Should The Corpses of Dead SciFi Shows Be Revived?
The new blog, IO9, recently posted a poll that asked Which dead Sci Fi show should breathe again? The usual suspects are there: Farcscape, Quantum Leap, Firefly, along with others.
But this question got me thinking: Don’t we, as science fiction fans, continually rail against Hollywood and the TV studios for their lack of imagination and propensity to resurrect or re-make old shows? (Why yes, yes we do.) But here comes Gawker’s shiny new SF site that wants the networks to somehow resurrect an old SF show from the trash heap of discarded shows. And well over 100 people agree that it’s, at least, a decent idea. Just look at everyone who says “But what about show X?” Isn’t this sending the wrong message? There are plenty of science fiction stories that should get some sort of treatment on either the small screen or big screen. I think a better question would have been “What science fiction story or novel would you like to see made into a series?” Of course, one possible answer could be “None, I’d like to see something completely new!” Why re-animate when you can innovate?
I’ll tell you why…
The same thing happens in the video game industry. Gamers continually harp on the developers for churning out sequel after sequel, or media tie-in games, instead of creating something new. Of course, when something truly interesting and new comes along, Psychonauts or Good vs. Evil, it usually fails to sell well. The same thing happens in TV and Hollywood where sequels are the rage and a successful TV series will spawn numerous copy cats that try to mimic it’s success. But people speak loudest with their wallets or eyeballs, and the message that the media companies get is that ‘new’ rarely works, while regurgitation is a cash cow. That’s why we get remakes of old TV shows. I’m not saying the remakes are going to be crap. I’m saying that while we as SF fans say we want something new, the networks receive a different message. Of course, SF fans are a very small subset of the overall viewing public. It’s hard for us to get the Sci Fi Channel to even show real science fiction, let alone persuade a big network to try something new. Unless something new comes along that turns into a monster hit, and a network is willing to risk it, I’d say we’re stuck with remakes.
But let’s end on a positive note, and send a message, no matter how small, of our own. What science fiction story would you like to see on TV? We’ve said before that Singularity by Bill DeSmedt would make an awesome Sci Fi Channel original movie. I know there are others, let’s hear ‘em! (And yes, George R.R. Martin is working with HBO to turn his Song of Ice and Fire into a series, so no need to mention that. Unless, of course, HBO dumps it.)
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“Should The Corpses of Dead SciFi Shows Be Revived?”
No. SF should look forward, not bury itself in the past.
8o|
“Farcscape”?
So many choices, where to begin? So I will dive into the past a bit…
Chronicles of Amber: (Zelazny)
Crossover appeal with Sopranos fans “The Mafia is a *shadow* of THIS family. Wait until you meet THIS dysfunctional family.” Action adventure, CGI up the wazoo.
Tschai: (Vance)
Earthman Adam Reith’s adventures on the alien planet, trying to find a way home amongst aliens and the humans living on this exotic world. “Lost”, except on an entire world.
Vorkosigan (Bujold):
“Get ready to root for the little guy.” Miles Vorkosigan is a character larger than life who doesn’t let his physical disadvantages get in his way, whether its his family or his enemies.
I have discussed this several times with JP after reading the Sten series by Chris Bunch and Alan Cole and I still think that would make a great series. It has action, romance, and wry humor written throughout the books. Plus you get to have a Scot on the show
Firefly deserved a much longer life, so I’d vote for that. The could still be coinsidered a reprieve, rather than a revival from the dead. Serentity gave it the momentum.
Farscape, as much as I loved it, had maybe 1 more season in it at best. At least we got a special wrapup. Which is more than can be said of the superb Carnivale (tell us the end, Ron Moore!!).
Given the political climate, Jerry Cornelius would make for a pretty cool (and manifestly bizarre) television show.
I can see Iain Banks’ “Culture” setting being the basis for an interesting series. (I wouldn’t base it on any of the novels in particular, but rather use the setting as the backdrop for original content.)
And of course, The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross could be the basis for an excellent nerd-wet-dream tv show.
Some of them died for a highly valid reason: they were boring (e.g. Quantam Leap).
Others like Firefly should never have been axed. But yes, oh yes, the thought that TV and Cinema would more often dive into the wealth of wonderful plotting and ideas in literature rather than hiring hacks to write tripe…. Bring it on!
There’s a lot of good SF out there that could be a springboard for new versions/ideas. For example, the Sector General series by James White (a multi-species hospital that deals with unusual patients). You can go the Emergency route (straight here’s the problem — here’s the solution), the St Elsewhere route (soap opera mixed with Emergency), the House route (follow the adventures of the dysfunctional doc), or the comedy (wait — Futurama already did that — Darn!).
Miles Vorkosigan is ready made for TV — you can even have the story arc a la Babylon 5. The Compleat Enchanter (Harold Shea and friends) would be great — maybe get some educational grants as the show explores the lands of myth, legend, and fantasy
I’m still hoping for the animated Green Lantern adventures, too…
My vote would be for Dan Simmon’s Hyperion books – full of action, multiple storylines, evocative characters and worlds, and interesting ideas about ethics, morality and religion. In the right hands, they could easily fill 5 seasons (which is, I think, about as long as any series need go).
That said, I don’t think retelling stories is inherently bad. From a theatre history perspective, we see a lot of different playwrights take the same source material and fashion new plays. In fact, there are places in Indonesia where the theatre festivals and live performances come directly from the same set of myths that they have been portraying for hundreds of years. And there are some stories that deserve multiple attempts–although perhaps only once every generation or so. Here I’m thinking of Herbert’s Dune series, which will, I would wager, attract future directors and be adapted to other mediums again and again. In part because nobody will ever get it one hundred percent right and that’s because no film will every be definitive compared to the book. And I don’t think future attempts are necessarily bad.
Where the bad creeps in is when stories are trotted out simply in an attempt to generate revenue and not to tell a compelling story. Of course, that does happen to be the modus operandi of most Hollywood and television projects.
Well, I would like Firefly to return. I really liked that show.
What about Larry Niven’s Ringworld? That would make an awesome movie, or at least it would seem to, seeing as how strong the Halo Nation is. I profess to not actually read the book as of yet.
Finally, maybe we can have a TV series from Robert Reed’s Great Ship sequence.
The Dresden Files!
Goodness, I love that show. It’s different from the book series it’s based on, surely, but it’s still got a lot going for it.
And hey! Who can complain about a white-haired ghost with a British accent and a propensity towards snark? Or a hero-class wizard with constant struggles against his own dark nature and a boatload of enemies, to boot? Or an intelligent, independent female character who doesn’t ever seem like “too much”?
Lot to offer in the Dresden Files. It’s a show about wizards, ghosts, magic and the supernatural. Certainly like nothing else out there right now.
What about the Dresden Files? THAT show should have NEVER been buried in the first place! It had it all. Great acting, wonderful cast. Unlimited potential. Resurrect THAT one!
Posted by A.R.Yngve on Thursday January 10, 2008 at 4:59 AM)
You are absolutly insane!!! you must have never watched sci fi ever ever…we must always look to the past in all aspects in life..now what causes us to act in certain ways when things affect us?….past experiences..im not saying live in the past im saying…ressurection is often needed…sci fi do it !!!
Programs that never really got a chance I think would be great to revive, like The Dresden Files or Raines, which only ran for 12 and 7 episodes respectively. Farscape ran for 90 episodes and Quantum Leap ran for 96 episodes. An offshoot of Farscape might be interesting, set in a different time or area.
Farscape is a no brainer!!!!!!!!!
I could think of one or two “new” ones from old stories:
How about Dragonriders of Pern? or Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt,
he was usually written with things occurring a few years in the future.
Or even Harry Harrison’s Stainless Stell Rat could be a series almost
resembling Dr Who in atmosphere.
But, yeah, Farscape, and Firefly, and Threshold
Plus the corpse of the old three season Star Trek seemed to be doing well after
doing TNG, DS9, Voyager, and Enterprise. Not to mention the movies.
Plus I do agree about some shows that were a stretch when they WERE
reintroduced: Far Gone Corpses: Battlestar Galactica, V. Next they
will be reintroducing Fantasy Island, with Mini-Me instead of Tatoo
I’d love to see a weekly show brought back that doesn’t take itself to seriously. Something like Buck Rogers. I love the BSG reboot but I’d like to see something more old-school too.