Wednesday, 19 October 2011

Talking Point: do you like it when movies become television shows?

Wednesday, 19 October 2011

It's recently been announced that Source Code, The Adjustment Bureau and Universal Soldier are being developed into TV shows. In the former's case this makes a lot of sense because the premise of Duncan Jones time-travel thriller (with some obvious tweaking) is ripe for weekly Quantum Leap-esque adventures. It could be argued that Universal Soldier could make a decent enough action drama, too... but The Adjustment Bureau? I don't see it.

Nevertheless, studios are hoping people's attachment to those movie hits means they have readymade small-screen audiences. But that's not what Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles discovered, as it was cancelled after two underperforming seasons. To be fair, it was a surprisingly decent attempt to make a series out of the Terminator mythos, but clearly most people wanted ingredients it couldn't provide: big-budget spectacle every single week and Arnold Schwarzenegger as the lead.

So do you hate it when television tries to develop films into weekly series? Or is it a good idea, provided the concept works as a continuing idea? Does it make a lot of sense, as the inspiring movie almost acts like a pilot-before-the-pilot and studios already know people like the idea?

Have any past examples of a movie-to-TV adaptation filled you with joy, or dismay? Buffy The Vampire Slayer must surely be the best example of a successful adaptation, as it totally eclipsed its cinematic forbearer (which is now treated as a joke by most people). Maybe they should be looking at flop movies that had a great concept and potential for episodic stories, rather than successful movies with very limited ideas? After all, in most cases, there's a reason a movie is a movie.