February 23, 2002
4:43 PM Subscribe
Ready for a one-hour science fiction television show about space exploration not set in the Star Trek universe? How about a half-hour show about the developing relationship between a blind girl and a sci-fi fan? Well, Richard Whettestone thinks you are, and he's got the scripts -- now he just needs PBS to pick up the shows!
How is this any different from Joss Whedon's new show Firefly? Or JMS's new Legend of the Rangers? Or Farscape? There are plenty of non-Star Trek sci-fi shows out there; his ideas are hardly as groundbreaking as he seems to think they are. And with very few exceptions, "specific details cannot be revealed" usually translates to "I only have what you see here but need to pretend there's more in order to make the sale."
So why again is this a FPP?
posted by tsumo at 5:36 PM on February 23, 2002
So why again is this a FPP?
posted by tsumo at 5:36 PM on February 23, 2002
jimw---Pay them no mind. They didn't get it. (I'm surprised at you, Zachsmind! tsumo: You caught part of it; go look again.)
PBS? He wants to sell to PBS? LOL! (And do you love the use of the Clinton photo? I had to wipe red wine off my keyboard!)
I'm torn between thinking this is one of 800 slushpile submissions that Asimov's SF Magazine gets *every bloody month* [yes, I've read them, or any many as I could handle without severe brain damage] and thinking that this is one of the slushpile readers getting EVEN with the submitters.
Either way, thanks.
If this were on paper, I'd save the "best" lines to read at a midnight "It Came From The Slush Pile" panel and I'd use the rest to start a fire in the fireplace on a cold winter evening...I've seen both done with similar mss.
I've also seen similar mss. wind up bestsellers or on tv or as block-buster movies. No accounting for taste, said the old lady as her husband kissed the cow.
I'm as intrigued by this as you are, jimw, and I wouldn't have seen it without your post. Is it a goof that plays off all the movie teaser sites or does he think he can actually sell his (two) series to PBS [mmmf. mmmf. hand over mouth. mmmf.] by encouraging visitors to his site to write to PBS [mmmf.]....
Please keep an eye out for follow-ups. I'll be looking too and, if I see anything equally intriguing, I'll pass it on.
posted by realjanetkagan at 7:38 PM on February 23, 2002
PBS? He wants to sell to PBS? LOL! (And do you love the use of the Clinton photo? I had to wipe red wine off my keyboard!)
I'm torn between thinking this is one of 800 slushpile submissions that Asimov's SF Magazine gets *every bloody month* [yes, I've read them, or any many as I could handle without severe brain damage] and thinking that this is one of the slushpile readers getting EVEN with the submitters.
Either way, thanks.
If this were on paper, I'd save the "best" lines to read at a midnight "It Came From The Slush Pile" panel and I'd use the rest to start a fire in the fireplace on a cold winter evening...I've seen both done with similar mss.
I've also seen similar mss. wind up bestsellers or on tv or as block-buster movies. No accounting for taste, said the old lady as her husband kissed the cow.
I'm as intrigued by this as you are, jimw, and I wouldn't have seen it without your post. Is it a goof that plays off all the movie teaser sites or does he think he can actually sell his (two) series to PBS [mmmf. mmmf. hand over mouth. mmmf.] by encouraging visitors to his site to write to PBS [mmmf.]....
Please keep an eye out for follow-ups. I'll be looking too and, if I see anything equally intriguing, I'll pass it on.
posted by realjanetkagan at 7:38 PM on February 23, 2002
Don't forget to check out The Thrill of Illinois while you're there.
posted by JohnBigBoots at 7:46 PM on February 23, 2002
posted by JohnBigBoots at 7:46 PM on February 23, 2002
i think the difference between an (over-)enthusiastic guy in illinois who has been developing his dream sci-fi show since he was 16 and established hollywood players doing sci-fi shows is fairly self-evident.
sure, he's light on specifics. but do you find any of his generalities appealing? i love shows that allow story arcs to play out in novel ways (murder one, 24) or are a little more adventurous in using an ensemble cast than making every character fight for screen time in each episode (100 centre street, homicide).
digging around the site made me a little more aware about what it was that i liked to see in television shows, and made me think about why it is that shows do things that can be so frustrating to a fan like this. i had fun.
and as realjanetkagen noticed, it definitely has that rabid-fan-who-thinks-he-can-do-better vibe to it.
posted by jimw at 7:55 PM on February 23, 2002
sure, he's light on specifics. but do you find any of his generalities appealing? i love shows that allow story arcs to play out in novel ways (murder one, 24) or are a little more adventurous in using an ensemble cast than making every character fight for screen time in each episode (100 centre street, homicide).
digging around the site made me a little more aware about what it was that i liked to see in television shows, and made me think about why it is that shows do things that can be so frustrating to a fan like this. i had fun.
and as realjanetkagen noticed, it definitely has that rabid-fan-who-thinks-he-can-do-better vibe to it.
posted by jimw at 7:55 PM on February 23, 2002
Wow, this has been around for a while, so if you're waiting for more specifics on the sci-fi program's premise or development, it's probably safe to say they're not coming. I first saw this site seven or eight years ago when I worked in public television.
As a development pitch, it's not compelling. As a creative exercise by a fan, it differs little from the doodlings many of we wee geeks made in spiral-bound composition notebooks during study hall. In other words, fun and harmless. ;-)
posted by bradlands at 8:03 PM on February 23, 2002
As a development pitch, it's not compelling. As a creative exercise by a fan, it differs little from the doodlings many of we wee geeks made in spiral-bound composition notebooks during study hall. In other words, fun and harmless. ;-)
posted by bradlands at 8:03 PM on February 23, 2002
but do you find any of his generalities appealing? i love shows that allow story arcs to play out in novel ways (murder one, 24) or are a little more adventurous in using an ensemble cast than making every character fight for screen time in each episode (100 centre street, homicide).
Yeah it's appealing! It was called Babylon 5.
There's nothing there. Just a bunch of vague concepts mixed with images from other sci-fi shows/games. This hardly constitutes an original idea: It's similar to something from Star Wars and Transformers, and operates like something from SeaQuest so it's more original than Star Trek. yawn.
posted by mkn at 9:52 PM on February 23, 2002
Yeah it's appealing! It was called Babylon 5.
There's nothing there. Just a bunch of vague concepts mixed with images from other sci-fi shows/games. This hardly constitutes an original idea: It's similar to something from Star Wars and Transformers, and operates like something from SeaQuest so it's more original than Star Trek. yawn.
posted by mkn at 9:52 PM on February 23, 2002
bradlands: If the site's been around for seven or eight years, I take back my satire (-on-internet-movie-promos-) theory. If you were there at the time...have you any clue why this guy would have aimed his 2 series at PBS?
posted by realjanetkagan at 11:17 PM on February 23, 2002
posted by realjanetkagan at 11:17 PM on February 23, 2002
mkn: In fact, the idea you point to is used in Andromeda -- to get long-range data, they have to deploy "sensor drones."
posted by kindall at 11:53 PM on February 23, 2002
posted by kindall at 11:53 PM on February 23, 2002
Yeah, and I need NBC to pick up my cop show and my lawyer show. Time to introduce Richard to The American Accolades TV, Scriptapalooza, Acclaim Film and Television, and The Writer's Market. Find a producer, find an agent, or find a manager. If he really wants it on PBS and it's viable, one of those three kind professionals will figure out how to get it there.
posted by headspace at 6:08 AM on February 24, 2002
posted by headspace at 6:08 AM on February 24, 2002
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Then when it does attempt describing details, it's all very vague and predictable. The scifi story takes place in space. In the future. The captain's from Earth. Holy crap! That's annoying!
Tell ya whut. Try posting this to MeFi again sometime in the future when the person who put it on the web gets his head out of his ass. Word to the wise: if you can't post something, don't make the webpage and then say "I can't say something." That's just stupid.
posted by ZachsMind at 5:20 PM on February 23, 2002