So says the LA Times. I'm straining at the leash.
series Syfy is looking for new series.
- Thread starter Aspiring Mogul
- Start date
I have said this before, but there are two projects I'd really love to see SyFy develop:
1) Charles de Lint's Newford.
For those not familar, Newford is the fictional city where de Lint sets most of his urban fantasy short stories and novels in. There are a ton of reoccuring characters, weaving in and out of focus. Someone will be mentioned in a short story, and then the next novel will be about them. Or an event from a previous novel will be referenced by a character. There's a core handful of "main characters", but they're not always the focus. Roots in European and Native American folklore, heavy references to art and traditional music. The main drawback would be getting an ensemble cast where not everyone is in every episode, but ideally you could do single episodes or short arcs based on the short stories, and longer arcs based on the novels. Or even weave that further together.
2) Dungeons and Dragons
They've had their hand in a couple licensed movies (one was pretty enjoyable, and the other had its moments), but I would love to see a weekly fantasy adventure set in a high-magic world. In a perfect world, maybe set it in Forgotten Realms and do some of the stories from the novels and/or classic modules. I mean, I love Game of Thrones, but I want to see some solid dungeon crawls! And if not D&D, I'm sure you could license Pathfinder or some other fantasy gaming world (hell, most folks that play have created at least one).
If anyone pitches them, let me know if you need music!
1) Charles de Lint's Newford.
For those not familar, Newford is the fictional city where de Lint sets most of his urban fantasy short stories and novels in. There are a ton of reoccuring characters, weaving in and out of focus. Someone will be mentioned in a short story, and then the next novel will be about them. Or an event from a previous novel will be referenced by a character. There's a core handful of "main characters", but they're not always the focus. Roots in European and Native American folklore, heavy references to art and traditional music. The main drawback would be getting an ensemble cast where not everyone is in every episode, but ideally you could do single episodes or short arcs based on the short stories, and longer arcs based on the novels. Or even weave that further together.
2) Dungeons and Dragons
They've had their hand in a couple licensed movies (one was pretty enjoyable, and the other had its moments), but I would love to see a weekly fantasy adventure set in a high-magic world. In a perfect world, maybe set it in Forgotten Realms and do some of the stories from the novels and/or classic modules. I mean, I love Game of Thrones, but I want to see some solid dungeon crawls! And if not D&D, I'm sure you could license Pathfinder or some other fantasy gaming world (hell, most folks that play have created at least one).
If anyone pitches them, let me know if you need music!
If they follow past patterns, they will adapt a popular overseas series from the UK. Or, buy rights to a show from Canada's sci-fi network that has good ratings.
This could be pretty interesting, or completely miserable. Either way I'd wager the licensing fees for a serial based on Dungeons & Dragons won't come too cheaply from Hasbro. Well, Wizards of the Coast technically, but they're owned by Hasbro.
With the success they've had with the Transformers franchise though, I could see them entertaining the idea of a film or three.. lol
The Lost Girl.
Continuum.
Continuum.
Last I heard, there was talk about doing another theatrical film. It can't be worse than the first one! Which, for certain values of entertainment, by which I mean Jeremy Irons Shatnering up the place...
Anyway, since the movie rights are no longer with SyFy (not sure if they were directly held by, but the 2nd and 3rd film were both originally broadcast on), I'm not sure if that would make it easier or more difficult to get rights for a series. It's possible with Marvel doing S.H.I.E.L.D. it might be more appealing to do a series that ties in with theatrical films.
Still, D&D isn't the only game in town (no pun intended) though it is the most recognizable. There was a tv series based on White Wolf games (I think it was a Vampire series; I was never really a fan so didn't see it) but that was 20 years ago. Mass audiences these days are far more into fantasy/gaming than they were. Thank you Harry Potter (credit where credit is due).
I guess what I really want is a fantasy series that is less campy than the Xena/Hercules fare of the past, but more of a high-magic setting than, say, Game of Thrones. And if it could be painted with creatures and magic that is familiar to me, all the better!
I am comfortable with the fact that I'm a big nerd
I'd be down to watch this. Will is right, though - there's a lot for it to go right... and a lot for it to go terribly wrong! My understanding of D&D is that the lore is massively expansive - personally, I never get into the actual game, or that type of game, really. I did spend some time in the D&D Online game, which was a fun distraction for about a month...
A live action series in the same vain as the old D&D cartoon might be a good angle... and would certainly fit well on SyFy 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHc9d2Nihuk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHc9d2Nihuk
I probably just dated myself...
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The animation in that D&D series reminded me of this...
Urgh. So bad. Zelda shouldn't ever be anything besides a game....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9O3DHk2c2w
Urgh. So bad. Zelda shouldn't ever be anything besides a game....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9O3DHk2c2w
Which Canadian show have they bought, may I ask?
Stargate was always shot up in Canada for the most part - Through SG-1 and Atlantis, at least. Who knows, or cares about SGU?
It was a huge hit for them in both markets after Sci Fi decided to take it off Showtime's hands in the sixth season.
I should also mention I have the D&D cartoon on dvd (as well as some old vhs bootlegs before it was available) and I remember the Dragon's Lair tv series, so I'm dating myself just as badly!
Beatlesfan, the lore is not only incredibly complex, but there are many different worlds/settings in which the game can take place with the core rules. Greyhawk is the standard, but Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance and Eberron are all popular settings, each with their own magic, monsters, geography, politics and religion. TONS of places you could go with it!
Beatlesfan, the lore is not only incredibly complex, but there are many different worlds/settings in which the game can take place with the core rules. Greyhawk is the standard, but Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance and Eberron are all popular settings, each with their own magic, monsters, geography, politics and religion. TONS of places you could go with it!
The Salad Fingers show: skeeving everyone out for an hour at a time! I like it!
And, exactly on both counts, mussonman! Start with Drizzt (since he's the most popular character by far), follow characters crossing into some of the major story events in FR (Pool of Radiance, the Avatar trilogy, etc). And I love Wrath of the Dragon God (and yes, SyFy was involved in that, and the not-as-good Book of Vile Darkness)
And, exactly on both counts, mussonman! Start with Drizzt (since he's the most popular character by far), follow characters crossing into some of the major story events in FR (Pool of Radiance, the Avatar trilogy, etc). And I love Wrath of the Dragon God (and yes, SyFy was involved in that, and the not-as-good Book of Vile Darkness)
Between this and Batman and Robin?! You're killing me this week, Musson.
I was being sarcastic about Batman. This one I am not