Could "Inception" work as a TV series? (hypothetical)
- Thread starter jefferiestubes8
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I actually read that book, years and years ago. "The Light of Other Days" is, however, about a technology that allows you to view anything, anywhere, either occurring right now or in the past (allowing people to see Shakespeare's production of Hamlet; the real life of Jesus of Nazareth and a boy masturbating in the house across the way, to cite three examples actually in the book).
In other words while it does have society-shattering technology that winds up with a world where privacy and lying are outmoded notions, it doesn't really deal a lot with the idea that people's dreams or sleeping life is under threat - indeed, the internal mind is the only sanctum the characters have left.
Also: The basic concept behind "The Light of Other Days" would make a brilliant if very high concept and, inevitably, incredibly controversial TV show.
I wasn't thinking so much about the specific tech as the idea of tech having severe repercussions for a society. Sci fi abounds in examples, that was just the first that came to mind.
I think it has the potential to be a great tv series. The theme/arc of the first season could be the audience coming to realise that the characters are lost deep with a multi layered dream, and the characters are trying to work their way out. For me, something like that would have far more interest than the "job of the week" format (which it would probably more likely end up being.) The second season could end with the relaisation that they are in fact still lost, despite that being the apparent resolution of season one.
There would be network pressure to make the show conform to some kind of weekly procedural format to make it accessible to sporadic viewers. But I think this premise has a rare opportunity to combine the deadening cop show format with an underlying arc, which would emerge as "what reality are we in, anyway?"
The characters blithely assume that they're in the "correct" reality when they emerge from the weekly job but over time, start to see signs that they maybe be wrong in that assumption. Then they have to somehow figure out a way back that doesn't involve committing suicide.
For people who are into arcs, we could follow along with theories about whether they are still in a dream and where that happened. For people who just want the procedural, they can ignore all that guff.
The rules of the game would require a lot of explanation, but TV is more forgiving of that stuff than a movie, where it becomes obnoxious if it takes up too much screen time. On TV, the rules can be doled out over several episodes and never slow things down.
The characters blithely assume that they're in the "correct" reality when they emerge from the weekly job but over time, start to see signs that they maybe be wrong in that assumption. Then they have to somehow figure out a way back that doesn't involve committing suicide.
For people who are into arcs, we could follow along with theories about whether they are still in a dream and where that happened. For people who just want the procedural, they can ignore all that guff.
The rules of the game would require a lot of explanation, but TV is more forgiving of that stuff than a movie, where it becomes obnoxious if it takes up too much screen time. On TV, the rules can be doled out over several episodes and never slow things down.
That's how I see it could work, too. I think it would have a nice attraction to the "one off" viewers and the "arc-fans".
I could see it working as a weekly series, but I think that I would grow tired with the rather unimaginative dream states pretty quickly (even quicker on a television budget, which wouldn't allow for the moments of striking imagery that appear in the film like the folding city or the variable gravity). At that point, it's not much more than a procedural. And if you're going that route with a science fiction series, I'd be more interested in a remake of Alien Nation, or even that Gattaca series that was in development.
He started out on TV in Growing Pains.
Even Clooney's not above doing a guest spot since he did one in the last few episodes of ER.
Also it wouldn't be uncommon for the character of Cobb to be recast.
I think it could work in a similar way that quantum leap. It would be prohibitively expensive though.
They could keep the budget in line by presenting dreams that are more psychological than dazzling SFX extravaganzas. I've never had a dream where I folded a city in half. Dreams have freaky things but they're often just variations on reality that have symbolic significance to the dreamer.
I agree. In fact, I think they could be clever in evoking various psychological states. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that it could make an excellent tv show.
Great, this is one more idea for us to get mad about because it never gets made and instead they do shows that bring back in-demand figures such as Lee Majors and Kevin Sorbo. 
'another inception' - different original scifi film or sequel ?
http://www.whatsplaying.com.au/2010/10/hollywood-insider-another-inception/
via
http://www.collider.com/2010/10/22/inception-sequel-warner-bros-christopher-nolan/
Hollywood Insider : Another Inception?
http://www.whatsplaying.com.au/2010/10/hollywood-insider-another-inception/
via
http://www.collider.com/2010/10/22/inception-sequel-warner-bros-christopher-nolan/
Aw, you got my hopes up, but they're just talking about another movie. So what, we've already seen the movie version of this story. A TV series has a much greater potential for delving more into the psychology and metaphysics of the Inception reality compared with a movie.
No need to recast. The movie created an entire universe, with the PASIV device and the mentions of other extractors. A series could just follow some other team.
Not every dream necessarily would. The extraction job against Saito, for example, involved run & gun action because Saito had security; likewise with Fisher's subconscious security. Not everyone in their world would be trained to resist extraction with sub-security, but the most important marks (i.e., big-time businessmen, politicians, etc.) likely would be.
That's because you were the dreamer, not the architect.
TV Squad had an article on this "Inception on TV" concept back when the film came out.
Zach Levi would be a very good lead for an Inception TV series, if such a thing ever became real. Having to fill time every week hopefully would lead to a wider range of dream types, that aren't cribbed from cop shows and video games. That alone would make the show worth watching. I routinely have dreams that are far more interesting and imaginative than most of the stuff in the movie, and I'm sure there are some screenwriters who could cast their imaginative net far wider if given the chance.
"S.A.N.D. Men" - rip-off TV series from NBC?
SAND MEN
http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2010/11/development_2011_tv_abc_nbc.html
SAND MEN
http://www.spoilertv.com/2010/10/nbc-full-drama-development-slate-for.html
Re: "S.A.N.D. Men" - rip-off TV series from NBC?
Oh my... Just about the daftest name for a show I've come across. Right up there with Manimal and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Now, just because it has a dumb title doesn't preclude it from quality writing etc. But it doesn't start the ball rolling in the right direction.
Hugo - Buffy geek
Oh my... Just about the daftest name for a show I've come across. Right up there with Manimal and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Now, just because it has a dumb title doesn't preclude it from quality writing etc. But it doesn't start the ball rolling in the right direction.
Hugo - Buffy geek
Re: "S.A.N.D. Men" - rip-off TV series from NBC?
Craig Titley also wrote:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (TV series)
– The Zillo Beast (2010) (writer)
– Blue Shadow Virus (2009) (written by)
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (screenplay)
SOURCE
Craig Titley also wrote:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (TV series)
– The Zillo Beast (2010) (writer)
– Blue Shadow Virus (2009) (written by)
Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (screenplay)
Re: "S.A.N.D. Men" - rip-off TV series from NBC?
Yikes, that article is scary! What a lot of terrible sounding shows.
Sand Men seems like one of the more interesting options. Nice to know Milo's show isn't dead. I also like this one:
Yikes, that article is scary! What a lot of terrible sounding shows.
Sand Men seems like one of the more interesting options. Nice to know Milo's show isn't dead. I also like this one:Similar threads
