TV Present and Future
May. 3rd, 2012 01:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
newnumber6Right now, I'm really enjoying Avatar: The Legend of Korra (I refuse to call it TLAB). Especially what glimpses we saw at the end of the last episode that I hope will get far more detail. But instead of talking directly about Korra, I want to talk about what might potentially come After Korra.
Okay, it's just started really, and a little early to make predictions or even be thinking about the far future... But I'm still marvelling over how we actually got a sequel, and it's not only very good, but also very different from the original series, when it struck me... "Wouldn't it be cool if we somehow got a complete cycle of Avatar stories, one for each element, each in a somewhat different genre?" Immediately after, I thought... "Never going to happen" (at least, as animation), and yet, the thought of "But what if?" persisted. I mean Korra takes place 70 years after Airbender and has appropriate technological jumps (it's a sort of a bit of 1920s vibe), so it only stands to reason that if they made yet another sequel, it would be another time jump.
So, here are my (not especially novel) ideas of what they might do with Earth and Fire avatars...
Earth's the next in the cycle. And, since, unless Korra ends with a spectacularly early death for the character, it'd be another several decades, maybe even a century (since Avatars live a long time) until the next. That, I think, is enough to put it into a technologly level equivalent to us, or perhaps the near future.
That's right, the Earth Avatar is a CYBERPUNK story.
So, here's what I'm thinking. Somehow, bending has become spectacularly rare again, maybe even nonexistent... perhaps as a result of whatever happens in Korra, which deals with tensions between benders and antibenders who feel oppressed and disadvantaged (I could see one viable ending being Korra deciding that bending has become too common and doing something to limit it), or if not, something that anti-benders do much later. It could even be some sort of environmental calamaty - perhaps the animals that are connected to the bending are all extinct, and somehow when that happened, bending stopped working (but now, with genetic engineering, bending animals are being produced again, just in time for the Avatar to be reborn). Since one of the hallmarks of Cyberpunk is that it often deals with corporations dominating the world without a conscience (always a timeless lesson!), another option is that somehow someone has blocked off access to the spirit world somehow, and only those who are already benders or those who pay this evil corporation can have their children be benders, although it's a mystery to the world at large.
Whatever the reasoning, after Korra died, everybody wonders if the Avatar will really come back at all anymore, or if whatever's happened to the spirits has destroyed that too.
We meet our new avatar, who is a streetrat (or possibily genetically engineered human who escaped from the lab and became a street rat), one of the generation for whom tales of bending everywhere are stuff not even entirely believed. He lives hand-to-mouth until he discovers he can Earthbend, and then later that he's the avatar. Maybe his Earthbending power is exclusively limited to walking through walls at first, rather than chucking rocks, and he has to build up to that. Since Avatars typically have an animal companion, and Giant Badger Moles doesn't really fit into a city environment, maybe he has a genetically engineered Miniature Giant Badger Mole. Maybe it's tied into how the main character learns he's an earthbender - he sees the mole (escaped from the lab shortly after creation and not widely known about), chases it, it passes through a wall, he follows thinking it's a hologram, then later learns his friends CAN'T pass through the wall.
(I say he, but it could easily be a she. I think that Earth and Fire should each have one male and one female but which is which doesn't matter so much... I just think see him as a guy in my head... but it's Avatar so ideally whether the lead is male or female it should have plenty of awesome characters of both genders).
His destiny is to free the spirits from their bondage and help stop corporate domination of the world. Otherwise tropes of cyberpunk, combined with some of the mysticism and magical creatures of the Avatar world, a bit like Shadowrun. Still, gritty mercenaries, cybernetic enhancement, a lot of crime, bioengineering, etc. Maybe a little X-Menny 'mutants' vibe if benders in the wild start become noticed and the powers-that-be having had decades without them start freaking out about having something not under their control, and so trying to hunt them down. The world as a whole is a lot less spiritual, because the spirit world has been interdicted, and things like pollution and such are becoming more serious problems, threatening to destroy the whole world (bringing it into the Earth theme).
Anyway, one of the peculiarities of this is that the world does have an Internet, much like ours... except more advanced (like in Cyberpunk, where you can jack in), and also unlike ours (as far as we know, anyway), you can access the spirit world THROUGH the internet. It's not easy, and it doesn't happen intentionally, but it does happen. Maybe that's how the main character learns he's the avatar, with his past lives only talking to him through the Internet. It also lets us do cool things like, say, the Avatar has to solve a mystery of children on the internet who's faces disappear. Turns out, they've wandered into the spirit world and encounters Koh, the Face-Stealer, thriving in this environment. Or say, the equivalent of Wikipedia can lead people to the Library of Wan Shi Tong (the owl guy).
In the end, the avatar discovers the same company responsible for the Internet is also the one who imprisoned the spirit world/banished bending in the first place, and breaks it free, returning spirituality to the world but it's not a complete fix to the damaged world.
When that legend is told, we jump ahead another hundred years or so, to tell a new tale. This one's brighter, more optimistic... the world HAS been saved, through a lot of hard work. So what's there for the next Avatar, a Firebender to do?
Find a new one, of course. Yes, it's a SPACE OPERA! They have decided to launch a space ship to move on to another star, and they used benders to do it. The Avatar is the girl who runs the engine and propels the ship, as they search for a new world (which, if we want to get a bit 'twist-endingy', might be OUR world, long long ago). They're not doing it out of necessity, but curiosity, or maybe the spirits suggested they should - sort of in a 'this is the circle of life... once humanity has learned to live alone, you had to learn to live with others... when it has learned to live with others, it had to learn to live in a village... when it learned to live in a village, it had to learn to live in a country, and when it learned to live in a country, it had to learn to live in a world, and when you've done that, you must move on to the next frontier... humanity is always growing, and if it stops growing, it has no purpose.' type way...
This might not sustain a whole series, a movie might be all it's worth, but you might be able to stretch it out with the addition of different alien races, an evil empire, etc. Or it might just be a movie about the launching of the ship and the first world they land on.
Anyway, in my head it's all pretty cool.
But enough about Avatar. What else is there?
Well, right now, Game of Thrones, but I don't feel especially talky about it. I still really enjoy it, but it's just one of those things I don't really need to converse about a lot, partly because of worries of "okay, most of the story has already been told in advance, I just don't know it yet", so it's hard to speculate or anything without looking like a fool or having people give spoilers. But yes, I do very much like it.
Other than that, not much, a couple shows running out the clock, a couple that I don't care enough to talk about, and then it's just the wait until the next new thing's on.
So let's talk about the next new thing. It's almost time for the networks to announce their schedules for the next year, and while we don't have the list of shows, we do have lists of PILOTS that the networks have been considering.
Not every show that winds up on the schedule will necessarily come from this list (and certainly, most of the shows on this list won't be on the schedule), but it gives a sort of early peek at what I MIGHT be interested in. I don't have an easy link to all the pilots there are, I looked through a bunch of sources and made notes of which ones I might be interested in, or that are in my wheelhouse but I'm unsure about. So that's mostly going to be genre-stuff - SF, Fantasy, etc.
But pilots of note that are vying for spots next year that caught my interest:
Zero Hour: Conspiracy theorist (Anthony Edwards) finds himself actually involved in a conspiracy when his wife is kidnapped. Almost Zero interest, but perhaps give it a look if it made it to series and the trailers look good.
Untitled Roland Emmerich/Harold Kloser project: A grad student in astrophysics finds out he is the "chosen one" to save the world and destroy the forces of evil. Not a fan of 'chosen one' stories any more. Probably pass, although the astrophysicist angle has a very slim chance of playing into things and catching my interest.
"Last Resort": This adventure drama centers around a rogue submarine crew that defies orders to deploy its weapons under suspicious circumstances and instead declares itself a small sovereign nuclear nation. They must rebuild society while keeping tabs on the world's military forces. Hmmm... depending on how they mean 'rebuild society', it might be worth a look. I doubt it'll make it though.
"Gotham": This one is about a female cop who discovers a magical world that exists within NYC, unseen by normal humans. ... yet more 'magic is real'. Probably pass, unless the trailers look really good. The only thing that's worth commenting on is that the description of this sounds a LITTLE like "Neverwhere", set in New York - they say NYC landmarks will be reinvented in a 'magical way'. But I'd rather they just make a Neverwhere series.
"Beauty and the Beast": This fantasy re-imagining of the classic fairy tale is set in a world where the tough but beautiful princess (Ruth Bradley) finds herself connected to a mysterious "beast" (Darius Campbell) despite being engaged to Gorrick (Chris Egan). A rebel band of fighters is trying to dethrone the Emperor Probably pass. Of note because it's one of two 'Beauty and the Beast' shows.
"666 Park Avenue": This one-hour spookfest is about a young couple (Dave Annable and Rachael Taylor) who has come to manage one of the most historical apartment buildings in New York City. But all is not what it seems, as supernatural goings-on complicate things. Don't have much interest.
"Revolution": This J.J. Abrams project is about a group of people trying to survive and find their loved ones in a world where all forms of energy mysterious cease to exist. Although it seems like it stole the premise from "Dies the Fire" (and sequels), I really LIKE the premise. JJ Abrams being involved makes me worry (even stuff I like, tends to get screwed up due to lack of planning), but I'll probably at least watch the pilot and first couple episodes if it makes it on the fall schedule.
"Beautiful People": This drama set in the near future features a society where humans co-exist with mechanical androids, who are treated as second-class citizens. Until the androids begin to awaken. I know virtually nothing about this but I love the premise enough to give it a try if it makes it to air. Of course, it probably won't.
"The Selection": Billed as "The Hunger Games" meets "The Bachelor" (heavy on "The Bachelor"), "The Selection" envisions a time 300 years in the future when a poor young woman is chosen by random lottery to join a competition to marry the prince. Probably pass. But anything that's set 300 years in the future is worth at least looking at the trailers, even if it sounds pretty lame.
"Beauty and the Beast": Based on the 1987 series, "Smallville's" Kristen Kreuk is the aforementioned Beauty with Aussie Jay Ryan as the Beast who saved her life when she was younger. The other Beauty and the Beast show. Pass probably.
"Arrow": No, it's not a "Smallville" spin-off. Stephen Amell will star as Oliver Queen in this remaining of the DC superhero, led by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg. Katie Cassidy stars as his love interest and old flame (and Black Canary), with Willa Holland as his sister. I'll probably give it a look, just for the comic connection, but what I've heard so far hasn't thrilled me.
So, not super encouraging. Two worth an automatic check-out, one I'll probably look at mostly due to comic-loyalty, nine that I might look at if the trailers will look good, but I'm leaning towards passing on. And that's of the stuff that holds even the slightest interest to me at all. Everything else proposed is snoozeville. But that's just the main networks.
One cable network that has announced a bunch of upcoming shows in development is Syfy. Alas, it's no longer the Sci-Fi channel, either in name or in spirit, really, but at least it has a couple SF shows, movies, and miniserieses on the slate. Full announcement is here, (and far too much is lame reality shows), but I'll list a couple potential highlights behind the cut.
Defiance Defiance is in collaboration with Trion Worlds, with the Syfy series and Trion's multi-platform shooter MMO poised to debut simultaneously. The series stars Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Tony Curran, Jaime Murray, Fionnula Flanagan, Mia Kirshner and Oscar-nominee Graham Greene. Set in the near future, Defiance introduces a completely transformed planet Earth, inhabited by the survivors of a universal war. Forced to co-habitate, the disparate group struggles to build a new society among the devastation. The dramatic tapestry of the series and the intense action of the game will exist in a single universe where their respective narratives will inform one another and evolve together into one overall story. Ehh, we'll see. It could be cool, but it's one of those things where too much depends on execution, and it could be gimmicky, what with the MMO connection.
Rewind Rewind revolves around a team of military field operatives and civilian scientists who must use untested technology to travel back in time to alter events and change the future—and avoid a devastating terrorist attack. Oh, wow, this sounds like such a cool premise... when it was called Seven Days! Seriously, "government uses time travel to prevent horrible terrorist attack" bores the pants off me conceptually. You've got TIME TRAVEL. Do something COOL with it!
The Adjustment Bureau - In this drama, based on the hit movie starring Matt Damon, guardian angel-type agents work to keep the world according to The Plan. They create everything from plane crashes to coffee spills in order to steer people to realize their true destiny. But there is one thing the operatives and their Chairman can't control—free will. Hmmm... the kind of thing that works okay as a movie, but I really have trouble seeing as a series. Maybe I'd give it a try, though.
High Moon - Based on the novel, The Lotus Caves, by John Christopher, this imaginative, out-of-this-world series explores a world where the countries of Earth have established colonies to mine the Moon's resources. When a new life form is discovered, chaos erupts as various factions race to uncover its powerful secrets. Hmmm.. yeah, okay, I'd give this one a try. Bryan Fuller being involved is also encouraging (for the quality, although not the longevity).
Untitled Booster Gold Project - Based on the best-selling DC Entertainment Comic, this is the story of a washed-up athlete from the future who travels back to the present in hopes of becoming the greatest superhero of all time. But instead of chasing criminals, his main priority is chasing fame and money. Booster Gold discovers that being a hero takes more than just a megawatt smile. Never a huge fan of Booster Gold, but I might give it a look, just out of comics loyalty.
Defender - In the aftermath of an intergalactic war between humans and transhumans, the starship Defender, populated by a combustible mix of former enemies, is sent on a seemingly simple goodwill mission, which turns into a fight for their lives and for the safety of the Universe at large. Executive producer/writer: Robert Hewitt Wolfe I'd give this a try. Wolfe has some good ideas, I just worry about his ability to execute them... for example, Andromeda. Lots of really cool ideas in there, but the show kind of sucked (even before Kevin Sorbo took over and it completely and totally sucked. Before that, it sucked, with some potential).
The Family - For generations, an alien family has hid amongst humans in plain sight using their advanced intellect to carve out a life for themselves as their family grew. But when the family patriarch that kept peace amongst the factions dies, a war begins to brew with some members believing the time has come to reveal themselves, and their superior power, to the inferior human race. Hmmm.. a maybe.
Eyes Of The Dragon - Based on Stephen King's best-selling novel. A kingdom is in turmoil as the old king dies and his successor must battle for the throne. Pitted against an evil wizard and a would-be rival, Prince Peter makes a daring escape and rallies the forces of good to fight for what is rightfully his. I think some network just found out Game of Thrones was a hit, and rushed to find their own fantasy novel to adapt. Still, maybe give it a look.
Darkfall - When, without warning, modern forms of power and technology become a thing of the past, Los Angeles, and the world at large, becomes a place where magic rules and life as we know it is turned upside down. Hmmm.. maybe worth a look.
Untitled Mark Burnett Project (wt) - From acclaimed producer Mark Burnett comes a competition show where fans of science fiction/fantasy books and movies compete to create the most flavorful and inspired dishes from the foods featured in the imaginary worlds that they love. The only reality show that I have to admit I'm kinda interested in. Because I've always wanted (in the way that some people have always wanted a pony, while acknowledging that they wouldn't know how to take care of it and it would probably be more trouble than it's worth, but still fun to imagine) to open a restaurant themed around famous SF foods.
A little bit with potential, and actually a better odds than all the mainstream networks, although not all of this is necessarily due for next year.
We'll see how things shake out in a few weeks when everything gets officially announced.
Okay, it's just started really, and a little early to make predictions or even be thinking about the far future... But I'm still marvelling over how we actually got a sequel, and it's not only very good, but also very different from the original series, when it struck me... "Wouldn't it be cool if we somehow got a complete cycle of Avatar stories, one for each element, each in a somewhat different genre?" Immediately after, I thought... "Never going to happen" (at least, as animation), and yet, the thought of "But what if?" persisted. I mean Korra takes place 70 years after Airbender and has appropriate technological jumps (it's a sort of a bit of 1920s vibe), so it only stands to reason that if they made yet another sequel, it would be another time jump.
So, here are my (not especially novel) ideas of what they might do with Earth and Fire avatars...
Earth's the next in the cycle. And, since, unless Korra ends with a spectacularly early death for the character, it'd be another several decades, maybe even a century (since Avatars live a long time) until the next. That, I think, is enough to put it into a technologly level equivalent to us, or perhaps the near future.
That's right, the Earth Avatar is a CYBERPUNK story.
So, here's what I'm thinking. Somehow, bending has become spectacularly rare again, maybe even nonexistent... perhaps as a result of whatever happens in Korra, which deals with tensions between benders and antibenders who feel oppressed and disadvantaged (I could see one viable ending being Korra deciding that bending has become too common and doing something to limit it), or if not, something that anti-benders do much later. It could even be some sort of environmental calamaty - perhaps the animals that are connected to the bending are all extinct, and somehow when that happened, bending stopped working (but now, with genetic engineering, bending animals are being produced again, just in time for the Avatar to be reborn). Since one of the hallmarks of Cyberpunk is that it often deals with corporations dominating the world without a conscience (always a timeless lesson!), another option is that somehow someone has blocked off access to the spirit world somehow, and only those who are already benders or those who pay this evil corporation can have their children be benders, although it's a mystery to the world at large.
Whatever the reasoning, after Korra died, everybody wonders if the Avatar will really come back at all anymore, or if whatever's happened to the spirits has destroyed that too.
We meet our new avatar, who is a streetrat (or possibily genetically engineered human who escaped from the lab and became a street rat), one of the generation for whom tales of bending everywhere are stuff not even entirely believed. He lives hand-to-mouth until he discovers he can Earthbend, and then later that he's the avatar. Maybe his Earthbending power is exclusively limited to walking through walls at first, rather than chucking rocks, and he has to build up to that. Since Avatars typically have an animal companion, and Giant Badger Moles doesn't really fit into a city environment, maybe he has a genetically engineered Miniature Giant Badger Mole. Maybe it's tied into how the main character learns he's an earthbender - he sees the mole (escaped from the lab shortly after creation and not widely known about), chases it, it passes through a wall, he follows thinking it's a hologram, then later learns his friends CAN'T pass through the wall.
(I say he, but it could easily be a she. I think that Earth and Fire should each have one male and one female but which is which doesn't matter so much... I just think see him as a guy in my head... but it's Avatar so ideally whether the lead is male or female it should have plenty of awesome characters of both genders).
His destiny is to free the spirits from their bondage and help stop corporate domination of the world. Otherwise tropes of cyberpunk, combined with some of the mysticism and magical creatures of the Avatar world, a bit like Shadowrun. Still, gritty mercenaries, cybernetic enhancement, a lot of crime, bioengineering, etc. Maybe a little X-Menny 'mutants' vibe if benders in the wild start become noticed and the powers-that-be having had decades without them start freaking out about having something not under their control, and so trying to hunt them down. The world as a whole is a lot less spiritual, because the spirit world has been interdicted, and things like pollution and such are becoming more serious problems, threatening to destroy the whole world (bringing it into the Earth theme).
Anyway, one of the peculiarities of this is that the world does have an Internet, much like ours... except more advanced (like in Cyberpunk, where you can jack in), and also unlike ours (as far as we know, anyway), you can access the spirit world THROUGH the internet. It's not easy, and it doesn't happen intentionally, but it does happen. Maybe that's how the main character learns he's the avatar, with his past lives only talking to him through the Internet. It also lets us do cool things like, say, the Avatar has to solve a mystery of children on the internet who's faces disappear. Turns out, they've wandered into the spirit world and encounters Koh, the Face-Stealer, thriving in this environment. Or say, the equivalent of Wikipedia can lead people to the Library of Wan Shi Tong (the owl guy).
In the end, the avatar discovers the same company responsible for the Internet is also the one who imprisoned the spirit world/banished bending in the first place, and breaks it free, returning spirituality to the world but it's not a complete fix to the damaged world.
When that legend is told, we jump ahead another hundred years or so, to tell a new tale. This one's brighter, more optimistic... the world HAS been saved, through a lot of hard work. So what's there for the next Avatar, a Firebender to do?
Find a new one, of course. Yes, it's a SPACE OPERA! They have decided to launch a space ship to move on to another star, and they used benders to do it. The Avatar is the girl who runs the engine and propels the ship, as they search for a new world (which, if we want to get a bit 'twist-endingy', might be OUR world, long long ago). They're not doing it out of necessity, but curiosity, or maybe the spirits suggested they should - sort of in a 'this is the circle of life... once humanity has learned to live alone, you had to learn to live with others... when it has learned to live with others, it had to learn to live in a village... when it learned to live in a village, it had to learn to live in a country, and when it learned to live in a country, it had to learn to live in a world, and when you've done that, you must move on to the next frontier... humanity is always growing, and if it stops growing, it has no purpose.' type way...
This might not sustain a whole series, a movie might be all it's worth, but you might be able to stretch it out with the addition of different alien races, an evil empire, etc. Or it might just be a movie about the launching of the ship and the first world they land on.
Anyway, in my head it's all pretty cool.
But enough about Avatar. What else is there?
Well, right now, Game of Thrones, but I don't feel especially talky about it. I still really enjoy it, but it's just one of those things I don't really need to converse about a lot, partly because of worries of "okay, most of the story has already been told in advance, I just don't know it yet", so it's hard to speculate or anything without looking like a fool or having people give spoilers. But yes, I do very much like it.
Other than that, not much, a couple shows running out the clock, a couple that I don't care enough to talk about, and then it's just the wait until the next new thing's on.
So let's talk about the next new thing. It's almost time for the networks to announce their schedules for the next year, and while we don't have the list of shows, we do have lists of PILOTS that the networks have been considering.
Not every show that winds up on the schedule will necessarily come from this list (and certainly, most of the shows on this list won't be on the schedule), but it gives a sort of early peek at what I MIGHT be interested in. I don't have an easy link to all the pilots there are, I looked through a bunch of sources and made notes of which ones I might be interested in, or that are in my wheelhouse but I'm unsure about. So that's mostly going to be genre-stuff - SF, Fantasy, etc.
But pilots of note that are vying for spots next year that caught my interest:
Zero Hour: Conspiracy theorist (Anthony Edwards) finds himself actually involved in a conspiracy when his wife is kidnapped. Almost Zero interest, but perhaps give it a look if it made it to series and the trailers look good.
Untitled Roland Emmerich/Harold Kloser project: A grad student in astrophysics finds out he is the "chosen one" to save the world and destroy the forces of evil. Not a fan of 'chosen one' stories any more. Probably pass, although the astrophysicist angle has a very slim chance of playing into things and catching my interest.
"Last Resort": This adventure drama centers around a rogue submarine crew that defies orders to deploy its weapons under suspicious circumstances and instead declares itself a small sovereign nuclear nation. They must rebuild society while keeping tabs on the world's military forces. Hmmm... depending on how they mean 'rebuild society', it might be worth a look. I doubt it'll make it though.
"Gotham": This one is about a female cop who discovers a magical world that exists within NYC, unseen by normal humans. ... yet more 'magic is real'. Probably pass, unless the trailers look really good. The only thing that's worth commenting on is that the description of this sounds a LITTLE like "Neverwhere", set in New York - they say NYC landmarks will be reinvented in a 'magical way'. But I'd rather they just make a Neverwhere series.
"Beauty and the Beast": This fantasy re-imagining of the classic fairy tale is set in a world where the tough but beautiful princess (Ruth Bradley) finds herself connected to a mysterious "beast" (Darius Campbell) despite being engaged to Gorrick (Chris Egan). A rebel band of fighters is trying to dethrone the Emperor Probably pass. Of note because it's one of two 'Beauty and the Beast' shows.
"666 Park Avenue": This one-hour spookfest is about a young couple (Dave Annable and Rachael Taylor) who has come to manage one of the most historical apartment buildings in New York City. But all is not what it seems, as supernatural goings-on complicate things. Don't have much interest.
"Revolution": This J.J. Abrams project is about a group of people trying to survive and find their loved ones in a world where all forms of energy mysterious cease to exist. Although it seems like it stole the premise from "Dies the Fire" (and sequels), I really LIKE the premise. JJ Abrams being involved makes me worry (even stuff I like, tends to get screwed up due to lack of planning), but I'll probably at least watch the pilot and first couple episodes if it makes it on the fall schedule.
"Beautiful People": This drama set in the near future features a society where humans co-exist with mechanical androids, who are treated as second-class citizens. Until the androids begin to awaken. I know virtually nothing about this but I love the premise enough to give it a try if it makes it to air. Of course, it probably won't.
"The Selection": Billed as "The Hunger Games" meets "The Bachelor" (heavy on "The Bachelor"), "The Selection" envisions a time 300 years in the future when a poor young woman is chosen by random lottery to join a competition to marry the prince. Probably pass. But anything that's set 300 years in the future is worth at least looking at the trailers, even if it sounds pretty lame.
"Beauty and the Beast": Based on the 1987 series, "Smallville's" Kristen Kreuk is the aforementioned Beauty with Aussie Jay Ryan as the Beast who saved her life when she was younger. The other Beauty and the Beast show. Pass probably.
"Arrow": No, it's not a "Smallville" spin-off. Stephen Amell will star as Oliver Queen in this remaining of the DC superhero, led by Greg Berlanti, Marc Guggenheim, and Andrew Kreisberg. Katie Cassidy stars as his love interest and old flame (and Black Canary), with Willa Holland as his sister. I'll probably give it a look, just for the comic connection, but what I've heard so far hasn't thrilled me.
So, not super encouraging. Two worth an automatic check-out, one I'll probably look at mostly due to comic-loyalty, nine that I might look at if the trailers will look good, but I'm leaning towards passing on. And that's of the stuff that holds even the slightest interest to me at all. Everything else proposed is snoozeville. But that's just the main networks.
One cable network that has announced a bunch of upcoming shows in development is Syfy. Alas, it's no longer the Sci-Fi channel, either in name or in spirit, really, but at least it has a couple SF shows, movies, and miniserieses on the slate. Full announcement is here, (and far too much is lame reality shows), but I'll list a couple potential highlights behind the cut.
Defiance Defiance is in collaboration with Trion Worlds, with the Syfy series and Trion's multi-platform shooter MMO poised to debut simultaneously. The series stars Grant Bowler, Julie Benz, Stephanie Leonidas, Tony Curran, Jaime Murray, Fionnula Flanagan, Mia Kirshner and Oscar-nominee Graham Greene. Set in the near future, Defiance introduces a completely transformed planet Earth, inhabited by the survivors of a universal war. Forced to co-habitate, the disparate group struggles to build a new society among the devastation. The dramatic tapestry of the series and the intense action of the game will exist in a single universe where their respective narratives will inform one another and evolve together into one overall story. Ehh, we'll see. It could be cool, but it's one of those things where too much depends on execution, and it could be gimmicky, what with the MMO connection.
Rewind Rewind revolves around a team of military field operatives and civilian scientists who must use untested technology to travel back in time to alter events and change the future—and avoid a devastating terrorist attack. Oh, wow, this sounds like such a cool premise... when it was called Seven Days! Seriously, "government uses time travel to prevent horrible terrorist attack" bores the pants off me conceptually. You've got TIME TRAVEL. Do something COOL with it!
The Adjustment Bureau - In this drama, based on the hit movie starring Matt Damon, guardian angel-type agents work to keep the world according to The Plan. They create everything from plane crashes to coffee spills in order to steer people to realize their true destiny. But there is one thing the operatives and their Chairman can't control—free will. Hmmm... the kind of thing that works okay as a movie, but I really have trouble seeing as a series. Maybe I'd give it a try, though.
High Moon - Based on the novel, The Lotus Caves, by John Christopher, this imaginative, out-of-this-world series explores a world where the countries of Earth have established colonies to mine the Moon's resources. When a new life form is discovered, chaos erupts as various factions race to uncover its powerful secrets. Hmmm.. yeah, okay, I'd give this one a try. Bryan Fuller being involved is also encouraging (for the quality, although not the longevity).
Untitled Booster Gold Project - Based on the best-selling DC Entertainment Comic, this is the story of a washed-up athlete from the future who travels back to the present in hopes of becoming the greatest superhero of all time. But instead of chasing criminals, his main priority is chasing fame and money. Booster Gold discovers that being a hero takes more than just a megawatt smile. Never a huge fan of Booster Gold, but I might give it a look, just out of comics loyalty.
Defender - In the aftermath of an intergalactic war between humans and transhumans, the starship Defender, populated by a combustible mix of former enemies, is sent on a seemingly simple goodwill mission, which turns into a fight for their lives and for the safety of the Universe at large. Executive producer/writer: Robert Hewitt Wolfe I'd give this a try. Wolfe has some good ideas, I just worry about his ability to execute them... for example, Andromeda. Lots of really cool ideas in there, but the show kind of sucked (even before Kevin Sorbo took over and it completely and totally sucked. Before that, it sucked, with some potential).
The Family - For generations, an alien family has hid amongst humans in plain sight using their advanced intellect to carve out a life for themselves as their family grew. But when the family patriarch that kept peace amongst the factions dies, a war begins to brew with some members believing the time has come to reveal themselves, and their superior power, to the inferior human race. Hmmm.. a maybe.
Eyes Of The Dragon - Based on Stephen King's best-selling novel. A kingdom is in turmoil as the old king dies and his successor must battle for the throne. Pitted against an evil wizard and a would-be rival, Prince Peter makes a daring escape and rallies the forces of good to fight for what is rightfully his. I think some network just found out Game of Thrones was a hit, and rushed to find their own fantasy novel to adapt. Still, maybe give it a look.
Darkfall - When, without warning, modern forms of power and technology become a thing of the past, Los Angeles, and the world at large, becomes a place where magic rules and life as we know it is turned upside down. Hmmm.. maybe worth a look.
Untitled Mark Burnett Project (wt) - From acclaimed producer Mark Burnett comes a competition show where fans of science fiction/fantasy books and movies compete to create the most flavorful and inspired dishes from the foods featured in the imaginary worlds that they love. The only reality show that I have to admit I'm kinda interested in. Because I've always wanted (in the way that some people have always wanted a pony, while acknowledging that they wouldn't know how to take care of it and it would probably be more trouble than it's worth, but still fun to imagine) to open a restaurant themed around famous SF foods.
A little bit with potential, and actually a better odds than all the mainstream networks, although not all of this is necessarily due for next year.
We'll see how things shake out in a few weeks when everything gets officially announced.
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Date: 2012-05-04 02:49 am (UTC)That sounds like the Swedish show, "Äkta människor" AKA "Real Humans" I've sort of gotten into. I've only seen 3 episodes, but so far it is really, really good. Here's the wikepda for it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Real_Humans
And I really, really like your ideas for the Airbender series. I didn't get too much into "The Last Airbender" but I've been watching Korra with my kid and I am very impressed. Doesn't hurt that the animation is lovely too.
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Date: 2012-05-08 09:52 pm (UTC)Of course, knowing how Hollywood works, if they acknowledge it as a source, they'll have changed everything that made the first one cool, and if they don't, it'll wind up being almost a complete ripoff! ;)
Yes, the animation is lovely... I think at present I still like A:TLA more, but Korra could easily overtake it, it's still early.