TV Series

I would imagine it would work well if each book was considered an arc. Given the books are each around 200-300 pages long, I would imagine each book would equal roughly 3-8 tv episodes. Given the full series will take so long to write, it may be best to wait until after the first part (15 books) are written. It seems like tv series based on books and such tend to run into issues if they outpace the written work. Though the larger issue in this case is that it'll probably take a few hundred tv episodes in order to cover all parts of the series, which might be a bit much to expect that it won't be canceled before then, even if one is being optimistic.

The show would HAVE to be treated very similar to the Battlestar Galactica reboot with a stern beginning and end (although that show really lost me in the final season). I enjoyed that it treated episodes like parts of a movie and thus gave it a far more epic feeling. I think the same should be done with FS if they ever did it as a TV show.

I'll use A Song of Ice & Fire as an example of transitioning a book to Television. It took YEARS for them to pull it off but when they did it is probably my favorite thing on TV, worth the wait. While I would LOVE for Ryk Brown's saga to be shown to the masses on TV I would prefer for them to take their time in the execution.

Answer to the original question: It would make a stellar TV show.

I agree with Nuclearman... need to wait until the first 15 episode are complete before even trying to start a tv series... And I also agree that it would make stellar tv if it is done in the right way. I thought the camera work of BSG was FANTASTIC in making the outer space scenes look almost like a documentary in its realism. I believe it would need a similar look for a Frontiers Saga. To really grab an audience the first episode could be made into a 2 episode miniseries of 2 hours each. Just my 2 cents anyway.... BTW EPISODE 10 OUT NOW!!!! check the episodes page!

Thanks guys, all really good points.

Ok, seems we all just have to wait in anticipation . Here's hoping.

Hollywood is a very complex beast. Someone at a Production house would have to get wind of it. Someone there would have to actually read it. After optioning (purchasing) the rights from Ryk, they would assign someone else to write a draft (actually this is usually 2-3 stages all by itself). That would take a while, then they would do a pitch to a studio (each Production House has a non-exclusive arrangement with a particular studio). After being turned down by their home studio, the production house would shop it around. Sometimes during this stage the production house will also approach some actor's agents, in order to get a particular actor "attached" to the project, which would make it less of a risk for the studio.

This is where someone decides to ask questions such as "What if Nathan was a woman?" or "What of the crew were all blond?"

Somewhere in here Paramount would sue the Production House because they own trademarks on a starship with a bridge, and Disney would sue because they have copyright on an Evil Empire(c). They might each get paid off with a few percentage points of the gross, unless they are where the project landed.

And often in the middle the Studio management changes and decides they need to do more RomComs or historical pieces, and it all gets thrown into turn-around. (sigh)

Bottom line is that even if it goes through all this, there is an incredibly long journey ahead to see it get made into a visual medium. Unless there is some immediacy, such as with getting the Twilight movies out quickly to feed off of the book hype, it will take a long time.

While I can't give details, we've been in that "first phase" that Eric Nay describes since book 3. (He describes the process with amazing accuracy.) I have high hopes, but I try to remain focused on the books. Personally, I think they're waiting until book 15 to make sure I don't crap out before then. They don't realize (as my wife says) how much crazy is still left in me! To be honest, when they first approached, I don't think they understood the scope of the project.

Time will tell!

Ryk

Biographical note: I used to work for one of the major studios as an IT Manager, and I worked for a hollywood law firm (Seriously, it was the model for LA Law) for over a decade. Plus, I watched The Player (1992 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105151).

While I LOVE the series of books, I think we need to disconnect any TV show or movies that ever come out from what we now have in our brains. Anyone who is invested in this series will be disappointed when the product comes out. It might be good, it could even possibly be great, but it will most certainly be different.

For a very funny example of the hollywood process, watch the very first episode of the Showtime series "Episodes" with Matt
LeBlanc. They start with a gem of a product, and within 30 minutes it has been chewed up and spit out by hollywood. Very entertaining.

It would be truly sad if this series doesn't get the attention of some studio somewhere. The universe that Ryk created is fresh and new. The only thing Hollywood seems to be pumping out these days is remakes, reboots, sequels and prequels.

Is there anything a fan can do to help?

NuForce

Don't let Fox pick it up and try to run it Friday nights just to have it get preempted by baseball before they cancel it.....

And Fox would show the episodes out of order, causing the audience to be confused and ratings to plummet.

Might I suggest BBC America, AMC or HBO. the only ones doing serious drama anymore. all the others are into cheap "Reality" TV. (Bleah!)

-Eric

Naw, Netflix. That way we could consume the episodes like we consume these books. 😉

just be sure to keep as much creative control as you can.

Naw, Netflix. That way we could consume the episodes like we consume these books.

Or Amazon, since I already have a prime account.