sf/f TV development news - 2013

[startrekwatcher]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

So far the only interesting drama series picked up for the fall that I'm interested in is the Kevin Bacon series--the creator gave us the stronger seasons of TVD so we'll see. And I'll probably give NBC's The New NOrmal a chance--it sounds like it has some promise.

 

[startrekwatcher]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

As is with the case with Abrams, he doesn't have a damn clue what the answer to the conundrum premise of the show is

Abrams is so overrated--Undercovers was a lame spy show, LOST promised answers and turned into a hot mess in the final season, Fringe had bland characters/horrible science/a weak mythology, Star Trek was a loud screeching blur of whirling VFX and weak writing, Alcatraz was another weak mystery-driven event series, Star Trek II sounds ghastly unoriginal if the main villain is who they claim it is.

I don't expect much from Revolution--Eric Kripke did a fairly decent job on Supernatural but I just have no faith in these "mini-series" esque dramas that rely on a very limited premise.

Touch is just plain uninteresting.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Abrams reminds me of JMS; a strong start and then a fade out. Alias was great, but finished badly. Lost was great, but finished worse. I forgot about Undercover. His movies are just loud popcorn flicks of no substance. Fringe looks good, although I haven't been following it, but chances are it will end badly.

 

[Caliburn24]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

I think liking or disliking Revolution based on Abrams involvement is premature at best.

He was a creator or co-creator on Felicity, Alias, Lost, Fringe, Undercovers. Those shows all bore his stamp fairly overtly

He was only an executive producer on What About Brian, Six Degrees, Person of Interest, Alcatraz. And none of those shows felt particularly like an Abrams show.

So what is he on Revolution? A creator who designs the series, or an executive producer attached for the cachet his name brings? Yeah, he's just an executive producer.

 

[Christopher]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

I thought that Undercovers was more Josh Reims's show, really. Given how many other things Abrams had to oversee, it was probably co-creator Reims who was most responsible for the day-to-day showrunning. Just as Fringe's day-to-day showrunners are Jeff Pinkner and J. H. Wyman, and Lost was run by Damon Lindelof & Carlton Cuse.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

He was a creator or co-creator on Felicity, Alias, Lost, Fringe, Undercovers. Those shows all bore his stamp fairly overtly

Of those, I only liked Lost, and wasn't that more Cuse and Lindelof's baby?

So what is he on Revolution?

I'm hoping Abrams is just a big name in the credits, with Kripke being more of an influence over the direction of the show. I don't watch Supernatural, but what little I've seen and heard of it, looks like it's a show that can maintain a strong plotline over time without annoying and driving away the audience, and has imagination and wit.

The worrisome thing about Revolution is also potentially the most appealing thing - it's a wide open premise that could go anywhere. In the right hands, it could be amazing.

 

[Harvey]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Abrams reminds me of JMS; a strong start and then a fade out. Alias was great, but finished badly. Lost was great, but finished worse. I forgot about Undercover. His movies are just loud popcorn flicks of no substance. Fringe looks good, although I haven't been following it, but chances are it will end badly.

On the television side, you seem to be giving Abrams a lot of credit (or blame) where it's not deserved. His active involvement as a writer and/or director on those shows has been limited to their early life. Consider: Abrams' last writing credit on Lost was the season three premiere; his last writing credit on Fringe was the season two premiere; his last writing credit on Alias was the fourth season premiere; his last writing credit on Undercovers was the third episode.

 

[Out Of My Vulcan Mind]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Yeah, Abrams hasn't actually been a showrunner in a long time. I doubt he'll ever be a showrunner again. The same goes for Joss Whedon.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

The Kevin Bacon drama that was called Mastermind has been changed to The Following, which competes with John Carter for Name Most Likely to Drive the Audience Away. I dunno what happened with Mastermind - maybe it didn't clear a copyright search?

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

There's a franchised gameshow in most of the Common Wealth called mastermind that's been ongoing in one form or another since the mid 1960s.

Wow.

it wasn't till my third read through that I finally figured out that "the following" was the name of the show and not meaning that the new series is called "the next thing that I am about to say which is..."

Fuck.

 

[Sindatur]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

There's a franchised gameshow in most of the Common Wealth called mastermind that's been ongoing in one form or another since the mid 1960s.

Wow.

it wasn't till my third read through that I finally figured out that "the following" was the name of the show and not meaning that the new series is called "the next thing that I am about to say which is..."

Fuck.

LOL, thanks Guy. I thought "The Following" was referring to the answer being in the link, and thought that was kinda cruel of Temis to make us click the link, when she could just give us the answer in her post. So, I clicked the link, and wasn't any the wiser, until I saw your post

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Hee hee, well I did italicize the name but that just goes to show how impossibly dull it is, that it doesn't sound like a name at all.

 

[Sindatur]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Hee hee, well I did italicize the name but that just goes to show how impossibly dull it is, that it doesn't sound like a name at all.

Heh, I think it was the link you provided for backup that had me believing the answer was in the link

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

No problem Sindutur.

After I stopped being blond, my next thought was that "the Following" sounds a bit like "The Cult". Are we to assume that Kevin has thousands of mindless followers? I mean imagine if Stephen king said "RISE UP! RISE UP! It is time to take control of America!" Who exactly is going to listen to that call to arms?

 

[Christopher]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Hmm, I immediately took it as "The Following" in the sense of a movement or a religion having a following, i.e. people who are followers of it. But I guess I can see how people could hear it in the sense of "The following is a special presentation."

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

There's some guy in the Deadline thread asking if Cult Following would be better and "my job depends on it." Probably an imposter but I did warn him that the CW has a serial killer show called The Cult.

The essential mistake here is that Mastermind refers to James Purefoy's character, and The Following refers to his "fan club." Purefoy is going to be a big, charismatic draw, but who knows if the fans will be as big a draw, individually, as recurring characters, so they should keep the focus on Purefoy's character and come up with synonyms for a cult leader.

Anyway, on to more pressing matters...NBC picked up Do No Harm (Jeckle & Hyde medical show), yay, I like that one. The lead actor was on Person of Interest in a guest star role, and I thought he had what it takes to carry a series.

...stars Steven Pasquale as a brilliant neurosurgeon wrestling with his dangerous alter-ego that threatens to wreak havoc on his personal and professional life.

The other pickup, Infamous (what was wrong with Notorious?) sounds more like an ABC show. And speaking of ABC, here's another analysis of what they need.

What ABC should be careful with: Look, ABC, I know you loved having Lost and you're doing all you can to find a replacement serialized sci-fi event, but so far you've come up with squat (not counting Once Upon a Time, which benefits from skewing female and fitting in nicely with the rest of your Sunday programming). Let's review: FlashForward, V, Invasion, The River, No Ordinary Family. Instead of taking the first cool-sounding project, work closely with an established genre showrunner and create a series with some weight to it. And please, no more found-footage shows.

So, basically the shows should be "good" and then they will be successful? I'm sure nobody has thought of doing that. Nah, they had it and then they lost it - Once Upon a Time takes the Lost approach and pitches it squarely at women. ABC is going to pick up a buncha shows like that, and good, bad or ugly, some of them will work.

 

[RJDiogenes]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Abrams reminds me of JMS; a strong start and then a fade out. Alias was great, but finished badly. Lost was great, but finished worse. I forgot about Undercover. His movies are just loud popcorn flicks of no substance. Fringe looks good, although I haven't been following it, but chances are it will end badly.

On the television side, you seem to be giving Abrams a lot of credit (or blame) where it's not deserved. His active involvement as a writer and/or director on those shows has been limited to their early life. Consider: Abrams' last writing credit on Lost was the season three premiere; his last writing credit on Fringe was the season two premiere; his last writing credit on Alias was the fourth season premiere; his last writing credit on Undercovers was the third episode.

Could be. I have no idea what his behind-the-scenes involvement is.

 

[startrekwatcher]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Infamous might be okay--I love a *good* mystery but just so often the build up works but then the resolution is very unsatisfying--I'm just leery of a big mystery driving a series right out of the gate--too often it overshadows the characterization and the writers get bogged down in the crafting of the mystery--which generally flops.

The Jekyll/Hyde show sounds intriguing--definitely will be giving that one a try.

But I definitely agree with the writer about stopping with the big mythology Event series--they just don't work--they turn into a mess. Get back to basics I say--strong writing, good characters in a modest sized ensemble, and a few season long parallel arcs. He also forgot to mention Daybreak, The Nine, Life on Mars, Happy Town as ABC offenders and it wasn't just ABC NBC had Kidnapped, The Event, Persons Unknown, Surface. Fox had Alcatraz, Vanished.

 

[Temis the Vorta]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

You're ignoring the success of Revenge and Once Upon a Time at ABC. Speaking of which, are they ever going to tell us what they're picking up? By the end of the week before upfronts, we usually have a pretty clear idea where things stand...I guess tomorrow will be a busy day.

 

[Guy Gardener]

Re: sf/f TV development news - 2012

Oh revenge.

Yum.

Last weeks episode was set 8 years in the past to show when Mandy first put everything into motion, and the hilarious thing is... All the walking dead. It's unbelievable the bodycount this show has had in just one season, corpses are riding in and out with the tide like empty beer cans.

It's almost like they weren't pulling it out of their ass from week to week.