Punishing Television...

Get ready for punishment...





So a non-Disney owned network gets a Marvel adaptation...

Fox will get the first show based on a Marvel property that isn't on a Disney branded (Disney XD, ABC, ABC Family) broadcaster, "The Punisher."

And purist of the comic will be upset at the deviations from the source material. As envisioned by "Criminal Minds" showrunner Ed Bernero, Frank Castle will do his punishment moonlighting style. New York Cop by day, vengeful vigilante by night. Many will be upset, but I'll hold my powder dry until I see the finished product.

It's also fitting that the show will be made by Disney, but broadcast somewhere else. Since the subject matter is darker than other Marvel properties the Mouse probably wants to distance itself from the direct relation to the graphic material. Will it be a hit after the three disappointing films?

Time will tell...

85 Million Reasons To Watch Fox...

So, they've released some concept art from "Avatar" of Pandora...

Wait. I mean, concept art from prehistoric Earth from "Terra Nova," the new sci-fi series produced by Steven Spielberg for Fox. I know people will say it looks like that James Cameron film, but seriously, what do you expect dinoland to look like? If you've watched any of those History Channels specials or something on Discovery it looks about the same. It's pretty and I'm quite sure there won't be any ten foot tall blue cats walking around either.

Here's Fox's official press release for the show:

An epic family adventure 85 million years in the making, is the new event drama slated for midseason from executive producers Steven Spielberg (“Jurassic Park,” “The Pacific”), Peter Chernin, Brannon Braga (24, “Star Trek: Enterprise”) and David Fury (24, “Lost”). The action-adventure series follows an ordinary family on an extraordinary journey back in time to prehistoric Earth as a part of a massive expedition to save the human race.

I hear that it's a family from a future where the Earth is dying and the only hope for humanity is to go back in time before the meteor came and whipped out all life as we know it. So this family apparently goes into the past to save their future. Not every human, just this family... cause family is important. I know, because I've watched "The Godfather," like a hundred times. This is supposed to be a mid-season replacement show, but it's a very expensive (so expensive Fox had to agree to full series, not just a pilot; sets too expensive to tear down and rebuilt if approved) and time consuming production so the Fox Suits don't know if it'll make the line-up. And they won't rush it because they want it to be an event series and a new staple to the Fox line-up. I'll be reporting on this one quite a bit since I happen to descend from a long line of dinosaur hunters.

I'm looking for ward to seeing the trailer for this one...

Primed...

Three, two, one...
Going live...
Nellie Andreeva over at Deadline Hollywood has an article about the upcoming pilot season on the networks that's telling...

You should go read it if you want to see what you may be watching come fall. But the telling part to me is how uninterested I am in seeing any of the new shows on (Disney's) ABC's list. I'm not saying they won't be great, or I won't eventually like them, but the description of them doesn't really spark my interest. I wish them well, but as of now nothing looks attractive. That could all change when mid-season replacements come up and hopefully some of what the Mouse has recently bought will show up in primetime.

As for what I did like that the Networks are coming out with?

Here's a short rundown of what me likey:

Terra Nova: Steven Spielberg is once again working with dinosaurs in this drama about a family set a hundred years in the future that travel back in time (150 million years) to prehistoric Earth and encounter a beautiful and dangerous world forgotten by man. Think of it as a serious version of "The Land of the Lost." (FOX)

Undercovers: J.J. Abrams newest takeover of television is a story about espionage that tells the lives of a married couple involved in the world of spying. And it's got a comedic undertone. Apparently Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie weren't available, but Abrams is directing the pilot so I'm there. (NBC)

Chase: Jerry Bruckheimer's new show about a team of government officials hunting down wanted fugitives sounds like a television version of "The Fugitive," but it's The Bruck and he's had a hot streak on television. I'm sure Disney is still smarting from not picking up "CSI" when they had the opportunity for the Alphabet Network. Millions and millions of dollars flew out the window of some ignorant suit that day when Jerry walked back to his bungalow and phoned CBS. I'll give this a glance. (NBC)

Kindreds: It's from David E. Kelly and it stars Kathy Bates. That sounds like a winning combination to me. I love Kelly's writing and Bates is a wonderful and versatile actress. The only bad news is that it's a legal drama. Can you please write a character that's a farmer/spy/Indian chief someday, David? (NBC)

The Event: I love conspiracy shows. I believe in almost none, since I follow Benjamin Franklin's quote about two people in a room can keep a secret as long as one of them is dead. But I still find the good ones fascinating to watch. This is one that follows a group of people who have had their lives dramatically changed by some sort of extraordinary event. Hence the title. (NBC)

Hawaii Five-O: I don't know if this will be good or another bad adaptation of a classic television show (hello, The Night Stalker?), but I think the story and setting have potential if brought properly into the present. Still, I always felt this was a property that should have gone to a big screen adaption, not a television series. Will be watching to see how well they say: "Book him, Dano." (CBS)

So until we see some previews and promotions for these and other stories that flesh out what they are and even if they're any good, that's all I can take from this news...

Wanting A King...

Word has it that Fox's "King of the Hill" may get picked up by ABC...

The show may be crudly animated, but it's one of the best written shows, comedy or not, on television.

So even though Fox cancelled the show, the King may still reign over at the Alphabet Network.

Developing...

A Blank Page Far, Far Away...

It appears George Lucas will leave his little fortress in Northern California this week to come down to Los Angeles and interview several writers about a little project he's producing. He's going to be finding the scribes he wants to come up to Skywalker Ranch in November for a little Pow-Wow regarding his live-action STAR WARS series.

Entertainment Weekly is reporting the plan is to have them write the initial 13 episodes and then take them out to the networks. So why are we reporting this? Well, there are several networks looking at making a deal with Lucas but the two primary ones are Fox and ABC... you know, the one ran by the Mouse? The ones that are working on several LucasFilm properties right now for their theme parks? I wonder what Fox is planning on offering in their theme parks? Whaa? They don't have... Really? Oh, that's right! I forgot about that...