sf/f TV development news - 2013

[lennier1]

Now that I think of it, given the success of Space Command and Veronica Mars Kickstarter projects, I wonder why JMS hasn't gone that route to fund more B5.

Because the rights are tied up too tightly in the Warner Brothers catalog. He'd have to go a similar route to Star Citizen, the unofficial successor to Wing Commander and then it wouldn't be B5 anymore.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Ah, I see. Presumably the Veronica Mars people made out better in the Rights department.

 

[Bob The Skutter]

Ah, I see. Presumably the Veronica Mars people made out better in the Rights department.

I believe WB are keeping the rights and the Kickstarter money is helping them fun the production.

 

[RJDiogenes]

That's interesting. If it's the WB in both cases, why can one work and the other not?

 

[Christopher]

Given how the last couple of B5 revival attempts went, do we really want to see JMS try it again?

 

[Harvey]

Presumably a space opera program like Babylon 5 would be significantly more expensive to restart than Veronica Mars, especially since JMS has claimed he won't produce another cheapie like The Lost Tales.

Also, as Christopher points out, JMS' previous attempts to turn the series into a franchise weren't all that interesting.

 

[Enterprise is Great]

NBC Nabs Futuristic Prison Drama From Seth Grahame-Smith & Greg Berlanti

In a competitive situation, Paradise, a prison drama from hot novelist/feature writer Seth Grahame-Smith (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) and producer Greg Berlanti, has landed at NBC with a put pilot commitment. Written by Grahame-Smith, Paradise is set in the late 21st century in the city of Las Vegas which is now the world’s largest maximum-security prison, known as Paradise. Matthew Turner, M.D., is its newest inmate, convicted of a murder he didn’t commit. Desperate to get back to his family and prove his innocence, Matthew will have to find a strength he never knew he had, and stay alive long enough to do the one thing no inmate has ever done: escape

 

[Enterprise is Great]

Bryan Fuller’s Syfy Pilot ‘High Moon’ Casts Leads

Jake Sandvig (Easy A) and Chris Diamantopoulos are set as the leads of Bryan Fuller’s Syfy pilot High Moon. It explores what happens when the countries of Earth establish colonies to mine the moon’s resources and discover a new form of life. Sandvig plays Marty Thurgood, an American astronaut investigated for engaging in possible espionage and sabotage when a giant blast goes off near an area where he was working. Diamantopoulos will play Marty’s older brother, a chief investigator for the American federal government who he has been dispatched to the moon to figure out who caused the moon explosion.

 

[RJDiogenes]

^^ Not much interesting in that description, except that it's space-based, but it's Bryan Fuller, so I have some optimism.

Given how the last couple of B5 revival attempts went, do we really want to see JMS try it again?

Sure, why not?

Presumably a space opera program like Babylon 5 would be significantly more expensive to restart than Veronica Mars, especially since JMS has claimed he won't produce another cheapie like The Lost Tales.

Well, that's true, but Space Command is also a successful Kickstarter project-- although the jury is still out on how that's going.

Also, as Christopher points out, JMS' previous attempts to turn the series into a franchise weren't all that interesting.

Crusade was great, and I'd still love to see a follow up on that. LOTR sucked, it's true, but Lost Tales could have been better if he hadn't done it so halfheartedly. There's still a lot of stories that could be told in that universe.

 

[Kegg]

Regardless of any 'what ifs', JMS is currently working with the Wachkowskis on Sense8, the new sci-fi show for Netflix. I assume that's a higher priority than trying to restart a franchise that's failed often before.

 

[Sindatur]

I don't think it's fair to say JMS did The Lost Tales half-heartedly. There were no sets left and no CGI models, so, there were start up costs, like any Pilot would have, and the budget they gave him was miniscule. That's why there is hardly any sets and the stories are so short. Story-wise though, forgetting about the lack of money for cast and sets, I was quite happy with the stories that were told in The Lost Tales.

 

[RJDiogenes]

I liked Lost Tales, I just felt he was holding back on the writing because of the production budget.

 

[Enterprise is Great]

http://www.deadline.com/2013/08/hig...att-miller-dan-lin-lands-at-abc-as-put-pilot/

In a competitive situation with multiple networks bidding, ABC has nabbed a drama project from former Chuck executive producer Matthew Miller and Lin Pictures with a put pilot commitment. Titled Forever, the drama hails from Warner Bros. TV where Miller and Lin Pictures are under overall deals. It centers on Dr. Henry Morgan, the most over-qualified pathology associate in the world who has experienced it all — wars, love, even smallpox and malaria — but there is one feat that he can’t seem to accomplish: dying. Morgan is a 200-year-old man who spends his days working in the New York City Morgue trying to find a key to unlock the curse of his immortality. His investigative work with hard-nosed NYPD detective Jo Martinez will reveal elements of Morgan’s colorful life.

 

[TheSeeker]

Sounds a bit like New Amsterdam.

 

[Christopher]

^I was thinking New Amsterdam meets Quincy.

 

[Borgminister]

Decapitation?

 

[Sindatur]

Decapitation?

No Thanks, I'm trying to get ahead

 

[JD]

Sounds a bit like New Amsterdam.

^I was thinking New Amsterdam meets Quincy.

I had the same thought. I still miss New Amsterdam, my mom and I both thought it was great.

 

[Morpheus 02]

Ah, I didn't realize that title was a mistake.
As for ABC, not all of their shows are family friendly. I don't know if I'd call Revenge or Lost a family friendly show, and I doubt a show called Mistresses is particularly family friendly.

With "ABC Family", they mean DYSFUNCTIONAL family ("Pretty Little Liars"?)

 

[Mistral]

http://www.deadline.com/2013/08/hig...att-miller-dan-lin-lands-at-abc-as-put-pilot/

In a competitive situation with multiple networks bidding, ABC has nabbed a drama project from former Chuck executive producer Matthew Miller and Lin Pictures with a put pilot commitment. Titled Forever, the drama hails from Warner Bros. TV where Miller and Lin Pictures are under overall deals. It centers on Dr. Henry Morgan, the most over-qualified pathology associate in the world who has experienced it all — wars, love, even smallpox and malaria — but there is one feat that he can’t seem to accomplish: dying. Morgan is a 200-year-old man who spends his days working in the New York City Morgue trying to find a key to unlock the curse of his immortality. His investigative work with hard-nosed NYPD detective Jo Martinez will reveal elements of Morgan’s colorful life.

Sounds a bit like Peter Hamill's wonderful novel of the same name.