Cool News
No Myth!! ABC Commits To Pilot Based On DC/Vertigo’s FABLES!!
I am – Hercules!!
ABC has agreed to a put pilot commitment for “Fables,” based on the Bill Willingham funnybook series from DC Vertigo.
Stu Zicherman and Raven Metzner (“Elektra,” “What About Brian,” “Six Degrees,” “Life Is Wild”) are scripting the pilot.
The Hollywood Reporter explains the premise:
… revolves around characters from fairy tales and folklore living in exile in modern-day New York.
"Fables" should not be confused with the Fox Network’s lawyer dramedy project based on “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”
Find all of The Hollywood Reporter’s story on the matter here.
Shipping Now!!
Fresh From The Potterverse!!
Shipping Now!!
-
+ Expand All
-
Love the funnybooks
-
Now who to play Snow... Anna Paquin? Does she do television?
-
See Also: True Blood. Will this last as long as Pushing Daisies, or only as long as the new Fantasy Island?
-
Fables deserves better. Brian Fuller better, maybe. It is one of the best contemporary comics we have right now, and I won't be able to stand it if they don't do it justice.
-
A weekly show doesn't have the budget to include all the little details that make Fables great.
-
Stick to the source material. I need to see Colin's head on a stick. I need to see Wolf Babies. I need to see the Gepetto look EVIL. I need to see Boy Blue KICK ASS. I need to see Jack screw himself over. If they go for what TIN MAN was trying to go for, they would be really close. The last 2 parts anyways. The first part of TIN MAN sucked. I need to start these books again. They are fantastic.
-
It would never hold for 5-6 movies. It would take at least 4, minimum, to get where we are now in the stories. I could see it more like a very large mini-series a la Shogun.
-
oh no no no no no. i love this comic too much. those guys? abc?! it's all wrong. ughhhhhh.
-
shouldn't that be "FLIM SPRINGFIELD"?
-
Hope the TV show gets better treatment than Ellis' Global Frequency.
-
This, if handled sensibly, could be absolutely fantastic. The stories are epic, the characters already exist within most people's cultural awareness (and therefore raiss the profile of the project immediately) and Willingham has over 70 issues of narrative gold for the scriptwriters to mine, plus the Jack of Fables side-stories. Please don't phuq this up, please don't phuq this up, please don't phuq this up...
-
That's an awful track record of putrid shit. Elektra? What about Brian?
-
pull off all the talking animal that permeate the series? And no I don't accept telepathy, that'd be gay. And to replicate all the other weird shit in Fabletown as well, I don't see how it works. Heroes can't even do superpowers good.
-
the other was Jeff Dee, who has also had a career in comic books, though arguably not as successful as Willingham.
-
is abc really gonna do it justice...or will they fuck it just like they did pushing daisies...oh well, hope willingham gets a nice check...he deserves it
-
This could well be the most fucked up adaptation of all time.
I kinda sorta can't wait. :)
I love the comic, though I stopped reading it a few months ago when the war was done. I'll go back to it when the new trades come out.
But I think anyone who knows anything about television, and who has read the source material, knows this is gonna be fucking awful on a scale previously undreamed of by television execs. -
... on HBO.
Honestly, I believe that ABC has the potential to do this justice based on how well they've handled LOST... but those writers… yeesh...
Consider me extremely cautiously optimistic. -
ABC may be willing to take a risk to find a Lost replacement, but it's more likely that they will water it down extremely for the mainstream audience.
-
Being on regular network television significantly decreases the chances of a show being good.
-
although it's a concern, it's the ELKETRA writers...it's almost as bas as MSJ attached to Preacher
-
Should have been Oklahoma!
-
ABC has already pre cancelled the show after 3 episodes.
-
Snow White series with her as a lawyer, the Queen another lawyer who pushes her out of her firm, and she lands with seven other lawyers like the dwarfs? A bunch of us said prepare for a Fables lawsuit. Maybe ABC wised up.
-
I see it was Fox who was doing the lawyer thing.
-
Can you relink the article? It seems to be dead.
-
Eh? EHHH???
-
Ecstatic that someones got the balls to do this, but filled with dread that it isn't HBO.
Can anyone tell me what the last great ABC series was? And I'm not being cynical, I'd really like to know.
Anyone remember that 7th Kingdom (or whatever it was called) show?
-
Dec 08, 2008 8:36:55 AM CST
Enchanted (the movie) is/was being considered for series...
by jim jam bongs
Last I heard ABC was considering developing Enchanted into a series, which makes sense as that's a Disney flick and Disney owns ABC. I'm wondering if that's still happening -- Fables sounds like it'd be complex to pull off well, and it's an intellectual property owned by another company (Time Warner).
-
I wanted HBO to do this. Be more in tune with the original comic.
I wanted to hear Snow White say, "Well, boo-F*$&ing-hoo." -
Fantasy on network television gets the shaft even harder than "sciffy." Unless they're already planning just a one season stop-gap, I can't see this lasting for any length of time. The networks won't allow anything the time it needs to find its audience and build week upon week. It's a shame too, as this is fantastic source material.
-
A weekly musical, modern-day fairy tale fantasy, starring a cute, quirky girl-woman who can summon animals to do her bidding, searching for her true love in NYC. Really, Herc, this sounds like your ideal show, the kind of concept you have a particular fetish for.
-
I'm worried now, I so want this to be good, Fables is a great book and would make either a terrific movie series or show, but in the right hands. In the wrong hands you may get, "shudder" Knight Rider Part II or Bionic Woman redux
-
Stu Zicherman and Raven Metzner wrote “Elektra,” “What About Brian,” “Six Degrees,” ,“Life Is Wild” and they are scripting the pilot? This show is D.O.A.
-
So I found this news kind of baffling as to why Time Warner and ABC would spend the effort in trying to turn Fables into a series, especially in light of the failure of Pushing Daisies. I figured Daisies' loss was why I hadn't heard anything more about an Enchanted series. Disney has been flipflopping between doing a sequel or doing a series version. Maybe with a Fables series, they're going more for a LOST + Smallville style. Otherwise, I can't see this being pulled off in the "quirky modern-day fantasy" style.
-
Than a prime time network. Hell, even FX or any other cable network. It seems they can get away with a little bit more than the major networks these days, would still prefer HBO or Showtime, On those we might get to see some Snow White or Goldilocks au natural. But I can still dream.
-
Given the entertainment industries anti-smoking ban, how the hell are they going to do Bigby right? He's not what one would call PC and would fit much better on another network.
However I would love to see some flat-out spy action with Cinderella so maybe we'll see some further adventures of the more human characters like Cindy and Blue. -
and hire the geniuses who penned Elektra to create a new show based on fantasy worlds. Fuck you ABC. Fuck You.
-
I agree with others who say if it was on HBO or Showtime, I could see it happening, but isn't the series pretty dark?
-
The series can be a bit dark thematically, but certainly no more so than Lost or any of your crime procedurals. The language can be cleaned up. Bigby's smoking would be a minor loss. Really, the maturity isn't a concern. I share the "budget to do it justice" concern, though again you get away with some pretty amazing stuff these days AND the series may focus more on the day-to-day human-aspected Fables. I also share the "writers of Elektra" concern, but this is mitigated by the knowledge that if they suck, the network will hire new writers. AND the knowledge that writing a pilot doesn't automatically make you the showrunner. So even if the network liked the pilot, they'll have to hire a staff, which may solve the "writers of Elektra" issue. I'm willing to wait on judging. I DO think that a series is the best way to go. A movie wouldn't satisfy me. I guess I'm saying, "cautious hooray!"
-
As someone who is likely headed into the TV writing field, the possibility of writing Fables episodes is awesome...
-
as the beast.
-
Lost. Desperate Housewives. Pushing Daisies. If you like it, they have Grey's Anatomy. Ugly Betty. ABC ain't hurting for "great" shows.
-
Such a great comic deserves a great adaptation...on HBO. Put David Milch on that sucker and let it ride. Also? Ian McKellen as Gepetto. You know it to be true.
-
Mostly do to the name. But I also like David C. Sutherland III, Jim Holloway, Dee and Willingham.
-
...you mean Michael Penn.
-
"We set up a structure to allow any fairy tale character to show up in any one episode," Metzner said. --- So it will be a boring murder/crime of the week procedural. GTFO!
-
Plus, he woul always hid his name in the illustration somewhere. I remember a drawing which had a potio labeled Ool Erts.
-
but even I'm worried, based on the writer's resume, of how this will turn out.
-
If it sucks it will be on way too long and if its good it'll get canceled before its first full season.
-
But David Trampier kicked ass. And I liked a lot of Keith Parkinson's stuff (RIP), although his best work was actually in other venues.
-
Dec 08, 2008 2:52:03 PM CST
As a fan of the books, I must say this will suck (just think, Go
by bunger!
The books are way too violent and sexualized to ever survive even close to intact on disney-owned ABC. . . . The character of Goldilocks, alone, makes it completely wrong for anything except hard-R rated TV. . . Not to mention that the metaphysics of the concept are so involved and esoteric that it would have to be completely debased for a TV audience to get it, and if that happens, then what's the point? This is going to suck ass and it will not see the light of day in any worthy form.
-
3 comic series that do not need to be on network TV: Y: The Last Man, The Walking Dead, and Fables. All 3 are too deep, too smart, and too R rated for the mainstream viewer. You can water then down but then you are going to lose what makes them great.
My guess is Fables: The Series will take the books as a starting point and tell its' own stories. I'd love to see the series down in TV or movies, but they better have a massive budget to make it believable. I don't see that happening. -
"American Gods" from Neil Gaiman.
-
It's not like AG at all. It's got more of a fairy tale structure than a Cambell hero-quest feel. The only thing the two have in common (aside from both being spectacular stories) is the notion of the fantastic living side by side with the real world, which is a pretty common theme anyway.
However, if you enjoyed AG, or any of Gaiman's stuff, I'd recommend Fables. It's one of those comics that wouldn't be possible without Sandman having happened (thank you, Neil!!) -
I only watch the network for Lost. I can't think of another show on ABC that is watchable. Fables could only work if it were on HBO, Showtime, or FX...I will miss The Shield...
-
"this is mitigated by the knowledge that if they suck, the network will hire new writers"
Oh really? Well would kindly explain then what the fuck has happened to Heroes for the last two years? Is there a shortage of non-shitty writers? -
And they think they'll get better ratings with this?
-
I'm trying to think of ways they'll turn this into a more conventional TV show. Maybe have Snow White fall in love with some mundane guy and the hilarious culture clash that results ala "Bewitched" or "I Dream of Jeanie". Or perhaps a love triangle of Snow, Bigby and Jack of Fables, likeJjack/Kate/Sawyer on Lost. Bleh. Any way I try to figure it, the budget is going to demand it focus more on the Fables characters interacting more with the real world than they did in the books. Could it possibly last long enough to get a Jack of Fables spin off?
-
On the surface it seems like a monster of the week idea but the reason the book is so good is the overall story arc that's been playing out for the last 75 issues. Do you really see ABC going into the war for the homelands? No, they'll just use the basic premise as some sort of "clever" jumping on point for telling stories about fables living in the modern world.
-
But thanks, SleazyG. I type faster than I think.
-
i love the comic, but i just can't see it seeing catching on with the general public. not only will it require a big budget, but there's just too much plot that has to be developed, and many people will get bored. just look what's happened to Pushing Daisies.
-
They unzipped and made water all over the Pushing Daisies, why would any fantasy fans get back in the line of fire by kneeling before the alphabet channel again?
-
Do you remember Heroes Season 1? That was pretty well-received, if I recall correctly. The vehemence in your reply is totally uncalled-for. I didn't say this is going to be good, I said I'll reserve judgment. As should you all who are frothing at the mouth and falling over backwards with hate. But then I forget, groundless hate is the stock in trade with you types.
-
I've mentioned this before around here, but adaptation doesn't mean absolute fealty to the source material. Do I want it to do the comic series justice? Absolutely. But I understand the constraints of network TV. Besides which, I enjoy the series for the characters, not so much the plot. It's a GOOD plot, but I feel it's secondary to the characters. Which have every chance to retain most if not all of their charm in less epic plots.
-
Look at some of the crap on TV. This can't be much worse.
-
"what the fuck has happened to Heroes for the last two years?"
Don't pull Season one as a defence against the shit of the last two years (Seasons 2 and 3). The point stands. Deal with it. -
Well, not really, but I have been telling every who will listen that television needs to start adapting comic books. Next they need to get a Y: The Last Man series because I don't think a film will do that series justice.
Readers Talkback
User Login
Top Talkbacks
- To Commemorate The 3D Release Of STAR WARS EPISODE I: THE PHANTOM MENACE, George Lucas Wants You To Know...Greedo Shoots First!! -- 425 total posts 425 posts
- Quint travels to Barsoom and visits the John Carter set!!! -- 125 total posts 94 posts
- SPACE 2099!! -- 155 total posts 79 posts
- Rest In Peace Bethesda’s Adam Adamowicz -- 70 total posts 70 posts
- There's a STAR TREK video game that is going to lead into JJ's STAR TREK 2 apparently... -- 67 total posts 67 posts
- Friday Brings SWEEPS DAY NINE!! Gab Here About Tonight’s FRINGE!! Plus Einstein on TIM, Wiig On PORTLANDIA, MAHER, CLONE, GIFTED, GRIMM, SPARTACUS, SUPERNATURAL, GOLD RUSH And More!! -- 86 total posts 66 posts
- The Sensorties Revisit The Friday Docback (And Still Smell)!! DOCTOR WHO Story #7 Again, The Coming Of Season/Series 7, And More!! -- 65 total posts 65 posts
- AVENGERS enemy revealed as pink boardgame pieces... You might suffer some form of elation... SPOILERS!!! -- 57 total posts 52 posts
- Ridley Scott's Next Will Be Cormac McCarthy's THE COUNSELOR! -- 48 total posts 48 posts
- Wanna smell like the Hulk? What about Cap? Consider yourself a Thunder God or a unisex God of Mischief? -- 45 total posts 44 posts