Judge Dredd: Mega City One

[Vince W]

I should mention you can get updates by filling in your email at:

Mega-City One

 

[J Riff]

Unless the writing is dumbed down... which is hard not to do with J. Dredd, very clever and funny, and they will blow it if I know TV.

 

[Gnrevolution]

Looks like Karl Urban is in talks to return to the role

Judge Dredd TV series: Karl Urban has had talks

 

[Harpo]

That's decided things for me - I'll get a TV in 2019, which means my 2-year break from it will be a 4-year break in total.

 

[Tower75]

"We have had many conversations prior to this, about all sorts of things. He’s also very busy, a full-time professional actor. So we’re going to have some long and complicated conversations I would imagine, and we’ll see where we go. It’s too early to tell yet, but if we can use him and he’s available to us, then I think that would be absolutely brilliant. There’s always a possibility he will be busy, or that his schedule for other movies won’t allow- Basically, we don’t know at this stage."

In essence; we want him on board, but it's not confirmed and won't be for ages, even if it is confirmed.

"The new series is described as a drama focusing on a team of street judges, law enforcement officers who act in a dystopian future as judge, jury, and executioner of criminals..."

Sounds like Joe's not the main character then. From this it sounds like it'll focus on other Judges, probably ones invented for the show. Perhaps Urban will cameo every now and then as Dredd.

 

[Vince W]

I like the idea of series not being all about Dredd. Certainly Dredd needs to be in there, and Anderson, and Hershey... But opening up the series will let them explore new areas and not worry about conflicting with 2000AD lore too much. Let's face it, fans can be a tad obstreperous, especially if they think things should be done differently.

 

[Vince W]

Check out the latest Thrill-Cast on Judge Dredd: Mega-City One at 2000AD:

The 2000 AD Thrill-Cast: Judge Dredd: Mega-City One | 2000 AD

 

[BAYLOR]

But I want it now. So, we're at an impasse I feel.

[EDIT] A random thought pops into my head. Will this show be dependant on the American ratings? We can't loose Dredd from our screens for the third time!!1!

I have no idea if UK ratings affect US shows at all, I assume not but I have nothing to back that up with.

Even though Judge Dredd is "American", it's still a British story. How popular is Joe on the other side of the Black Atlantic?

It hasn't got the following here that it has in the UK. But if the tv show is good and a success, that could change.

 

[Danny McG]

We need someone with a James Earl Jones voice. Dub over whoever wears the costume, like they did with Darth Vader.
That's how Dredd should sound and how I hear him when reading the comics

 

[Vince W]

I hear him more like Clint Eastwood in Dirty Harry or the spaghetti westerns. Only rougher and deeper.

 

[Tower75]

He sounds like Urban, for Urban is Dredd and Dredd is Urban. Come, let us prey.

[GALLERY=media, 2148]Dredd by Tower75 posted May 19, 2017 at 3:39 PM[/GALLERY]

 

[Vince W]

Sounds like they're heading in the right direction:

Dredd boss says the TV show will 'combine the macabre with the insane and the light-hearted' | GamesRadar+

 

[J Riff]

It will have to lose the intelligence and sense of humour in order to fit the modern TV demographic. Great comic, lousy movies, ohboy here come th' TV version. Enjoy watching it from your Iso-Cube, citizen.

 

[Intern E.T.]

As a show with proper story arcs, good character development, little or no family drama and a well chosen cast, this could be good.

As just another retarded procedural cop show, it will be terrible.

InternET

 

[Brian G Turner]

As a show with proper story arcs, good character development, little or no family drama and a well chosen cast, this could be good.

I'm sincerely hoping it is - and welcome to the chrons forums @Intern E.T !

 

[Vince W]

I think the most important thing is that they have a massive eagle on his shoulder like the comics and not a badge like in the Dredd film. That and the correct number of links on the chain to his badge.

 

[Intern E.T.]

A TV series is such a great idea for Judge Dredd - I don't know why I didn't think of that before.

Perhaps because that sector of the TV landscape was still radioactive after being nuked by the Stallone movie?

Possibly because of the previous focus on movies as being the only way to get in decent special effects. At least a TV series can do that nowadays without breaking the bank.

And hopefully they won't just give us mediocre special effects and pocket the difference in the hope that this will be one of the shows that survive in the numbers game that is television.

And in the right hands this has got so much potential, especially for season arcs, heck even a longer one. The comic series from 2000AD is such a rich resource, and...

I hope the team behind this are fans of the comic. But it honestly would not surprise me if none of them had read it in their life. I read the other day that David Lynch had never even read Dune before he was offered the movie.

And although pulpy and a little tongue in cheek at times, on occasions it rose to serious greatness.

It had its fair share of filler, frivolity and over ambitious stuff. But normally if the story was patchy, they at least got someone good to do the artwork. So if the odd story here goes astray, hopefully the visuals will stay on course. They need to get out into the sexy city and show us stuff, not just provide exposition to each other down at the station. I want a pleasure cruise on the open seas, not a sinking ship in a bottle.

The run during issues 500-600 in which issues of democracy came up was brilliant and intelligent. The award-winning two-part story America from the Judge Dredd Megazine is probably the best treatment of political themes I've seen in SF:

JD, and 2000ad in general, has always been so prophetic. You could tell that the people behind it had studied the past before they offered their vision of a future where, amongst other things, security would come at the cost of freedom. To me, it seems quite influenced by Aldous Huxley; we have a post war society that has made great strides in areas such as genetics, but the questionable morals are also not unlike that of Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451. The way things are controlled is much less subtle than BNW, though, more akin to Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four.

...smoking was banned in Mega City except in those bubble things.

So was owning a homicidal robot as far as I recall. Actually, I thought Rico was one of the only good things about that movie. He wasn't much like the comic book version but the actor gave a solid enough performance to be a convincing foil to Dredd.

Seeing Dredd's face

The SECOND that happens, I'm out.

...I fangirled hard over Dredd back in 2012. I still don't understand how that film "flopped"

I was under the impression that movie did respectable business considering the size of its budget.

2 years!?

Makes me wonder if this is a done deal or just a pipe dream.

Will this show be dependant on the American ratings?

Most likely completely dependent. All American networks seem to care about is their first run live broadcast ratings because those determine how much they can charge advertisers for slots. Despite technology making shows like this cheaper, it will still likely cost a fair amount per episode to do the show *justice*. The network aren't going to give this show forever to find an audience, not when they could be churning out a reality show, about celebrity poodles getting make-overs, at a fraction of the cost.

I like the idea of series not being all about Dredd.

I'm not sure I do. It's starting to sound a little like some newfangled spin off show like Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers. "We live for Mega City One; we die for Mega City One!"

welcome to the chrons forums @Intern E.T !

Thank you. It's nice to BE here.

InternET

 

[Vince W]

P
I'm not sure I do. It's starting to sound a little like some newfangled spin off show like Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers. "We live for Mega City One; we die for Mega City One!"

InternET

Why not? The prog and megazine are full of stories where Dredd is not the central character.

 

[Intern E.T.]

Why not?

It wouldn't be much of a show if it was ONLY about Joe. But I don't think it's asking for much for Dredd to be leading the ensemble, and a regular cast member, in a show named after him.

The prog and megazine are full of stories where Dredd is not the central character.

And they also contain stories where he is.

InternET

 

[Vince W]

Some concept art for the new series.

Judge Dredd TV Show: Exclusive First Concept Art Images - IGN