Remember how excited we all were for Terra Nova? And then remember when it aired, and our excitement deflated so much that it could only be recognized as bemused disappointment?
Terra Nova's first (and possibly last) season had plenty of problems, but if you ask me, they had nothing to do with what the show did. The problems were rooted in what the show didn't do, which is pay attention to what's going on in the greater world of science-fiction. Good sci-fi takes what others have done and makes it better. A lot of the genre's best TV shows and movies come from topics and concepts first put forward in the genre's best novels. Neverwhere, True Blood, Dune, Game of Thrones -- they all started out as books. And there's so much great stuff going on in science-fiction literature right now, it would be a crime for networks not to try to cash in. Novelists today are taking sci-fi to greater heights than even their most respected predecessors, playing with subgenres, crossing them, creating new ones, dusting off older ones, and basically doing whatever they can to mess with readers' expectations.
Which means that the next big science-fi game changer is very likely going to come from one of the subgenres that are making roads right now. Here are the top four we'd like to see adapted for our TV-viewing pleasure.
Alternative History
What it is: Alternative history is all about the question of "What if?" -- What if Hitler won World War II? What if France won the Napoleonic Wars? This subgenre has been around since the 1950s, but has been steadily gaining in popularity. The movie Inglourious Basterds, in which Hitler is successfully murdered, is a prime example.
Why it would be awesome on TV: The success of shows like Mad Men and Downton Abbey prove that audiences love a good period piece. An alternative history set in the 1960s could be amazing: It was such a watershed period that there's a lot of room to imagine what could have been. A world where JFK wasn't assassinated! A world where Bay of Pigs was a success! I could go on.
Steampunk
What it is: There are a lot of definitions of steampunk, but it's basically an interpretation of what the Victorians thought the future would hold. Think Jules Verne. Also think bustles, Tesla coils, monogoggles, airships, and lots and lots of steam-powered robots. Steampunk has a huge following, not just in fiction but also in design and jewelry. Films like The Golden Compass and Martin Scorsese's Hugo, while not strictly steampunk, feature a similar aesthetic. And while a lot of television shows like Fringe and Warehouse 13 have used steampunk elements, there has yet to be a TV show set in an entirely steampunk world.
Why it would be awesome on TV: Steampunk is visually so strong that a steampunk series would not only look incredible, but would offer TV audiences an image completely different from anything else we've seen on television.
New Weird
What it is: New weird is the reboot of weird fiction, a genre created in the early twentieth century and popularized by writers like H. P. Lovecraft (the man who created Cthulhu). Like steampunk, new weird is difficult to define, but overall it attempts to challenge the way we think about modern institutions, particularly urban ones. It often uses disturbing concepts and techniques similar to the horror genres to help the reader see things in a new way. For example, in the novel The Iron Council by China Miéville, a woman who murdered her baby is punished by having her baby's living limbs magically grafted onto her face. She then joins the ranks of other "remade" criminals enslaved by the government and stripped of even the most basic human rights.
Why it would be awesome on TV: New weird is very subversive, and unless you've been living under a rock, it's pretty clear that a lot of people are unhappy about what's going on in this country right now. A new weird TV series would appeal to viewers who want to see change in the world. Plus, with series like American Horror Story finding a loyal audience, there's clearly demand for more horror on TV.
Dystopian
What it is: Dystopian fiction imagines a future world in a terrible state, usually ruled by a brutal totalitarian state. It's gaining a huge amount of movement, and many publishers are sighting it as the next paranormal romance. The Hunger Games series of novels has been blowing up for the past few years, and the film version is likely to be a huge hit this spring. And TV looks prepped as well, as RKO Pictures has bought the television rights to False Memory, a young adult dystopian novel about an amnesiac teenage super-soldier. The novel is due for release later this year. Talk about jumping the gun.
Why it would be awesome on TV: A huge amount of dystopian novels are aimed at teenagers, which is great for advertisers since teens are a hot market. Audiences are also already getting weened into the dystopian genre with shows like The Walking Dead, where the future is a bleak place.
Which of these sci-fi subgenres do you think could succeed on television? Which ones did we miss that you'd rather see instead?
How about Tad Williams' "Otherland" series? It has sci-fi, fantasy, alternative history and steam-punk elements (albeit in the form of virtual reality worlds), and can be considered as new weird and dystopian as well. It has an ensemble cast of unusual characters, and like "Lost", has a central mystery for them to unravel over the course of the series. I would suggest something like HBO's "Game of Thrones" treatment though, since this is more suitable as a mini-series than an ongoing make-it-up-as-you-go network show.
I'd also like to add my vote for "Ender's Game". Even though it's already been parodied on "Futurama", the original story had a lot more going for it than that, and it deserves a wider audience, again probably in the form of a mini-series.
Many other novel-to-tv adaptations would be better as mini-series as well. The big complaint about many sci-fi shows is that they get cancelled before they really get going, leaving fans hanging with an unfinished story. The mini-series solves this by having a finite story, with an ending in mind right from the start. Even if a network isn't willing to gamble on an ongoing series, OKing 10 episodes should be a bit easier. They can always extend it if it proves wildly popular, and if it doesn't, at least the fans get some closure. Battlestar Galactica did it right by telling their story and then closing the series down before it became a joke.moreless
Dear Julia,
As regards Dystopian I recommend you watch "Dollhouse".
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollhouse_(TV_series)
Rgds
I would absolutely love to see S.M Stirling's "Emberverse Series' THIS IS NOT A SPOILER
Note the books started out with a three book arc. In the very first page or the second Some of the characters or being taken on a small plane ride, when in a flash the plane goes dead. It turns out in the next few pages and the next chapter that in that flash every single bit of technology from the past 3-400 including electricity, and guns, explosives, and missiles of any kind. Basically over night and two chapters in the world's technology went completely obsolete. Time starts to move back to the middle ages and everyone has to learn to use a sword. Of course we have our groups who have different religions and beliefs. And then there is the guy who was a medieval professor who gathers his own kingdom, and he brings back all the barbaric things from back then. So you find out all of these things in the first couple chapters. And this story is the first 3 books, As I recall it's over 8 years past when book 2 starts, and by the third book it has been ten years. Still I if made into a show it could be fantastic tv series!moreless
tv series based on books are fail. they have to follow a predestined script no matter who the actor/actress is. in a real tv series the writers can begin to write scripts and make them work better with an actor/actress's talents better.
I would love for one of my absolutely favourite book series to become a tv show. Although it probably would work better as a movie.
The Thursday Next Series by Jasper Fforde. Its hilarious and would be in the Alternative History section. Seriously everyone who hasn't read it yet. Go get it, its great.
From a very personal standpoint I would love seeing more of these kind of series but from a more rational point of view, I have doubts.
The biggest doubt I have is SCRIPT and good script is essential to every of these sub genres including steampunk, visuals alone is not enough it cannot compensate for a lazy writing.
Another doubt I have is in the "New Weird" sub genre ,
1st: people have a very loose definition of weird , seems now that everything is weird somehow , it's laughable !
An Other concern is directly in the text, "challenge the way we think" , thinking is not really a popular thing right now unfortunately.
A dystopian serie? the only thing someone needs to do for watching a terrible,depressing world is looking through the window orwatching tv , no need for a serie for that!
Finally , a big concern is having "video game style" sci-fi series and it's a no go for me.No Offense to video games.
moreless
Andre Norton's time travelers or any of her space trader series would be a great movie and series follow up. I can't believe none of her space novels or Witch World novels have been picked up by the money hungry and idea vampires of Hollywood-they'd be sure money generators!
i really think the dystopian subgenre will do well on tv. i like it
Forgot the upcoming John Carter Disney treatment. If Disney can pull off this movie without creating a joke, I'd love to see a series developed. As the forefather of Star Wars and so many others it deserves to be handled with respect and dedication to E.R. Burrough's work.
I love alternate history! Because there are so many moments or decisions that came down to one person's opinion or one person being somewhere or not being somewhere that made such a huge difference in the outcome. Also, steampunk sounds awesome. The Victorian Era had some pretty interesting ideas on how they thought the future would be. Steampunk reminds me of the whole Rambaldi storyline on ALIAS, how he was imagining things very far ahead of his time.
weird messed up futures are my favorite, because i belive that is what the future will bring, an i think Steampunk or a Alternative History about the second world war would be interesting.
Would love to see Robert Harris' Vaterland as a TV show. Picture the late 50's in Germany after winning the II World War.America and Germany are (not willingly) allies (weird but that even has some historic evidence). And some undercover investigators try to bring the system down.
I'd like to see Simon Hawke's TimeWar series on TV. In the future wars are fought using small commando teams that go back in time and attach themselves to historical events and fight each other while being hidden in the middle of a historical battle with marshals that prevent them from interfering with the time lines. The Ivanhoe Gambit had them as Robin Hood, Little John etc against a rouge marshal as King Richard trying to change the time line. They also only have to sign up to the Time Commandos for 1 week but that's one week real time, they can spend months in the past and come back to find only 10 minutes have gone by.
I know time traveling is done a million times and is getting lame but a series based on Charles Stross Eschaton books will be awesome.
The Eschaton is a god like A.I.(which it denies) that guards over causality and will blow up planets to protect it. It also has secret agents to throw spanners in the works of everyone who tries to mess with causality.
This might also tempt the good writer to finish the story and don't leave us hanging on that cliff.
Nearly twenty years ago there was a greatly underappreciated show "Earth 2" that I still hope might be re-imagined one day. What can I do, that's the kind of sci-fi I like. :) I was also really taken by "The Outcasts", but I think it was cancelled too. I guess it qualifies partly as "dystopian fiction". Re-imagining of "Battlestar Galactica" from 2004 was also on my list of ground-breaking sci-fi shows. I'm waiting for something like either of these shows.
The Outcasts was unfortunately cancelled... Personally I think Outcasts had a way better storyline than Terranova, and equal or better acting than Terranova. The only thing Terranova did better was a bigger budget and better effects (and even those left a lot to be desired).
earth 2 rocked! I've got the series several years back.
It wasn't "Alternative History" exactly, but James Ellroy's American Tabloid trilogy, including The Cold Six Thousand and Blood's A Rover was an amazing work of fiction. It told the story of JFK, RFK, MLK and others through the eyes of real and imaginary players of that era. The 3 books covered 1958 to around 1968 so there is a ton of material. I think it would make a great TV adaptation. http://www.amazon.com/American-Tabloid-Novel-James-Ellroy/dp/037572737X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326428580&sr=8-1
i think Sliders catered for the alternate history section a few years back but i think it also has the best possibilities ahead of itself and just like sliders previously i'd be in for the ride
For Sci Fi The Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card comes to mind 1st. Fantasy I'd love to see The Dragon Riders series by Anne McCaffrey. Sword & Sorcery has to be Frank Frazettta's The Death Dealer written by James Silke. This all ASSUMES a commited production company backed by a NON-networked channel such as HBO or Showtime. Oh and of course, leave the EXECUTIVE staff at the gate!!
How about a show set in space? We currently have: no Star Trek show, no Stargate show, no Battlestar Galactica, etc. It's crazy. It's one of the most popular sci-fi subgenres, and yet no shows currently.
I'd also like to suggest cyberpunk.
That series of a couple of years ago with an America like state as a kingdom, was interesting. I think it was based on the story of David was canceled pretty quickly
I like immersive universes with a whole set of new rules. different tech rules religion etc.
this just doesn't come cheap.
That was Kings on NBC. I also like that show and thought it had such a great story to tell. But of course, it didn't do so well in the ratings and was promoted sparingly that NBC had to cancel it.
Riese Kingdom Falling was a steampunk show that was a series of shorts and it wasn't bad but I would say I was less than blown away
Wouldn't any of these be so expensive they would only last 1 series?
Short answer : NO.
why assuming a sci-fi serie is more expensive ? Like any other show , they need GOOD SCRIPT.
TRUE. most series flop because they become so formulaic you can predict the end by the beginning of the show. There's also usually no character development.
What about cyberpunk? "Been there, done that!", I know. But I particularly liked the novel "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson and The Diamond Age by the same writer.
There's also bio- and nano-technology related stuff like for example Blood Music - Greg Bear.
The hard-boiled detective genre has been mentioned in the comments (Dresden, Nightside), and I'd like to add the "Takeshi Kovacs"-novels by Richard K. Morgan.
we already have a dystopian series its called the obama administration
just focus on actual history with your period dramas. nobody would watch downton abbey if suddenly the huns cross the channel and they're fighting off the germans to defend downton abbey.. or make the show based on a french family, and then you have your period drama with actual history, the germans are actually coming! This is why the tudors and Borgias do so well, because some of us enjoy these periods, learn about them, and then would LOVE to see them portrayed as television to develop/entertain what we already know
Generally speaking, Alternative history and Dystopian are great genres -- I'd be all for more shows focusing on both. Technically, I think Terra Nova incorporated both genres... the future world was in ruins, and the past world is technically "alternative" history. Unfortunately, it was just too cheesy.
New Weird sounds difficult... and weird. It would have to be done really well to be good at all. Seems like it'd be too easy to make New Weird just bad weird.
Steampunk, in general, seems cool. If certain shows can sometimes incorporate it every now and then, it could be fun. But I'm a little pessimistic about a whole show focusing on Steampunk.
It's important to distingush between sci-fi and speculative fiction. Sci-fi is a sub-genre of speculative fiction. So is fantasy. But it doesn't mean a fantasy show is sci-fi.
Alternative history has been done, although maybe not in the way you define it. Most time travel stories will often deal with alternative histories. But they tend to be things better suited to movies since you're having to re-invent concepts every week.
The best steampunk shows are those who don't define themselves as steampunk, particularly those that were around before the term was invented. Sanctuary and other shows have used some steampunk but it can be limiting. Riese was probably the closest to a true steampunk series, but it really didn't have the budget to do it properly. What's needed is a situation where electronic technology doesn't work so the society creates one surrounded by mechanical technology. But until we get a few good steampunk movies we're unlikely to see a proper steampunk TV series.
"New weird" is mainly horror, not sci-fi. It's common for horror, sci-fi and fantasy to cross genres so it really can't be thought of as new. If anything, there are already many shows that could be considered that way such as Haven and Pushing Daisies. Even The Addams Family and The Munsters could be classified that way since they aren't exactly horror.
Dystopian tends to be too depressing for TV audiences.
As with most sub-genres, these tend to work better as episodes of sci-fi shows rather than as individual shows. And considering the limited amount of sci-fi on TV today, it's just not possible to really get away with a sub-genre show.moreless
LOVE all of these ideas. My favorite is definitely dystopian, and I think that idea will work easily on tv. I think a steampunk setting would be way more difficult, not to mention expensive, but I'd love to see it.
Erm clearly you forgot about space ! Wheres the space..
Starship combat, hidious aliens, brave "cosmonauts" :P making sweet love to green women.. where are all the good times.
It could be dirty as what i call space western - Firefly or Trigun (anime)
It could be technology based - like the last Star Trek movie, BSG
I would love to see a new tv show in a Star Trek/Star Wars universe, perhapse some stranded ship making their way through unknown sectors, like ST Voyager (which was the best series).
Or maybe a lovable band of misfits making their way in this crazy universe in an old flying "piece of junk" that just wont give up.. doing all sorts of dangerous missions for precious credits :)
Oh another idea - make a tv series for Mass Effect gaming series.. that would be awesome :D
Anyways give me more space based tv shows!moreless
A Sci fi show that was done well was Firefly, which incorporated believable elements eg. no sound in space and the two powers that persevered were China and the USA. But it also brought together different genre's which opened up a lot of possibilities, it's just a pity it wasn't even allowed one measly season! Another that made you think, well in my opinion it did, was a british show called outcasts, which was dystopian in nature that was cancelled too, which is a bummer. My point is we'll probably have to settle for an average show that has moments of brilliance but also moments of cringeworthiness, gotta take the good with the bad. And when I say Sci fi i mean it, none of this fantasy stuff, despite that genre having its own gems itd be nice to have a decent pure sci fi last past its first season, like sliders or stargatemoreless
Its interesting that you mention dystopian futures in tv scifi shows when that is exactly the opening premise of Terra Nova, obviously you want it executed a bit better this time, I couldn't agree more
Steampunk, definitely. Huge fan of the books and the strong visual image is likely to at least draw attention, whether it be good or bad. I suppose Aalternative history might be worth a try. New weird sounds like it would be slightly difficult to pull off but if they did it might be a hit.. Dystopian things sounds like the terminator a little... meaning it might be a little like that or supernatural, having a cult following but plenty of haters. All in all I hope we see some of these genre's.
Brisco County had elements of Steampunk, with Bruce Campbell as an old west layer/lawman always looking for the 'next big (future) thing.' The western featured the Gatling gun, motorcycles, a dirigible, a railroad rocket, the advent of fingerprinting & alien scifi. I'd like to see it reworked & brought back -- or how about Cris Elliott's "Boilerplate" or Mike Mignola's "The Amazing Screw-on Head" (which had an animated debut in 2006)?
I would very much tune in to an alternative history and steampunk shows. I'm a huge history geek, and have always wondered what would happen if the opposite of so-and-so occurred. It could be like the alternate 1980s in Watchmen, but it doesn't necessarily have to include the superheroes element. A steampunk show would just be cool for the costumes.
Get on this major and/or cable networks! I'm tired of seeing old show reboots and adaptations. Something new would be much appreciated.
Granted this year's, and recent years', reboots have been pretty terrible, but some of the more successful programs only in the past few years have been reboots: Doctor Who is a good example (and it's fun they way they work in characters from the old series), and probably the best was Battlestar Galactica. But yeah, all the old superhero remakes/reboots are pretty darn awful of late.
Meant to add that the whole alternative reality could also be played out as it was with Sliders, but scripted better and with better actors it could be a lot more successful. Thus you have an overall story (them trying to get back to their own reality) tying together the characters who go through alternative realities via Bridge Theory (if I've got my theories right). Something like that might work well, also.
Dystopia is nothing new, really, although it graces the silver screen far more than it does the TV screen. Out of the above-mentioned sub-genres it's also probably the easiest to script, and has the largest amount of literary material to work off of.
I had never actually heard the term 'steampunk' until today, so thank you. I can completely understand what is implied by the term, and agree any show that went steam punk would be visually stunning. I know it's not 'steampunk', but Dr. Who is proof that you can use the same crappy aliens from the 70s series as they were then and still have them be successful (and even freaky!).
New Weird would work well, and I agree that American Horror Story is proof that, although different, a new weird series would have a following.
Alternative history would also be an easy one to run, either as one story (one alternative future), or as a show that offers, each episode, a different 'what if'. We've seen that to an extent with the Twilight Zone and Outer Limits, but focusing on specific history and alternative realities they could achieve much the same, if not more, success. "What If" was one of my favourite comic book series as a kid (I think I still have some from 30 years ago somewhere).moreless
Is this for serious? Terra Nova is a good show. I don't understand why people hate any show that makes them think, or doesn't have enough explosions. Would everyone rather watch reality tv shows forever...!? And the mindless masses grow in number.
Terra Nova didn't make me think about anything besides thoughts of how awful it was. There was SO MUCH they could have done with the show, but failed, and they ultimately made it into a Walt Disney meets GI Joe (everyone shoots, no one gets hit) 'feel good' sci-fi show. It sucked, bottom line.
The second-in-command being executed was a bit of a shock though considering the Disney family show nature it had 'til then.
The problem with terra nova that it does not make you think.
Anything that is not a huge hit from the get go seems to get cancelled. People just dont let shows develop into anything. Firefly was epic but didnt get promoted well enough, it had so many hints right from the start for things they would have developed but no cancel it. Terra Nova was advertised as something it wasnt which probably let it down. Sarah Connor Chronicles was good too but that didnt get the time of day. Networks need to have a think or all that will be on telly is rubbish like Top Model and Big Brother. People doing stupid things is entertaining for a bit but it doesnt progress, its just heres some people being bitchy and that can run for years.