Finally, after sweating through the line outside to get into the freakin' place, I'm at the first panel for Comic-Com 2008. First up is NBC's Kings. Joel had some things to say about the show during last week's TCA coverage, and this was a bit more of the same. The biggest difference this time being that fans of the show and the actors are able to get up and ask questions, rather than a bunch of grumpy reporters (sorry Joel, had to say it).I'm going to start with some bullet points, then update later on with details.
- Greg Grunberg (Heroes) came out to introduce and moderate, then we were shown 20 minutes of the pilot.
- The initial 20 minutes from the pilot felt very movie-like. Everyone has these orange flags with a butterfly emblem (pictured in the button in the gallery). Ian McShane plays the king of a place that looks a lot like our Earth -- scenes show a very New York-like city, called "Shiloh." Even watches have the butterfly emblem. Flashbacks to a battle at the "Northern Border". A soldier, David, takes out an enemy tank known as "Goliath" while trying to save fellow soldiers from captivity. Unbeknownst to David, one of those soldiers is the king's son. This turns David into an overnight hero.
- Grunberg joked that the only thing he found wrong with the show was that he wasn't in it.
- Present at the panel: Michael Green, Francis Lawrence, Erwin Stoff, Sebastian Stan, Susanna Thompson and Allison Miller (who I thought looked 13 up there).
- Ian was late and never showed up, apparently in traffic, since his message, read to us by Green, was "if those cocksuckers don't get off the motherfucking road and let me get to the motherfucking convention center..."
- Michael Green said he went and took a risk, went with the wildest idea to NBC and they went with it.
- The show shoots in New York City.
- Stoff noted the butterfly motif from I Am Legend, which he was a part of. He also mentioned that a David & Goliath retelling for Universal was being worked on, though I'm guessing that's not happening.
- Chris Egan is Australian, so there's another possible 'Excellence in Outsourcing' award nominee for you.
- The battle scenes were shot right outside JFK airport.
- An attendee asked if the whole monarchy aspect was supposed to be ominous as related to ... current situations in the US. Stoff indicated it's more of a parallel with how corporations are held, with a CEO having this overwhelming power over a large amount of people.
- When asked how it was working with McShane, Sebastian Stan joked "he's a puppy."
- The show is set to premiere February 2009 with a two-hour pilot.
Gunberg is a fantastic moderator -- I hope to see him do it again soon.
My concern is that this show is going to confuse the hell out of NBC viewers. It felt like something I'd see on Sci Fi (though of a better quality than something like Flash Gordon, so don't worry there). Other than that, it seems to be incredibly complex in scope and I think it'll garner many fans, most of whom would go bonkers if the show was canceled early (or at all). I think it could be quite an investment to watch.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-24-2008 @ 2:37PM
fancastfan said...
I heard that at Comic-Con LucasFilms is going to be showing the You Tube parodies Milo Ventimiglia of "Heroes" did of of Star Wars. Check out this funny interview where he says he got a phone call from Lucas - he thought he was going to get sued and instead they loved them! :)
http://thebiz.fancast.com/2008/07/milo_ventimiglia_gets_a_call_f.html
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7-24-2008 @ 4:54PM
Sam McConnell said...
This show really, really sounds good.
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7-24-2008 @ 4:12PM
Upright Citizen's Brigade said...
Have a nice Comic Con!
http://www.ucbcomedy.com/videos/play/2319
Love,
ucbcomedy.com
http://www.ucbcomedy.com
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7-24-2008 @ 4:48PM
mj said...
Ah, Ian. I guess there's a little Al in you. Man, I miss Deadwood.
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7-27-2008 @ 8:37PM
denyse said...
This sounds like something I would really love, please include me!
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8-02-2008 @ 2:57AM
Blair Mitchelmore said...
That wasn't a flashback to a battle. They cut from the king (or someone) saying that the peace would be long-lasting to the war raging on only a year and a half later. The David in the war zone was the same David that fixed the Reverend's car the day of the speech. Also, the butterfly emblem isn't on everything; it's only on that watch because it was a gift from the King to the Reverend.
And yeah, those twenty minutes were pretty awesome, and I can see this show rocking and then most likely getting canned after one season, and maybe less.
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