From the folks who are doing Once Upon A Time, another twisty little show, this time redoing Alice for modern times: Once Upon A Time In Wonderland. It hits the small screen (OK, not so small for those who have 4K TVs with a huge screen, but lots of us are still watching in SD) on October 10th on ABC. It tends to look like the creators watched the Syfy channel’s Alice and said “I could do that, but with an American accent”, but I really don’t care. I will watch any variation of a classic by Lewis G. Carrol, Frank L. Baum, Edgar Rice Burroughs, or a select few other writers from the 1800s, and enjoy them no matter where they take them.
What looks to be another interesting show from the CW, The 100 is about human survivors in orbit around Earth after a nuclear confrontation. When the radiation dies down a little and the nuclear winter ends, they collect up 100 juvenile delinquents, throw them in an orbital lander, and fire them at the Earth. The goal is to see how many of them survive, because the orbital habitats are over populated after 3 generations, and they are running out of resources rapidly. I do not know what the expected broadcast date is, although Murphy’s Law says it is probably some time next week, next month, or next year.
The Tomorrow People is a blast from the past, completely redone for a modern audience. The CW is a great channel for these kind of projects, being willing to try out something new and give it a chance, unlike Fox and others of that ilk.
The original Tomorrow People was a British children’s show which ran from 1973 through 1979, and then got reincarnated in 1992 for a single season. The team at Big Audio Finish then turned it into a series of Radio Plays running from 2001 through 2007. I look forward to seeing how this new incarnation works out, because I have loved the concepts behind each version and series, but I do not feel any of them delivered on that promise. After what I saw the CW do with Arrow, I think there is a chance I will finally get to see some Tomorrow People episodes begin to meet their full potential. And if they don’t, hey, at least I get to see another Arrow episode!
The most impressive new broadcast TV show for me last time around was Arrow, with excellent writing, a killer cast of some of my favorite actors, kick ass production values, and an adherence to the same sensibilities that addicted me to the original comic version in the first place. Season 2 starts on Wednesday, October 9th, and I had to share a few of my favorite trailers to gear me up for the next round. If you are not already watching this show, you want to check it out. Did I mention which show it is going to share the evening with?
I became a fan of Orphan Black about 5 minutes into the first episode, and am very happy it is coming back for a new season in April. Of the projects specifically made for BBC America, it is my favorite so far. This video is just one of several from Comic Con, hit their web page for a bunch more.
Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman shared a few small factoids about Doctor Who at Comic Con this year that are worth being aware of, so here they are. Also, a heads up: The guy who created and wrote Misfits, Howard Overman, has created a new series for the BBC. Atlantis is being made by the producers of Merlin, and will occupy its old time slot on Saturdays. BBC America is co-producing it, and will be carrying it this fall, also on Saturdays.