The Vader Show. (cue Happy Days theme)

muymaul · Jan 22, 2004

I am with those who feels that if Lucasfilms wants to continue on the saga they should keep it to the animated side of things. While I agree that quality sci-fi TV shows can be done, do you in any way think it would compare to what we see on the big screen? For me there would be no comparison. My fear would be that it would degrade the quality of the movies and start to give the saga a "Star Trek" feel.

IMO, stay with the animation like the Clone Wars. If they feel the story of Vader post-Ep3 needs to be told, do it that way. It still gives me my Star Wars fix, yet feels separate from the movies. Also with animation, they are only limited by what Lucas tells them and their imaginations. Just look at what has been going on in the Clone Wars. Also, and I don't know if this is fact, but aren't the production costs a lot less for an animated series than a live-action one?

jp-30 · Jan 22, 2004

> do you in any way think it would compare to what we see on the big screen? For me there would be no comparison.

Blue screen and CGI effects on TV aren't going to be that much harder to do than those seen in the films, especially if many of the models (ships / troopers / beasts etc) and many of the locations are already built / rendered for the movies.

KÃ¥l · Jan 22, 2004

Sorry, but there is a reason that the post-production process on all of the prequels has been almost two years. Does anyone really think that any of the Star Wars movies, or other fantasy epics like The Lord of the Rings, could have been done anywhere near as impressively on a TV budget?

jp-30 · Jan 22, 2004

What I'm saying is that the ILM post-production work created for the movies such as CGI model building; characters, sets, creatures, spaceships - that is what takes a lot of the post-prod time - could be reused for a TV series for a fraction of the cost of creating them from scratch.

JonahJacks66 · Jan 22, 2004

A Vader show would'nt make sense, but a Han Solo show would , you could watch the empire in action as they begin to take control of the galaxy but it would make more sense to see how it affected ordinary beings in different systems, A young Han and Chewie flying from one side of the galaxy to the other would be a perfect way of showing this.

amidalak · Jan 22, 2004

the big thing with this show would be the story. i don't think the technical problems raised by some would be nearly as bad as some think, this is lucasfilms here, not a made for tv show from sci fi. i think it would all depend on how vader is protrayed; if they show vader as we saw him in ANH and ESB, seemingly evil and uncaring, i don't think this show would work, but if they show vader as still in conflict with his choice to turn to the dark side, then i think they might have something. but that will depend on the happenings of ep. 3. as far as an anthology type show, just as long as they stayed away from the bantam era eu crap, and made new stories, it'll be fine.

The2ndQuest · Jan 23, 2004

>> This have to be on network TV (because I don't have cable)<<

Actually, the smartest thing would be to keep it off network TV- otherwise the show will be forced to do better ratings, would be suceptible to early cancellation as well as be pre-empted often for sporting events and the like.

HBO, Showtime or *maybe* Sci-fi Channel (if they get their act together again) would be the ideal channels to host the show on.

>>Sorry, but there is a reason that the post-production process on all of the prequels has been almost two years.<<

Yup. It's becaus Lucas is making them one at a time. He finishes one, then closes down production facilities. Waits. Starts writing again. Ramps up production again. Then starts really making the next film.

If they planned out the series entire season, as well as knew what set pieces they could save for future seasons (Vader's meditation chamber, Coruscant palaces, starship briges, etc), they only have to ramp-up production once for the whole season- that alone shaves off a lot of cash compared to single film production.

Not to mention each episode would be elss than half as long as a traditional SW film, even though all the episodes together for a season would run longer obviously, the production cost is reduced considerably by making them together. As long as you have a capable eough producer to keep a reign on the budget, it's quite achievable.

Look at Babylon 5- that show never once went over budget in it's entire run (each episode cost less than 1 million to produce). And that show had a heavy amount of CGI sets, space battles, bluescreen backdrops and landscapes. And towards the second half of the show's run it was using more than just the station as a backdrop- they had multiple locations going, not to mention what are still probably the largest and most complex space battles in TV history.

Once you factor in the CGI model advancements available today- stuff like that is easily achievable.

LottDodd · Jan 23, 2004

The Effects could be done just as well as on the big screen... there just could not be the volume of FX per episode. The stories would be a bit smaller individually, as would the settings. Blaster fight out of Tatooine they could probably do... Full on Clone Wars Battles Like Geonossis they probably wont (Unless it is sweeps week).

I think over an entire season the show could be richer than the movies (If handled correctly), But I doubt if ever a single episode could match that feet. As the show grew and lengthened... more props and sets were built (Including digital sets) Costs would go down as they would already have a wealth of material to pull frrom.

BTW I Know that Phantom Menaces Budget was Aproximately 170 million (Though no one really knows for sure) Does anyone have any Idea how much it costs to make an entire season of programs for a big fx sci-fi series is? How much does it cost Paramount to produce a season of "Enterprise"?

The2ndQuest · Jan 23, 2004

Most big sci-fi shows like Farscape and Stargate SG-1 cost under 2 million an episode...like 1.7 mil or so, while trek shows usually cost more, around 2 million (mainly cause the other shows suually film in Canada or Australia while enterprise, I think, is filmed at Paramount)

Factor in an approximate one-time production run-up cost of 20 million before you even start filming.

So, let's say that in a worst-case scenario, the SW show costs as much as a Trek show for some reason (even if they film overseas, they could put what they save in production costs back into the show).

Say an average TV show season is like 22 episodes long (though it can go longer- like 24, since there is no set episode quota per season).

That means it would roughly cost 64 million to produce the whole season based on that example.

Which would mean, not even factoring in advertising revenue (should it be on a network or basic cable channel), that you could recooperate almost the entire budget by selling a little over half a million DVD box sets alone- and that's not even counting whatever airing deal LFL makes with whatever channel runs the show.

And, again, that's a worst-case scenario based on comaprisons to other shows.

They might even decide to increase the budget even more- add an extra million an episode and your still under 90 million.

And, given TV's flexible airing schedules, they wouldn't have to pay overtime wages to FX artists to meet a certain release date in May

Not to mention the cost goes down sine the production ramp-out costs would be minimized on future seasons since they would be built upon what was done in the previous seasons.

LottDodd · Jan 24, 2004

Good Analysys... So Assuming Lucas Wants to Continue to Set New Standards and New Technologies in a Live Action SW Series... It would seem Likely to Put up 80-100 Million for the First Season and 60-80 Million Per Season Beyond that (Unless it's a Super Hit and Lucas really wants to Push the Bar)

That is A Very Reasonable Price Tag, assuming each show is an hour and their is aprox 20 episodes per season?

But would it be set up to be a continuing series or would it be a season Long Mini-series (Like the first season of the Soprannos was orriginally intended)?

The2ndQuest · Jan 24, 2004

Shows like Babylon 5 and Farscape have set the bar high in terms of story arcs- they'd almost have to at least make it so that, even if most episodes stand-alone, that together as a season they tell a greater story; anything less than that would feel like it paled in comparison to those other shows that had such scope in their arcs.

Darthsuggs · Jan 24, 2004

I like Farscpae and Andromeda but I never really saw Babylon 5. I was told it was just like Star trek and being the stupid kid I was I did not give it a chance. Well right now the new Battlestar Galactica series is still in haeatus because of the huge budget. i would be happy with a small season for the SW series. Yes, I would love Jimmy Smits to make an appearance on this show as stated before. Geneiveve O'Reilly could also frequent the show. This would also give the rabid fans a chance to see Fett in action as a 16-21 year old bounty hunter.

The2ndQuest · Jan 24, 2004

Check out the DVD boxsets- though the first season is a little rough, if you bear through things you won't regret it- it's one of the best sci-fi shows ever..and has just the right amount of mythology hidden in it to provide it a grander scope. Not to mention it shows just what can be done with the medium with the proper amount of planning and vision.

plutoneam · Jan 27, 2004

I used to have a Droids tape a long time ago.
I think droids was better than the average movie-to-TVshow out there.

Just please find a way to let them be canon. Please no contradictions from Ep3.

Maybe another show about R2 and 3PO. I'd go for that.

I'm a little skeptical about a Darth Vader show. I have a bad feeling that it'd ruin Vader for everybody. Who knows whether that could be handled well or not.

DarthShona · Jan 27, 2004

, for one, am game. But, really, they'd have to make it good. When dealing with Vader, you gotta have the best of the best! (For one thing, the voice. They must sign James Earl Jones, not an imitator... there is no substitute.)

My thoughts exactly, Adam.

LottDodd · Jan 28, 2004

I wonder if it will be soap opera style (each episode continuing into the next) or Episodic (Each a stand alone)

jp-30 · Jan 28, 2004

I would imagine it would be a combination of the two, like x-files. Some stand alone episodes, some contributing to the overall story arc.

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The Vader Show. (cue Happy Days theme)

muymaul Jedi Youngling

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