Would it be possible to make a TV show set in space that is not Star Wars or Star Trek that would be a hit with the mainstream?

[paranoid marvin]

Warhammer 40 K could work as a television series.

Good call. You've got the fantasy/Warcraft element and the sci-fi space marine/Aliens elements. some awesome designs and the possibilities for storylines are almost limitless.

 

[Rodders]

Warhammer 40k would be great, but probably wouldn’t attract a wider audience.

Police procedure shows seem to dominate the telly at the moment. I wonder if it would work in a Sci fi setting?

 

[Vince W]

You couldn't sell W40K to a network without watering down to pointlessness. I would love to see it if it was true to the source.

Murder of the week in space? No thanks.

 

[Dave]

Larry Niven wrote a piece about how hard it is to write detective science fiction stories. I can't remember which book it is the preface to. Anyway, his point was that it's too easy to find an undetectable way to commit a crime when anything is possible, and equally easy to find a new way to detect it too. All the stories become Deus ex Machina. In many, more earthbound, detective stories, the fun is often guessing the villain before the fictional detective does, but that is impossible if the solution depends upon something totally unexpected and unlikely. So, the stories are generally unsatisfying.

There have been such TV shows though. I remember something called Star Cops from 1987.

 

[paranoid marvin]

Larry Niven wrote a piece about how hard it is to write detective science fiction stories. I can't remember which book it is the preface to. Anyway, his point was that it's too easy to find an undetectable way to commit a crime when anything is possible, and equally easy to find a new way to detect it too. All the stories become Deus ex Machina. In many, more earthbound, detective stories, the fun is often guessing the villain before the fictional detective does, but that is impossible if the solution depends upon something totally unexpected and unlikely. So, the stories are generally unsatisfying.

There have been such TV shows though. I remember something called Star Cops from the 1987.

I guess it depends on whether you use a deus ex machina or not. Any fictional tale set in the future or in a fantasy setting has the possibility of unknown (to the reader) methods of detection or prevention of a crime. A good author won't spring one on the reader without at least some foreshadowing or clues.

Bladerunner, Bright and Outland are good examples of good cop/detective movies in scifi/fantasy settings. As for tv there's The Watch and Alien Nation (neither of which I've seen).

 

[Saiyali]

Farscape was reasonably big, in its time. And the fifth season was turned into a pair of Hallmark movies (ew) so there's always scope for a new series of that .. the child of John Crichton and Aeryn Sun, still living aboard Moya with some new gang of misfits...

 

[Dave]

The Watch and Alien Nation

Yes, Alien Nation was great, I have the box set. I forgot about that. But that had certain rules that it played by, as you say nothing unexpected, mainly the salt water thing. Otherwise, the aliens were just an allegory for any immigrant population.

 

[Toby Frost]

I really don't think 40k would be easy to make. For one thing, it's extremely violent, and would be 18-rated if you kept to the background. It's also very complicated and would need to be carefully structured so as not to be too hard to follow. Also, all of the most notable characters are at least 8 feet tall (and the space marines are seriously flat characters unless written very well). It would literally be hard to put them on screen with anyone else. Maybe some of the inquisitor stories might work, but it would be hard. To be true to itself and not end up as bog-standard military SF, it would have to include a lot of strange, wacky stuff.

 

[paranoid marvin]

I really don't think 40k would be easy to make. For one thing, it's extremely violent, and would be 18-rated if you kept to the background. It's also very complicated and would need to be carefully structured so as not to be too hard to follow. Also, all of the most notable characters are at least 8 feet tall (and the space marines are seriously flat characters unless written very well). It would literally be hard to put them on screen with anyone else. Maybe some of the inquisitor stories might work, but it would be hard. To be true to itself and not end up as bog-standard military SF, it would have to include a lot of strange, wacky stuff.

No doubt if they did convert it, the alterations made would probably annoy 40k fans more than it would please them.

 

[Parson]

Larry Niven wrote a piece about how hard it is to write detective science fiction stories. I can't remember which book it is the preface to. Anyway, his point was that it's too easy to find an undetectable way to commit a crime when anything is possible, and equally easy to find a new way to detect it too. All the stories become Deus ex Machina. In many, more earthbound, detective stories, the fun is often guessing the villain before the fictional detective does, but that is impossible if the solution depends upon something totally unexpected and unlikely. So, the stories are generally unsatisfying.

Our own @ralphkern has written a fine SF Detective novel. It's the second of The Sleeping God's series, Erebus. In my opinion this could be turned into a very fine movie. It is not that closely related to Endeavour which is not a detective novel, more of a mystery.

 

[hitmouse]

Unless it's something unusual --I think Star Trek could do a show about transporter repair crews--that would be like Reno 911 of sci-fi.
A crew going around to repair transporters--the excitement, the tragedy, how many Heisenberg compensators does one need to have on hand?

You have pretty much described Below Decks. Very funny. On Amazon.

 

[AstroZon]

I like to see something along the lines of Europa Report - realistic and adventurous. Nothing was cloned from Star Trek or Star Wars. Instead it was meant to appear like a NASA documentary.

 

[Laura R Hepworth]

Police procedure shows seem to dominate the telly at the moment. I wonder if it would work in a Sci fi setting?

If you want to see what that could look like, watch Space Precinct that's basically the whole premise of the show. The series is from 1994 and only had one season, but it's actually pretty good! I've been enjoying it on TubiTV.

 

[G.T.]

The staple of the Warhammer universe is obviously the Space Marines, but there is currently a TV series based on Eisenhorn in development, a series of novels by Dan Abnett (one of the major WH40k authors). This follows a human Inquisitor as he roots out Heresy, etc. He has some psychic ability, which is always useful if one needs to inquisit someone.

I have a feeling this will work much better than a straight-up Space Marine TV show. From what I recall of the novels, there is very little interaction with the Space Marines.

 

[Rodders]

As well as Warhammer, I think 2000AD has enough characters and stories to make a fabulous set of Sci-Fi TV shows.

 

[Vladd67]

The staple of the Warhammer universe is obviously the Space Marines, but there is currently a TV series based on Eisenhorn in development, a series of novels by Dan Abnett (one of the major WH40k authors). This follows a human Inquisitor as he roots out Heresy, etc. He has some psychic ability, which is always useful if one needs to inquisit someone.

I have a feeling this will work much better than a straight-up Space Marine TV show. From what I recall of the novels, there is very little interaction with the Space Marines.

Based on this is it?

Eisenhorn eBook : Abnett, Dan: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

Eisenhorn eBook : Abnett, Dan: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[Vladd67]

As well as Warhammer, I think 2000AD has enough characters and stories to make a fabulous set of Sci-Fi TV shows.

I would love to see a TV series of Flesh.

Flesh: The Dino Files by Pat Mills

Buy Flesh: The Dino Files by Pat Mills, Geofrey Miller, Kevin O'Neill, Ramon Sola, Jamie McKay (ISBN: 9781907992261) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk

 

[paranoid marvin]

2000 ad has a wealth of talent in design artists and writers of both storylines and dialogue. For that brilliance not to make it onto the small (or big) screen would be a criminal shame.

 

[BAYLOR]

Warhammer 40k would be great, but probably wouldn’t attract a wider audience.

Police procedure shows seem to dominate the telly at the moment. I wonder if it would work in a Sci fi setting?

Make the series revolve around the Inquisitors and take it the procedural route.

 

[Vince W]

2000 ad has a wealth of talent in design artists and writers of both storylines and dialogue. For that brilliance not to make it onto the small (or big) screen would be a criminal shame.

When (fingers crossed) Mega-City One finally goes into production I hope it does well enough to open up the rest of 2000AD to development. That or the Strontium Dog film.