sf/f pilots and the odds of pickup

[Temis the Vorta]

Curious whatever happened to Day One? Hungry for any speck of news about the Star Wars TV show which is setting new records for vaporware? Is Death Valley going to be a remake of a Western or what? Find out here.

I don't know what scifiwire's track record is with predictions. Considering the skiffy connection, it's odd that they don't mention Haven.

 

[Vendikarr]

Several of those aren't even sci-fi/fantasy genre shows.

Given that the broadcast networks have only ordered three genre related pilots for the fall, I guess scifiwire had to pad it's list.

http://airlockalpha.com/node/7194

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Yeah the pickins are slim if you only count networks. They're dispensing with niche genres and going for the mass market premises - cop, doc, lawyer, spy.

 

[Harvey]

So, still no word on the Alien Nation remake that SyFy put into development back in July?

 

[Vendikarr]

So, still no word on the Alien Nation remake that SyFy put into development back in July?

The development cycle over at Syfy is very, very slow. It sometimes takes years for a show they place in development to make it on the air.

If it ever does.

Sometimes they just abandon a project without a word, and you have to surmise it's fate by reading entertainment news, seeing that actors, writers and producers have moved on to other projects.

 

[Mistral]

My thanks, Temis, for keeping us in the loop once again! That said, other than Walking Dead, I'd most like to see The Event and Spielberg's unnamed alien invasion series. I have a feeling its based on a book and they're hiding the name to forestall bias based on said tome-but that is just wild speculation on my part. Preconceptions caused by Flash Forward may have altered perceptions in some viewers-a situation S.S. may be trying to avoid.

 

[Admiral_Young]

I'm still fascinated by Torchwood US on Fox. Have heard nothing about it since the announcement a couple months ago.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The Cape just got more promising: James Frain (who recently lost his head in a rather messy way on The Tudors) is set to play a villain. That should be a hoot!

And although technically it's not sci fi, Our Show should count as honorary sci fi.

OUR SHOW (NBC) - Maria Thayer ("State of Play"), Lauren Weedman ("Hung") and Mahaley Hessam ("Easy A") are the latest to score roles on the presentation, a comedy about "a disparate group of people, led by brothers Mike (Nate Corddry) and Jack (Jonathan Sadowski), who begin making episodes of their favorite sci-fi show after it ends." Thayer will play "Jack's on-again, off-again girlfriend, who makes the costumes for the show"; while Weedman is set as "a self-destructive and overly dramatic waitress/wedding singer"; with Hessam as "a teen from a deeply religious Muslim household who is an encyclopedia of pop culture."

 

[Vendikarr]

The pilot "The Cape" has just added Summer Glau to the cast.

Glau will play Orwell, a cute and intrepid investigative blogger who fearlessly goes after corrupt cops and costumed bad guys.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

The pilot "The Cape" has just added Summer Glau to the cast.

Glau will play Orwell, a cute and intrepid investigative blogger who fearlessly goes after corrupt cops and costumed bad guys.

Hurray! That doesn't sound like the usual idiot savant/robot type she's been typecast as. (And the article forgot her role in The 4400.)

 

[Kegg]

And although technically it's not sci fi, Our Show should count as honorary sci fi.

It definitely has one of the best premises. I particularly like the idea for the Hessam character, he could be very funny.

 

[The Comedian]

I'm still fascinated by Torchwood US on Fox. Have heard nothing about it since the announcement a couple months ago.

Torchwood on Fox will die faster than any other show they've ever had.

 

[DWF]

Robert Hewitt Wolfe is a consulting producer and writer on The Gates.

 

[FreezeC77]

So, still no word on the Alien Nation remake that SyFy put into development back in July?

The development cycle over at Syfy is very, very slow. It sometimes takes years for a show they place in development to make it on the air.

If it ever does.

Sometimes they just abandon a project without a word, and you have to surmise it's fate by reading entertainment news, seeing that actors, writers and producers have moved on to other projects.

Yea, wasn't Tim Minear attached to be in charge of the Alien Nation relaunch and then what about a month or two ago it came out he's been tabbed with handling the Questor Tapes. There was never any casting or anything released about the Alien Nation relaunch if I recall as well.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Robert Hewitt Wolfe is a consulting producer and writer on The Gates.

Cool! I originally didn't think that show was even sf/f, based on the brief descriptions I read.

 

[Aaron McGuire]

I'm still fascinated by Torchwood US on Fox. Have heard nothing about it since the announcement a couple months ago.

The one thing that I wonder is will Captain Jack be gay still or will they downplay it because American networks by and large fear "the gay"?

And although technically it's not sci fi, Our Show should count as honorary sci fi.

That show sounds awesome.

Aaron McGuire

 

[Temis the Vorta]

I'm still fascinated by Torchwood US on Fox. Have heard nothing about it since the announcement a couple months ago.

The one thing that I wonder is will Captain Jack be gay still or will they downplay it because American networks by and large fear "the gay"?

American networks have had shows with gay characters for a while now, so I doubt that would be a problem. Of course, the likes of Will & Grace and Ellen were never pitched to the young male market like sci fi is...so maybe it is a problem after all.

Here's a bigger problem: skiffy picked up a lousy pilot.

The network has ordered a 90-minute pilot, "Three Inches," from Fox Television Studios, writer Harley Peyton ("Twin Peaks") and executive producer Bob Cooper. It centers on an underachiever who gains the power to move any object using his mind, but only for a distance of three inches. He recruits a team of fellow heroes, each with their own less-than-spectacular abilities.

That sounds like instant cancellation bait. Even as comedy, who in frak's name could possibly care about "superheroes" with lame powers?

More promising...skiffy plans to further enlarge the BSG 'verse:

The network also is looking to order another "Battlestar"-related project. Details were slim, but Stern said the title would mark a return to the franchise's space-opera roots.

"We're looking for other ways to spin off 'Battlestar' beyond 'Caprica,' " he said. "That world is so rich. We're sitting down with (executive producer) Ron Moore and his team. It would not necessarily be a traditional series."

 

[Harvey]

Another Galactica series? When Caprica is having a tenuous run? I mean, I'll of course give it a chance, but it seems like an odd move.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Maybe it's a way to cushion the blow when they cancel Caprica. They probably think - and are probably right to think - that more space battles and fighter pilot action will do wonders for those Nielsens.

 

[Joy]

Here's a bigger problem: skiffy picked up a lousy pilot.

The network has ordered a 90-minute pilot, "Three Inches," from Fox Television Studios, writer Harley Peyton ("Twin Peaks") and executive producer Bob Cooper. It centers on an underachiever who gains the power to move any object using his mind, but only for a distance of three inches. He recruits a team of fellow heroes, each with their own less-than-spectacular abilities.

That sounds like instant cancellation bait. Even as comedy, who in frak's name could possibly care about "superheroes" with lame powers?

O_o The fu--?! Did someone, like, steal my classmate's play from last semester? I mean, seriously, it's so close it makes me wonder if he pitched it or something.

And btw, the play was really quite genius. It really *can* work, if done right (and he did it right).