Syfy has become known not just for cheesy sci-fi and horror flicks but also remakes, or "reimaginings," of several classic films and shows. They had Children of the Corn recently, they had Tin Man (a modern take on The Wizard of Oz), and they have an Alien Nation remake in the works (not to mention Quantum Leap).
They're also doing Alice, which is their take on Alice in Wonderland. Here's the trailer. It premieres December 6.
Tim Curry-related stories
Sneak Peek: Syfy's Alice
Gone Too Soon: Earth 2
In 1994, I was excited about My So-Called Life and Friends, but not much else on the TV schedule caught my eye. A friend of mine loved ABC's Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman, so I would go over there to hang out and watch it.Being sci-fi buffs, we decided we should check out Earth 2, a new show that aired an hour before L&C on NBC. I have this tendency to at least try out all the new science-fiction shows, knowing that even if I like them, the odds of them surviving beyond one season are slim. I quickly gave up on M.A.N.T.I.S. over on Fox, but found myself more intrigued by Earth 2.
What a fascinating and sophisticated look at a science fiction world. It was so much more realistic and grounded than the Star Trek series could ever be. The characters were horribly flawed and they felt much more human. As expected, the show failed, but not before I got 22 great episodes that still resonate in my memory.
Continue reading Gone Too Soon: Earth 2
No Rocky Horror remake. Not yet, anyway
Last year, all the citizens of Transsexual, Transylvania felt a collective disturbance in their fandom force. MTV had announced that they were going to do a remake of the classic cult film, The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Not only would this be completely unnecessary, but it actually kind of hurt every Rocky fan's soul to hear it. Rocky Horror needs no remake because it never becomes dated. It's so far removed from, well, everything ever, it still holds up perfectly, happily doing the Time Warp again and again in its own little universe.
Well, maybe MTV got lazy or maybe they got freaked out about the insane amount of Internet sad-chatter against the idea of the new version, but MTV's Rocky Horror remake is on hold. Rejoice and prod a gold underwear-clad Adonis with a standing candelabra.
Continue reading No Rocky Horror remake. Not yet, anyway
Sci Fi casts some of Alice's Wonderland
TV Squad already reported that the Sci Fi Channel (that won't be for much longer) is doing an Alice in Wonderland modern remake a la their previous Wizard of Oz remake, Tin Man. For those who didn't know, it's called Alice.Well, they've done some casting and it turns out that Kathy Bates is the Queen of Hearts and Tim Curry is playing a character called Dodo (who in the original novel was a caricature of the author). Given his malevolent smile, I would think Curry would be better suited as the Cheshire Cat.
I'm surprised they didn't give the title character the surname of Liddell (instead they went with Hamilton). I can only surmise that they wanted to minimize any possibility of litigation.
Frankly it wouldn't surprise me if we learned at the end of the four hour mini-series that Alice was on a bad acid trip. That would be my adult interpretation of the novel.
MTV plans remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
Generally speaking, I'm not an anti-remake person. There are times when a remake is perfectly acceptable and oftentimes can improve upon the best of the original, like Battlestar Galactica, for instance. However -- you knew that was coming, didn't you? -- this remake just sounds like a disaster in the making. MTV is going to turn The Rocky Horror Picture Show into a TV movie. They will take the 1975 cult classic sci-fi, horror musical spoof and give it a 2008 spin.Oh, please! You cannot strike lightning twice. Rocky Horror was a phenomenon. It was a cult classic because the people who found and supported the movie in all those midnight movie showings felt like they were part of a "with it" crowd. It was like we had all found a diamond in the rough, a film that Hollywood just didn't get. How can MTV possibly think they'll recapture that zeitgeist in a TV movie?
Continue reading MTV plans remake of The Rocky Horror Picture Show
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