sf/f TV development news - 2013

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

I can see we'll have to work harder to impress the new dictator of North Korea. How about an adorable psychic moppet?

Yeah, I know, that'll go over here like a dead flounder...

 

[Silvercrest]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

It's still officially the New Year's holiday, but the news is already rolling in, and it's off to an auspicious start!

Two really hot looking guys cast in NBC's Beautiful People.

James Murray (Chaos) and Patrick Heusinger (Royal Pains) are set to co-star in the NBC drama pilot Beautiful People. The project, written by Michael McDonald, is set in the near future in a society where humans co-exist with mechanical androids that look like people but are treated like second-class citizens. It centers on the very wealthy Lydia whose late husband founded the firm that makes Mechanicals. Murray will play her son, a handsome and very successful attorney who’s lived a rich and privileged life but makes a name for himself by publicly suggesting that Mechanicals might have civil rights — a notion that’s largely scoffed at. Heusinger will play a family man employed as a servant in Lydia’s home who is in fact a Mechanical, but after one of his daughters is killed in a car accident, he proves to be “defective” as he’s plagued with forbidden emotions like grief and loss.

Is Jude Law too old to play Gigolo Joe again? Who will voice Teddy?

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Seems like all movie actors eventually end up on TV nowadays, but Jude Law is hanging onto his looks well enough that I wouldn't expect to see him on TV for some time to come.

 

[Silvercrest]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Don't tell me the reference went past you, as in "not Caprica, but _._."

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Yeah, I got the reference, but not sure how it relates to a TV show? It's not like there's some insane glut of robot-oriented TV shows to bedevil us...

I'm happy to see anything that's not a cop/lawyer/doctor show, sitcom or reality TV.

 

[Silvercrest]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

I'm just pointing out that rather than another version of Caprica, this appears to be the TV version of A.I.

 

[JD]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

I enjoy this kind of stuff, so I'll be keeping an eye on this. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[stonester1]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

I can see we'll have to work harder to impress the new dictator of North Korea. How about an adorable psychic moppet?

Yeah, I know, that'll go over here like a dead flounder...

I'm mostly excited about returning shows and awaiting Blood and Chrome...er...I mean, you will not seduce me with your Imperialist Propaganda masked as popular entertainment for the proletariat, Yankee Strumpet.

 

[Mistral]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Any word on Terra Nova's return?

 

[Sindatur]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Any word on Terra Nova's return?

Nothing I'm aware of. I wouldn't expect to hear anything much before the "Upfronts" in late Spring/Early Summer

 

[Vendikarr]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Any word on Terra Nova's return?

Nothing I'm aware of. I wouldn't expect to hear anything much before the "Upfronts" in late Spring/Early Summer

deadline.com is reporting we may get news in the next week or two, when Fox reveals its plans at the Winter TCA (Television Critics Association) meeting.

deadline.com

 

[Sindatur]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Any word on Terra Nova's return?

Nothing I'm aware of. I wouldn't expect to hear anything much before the "Upfronts" in late Spring/Early Summer

deadline.com is reporting we may get news in the next week or two, when Fox reveals its plans at the Winter TCA (Television Critics Association) meeting.

deadline.com

Oh, well then, color me surprised, I figured they'd hold off until the last minute

Thanks

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Hey! I'm a Dominion Strumpet.

Hmm, that would make a good custom title...

But anyway, to actually add some substance to this post, I don't see anything wrong with a TV version of AI (or, really, a TV version of the familiar sci fi notion of intelligent robots, because that description is too skimpy to really know what it will be "about"). BSG and Caprica really just did their own idiosyncratic thing, so I'm not counting them.

Exploring the social aspect of artificial intelligence isn't an overdone concept on TV. Superheroes and vampires, now they're overdone, but not robots. Novels and movies are very different from TV, so we could get something valuable and new from a TV series.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Oh look, actual news.

ABC picks up Roland Emmerich antichrist drama.

the project, previously referred to as Antichrist, is set in New York City against the backdrop of the Presidential race of 2012. It centers on a young astrophysics student learns his destiny lies not in science but somewhere between Heaven and Hell.

Wow, pretty out there for network fodder...if American Horror Story doesn't have the sense to get Evan Peters back for S2, he's a natural for the lead role.

And what does astrophysics have to do with the topic? Maybe nothing, but it's a fun notion that it might...

EDIT: more news. The Last Resort is close to a pilot order. As I recall, several people liked this concept or at least thought it was interesting.

The Last Resort is a thriller set in the near future when the country is very fractured and revolves around the crew of a U.S. nuclear submarine who become hunted after ignoring an order to shoot nuclear missiles. They escape to a NATO listening outpost where they publicly declare themselves to be the world’s smallest nuclear nation with 24 nuclear warheads. The show explores the society the fugitives create, the natives they meet and how what they’ve done affects the group and its unity.

Not sure if this is sf/f, but it's from Rockne O'Bannon and it's based on his experiences with Farscape fandom, so I'll mention it...

[Cult] centers on an inquisitive, young female production assistant on a wildly popular television show called Cult who, after a rash of disappearances and a likely murder, joins a journalist blogger in investigating the rabid fans of the series who might be re-creating crimes seen on the program in real life.

So far, this is shaping up to be a more interesting than average pilot season. And it's just started.

 

[Vendikarr]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

And what does astrophysics have to do with the topic? Maybe nothing, but it's a fun notion that it might...

They are probably using astrophysicist as the shorthand for 'man of science'. The science guy who finds his answers can't be found in science, but in the religious battle between heaven and hell.

 

[stonester1]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Hey! I'm a Dominion Strumpet.

Hmm, that would make a good custom title...

But anyway, to actually add some substance to this post, I don't see anything wrong with a TV version of AI (or, really, a TV version of the familiar sci fi notion of intelligent robots, because that description is too skimpy to really know what it will be "about"). BSG and Caprica really just did their own idiosyncratic thing, so I'm not counting them.

Exploring the social aspect of artificial intelligence isn't an overdone concept on TV. Superheroes and vampires, now they're overdone, but not robots. Novels and movies are very different from TV, so we could get something valuable and new from a TV series.

I would say that Superheroes on TV aren't overdone yet. Plenty of room for a GOOD series dealing with that sort. Vampires? Yeah, crowded, but again, the GOOD stuff is easy to distill.

I do think a series dealing with robots would be good, but just reading that concept doesn't give me confidence the helmers of that show "get it".

Now, The Last Resort...again, depends on showrunners, but that is intriguing.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

What would a good robot series be like instead?

 

[JD]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Oh look, actual news.

ABC picks up Roland Emmerich antichrist drama.

the project, previously referred to as Antichrist, is set in New York City against the backdrop of the Presidential race of 2012. It centers on a young astrophysics student learns his destiny lies not in science but somewhere between Heaven and Hell.

Wow, pretty out there for network fodder...if American Horror Story doesn't have the sense to get Evan Peters back for S2, he's a natural for the lead role.

And what does astrophysics have to do with the topic? Maybe nothing, but it's a fun notion that it might...

EDIT: more news. The Last Resort is close to a pilot order. As I recall, several people liked this concept or at least thought it was interesting.

The Last Resort is a thriller set in the near future when the country is very fractured and revolves around the crew of a U.S. nuclear submarine who become hunted after ignoring an order to shoot nuclear missiles. They escape to a NATO listening outpost where they publicly declare themselves to be the world’s smallest nuclear nation with 24 nuclear warheads. The show explores the society the fugitives create, the natives they meet and how what they’ve done affects the group and its unity.

Not sure if this is sf/f, but it's from Rockne O'Bannon and it's based on his experiences with Farscape fandom, so I'll mention it...

[Cult] centers on an inquisitive, young female production assistant on a wildly popular television show called Cult who, after a rash of disappearances and a likely murder, joins a journalist blogger in investigating the rabid fans of the series who might be re-creating crimes seen on the program in real life.

So far, this is shaping up to be a more interesting than average pilot season. And it's just started.

All three of these sound really interesting to me.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

At first I liked the idea behind Cult, and the fact that O'Bannon is involved, and then I remembered that it's for the CW.

 

[stonester1]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

What would a good robot series be like instead?

Again, its not about the concept...I just dont have a good vibe with the showrunners.

Id love another spaceship show. But depending on who is running it, Im not going to automatically believe it is worth my time. This show does sound a bit too much like warmed over Caprica and Blade Runner. They may surprise me...we shall see. Again, it will all depend on the storytelling skills of the showrunners.

I wish it the best, Temis. But I only wish it success if it is GOOD science fiction. Thats all I have time for.