CBS -and maybe J.J. Abrams- order a full stop on long-lost Star Trek script

Now CBS, but once Paramount Pictures, have had little to say about the many internet fan series based on their property of Star Trek (Hidden Frontier, Intrepid, Farragut and New Voyages: Phase II to name just a few) over the years. They clearly saw a workable, symbiotic relationship with fan productions and the mainstream TV shows and movies. As long as the fans never changed the conical nature of the established main characters (be it TOS or its many spin-offs), they were given (a mostly) free rein to expand the Star Trek Universe.   But recently, someone within CBS, or over at Paramount, have suddenly raised a red alert.

It all began back in October when a fan approached Norman Spinrad, who wrote the episode The Doomsday Machine, to autograph the script for another episode of Star Trek Gene Roddenberry commissioned him to write in 1967 called He Walked Among Us. The episode dealt with Kirk and crew grappling with a well-meaning but messianic sociologist whose conduct threatens to destroy a planet. Since he violated the Federation’s Prime Directive, the crew of the Enterprise had to figure out how to remove him, without further disrupting the planets natural development. It was also meant to give actor/comedian Milton Berle a chance to play a more serious role, since he would be playing the man who caused the problems. Producer Gene L. Coon ended up rewriting the script, but believing that Berle was being cast because he was a comedic actor, turned the serious script into a laborious comedy. According to Spinrad, “It was so bad that I complained to Roddenberry … I killed my second Star Trek, which, down through the years has cost me tens of thousands of dollars in lost residuals.”

According to the New York Times article, “Spinrad soon donated his sole copy of He Walked Among Us and other papers to California State University, Fullerton. With several other drafts of the script, it lay in the archives for decades.”

While copies of the Coon altered script have popped up from time-to-time at conventions, Spinrad’s original script seemed gone. But that changed last fall, when a fan handed him that original version he had picked up at another convention. Spinrad wrote on his blog: “I thought the text of my original version—written on a typewriter!—was lost forever until recently a fan asked me to autograph a faded copy he had bought somewhere. I did, and in return he sent me a pdf off a scan, and that’s what I’ve put on Amazon, not a great copy maybe, but the only one that exists or probably can exist.”

Then, a short time later, Hugo-nominated web-based Star Trek: New Voyages: Phase II announced that they were going to produce the nearly 45 year-old script this summer. What set Phase II apart from a few other internet shows which relied on “virtual” backgrounds, they used real sets based on the original series. They also re-created, costumes, props, and used Trek’s music cues. They also enlisted the help of some original cast members and commissioned new stories by writers like D.C. Fontana, who wrote for TOS, the Animated Series and The Next Generation.

Excited about the idea of finally seeing his story made, Spinrad even issued an open plea to William Shatner to guest-star as the villain, stepping in the footsteps of both George Takei and Walter Koenig, who have made appearances on the web-series.

But now all of this has been derailed by CBS, who’ve fired photon torpedoes across Spinrad’s bow. They sent a cease-and-desist letter to him and James Cawley, Star Trek: New Voyages: Phase II Senior Executive Producer who also plays James Kirk in that production. Spinrad was told to stop selling the script, and remove it from the internet and Cawley was told to stop plans to adapt it.

For CBS, they argue the script still legally belongs to them and no one can sell it and make money off it, except them.

Though, I will add, that no one at CBS or even Paramount blinked when Phase II adapted Blood and Fire a few years ago, a script commissioned by Roddenberry and written by David Gerrold for Star Trek: The Next Generation.

But there may be a reason for that: no money was made on it.

While James Cawley maintains he still has a good relationship with CBS that status may have soured since he went public with his dissatisfaction with J.J. Abrams reboot of Star Trek that was released in 2009. Abrams has been a vocal supporter of the fan productions, and invited some of them, including James Cawley, to the set when the film was in production back in late 2007. Cawley even ended up as a background crew member on the bridge, and there is a quick shot of him included in the film.

But it appears Cawley, like a few hardcore Trek fans, did not appreciate the galactic changes to franchise (which it needed), but especially they took umbrage with new versions of crews origins. And because Cawley played Kirk in Phase II, it he seemed even more upset. So his team at Phase II decided that they were going to do an origin story of Kirk at the Starfleet Academy and said this was the true origin of Captain Kirk. This seemed to be a public retort by Phase II to both CBS and Abrams.

In the end, is this a simple issue of Norman Spinrad making money off a script that essentially does belong to CBS?

Probably.

On the other hand, though, could Cawley’s public displeasure with Abrams reboot also factored into the cease and desist? I think that’s more than possible, as this might fall under the phrase of “biting the hand that feeds you.” From their point of view, CBS allowed the fans to produce their versions of Star Trek without much interference, and even allowed some of them to precipitate in the new Trek movie, and then you publicly diss it later? I still think CBS clearly sees that as long as the fan series stay within certain parameters, they’re willing to let them co-exist with the “real” Star Trek if only because it is mutually beneficial that they do. But I also see them stepping in when those fan productions step on the toes of the people who are allowing them to have their fun.

Meanwhile, Norman Spinrad has been quiet since the legal actions, posting on his web page that he and “CBS have agreed to resolve our disputes concerning the ownership of the Work; as part of the settlement between the Parties, the Parties have agree that there will be no further comment; and CBS is considering opportunities to offer licensed copies of the Work. Because of the above, I can no longer comment on the He Walked Among Us screenplay myself. “

But in a very roundabout sort of way, Spinrad wrote an answer to a fan who speculated doubt that Abrams had any involvement in the cease and desist.  He said while he could not discuss the legal aspects “I am not legally bound not to say that I found J.J. Abrams’ first Star Trek film quite inferior to the Phase II videos and his cavalier attitude towards the decades-long legacy of what Star Trek has come to mean to the general culture quite reprehensible, and indeed artistically counterproductive.”

So, he thinks this was all J.J. Abrams.

Media Bits: Fox pulls 'Neighborhood Watch' teaser material from Florida; 'Lone Wolf' headed to the big screen

When reality enters into movies, studios are faced with difficult choices. The Trayvon Martin incident in Florida is focusing an uncomfortable light into 20^th Century Fox’s upcoming July release Neighborhood Watch. The film’s teaser, which the studios describe as “a broad alien-invasion comedy and bears absolutely no relation to the tragic events in Florida,” features stars Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn, Jonah Hill, and Richard Ayoade attack the block with intimidating stares while Hill makes finger-guns and later manhandles a hoodie-clad teen. This most striking parallel forced Fox to pull both the teaser posters and trailer from Florida altogether, noting they are “very sensitive to the Trayvon Martin case.”  The studio announced they plan to move into the next phase of their marketing of the film, but intend to keep the July 27^th release date, hoping I guess that there is some resolution to this horrible event. 

Oscar winning actor Graham Greene has joined Syfy’s new pilot Defiance, which is based on the MMO game of the same name. Former Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel recurring actress Julie Benz also stars in this post-apocalyptic project. The pilot will be directed by Scott Stewart (Legion, Priest) and was written by Rockne O’Bannon (V, Farscape, Alien Nation), Kevin Murphy (Caprica, Reaper) and Michael Taylor (Battlestar Galactica, Caprica, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine).

Jack Bender, who helmed many episodes of Lost and who was attached to direct the reboot of author Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan character, has departed the Paramount Pictures production due to his heavy workload. It’s being reported that actor/director Kenneth Branagh, who helmed Paramount’s money making Thor, will now direct the feature. Chris Pine is still attached to play Ryan, with likely production to begin mere weeks after Pine finishes up his work on the Star Trek sequel. The script is supposed to deal with Ryan’s early years in the CIA, and not based on any of the novels –though the idea is based on a story contained within one of the Clancy novels.

One of the first Japanese manga series I ever encountered while working in the bookstore business was Lone Wolf and Cub back in the late 1980s. Now Kamala Films has acquired the film rights to the 1970s series by Kazuo Koike. The story is set in Japan's feudal Edo period, and follows the Shogun’s elite executioner whose wife is killed and he's framed by a rival clan. He's forced to wander Japan with his three-year-old son Daigoro as an assassin for hire. Justin Lin (Fast Five) is attached to helm the film, while David & Janet Peoples (Blade Runner, Unforgiven) will write the script.

Emmy winning actor Peter Dinklage and the legendary Catherine O’Hara have been cast in the fantasy drama Rememory. The story revolves around a brilliant professor who mysteriously dies on the eve of releasing his life-changing invention. His wife, Carolyn (O’Hara), discovers the device which records and plays memories. Dinklage plays a friend who helps figure out the mystery. Mark Palansky will direct from a script he developed with Mike Vukadinovich. 

Bob Odenkirk has been added to the cast of the stop-motion R rated animated comedy Hell & Back, joining a voice cast that includes Mila Kunis, Nick Swardson, TJ Miller and Rob Riggle. This will be the film from stop-motion Robot Chicken studio ShadowMachine.  The comedy is about two best friends who must rescue their buddy from the depths of hell. Odenkirk –a two-time Emmy winner for writing- will play the Devil, who’s been running Hell since before time began, and it’s starting to get on his nerves. Tommy Gianas is directing.

Travis Richey brings us Untitled Web Series About A Space Traveler Who Can Also Travel Through Time

Who knew when NBC’s cult favorite Community began a recurring joke about a legendary TV series called Inspector Spacetime, which was a parody of the long-running BBC series Doctor Who, it would spawn its own cult following?

Actor/writer Travis Richey, who recurred on the Peacock Network’s show as the Inspector, clearly saw potential in expanding the concept (along with a host of other people, who created an entire history of the show via online bulletin boards, Tumblr, and a TVTropes page), so he and his writing partner Eric Loya decided to write a 6-epsiode web series called Inspector Spacetime and offered it up to NBC. But when the network gave no response to their pitch, they turned to Kickstarter.com to get fans to help fund a non-profit production.

That’s when Sony intervened. Since the studio owns the name and likeness to Inspector Spacetime, he was told he could not use the title or the look that appears on Community. But like many clever writers, Richey and Loya, altered the title and the appearance of the main character and came up with Untitled Web Series About A Space Traveler Who Can Also Travel Through Time. And because all other aspects of their original idea about Inspector Spacetime they pitched to NBC were inventions of himself, Loya and legions of fans that help create an elaborate back-story for the character, Richey can continue to use them.

Richey’s Siv-Art Productions have announced that Fallout: Nuka Break director Vince Talenti will helm the first season of what now is a parody of a parody. Talenti is best known as one half of the comedy production house Wayside Creations and recently premiered a six-episode web series based on the video game Fallout. The series and the short film that preceded it have racked up over 3.5 million views on YouTube, in addition to the various behind-the-scenes videos the crew shot for fans.

In a press release, Richey said, ‘I am so thrilled to have Vince aboard to make this series.  He has a special skill for making a show look as good as possible, including great special effects and action, while still ensuring that the comedy shines through.  Which is exactly what The Inspector needs.”

“I’ve been a fan of Travis’s work for some time,” commented Talenti, “The sheer volume of content that he has created over the last few years on no budget is amazing.  I’m so excited that we have a chance to bring one of his projects to life with the budget it deserves.”  He added, “I think that Travis is doing this for the right reason, because it’s a passion project, which I completely understand.  It’s the reason I did Fallout with Zack,” referring to Zack Finfrock, the other half behind Wayside Creations.  Finfrock will also be involved with the project, as a producer, as well as lending his artistic talents behind the scenes.

Richey himself had previously achieved international acclaim as the creator of several web series, including Robot, Ninja & Gay Guy, 2 Hot Guys In The Shower, Smiley Town, and an award-winning series of “Mac vs PC” spoofs.  His videos -featured on CNN, Comedy Central’s website, The Huffington Post, The UK Telegraph, PerezHilton.com and many other blogs and websites- have garnered over 2 million views on Youtube.  While not  performing regularly at ACME Comedy Hollywood, Richey can be seen in the Season 2 Finale of Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family.

The fundraising  on Kickstarter.com ends on April 1. And while they’ve raised the $20,000 needed to fund the project, any additional money fans can give them until then is welcome, as it just assures additional post-production funding. The team hopes to begin premiering the series in May 2012. 

Netflix passes on resurrecting Terra Nova

A few days after FOX officially cancelled Terra Nova, Netflix made an announcement that they were interested in picking it and continuing the series. At the time, I thought the idea was not practical, mostly because of the huge cost factor. Now, two weeks later, Netflix acknowledged they have decided not to go forward. Terra Nova is now dead. While resurrection of shows has happened –Family Guy and Futurama in the last few years, and Arrested Development sometime this year- prospects for mounting a science fiction show remain too costly for the cable networks and companies like Netflix; sadly, these expensive shows remain only possible in the realm of the broadcast networks. Still, while Terra Nova has most of its costs already covered –sets and location- it would still be expensive show to make, no matter how much the budget was reduced. This was the same thing Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome was faced with at Syfy last week: how to make the economics work so the network can make money. Meanwhile, Netflix is also interested in ABC’s The River, which while not officially cancelled at the Alphabet Network, the fact that another company is interested in picking it up more or less confirms it will not be back. But like Terra Nova, The River is also an expensive show, but I believe the shows format might make it more flexible to budget reduction and still –possibly- make money for them.

'Hunger Games' breaks records; racist comments about casting choices as well

Per Deadline: “The final North American box office tally for Lionsgate’s The Hunger Games is $152,535,747, down slightly from Sunday’s studio estimate of $155 million. It remains the third-highest opening of all time, and the best opening of all time outside the summer tentpole season.” It grossed over $210 million world-wide.

Also, there is a Tumblr blog that is posting the racist comments tweeted by supposed people who claim to be fans of the series, yet are shocked certain characters in the movie are being portrayed by black actors, characters such as Thresh and Rue. The Hunger Game Tweets blog shows with a striking blow of clarity the ugliness that permeates American.The blog site Jezebel also talks about it.

Finally, while the reviews have been great, an 85% Certified Fresh over at Rotten Tomatoes, Asawin Suebsaeng over at Mother Jones takes a critical look at the how the film played down the books sometimes satiric, often gory outlook at a dystopian future. “By doing so, the movie defangs the lurid hook of the novel, sanitizing the set pieces of child-on-child barbarism. What should be disturbing and grotesquely riveting is reduced to what amounts to the visceral pangs of a Vampire Diaries episode, sapping the adrenaline and cheapening the prolonged killing.”

Of course, it was designed as a PG-13 film. But this is not the first time, nor will it be the last time, Hollywood waters down these type of novels to fit not only the linear storytelling, but to appeal to a broader-based audience that does not want any complex metaphor interfering with their everyday life of enjoying a film that puts children fighting to the death.

Media Bits: 'Horror', 'Carrie', and 'Jupiter Ascending'

In a move that may give it help its chances at winning a drama Emmy, F/X’s American Horror Story will be submitted as a miniseries, instead of Best Drama. While the series could have also been submitted under the Best Drama umbrella –its premise as an anthology series where story and characters are designed to change from year-to-year- put in a unique category of being able to be submitted as a miniseries as well. This was the strategy the PBS used that allowed the super popular Downton Abbey to sweep that category last year. Now, however, Downton Abbey will vie for Best Drama this year, which will put it up against highly favored shows like Mad Men and Breaking Bad. By moving American Horror Story out of the Best Drama, its stakes rise. Besides, it’s already forgone conclusion that Jessica Lange is the one to beat in Best Supporting category. She’s won a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her crazy role of Constance, and her year will be topped off by an Emmy win this fall. 

BBC has renewed their version of Being Human for a 5^th season.

Both Channing Tatum and Mila Kunis are in early talks to star in the Wachowskis' brothers new sci-fi epic Jupiter Ascending, which will likely become a franchise if the first film does well. Deadline reports that while there is no plot information available, it should be noted that while the brothers are bankable producers, 2003’s The Matrix remains their best known film, overshadowing its two less-than-spectacular sequels. Then there was 2008’s take on Speed Racer, which failed to stir at the box-office, but the brothers have their highbrow drama Cloud Atlas which is in post-production, coming out soon.

While I think there is no demand for another version of Stephen King’s 1974 first novel, Carrie, we seemed destined to get one. Beyond the original 1976 film which starred Sissy Spacek and Piper Laurie, we seen a 1988 theater version, which closed after only 16 performances, a 1999 sequel The Rage: Carrie 2 and 2002 made-for-TV remake. Now MGM and Screen Gems are bring us another remake, this time with Boys Don’t Cry director Kimberly Pierce helming it. The film is said to be "less a remake of the De Palma film and more a re-adaptation of the original text.” While King once suggested –rather jokingly- Lindsey Lohan for the role of Carrie, apparently the choice have boiled down to two actresses, 15 year-old Chloe Moretz, she of Kick Ass and this May’s Dark Shadows, or 24 year-old Haley Bennett (The Haunting of Molly Hartley). Meanwhile, director Pierce is hoping to lure either Jodie Foster or Julianne Moore for the role of Carrie’s mother. While I believe Moretz is super talented and very capable of doing the role, having an actress under the age of 18 –one who is essentially in every scene- would not be financially viable. However, I do believe in casting someone who is closer in age, or at least looks like a teenager. But Hollywood has always casted early twenties actors for teens, but mostly because the ability for the actor to put in the long hours. Until Moretz’s reaches 18, she’s limited to her time on a set, and time, as always, is money. 

Director Jonathan Liebesman recently spoke to Collider about producer Michael Bay's comments about the how the live-action reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which caused a  stir when Bay mentioned they were going to be aliens, thus was changing their origins. The simple, often predictable words, were he was "taken out of context." Essentially, the creative team is working with the creators of the comic, and pointed out the ooze that creates the mutant turtles comes from outer space, and so it’s sort of alien. And, apparently, because saying Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles takes too long to say, the film may end just called Ninja Turtles.

Coming Soon...

'Doctor Who' to film Amy & Rory's final story in New York

Some news came out about Doctor Who at the convention going on in Cardiff this weekend. Steven Moffat confirms the series will return to America to film episode 5 in New York. That story will be the one where Amy and Rory depart after what might be the final appearance of the Weeping Angels. Also, a teaser trailer will be released on Monday that shows clips from the first two episodes that went into production, episodes 2 and 3 respectively. We’ve known for some time that the Ice Warriors, who battled the second and third Doctor’s, was on the cusp of a return. They’ve been mentioned a few times on the revived series but after 6 seasons, they still remain in the mists past history. With the approach of the 50^th Anniversary of the legendary TV series, it would not be outside reality that the Doctor might encounter previous enemies, from both the new and original series. And with the Weeping Angels and the Daleks that are scheduled to return, rumors are coming that they may be just the tip of returning foes (could Moffat be repeating the series 20^th anniversary season arc where the Doctor battled foes from his past?). And so it looks like the Ice Warriors will be back, as chitchat has broken that British comedian and actor Greg Davies has been tapped to play the Ice Warrior Leader.

SyFy NOT moving forward with 'Galactica' prequel 'Blood & Chrome'

  After the more cerebral Caprica failed to light up ratings at the Syfy Channel, the cable net –still perhaps stung by criticism of the metaphysical conclusion to the rebooted Battlestar Galactica – ordered another, more action-packed prequel TV series set during the tenth year of the first war with the Cylons and followed a young William Adama and was called Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome. That was October of 2010. Because the show was using virtual sets, which also included other CGI effects as well, it led to an extensive post-production which meant the pilot was not finished until November of 2011. But despite the delay, it seems, fans kept the flame alive and continued to inquire when the cable net was going to finally air the movie and then series.  According to Deadline, back in January at the TCA’s, the “Syfy president (of) original programming Mark Stern was quoted as saying that he the network brass were ‘trying to figure out the economics right now’ and that he hoped those would be figured out.” Then, over the weekend at WonderCon in Anaheim, an unauthorized trailer for the series was shown. On Monday, it hit the web and went viral (100,000 views in 24 hours, according to Deadline), but there has been much attempt to have it taken down. Now, word has come that Syfy will not move forward with the series, but it still may end up as digital one. “Though the vision for “Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome” has evolved over the course of the past year, our enthusiasm for this ambitious project has not waned,” Stern said in a statement today. “We are actively pursuing it as was originally intended: a groundbreaking digital series that will launch to audiences beyond the scope of a television screen. The 90-minute pilot movie will air on Syfy in its entirety at a future date.”

Deadline also reports that Syfy needed to address the issue suddenly are months of obfuscation due to the release of the trailer which was shown on a panel at WonderCon that featured Kevin Grazier, the scientific adviser for the cable net’s Battlestar Galactica series. “The problem was that this was not an official trailer but a demo reel not intended for public consumption and thus not put through the process of clearing music and other rights. It is still unclear how the video made its way to WonderCon, but NBCUniversal today moved swiftly to take down the multiple copies that had popped up on YouTube.”

With SyFy out of contention for a series, Universal Cable Productions may still shop the project to other networks. But like recently cancelled Terra Nova and potential interest from Netflix to continue the series, the “economics” of producing a science fiction show on basic cables smaller budgets (as compared to the broadcast network), significantly makes their future more doubtful.

Jenna-Louise Coleman joins Doctor Who

More news came out of the UK about season seven of Doctor Who, including the announcement of a new companion, 25 year-old Blackpool born Jenna-Louise Coleman. The actress first came to public attention playing Jasmine Thomas in the long-running soap Emmerdale between 2005 and 2009. She then went on to appear in the fifth season of Waterloo Road as Lindsay Jones, and will be seen on upcoming miniseries Titanic from Downton Abbey creator Julian Fellowes. Her debut in film came with the role of Connie in Captain America: The First Avenger. While some might complain that Steven Moffat is basically using the same template of pretty, young female companion that has served the series for nearly 50 years, I’m willing to give him the benefit of doubt about this new, unnamed companion. Still though, Amy Pond did follow in the footsteps of female companions that fall in love with the Doctor since the series was revived back in 2005. Moffat was mum on who this new companion is, including where the Doctor meets her, “where he finds her, are all part of one of the biggest mysteries the Time Lord ever encounters,” he said. 

The structure for season seven did come out, with the Ponds exiting the series in episode 5, after the Doctor, Amy and Rory meets up with the Weeping Angels again. Those five episodes and the Christmas Special will air in the fall, possibly starting in November. The back 8 will air in 2013, but there is still no word when. We still know that there will no two-parters, that each of the 14 episodes can be considered mini-movies that feature new villains and returning ones as well. Showrunner Steven Moffat did add that arcs begun in earlier seasons have not been abandoned and will be picked-up again. 

We know now the Daleks will return sometime during the autumn run as well, but seeing that next year is the series 50^th birthday, I would not be surprised they didn’t return then as well. Whether the mutants from Skaro will be part of the back eight, or part of season 8 remains a mystery as well, though this does substantiate the rumor that additional scenes were filmed in Spain while the crew was shooting there for episode three; the idea that some of the barren areas are supposed to resemble the Daleks doomed home planet. If the Daleks return in those 8 remaining 2013 episodes, it could be the season finale, which might also feature the end of Matt Smith’s run as the Eleventh Doctor –though I stress, this has no basis in fact, just wild speculation at this point. 

One other piece of speculation can be this: when the series celebrated its 20^th season, that year featured a return villain from the Doctor’s past in every episode. If the show returns for an 8^th season in the fall of 2013, and Matt Smith and showrunner Steven Moffat stay with the show, could we see something similar? The internet has been rife with rumors concerning at least two original series villains were returning (does the Daleks count?) for this season, but could they be held until season 8? 

In the end, though, all this speculation is meaningless; fun, but also not really productive. What will be, will be.

Izzard cast as Grandpa in 'Mockingbird'; Michael Bay is an idiot

After NBC fast-tracked the Bryan Fuller’s reboot of The Munsters to series as Mockingbird Lane, the production was put into turnaround in January and the start date was shifted to June, with the peacock network noting that it was due to casting issues. Now we know why, as it was British comedian Eddie Izzard who NBC, Fuller and pilot director Bryan Singer wanted for the role of Grandpa. But Izzard was attached to a project he was developing over at F/X, which left the network with no choice but to stall the show. Still – while work progressed on the concept and design of the show, which will apparently be in the vein of Fuller’s short-lived but brilliant Pushing Daises- Izzard’s deal went south and was also passed on another pilot, and thus was available when NBC approached him again. According to Deadline, Izzard was “impressed by the Fuller and Singer’s vision for the Munsters world, he came on board the Universal TV-produced project as a star and a producer.” The vision of Grandpa –once played by the late Al Lewis- is that he’s the “Munster family patriarch, a powerful, ancient vampire with an irrepressible twinkle in his eye. He can shapeshift into rats, wolves, and other creatures at will, but he’s also dapper and charming in a fedora; he is a Don Juan-type womanized with penchant for flashy, sexy outfits.” Izzard is the first to be cast on the show, which should quickly bring other performers on board in the coming weeks. If the series does begin shooting in June now, NBC will still hold the show until mid-season (though there had been rumors when the show was first announced last fall it was destined as a summer-run). 

Director Michael Bay is not a subtle man, as he’s proven with the movies he has helmed. Explosions are used where dialogue and exposition could be used better to move the story along. His quick editing and continued movement of the camera is, more or less, designed to appeal to people ADHD. Yet no where can you say anything of his films is actually grounded in any science. So why is the reboot version of The Teenage Mutant Turtles, which he’s producing, changing its origin concept of radiated turtles that become superheroes into space aliens who become superheroes? Bay recently spoke at Nickelodeon Upfront in New York where he announced that this live-action reboot will feature far more realistic, relatable ninja turtles. “When you see this movie, kids are going to believe, one day, that these turtles actually do exist when we are done with this movie. These turtles are from an alien race and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny, and completely lovable.” It seems this will upset fans of the original comic, cartoon and live-action series and anyone who can read and understand sentence structure. Or, of course, fans can ignore the TMNT’s murky canonical start in favor of Bay’s more “realistic” take.

'Walking Dead' breaks more ratings at AMC

On the March 18^th season finale of AMC’s The Walking Dead, the basic cable network scored a record breaking 9 million viewers. These numbers are hugely important for basic cable in general and reflect embarrassing on the broadcast networks who are struggling to find an audience for any of its scripted series beyond aging shows like Big Bang Theory and NCIS

Their failure to create any series with compelling characters, or interesting concepts without relying on some tired formula or silly gimmicks is dooming them. While not all basic cable shows are worthy of such praise, they still seem to capture viewers. 

Some will say the violence and the gore basic cable can get away with on The Walking Dead is what makes the show so popular -this is stuff that the broadcast networks can’t do because they have the FCC breathing down their necks. While that may be true for most, I also believe The Walking Dead excels at storytelling and has a wonderful, believable cast. The gore, in some cases, is just a by-product of the story, and not used in a disingenuous way. And I’m not fond of gore. I enjoy the show because it’s well written, creepy and brilliantly acted. 

The fact that the broadcast networks are relying on the same cop show formula since Dragnet and the same comedic format since I Love Lucy is where the problem lies. They seem to back away from any idea that cannot be boiled down to a short sentence; they can’t allow a series to grow because it was not a hit to begin with, or tinker with the shows concept so much that whatever creative aspect they had, is gone. If I was pitching a series these days, and it was creative, unusual and bent away from typical TV shows, I would be knocking on the doors of basic cable networks. At the end of the day, ABC, NBC, CBS, The CW and FOX embrace mediocrity, while basic cable (even the premium ones) seem to be saying they want shows that defy the same ordinariness the broadcast networks swim in.