Dream TV Series

I still didn't get to watch any new movies (my vacation isn't over yet), so I got some time to think about any dream projects I'd really like to see get made some time, but this time I focused on television series. This is of course dangerous territory for me, since I only followed a brief course in Television Studies in my early college days and never pursued the topic further, opting instead for Film Studies (like most of my fellow students did). Though I enjoy a good TV show as much as the average bloke, I'm much more of a layman when it comes to the subject, but that doesn't stop me from having an opinion on it, like I have an opinion about... well, everything really. So here's a few ideas for TV shows I really hope get picked up by the right people and like to see realized as epically as they deserve.

Rome 2.0

Remember that fabulously well written, violently gritty and sexy, largely realistic TV series about the last days of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire HBO produced a few years back? Well, you should! It's still my favorite TV series, and it got very positive reactions from audiences and critics all over the globe (which is not related to it simply being my favorite TV series, I'm just a fan as basically all its viewers understandably became). Sadly, HBO considered the show so expensive (which really showed!), they pulled the plug prematurely, so while Rome was opted for five seasons, only two of them got made (and the second season, though still of great quality, did indeed feel a bit rushed). This decision was all about money, because regardless of the high production costs involved everybody loved it and kept on watching for all 22 episodes, so it wasn't the audience's fault. HBO exces later stated they regretted cancelling the show, which lead to talk about a Rome theatrical film. That project unfortunately still hasn't gotten to fruition, and I doubt it ever will at this point.

But why not just throw out the movie idea altogether and pick off where the show left us? In fact, why not explore ancient Rome before the start of the series too? What would really make me happy is a show chronicling the whole history of Rome, starting ab urbe condita in 753 B.C., and ending with the downfall of the Western Empire in 476 A.D., showing us all of the city's history, from King to Republic to Empire, all in the style and quality of the first Rome TV series. I hear you thinking, 'that's much too epic a project'. Yup, it is, which is why it's just a dream of mine. But it could be very good television, not to mention a very very very long series. There certainly seems to be an audience for it, judging from the success of films like Gladiator and shows like Spartacus: Blood and Sand (of course, the existence of such works would make certain periods of Roman history already familiar to audiences, but in this time of remakes, reboots and reimaginings, that hardly seems a relevant issue). And indeed, the glory of Rome itself, which went well before its time. Plus, now that Spartacus is coming to an end despite its continuous popularity, there seems to be a vacancy here...

Iliad and Odyssey

Speaking of glory, how come two of the most quintessential works of literature still haven't gotten the audiovisual treatment they deserve? Homer's Iliad, about the Trojan War, and Odyssey, about Odysseus' journey home, have both seen numerous adaptations, and very few of them did the original stories justice. As the movie Troy showed, any movie, even one with a running time of 196 minutes, would just be too short to tell the whole story properly. So why not a TV series instead, and indeed tell the whole story, including all the stuff later authors added to it: granted, some of the additions were uncalled for, while others became iconic, even near synonymous with Homer's work, like the Trojan Horse. 

A TV show could tell it all and wouldn't need to skip a thing, showing us stuff we never got to see in any adaptations so far, like Achilles fighting the Amazons, or the destruction of the Ithacan fleet by the Laistrygonian giants. Of course, this show too would be too long and too epic to ever be realistically produceable. But I'm sure that's what they said about A Song of Ice and Fire before, and look how well that turned out... HBO, I hope you're reading this!

The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck

This seems like an odd choice, but those who have actually read these particular Uncle Scrooge comics by Keno Don Rosa, – undoubtedly the greatest Duck artist since Carl 'The Duck Man' Barks – will know better. The original twelve part comic book series reveals the full life story of the richest Duck in the world and how he got to be so stupendously wealthy, yet also so pitifully lonely. From his early days as a poor kid on the streets of Glasgow to his financial empire building in the first half of the 20^th Century, The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck offers human drama at its best. In fact, you could even substitute the ducks for humans with no effect to the overall story. But why not stay true to the source material and use real Ducks? That is, animated of course. Computer animation, possibly even motion capture techniques similar to the recent The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, seems the best way to go here, bringing life to this particular avian convincingly enough to care for him as he relentlessly seeks riches to escape the utter poverty of his childhood days and restore the name of the once proud Clan McDuck, only to find getting rich comes with a price as he has to abandon the potential love of his life and his relationship with his direct family turns bitter, when he evolves from a once loving and caring boy to a hardened sourdough into a tired, battered old man with no friends or family, just a shitload of money.

This is not the Scrooge McDuck you think you know from the often embarrasingly childish Disney kiddy magazines, this is hardcore Duck lore filled with tragedy, woe and hard earned life lessons! Certain scenes still get me every time no matter how often I've read them, -Spoilers!-  like the way news of the tragic death of Scrooge's mother reaches him as he's chained to the steam pipes of a river boat by his archnemesis Slick who means to publicly humiliate him, only to witness Scrooge break into utter rage in pain over his loss and destroy the whole ship singlehandedly. As this scene illustrates, there's room for humour thrown in too at times, so it doesn't get too hard to watch. Plus, it's surprisingly historically accurate, as Scrooge meets actual historical characters (except they're 'black nosed' in the obligatory Disney fashion) and lives through some epic historical events, among them the Krakatau eruption in 1883 and the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. A TV miniseries could tell the story chapter by chapter, remaing true to Don Rosa's original art and losing very little in the translation. Remember the Young Indiana Jones TV series? Well, it's very much like that, but with Ducks. And it still beats it easily.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

And then there's this much beloved science fiction adventure story, which really ought to be remade properly (despite my love for the 1954 movie) before the recent silly plans to give Will Smith Nemo's captain's chair come true. You'd think a classic tale like this would have been given a decent treatment in the present age of CGI blockbuster remakes, but apparently it's not the case. Or worse, they could do to this Jules Verne story what they did to Journey to the Center of the Earth and Mysterious Island and turn it into some preposterous 3D action flick aimed primarily at kids and making money over their lack of developed taste. Or maybe, just maybe, they could treat it with honors and remain faithful to the original work (minus the rampant animal abuse of the nineteen-hundreds). 

A TV miniseries seems the most appropriate here, some 13 episodes of showcasing Professor Aronnax's adventures sous la mer as he and his friends set out in search of the sea monster which turns out to be a highly advanced submarine constructed and captained by a bitter man who has turned his back on humanity, choosing life under the sea instead. For some reason, I always envisioned Jeremy Irons in the role of Nemo, but I'm open to other (good) options. A miniseries set in the Victorian Era, chronicling the explorations of the deep seas, watching aquanauts battling giant squids and enjoying the occasional trips to cannibal infested tropical island paradises? Bring it on! But at least treat it seriously, and with some shred of decency, unlike the fate which befell some of Verne's other works recently...