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This is a welcome development in that it means the franchise is no longer in the legal limbo that it’s been stuck in for the past couple of years. But it also raises the prospect of there being two parallel versions in production at the same time, which is an interesting possibility.

I presume Doug Naylor will keep making the current TV version after the Promised Land special was such a success. Whether Rob Grant will then develop a different TV version, or maybe move into Big Finish style audios or maybe more novels, who knows?

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Chris-S, Todd

It’s a very unusual setup to have rights split. Happens a bit more in music when bands go their separate ways but outside that it’s hard to think of many examples. Funnily enough the first that comes to mind is the founders of Forbidden Planet both trading with the name in separate businesses.

Yeah, I was trying to think of any similar examples earlier and was struggling.

Maybe when you had the Bond franchise having to deal with stuff like Never Say Never Again, but even then that film only had the sense of being semi-authorised.

I guess it depends how the split is handled. If (say) Naylor carries on making the show with the original cast and Grant does a reboot or remake then at least the two versions would be distinct. But it’s a show so tied to its characters that it feels like there would always be some degree of shared elements at the core.

Elizabeth Banks Leads Voice Cast Of ‘The Flintstones’ Animated Series ‘Bedrock’ As Comedy Scores Pilot Presentation At Fox

Rob Grant and Doug Naylor have buried one or more hatchets and resolved their dispute over Red Dwarf’s rights, and the show is on one or more cards to return.

Again.

So was that a new grudge since the last Dave series or the grudge that had them split up long before that?

I wonder how they’ll continue independently. Different mediums or two different, concurrent versions of the TV show.

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lorcan_nagle

Martin Smith wrote:

So was that a new grudge since the last Dave series or the grudge that had them split up long before that?

It’s a little complicated. Basically since they split in ’93, Rob Grant hasn’t shown any interest in participating in the production of Red Dwarf at all, although he’s still been involved in the Grant Naylor Productions production company. So with Rob’s blessing, Doug Naylor has been left to keep producing the show all through series VII and VIII in the late 90s through to the Dave revival in more recent years, with various new series and the special.

However since getting more involved again with the fandom during the covid lockdowns (including some great weekly live commentaries on Zoom), Rob has seemed more interested in being directly involved with Dwarf again – he wrote his first new material for a fan event during lockdowns, and since then he’s talked about possibilities for new content in various forms.

All this has also coincided with a legal battle between Rob and Doug that saw Doug removed as a director of GNP (he’s since been reinstated apparently). While the details aren’t all publicly known, it’s been seen as a bit of an unhappy battle over control of the franchise, and one that has prevented any more TV Red Dwarf from being made in the meantime.

So this is ultimately good news as at least the franchise isn’t in paralysis any more. Although how long they can go on making the TV show with the original cast is an open question (not so much due to them ageing as due to the toll the Kryten prosthetics are taking on Robert Llewellyn, who got quite ill during the last round of filming).

For that reason I feel like audio plays could be a natural continuation, even if it’s not something I’d particularly want.

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I believe it was something along the lines of Rob wanting them to wear red hats and Doug wanting them to wear blue hats, which was rather tragic as the hats were actually green.

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Chris-S, Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle, Dave

Dave wrote:

the toll the Kryten prosthetics are taking on Robert Llewellyn, who got quite ill during the last round of filming)

Oh, I hadn’t heard about that. Is it the material in it that is harming him or just the weight and whatnot wearing him down?

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lorcan_nagle

No I don’t think he’s being harmed by the mask material but it’s just the physical strain of the makeup taking it’s toll, as he’s not a young man any more. He’s half-joked in recent years that if they want to make any more Red Dwarf then they’d better do it quick.

For that reason he’s probably got fewer potential years left doing the show than the rest of the cast, who are also ageing but still seem capable of playing their characters.

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Todd, Martin Smith

I wonder if it’d be worth just changing Kryten’s look to something simpler or even just Llewellyn’s normal face and coming up with some jokey in-universe explanation for it.

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Todd

Martin Smith wrote:

I wonder if it’d be worth just changing Kryten’s look to something simpler or even just Llewellyn’s normal face and coming up with some jokey in-universe explanation for it.

There is precedent, in that he became human in ‘DNA’ and was played by a maskless Llewellyn then – and he’s also briefly played other Kryten-adjacent characters.

But it wouldn’t be quite the same I guess, and the other obvious options to maintain Kryten’s look (a stand-in or some kind of CGI face enhancement) probably aren’t practical.

I could see them doing the audios for years though.

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Todd

Just a head’s up: Alan Davies As Yet Untitled has once again reappeared after a lengthy break (although not nearly as long as the last gap) and has a new series starting on Dave tomorrow.

[Sean Robinson]

Sweet Tooth Season 2 Arrives in April – IGN.com

Netflix has shared a first look at Sweet Tooth Season 2 and announced a premiere date of April 27, 2023.

Seven images of the new season were shared, showing Gus (Christian Convery) alongside his band of hybrids as they deal with the challenges of being trapped in General Abbot’s (Neil Sandilands) prison.

“Looking to consolidate power by finding a cure, Abbot uses the children as fodder for the experiments of captive Dr Aditya Singh (Adeel Akhtar), who’s racing to save his infected wife Rani (Aliza Vellani),” reads the official plot synopsis.

“To protect his friends, Gus agrees to help Dr Singh, beginning a dark journey into his origins and his mother Birdie’s (Amy Seimetz) role in the events leading up to The Great Crumble.”

Jim Mickle acts as writer, director, showrunner, and executive producer, joined in the latter role by Robert Downey Jr, Susan Downey, Amanda Burrell, and Linda Moran.

https://www.ign.com/videos/sweet-tooth-wrap-on-season-2-video

• This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by Sean Robinson.

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Todd, Ben

Meanwhile, Disney did a Netflix.

Willow be dead.

Ben wrote:

Meanwhile, Disney did a Netflix.

Willow be dead.

I think it was a very long shot that it would be renewed. Willow was niche at best. It seemed aimed at Gen X nostalgia though Disney may have overestimated how much there actually was.

A bit like Tron Legacy it’s reviving a decades old idea that was only mildly popular at the time.

 

 

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Todd

‘Rick and Morty’ creator has domestic abuse charges dropped

Chanel West Coast Is Leaving Ridiculousness, Marking the End of an Era

One of the slowest TV productions now has a poster.

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Chris-S, Todd, Uncle Retrospective, Sean Robinson, njerry

https://deadline.com/2023/03/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-episode-count-season-3-greenlight-season-4-hbo-1235312044/

The upcoming second season of HBO’s House of the Dragon will consist of eight episodes, two fewer than Season 1 of the Critics Choice Award-winning Game of Thrones prequel. It is part of a long-term plan for the show, which includes HBO mulling a green light for a third season, I have learned.

More in link…

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Chris-S

Man, “The Chosen One” is such a worse title than just “Chosen”. Tsk.

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Scott Pilgrim Anime Series, Featuring OG Movie Cast, Ordered at Netflix

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Christian

Would be much more appealing if they replaced Cera as Scott.

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Christian

Apparently Ryan Coogler is working on a reboot of the X-Files. Not sure about that one as the show was very much tied to the ’90s and driven by the Anderson/Duchovny chemistry, neither of which are easy to replicate.

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Chris-S

Martin Smith wrote:

Would be much more appealing if they replaced Cera as Scott.

I liked him in the movie. Though I’ll admit I haven’t read the comic.

DavidM wrote:

Martin Smith wrote:

Would be much more appealing if they replaced Cera as Scott.

I liked him in the movie. Though I’ll admit I haven’t read the comic.

He’s not in the comic.

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DavidM, Todd

lorcan_nagle wrote:

DavidM wrote:

Martin Smith wrote:

Would be much more appealing if they replaced Cera as Scott.

I liked him in the movie. Though I’ll admit I haven’t read the comic.

He’s not in the comic.

I’m sure Scott was in the comic at least a couple of times.

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Todd

An amateur mistake to make.

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Todd, Christian

Ghosts is ending with the next series:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/2023/ghosts-series-5-final-series

A shame as it’s a fun show, but probably best to go out while it’s good rather than keep going and let the quality slide.

Yeah, it’s a good show, but it does feel like there’s only so much to do with the characters, so ending sooner than later isn’t a bad choice.

I bet they kill Mike at the end. He becomes a ghost, can finally see all the others but Alison is basically stuck alone with only ghosts now until she dies. Or maybe with a baby that can see the ghosts too.

That would be a nice ending actually.

Todd wrote:

Scott Pilgrim Anime Series, Featuring OG Movie Cast, Ordered at Netflix

That is very, very cool. Hopefully they’ll follow the plot of the GNs (which was understandably shortened for the movie but has so much more to adapt).

Bryan Lee O’Malley, the author and artist behind the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, and BenDavid Grabinski (Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Happily) serve as executive producers, writers and showrunners. The original film’s director, co-writer and producer Edgar Wright serves as executive producer.

“We’re getting the band back together!” O’Malley and Grabinski in a statement. “We can’t wait for fans and newcomers alike to see what we and our partners at Science SARU have been cooking up. It’s going to be a wild ride.”

Wright also released a statement, adding: “One of the proudest and most enjoyable achievements of my career was assembling and working with the dynamite cast of Scott Pilgrim. I’m more than happy to announce that I have helped coax the entire original cast back to voice their characters on this epic new adventure. You are in for a treat.”

Bryan Lee O’Malley, the author and artist behind the Scott Pilgrim graphic novels, and BenDavid Grabinski (Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Happily) serve as executive producers, writers and showrunners. The original film’s director, co-writer and producer Edgar Wright serves as executive producer.

“We’re getting the band back together!” O’Malley and Grabinski in a statement. “We can’t wait for fans and newcomers alike to see what we and our partners at Science SARU have been cooking up. It’s going to be a wild ride.”

Wright also released a statement, adding: “One of the proudest and most enjoyable achievements of my career was assembling and working with the dynamite cast of Scott Pilgrim. I’m more than happy to announce that I have helped coax the entire original cast back to voice their characters on this epic new adventure. You are in for a treat.”

I kinda agree with Martin where Cera is concerned, but I could see this mattering less when it’s animated.

It’s awesome that the cast is game for this. I assume everybody knows the reunion table read of the movie’s screenplay, but I’ll repost the link in case anybody has missed it:

BBC Considers U-Turn On Closing BBC4

The BBC is considering a U-turn on closing BBC4 as a television channel amid solid ratings and a backlash against cuts at the corporation.

The BBC said last year that it would shut down BBC4’s linear channel and move the brand online from 2025 as part of plans to become a “digital first” broadcaster.

Deadline hears, however, that the BBC’s content team is considering maintaining the channel given its relatively low running costs and popularity with viewers.

Sources said no decision has been made, but there is growing confidence it could be rescued. “Tim [Davie] is minded to save BBC4,” said one source familiar with the Director-General’s thinking.

Another BBC insider said the position has not changed since last May, when Davie announced that BBC4 would move online alongside children’s channel CBBC.

BBC4 has been hollowed out to become largely an archive service, where highbrow comedy and documentaries are curated for discerning viewers. Its budget of £22M ($27M) is half what it was in 2017 and the BBC’s Ofcom-enforced operating license, which was published last week, reduced the channel’s original production quota to 65%.

Despite the original content cuts, BBC4, which gave the world hits like Detectorists and The Thick Of It, enjoyed its highest viewing figures in a year last December when its monthly reach was 19M.

This audience figure sank to 15.8M in February, but it was still double the reach of BBC3, which was reinstated to TV last year with a budget of £80M.

BBC3
There is a growing consensus at the BBC and beyond that the decision to revive BBC3 as a television channel last year has not been successful.

The channel’s biggest linear hit has been the U.S. version of The Traitors rather than an original show, and there is a sense that young audiences are not as engaged with the service as the BBC would like. Shows such as RuPaul’s Drag Race UK continue to perform well but mainly on iPlayer.

BBC3’s monthly reach of 7.4M viewers in February was its lowest since it was restored to TV in February 2022. One source said the decision to promote BBC3 Controller Fiona Campbell to a new role overseeing the BBC’s youth audience signaled a shift in thinking. Removing BBC3 from linear would represent a climbdown, however, given that it first went online-only in 2016 before that decision was reversed in one of the last moves made by Davie’s predecessor Tony Hall.

Some see the BBC3 decision as being incongruous with Davie’s push to embrace a digital switchover. The Director-General said last year that the BBC would have “fewer linear broadcast services” over the next decade, but then qualified his comments in January, saying they were meant to be “provocative.”

“We should have an aggressive plan but that is not a plan to remove things used by lots of people too soon,” he told UK Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee.

Potential public backlash could also be a factor in the BBC4 decision. The BBC often faces an audience outcry when it threatens to close services, recently reversing plans to shut down the BBC Singers choir after widespread criticism.

There is also a perception that the BBC could be overcorrecting in its efforts to engage young audiences, meaning shows and services that skew older are potentially feeling the brunt of the cuts. Closing BBC4 and maintaining BBC3 would support this narrative.

“They are so obsessed by youth here that sometimes they can’t see the wood for the trees,” said a source.

Content cuts
The BBC will be forced into major content cuts this year, whatever the view of audiences.

On Thursday, it unveiled an eye-watering move to cut 1,000 hours worth of shows per year as it battles to hit an annual overall savings target that has increased by 40% to £400M ($500M) by 2027/28. Difficult choices lie ahead, said the BBC, as it strips nearly £100M out of its TV budget alone.

Deadline understands there is an informal review currently taking place with commissioners examining mid-budget shows that are not cutting through as much as they would like. A number of these shows are set to be culled over the coming weeks, while Autumnwatch and Frankie Boyle’s New World Order have recently been cut.

The first show revealed to be ending in the post-Annual Plan era, family comedy hit Ghosts, emerged this morning, although this decision was made separate to the 1,000 hours and it was always intended to conclude after five seasons.

The BBC3 thing is complicated. It should never have been shoved online (and I’d argue that was well before the “the kids are all just on their phones” argument held much of any weight) and bringing it back seemed to me like the right move. But I can see why, after years of basically being treated as inconsequential, young audiences aren’t rushing to use it. It’s too late to change that perception, I guess. And moving CBBC to the iplayer (which is another bad decision imo) is only going to compound that.

I’m surprised BBC4’s original programming quota is at 65%. I didn’t think it had any original stuff on there at all now. Is it not that the entire BBC’s original programming quota is 65%?

Is original the same as new? A lot of BBC4 stuff is archive repeats but still originated by them. Netflix will brand a show as ‘original’ even if it came out 8 years ago.

There’s way too much politics going on now with the BBC, I think these moves are often provocative responses to their funding being reduced, CBBC, 6 Music and BBC4 are the material the middle class Tory voter and MP tend to treasure the most. You can’t maintain everything when the money is shrinking every year, so what goes? Whatever they choose will piss someone off but if you are asked to absorb free access for over 75s, moving World Service and S4C into your budget, then something has to be cut.

Moral of the story: Get rid of the Tories.

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garjones wrote:

Moral of the story: Get rid of the Tories.

I’ve heard a few stories like that lately.

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Todd, Ben, garjones

garjones wrote:

Moral of the story: Get rid of the Tories.

It even rhymes! …almost…

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Todd, Dave

‘Law & Order’ Flagship, ‘SVU’ and ‘Organized Crime’ Renewed for New Seasons at NBC

…have all been renewed for new seasons, set to air on NBC in the fall.

While the flagship series, which returned in 2022 a decade after the series’ cancellation, will air Season 23, “Organized Crime,” led by Chris Meloni, will air its fourth season. “Special Victims Unit,” starring and executive produced by Mariska Hargitay has been renewed for a groundbreaking Season 25. The shows are produced by Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group, in association with Wolf Entertainment.

While both “Law & Order” and “SVU” will have 22 episodes, “Organized Crime” will have 13.

“All of us at ‘SVU’ feel honored to be able to continue telling these essential stories, and we are proud that the family we’ve become has grown stronger, bolder and more united with each season. While we have seen significant changes in our culture, injustice persists and too many voices still go unheard,” Hargitay tells Variety in an exclusive statement. “That cause is as much mine as it is Olivia Benson’s, and I gather strength from knowing that the longest-running drama series on television is one that elevates women’s stories, and the stories of those in our society who have been marginalized and harmed. To know that I get to be a part of someone’s experience of feeling less alone, less isolated, more in community, more connected, that is the true privilege and gift.”

She continues, “On the artistic front, it is gratifying for me to take stock of how much I’ve learned, and exciting to embrace how much I have yet to discover. I’ve had many deeply fulfilling artistic experiences in my years on the show, most recently and most especially directing the ‘King of the Moon’ episode. I look forward to growing creatively in the future with these extraordinary collaborators.”

Additionally, NBC has renewed Wolf’s three One Chicago series for new seasons.

And still no sign of proper L&O airing here in the UK despite Sky basically being NBC UK now.

The long-rumoured Harry Potter TV series is finally official:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/harry-potter-tv-series-officially-happening-at-max-1235371717

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Chris-S

Kelli Giddish To Return To ‘Law & Order’ Franchise In ‘SVU’ And ‘Organized Crime’

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Todd, Sean Robinson

Dave wrote:

The long-rumoured Harry Potter TV series is finally official:

I would’ve said, wow, automatic hit, but I kind of expected this to be a spin-off, not a re-adaptation of the books.

In partnership with Warner Bros. Television and J.K. Rowling, this new Max Original series will dive deep into each of the iconic books that fans have continued to enjoy for all of these years.”

Said Rowling, “Max’s commitment to preserving the integrity of my books is important to me, and I’m looking forward to being part of this new adaptation which will allow for a degree of depth and detail only afforded by a long-form television series.”

I mean… the movies are there, you know? And they’re pretty good adaptation of the books, including the fact that the later ones get rid of the fat. I don’t know what a TV series is supposed to add to that. I could see a new Hogwarts series, taking place after the books, or even one taking place in parallel but with different protagonists (now that’d be kind of a rad idea actually), but this… I don’t know if this one is going to be their Game of Thrones. There’s more stuff to come, of course.

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Chris-S

Oh I think it’ll be a hit – and I also think a fresh adaptation of the seven books is a good idea, rather than an original spinoff.

I think they’ve probably been burned by the lukewarm response to the Fantastic Beasts films and have realised that a lot of love for the HP franchise is directly linked to the core seven books and those characters, rather than there being great enthusiasm for a wider world of spinoffs.

And to be honest there’s a lot to mine in the books that never made it to the screen in the movie adaptations. Lots of subplots and characters that were cut for time, which I think fans will be keen to see in a TV series.

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Chris-S

Well, I think a teen series focusing on Hogwarts would be an entirely different thing from Fantastic Beasts (which made a number of mistakes, foremost amongst those leaving the school setting), but you’re probably right that it will be a massive hit. While I have interest whatsoever in a re-adaptation of the books, I imagine the generation who properly grew up with them will be game at this point.

Dave wrote:

And to be honest there’s a lot to mine in the books that never made it to the screen in the movie adaptations. Lots of subplots and characters that were cut for time, which I think fans will be keen to see in a TV series.

Honestly, in my memory the stuff that was cut was mostly stuff that was rightfully cut – like what felt like hundreds of pages of Harry being tortured by Umbridge, or another hundred pages of Harry and Ron arguing in the woods.
But again, that’s me, and I am sure you’re right where proper fans are concerned. And in contrast to other franchises, there are enough fans of Harry Potter that they alone as an audience would already make this profitable.

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Dave

saga wrote:

Apparently Ryan Coogler is working on a reboot of the X-Files. Not sure about that one as the show was very much tied to the ’90s and driven by the Anderson/Duchovny chemistry, neither of which are easy to replicate.

I am not sure the whole shtick of X-files still works. Conspiracy theories are now generally looked down upon. Fox Mulder would be called alt-right for saying the government might be hiding secrets.

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Chris-S

Christian wrote:

Well, I think a teen series focusing on Hogwarts would be an entirely different thing from Fantastic Beasts (which made a number of mistakes, foremost amongst those leaving the school setting),

Yeah that’s a fair point. If they did consider a spinoff in future this would be a pretty safe bet.

Of course there’s all of the post-novels stuff to mine for that too, not only the future setup in the epilogue of book seven but also the Cursed Child play that they could adapt.

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Christian

Arjan Dirkse wrote:

I am not sure the whole shtick of X-files still works. Conspiracy theories are now generally looked down upon. Fox Mulder would be called alt-right for saying the government might be hiding secrets.

Nah, that’s still also a leftist thing, just in a different way (a more realistic one, one might suggest, as all the big actual conspiracies in US history like Iran Contra, the Wilmington Insurrection or the Business Plot were right-wing conspiracies).

Doing a conspiracy TV show is more tricky today, I’d agree, for one thing because everybody is more aware of them and also of the damage they’ve been doing. But it’s still very much possible if you take the right approach. I mean, look at Department of Truth, for God’s sake.

In fact, can’t they just make a Department of Truth TV adaptation instead? That’d be awesome.

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Christian wrote:

Nah, that’s still also a leftist thing, just in a different way (a more realistic one, one might suggest, as all the big actual conspiracies in US history like Iran Contra, the Wilmington Insurrection or the Business Plot were right-wing conspiracies).

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Todd, Christian, Ben

I note Free Britney has made its way down that chart from the version I saw a few years back.

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You know, the X-Files was actually the first time I heard about the NSA, I think. Before that, it was all about the CIA in all of the movies.

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lorcan_nagle

No Such Agency

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Todd

Christian wrote:

Honestly, in my memory the stuff that was cut was mostly stuff that was rightfully cut

Agreed. I read the (later) books as they came out and to be frank Rowling has awful pacing as a storyteller. I reject the people who says she’s a bad writer, her prose is fine, but to leave book 6 on the discovery of the ‘horcrux’ stuff and then just ignore it for half the next book for camping scenes was not great.

The films for me fixed a lot of the issues in the books and made them better and I think the failings came through in Fantastic Beasts with her scripting. The first one wasn’t bad but the second was all exposition. It was tedious to the point I think it killed the series, I didn’t bother with the 3rd one.

To be fair a good showrunner can overcome all those issues but my suspicion is this coming so soon will seem a lot like the Amazing Spider-Man stuff, we’re telling the same story again you recently saw with other actors and considering the cream of British acting talent they had on those it is hard to imagine casting it better.

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Christian, Uncle Retrospective

Arjan Dirkse wrote:

saga wrote:

Apparently Ryan Coogler is working on a reboot of the X-Files. Not sure about that one as the show was very much tied to the ’90s and driven by the Anderson/Duchovny chemistry, neither of which are easy to replicate.

I am not sure the whole shtick of X-files still works. Conspiracy theories are now generally looked down upon. Fox Mulder would be called alt-right for saying the government might be hiding secrets.

Also, the government is really bad at hiding secrets these days.

“Scully! I’ve discovered that the President is a lizard!”

“Yawn… that was leaked onto Instachat last week, find something new for us.”

‘Twilight’ is reportedly being made into a TV series. Here are our (mostly serious) casting suggestions.

I still love the story about Denver International Airport or DIA, for short. Doesn’t DIA stand for something else as well?

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Uncle Retrospective

Rocket wrote:

I still love the story about Denver International Airport or DIA, for short. Doesn’t DIA stand for something else as well?

Defence Intelligence Agency

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Rocket, Todd

Driving Instructors Association.

“The Boroughs” – Netflix Announces New Supernatural Series from the Creators of “Stranger Things”
https://bloody-disgusting.com/tv/3759208/the-boroughs-netflix-announces-new-supernatural-series-from-the-creators-of-stranger-things/

FUCK YEAH!!!!

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lorcan_nagle

Mrs. Davis looks interesting. It’s, like, if Person of Interest/Westworld was a comedy, I guess? And there’s a thing with the holy grail, too.

It’s a Lindelof thing. I like the trailer.

Don Lemon and CNN part ways

Tucker Carlson out at Fox News

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Todd

Wow, that’s a crazy piece of news. Incredible.

Also love the description of Carlson in the first lines:

Fox News and Tucker Carlson, the right-wing extremist who who used his prime time perch at the talk network to exert a firm grip over the Republican Party, have severed ties, the network said in a stunning announcement that rocked the media and political worlds Monday.

CNN not holding back, it seems.

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‘Big Mouth’ Renewed For 8th & Final Season By Netflix; Spinoff ‘Human Resources’ To End With Season 2

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garjones, Sean Robinson

What's this? Why, it's a spiffy new variation on the #Babylon5 logo. It can't be for the reimagining 'cause that's on hold pending WGA issues, so what could it *possibly* be for? Hmm. Maybe we'll find out more one week from today.

Spread the word: something *wonderful* is coming pic.twitter.com/Ih6ZqMyIAc

— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) April 26, 2023

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Uncle Retrospective, Todd, Al-x

lorcan_nagle wrote:

What's this? Why, it's a spiffy new variation on the #Babylon5 logo. It can't be for the reimagining 'cause that's on hold pending WGA issues, so what could it *possibly* be for? Hmm. Maybe we'll find out more one week from today.

Spread the word: something *wonderful* is coming pic.twitter.com/Ih6ZqMyIAc

— J. Michael Straczynski (@straczynski) April 26, 2023

please don’t suck
please don’t suck
please don’t suck
please don’t suck
please don’t suck
please don’t suck
please don’t suck
please don’t suck
please don’t suck
please don’t suckplease don’t suckplease don’t suckplease don’t suckplease don’t suckplease don’t suckplease don’t suckplease don’t suckvplease don’t suckvplease don’t suckv
please don’t suck
vv
please don’t suckplease don’t suckplease don’t suckplease don’t suckplease don’t suckplease don’t suckplease don’t suckplease don’t

I might be a bit too invested in this…

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DavidM, lorcan_nagle, Christian

Accept that it’ll probably suck and be free.

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Rocket, DavidM, Uncle Retrospective, Christian, Sean Robinson, Todd

IASIP season 16 on 7th June!

lorcan_nagle wrote:

Accept that it’ll probably suck and be free.

But, like, what could it possibly be?

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lorcan_nagle

Christian wrote:

lorcan_nagle wrote:

Accept that it’ll probably suck and be free.

But, like, what could it possibly be?

My guesses are:

1. Home video release of the HD version of the show that was on HBO Max.
2. New novels/comics
3. New tabletop game
4. New computer game
5. Some other new media project.

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Christian

6. Pogs

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Todd, Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle

‘Sweet Tooth’ Renewed For Third & Final Season At Netflix

It sounds like it will have a planned conclusion.

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Sean Robinson, Ben

Jack Ryan Season 4 to Premiere June 30th

It’s the end of the road for Jack Ryan. Prime Video has slated the premiere date for the fourth and final season of “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.”

The espionage action series, which stars John Krasinski as the CIA spy, will premiere the first two episodes of its final season on June 30. Two episodes will be released weekly thereafter, with the finale of the six-episode season debuting on Prime Video on July 14.

The new episodes of “Jack Ryan” come to the streamer only six months after the third season debuted in December. Prime Video debuted all eight episodes of Season 3 simultaneously over the winter, but has shifted to a weekly release structure for the final season. The series was renewed for a fourth season prior to airing episodes of its third.

Good Omens, series 2, 28 July.

The Word from Archangel Gabriel? “They better not fuck it up.”

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Uncle Retrospective, Todd

B5 news

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/babylon-5-the-road-home-voice-cast-unveiled-1235483312/?fbclid=IwAR3x37I5hQxITc7OQ1bEmuP_6zqTCKue40D0FR5KO7W5Ikl-OMeypIR16KQ

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lorcan_nagle

Some interesting plot and recast details in there.

And for this show, with all the hits it had with the original, recasting was the only road to take.

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Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle

Ben wrote:

Good Omens, series 2, 28 July.

The Word from Archangel Gabriel? “They better not fuck it up.”

I’m hoping it may be better.

It’s not new for me to say I think Pratchett is hard to adapt because the humour is in his prose rather than situations or dialogue. Making something new specifically for TV had the potential to work better (and have less voiceover).

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Ben, Uncle Retrospective

I thought the first series was pretty good fun regardless. If anything I’m more concerned that they don’t have solid source material to work from.

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Ben

Yeah, I mean… I still think Good Omens is more Pratchett than Gaiman, and I am not sure how well doing this alone will work. On the other hand, like Gar says, I think the first season rather stuck too closely to the book, to the extent that it sometimes felt more like an audio book than a TV series. So while this might not be as good as Good Omens the novel was, it might be better TV in some ways at least, even without Pratchett’s spark.

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Ben

Dave wrote:

I thought the first series was pretty good fun regardless. If anything I’m more concerned that they don’t have solid source material to work from.

I can see either possibility really. There is every chance it could be worse.

It’s just I loved this book and the early Discworld ones as a youngster and all the adaptations have struggled. None of them are as funny and engaging as the books even though a lot of love and talent has been involved. You couldn’t ask for a better cast than Good Omens and it was good but not great.

Maybe the writers can’t come up with stuff as interesting as Pratchett (and I agree with Christian it always felt a lot more of a Pratchett novel) but maybe they are emancipated by not being bound to text not really suited to film.

You’ve got two charismatic leads and fine actors, they have a lot going for them, so I hope the ‘better’ scenario transpires.

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Chris-S, Christian, Dave, Ben

Dave wrote:

I thought the first series was pretty good fun regardless. If anything I’m more concerned that they don’t have solid source material to work from.

They do and don’t.  Gaiman’s talked of a conversation between him and Terry in a hotel a long time ago.  Is that enough? It just might be.

An idea you talked about once late at night is not the same as source material. And honestly, given how Gaiman (as far as I know?) only started telling that story when he wanted to make a TV sequel to a successful first season of Good Omens, I don’t know how believable it is.

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Chris-S, Dave

It’s the closest we’re going to get on this, but I don’t think it matters too much.  I think they’re aware of the value of what they have here and won’t want to mess it up.

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Christian

Netflix is up to its usual tricks: this time, it’s Lockwood & Co. that’s been cancelled.

https://variety.com/2023/tv/global/lockwood-co-second-season-canceled-1235610948/

 

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Chris-S, Uncle Retrospective

Dave wrote:

Netflix is up to its usual tricks: this time, it’s Lockwood & Co. that’s been cancelled.

https://variety.com/2023/tv/global/lockwood-co-second-season-canceled-1235610948/

 

Ffs!

I really want to cancel Netflix but the wife won’t let me. 🤬

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Chris-S

That news pissed me off and kind of cements how married Netflix are to their metrics. The chances that The Sandman is ever getting finished is pretty much zero.

All US TV writers are on strike, your new material will be at best delayed, at worst ruined (the memory of Heroes season 2 is scarring). So cancel a well reviewed (92% critic and 94% viewer score on RT) UK based show that would be unaffected. Don’t ever consider pushing it up to more ‘home’ screen banners because sometime stuff doesn’t land immediately. The Shawshank Redemption and The Princess Bride were box office failures really that amassed a huge fanbase way down the line because they were good.

Actually it reminds me of The Sandman comic, it did not do well when it launched. DC did a massive press blitz on issue 8 because they loved a book everyone was ignoring and that was the first one I bought because of that, it has gone on to make them a fortune. Maybe Lockwood and Co would never be a hit but they don’t seem interested to look beyond a very instant set of metrics and how they promote material is hard to fathom with some having red carpet galas and others dropping on a random Tuesday with even the TV press missing they even existed.

 

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Chris-S, Todd, lorcan_nagle, Ben, Dave, njerry

I’d never heard of it until I saw it was cancelled. Maybe Netflix should get the people who announce the cancellations to promote the shows instead?

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lorcan_nagle, Todd

Dave wrote:

Netflix is up to its usual tricks: this time, it’s Lockwood & Co. that’s been cancelled.

https://variety.com/2023/tv/global/lockwood-co-second-season-canceled-1235610948/

 

It’s incredibly frustrating and you get to the stage where there’s no point in getting invested in any Netflix show.

The biggest irritation for me is that the vast majority of the content on Netflix is utter shite. They bury the good shows under all the fucking crap and they either don’t seem to realise or care to acknowledge when they have a good show on their hands, something work marketing. That to me suggests a lack of passion for what they are doing.

They market the biggest pile of guff to the same lengths as the quality product, then cancel it after 6 months as if they are surprised it failed. The only reason I knew what Lockwood and Co was, is because I read SFX and Starburst magazine every month and saw it was Joe Cornish. Your average punter isn’t doing that.

It’s also disheartening to look at their top 10 lists and see the dumb shit and reality tv is what people are watching over quality programming, so maybe we are just getting what we deserve as a society when the thick as fuck mainstream dictate for everyone.
Netflix is bordering on ITV 2 levels of programming at times.

Look forward to these platforms being full of badly written melodrama and Love Island type braindead garbage as they cater to this audience combined with the writers strike.

 

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Sean Robinson, Todd, lorcan_nagle, Dave, Ben

I am not watching a lot of Netflix anymore anyway. I think I’ll cancel my account for a while.

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Uncle Retrospective, garjones

Christian wrote:

I am not watching a lot of Netflix anymore anyway. I think I’ll cancel my account for a while.

Honestly if it weren’t for my kids wanting to watch a 1000 episode run of One Piece and Audrey watching Korean drama I would happily let it go. I have said a strength they have is the breadth of material, which Apple don’t have (but have a very high quality ratio) and Disney have in a more limited way.

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Ben

‘Justified: City Primeval’ Trailer Drops; FX Reveals Debut Dates For ‘The Full Monty’ & ‘Rez Dogs,’ End Of ‘Archer’

Archer will be back for its 14th and final season Aug. 30.

After the lackluster dream years, Archer did seem to get its groove back but, honestly, it probably is time to go. It probably should have left years before but I will miss it.

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Rocket

Oh cool, I hadn’t heard that they’re doing a new Justified series.

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Ben, Todd, Rocket

ABC7 Anchor Ken Rosato Was Fired For Hot Mic Insult

Well, Disney have it out for Willow.

Not content with cancelling it, it will be removed from Disney+ too.

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Todd

Jesus, seriously? That’s a weird move.

10 Best Superhero Shows For Adults

JRCarter wrote:

10 Best Superhero Shows For Adults

The list fails because it doesn’t have The Tick.

 

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Todd, Sean Robinson

DavidM wrote:

JRCarter wrote:

10 Best Superhero Shows For Adults

The list fails because it doesn’t have The Tick.

 

Which version?