What makes AMC’s The Walking Dead so damn good?
Well, everything. But let me break it down for purposes of explanation.
First and foremost is the writing, of course; and as a writer, I thoroughly appreciate and admire the painstaking attention-to-detail and realism that the writers pour into every script.
In doing a wee bit o’ research for my article about the British show REV., I read (here, and here) that creators Tom Hollander and James Wood had been in talks with ABC about turning their BAFTA-award winning show into an American sitcom. The American version would feature a doe-eyed pastor from the woods of Wisconsin, thrust into an inner-city parish in Chicago, yuddah, yudda… but since 2012, I can’t find anything about it in the trades. Googled it; nada, nuthin’. Not a G-D thing.
So, what’s up with that?! I suppose it could still be in development hell; lord knows there’s always that possibility. Maybe ABC is having issues with scripts, or casting, or finding it a spot in their lineup. Or maybe the person championing it at ABC now works for The Food Network.
Or maybe, just maybe, showrunner Bob Daily and/or Wood and/or Hollander happened to catch Showtime’s EPISODES… and thought better of the whole endeavor.
We’ve written about the web series BECOMING RICARDO numerous times on this site. So, for that matter, have its creators. (Do a site search and be amazed. Go on. We’ll wait.) Now, though, it’s time to tell you how the Web Series Channel, a primo peer production destination, feels about this subject:
Becoming Ricardo is a half hour quirky, fun family sitcom! It’s about a girl, named Jesenia, a struggling actress who aspires to be a famous non-struggling actress – and will do just about anything to make it happen. Lucky for her – there is an Open Call audition for the HIT TV show – Crime, Law and Justice.
As we all know, since 2010 two shows (CBS’ Elementary, and the BBC’s Sherlock, which has also been picked up by PBS Masterpiece) have reimagined Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective Sherlock Holmes within a modern setting. As a writer trying to modernize a Victorian piece myself, I have been wondering why, exactly, one of these modernizations has set the world on fire… while the other is just on?
It all starts with the fact that the BBC’s version came first. In 2012, when CBS (as has been reported here and here) approached creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss about remaking Sherlock in America, Moffat & Gatiss politely declined. Smartly, CBS chose not to embroil themselves in a legal battle by ripping off Sherlock whole-hog… and instead did everything they could to make their take on a “modern Sherlock Holmes” really, really different from Sherlock.
I get it, I do. CBS wanted to move forward; Sherlock Holmes was sexy, all of a sudden. Who wouldn’t want to capitalize on that? But, as all Moffat and Gatiss really did was move the characters and stories they loved into our century, creator Robert Doherty would have to change more than just the ol’ anno domini. (By the way, his show Medium? Genius. So, I know he’s likely not the problem…)
I have never watched the television show VERONICA MARS, but the premise of the film intrigued me.
After a very successful Kickstarter campaign, Rob Thomas, the creator and showrunner of the series, has brought us this feature-length sequel. In the film, Veronica, now living in New York and interviewing for prestigious jobs at law firms, is pulled back into the life of a private eye when her ex-boyfriend, Logan Echolls, becomes embroiled in a murder mystery involving old high school friend Carrie Bishop.
Kirsten Bell stars as the super private eye just as she did in the series. She’s good, but as a fan who loved her in FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL, I expected better. She she does have good chemistry with Jason Dohring, who reprises his role as Logan, and they play off each other well. But overall, the acting in the film is subpar. Every major cast member I’ve seen before has been better before than they were here.