that's the fault of the audience (and the advertisers) for being too inflexible about categories.

Chasing audiences is what TV is all about - you can carp about it, but it'll never change. And if a shows' audience-chasing strategy fails, then the show gets cancelled so it's a perfectly reasonable thing to worry about. Who wants to get attached to a doomed show?

Some genres mix okay with sci fi. Cop shows, for instance, mix well - the problem there is that they mix so well that almost every sci fi show on TV is part cop show, and I'm getting really sick of it. Not every sci fi show needs a sherrif or FBI agent as the lead character!

Doctor shows of the Grey's Anatomy sort are too cloying and unwatchable - at least I can't watch them! If that's the sort of doctor show they want to add to the mix - more godawful soap than medical show - no thanks. We already saw how badly that turns out with Defying Gravity.

 

[Dream]

I'm not surprised. They greenlit a prequel to nBSG after all.

 

[Christopher]

Chasing audiences is what TV is all about - you can carp about it, but it'll never change. And if a shows' audience-chasing strategy fails, then the show gets cancelled so it's a perfectly reasonable thing to worry about. Who wants to get attached to a doomed show?

It's reasonable to say it's a risk to try something that doesn't fit neatly into a standard genre formula. It is not reasonable to say that it's wrong even to try. Storytellers who take risks, who try new things rather than just churning out more of the same old stuff, deserve to be commended for the effort.

And the same goes for audiences. Yes, if you take a risk on a show that isn't a sure thing, that doesn't fit the kind of comfortable, familiar formula that networks know how to market, you may end up being disappointed. But that doesn't mean it's wrong to take that risk.

Doctor shows of the Grey's Anatomy sort are too cloying and unwatchable - at least I can't watch them! If that's the sort of doctor show they want to add to the mix - more godawful soap than medical show - no thanks. We already saw how badly that turns out with Defying Gravity.

I think the Defying Gravity/Grey's Anatomy comparisons are overstated, based mainly on advance publicity referring to the fact that one of DG's executive producers had a similar role on GA. But DG was not a medical drama so it's clearly not a comparison. It didn't fail because of genre-mixing, because it wasn't a mixed-genre show, it was a straight-up space opera. It failed because it was badly written and executed, and because ABC bought it so late that it barely had time to promote it.

I think there's a wealth of potential in a superhero medical show. It's a fresh way of exploring the concept of superheroics, and there are lots of interesting stories that could be told, as the interview with JMS about his Samaritan X concept makes clear.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

It's reasonable to say it's a risk to try something that doesn't fit neatly into a standard genre formula. It is not reasonable to say that it's wrong even to try. Storytellers who take risks, who try new things rather than just churning out more of the same old stuff, deserve to be commended for the effort.

Maybe you're forgetting that we're talking about TV. The odds that any given show will represent an interesting creative risk is miniscule vs. the odds that it's a crass and wrongheaded ratings ploy along the lines of thinking the sci fi audience and the Grey's audience share enough in common that they'd like to see their genres mashed together into the same show.

I'll give anything in sf/f a shot. But after seeing shows with promising premises like Heroes, FlashForward and V turn out so badly, why should I hold an iota of hope for a show that has a bad smell about it from the start?

I think the Defying Gravity/Grey's Anatomy comparisons are overstated,

They both focused on grating, immature, self-involved females and soapy romance antics. It might be a broad comparison, but the similarities were enough to kill my interest in the show after a few episodes. To me, any significant amount of soapiness in a show renders it unendurable.

But DG was not a medical drama so it's clearly not a comparison.

Doctors were the main characters. One of the episodes focused heavily on a medical emergency. There were flashbacks to their medical training. Seemed pretty doctor-oriented to me. But it wasn't the medical stuff I couldn't tolerate, it was the smarmy, soapy approach to the material. For whatever reason, doctors and soapiness often go together. I guess we can blame General Hospital.

it was a straight-up space opera.

It was a lot closer to being a straight-up soap opera, with some sci fi window dressing.

It failed because it was badly written and executed,

I won't argue with you there! But I can't envision how a doctor-soap-in-space could be executed any better. It just shouldn't even be attempted to begin with.

 

[Christopher]

Maybe you're forgetting that we're talking about TV. The odds that any given show will represent an interesting creative risk is miniscule vs. the odds that it's a crass and wrongheaded ratings ploy along the lines of thinking the sci fi audience and the Grey's audience share enough in common that they'd like to see their genres mashed together into the same show.

Again you're taking the Grey's comparison far, far too literally. Don't confuse the way advertisers choose to promote a show (or the way TV critics choose to pigeonhole it) with the actual intentions of its creators.

And I don't see any reason to jump to the conclusion that this is a "crass and wrongheaded ratings ploy." In fact, aren't you contradicting yourself by saying that, given that you're also assuming it will bomb in the ratings?

Maybe it's just that I had the same idea myself once, but I think this is something that has a lot of potential. If I don't get to tell the story myself, I'd at least like to see how someone else handles it. And I don't see any benefit in assuming the worst about an unknown.

I'll give anything in sf/f a shot. But after seeing shows with promising premises like Heroes, FlashForward and V turn out so badly, why should I hold an iota of hope for a show that has a bad smell about it from the start?

Because hope is the only reason to go on living. If you decide that there's no point in hoping just because you've been disappointed before, you might as well just give up trying anything, ever. Would you give up eating just because you've had a few lousy meals? Would you enter a convent just because you had a few bad breakups? Life goes on, and it offers unknowable possibilities. Disappointment and failure are parts of life, but so is the occasional success. It's self-defeating to give up on the possibility of success just because failure exists too.

And really, it's just a TV show. It won't scar your psyche or ruin your life if you watch a few episodes that don't satisfy you. So what's the harm in giving it a shot?

For whatever reason, doctors and soapiness often go together. I guess we can blame General Hospital.

Ohh, I'm sure GH wasn't the originator of the trope. There were soaps on radio long before TV came along, and I'm sure they included medical shows. But then, there are also medical shows like M*A*S*H or House. There are lots of ways to approach the topic.

Anyway, the context should be considered. This is being developed for Syfy, so it's likely that they'll be aiming for the same tone as shows like Eureka and Warehouse 13.

I won't argue with you there! But I can't envision how a doctor-soap-in-space could be executed any better. It just shouldn't even be attempted to begin with.

In space? We're talking about a superhero show.

And as a creator myself, I am disgusted and outraged by the suggestion that any type of creative endeavour "shouldn't" be attempted. That kind of thinking breeds censorship and the repression of free thought. It's a hideous thing to say, no matter what the subject. Freedom of speech, freedom to tell any kind of story a creator desires to tell, is an absolute. You're entitled not to watch such a story, but it's an outright obscenity to suggest that people "shouldn't even attempt" to tell stories that don't suit your own personal tastes. Shame on you.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Next up, Alien Cop Show and Paranormal Lawyers.

Sci-Fi had a crack at a show about paranormal lawyers in 2003 with a pilot called Dead Lawyers about a law firm staffed by, well, dead lawyers striving to redeem themselves by setting right injustices. The pilot starred Sean Patrick Flanery and F. Murray Abraham, but it wasn't ordered to series.

 

[jefferiestubes8]

sounds like this older series
"Mercy Point" (1998) (TV series)

This ER in Space was a short lived series on the UPN TV network in the US in 1998. Followed events on the hospital space station Mercy Point, which provided emergency care to space dwellers of all species.

Staffed by human, alien, and even android medical personnel, Mercy Point provides desperately-needed health care for the colony and any ship passing through the area.

just without the superhero characters.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

What I disliked about Defying Gravity was identical to what I find intolerable about Gray's Anatomy. So the analogy is perfectly right to me. No one is more eager than me to find a watchable space opera series. But it has to meet certain minimal standards of being stomach-able.

And I don't see any reason to jump to the conclusion that this is a "crass and wrongheaded ratings ploy." In fact, aren't you contradicting yourself by saying that, given that you're also assuming it will bomb in the ratings?

There are plenty of ratings ploys that don't work. Most of them fail, in fact. That's why I called it "wrongheaded." Try working on your reading comprehension.

Maybe it's just that I had the same idea myself once, but I think this is something that has a lot of potential.

What idea? Docs in space? I have nothing against that idea in the abstract. But sadly to TV producers "docs" means "puerile soap opera," and that is what I am definitely not interested in.

It's self-defeating to give up on the possibility of success just because failure exists too.

Oh don't fret about me! I'll watch pretty much any sf/f show that comes along. It's a win-win situation for me. Either it's good, in which case I win, or it sucks, and I have fun bitching my head off about it, in which case I also win.

Anyway, the context should be considered. This is being developed for Syfy, so it's likely that they'll be aiming for the same tone as shows like Eureka and Warehouse 13.

Ugh. I hope it'll be a bit better than that.

And as a creator myself, I am disgusted and outraged by the suggestion that any type of creative endeavour "shouldn't" be attempted.

Oh get over yourself. Every bad idea that is tried out means the possibility of a better idea that didn't get a chance. Granted, the odds are that what will be tried instead is some reality show where people eat bugs. I guess I'm just the eternal optimist to even think there's a chance that we could get anything better than the tsunami of mediocrity (and that's being generous) that defines TV. Maybe I should just give up and lower my standards to your level.

 

[Christopher]

Try working on your reading comprehension.

Maybe it's just that I had the same idea myself once, but I think this is something that has a lot of potential.

What idea? Docs in space?

We're talking about a series about a superhero hospital. It says so right in the title of the thread. Do you really think you should be criticizing others for their reading comprehension?

I have nothing against that idea in the abstract. But sadly to TV producers "docs" means "puerile soap opera," and that is what I am definitely not interested in.

Your opinions of Grey's Anatomy are really coloring your perceptions here for some reason. There are plenty of medical dramas that don't fit that description, such as M*A*S*H, House, and ER (I think; I rarely watched it). And there are plenty of puerile soap operas out there that have nothing to do with doctors.

And as a creator myself, I am disgusted and outraged by the suggestion that any type of creative endeavour "shouldn't" be attempted.

Oh get over yourself.

I'm talking about a profoundly serious issue here, censorship and the freedom of expression. There are countries where authors, artists, journalists, etc. are subject to arrest, persecution, and threats to their life because they created something that someone in power thought they "shouldn't" have been allowed to do. And you think my outrage at the idea is just about me? Talk about lacking comprehension...

Every bad idea that is tried out means the possibility of a better idea that didn't get a chance.

That's a spurious argument, because it's not a zero-sum game. It's not like there's a fixed number of ideas and if you somehow prevent people from doing things they "shouldn't" try (by whose standards?!) it would somehow magically increase the number of good ideas. It's the other way around. The more freedom creators have to explore any ideas they want, the more good ideas will come along, simply because the volume of ideas is greater. It takes a lot of practice and tries to come up with good ideas; they don't happen automatically. Any creator has to start out doing bad stuff in order to learn how to get better. Prevent them from creating bad stuff and they'll never get the experience they need to become good. Not to mention that "good" and "bad" can be subjective and no one has the right to impose their personal tastes on the rest of the world. Unless freedom of expression is absolute and unfettered, the best ideas may never be given a chance to exist.

Maybe I should just give up and lower my standards to your level.

I'm walking away now.

 

[Trekker4747]

This being a series made on "SyFy" leaves me dubious to its quality potential.