6 ways Torchwood’s new season will change everything
By Fred Topel at Blastr
Torchwood: The New World doesn’t even start filming until next year, but did we get big news today! Series creator Russell T. Davies attended the Television Critics Association fall press tour to preview his return to Torchwood and revealed six ways the new Torchwood will be bigger and better than ever before.
1) There’s one event that will take 10 episodes to deal with: Davies isn’t telling what kind of global event brings Torchwood back together, but he guarantees it will require the full 10-episode run of The New World when it comes to Starz, the American cable channel.
“It’s far more complicated than just a monster,” Davies said. “I think it’s a brilliant idea, and when you hear it, it will make sense and you’ll see how big it is. It could have filled 20 hours. It’s a big 10-hour story.”
Read More here
Australia picked for Spielberg TV series Terra Nova
Michael Bodey at The Australian
The Queensland government today confirmed it will be the location of the sci-fi family TV series from October.
The special effects-heavy Terra Nova was destined for shooting in Australia because it needed locations that could resemble prehistoric lands that were home to dinosaurs. However, a stubborn Australian dollar, relative to the greenback, conspired against an early decision for the Spielberg production.
As late as last week, the US state of Florida was a possible home to the series, and Mexico was also touted, although security remained a major concern there.
The series centres on a family that time-travels backward to save a ruinous future world.
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Couple More ‘The Walking Dead’ Photos (PICS)
via Dennis at Think Hero
These probably were released earlier but I just saw these and realized I hadn’t posted them. I’m really looking forward to the TV show based on Robert Kirkman’s comic book series which I just ordered the first 5 chapters and can’t wait to read it.
AMC’s The Walking Dead series premieres in October 2010.
See the rest here
Crazy like a Fox – When Diluting your TV Brand is the Best Strategy
via rbr.com
Blatant Brand Dilution? For a generation the rules of TV branding have been clear and unequivocal–find a specific niche audience, then hyper-serve that niche with specialized programming. But lately, that rule has been turned on its head by some of the industries most powerful players. Now you will find cooking shows on the Syfy Channel, Mike Tyson on Animal Planet, standup comedians on History, and obsession-disorder reality shows on VH1.
What’s going on? After a generation of building specific content niches, programmers now have their sights set on broader audiences. It appears that TV history is reversing itself.
SciFi’s recent rebrand to SyFy is a classic example of this strategic brand expansion. After spending years doing all they could to nurture and woo the science fiction audience, the programmers realized that the genre was maxed out. No matter how great their marketing, there just weren’t enough people interested in science fiction to allow much further growth. SciFi was forced to make a hard decision – be content with paltry growth or expand its original programming mission to bring in new audiences.
Read More here
I think calling SyFy’s rebrand a good example is horrible. The rebrand isn’t what drew in a bigger viewership (if anything, the rebrand pissed off loyal viewers who felt the phonetic spelling was demeaning). Better shows saved the network. Shows that were doing very well before SyFy changed it’s name (Ghost Hunters and Battlestar Gallactica, especially) brought a much bigger audience. When SyFy did try to expand with non-sci fi programing, the shows tanked (does anyone remember that wrestling thing they had?) And I’m insulted that the article called the genre “maxed out”. How many new sci fi shows have come out in the last year, done well, and been on prime networks? Look at Lost! Interest in the genre wasn’t the issue, it was the stigma around Science fiction…but the patronizing revamp wasn’t the right answer. If SyFy wants more viewers, they should stop making craptacular “original” movies. People care about content, not a fancy new logo. As for the other channels, I miss the days when I could turn on The History Channel and see history, or when TLC wasn’t about home decorating or weddings. Specialized channels exist for a reason, and they should stick to what they’re named for.
What do you think about Torchwood moving to Starz? Are you glad Terra Nova will be shot in Australia? Do you think channel rebranding is a good or bad thing?
