Titan: The TV Series

[Man of Steel]

So reading Torrent Seas (liking it so far after first 10 chapters) and wondered the following: Can Titan do well as a TV series? Can this be the new Trek show each with Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis reprising their roles? I think it would be fun and, if done right, very popular.

So, what do you think and who would you cast?

And is it possible to get Paramount/CBS to even consider this via Pocket?

 

[Christopher]

If CBS Paramount Television decided to do a Titan TV series, they probably wouldn't use the characters and continuity from the books. The books have too small a readership compared to the audience for a TV series. And it would probably be too expensive to use the nonhumanoid characters such as Dr. Ree and Torvig on a weekly basis.

Not to mention that Frakes and Sirtis are in their 50s now, and network executives prefer their shows to have younger leads, especially female leads. (I suspect the only way TNG got away with Patrick Stewart as the star was because Riker was originally meant to be the more prominent character with Picard as more of a mentor figure.)

As for fantasy casting ideas, those have been discussed extensively in the pinned casting thread at the top of the forum, so it would be redundant to discuss them here.

 

[ialfan]

I think Titan TV series is something that could have been pulled off circa 2003 had Nemesis done as well as First Contact and Enterprise kept it's first season level ratings up. But now it's a pipe dream at best.

 

[FalTorPan]

oh no i want a goerge takai as sooloo series!!!!11! (Kidding)

Titan could work as a series, although it's probably better suited for animation.

 

[DimesDan]

Titan could work as a series, although it's probably better suited for animation.

I agree on that, if Destiny was ever made into a Television production, or the books in general after Nemesis including the Titan series, I personally think something akin to Star Wars: The Clone Wars would be a better option.

 

[Christopher]

I'd rather see a 2D animated Trek series, maybe from the people who did Avatar: The Last Airbender. (Nickelodeon's linked with CBS, isn't it?)

 

[FalTorPan]

I'd prefer a 2D series as well, although the interiors and vehicles could be done with 3D, "toon-style" rendering.

I'm getting a bit sick of the Buzz Lightyear/Shrek/Cars/Bug's Life/Clone Wars styles.

 

[DimesDan]

I'd rather see a 2D animated Trek series, maybe from the people who did Avatar: The Last Airbender. (Nickelodeon's linked with CBS, isn't it?)

2D animation is so 20th Century

I'd be happy with an animated series full stop regardless if it was 2D or 3D.

 

[DEWLine]

Considering the state of industry-tailored software these days, you can make 2D behave like 3D and vice versa so easily these days that it makes my head spin. Not to mention my professors in the Animation program at my old alma mater.

 

[Christopher]

Considering the state of industry-tailored software these days, you can make 2D behave like 3D and vice versa so easily these days that it makes my head spin. Not to mention my professors in the Animation program at my old alma mater.

No way. I've seen 3D animation that's processed to look like cel animation, and it's still recognizably different in the way it looks and moves.

That said, 2D animation is no longer done on cels; the initial pencil drawings are still done by hand, but are then scanned into a computer and the inking, painting, and animation are done digitally.

Anyway, the issue I'm talking about isn't technology, but style. Animation is an art form, after all, and it has different visual styles. And I like the look of 2D animation better than the look of something like The Clone Wars.

 

[Trent Roman]

I prefer the look of something like Reboot to The Clone Wars; the unaccountable ugliness of that series should by no means be taken as a standard of quality for CGI TV shows.

Fictitiously yours, Trent Roman

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

ReBoot style would be nice (I've said since the Clone Wars stuff came out that the characters of ReBoot, first aired in 1994, looked far more realistic, and I still stand by that statement), but I'm with Christopher - I'd love an honest 2D animated series. Even better, I'd prefer if it were done the old fashioned way.

 

[Josh Kelton]

Is it ever actually stated in the Titan novels how long the exploration of the Beta quadrant is supposed to last? Or are they just out there indefinitely? (Well, other than having to return due to recent events with the Borg)

 

[Christopher]

...I'm with Christopher - I'd love an honest 2D animated series. Even better, I'd prefer if it were done the old fashioned way.

I wouldn't go that far. Classic cel animation had a nice look to it, but modern digital 2D animation (talking about the kind used by Warner Bros. and Avatar here, not the ugly Flash animation seen in shows like Chaotic and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends) is cleaner, more versatile, and easier to correct when there's an animation error. It allows for more consistent quality. (When you look at some old Batman: TAS episodes, it's amazing how dirty the cels are sometimes.)

 

[Man of Steel]

(Nickelodeon's linked with CBS, isn't it?)

Yes. It's part of the Viacom family.

 

[shanejayell]

I'd like to see a Titan animated series too. Maybe the same artists who work on Gargoyles could help with the designs?

 

[JD]

Wow, so am I the only person who actually liked the look of the last few Clone Wars episodes. I'll admit the movie and earlier episodes were cringe worthy, but IMO as the show has gone on the animations gotten alot better.
As for Titan, I'd be happy with it either way. Oh, and as for the Gargoyles artists working on Titan, we already have Riker (with a ponytail).

 

[Christopher]

^^It's not about The Clone Wars specifically. Just because that's a currently prominent example being used for 3D animation, that doesn't mean that a discussion of 3D animation is about that show in particular.

Some 3D animation looks pretty good, when it's done with a feature-film budget. On a TV budget, though, it never looks as good as hand-drawn, 2D animation. And regardless of quality, I value 2D animation as an artistic style. I don't like the way some people assume that it's a dead art form, that animation should automatically be 3D. It makes no sense to treat artistic media as though they're technologies that can become obsolete. People didn't stop drawing and painting when photography was invented.

Besides, the original animated Star Trek was, of course, 2D. So it just seems right that if there were a new animated ST, it should be 2D as well. Using more modern animation style and sensibilities, of course, and hopefully with a much bigger budget and more reasonable schedule than Filmation was able to work under, but still using the same medium.

 

[DGCatAniSiri]

...I'm with Christopher - I'd love an honest 2D animated series. Even better, I'd prefer if it were done the old fashioned way.

I wouldn't go that far. Classic cel animation had a nice look to it, but modern digital 2D animation (talking about the kind used by Warner Bros. and Avatar here, not the ugly Flash animation seen in shows like Chaotic and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends) is cleaner, more versatile, and easier to correct when there's an animation error. It allows for more consistent quality. (When you look at some old Batman: TAS episodes, it's amazing how dirty the cels are sometimes.)

Yeah, the old fashioned way is just my personal preference more than anything else - I watch those and there's just this intangible thing about them that seems to speak more easily to me about the heart and effort that goes into work like what an animated series would be.

 

[JD]

^^It's not about The Clone Wars specifically. Just because that's a currently prominent example being used for 3D animation, that doesn't mean that a discussion of 3D animation is about that show in particular.

Some 3D animation looks pretty good, when it's done with a feature-film budget. On a TV budget, though, it never looks as good as hand-drawn, 2D animation. And regardless of quality, I value 2D animation as an artistic style. I don't like the way some people assume that it's a dead art form, that animation should automatically be 3D. It makes no sense to treat artistic media as though they're technologies that can become obsolete. People didn't stop drawing and painting when photography was invented.

Besides, the original animated Star Trek was, of course, 2D. So it just seems right that if there were a new animated ST, it should be 2D as well. Using more modern animation style and sensibilities, of course, and hopefully with a much bigger budget and more reasonable schedule than Filmation was able to work under, but still using the same medium.

While I do love 3D animation, I do have agree about it not being allowed to be treated as dead. IMO they are two completely different forms of media, and one should never be allowed to replace the other. Which is why I am very glad that Disney is actually going to be releasing a new movie 2D animated movie from the directors of The Little Mirmaid, and Aladdin, The Princes and The Frog.