• Welcome! The TrekBBS is the number one place to chat about Star Trek with like-minded fans.
    If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

sf/f TV development news - 2013

I've noticed a new trend in tv shows based on movies where in the series is a decompressed retelling of the movie as opposed to new stories based in the setting. I.e., From Dusk Till Dawn, Fargo, and others that I can't remember at the moment.
 
I thought Fargo was a totally new story, unrelated to the movie? I don't really remember the movie, but that is what all of the news stories about the show leading to it's release were saying.
 
Is it? I got the impression from the first episode that it was the same essential story with the details changed.

Martin Freeman's character seemed very reminiscent of William H. Macy's from the movie.
 
Last edited:
I think it is a similar story, dealing with the same kinds of themes and stuff, but the characters and details are different.
 
Sounds like this show will actually be based on the film series, though it's hard to see how you can get an ongoing series out of "indestructible killer comes back every week." Although, hmm, Sleepy Hollow has managed to expand things beyond the Headless Horseman by bringing in other supernatural threats and keeping the Horseman as a looming figure in the background. Maybe this could do something similar.

They did get 12 movies out of it. It will be interesting to see what they do with this. Compared to the movie's heyday the television landscape now allows for a lot more violence no matter where it airs which should give a decent amount of room to experiment.
 
^Sure, they did 12 movies, but those were mostly just rehashes of the same formula -- and they were separated by years. Having the same basic slasher-movie plot play out week after week for 13 or 22 episodes would get pretty tedious, and modern TV viewers demand more of a developing arc.
 
So I've read the first book from the source material, Leviathan Wakes, and it's really very very good. It was nominated for a Hugo and the third book, which came out last year is getting a lot of Hugo buzz as well. It's a very ambitious story though. It'll be hard to do on a tv budget, but if they can pull it off, it could really be a prestige project for the network.

I hear nothing but good things...and I promised myself I'd get control of the book buying...ugh!

RAMA

Libraries are your friend

I always buy the books I like most. Often they are cheap on Amazon, but they do add up after time. I do have 600 e-books in addition to my 400+ physical books.
 
^^ Same here. I need a bigger house. Or a second house just for my books.

I've noticed a new trend in tv shows based on movies where in the series is a decompressed retelling of the movie as opposed to new stories based in the setting. I.e., From Dusk Till Dawn, Fargo, and others that I can't remember at the moment.
The first thing I thought of when I read the article was Bates Motel.

I'm actually intrigued by the ancient aliens series. I've loved that stuff ever since Chariots of the Gods? came out. And, given that it's HBO, it will undoubtedly be Chariots of the Sexy Gods.
 
A&E has ordered The Returned, the English language adaptation of Les Revenants, to series. Deadline's report is here.

Good lord this makes no sense. So they are going to air a show called The Returned, based on a French Show called The Returned that has nearly an identical plot to ABC's show Resurrection, which is actually based on a novel called...you guessed it...The Returned.
 
Syfy Picks Up Adventure Series ‘Killjoys’

Syfy, which will be holding its upfront presentation later today, continues to aggressively build a scripted primetime lineup with the addition of new 10-episode adventure drama series, Killjoys, which will premiere in 2015.

Originally ordered by Bell Media’s Space in Canada, Killjoys comes from the producers of Orphan Black, Temple Street Prods., and the creator of Lost Girl, Michelle Lovretta. It follows a fun-loving, hard living trio of interplanetary bounty hunters sworn to remain impartial as they chase deadly warrants throughout the Quad, a distant system on the brink of a bloody, multiplanetary class war.

Syfy Developing ‘Pax Romana’ Miniseries, ‘The Magicians’ Series

Syfy has put in development Pax Romana, a miniseries based on the graphic novel by Jonathan Hickman, and The Magicians, a drama series based on Lev Grossman’s popular fantasy novels.

Based on Hickman’s comic book limited series published in 2007, Pax Romana is about a Special Forces team that travels back in time to Ancient Rome on the eve of World War III to “fix” the future by altering the past. Roman legions battle modern day attack helicopters, tanks and soldier as the leaders of the expedition fight over their vision for civilization.

Based on Grossman’s books, described as Harry Potter for grown-ups, Magicians follows a group of 20-somethings in New York who study magic and discover that the magical fantasy world they read about as children is real and poses a grave danger to Earth.

Syfy Adapting Frank Miller's DC Comics Series 'Ronin,' Oni Press' 'Letter 44'

Syfy Developing ‘Clone’ From ‘Walking Dead’ Creator Robert Kirkman
 
Letter 44 sounds like it has potential. A Solar System-based space drama with Rene Echevarria on board? Could be worthwhile.

Killjoys has an interesting pedigree. Creators from Orphan Black and Lost Girl? Both have strong female leads, but are very different in tone. I hope the "fun-loving" part suggests it'll be skewing more toward LG's lighter tone. A lot of the new shows I'm hearing about from Syfy sound like they're trying to be ultra-dark and gritty in the vein of BSG and Game of Thrones, but I'd prefer something more in the vein of Stargate, Eureka, Warehouse 13, and, yes, Lost Girl.

Speaking of Orphan Black, that Clone show would have to have something to make it distinctive and not feel like just an attempt to imitate OB.

The premise of Ascension is very weird. A giant interstellar generation ship launched in 1963???? Before we even launched the first multi-person space capsule or devised a rocket powerful enough to leave Earth orbit, we launched an interstellar starship with a crew of hundreds? And it's "nearly 50 years into the journey," meaning it's set before 2013? In the past? What the hell?

I mean, I think I've heard of this Ascension project before, in development news from a year or two ago, and it sounded interesting then. But the 1963 launch date makes no sense and I can't see what purpose it serves in the story.
 
SyFy is picking some really solid source material to develop into series. I like Grossman's The Magicians a lot. Fox actually developed it a couple years back. I know a pilot was written but it never got past that phase. I wonder if this is the same pilot or they have to write up a new one?

I think it's probably a better fit for basic cable than network tv anyway, so this could be good.
 
Killjoys sounds like it has possibilities, since it's from the creator of Lost Girl. The rest, I don't know. Wait and see. I, too, am sick of the 80s frowny approach.

But the 1963 launch date makes no sense and I can't see what purpose it serves in the story.
Maybe it's a "modern Steampunk" kind of thing.
 
WGN has renewed Salem for a second season and, as expected, Fox has ordered Gotham to series. Here's the trailer for Gotham:

[yt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0d1zpt6k5OI[/yt]
 
If you are not already a member then please register an account and join in the discussion!

Sign up / Register


Back
Top