forget zombies - this year, fairy tales are the hot new thing!

[Temis the Vorta]

SF/F pilots at ABC.

Interesting pilot season for sf/f - not seeing much in the way of vampires. Has everyone finally OD'ed on them? Definitely heavy on fantasy so far...

Once Upon a Time centers on a woman with a troubled past who is drawn into a small town in Maine where the magic and mystery of Fairy Tales just may be real.

Magical/fairy tale pilots are hot this season with Once Upon a Time joining NBC's Grimm and 17th Precinct.

Grimm, a dark but fantastical cop drama about a world in which characters inspired by Grimm’s Fairy Tales exist.

17th Precinct - An ensemble cop drama with supernatural elements from Battlestar Galactica developer/executive producer Ron Moore.

Faerborne centers on a young Seattle businessman whose life is turned upside down when he learns that he is a "Changeling" -- a fairy left to be raised by humans -- and must be trained to fight goblins and other mythical creatures that live among us in disguise.

Poe - A crime procedural following Edgar Allan Poe, the world's very first detective, as he uses unconventional methods to investigate dark mysteries in 1840s Boston.

Hallelujah is set in the town of Hallelujah, Tenn., which is being torn apart by the forces of good and evil. Its fortunes change when a stranger comes to town, bringing justice, peace and possibly restoring faith. [/QUOTE]

The River, a horror drama in the mold of Paranormal Activity about a family who travels to the deep Amazon to locate and rescue their missing father.

Locke & Key, Miranda Otto and Nick Stahl in a drama about a family's attempt to rebuild by moving in with their deceased father's brother at the family homestead in maine, where they discover doorways with decidedly spectral qualities.

 

[Obiwanshinobi]

Umm, how bad can they possibly be?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I can remember when I thought The Event sounded "promising."

Here's one that might be better than I'd first thought - a supernatural medical show on CBS, urgh. But directed by Jonathan Demme? Now I'm interested!

The supernatural medical drama...centers on an ultra-competitive surgeon whose life is changed forever when his ex-wife dies and begins teaching him what life is all about from the here-after.

Sounds sappy but I'll at least check it out.

 

[Obiwanshinobi]

Well now that Mathew Fox is done with Lost, maybe they can give Haunted another shot.

 

[Jetfire]

Faerborne centers on a young Seattle businessman whose life is turned upside down when he learns that he is a "Changeling" -- a fairy left to be raised by humans -- and must be trained to fight goblins and other mythical creatures that live among us in disguise.

The CW had Betwixt and passed on it...don't see this one making it either.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Zombies are making one last stand before Snow White and the Big Bad Wolf take over!

Zombie lawyer show on the CW. Sounds like an SNL skit, but apparently it's real.

Awakening ... centers on two sisters who come of age and face off against one another amidst the beginning of a zombie uprising. In centers on the older one, who is a public defender.

I'll definitely be watching that one. I'm curious to learn more about the legal implications of a zombie outbreak.

The CW seems to be on a supernatural law show kick:

Heavenly ... centers on a dedicated young female attorney and a former angel, Dashiel Coffee, only recently turned human, who tackle cases together at the attorney's legal aid clinic – she saves clients’ butts while he saves their souls. As an angel, Dash never experienced feelings or emotions, and his “awakening” is a big part of the series, sometimes to hilarious effect.

Gak. Give me the zombies.

So, looks like the CW is getting desperate to find a Supernatural replacement, the way they're delving into sf/f/horror...

To be a completist on the sf/f pilot front, let's not forget Wonder Woman, reboot of the superhero tale that’s a serious, non-campy take on the DC Comics character - cuffs, rope, jet - but no costume.

And whether we like it or not: Ghost Angeles: A young woman speaks to dead people who help her.

 

[God Magnus]

Personally I'd love to see a well done TV take on Vertigo's "Fables". This lineup even has elements of it, but to see the whole story on film would be awesome (albeit pretty darn expensive).

 

[sojourner]

Only the first 2 in the OP seem "fairy tale" related. The rest are just supernatural.

From what I have read, 17th Precinct sounds like it could be set in the Dresden Files universe.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

If you expand the definition to magical critter type of fantasy (as opposed to vampire/horror type), then all those plus Faerborne qualify.

I'd like to see one good ole fashioned space opera in the mix.

 

[Whofan]

Stephen Moffat's/ Matt Smith's first season of Doctor Who sort of had a 'fairy tale' quality to it....(Although RTD had a few fairy tale references...."Bad wolf" for the season 1 arc and "Red Riding Hood" for the Supreme Dalek).


Also Marvel and DC have dabbed in fairy tale versions of their heroes...plus there's that new Amanda Seyfried movie.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Well not to mention Shrek and practically everything Disney has ever done. But this thread is supposed to be about TV pilot reason.

 

[Saga]

i certainly hope the Vampire obsession has died down. the Poe series sounds especially interesting. i just hope it doesn't come off as campy.

 

[O'Dib]

Locke and Key is an amazing comic book by Stephen King's talented offspring.

 

[RoJoHen]

I'd like to see one good ole fashioned space opera in the mix.

No kidding. Hell, make it a space opera with zombies and vampires if you have to!

 

[Jetfire]

I am surprised with the success of Avatar...it hasn't been ripped off for the small screen.

 

[AviTrek]

I am surprised with the success of Avatar...it hasn't been ripped off for the small screen.

Umm...Have you heard about Terra Nova?

 

[Jetfire]

Terra Nova

The show begins in the year 2149, a time when all life on planet Earth is threatened with extinction. In an effort to save the human race, scientists develop a portal allowing travel 85 million years back in time to prehistoric Earth. The Shannon family (father Jim, his wife Elisabeth, and their three children Josh, Maddy and Zoe) join the tenth pilgrimage of settlers to Terra Nova, the first human colony on the other side of the temporal doorway. However, they are unaware that the colony is in the middle of a group of carnivores; not all of them reptiles.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Nova_(TV_series)

Avatar

Spoiler: Avatar

In the year 2154, the RDA Corporation is mining a valuable mineral called unobtanium on Pandora, a lush, Earth-like moon with an atmosphere poisonous to humans in the Alpha Centauri star system.[10] Pandora is inhabited by the Na'vi, 10-foot-tall (3 m), blue-skinned, sapient humanoids[32] who live in harmony with nature and worship a mother goddess called Eywa.
To learn about the Na'vi and Pandora's biosphere, scientists use Na'vi-human hybrid bodies called avatars that are operated via mental link by genetically matched humans. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic former marine, replaces his twin brother, a scientist trained as an avatar operator who was murdered in a robbery. Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), head of the Avatar Program, considers Sully an inadequate replacement and assigns him as a bodyguard. While protecting avatars of Grace and scientist Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) on their expedition to collect biological samples and data in the forest, Jake's avatar is attacked by a jungle predator thanator. Fleeing for his life, Jake strays from the rest of the group and gets lost in the forest. Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a female Na'vi, stumbles upon Jake and reluctantly rescues him from Pandora's wildlife. Seeing portents from Eywa, she takes him to her clan's dwelling, Hometree; there, Jake meets Neytiri's father, clan chief Eytukan (Wes Studi). Neytiri's mother Mo'at (C. C. H. Pounder), the clan's spiritual leader, orders her daughter to teach the "warrior dreamwalker" their ways.
The head of Sec-Ops, the RDA's private security force, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), promises Jake that the company will help him walk again if he gathers intelligence about the Na'vi.[33] Hometree is on top of the richest deposits of unobtanium for hundreds of miles. When Grace learns that Jake is passing information to Quaritch, she relocates herself, Jake, and Norm to a remote outpost. Over three months, Jake grows close to Neytiri and her people. After Jake is initiated into the tribe, he and Neytiri choose each other as mates. Jake reveals his change of allegiance when he attempts to disable a bulldozer. When Quaritch shows Administrator Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi), the leader of the RDA colony,[34] one of Jake's video diary entries, in which Jake admits that the Na'vi will never abandon Hometree, Selfridge orders Hometree destroyed.
Despite Grace's argument that destroying Hometree could affect the bio-botanical neural network to which Pandoran organisms are connected, Selfridge gives Jake and Grace one hour to convince the Na'vi to evacuate. When Jake reveals his original mission, Neytiri accuses him of betraying the entire tribe, and Jake and Grace's avatars are taken captive. Quaritch's forces destroy Hometree, killing Neytiri's father, as well as many others. Mo'at frees Jake and Grace, but they are unplugged from their avatars back at RDA headquarters and imprisoned. Trudy Chacón (Rodriguez), a pilot disgusted with Quaritch's brutal methods, breaks them out and flies them to an avatar link outpost. During the escape, Quaritch shoots and seriously wounds Grace.
The Na'vi are able to link mentally with some animals. To regain the Na'vi's trust, Jake takes a dangerous gamble and links with a Toruk, a powerful flying predator that has been tamed only five times in Na'vi history. Jake finds the refugees at the sacred Tree of Souls and pleads with Mo'at to heal Grace. The clan attempts to transfer Grace from her human body into her avatar with the aid of the Tree, but she succumbs to her injuries before the process can be completed.
Supported by the new Omaticaya chief, Tsu'tey (Laz Alonso), Jake recruits thousands of warriors from neighboring clans. On the eve of battle, Jake prays to Eywa, via a neural connection to the Tree of Souls, to intercede on behalf of the Na'vi. Quaritch detects the mobilization of the Na'vi and convinces Selfridge to authorize a preemptive strike against the Tree of Souls, believing that its destruction will demoralize the natives.
The Na'vi fight back but suffer heavy casualties, including Tsu'tey and Trudy. Just when all seems lost, Pandoran wildlife suddenly join the attack and overwhelm the humans, which Neytiri interprets as Eywa answering Jake's prayer. Jake destroys a shuttle converted into a makeshift bomber before it can reach the Tree of Souls. Quaritch makes a narrow escape from his ship just as it is destroyed, and dons an AMP suit. He stumbles upon and breaches the avatar link unit containing Jake's human body, exposing Jake to Pandora's poisonous atmosphere. Neytiri kills Quaritch and gets to Jake in time to save him. They reaffirm their love as she sees his human body for the first time.
With the exception of Jake, Norm, Max, and several other scientists, all humans are expelled from Pandora. Jake is seen wearing the insignia of the Omaticaya leader. The clan performs the ritual dedicated to Eywa that permanently transfers Jake from his human body into his avatar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(2009_film)

How are these the same?

 

[AviTrek]

Terra Nova

The show begins in the year 2149, a time when all life on planet Earth is threatened with extinction. In an effort to save the human race, scientists develop a portal allowing travel 85 million years back in time to prehistoric Earth. The Shannon family (father Jim, his wife Elisabeth, and their three children Josh, Maddy and Zoe) join the tenth pilgrimage of settlers to Terra Nova, the first human colony on the other side of the temporal doorway. However, they are unaware that the colony is in the middle of a group of carnivores; not all of them reptiles.[4]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Terra_Nova_(TV_series)

Avatar

Spoiler: Avatar

In the year 2154, the RDA Corporation is mining a valuable mineral called unobtanium on Pandora, a lush, Earth-like moon with an atmosphere poisonous to humans in the Alpha Centauri star system.[10] Pandora is inhabited by the Na'vi, 10-foot-tall (3 m), blue-skinned, sapient humanoids[32] who live in harmony with nature and worship a mother goddess called Eywa.
To learn about the Na'vi and Pandora's biosphere, scientists use Na'vi-human hybrid bodies called avatars that are operated via mental link by genetically matched humans. Jake Sully (Sam Worthington), a paraplegic former marine, replaces his twin brother, a scientist trained as an avatar operator who was murdered in a robbery. Dr. Grace Augustine (Sigourney Weaver), head of the Avatar Program, considers Sully an inadequate replacement and assigns him as a bodyguard. While protecting avatars of Grace and scientist Norm Spellman (Joel David Moore) on their expedition to collect biological samples and data in the forest, Jake's avatar is attacked by a jungle predator thanator. Fleeing for his life, Jake strays from the rest of the group and gets lost in the forest. Neytiri (Zoe Saldana), a female Na'vi, stumbles upon Jake and reluctantly rescues him from Pandora's wildlife. Seeing portents from Eywa, she takes him to her clan's dwelling, Hometree; there, Jake meets Neytiri's father, clan chief Eytukan (Wes Studi). Neytiri's mother Mo'at (C. C. H. Pounder), the clan's spiritual leader, orders her daughter to teach the "warrior dreamwalker" their ways.
The head of Sec-Ops, the RDA's private security force, Colonel Miles Quaritch (Stephen Lang), promises Jake that the company will help him walk again if he gathers intelligence about the Na'vi.[33] Hometree is on top of the richest deposits of unobtanium for hundreds of miles. When Grace learns that Jake is passing information to Quaritch, she relocates herself, Jake, and Norm to a remote outpost. Over three months, Jake grows close to Neytiri and her people. After Jake is initiated into the tribe, he and Neytiri choose each other as mates. Jake reveals his change of allegiance when he attempts to disable a bulldozer. When Quaritch shows Administrator Parker Selfridge (Giovanni Ribisi), the leader of the RDA colony,[34] one of Jake's video diary entries, in which Jake admits that the Na'vi will never abandon Hometree, Selfridge orders Hometree destroyed.
Despite Grace's argument that destroying Hometree could affect the bio-botanical neural network to which Pandoran organisms are connected, Selfridge gives Jake and Grace one hour to convince the Na'vi to evacuate. When Jake reveals his original mission, Neytiri accuses him of betraying the entire tribe, and Jake and Grace's avatars are taken captive. Quaritch's forces destroy Hometree, killing Neytiri's father, as well as many others. Mo'at frees Jake and Grace, but they are unplugged from their avatars back at RDA headquarters and imprisoned. Trudy Chacón (Rodriguez), a pilot disgusted with Quaritch's brutal methods, breaks them out and flies them to an avatar link outpost. During the escape, Quaritch shoots and seriously wounds Grace.
The Na'vi are able to link mentally with some animals. To regain the Na'vi's trust, Jake takes a dangerous gamble and links with a Toruk, a powerful flying predator that has been tamed only five times in Na'vi history. Jake finds the refugees at the sacred Tree of Souls and pleads with Mo'at to heal Grace. The clan attempts to transfer Grace from her human body into her avatar with the aid of the Tree, but she succumbs to her injuries before the process can be completed.
Supported by the new Omaticaya chief, Tsu'tey (Laz Alonso), Jake recruits thousands of warriors from neighboring clans. On the eve of battle, Jake prays to Eywa, via a neural connection to the Tree of Souls, to intercede on behalf of the Na'vi. Quaritch detects the mobilization of the Na'vi and convinces Selfridge to authorize a preemptive strike against the Tree of Souls, believing that its destruction will demoralize the natives.
The Na'vi fight back but suffer heavy casualties, including Tsu'tey and Trudy. Just when all seems lost, Pandoran wildlife suddenly join the attack and overwhelm the humans, which Neytiri interprets as Eywa answering Jake's prayer. Jake destroys a shuttle converted into a makeshift bomber before it can reach the Tree of Souls. Quaritch makes a narrow escape from his ship just as it is destroyed, and dons an AMP suit. He stumbles upon and breaches the avatar link unit containing Jake's human body, exposing Jake to Pandora's poisonous atmosphere. Neytiri kills Quaritch and gets to Jake in time to save him. They reaffirm their love as she sees his human body for the first time.
With the exception of Jake, Norm, Max, and several other scientists, all humans are expelled from Pandora. Jake is seen wearing the insignia of the Omaticaya leader. The clan performs the ritual dedicated to Eywa that permanently transfers Jake from his human body into his avatar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar_(2009_film)

How are these the same?

Good humans and bad humans from a future with an environmentally damaged earth fight to preserve/abuse a jungle planet and the native inhabitants.

 

[Jetfire]

^
I didn't get that from the Terra Nova plot synopsis...but whatever.

You know what I mean.

 

[Quinton O'Connor]

None of these pilots sound remotely up my alley, but in fairness, they still sound better than the muck of the last two years.

It's a sad time to be a genre fan like me. I'm not into comic books all that much, nor superheroes in general. I'm not into the vampire craze, nor the zombie craze, nor this newest craze. I'm pretty screwed for the time being.