The Cool Blue Blog

Masters of Science Fiction

The ABC Television Network has geenlit a television series that will bring to the small screen stories written by some of the big names in Science Fiction

The network has committed to at least four episodes of the series, produced by IDT and Industry Entertainment to air during the summer or next season.

"Martian Chronicles" and "Fahrenheit 451" author Ray Bradbury is in negotiations to adapt one of his lesser-known books, "Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed."

Talks also are under way for "The Last Question" by Isaac Asimov ("I, Robot") and "The Discarded" by Harlan Ellison ("A Boy and His Dog") to be turned into episodes of the series as well as a book by Robert Heinlein ("The Puppet Masters").

As previously announced, writer Michael Tolkinis is set to adapt and direct one episode of the series, which is shepherded through ABC's longform division.

And it seems some big name stars are signing up

Judy Davis, Sam Waterston and Anne Heche are among the long list of actors who have signed on to star in episodes of ABC's upcoming anthology series "Masters of Science Fiction."

Malcolm McDowell, James Cromwell, John Hurt, Sean Astin and Brian Dennehy also have signed on to star in installments of the six-episode series, which is based on short stories by some of the sci-fi genre's top writers. The hour-long show is set to air during the 2006-07 season.

Other actors starring in episodes are Terry O'Quinn (ABC's "Lost"), Elisabeth Rohm (NBC's "Law & Order"), Clifton Collins Jr. (ABC's "Alias"), Kimberly Elise (CBS' "Close to Home") and James Denton (ABC's "Desperate Housewives").

SciFi Storm notes that the focus seems to be right; on the writers.

The first episode which started shooting in Vancouver, Canada in April is "Watchbird" based on a story by Robert Sheckle. It's directed by Michael Tolkin (The Rapture) and written by J. Michael Straczynski (Bablyon 5).

Might be a reason for me to watch Network TV this Winter afterall..

It's in the Cards

Orson Scott Card thinks Serenity is the best science fiction film ever made. And, he would like the movie version of Ender's Game to be as good, or he'd just rather not do it.

This is the kind of movie that I have always intended Ender's Game to be (though the plots are not at all similar).

And this is as good a movie as I always hoped Ender's Game would be.

And I'll tell you this right now: If Ender's Game can't be this kind of movie, and this good a movie, then I want it never to be made.

I'd rather just watch Serenity again.

Maybe he could get Joss to do Ender's Game, ya think? Who knows, but Mr Card has more praise for Serenity.

Now, a lot of people called Firefly a western masquerading as science fiction, and I can see why -- they rode horses sometimes, and they rode into town, shot things up, and then rode back out of town, and the only difference between them and the Lone Ranger was that the "horse" was a clunky old spaceship named Serenity.

But that's not really all that was ever going on.  There was nothing "lone" about these rangers.  On that ship we had an interlocking community with a history, rather like what has been a-building with Lost and what was developed over the years with Friends (but what never existed in Seinfeld because the main writer, Larry David, doesn't seem to believe in anything, and you can't build a powerful community on a sneer).

The key to this kind of movie is that you create a community that the audience wishes they belonged to, with a leader that even audience members who don't follow anybody would willingly follow.  That will be the key to Ender's Game if the movie is ever successfully made; and it is the key to Serenity....

Well, not only is Serenity about something, it's also extremely well written. Joss Whedon has invented a kind of weird future slang that is still perfectly intelligible but is different, with snatches of foreign languages and obsolete English words that make it clear that it's not ordinary English they're speaking.

The effect of this -- at least in Whedon's deft hands -- is to allow himself something of the kind of heroic language that was possible for Shakespeare -- and for Tolkien.  It allows him to be eloquent.

And then he turns around and deliberately clanks with some humorously abrupt language that makes us laugh for the sheer startlement of it.  Just as Shakespeare did, when he'd drop from blank verse to the funny coarseness of comic prose.

Will everyone like it?  Not a chance.  It really is too strong for some people -- there are indeed dead bodies and cruelty and unspeakable violence, and you don't want to deal with the nightmares that young children will have.  Plus the storyline is smart enough and mature enough that some people simply won't get it.  Can't be helped -- it's all there on the screen, though.

Now that's high praise indeed.

Sci-Fi Author Steven Barnes liked it too.

Probably the best "Space Opera" I've seen in a decade, really, with its own quirky sense of humor, and an off-centered style that kept me guessing.

With any luck, there will be more Firefly movies, or better yet, someone will revive the series.

Browncoats rejoice

I've always said that Firefly is the best Sci-Fi show ever put on the small screen.

And now it's the best Sci-Fi movie to have hit the big screen; if not ever, certainly in a very, very long time.

Over a year ago, I first published news that Firefly was gonna be a movie even though the series was cancelled by Fox without even running a full season. It seems sales of the DVD were stong enough to convince Universal there might be something there. It was scheduled to be released in April.

Then there was news of a delay and despite reassurances, I began to wonder if it would really happen.

Now it's here. And it is great.

Writer and director Joss Wheadon does a great job of not excluding noobs to the series. While providing the necessary backstory for people who are unfamiliar with Firefly, he provides delicious new information for the fans.

As with his prior series' Buffy and Angel, Joss writes in season long arcs while providing self-contained episodes. Quite obviously he never got to complete the arc of Firefly on television. And while I'm sure Joss would have preferred to take his time completing this arc (by not getting cancelled), Serenity satisfyingly completes the season for us fans.

More importantly Serenity represents a new direction for Sci-Fi films (assuming it's successful).

It's a Western set 500 years in the future, taking place primarily on the wild and gritty outskirts of the settled universe.

With no aliens.

And like Buffy and Angel, Joss has no compunction against killing off characters you've come to know and love which in many ways makes the bravery of everyone more poignant. It also makes the resolution more bittersweet.

This is a witty, action-packed adventure which brings Sci-Fi movies back from the dead.

And don't take my word for it. I took my 22 year old son with me to see it. He had never seen the series. His reaction?

"It kicked ass."

Blackfive has more

And so does Glenn Reynolds here, here and here.

Browncoats stand down

Joss Whedon posts to Whedonesque about the delay in the big screen version of Firefly, Serenity

Are you guys starting to hear that fanfare? Those distant drums? Are you slapping on your side-arms, pulling on your long brownish-colored coats and thumbing your crisp new bills in anticipation of the cinematic event of the year? Well, it's official: on April 22nd you, the true the blue the loyal, can step right up with the rest of America and WAIT FIVE MORE MONTHS.

Heh.  See, sometimes studios shuffle around release dates...

Okay. Don't panic. right now you're panicking. you're thinking, "how could they do this to me?" But what you SHOULD be thinking is: "How could they do this to JOSS?". Seriously. That pity is mine and I want it back.

So what happened? Well, nothing terribly original. April got crowded with a lot of titles aimed at a similar demographic, and the studio decided September was a clearer corridor for the film to make the kind of impact it should. This isn't about a lack of confidence in the film -- in fact, they told me this before they even saw it. And now they have seen it, and unless they're way better liars than I'm used to, they dug it. Actually, they dug it pretty large, which is a good sign since there's not a single finished effect in the film. There's no reworking the end, no reshoots, no "does it have to be in space?". It's just a marketing issue. Now you'll get to watch lots of trailers in the summer. And hopefully, by the time it comes out, other people, people who ain't us, will get a whiff of what we're up to, and come along too.

I love this movie. I HATE waiting to show it too you. I felt pretty much the way I imagine you're feeling right now when they told me. But these guys know what they're doing, and they're trying to protect their investment, not bury it. So I gotta be a grown-up. The release date is September 30th. Hopefully it won't change again.

Spread the word.  Keep the faith.  And gleam the damn cube already.

-j.

Disappointing, but understandable.

What the hell, Buffy season 7 is finally out and it amuses us.

And when I'm done with that, I can always rewatch Firefly which never disappoints.

Firefly Fans rejoice

For those of you who are hip to the finest Sci-Fi TV show ever put on the air there's good news; the big screen version has begun shooting and a release date has been set for April 22nd, 2005. The movie will be called "Serenity"