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posted by Dopefish on Sunday February 23 2014, @04:00PM   Printer-friendly
from the we-want-netflix-to-reboot-firefly dept.

TBNZee writes:

"Mainstream television has, for a long time, under-served the science fiction loving segment. But with declining production costs, there seem to be two potential sources of alternative production/distribution: digital content (e.g. Netflix, Hulu) and crowd-funded projects. There's still not a lot of science fiction shows that are being produced by the major streaming services, but we'll probably see more with the success of Hulu's exclusive U.S. distribution of Misfits or Netflix's Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Doctor Who. On the other hand, you have many enthusiastic upstarts on Kickstarter that look novel and engaging while having a surprisingly professional look to them.

Which do you think will ultimately be more successful? Do you have any recommendations for other good material out there, or is there something you would like to see?"

 
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  • (Score: 5, Interesting) by PapayaSF on Sunday February 23 2014, @08:08PM

    by PapayaSF (1183) on Sunday February 23 2014, @08:08PM (#5297)

    Far too many science fiction films and TV shows seem to be written by Hollywood types with only the vaguest sense of what science fiction is really about. They now know Philip Dick, but beyond that, it's largely comic books, remakes, and "original" stories that no SF editor of the last 30 years would have bought in written form. But there's tons of great SF out there just begging to be made into movies. Granted, some may need updating to account for ubiquitous computing, but off the top of my head:

    • Fred Pohl's Gateway series would make a great TV series: automated alien ships found in the asteroid belt. Get in one and maybe you'll get a trip to another planet and come back with strange alien riches. Or maybe you'll come back dead, or not at all.
    • E.E. Smith's Lensman books, with some updates, would make a fabulous series of space opera films.
    • Iain M. Banks' Culture World books.
    • Cordwainer Smith's Underpeople stories.
    • Robert Heinlein!
    • Theodore Sturgeon
    • many, many more

    There are many great stories there, and with special effects now affordable, please, let's have some respectful, well-written films and TV shows made from them.

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  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by dwywit on Sunday February 23 2014, @11:00PM

    by dwywit (1166) on Sunday February 23 2014, @11:00PM (#5355)

    Hells, yes. Niven's "Known Space" catalogue would keep many cast & crew busy for years, as long as decent writers were involved, AND Tom Cruise wasn't.

    Wasn't Quincy Jones fiddling around with "Ringworld" a few years back?

    --
    They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
    • (Score: 2, Interesting) by PapayaSF on Monday February 24 2014, @01:52AM

      by PapayaSF (1183) on Monday February 24 2014, @01:52AM (#5436)

      Niven, yes, absolutely.

      There is supposedly a Ringworld mini-series in development. Morgan Freeman is supposedly producing a film of Arthur C. Clarke's Rendezvous With Rama, directed by David Fincher, but it seems to be stuck in development hell. Asimov's Foundation also seems to be stuck in development hell, though personally, I thinks it's an unlikely source for a good film. It's just too talky, and I doubt they could ever cram the sheer sweep of the books into even a mini-series that would make sense to most people.

      • (Score: 1) by TK on Monday February 24 2014, @06:23PM

        by TK (2760) on Monday February 24 2014, @06:23PM (#6024)

        Worse than that, the characters in Foundation keep changing during the centuries that it takes place (as they die). Imaging a big-name actor/actress spending twenty minutes on screen talking about how their actions are irrelevant in the broader scheme of the narrative. That doesn't appeal to Hollywood producer types, IMO.

        I do think it would make for a great mini-series, though.

        --
        The fleas have smaller fleas, upon their backs to bite them, and those fleas have lesser fleas, and so ad infinitum
  • (Score: 1) by TheLink on Monday February 24 2014, @06:59AM

    by TheLink (332) on Monday February 24 2014, @06:59AM (#5623) Journal

    Julian May's Saga of the Exiles would probably need to be a series too. :)
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saga_of_Pliocene_Exi le [wikipedia.org]

    Even had a guidebook:
    http://www.amazon.com/A-Pliocene-Companion-Julian- May/dp/0345322908 [amazon.com]

    But given a lot happens amongst minds it's going to hard to translate to screen. Not so keen on her Galactic Milieu books (which are related and part of the same universe).

    • (Score: 1) by PapayaSF on Monday February 24 2014, @11:58PM

      by PapayaSF (1183) on Monday February 24 2014, @11:58PM (#6292)

      As I recall one of the events in that series was the opening of the straits of Gibraltar and the forming of the Mediterranean Sea. Now, that would be a fun special effect!

      • (Score: 1) by TheLink on Tuesday February 25 2014, @07:10AM

        by TheLink (332) on Tuesday February 25 2014, @07:10AM (#6446) Journal
        Yep! Plenty of good stuff. I think that series is underrated. I find more depth and breadth than many other more popular SciFi stuff (compared to Asimov for example, it's like a full course banquet to a good burger - and I do enjoy a good burger - often more than banquets esp if those are too hard to digest ;) ). While there are plenty of stereotypes/archetypes it's actually a good thing with so many characters and multiple events to keep track of - it's like familiar pieces being used to build something extraordinary.

        Plenty of cool scenes from a film perspective. The Tanu in glowing armor on a Hunt riding on PK levitated chalikos from a glowing city. The Tanu Firvulag festivals/Great Battles. Maybe even a flashback of the Ship's crash and Lugonn/Spear vs Sharn/Sword battle when the Tanu and Firvulag first arrived. The Howlers.
  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by GeriatricGentleman on Monday February 24 2014, @10:35AM

    by GeriatricGentleman (1192) on Monday February 24 2014, @10:35AM (#5722)

    I dunno. I was all ready to leap on the band wagon and add a few other favourites (anyone else remember ABC Warriors from 2000AD presents? fuck me, astounding art (Kevin Roberts?), great humour, weird stories - sigh, I loved it).

    Would be crap on screen though I am sure.

    And much as I love the Culture novels and enjoyed many of the others you've mentioned, I suspect they would be crap too.

    Mind you - I can remember Space 1999 on TV as a kid. We had a B&W TV that got one channel...just. Somehow that show would have me riveted and I would run home to watch it. But in truth, I watched about two minutes of it a couple of years back. It's crap.

    Star Wars? Hmm, 1st movie cool as a kid - rest crap.
    Star Trek? Not to my taste (read: crap)
    Alien, actually ok. Aliens even. The rest? Average to crap.
    I didn't like Babylon5. Or Red Dwarf. Never saw Firefly (I know, I know...I am a heathen).

    Blade Runner. Yep. A good one - but, oddly(?), Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Umm, crap.

    I don't think it is special effects based. Although maybe that makes a difference. They are just stories, but so many of the sci-fi ones have been badly told via a screen I think that perhaps this particular media is more challenging than others.

    Hmm, or maybe I only notice because I care and I see all the failures. Perhaps 90% of ALL things on screen are crap? (even if you don't count the ads!)

    • (Score: 1) by Common Joe on Monday February 24 2014, @11:23AM

      by Common Joe (33) <{common.joe.0101} {at} {gmail.com}> on Monday February 24 2014, @11:23AM (#5744) Journal

      Perhaps 90% of ALL things on screen are crap?

      I've just about stopped watching TV. When I do, it's usually because I'm the mood for something mindless and IQ dropping. I have a feeling you quoted too low a number.

      • (Score: 2) by VLM on Monday February 24 2014, @06:21PM

        by VLM (445) Subscriber Badge on Monday February 24 2014, @06:21PM (#6020)

        That's the problem. Moties movie could be cool. Ringo's Posleen series could be cool.

        What we'd actually get is a mish mash of the Star Trek action movie reboot combined with urban audience rewrite of Romeo and Juliette, at an absolute best possible case. Probably worse.

        Better off with a good book than a good book and an awful movie that scares people away from the book.

  • (Score: 1) by tangomargarine on Monday February 24 2014, @03:49PM

    by tangomargarine (667) on Monday February 24 2014, @03:49PM (#5892)

    I would give my eyeteeth to get a TV series version of either of Jack McDevitt's book series. They take a very practical approach to space travel and don't involve hardly any hokey aliens, instead focusing on human motivations conflicting in different ways. Unfortunately a fair amount of the books are spent with people in transit on spaceships sitting around talking, though.

    --
    "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"