tartysuz

Yesterday, kadymae and I co-moderated a panel about live action adaptations of comic books on TV, which is a huge trend that shows no sign of slowing.

All four major English-language networks are airing or have commissioned comic book shows. Cable, Netflix and even the Playstation Network are developing comic book shows.

We looked at a list of current and upcoming live-action shows based on comics:
http://www.newsarama.com/22940-as-seen-on-tv-the-full-list-of-live-action-comic-book-tv-shows-on-the-air-or-in-development.html

and a liist of all TV shows based based on comic books:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_programs_based_on_comics

We found many differences between earlier TV shows, which are more serialized and produced by people who are producing comics today, have previously worked in the comics industry, or are longtime fans of comics and familiar with the canon.

Some points that were raised:

• As the Comics Code Authority loses its cachet, changes in what comics can show reflected in what TV can show.
  
• The Feels: you used to watch TV for episodic plot, and movies for emotional resonance, but now TV shows convey that sense of intimacy
  
• The technology has improved for special effects and costumes.
  
• New shows produced from a place of love and respect for the material, not from a place that is just using the brand.
  
• Shows are remixing the source material and they are conscious that audiences are aware of the remixing.
  
• This remixing adds a Shakespearan dimensionality to the shows: we're watching how these characters are being interpreted by this particular production.
  
• There are now shared universes on TV and also with movies, whereas older shows were stand-alone.
  
• There is a seriousness to the characters, as we take comics seriously -- in contrast to campier interpretations in the past.
  
• Television producers are now expanding out to feature lesser known characters, like Arrow and Agent Carter.
  
• Agent Carter was great at showing attitudes to women in the 1940s, but it missed out on commenting on the whiteness of the office.
  
• Comics and shows based on them can help us look at things that make us uncomfortable, such as sexism and the long-term effects of PTSD.
  
• You get families on TV, much more than in the comics.
  
• You now see consequences of actions, even several seasons from the initial incident.
  
• There are a lot of ensemble shows.
  
• Some stories deal with how we relate to veterans: we say they're heroes, but we ignore them.
  
• Heroes can be something other than purely good. Sometimes they're rat bastards, creating complexity in the characterization.
  
• There is more diversity now.
  
• Diggle is good with being Diggle, wasn't impressed with being Arrow
  Defenders will be diverse and slashy

Hopes for the future

Hoping they don't all copy each other.

Hoping they continue to reflect the diversity source material.

Hoping the Netflix series are more arc-oriented.

Hoping the shows on cable, Netflix and smaller networks can survive because they don't need huge Nielsen numbers.

Extra!

kadymae wore a t-shirt that says "I read banned comics," which is from the Comic Book Legal Defence Fund. For information about the CBLDF banned comics, visit:
http://cbldf.org/

I just finished reading what’s described by Daily Script as the final network draft of Supernatural’s pilot episode (http://www.dailyscript.com/scripts/Supernatural-1.pdf).

Chunks of it made it to the screen: Mary's discovery of the man in the nursery, dialogue between Sam and Dean when they reunite, when they hit the road and when they wrap the case.

But there are major differences, too. The ones that stood out for me:

1) In the opening flashback, blood drips on a Sesame Street blanket, not on baby Sam directly. The aired version amplifies the irony and the horror of a murdered mother's blood dripping on her smiling, happy baby. Having the blood touch Sammy directly opens up the reading that Sam was infected by that blood. It is also an extention of the blood = infection = AIDS metaphor that dominated horror in the 1980s and 1990s.

2) Sam takes more of the positive action (finding things on the Internet, persuading people to cooperate, deducing things about the case, scamming his way to see a prisoner in a scene that did not make it to the aired pilot). So all the "action" is of the intellectual kind. Yet, he doesn't actually solve the case. Constance's entire backstory is told to him.

3) While Sam's intellectual skills are shown, Dean's physical prowess is only hinted at. This is the reverse of what most shows do: it's easier to show badass punching than badass research. At one point, he only acts when Sam tells him what to do, but Sam only knows what Dean should do because someone told Sam. Passivity begat passivity! Also less dynamic was the scene where Dean reunites with Sam. There is no fight. The fight showed both boys' prowess and introduced Dean as a man of action.

4) Sam and Jessica are just dating, not living together. Their negotiation about how to take the next step (meeting her parents) overburdened the script. The decision to show Sam and Jessica together in the apartment they shared created a parallel to John and Mary's home. Sam is shown to be making a family of his own. So the episode began with the loving, protective Winchester family, then the loving soon-to-be Winchester-Moore family, then questioned John's decisions as a father, then introduced Constance as an example of a protective parent who went overboard. As a result of her somewhat justified obsession, she physicall killed her children. As a result of his somewhat justified obsession, John was stifling his children.

5) Constance's interactions with the first victim in the episode and with Sam in the car later on are very close to what aired. However, her entire backstory is different. It is not tied to any specific myth or urban legend, although at one point Sam says there are a lot of legends about ghost hitchhikers. Because her actions aren't tied to any particular myth, she is like a character from Criminal Minds, a psychopath whose story doesn't have a lot to say about anything else. (Her story could have been tied to LIzzie Borden, though.) Giving Constance a backstory rooted in myth reinforces the show's premise. It also reinforces the underlying theme of what parents will do, however twisted, to protect their children.

Obviously, I'm biased because I've seen the pilot many times, and I've seen the stories that were developed from details in it. But I do think all the changes made the script better. They made the characters more active. They introduced additional layers of story. They drew direct connections between the Winchester family melodrama and mythic stories. This allowed Supernatural to use the procedural format, but to transcend procedural stories. It was the beginning of the epic story of Sam and Dean Winchester.

That confirmed what I'd suspected. Season 3 is not comprised of three episodes; it is actually one jumbo-sized film.

The case-per-episode formula yielded one howler in each of the two previous seasons. That's not the case with this season, when the showrunners have figured out how to use the limited format to their advantage.

Can't wait to see what they'll do with Season 4.

Not spoilery:

Someone needs to teach Sherlock the concept of "browser tabs."

My interview with Julian Richings, star of Canadian film and stage, multiple Death player.
http://www.sequentialtart.com/article.php?id=2498

I couldn't beat Tor.com's title, so I just stole it.



Source: http://www.tor.com/blogs/2013/08/sherlock-watson-in-love-south-korea-ocn

The cast of Orphan Black was at Nerd HQ this afternoon. Not only are they adorable, they're whip smart!

Tatiana Maslany (who plays the clones) basically gave an acting class, and Jordan Garvaris (Felix) had a manifesto about portraying LGBTQ characters. Dylan Bruce...well, he was there for eye candy (he was actually also quite fun).

The whole panel is up on YouTube (starts at 10:00 with Alan Tudyk (!) moderating):



Plus, the audience is just as smart and clever. Tatiana spotted someone playing Helena playing Beth, and I spotted an Abaddon cosplay:

I'm stoked about tonight's Orphan Black finale. Trouble is, I don't know anyone if anyone else is, other than Alan Sepinwall (and I don't actually know him).

This show isn't about a strong female character: it's about nine strong female characters, all played by one woman. Alright, that may not do a lot in terms of increasing the amount of work for female actors, but it does showcase an amazing young talent, Tatiana Maslany.

The premise in brief: a young, disaffected punk discovers that she is a clone. Suddenly, she cares about the world very much.

If you're looking for diversity in casting, it's worth noting that among them, the clones have: a gay foster brother, an African-Canadian work partner, a lesbian lover, several other strong female characters (played by other women) as allies and as antagonists.

And if you remember dancer Louise Lecavalier in her La La La Human Steps days, you may see a resemblance in one of the characters. (I must ask about this!)

Tatiana Maslany as Helena on Orphan Black (fanvid by bananafromouterspace)


Louise Lecavalier in Human Sex (female toplessness)

As usual, I'm having a blast covering Calgary Expo. This year, the expo rented an entire other building, so there was much more room, so fans and vendors were happy: fans were more comfortable and vendors were accessible.

Last night, I collected my Calgary Expo tweets so far.

PARADE, ARRIVAL
http://storify.com/SuzetteChan/calgary-expo-2013-day-1

MIDDLE EARTH (Richard Taylor, Dave Tremont, Mark Ferguson, Craig Parker)
http://storify.com/SuzetteChan/calgary-expo-day-2-middle-earth

CARRIE FISHER
http://storify.com/SuzetteChan/calgary-expo-day-2-carrie-fisher

SUPERNATURAL (Misha Collins, Mark Sheppard, Mitch Pileggi)
http://storify.com/SuzetteChan/calgary-expo-day-2-supernatural-panel

DAVID FINCH
http://storify.com/SuzetteChan/calgary-expo-2013-day-3-david-finch

The media panels were all very entertaining, but the panel that made my jaw drop was David Finch's. He is so humble about his work and honest about the comic book industry. I almost cried when he said he hasn't painted in two years because DC is discouraging it: he could be turning out more pages in the time it takes to do a painting.

If you're not familiar with Finch's work, check out this step-by-step feature and take a look at this: