TV Lowdown » nbc

NBC slashes Day One from 13 episodes to 4

thetvlowdown — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:57:01 +0000

In a move that some commentators have interpreted as a cost-cutting exercise, NBC have dramatically slashed the number of episodes for upcoming alien invasion drama Day One from 13 episodes to 4, which will air as a miniseries.

It’s expected that NBC will take note of the ratings and any critical acclaim that the Day One miniseries picks up before deciding whether to extend the story to a full series, similar to the way in which Battlestar Galactica moved from a miniseries to a 4 season show.

NBC are apparently still deciding how to air the miniseries but it will likely be broken into two 2-hour episodes airing in the aftermath of the Winter Olympics coverage. NBC insist that they’d always seen Day One as “event television”, hence the initial order for just 13 episodes, but this decision still must sting for the cast and crew.

Creator Jesse Alexander is putting on a brave face, however, saying “I’ve been in discussions with the network for some time about the best way to launch what I truly feel is an awesome television programme,” adding that the post-Olympic slot would give Day One “all the promotional power it needs for great success.”

Whilst I wasn’t blow away by the trailer for Day One I’d been hoping it would be a strong new sci-fi show; it still could be, of course, but this move could be a sign of NBC lacking confidence in Day One.

Two episodes of the series have already been filmed, with writers now reportedly tweaking the remaining two hours in order to resolve some storylines whilst leaving other threads open for a potential series.

NBC picks up new Abrams spy drama

thetvlowdown — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:22:19 +0000

It was reported earlier this week that ABC, NBC and CBS were battling over the rights to JJ Abrams new TV drama, a series about a married couple in the world of espionage. It seems that the negotiations have already wrapped up, with NBC emerging the victor.

The series is being co-produced by Warner Bros. and Bad Robot, but there aren’t too many more details right now. It’s unclear how deeply Abrams will be involved in the project, especially considering he also has a medical comedy in the works and his ongoing commitment to sci-fi series Fringe that he co-created.

It’ll be interesting to see how Abrams distinguishes this new show from his previous spy series Alias, which ran for five seasons and strongly featured a romantic couple who were both CIA agents.

Midnight Mass to be picked up for adaptation by NBC

tvlowdown — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 11:09:42 +0000

Midnight Mass, a DC Comics series about a husband and wife team or supernatural crime fighters, has been snapped up by NBC for adaptation into a live-action series. I’m by no means an expert on comic books, so I couldn’t tell you whether the comics themselves are particularly interesting, but the part of the story that caught me eye was the announcement of the writers for the show.

The adaptation is being written by Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts, both of whom were writers and producers on such short-lived TV gems as Pushing Daisies and Wonderfalls, both of which I loved; if they can bring the same level of humour and character to Midnight Mass, it could well be one to watch.

The script is currently being drafted, so I wouldn’t expect this show to pop up until perhaps Fall 2010; maybe the perfect timing to replace NBC’s current super-powered show Heroes, which has been flagging both creatively and critically in recent seasons, should the show face cancellation.

NBC's Day One trailer leaves me… conflicted.

tvlowdown — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 10:54:34 +0000

I’ve been hearing things about Day One for a while now, and remained fairly optimistic about it. The creator is, after all, Jesse Alexander who has experience on some of my favourite shows (Lost and Alias) and the plot sounded interesting; for those not in the know, Day One centres on the fortunes of a group of apartment block residents who mysteriously survive a global disaster.

That was about the sum total of my knowledge about the show, until I spotted this trailer:

And herein lies the conflict. On the one hand, yes, it all looks pretty impressive visually (though part of me suspects we’re seeing VFX from a big-budget premiere episode – the nice shiny CGI might diminish shortly afterwards!) On the other hand, it somehow feels a little bit… cheesy? The stand-out moment of the whole trailer has to be Jamie Thomas King’s character at around the 1:15 mark, with a line reading so hammy that those on a kosher diet may want to fast-forward through the scene.

Perhaps I’m being a little too harsh; I want Day One to be great, but I do have the nagging suspicion it might not be. If they can layer enough interesting characters, plot twists and sci-fi elements into it to keep the audience hooked then it’ll hopefully do well. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.