[QuickTidal]

So, it sounds as if Neil Gaiman's 2001 book AMERICAN GODS will be getting the HBO treatment for 6 seasons!

BEyond which Gaiman has apparently said that, "No, American Gods (the book) isn't enough story for 6 whole seasons" and that he needed to "get writing". Does that mean a real sequel (I don't count ANANSI BOYS as it's not a real sequel and doesn't concern Shadow as a character) book as well a series? Or maybe even sequel BOOKS?

Wow, consider me excited for a TV series based on my fave Gaiman book...and possibly a new volume in the series!

I would also dearly LOVE to see the short story (MONARCH OF THE GLEN) from FRAGILE THINGS collection that stars Shadow be included in the show as well.

So in a similar vein to a couple of years ago when we first got wind of ASOIAF being adapted....us nerds are in for more fantasy goodness!

Bryan Fuller and Starz appear to be Greenlit for this now.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 16 June 2015 - 07:40 PM

[Abyss]

Interesting.

On one level i'm sceptical that the sheer vagueness that's one of American Gods' strengths would work for a book, since maybe every viewer knows who, say, Odin is, and can work with horny Egyptian cat goddess but is going to be utterly lost at Anansi or that slavic hammer dude...

...on the other it's Gaiman + HBo = WIN.

Plus the underlying suggestion from this and various Fall tv shows that the networks are getting heavy into the fantasy genre.

[QuickTidal]

 Abyss, on 13 June 2011 - 06:37 PM, said:

Interesting.

On one level i'm sceptical that the sheer vagueness that's one of American Gods' strengths would work for a book, since maybe every viewer knows who, say, Odin is, and can work with horny Egyptian cat goddess but is going to be utterly lost at Anansi or that slavic hammer dude...

...on the other it's Gaiman + HBo = WIN.

Plus the underlying suggestion from this and various Fall tv shows that the networks are getting heavy into the fantasy genre.

I think so long as they explain the more obscure gods carefully enough (as is done in the book), that combined with Wikipedia will sort out casual viewers. I think it's going to be just effed-up enough for people to want to tune in every week.

[Bauchelain the Evil]

Yes!Just yes!
Normally I would be doubtful of managing to pull this off,but after AGOT I'm feeling optimist.

[Primateus]

 Abyss, on 13 June 2011 - 06:37 PM, said:

Plus the underlying suggestion from this and various Fall tv shows that the networks are getting heavy into the fantasy genre.

Never read Gaiman, but he sounds to me like a good storyteller.

But if you could please explain, in greater detail, the bolded part of your statement. Which shows are you referring to?

[champ]

taken from http://uk.tv.ign.com.../1175755p1.html

Quote

Tom Hanks' Playtone Productions is set to produce American Gods for HBO...
... Six seasons have been planned, each containing 10-12 hour-long episodes, with a budget of $35-40 million per season. The first series is scheduled to hit small screens in 2013 at the earliest.

They've done some tasty shows/movies so far Playtone, very interesting!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Playtone

edit

Anyone know how that budget stands up to other shows, Lost/GoT etc?

This post has been edited by champ: 13 June 2011 - 09:54 PM

[Tapper]

 Primateus, on 13 June 2011 - 07:35 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 13 June 2011 - 06:37 PM, said:

Plus the underlying suggestion from this and various Fall tv shows that the networks are getting heavy into the fantasy genre.

Never read Gaiman, but he sounds to me like a good storyteller.

But if you could please explain, in greater detail, the bolded part of your statement. Which shows are you referring to?

It is rumoured that Coltaine's March will be filmed in a six part series. Gerard Butler has been mentioned as a likely signing for Coltaine.
Also, Gemmell's Troy is going to get a ten episode pay-tv bit by the team that did Spartacus. Finally, but I'm doubting whether we welcome it despite it being good news for fantasy in general, the Sword of Truth series are being adapted for screenplay. It is a private project so far, but it might well come to be.


or maybe I'm just fucking witcha.

[Silencer]

AMERICAN GODS TO BE AN HBO SERIES? FUCK YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11 Man, this sucks. It's going to take forever for this to come out.

[Gust Hubb]

I agree. HELL YEAH!!!! Love Neil Gaiman. I wish they would remake Neverwhere. That was good series material too.

[King Bear]

 Abyss, on 13 June 2011 - 06:37 PM, said:

Plus the underlying suggestion from this and various Fall tv shows that the networks are getting heavy into the fantasy genre.

It's about time.

What other fantasy shows are cropping up?

Edit: NZ tends to be behind the rest of the world in TV, or at least TV I like to watch.
The Walking Dead still hasn't screened here, and there are no plans to screen
GOT.

Which is why:

This post has been edited by Future Warrior: 14 June 2011 - 12:11 AM

[Gothos]

oh HELL YEAH. I think I just creamed my pants.

[QuickTidal]

 champ, on 13 June 2011 - 09:32 PM, said:

Anyone know how that budget stands up to other shows, Lost/GoT etc?

GOT budget is apparently between 50 and 60 mil. LOST is MUCH lower as it was a network show and not HBO, but it probably clocked in around 20-30 mil a season.

[Kanubis]

Funnily enough, I'm not even that bothered about how closely they stick to the book for this one. The fact that HBO and Gaiman are working on a TV show just based on the AG concepts is enough to make me stupidly excited.

[Abyss]

 QuickTidal, on 13 June 2011 - 06:46 PM, said:

...I think so long as they explain the more obscure gods carefully enough ...

And therein lies the rub.
Anything more complicated than 'i'm the roman god of shagging' or 'i'm the modern god of hip hop music' or 'he's the mexican god of drunk' and the viewers, they flee.

 Primateus, on 13 June 2011 - 07:35 PM, said:

... if you could please explain, in greater detail, the bolded part of your statement. Which shows are you referring to?

That i know of off the top of my brainz, GRIMM, TERRA NOVA, ONCE UPON A TIME and perhaps ALCATRAZ... tho from what I know of them, at least 2 are dead meat right out the gate and maybe one will survive to a second season.

 QuickTidal, on 14 June 2011 - 12:39 PM, said:

 champ, on 13 June 2011 - 09:32 PM, said:

Anyone know how that budget stands up to other shows, Lost/GoT etc?

GOT budget is apparently between 50 and 60 mil. LOST is MUCH lower as it was a network show and not HBO, but it probably clocked in around 20-30 mil a season.

The mechanics of a subscriber based cable show like GoT are VERY different from an advertising based network show like LOST.

[polishgenius]

The one thing that won't work is keeping secret the identity of

Spoiler

Low-Key Lyesmith, coz while I know that I'm not nearly the only one who didn't work it out till Shadow did, the second it's said out loud it'll be forehead-slappingly obvious.

But that's a minor quibble... It'll be interesting to see what they come up with in terms of six seasons.



As for fantasy on television, there's so much being made now that Ronald D. Moore (ie Battlestar Galactica dude) didn't get his latest series past the pilot- Grimm, which is similar in concept, got picked up instead.


Abyss, I think you're underestimating the patience and willingness to work at it of both HBO and their viewers. The Wire made five seasons, after all. American Gods will need bigger numbers to survive but then Gaiman's name will provide those.

[Bauchelain the Evil]

 polishgenius, on 14 June 2011 - 02:11 PM, said:

The one thing that won't work is keeping secret the identity of

Spoiler

Low-Key Lyesmith, coz while I know that I'm not nearly the only one who didn't work it out till Shadow did, the second it's said out loud it'll be forehead-slappingly obvious.

But that's a minor quibble... It'll be interesting to see what they come up with in terms of six seasons.

Hmm. Never thought of that but it's definitely true. The simplest thing to do would be to just drop the foreshadowing(which none are close to none got anyway) and just give him a completely different alias.

This post has been edited by Bauchelain the Evil: 14 June 2011 - 02:31 PM

[King Bear]

 Abyss, on 13 June 2011 - 07:35 PM, said:

That i know of off the top of my brainz, GRIMM, TERRA NOVA, ONCE UPON A TIME and perhaps ALCATRAZ... tho from what I know of them, at least 2 are dead meat right out the gate and maybe one will survive to a second season.

Thanks. This is the first I've heard of any of these.

Perhaps Avatar influenced?? $$$


spoiler warning: this trailer seems to be a summary of the entire pilot episode. Yes, it even gives away the ending. Good move.

This post has been edited by Future Warrior: 14 June 2011 - 02:58 PM

[King Bear]

Nice concept. Yay, the hot House chick!


It's JJ Abrams. It couldn't be time-travel, could it? Yay, Hurley Dr. Diego Soto Hurley.

[QuickTidal]

 Future Warrior, on 14 June 2011 - 02:57 PM, said:

 Abyss, on 13 June 2011 - 07:35 PM, said:

That i know of off the top of my brainz, GRIMM, TERRA NOVA, ONCE UPON A TIME and perhaps ALCATRAZ... tho from what I know of them, at least 2 are dead meat right out the gate and maybe one will survive to a second season.

Thanks. This is the first I've heard of any of these.

Perhaps Avatar influenced?? $$$


spoiler warning: this trailer seems to be a summary of the entire pilot episode. Yes, it even gives away the ending. Good move.

I think Terra Nova looks and feels more like Jurassic Park, but I'm totally down with that. It'll be nice to see a Spielberg Show go to season.

[polishgenius]

Of the Spielberg-produced TV shows debuting this summer, I'm looking forward to Falling Skies more than Terra Nova, if only because I don't like the concept of colonising Earth's past- I can swallow paradoxes in Doctor Who, but here it's just bugging me. Unless it becomes a theme of the show. Whereas Spielberg-run alien mayhem: sold.

In case anyone's missed it, the Falling Skies (which debuts this weekend) trailer:





Out of the others, I'm looking forward to Grimm most. Once Upon a Time looks slightly similar (though less so than 17th Precinct, Moore's show which had almost the same concept) but the tone seems slightly too campy, though it might work and does have Robert Carlyle in it, and Alcatraz looks like 4400, though it'll undoubtedly be a good show...

This post has been edited by polishgenius: 14 June 2011 - 04:16 PM