LIZARDS EAT SKYWRITING CAMPAIGN FOR ABC'S V

The Uh-Oh season, officially opened with the departure of FlashForward's co-showrunner/executive producer Marc Guggenheim, continues with another hyped entry from ABC: the 2009 reboot of V - the classic alien invasion miniseries by Kenneth Johnson.

According to The Live Feed, a blog of The Hollywood Reporter, the network cancels its ambitious plan to cover the skies of 15 major American cities with giant red "V"s to promote the debut of V on November 3 (http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/10/abc-scraps-plans-for-v-skywriting-campaign.html#more). After the announcement of the PR stunt, Lisa de Moraes wrote a column in the Washington Post where she estimated the impact of the operation on the environment (1).

Honestly, why should we care of the environment when lizards are [Major Spoiler Alert for our readers under 40] going to eat us all anyway. Last month came the news that the new V will go on hiatus after only four episodes (http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a179211/v-to-go-on-hiatus-after-four-episodes.html). Now this.

But to be perfectly fair with ABC and the people in charge of the promotion of the show, note that the network made the first eight minutes of the pilot available (http://www.thrfeed.com/2009/10/the-first-eight-minutes-of-abcs-v.html). This pilot and the first episode are directed by the respectable Quebecois director Yves Simoneau, who directed the pilot of The 4400 in 2004 for the same producer, and the excellent thriller Blind Trust (Pouvoir intime, 1986) (2).

At least we know what caused all that chaos in the Flashforward pilot: the giant face of the charming Morena Baccarin smiling on the huge flying screen of the mothership.

See also:

http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/10/pitch-black.html

(1) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/19/AR2009101903260.html
(2) http://www.canuxploitation.com/review/pouvoir.html

ALIEN REINVENTION

It will be absolutely not a surprise for the readers of this blog [I promised I will not borrow Nikki Finke's "Toldja!" again so this will do]: Sci Fi (soon SyFy) is developing a remake of Alien Nation. A reinvention, as they say now. In May, your humble French scribe wrote: « Monuments should stay untouched, and if the new V succeeds expect Alien Nation 2010 » (http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-only-movie-ingrid-episode-5.html). They didn't wait...

Alien Nation started as a 1988 movie directed by Graham Baker, written by Rockne S. O'Bannon, and starring James Caan and Mandy Patinkin as an unlikely cop duo: a maverick human cop veteran and an alien detective in a Los Angeles where an alien civilization, the Newcomers, is integrated within our society but is victim of discrimination. In 1989 20th Century Fox Television and Kenneth Johnson (V) launched a television series adapted from the movie for the Fox network, but Fox cancelled the show after only one season. In April 1991, the mythical magazine Epi-Log wrote: « Has anyone hosed down the Fox Network corporate offices with salt water yet? » (1) The flesh of the Newcomers could be disintegrated by salt water and they could get drunk with sour milk.

From 1994 to 1997 Alien Nation was revived for a series of made-for-TV movies. And now, Tim Minear - an expert in science fiction, is working on a "reinvention" of the franchise for SyFy/Sci Fi, and Fox 21 (2). Variety explains:« The new Alien Nation will likely take place in the Pacific Northwest, and will take place about 20 years after the first ship of aliens - who have been banished as slaves - crash lands into Earth. By the time the show begins, some time in the 2020s, the alien population has multiplied from a few thousand to 3,5 million. And much of the "newcomers" live their own segregated existence, in what Minear compares to the North African ghettos in France ». The "North African ghettos in France"?! Er, maybe this needs a little specification.

Sci Fi wants a successor to Battlestar Galactica. « It's absolute perfect timing for this type of show » says Chris Carlisle, president of Fox 21 (3). No doubt about that, now Sony can revive Something is out there (1988). The Xenomorph beats them all, it will eat them all too.

(1) Epi-Log #7, June 1991.
(2) (3) http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118005577.html?categoryid=14&cs=1&nid=2562

THE LAST SHOUT

This month, Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily (http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/) gave us a most complete coverage of what will be the 2009-2010 Primetime network television season in Nikki's aptly titled Primetime Pilot Panic series. And nailed the coffin with a presentation of the network skeds.

Tuesday is Time Tunnel Day for the CW with the 90210 revival and now the revival of the original 90210 spin-off: Melrose Place (I hope you're not losing me). What is tragic in some way is that the original Melrose Place was the epitome of the "guilty pleasure" and a GP doesn't have to be particularly good to be appreciated. So if the new Melrose is as camp as the original the hopes are high and if the all "Young, bold, beautiful and restless" - hey, it's the CW - cast fails they can bring back iconic Heather Locklear to save the show. But Michael and Sydney return! I'm excited by a Melrose Place revival on the CW, just shoot me! I don't care about 90210, I didn't care about the original, but count me in for Melrose (http://www.youtube.com/user/cwtelevision?blend=1&ob=4).

Also on tuesday, on CBS, the NCIS spin-off: NCIS: Los Angeles (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07XPSH-CWrI). Well, er, if the show is a hit we'll have NCIS: Miami, NCIS: New York, NCIS: Paris, and NCIS UK (with Freema Agyeman). But we'll give this one a try because of Chris O'Donnell and because the original is pure fun. CBS again, as the network finally picked the two medical shows: Three Rivers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZj3EIkQGXY) AND Miami Trauma (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18i3w6ZkVQY). At least CBS shows a lot of coherence, with all these crime shows on the network their medical personnel should have a lot to do. I want a Chicago Hope revival but lock Mandy Patinkin with a ten-year contract before.

Is the 2009-2010 season summed up by a single word: trauma? NBC's Trauma (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycgM884tMyE&hl=fr) looks like a blockbuster version of a Glen A. Larson show. I'll have a look at the pilot but can the network afford this every week? Talking about what you can afford, where the hell is Alyssa Milano when you need her? Eastwick - on ABC (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFtp-rnfz7A) - is Charmed revisited with a touch of Desperate Housewives. The only item of interest for your humble servant is that Darryl Van Horne is played by supremely talented Canadian actor Paul Gross (Due South). I didn't recognize him at first but it's always a pleasure to see him.

For The 2200 aka ABC's remake of V - Kenneth Johnson's monument (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahjPQjQGdbU), see what I wrote in my last Ingrid (1). So long, and thanks for the fish... Replace lizards by traders and maybe I'll watch it. Glee, on Fox (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NNU0KoBIIdE&feature=PlayList&p=6E50EE8B2B923B5D&index=0), is fresh air in this rather bleak coming network season. The trailer and clips recall The Kids from Fame with plenty of humor, singing and musical talent, and rythm. I had recently the privilege to receive news from Stephen Tobolowsky (guest-starring in the pilot) and he's very enthusiastic and truly supportive of the show.

Let's stay on Fox with Human Target (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMkgobsb0Js). I was really expecting a lot of the idea of a new adaptation of the DC comic book (after the one with Rick Springfield in the nineties) and from what I see I'm afraid I'm gonna show some reserve for the moment as the result owes more to Walker Texas Ranger. I was not personally a fan of Walker but the post-series tv movie was very good and deserved a sequel. Mark Valley is charismatic and more than credible as Christopher Chance, the hero of this new Human Target - he served during the Gulf War.

The more I get old the more I enjoy (good) Reality tv. Thank God, there's still US cable and British television.

See also: http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/05/things-to-oh-whatever.html

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/index.php?s=pilot+panic

(1) http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2009/05/its-only-movie-ingrid-episode-5.html

IT'S ONLY A MOVIE, INGRID (EPISODE 5)

Where Ingrid returns not orange but green. Ingrid... The Grinch Edition.

THE 2200

Let's call that the Bernie Lomax Syndrome, old tv shows can't rest in peace. Of course, remakes allow new generations to discover a character or a concept (http://tattard2.blogspot.com/2008/08/young-barnaby-jones-chronicles.html). Without remakes the only on-screen Batman ever would be Lewis Wilson in the 1943 serial and the 2005 version of Doctor Who would not be the best series in the History of television (until Voyage of the Damned at least).

And the worst thing than the remake of an old show is the remake of a British contemporary show for the US market. We could hope that the demises of Life on Mars US and of the remake of Eleventh hour (http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/primetime-pilot-panic-more-cbs-moves/) will vaccine American television executives but there's a Warner Brothers Primeval movie coming and even a US Primeval spin-off series(http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/cult/a156144/reports-primeval-spinoff-in-the-pipeline.html).

But now Hollywoodland doesn't just remake old shows, it "re-imagines" them, "reinvents" them, thanks to the success of Casino Royale - the 2006 James Bourne movie. And I suspect "reinvention" will be seen as the golden access pass to Penny Lane now that the new Star Trek is a worldwide phenom. The latest tv classic to be "reinvented" is V, the 1983 miniseries by Kenneth Johnson. The remake, produced by Scott Peters (The 4400), is due to be shown on ABC during the 2009-2010 season (1) and we can have a first look at the show through clips (http://scifiwire.com/2009/05/first-look-at-clips-for-a.php).

The original V was a political metaphor, It can't happen here or Jean-Paul Sartre's choice with lizards in orange mechanic outfits, and Brecht or Rod Serling in the shadows. A television event too: at the time the most expensive miniseries ever made, with stunning special effects, magnificent actors, an incredible soundtrack, the talent of Kenneth Johnson - one of the most brilliant television authors of his time (http://www.kennethjohnson.us/) - and some effective scenes still terrifying a whole generation by their single evocation. Sorry, but from what I see of the new V we're very (very) far from that. Monuments should stay untouched, and if the new V succeeds expect Alien Nation 2010 but experience shows that it's not a good idea to try V without Johnson.

NOT THAT ONE

We all make mistakes sometimes. May I please suggest that comedy genius Matt Lucas (of Little Britain fame) has made one with his "impersonation" of Britain's Got Talent sensation Susan Boyle for Heat Magazine (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/susan-boyle/5346071/Matt-Lucas-impersonates-Susan-Boyle.html).

Think what you want of producer Simon Cowell and his programmes (I personally believes he knows how to pack entertaining shows) but this was not funny at all and far from the standards of Lucas's duo with David Walliams. Susan Boyle may or may not win BGT (dance group Diversity is my favourite) but her first appearance on the show was really wonderful.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

Your humble servant is always amazed by your growing interest about this little blog and I was recently intrigued by the sudden affluence of visitors from a forum about the American version of Life on Mars (http://z3.invisionfree.com/Life_On_Mars/index.php?). I had to register to learn more and discovered that my use of the adjective "Unnecessary" to qualify their favourite show raised a honest, open-minded, fair, balanced and interesting four-page discussion.

No hard feelings for the Dead Pool quote as I often use it myself in private (preceded by "As a great philosopher of the 20th century once said") and the site administrator is a gentleman. The forum is also a "think tank" for a campaign to bring back Life on Mars US (http://z3.invisionfree.com/Life_On_Mars/index.php?showforum=1) so I mention it as some of you, faithful readers, are true fans of this version.

(1) http://abc.go.com/fallpreview/index?pn=v