ABC has cast some familiar television faces in an ambitious family-oriented pilot called Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas. The West Wing's Janel Moloney (yes, she's done other stuff, too, but to me she's still Donna) and Patrick Breen (who's been on lots of shows like Eli Stone and The West Wing, too), will play the adopted parents of Gwen Malloy, the star of Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas. Jodelle Ferland, a 13-year-old veteran has landed the Gwen role, and the show will revolve around her. Ferland is a vet, having appeared in features like Tideland, a Terry Gilliam film, Dark Angel and The Collector. On TV, she was in Stephen King's Kingdom Hospital.Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas is being talked up as a Harry Potter meets Pan's Labyrinth, although the plot also has elements of Nim's Island in there, if you ask me. Gwen is an adventurous kid who discovers a magic atlas. The atlas is the key to a secret world beneath our own reality.
Tom Wheeler penned the pilot and Tommy Schlamme -- an Emmy winner for The West Wing! -- is directing. Nathan Gamble, from the TV series Runaway, has been cast, as well, playing Gwen's younger brother.
So, Harry Potter, Pan's Labyrinth, Nim's Island. What is this really all about? Here's a more detailed description: Quirky Gwen Malloy isn't like most 13-year-old girls: she yearns for something more in life. And after she finds Captain Cook's Extraordinary Atlas, she is certainly going to get what she wished for. The Atlas will lead Gwen on many adventures, to a variety of strange lands-some wonderful, some terrifying. Thankfully, she doesn't always have to go alone. Her only real comrade in arms turns out to be an Indiana Jonesish rogue named Bishop, who has grudgingly vowed to help Gwen stay out of trouble-both in this world and the other one. But keeping her adventures a secret from her family may prove harder than anticipated as deep mysteries surrounding her roots and her future open up before her.
This all sounds interesting and if it turns out as well as it sounds, ABC could plug it into the midseason, like January 2009.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-16-2008 @ 3:52PM
David said...
Sounds like a hit!
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6-16-2008 @ 5:55PM
Michael said...
sounds like a total miss
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6-16-2008 @ 7:10PM
LOs said...
Sounds like a .... whatever.
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6-17-2008 @ 2:50AM
Brent McKee said...
Sounds like a show that will test the question of whether TV viewers really want dramas that are family friendly (as the PTC says they do) and are willing to support them. I thought the WB's "Life Is Wild"was a show that should have earned that sort of support this last season but of course it attracted fewer viewers than the PTC claims as members (I'm guessing the PTC membership was mesmerized by "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition").
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8-23-2008 @ 2:02PM
Rick Clark said...
I just watched what may be the Pilot episode as part of an online survey. This episode really grabbed my attention and was well written, well acted and well directed. My 8 year old daughter loves the Harry Potter books and movies and I hope this show makes it. It would be a great family experience (albeit a little on the dark side) and would be a welcome departure from the normal fare on TV that I have to screen in order to find something my daughter and I can share.
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