Yeah, my standards for ‘scifi alum to champion’ are high – that’s why I’m voting for Jonathan Frakes. While Hollywood’s obsession with reboots and remakes knows no bounds, we have an opportunity to turn the corner with “Arthur C. Clarke’s Venus Prime”.
Of course, the project could turn into another turn on the Groundhog Day-esque loop of the same tired stories with a shiny new coat of paint. Lord knows we need to give Bryce Dallas Howard someone to compete with. Jonathan Frakes’ pedigree with telling innovative stories makes me want to see this succeed.
I’m not saying I don’t have concerns. If you weren’t paying attention, you might ignore the beige flags that indicate a lack of originality. Literally slapping the author’s name in the title as if that automatically makes it a must-watch? Sorry, no. ‘It’s based on a book so it’s automatically good!’? Sorry, no. Remember “Eragon” or “The Golden Compass”? I rest my case.
The thing that gets me about this is the sheer number of people involved in this project. Writers, producers, consultants, executive producers, negotiating teams – it’s like they’re trying to outdo each other in a game of “who can claim the most credit?” And don’t even get me started on the long list of studios involved. It’s a wonder they can even fit all those logos on the screen.
My standards are high but they’re easy to meet with the right people. If your intention to tell good scifi stories is pure, I’ll give you a chance. If you fail, I’ll torch you. Nothing personal, life’s too short for bad scifi.
We deserve better science and technology focus – perhaps we’ll get it with Jonathan Frakes as our champion scifi alumni. Good enough isn’t good enough. Quit dumbing things down, people! Now is not the time to make everyone happy. It’s time for Hollywood to take risks and invest in original stories and fresh ideas. We don’t need another reboot of a classic sci-fi series – we need something new and thought-provoking. We demand better from our entertainment industry and Jonathan Frakes might be a big step in the right direction.
