If you could make any TV show...

[Eternal_Freedom]

Inspired by the "If you could make any video game" thread, let us suppose that some big TV network offers to make whatever show you want, any genre, any plot, any actors you specify, any budget you require (within reason, you can't ask for $20 millionan episode for example).

So, what would you make? Personally, I'd make a genuine re-make of the original BSG series. Because I miss the days of sci-fi where good guys are good, bad guys are robots and people use honest-to-god lasers.

[Zwinmar]

Might not turn out great, but something set in the Foundationverse

[Zaune]

A TV adaptation of John Wyndham's The Kraken Wakes, but updated a bit so as to set it in the present day.

[The Vortex Empire]

An extremely high budget HBO adaptation of the Silmarillion.

[Dartzap]

A 40K series would probably work on the small screen. Certainly the Horus Heresy would make for half-decent story arcs.

[Crossroads Inc.]

MEGAS-XLR Season 3.
Oh yeah...

[Enigma]

SCP made into a series.

[Scrib]

I would make Bakker's Prince of Nothing, an awesome fantasy series. Extremely nihilistic, with a fascinating take on magic and other thigs like consciousness and determinism (though most of this is cribbed). An epic plot set against a fantasy version of the Crusades (with the religion to match) AND an epic fight against damnation for existence itself against the most fucked up aliens this side of hentai. With guest appearances from the most fucked up elves and dragons this side of...I dunno.

It actually shows how a world with ancient religion would look like. What it would feel like to live where the damnation of sorcerers and laws against sex were fact, not human constructions and what exactly this means. No conveniently modern takes on religion that allow our heroes to stay relatable to the WEIRD audience, no modern attitudes in general. Just people acting as they would in (the exaggerated version) of those times.

And the central character? A (to us) bad or alien person who shows us just what exactly an alien, hyper-logical being would look like. None of this masturbatory affirmation bullshit that we see with every other "rational" creature in scifi/fantasy where they come to see the nobility in human emotion (irrationality) and love, just a rational being acting as logically and ruthlessly as possible when faced with it's mission. And he does this by becoming our Savior.

Not only is it awesome but I can only imagine the reaction the show would get. It would be perhaps the one show that could offend everyone. Religious people, liberals,philosophical libertarians non-nihilists (though the author is not nihilistic, his world is) people who can't stand bad protagonists, everyone. It would make for some fascinating discussions. If Game of Thrones can draw the sort of discussion it does with the strength of it's characters alone I can only imagine what people would make of the themes in PoN.

[Flagg]

I would do an 8 season Dark Tower adaptation on HBO or Showtime preferably starring Javier Bardem as adult Roland, though I would start it with the events of Roland's coming of age test from the Gunslinger leading to the story told to the ka-tet in Wizard and Glass with Chandler Riggs (Carl on The Walking Dead) playing young Roland and leading up to Jericho Hill as the first season ends which would act as a prequel of sorts, then do a time jump to Tull and the adult Roland starting in season 2. Season 2 would start the main narrative with each season being 12 episodes. I would also not base each season on a single book as the length of each book varies with the events of Wizard and Glass only lasting a few episodes while the last entry in the series could fill 2 seasons. A lot of stuff would need to be cut, and instead of them meeting Stephen King it would be Richard Bachman just to not ruin SoD. The biggest issue would be the actor playing Jake aging so you'd probably have to recast him at some point, likely in season 3 in The Wastelands when Roland, Eddie, and Susanna pull him from New York into Mid-World. To save on costs and add a "moved on" quality to Mid-World I'd use the technology they used to film 300 and Sin City.

[Eternal_Freedom]

I'm not sure who I'd have starring in my original BSG remake. As much as I loved Edward James Olmos's performance in the re-imagined series I don't think he'd fit the role of the original Adama. I would try and include Richard Hatch if I can though. And Patrick Macnee as the Cylon boss again, just because he has an awesome voice.

I might cast Avery Brooks as Colonel Tigh. The Sisko meets the Cylons

[Ahriman238]

Possibly something like the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits, with the express purpose of adapting every short story and novel worth a tinker's anything. If we could get the property rights.

Or, a better time-travel history edutainment. Using Peabody and Sherman, as long as we're saying "anything."

Or a serious budget, book-based Animorphs series, we'd need a lot of CGI support though, because Nickelodeon already proved that trying to do Animorphs aliens with puppets looks fucking stupid.

Dark Angel could use some updating and love too.

[bilateralrope]

A 40K series would probably work on the small screen. Certainly the Horus Heresy would make for half-decent story arcs.

That sounds like it could get expensive to produce.

I'm thinking a series following an Inquisitor would be a better choice. Most of the series would be undercover investigations among humans, keeping the production costs down. When Space Marines get involved, it shows them off a lot better because the audience can compare them to what they have already seen humans do. There is more room for taking executive meddling and making it into something that fits.

[Napoleon the Clown]

I'd resurrect Invader Zim and give Jhonen Vasquez full creative control, he can do anything he damn well pleases. Just to see what happens. This does assume he is interested in bringing it back. While he doesn't hate the show (by any stretch) it has been gone for years. There's a difference between the six second Vines he put out several months back and actually writing full episodes.

My interest isn't "Because Zim!" as much as it is wondering what it would end up looking like, considering the other stuff the guy has put out. Especially when you consider some of the shit he did while Nickelodeon was reining him in.

[Scrib]

Possibly something like the Twilight Zone or Outer Limits, with the express purpose of adapting every short story and novel worth a tinker's anything. If we could get the property rights.

Shit, this is a great idea. I can only imagine how much fun it would be to trawl through old Golden Age scifi for possible stories. Perhaps the only thing better would be actually watching the adaptations.

Oh, and maybe an actually good Dresden Files?

[The Vortex Empire]

SCP made into a series.

Depending on the execution, this could be really good or really, really bad. Most likely the latter, I don't think a lot of SCPs would translate to TV very well.

Better idea, a Chowderclef series!

[Thanas]

In Sci-Fi, do a NuAndromeda, this time without firing the head writer after season 1.5

Other than that, adapt the Lindsay Davis Falco novels to the screen. (I'd also include Simon Scarrow but his work won't translate good to the small screen).

[Crazedwraith]

Oh, and maybe an actually good Dresden Files?

I think giving the actual Dresden Files a full season/second season would be cool. It wasn't bad. It had different rules and things but or the most part it was a decent reimagining for Telly being more about the files and less about the epic plot from the book. I thought by the end it was getting decent it just need more time/money to find its feet.

The only real change for the show I didn't agree with was the 'mundane objects as magic equipment. Let the guy have a staff and blasting rod rather than hockey stick and drumstick' but that's pretty petty.

[Flagg]

The other idea I have for a show has been a reimagined prequel series for Star Trek. Basically Enterprise never happens, and it's set around the same time period. It would basically tell the story of how we got from being the tribalist fuckups we are today to the more enlightened society and people we see in TOS. I'd feature the Romulan War towards the end of the series, the ship would be the UES Challenger, not another fucking Enterprise, and it would be modern and more gritty. But still Star Trek. It would basically end with the founding of the UFP.

The only other ST show I'd love to see is an anthology series. You could do anything then.

[Crazedwraith]

Oh man. With Trekkie fanboyism on. I'd totally go for an adaption of the New Frontier novel series. Get Peter David to adapt to screen himself. I don't know how faithfully they could do it to the books. They certainly couldn't use the TNG characters without recasting. And one of the Alien crewmembers is basically The Thing. (Fantastic Four Thing I mean. Not John Carpenter's The Thing) so that might not work on a TV Budget.

But basically its an unholy blend on TNG with TOS elements all done with PAD's very tongue in cheek, comic book style. I go for a more episodic show that's allowed to be campy and fun again, instead of the po faced darkness we get nowerdays. (or maybe we don't I ain't kept with TV well)

[General Zod]

I really just want to give Carnivale a proper ending, and maybe a third season.

[Eternal_Freedom]

The other idea I have for a show has been a reimagined prequel series for Star Trek. Basically Enterprise never happens, and it's set around the same time period. It would basically tell the story of how we got from being the tribalist fuckups we are today to the more enlightened society and people we see in TOS. I'd feature the Romulan War towards the end of the series, the ship would be the UES Challenger, not another fucking Enterprise, and it would be modern and more gritty. But still Star Trek. It would basically end with the founding of the UFP.

The only other ST show I'd love to see is an anthology series. You could do anything then.

Now that idea I like. The one thing I would keep from ENT though would be the general "look" of the ship and crew, it's about the only thing they got right.

In Sci-Fi, do a NuAndromeda, this time without firing the head writer after season 1.5

That too would be awesome.

[Mr Bean]

SCP made into a series.

Depending on the execution, this could be really good or really, really bad. Most likely the latter, I don't think a lot of SCPs would translate to TV very well.

Better idea, a Chowderclef series!

It's an easy show for monster of the week. We get introduced to three POV charters. Lucky the D class, Mulder the Agent and Dr. Forrester. Each person would provide the point of view of the various parts of SCP. We can open the show with Lucky getting sentence for a crime he committed. We spent 4-5 minutes getting his back ground. Switch to Mulder (Names are placeholders people) who's off investigating some weird thing. Switch to Lucky getting the introduction to the D class program and his first assignment. Meanwhile Dr Forrester is watching over Lucky and we get the standard white lab coats looking over the poor lab rats intro before one of them gets eaten/melted by whatever SCP we introduce. Meanwhile Mulder is getting his butt kicked by our villain of the season. Could be Marshal, Carter and Dark (A evil corporation selling scp artifacts for profit, with five hundred headquarters and ten thousand shell companies) The Church of the Broken God (Religious nuts who want to build god via acquiring SCPs) The Chaos Insurgency (A foundation splinter group who try to use SCP's to gain power) or heck the screwballs like Dr. Wondertainment or the Foundary.

The show could draw inspiration from SCP wiki and create there own. Obviously you don't need to feature 2000 scp when you need about 15 or so per 12 episode series.

[Flagg]

I really just want to give Carnivale a proper ending, and maybe a third season.

I thought I was the only one.

[dragon]

mini series for the Belgariad and the Malloreon.

[Thanas]

Oh man. With Trekkie fanboyism on. I'd totally go for an adaption of the New Frontier novel series. Get Peter David to adapt to screen himself. I don't know how faithfully they could do it to the books. They certainly couldn't use the TNG characters without recasting. And one of the Alien crewmembers is basically The Thing. (Fantastic Four Thing I mean. Not John Carpenter's The Thing) so that might not work on a TV Budget.

The new frontier novels suck unless you do buy in the MANLY CHARACTERS BEING AWESOME stuff. The plot sucks.