TV Series instead of Films

Chris33 wrote:I would love to see a TV series of HH. But, I would like to see it using the designs, ship, uniform, etc, as seen in House of Steel. I think that the glitzy, no, gaudy, designs put forth in the comics served a purpose, to draw in a new/movie audience, but I think the more stately and subdued designs of BuNine would serve a TV re telling much better. Since one wouldn't have to hurry the 'audience training' along with vastly disimiler visual cues.

Just my two cents.

Of course they would be better - they ARE better! However, I am afraid that all the scuttlebutt on this subject is that we the fans are never going to convince the Evergreen design and marketing staff. They are solidly convinced that more fanciful, nationally distinct designs are necessary to help define the factions for a mass audience that is NOT familiar with the melieu, in a non-time consuming, visual way.

Dear Evergreen - For What It Is Worth...you're wrong on this.

dreamirder

fallsfromtrees wrote:

Bruno Behrends wrote:
Still: without the budget the series would have been a non-starter.


Finding that is a major stumbling block I bet. We can count ourselves very lucky if Evergreen manages to conjure the funds somehow.

I'll keep my thumbs pressed.

I wonder if Evergreen has considered some form of crowd sourcing, i.e. kickstarter?

They don't really need it. The company and the project are well funded.

dreamrider

On another note, if this becomes a TV series, I think the best way to start it off is to use the events in House of Steel, this allows you to get used to the 'monarchy', some of the initial cast of characters, (the long lived ness of them/prolong) and it offers a fantastic oppurtunity to introduce the ships, imparting the sense of scale (imagine a royal visit to the space docks beauty shot to show the size of a SD as well as it's guts) Plus with the death of King Roger, you have your 'Ned Stark moment'.

Chris33 wrote:On another note, if this becomes a TV series, I think the best way to start it off is to use the events in House of Steel, this allows you to get used to the 'monarchy', some of the initial cast of characters, (the long lived ness of them/prolong) and it offers a fantastic oppurtunity to introduce the ships, imparting the sense of scale (imagine a royal visit to the space docks beauty shot to show the size of a SD as well as it's guts) Plus with the death of King Roger, you have your 'Ned Stark moment'.

That brings up another idea for a potential TV series: rather than starting with Honor Harrington, start with KIng Roger III during the rising tensions with the PERH. Then after the assassination, bring in Elizabeth, which then leads to Honor on the eve of war with that same PRH. A nice thing about doing it this way would be a far more intimate, character-based style, one not dependent on doing expensive space battles. Do 6-9 episode seasons, and I'd think it would work.

And as bonus, calll it House Of Steel. Three words, like Game Of Thrones.

And have a scene towards the end, or, wherever it fits in the timeline, of young Honor arriving by Air Bus to Sag Island for her first day of Acadamy.

A miniseries would be good for an individual book or a relatively short series of books with dense or complex narratives. The Honorverse, unfortunately, doesn't fit very neatly into that space.

It's a long series, which means a very long TV series. It would be very tough to keep something like that going over the long term. Also, the individual books vary quite wildly. Some would probably need only a couple of episodes, while other would require the better part of a season. Much of the series's first half would make good films, while much of the second half would make a good TV series.

The way I see it, a sort of hybrid approach would work better, with the main series being films. Since they're starting with Honor of the Queen, there's the potential to make everything that happened before (Honor's history through Basilisk Station) into a miniseries. Alternatively, the Stephanie Harrington, Victor/Anton, and Shadows spin-offs could make good miniseries to accompany the movie series. It would also help to take the narrative load off from adaptations of the later books, since they tend to suffer from problems in that regard.

And if they did need the funding, I don't think a kickstarter would work.

For that you need a large-for-the-budget preexisting fanbase, and the typical budget raised by a kickstarter isn't (neither total or on a per-fan basis) in the ballpark of what would be needed.

I can just see it now:
"... For our first stretch goal, if we make the 48 million dollar funding mark, David Weber has agreed to write, and we will shoot a short 14th episode/webisode of Honor's address to the Weapons Development Board. ..."

Not gonna happen.

dreamrider wrote:

fallsfromtrees wrote:I wonder if Evergreen has considered some form of crowd sourcing, i.e. kickstarter?

They don't really need it. The company and the project are well funded.

dreamrider

Hellmer: That is why I was thinking in terms of making each book a separate miniseries (which all don't have to be the same length anyhow).

The Chris33/61Cygni HoS miniseries idea I like too, but I don't think it would be the way Evergreen would ever contemplate starting the miniseries line off.

Why go for miniseries?

A standard English Series would work just as well...

TVTropes warning...

hvb wrote:Hellmer: That is why I was thinking in terms of making each book a separate miniseries (which all don't have to be the same length anyhow).

Story-wise, that might provide the best outcome, but I don't think that's very practical for a TV series. A certain regularity is more or less required in that medium, and that sort of structure wouldn't be a good fit.

hvb wrote:And if they did need the funding, I don't think a kickstarter would work.

For that you need a large-for-the-budget preexisting fanbase, and the typical budget raised by a kickstarter isn't (neither total or on a per-fan basis) in the ballpark of what would be needed.

I can just see it now:
"... For our first stretch goal, if we make the 48 million dollar funding mark, David Weber has agreed to write, and we will shoot a short 14th episode/webisode of Honor's address to the Weapons Development Board. ..."

Not gonna happen.

Another point. These days, a 'small' mainstream movie, with little or no special effects (though possibly with 1 or 2 moderately well known faces) costs $50M up...rapidly up.

The most successful crowdfunding campaign of all time, currently still running, is the Cloud Imperium Games campaign to support its Star Citizen game. They have just hit $65M...in a campaign that has been running for over 2 years...and doubled the success of any other such effort, ever.

It just isn't a financial tool that operates reliably, yet, on a scale, and at a speed, that is feasible for major motion picture or TV series needs.

BTW, any reader of this forum who also likes games should check out Star Citizen, at www.robertsspaceindustries.com.

dreamrider