Star Wars: The TV Series?

[EroSennin]

Saw this over at TheForce.net (http://www.theforce.net/holonet/index.shtml#23788)



We're continuing to hear about the direction for Lucasfilm and Star Wars post-Episode III. While there won't be more movies, we continue to hear the move is to TV. Sources are now telling us that there WILL be a TV series in 2006.
They don't know whether it'll be live-action, animated or both - Lucasfilm itself will decide on this later this year!

A live-action series ala clone wars would definatly be cool but its hard to picture coming to pass. If it does happen I wonder which channel it would air on. They would have to pay a hefty price with all the SFX and trademarks to LucasFilm

[Jimbo]

There was a similar rumour awhile back, that Lucasfilm was going to produce a Rogue Squadron live action series.

Lucasfilm quickly shot down the rumour saying that they wouldn't do a live action Star Wars show. But that was then, this is now. Perhaps the success of Clone Wars changed Lucas' mind.

But after Episode III, won't the Saga be over? And shouldn't George Lucas be working on Indiana Jones 4?

[Icer]

I'd be happy if they made another cartoon, but this time a full-length program. Not a 5 minute episode 20 times thing.

I'd also be excited if it was live-action.

But I wouldn't put it past Lucas, that there wont be another movie.

[Simpler Simon]

A live-action series would be hard to do - they'd basically be making 1/3 of a full-length movie every week...the sfx would just go through the roof :eek:

I could definitely go for another animated series, though it'd be difficult to decide what time period it should be in, if it'd star the main cast, etc.

Indiana Jones 4, if it happens, will be in 2006 now since the first script wasn't approved. Lucas could still do both projects - he'd mostly likely leave a TV series in the hands of a trustworthy creative team and just act as executive producer.

[Lord Dalek]

I'd be happy if they made another cartoon, but this time a full-length program. Not a 5 minute episode 20 times thing. You mean like Droids and Ewoks? Sorry pal, no dice.

[Mysteryinfoman]

I also agree that it would be cool seeing maybe animated but live-action, only if it does not go into the future after ROTJ. The novels though are pretty good but it'll be bad if the show say brings back Darth Vader or the Emperor like they did in the comics.

[Behonkiss]

*Envisions live-action Star Wars on a TV budget*

Please be animated, please be animated, please be animated...

[Icer]

You mean like Droids and Ewoks? Sorry pal, no dice.Cute, but you know what I mean.

I also would have no objections to them animating the books, but I highly doubt that would ever happen.

[Lord Dalek]

Cute, but you know what I mean. I kid. Since Genndy Tartakovsky apparently is working for Lucasarts full time, it could work.

[William C. Maune]

If Star Trek can word as a series, I don't see any reason Star Wars couldn't. There is plenty of material in the books to pull from. Animated or live-action, it sounds cool to me.

I like the Rogue Squadon idea.

[randomguy]

A live-action series would require so many cutbacks in SFX as compared to what the movies have that it'd be hard to do without significantly diminishing the scope and grandeur.

I'd be perfectly happy to Lucasfilm give Gendy a shot at a full-length series. It could easily be Cartoon Network's highest-profile show ever, and I could even see it succeeding in prime-time broadcast.

[William C. Maune]

I think a live-action series could actually benefit from a cut back from the focus on special effects, at least in the case of Star Wars. The original trilogy is awesome and it didn't use any of today's expensive special effects. Star Wars needs to get back to the story, characters and fun that made it great as opposed to showing off the latest effects technology.

[Squall]

I always thought that Star Wars would make an awesome anime... with animation of the style of "Cowboy Bebop", a show like that would rock! :D

But live action? I don't know how they'd keep up with the special effects quality of the movies on a TV budget... otherwise they'd risk the show look horrible, no matter how well it was written...

[Lord Dalek]

Considering that even the Star Wars movies look horrible on tv, live-action just isn't the way to go.

[Fone Bone]

Okay, not the biggest Star Wars fan on the planet, but a live action series sounds intruiging. I don't know, between the original trilogy and the prequels how much stuff in the Star Wars universe is actually fleshed out in the movies? The closest thing we came to a series was Ewoks: The Movie and Ewoks: the Battle for Endor. I think series could definatly work. The effects could be similar to the original trilogy. With Enterprise fading fast, this is the weakening Star Wars franchise's first real chance to overtake Star Trek once and for all.

[Lord Dalek]

Enterprise got renewed for another season. It isn't fading by a long shot.

[Squall]

Enterprise got renewed for another season. It isn't fading by a long shot.
It is? Where did you hear this news? :eek: Well, it's great news, nonetheless! :D

[Lord Dalek]

It is? Where did you hear this news? :eek: Well, it's great news, nonetheless! :DYeah, a UPN affiliate in Seattle spilled the beans. I can't remember where I read it though.

[Fone Bone]

Enterprise got renewed for another season. It isn't fading by a long shot.
Kinda is. If it did get renewed, it was by the skin of it's teeth. Does anyone really think it will last the standard seven Star Trek seasons? Bottom line: until they get rid of Berman and Braga and write some new stories that don't feel like reruns, it won't.

[Anyone00]

I wonder what Clerks: The Animated Series would be like set in the Star Wars universe?



Plus there's alot of years of the Old Republic era to explore.

[GL2k2]

I don't like Sci-Fi tv shows anymore, because they rely too much on SFX. It's really been starting to look cheesy now. They only one that looked cool to me was Farscape and if a Star Wars show is done in that manner I wouldn't mind.

I choose animated especially Genndy is involved. But I'd like to see something along the lines of a Knights of the Old Republic.

[Simpler Simon]

If Star Trek can word as a series, I don't see any reason Star Wars couldn't.
Star Trek, for all its comparisons to Star Wars, is a vastly different series in terms of sfx. The bulk of Star Trek episodes usually take place on a main ship, with limited sfx for the viewports, holograms, etc. Other enviroments are close enough to what Earth looks like that they can be filmed on-location. Alien races are all humanoids with prosthetics and makeup.

Compare this to Star Wars, which takes in bizzare, extraordinary environments far-removed from anything on Earth (Coruscant, Geonosis, Mon Calamari, etc). Yes they could always go back to filming in the desert, snow, and forest like the original trilogy, but that would limit the stories they could tell now that the prequels have introduced us to all these planets. Aliens in Star Wars are a lot more diverse - you can't get away with people wearing masks all the time.

I agree with your point that cutting back on the sfx could put more emphasis on story, but I still think the end product would really show the constraints of a TV budget. Star Trek was a TV show first, and thus designed around TV budgetary constraints. We're so used to the lavishness afforded to Star Wars by movie production values that anything less wouldn't be satisfying.

[William C. Maune]

You bring up good points, and this is part of the reason I mentioned Rogue Squadron (although some one else mentioned it first). I've only read the first book, but from that at least, it seems to be much more ship than planet based. It also breaks into areas of the Star Wars universe different from the movies and thus it wouldn't be as constrained by people's preconceptions.

As much as I'd like to see another trilogy like Heir to the Empire/Dark Forces Rising/The Last Command adapted, I think those and other similar books would almost have to be done as movies.

The Star Wars universe is vast and has a lot of potential though. By focusing on a series like Rogue Squadrun, part of the burden of the movies can be relieved and a new part of the SW universe with new characters can be explored.

[Simpler Simon]

You bring up good points, and this is part of the reason I mentioned Rogue Squadron (although some one else mentioned it first). I've only read the first book, but from that at least, it seems to be much more ship than planet based. It also breaks into areas of the Star Wars universe different from the movies and thus it wouldn't be as constrained by people's preconceptions.

As much as I'd like to see another trilogy like Heir to the Empire/Dark Forces Rising/The Last Command adapted, I think those and other similar books would almost have to be done as movies.
Rogue Squadron as a concept is indeed more ship-based, true, but the first 4 books actually had the squadron liberating Coruscant - only to meet a plague left behind by the Imperials. And the ship battles above-planet were Return of the Jedi-epic, which would be hard to do.

On the flip side, the next 3 books in the X-Wing series focused on Wraith Squadron, which was a covert infiltration unit. This would be more doable, as they basically took over a small Imperial scout cruiser and disguised themselves as the crew. There were also plenty of ground missions among Imperial (read:human) planets.

And they could always do another mini-series like Clone Wars, only have em be hour-long episodes that aired during summer or something. Heir to the Empire could be done as 7 one-hour episodes aired over the course of a week.

[JohnCrichton]

A Star Wars live-action series could work easy. If Babylon 5 and Farscape could pull it off, then Star Wars could definately pull it off and I say a television series is in fact waaaaaay over due.

So long as we get a fully new cast of heroes and villians and stay as far away from Luke, Han and Leia, I'll be happy.

Tales of the Jedi and Knights of the Old Republic were some of the most satisfying Star Wars experiences I've ever had outside of the Original Trilogy.

[William C. Maune]

And they could always do another mini-series like Clone Wars, only have em be hour-long episodes that aired during summer or something. Heir to the Empire could be done as 7 one-hour episodes aired over the course of a week.

A mini-series type event is an interesting idea. Whether it be live-action or a longer form (than Clone Wars) animated event, it would be a great way to judge how workable Star Wars would be on TV.

John: I assume Knights of the Old Republic is the video game, but what is Tales of the Jedi? I don't think I've heard of that one. If you haven't read the Heir to the Empire trilogy you have to check it out. Those books are a much worthier continuation of the original trilogy than the prequels will ever be.

[Aquadementia]

The good: Lucas produces some quality work and you have got to love those Jedi.
The bad: Lucas likes those condescending kiddy characters. We could end up with a "The Parkers" rip off with Jar Jar moving to the Endore moon.


I think a live-action series could actually benefit from a cut back from the focus on special effects, at least in the case of Star Wars. The original trilogy is awesome and it didn't use any of today's expensive special effects. Star Wars needs to get back to the story, characters and fun that made it great as opposed to showing off the latest effects technology.
I guess the Young folk ain't so impressed with the original trilogy. Why, growing up with electricity all me life, I reckon I don't appreciate the light bulb the way people did back in Edisons day. I do remember being in a mob as we looked up in wonder at a magical glow like a bunch of proto humans in awe of an enigmatic monolith. Each surprise more magnificent then the last. Suppose, I do gas on at times.

Seriously, Star Wars has always been fully loaded with effects. The first was at least as ground breaking as the new ones. I agree though, the story of the new trilogy isn't as compelling, and that could be because we know how things work out. Yah, go with Rogue Squadron, or something new and unknown.
I want surprises.
I want cool surprises.

[Simpler Simon]

what is Tales of the Jedi?
This was a comic book series that took place in the old Sith era I believe, waaay before the time period in the prequel movies. The Jedi were more like nomadic warriors, and fought the Sith Lord Exar Kun (who had the first double-bladed lightsaber. Kun and Nomi Sunrider, one of the heroes of this series, showed up in the Jedi Academy paperback trilogy). Kinda the Xena/Hercules equivalent for the Star Wars universe. :p

[Mysteryinfoman]

As much as I'd like to see another trilogy like Heir to the Empire/Dark Forces Rising/The Last Command adapted, I think those and other similar books would almost have to be done as movies.

I read those and they were really something but if they put it into a episodic form, they could expand on Thrawn and other new characters.

[The Detective]

Without repeating everything that's been said, I agree that an animated series would be best. Particularly if Genndy I can't spell his last name was on board. I'd love to see something after the original Trilogy but the book are pretty good, Knights of the Old Republic might be interesting but it wouldn't have any ties to any current Star Wars movie.....which might be good or bad depending on how you look at it.

[Chris Wood]

*Envisions live-action Star Wars on a TV budget*

Please be animated, please be animated, please be animated...

Exactly. A live action Star Wars show would be a disaster. I would be appalled to see the mighty Star Wars universe diminished to the cheesy effects and B-list actors that Star Trek, Bablyon 5, Farscape, etc. rely on.

On the other hand, an animated series could work.

[Sparticus]

Animated, definately animated. They don't put as much effort into live action shows as much as they used to. Can thank reality tv for that. *grumbles*

I think completely new characters would work, set in the EU era so the average watcher can keep track of the timeline and major events of the books through the occational news-feed or whatever. Maybe it could be more of an average, everyday kinda show. Like, a My Life as a Jedi, sort of thing (I'm a sucker for offbeat superhero's heh heh) making it very down to earth but very out there at the same time.

The Timothy Zhan books are MUCH too detailed to do anything less then LOTR proportions. Period. *nods*

[Fone Bone]

Exactly. A live action Star Wars show would be a disaster. I would be appalled to see the mighty Star Wars universe diminished to the cheesy effects and B-list actors that Star Trek, Bablyon 5, Farscape, etc. rely on.

On the other hand, an animated series could work.
Hey, Farscape had cool effects and great actors! Just because an actor isn't as well known doesn't mean that they aren't fantastic! I'm am constantly floored by Ben Browder's performance as John Chricton. He brings such a vulnerability and edge to a performance that demands greatness for the character. Claudia Black, Anthony Simco, Gigi Edgely, and Wayne Pygram are amazing actors too. And exactly what do Liam Neesan, Ewan MacGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, and Jake Lloyd bring to the table? Their performances are all wooden and boring. Farscape is a hundred times better than both recent Star Wars movies and proof that a live-action sci-fi series can work.

[Chris Wood]

Hey, Farscape had cool effects and great actors! Just because an actor isn't as well known doesn't mean that they aren't fantastic! I'm am constantly floored by Ben Browder's performance as John Chricton. He brings such a vulnerability and edge to a performance that demands greatness for the character. Claudia Black, Anthony Simco, Gigi Edgely, and Wayne Pygram are amazing actors too. And exactly what do Liam Neesan, Ewan MacGregor, Natalie Portman, Hayden Christensen, and Jake Lloyd bring to the table? Their performances are all wooden and boring. Farscape is a hundred times better than both recent Star Wars movies and proof that a live-action sci-fi series can work.
Well, I admit I haven't watched enough of Farscape to really judge the acting, but I have seen enough to determine that the special effects are not even in the same universe as the Star Wars effects. Which is to be expected of course since TV budgets are much, much smaller. However this kind of downsizing just isn't appropriate for Star Wars.

I think a big reason why the Star Wars series has become so popular and memorable is that Lucas created a living, breathing universe that seemed extremely real. That cannot be accomplished on a TV budget unless it is an animated production.

[wrenchien]

i'd love to see saber fights on a weekly basis.

and maybe new actors can do leia, luke, and han.
and vader.

let it fill in the gaps between star wars 4 to star wars 6... that'll do.

[Fone Bone]

Well, I admit I haven't watched enough of Farscape to really judge the acting, but I have seen enough to determine that the special effects are not even in the same universe as the Star Wars effects. Which is to be expected of course since TV budgets are much, much smaller. However this kind of downsizing just isn't appropriate for Star Wars.

I think a big reason why the Star Wars series has become so popular and memorable is that Lucas created a living, breathing universe that seemed extremely real. That cannot be accomplished on a TV budget unless it is an animated production.
The effects are at about the level of the original trilogy, if not better. I know folks would love to see effects like those in TPM and AOTC but they really aren't nessescary. Farscape was edge-of-your-seat exciting action and it was a TV series. Seriously if Lucas went back to telling good stories instead of just worrying about the gee-whiz factor in the visuals, we'd all be better off.

[EinBebop]

A great TV series is not about special effects. You need a character-driven drama, and the right actors to pull it off. Fortunately, there is one actor out there who hasn't been doing much lately that could make this show work.

I give you:

http://pages.sbcglobal.net/ein/sithlordted.jpg
Ted McGinley: Sith Lord

[Lord Dalek]

You spend too much time at "Jump the Shark", EinBebop.