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ABC orders "Masters of Sci-Fi" anthology series
(click on the names to see responses)
Wed, 22 Feb 2006 22:26:02 -0500
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David...
Michael S. Schiffer...
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I hate to say it, but it's more than 30 years old. (It started up in
1972.)
What's worse, I *watched* it thirty years ago. (Back when a cable
"remote" was the size of a cigar box, and attached to the TV with a
wire.)
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from variety
Wagging sci-fi tales
ABC gives anthology series greenlight
By MICHAEL SCHNEIDER
ABC has greenlit the anthology series "Masters of Science Fiction,"
which will present works of well-known authors such as Ray Bradbury
and Isaac Asimov.
nebusj...
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Hm. Science fiction anthology series, American network TV.
Should we save the time and have them cancel it now, and put
together a sad and futile call for a letter-writing campaign to save
it, only to be laughed off by everyone including half of the letter
writers?
(I don't fault their expressed tastes, I just ... don't see
how they figure these elements could be commercial.)
Invid Fan...
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There's an upcoming writers strike likely, and these stories are
already written. There may even be ready scripts for many of them.
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Brian Henderson...
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Seriously, I would much rather have this show up on cable than on ABC.
While "Masters of Horror" has been hit-and-miss, there are a lot of
elements that simply couldn't be shown on broadcast television, and
most broadcast networks have shown themselves to be incapable of
holding out for the long term commitment. If Showtime says they'll
air 13 episodes, they'll air 13 episodes. If ABC wants 13 episodes,
they'll probably air 5.
mhadley...
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But even showtime pussed out on Masters Of Horror is refusing to air
the 13th episode as being "too intense even for pay TV".
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IDT Entertainment and tIndustry Entertainment, which produced the
13-episode anthology "Masters of Horror" for Showtime, are behind the
science fiction version as well. Alphabet web has ordered four
episodes, but IDT and Industry plan to go ahead and produce at least
six segs, and as many as 13.
pkj0891...
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[snip]
The broadcast nets don't exactly have a great track record with
sci-fi/fantasy shows, "Lost" and "The X Files" notwithstanding. I'm
not going to hold my breath that this one will succeed. And I've seen
almost every episode of "Masters of Horror", and I think it's mainly a
big disappointment.
Ian J. Ball...
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Look, with The CW merger, I think we all expect a revitalized syndie
market - FOX2 (or whatever they're calling it) will inevitably need
shows like this.
So even if it bombs on ABC, it could still live on in a revitalized
syndie environment...
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Invid Fan...
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Notice they said they'll be fliming more then the initial order. This
means they've already factored in overseas sales and dvd releases into
the budget. IOW, it's something that was going to exist anyways most
likely but ABC is giving it a shot.
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GarondoMarondo...
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But air only 2!
chrcollins...
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Hey, 2 hours of broadcast airtime makes for a pretty good commercial
for the eventual DVD release. If they air two good episodes I'll lay
out $30-$40 for the other 11 with no problem.
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Patrick Joseph McNamara...
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That's what iPods are for.
videonovels...
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Or Sci-Fi Channel reruns. SFC likes to pick up canceled series &
premiere the unaired episodes.
.
I think this is a GREAT idea. I've been wanting to see a Novel---TV
adaptation of classics for quite some time. Why invent new material
when there's 30-40-50 year old stories that have never been videoed for
mass consumption?
Anthony Cerrato...
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Yep, there are so many old stories waiting that could be
well done for TV today. If they come out a tenth as good as
that series of Bradbury short stories done several decades
ago, I'd be very happy. (I don't remember very well but I
think Bradbury actually had a hand in the production of
those tho [exec. producer?])
Jerry Boyajian...
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THE RAY BRADBURY THEATER, originally done for HBO 20 years
ago, and later moved to USA. And, yes, Bradbury was involved
in the production, as well as hosting it.
(As Kurt Vonnegut had done for Showtime's short-lived KURT
VONNEGUT'S MONKEY HOUSE.)
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And there were so many good early Twilite Zone eps. too that
have been done over the years.
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In this case it looks like they are doing Short Stories (like Asimov's
Last Question), but that's cool too. I can't wait to see it!
westprog...
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I remember thinking that it would be great when the effects got good enough
that they could film books like I, Robot and Starship Troopers.
videonovels...
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Yes well, for every bad adaptation, there were also good versions.
Bicentennial Man for example. Carl Sagan's Contact was decent too.
Gene Ward Smith...
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I thought the movie was better than the book, but I tend to think that
when there's math in the book. The movie got rid of the idiocy about pi
which made Contact so disappointing. In a similar way, the movie
version of Jurassic Park got rid of the mathematical proof that zoos
are impossible, and replaced it with math as a pickup line, a vast
improvement. And it wasn't the only one, actually.
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Joe Bernstein...
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That may be your opinion, but I'm pretty sure there are a lot of
people out there for whom the ratio is *very* different from 50/50.
videonovels...
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Also 2001. And Bladerunner. And... well I could go on-and-on about
westprog...
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Bladerunner was a good film, but I'm not sure it took much from the book. It
certainly left a lot out. Anyone who watched all the PKD films and never
read the books would get the impression that he was a dour, humourless
writer.
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Mad Hamish...
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as a movie Bladerunner is good.
As an adaption of "Do Androids Dream of Electric sheep" it is not
good.
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successful book-to-video adaptations. As for ratios, my intent was not
Mad Hamish...
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Well so far you haven't named one.
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to establish a 50/50, but to correct your belief (or implication) that
ALL adaptations are trash.
Mad Hamish...
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"Yes well, for every bad adaptation, there were also good versions."
Which actually implies that 50%/50% good to bad is a lower limit...
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djheydt...
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Although you could argue that book and movie were an adaptation
of Clarke's earlier "The Sentinel."
Dorothy J. Heydt
Albany, California
djheydt@kithrup.com
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Default User...
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2001 was not a book-to-movie adaptation. The book and movie were a
co-production, a collaboration between Clarke and Kubrick.
Default User...
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Oh yes. However, that was a short story and quite a bit different. I'd
call it more of an inspiration than an adaptation.
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Mike Swaim...
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IIRC, the book's based on the movie, and the movie on the book.
They're both based on a short story, though.
Default User...
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As we already discussed elsethread, not an adapation though.
Inspiration, reworking, whatever. Not an adaptation.
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videonovels...
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Oops.. You're right and I forgot.
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And obviously not everyone will like the same thing. Some people like
Asimov's Foundation. Others think that book is utter crap. Differing
people have differing views.
.
So are you saying you'd rather NOT have classic short stories turned
into an hour-long tv episode? Why??? (Not me. A book-to-video
adaptation expands the audience from a few bookworms (us) to the whole
ABC audience. From thousands to millions.)
videonovels...
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.
I had the same experience with Lord of the Rings. Leeeet theeee
chaaaaraacteeers siiit aroooouund & doooo noooothing foooor 200
paaaaages. Zzzzzz.
So. Don't read the book. I've found authors tend to be overly wordy.
As though they don't have 50-hour a week jobs & tons of time to kill.
I wish I were them, but I am not, so if a book is wasting my
limited/scarce free time, I throw it on ebay.
One thing I like about Charles Dickens is that he grabs the audience
early & doesn't waste time. Naturally. He was writing for a
serialized newspaper series (think tv, but in print), and so that
required grabbing an audience with minimal attention spans.
I wish more authors wrote like Dickens, and not the LOTR guy.
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videonovels...
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.
Ahhh. Well that's the *first* time I've heard you say that.
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As for Star Trek or Wars books, I don't see the relevance. As far as I
know, none of them have ever been converted from book-to-video format.
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I haven't seen most of the major science fiction adaptations myself -
neither of the ones you name, for example - and I tend to be much
less hostile to adaptations in general than a lot of people are.
So I'm not expressing an opinion myself. But I'd be very surprised
if the majority of fans of *written* science fiction thought there
was a 50/50 track record for visual adaptations of same.
(For that matter, I'm not at all sure the majority of fans of
visual science fiction are crazy about written adaptations of same,
either. Sure, the Star Wars books are bestsellers, but they don't
sell *nearly* as well as the movies; and isn't it somewhat
notorious in Trek fandom that Star Trek books are Unworthy?
Usually with the exception of a few - maybe the Blish ones, maybe
the Foster ones, maybe a handful of more recent ones - but still.)
Joe Bernstein
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BTW i robot was an original story, not a book-to-video conversion, so
not truly relevant to this conversation.
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Jerry Boyajian...
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Except for the fact that I can't see that story being stretched
into a one-hour episode.
Jack Bohn...
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Well, today's hour-long episode is only 60% longer than a
half-hour was in the days of the original Twilight Zone...
videonovels...
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The hour-long 1960's Star Trek was 51 minutes. So 1960's Twilight Zone
was probably ~25 minutes without ads.
Today's hour-long Enterprise or Stargate or galactica is 41 minutes.
41/25 = only 64% longer (not 100%) (aka double)
.
If you strip away the 1.5 minute long title and 0.5 minute credits, the
situation looks a little better:
(41-2) / (25-2) = 70% longer than a 1960's twilight zone
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"The Last Question" is merely a series of vignettes,each one
pointing up an increase in computing power... How many? Six?
One or two per each segment would work well (I assume hour-long
shows are still four acts; each one now about 11 minutes).
Actually, if need be, I wonder if they could insert his
oft-anthologized "The Fun They Had" as a segment.
Warchild...
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An hour of U.S. Network TV consists of 45 minutes of program and 15
minutes of commercial.
Brian Henderson...
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Actually, most shows are 42.5 minutes of program and 17.5 minutes of
commercial these days.
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Jack Bohn...
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That's the figure I've heard. The one I was guessing at was for
a half-hour show in the '60s.
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Besides which, ABC will order six episodes - but cancel the show after
only showing two episodes. Face it, the networks do not have the
stomach for a genre anthology.
Jack Bohn...
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Well, it's their money. I've long ago found it a better attitude
to be grateful for any little thing that's good that comes out of
the process. (A tour across the Enterprise on the big screen,
four great seasons of Babylon 5, the holes in the ground where
the hobbits live...)
Even if we only see two episodes, that will allow us an informed
choice on whether to buy the other four on DVD.
videonovels...
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I hope ABC lets it run at least as long as Invasion did (10 episodes?).
Brian Henderson...
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Invasion is still going. It returns to a 10pm Wednesday timeslot in
April.
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jayembee...
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INVASION has already aired 15 episodes. There are two more scheduled for
this week and next, and then it'll go on a 6-week hiatus, and finish up
its 22-episode season in May.
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Anthony Cerrato...
Randy Money...
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I think you're thinking of *Threshold*.
Randy M.
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I can't wait either --this is great news! ...tonyC
jwragusa...
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I thought John Carpenter's version of "The Thing" was just as good as
(and was faithful to) the Don A. Stuart (Campbell) original "Who goes
There?"
ANIM8Rfsk...
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It didn't start out to be an adaptation, but they admitted it was likely a
subconscious one.
Now, The Outer Limits also did Arena, but that was a clear adaptation from
Jerry Boyajian...
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Except for the fact that it wasn't acknowledged as one. There
isn't one single mention of Brown or "Arena" anywhere in the
episode (despite the fact that TOL adapted a fair number of
published stories).
junior-kun...
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Blake's 7 merrily ripped it off.
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the start.
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Default User...
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If you're having trouble quoting from Google, the information in my
.sig below may be of interest.
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ANIM8Rfsk...
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Even more amazingly, it's just as good as the original movie, and I *love*
the original movie.
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Scribe Michael Tolkin ("The Rapture") is already on board to adapt and
direct an episode, while the producers are also in talks to produce
works such as Harlan Ellison's "The Discarded" and Asimov's "The Last
Question." IDT and Industry also hope to sign Bradbury to adapt his
"Dark They Were, And Golden-Eyed."
Morris Berger, Steve Brown and John Hyde will exec produce for IDT,
while Industry's Keith Addis, Brad Mendelsohn and Andrew Deane will
also exec produce.
"After doing 'Masters of Horror,' we looked at other ways to take
advantage of this great new way to create TV and international
homevideo," Addis said. "We rediscovered what an incredible wealth of
material there is in science fiction and the incredible quality of the
writing ... This genre's about the boldest, most powerful and relevant
ideas facing all of us."
Addis and Hyde said they focused on pitching ABC because of the net's
success in the genre, specifically with "Lost."
"ABC breathed new life into the hour-long series, making it the
perfect fit for us," Hyde said. "We're confident they'll turn this
into a highly respected franchise."
Alphabet web longform chief Quinn Taylor is overseeing the show's
development.
"We've been trying to put together this kind of series, because it has
great potential to become appointment television," said Taylor, senior
VP of movies and minis at the net.
IDT and Industry hope to start production on "Masters of Science
Fiction" in Vancouver this May. The producers said they can start
delivering the series to ABC by the middle of June, making a summer
launch a possibility. Project is targeted to air in the 2006-07 TV
season.
IDT will also oversee home entertainment distribution and foreign
sales of "Masters of Science Fiction."
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